FAQ

Because SCS is a non profit organisation, the public classes are just £5 a session. There are no belts, or gradings that cost money, no uniform (although we have SCS hoodies and also cloth patches of the SCS logo which anyone is free to buy and wear), and no other fees. We like to keep things simple and also not get bogged down with money and merchandise, instead focusing on our training and development. For those students that want to practice long term, that is- beyond basic self protection, we recommend they get their own boxing gloves, and some pads. These items can be procured cheaply from ebay, and not from us! That way there is no "mark up" like there is in other martial arts, and students can have more choice. We will give advice on best and cheapest brands, equipment and so on if the student wants advice. Martial arts and life skills are something that can and should be enjoyed without costing an arm and a leg.

SCS Instructors will teach you on the basis of what you want to learn. For example, a student wishing to primarily lose weight and gain in fitness, classes include excellent fat burning cardiovascular workouts and individual workout programmes can be requested from the instructor- again, tailored to suit the needs of the individual. For a woman looking to gain confidence and look after herself in a dangerous situation, the SCS self protection system is second to none, being realistic, practical and perfect for women to use against stronger and larger male attackers. Children seeking to study a full range of life skills, SCS also teaches traditional ettiquette, first aid, self confidence and is a great place to have fun and meet new friends. For those who wish to study a realistic and complete martial art system suited to their body type and mind set, SCS is perfect.

In SCS you will be taught to be capable in all situations. You will build your own style of fighting suited to your build and advantages. You will learn how to deal with situations confidently, as you will be taught essential psychological tools for dealing with aggressive and violent situations effectively. We will teach you how to avoid violent conflicts, and also how to de-escalate them should you be confronted. We will teach you how to effectively and efficiently handle the situations that do become physical with the minimum of effort to put down an aggressor and still stay on the right side of the law. We teach you how to strike with all parts of your body. We teach you first aid and anatomy so you can deal with emergencies and so you understand how the human body functions in relation damage and how the skeletal locks work. You will fight with gloves and protection (called sparring) to hone your  fighting skills. You will learn standing, clinch and on the ground grappling techniques so that in any circumstances there will be no holes in your defence. You will practice standing, clinch and ground grappling techniques with a partner every session and will also be taught SCS defence from weapons such as knives, guns, bottles and clubs. SCS training also includes anti-rape defence for women. These techniques will be repeated often so that you can automatically react in a dangerous situation without thinking, and eventually be able to adapt according to circumstances, with spontaneous creativity. During class you will also do bag work on punchbags, kicking pads and a striking doll (BOB) to develop your fitness and strength and also to perfect your strikes. Other exercises will be done with an emphasis on building your health and wellbeing. We teach you Shadow Fighting to develop your co-ordination and fluidity, and you will develop your own Shadow Fighting routine to express your own way of fighting. You will learn how to use modern and improvised weapons. Privately and at seminars you will learn weapons such as Katana (samurai sword), Nunchaku and Bo-staff to develop co-ordination and dexterity. You will be taught modern weapons such as knives and guns so you will understand defence from them better. You will then be taught to use items in the environment as weapons to defend yourself in extreme situations. There are no belts in this system as belts are merely used to separate people into levels, and at the end of the day the colour of belt you have makes no difference in a street encounter, there is no such thing as invincible but with regular training you can greatly increase your safety in a modern world where statistically everyone is likely to encounter violent physical confrontations. As well as this you will make friendships that will last a lifetime and get into the best shape of your life- Fighting Fit!

What you wear in class depends on what specifically you are wanting to train that session. For example, if you are coming to work on self protection skills, it's best to dress in normal everyday clothes so that it's as close as possible to street conditions. Ladies, try this in high heels!

As a rule of thumb trainers and either jogging bottoms or shorts, and a t shirt are perfectly fine for any session. For people concentrating on MMA, shorts are better than trousers. For people doing self protection, shorts are not recommended!

Also to be noted is that if you plan on training hard, especially with cardio... It would be good to bring spare clothes, a towel, or for super anal people (like Ninja) babywipes for cleaning up.

 You can wear whatever you want, Halloween or not, so armour, costumes or pjammas welcome... Make yourself at home, bring snacks!

What you do in your first class will depend on previous martial arts experience and what you want to train in. For complete newbies looking to learn how to protect themselves, we can teach them a lesson plan on self protection. For people that want to start learning grappling straight away, we'll start right on the mat on basics. More experience people may want to just come and spar, upright or ground fighting, or just hit bags and chill out and can do so straight away with instructors and anyone else in class.