Welcome to the British Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts Combat Academy Website

Welcome to our website.

To the right you'll see a menu where you can navigate through to important pages such as class timetable, syllabus and equipment. Use the Home page link to return to this page.


We now have a forum so members can discuss events at the club, Martial Arts in general, and keep up to date. It's be a good place to hang out between classes.

Remember to check back here regularly to keep up to date with what's going on.

See you in class!

Welcome to the British Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts Combat Academy Website - Martial Arts in Caterham, Surrey, Croydon

The 4 elements of STMA

The 4 elements of STMA are:

Feng Wei
Kickboxing
Grappling
Weapons

Those familiar with the Godai concept of 5 elements in Oriental philosophy will know how they relate to the chakra system of consciousness.

Some of you will have read my previous work on this subject and how they relate to the psychological and physical aspects of combat.

We are now able to relate each of the 4 elements of STMA to the 4 elements of earth, water, fire and wind.


EARTH - GRAPPLING

The Earth element stands for strength and stability. It is the mountain that does not move, the tree standing firm. In the body it stands for the bones and muscles, the physical structure of the body.

In STMA, earth is the grappling element. You stand firm, pull your enemy in and pull him to the ground. You keep him there, even after you walk away. You feel confident. There is no need to run away from the enemy or even "defend" as such. You invite him in and take him down.


WATER - FENG WEI

The Water element stands for adaptability. It is the rivers moving over the land, running to the ocean, the rain that falls from the sky.

Water cannot be broken, snapped or grabbed.

In STMA, water is the Feng Wei element. Based on Wing Chun, Jun Fan, and a large part of Kali, it is adaptive, defensive, evasive, yet powerful when it crashes in.

Water can arode a mountain and a flood can clear a village or knock down the strongest tree.

"Be like water" Bruce Lee advised his students.

In the body water refers to the blood and the liquids that make life possible.


FIRE - KICKBOXING

The Fire element stands for Power, energy, attack. Fire is all consuming, it burns up everything in it's path.

In STMA Fire is the Kickboxing element. It is the forward driving power of the boxer or Thai boxer. The powerful punches on the focus pads, the mighty kicks, knees and elbows on the Thai pads. It is the power of karate as it breaks through wood boards.

The opponent has no option to retreat into the corner. If he tries to hit back we cover, evade, take his bows on our gloves or shins, and hit him back even harder.

In the body Fire refers to metabolism, the use of energy.


WIND - WEAPONS

The wind element in STMA is weapons.

Just as the wind moves over the land, moving objects with it's unseen power, so you move across the floor with your footwork, wielding your stick in your hand.

The sticks cut the air like wind, the crack of wood on wood is like thunder, the stick moves fast as lightning and when it strikes the enemy it lights up his nervous system with a flash of pain.

In the body the Wind refers to the breath.


The VOID

The 5th element in the Godai system is the Void.

Void is nothingness - the space that must exist for the other elements to manifest in.

It is the space between the stars, the space between the atoms.

In the body, it is thought, the creativity that is the manifestation of all action.

If the other 4 elements are the gears of the car, Void is the neutral position, the space you shift through that makes gear changes possible.

In STMA, the Void state is when you are no longer manifesting one art, and are liberated from all structure, moving freely. It is what Bruce Lee called "Jeet Kune Do". The state of Mushin or Wu Wei. The place we all want to be.

Martial Arts Caterham, Surrey, Croydon - White Tiger Martial Arts - Shiro Tora Budo Kai

Our new online ads:

Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts - Caterham, Surrey, Croydon

http://www.martialedge.net/martial-arts-school-directory/shiro-tora-white-tiger-martial-arts-%11-caterham,-surrey,-croydon/

A1 Martial Arts Caterham - White Tiger Martial Arts - Shiro Tora Budo Kai

http://www.martialedge.net/martial-arts-school-directory/a1-martial-arts-caterham-%11-white-tiger-martial-arts-%11-shiro-tora-budo-kai/

Note the different tigers!

Our current ad - Shiro Tora Budo Kai - White Tiger Martial Arts

White Tiger Martial Arts

Shiro Tora Budo Kai

Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence

Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts of
Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Kali

Impact training and sparring from
Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing and Thai Boxing

Weapons defence and combat training from Kobudo, Kali and Eskrima
Grappling and matwork from Judo, Jujutsu and Wrestling

All forms of Defence Combat taught

Strikes, Kicks, Punches and Counterattacks
Headbutts, Knees, Elbows (HKE)
Trapping (HIA), Energy Drills and Chi Sao
Chokes and Strangles – Locks and Controls
Throws and Takedowns – Ground and Pound
Grappling – Groundfighting - Vale Tudo – MMA
Stick and Knife – Sword and Staff – Nunchaku and Tonfa
Gun Defence and Knife Defence training
Threat Awareness – Threat Avoidance – Threat Response
Self Protection – Street Fighting – Unarmed Combat

Learn from a 6th degree Black Belt with over 30 years training and
10 years real world experience on the doors of Britain’s pubs and clubs

Training sessions held in Caterham (Over 18s)

Caterham Methodist Church, Coulsdon Road, Caterham-on-the-Hill


Wednesday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Thursday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Monthly Membership £35 or £5 a session pay as you go

email: ShiroToraTiger@yahoo.co.uk
website: ShiroToraTiger.blogspot.com


Beginners Welcome
Private lessons available

Training pix

S.P.A.R.K.S

S.P.A.R.K.S or S.P.A.R.C.S stands for Scientific Progressive Aggressive Response Combat Systems.

When looking for a name for our system, as well as considering what the Japanese do, we also looked at what the Americans do. They tend to use acronyms for their systems. Paul Vunak calls his Progressive Fighting Systems (PFS) and Chris Kent calls his Combat Arts International (CAI) to name just two.

Although it's just a name (don't fuss over it) we tried out a few acronyms that might suit us and came up with SPARKS.

Scientific - because everything is scientifically tested, no guess work or assumption.
Progressive - because the training we do is progressive, through the ranges, disciplines, drilling and sparring.
Aggressive - because we are dealing with an aggressive attacker, and we are using aggressive, positive responses, not passive "self defence" moves.
Response - we are responding to a threat rather than reacting to an attack.
Kombat or Combat, depending on how we want to fit the acronym. Kombat is the harded German spelling,and of course is a nod to the game Mortal Kombat. We prefer the word Combat to Fighting.
System - which we prefer to Method or Art, or even Do (Way in Japanese).

So if you want to, you can tell people you do SPARKS!

Applied Fighting Arts

AFA stands for Applied Fighting Arts.

It is the precursor to what is now STMA - the Shiro Tora Martial Arts, the Applied Fighting Arts of Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Kali and Muay Thai - Martial Arts adapted and applied in real Self Defence situations on the Streets of 21st Century Britain.

We use the Applied Fighting Arts of Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing and Thai Boxing in our impact work and sparring.

We use the Applied Fighting Arts of Judo, JuJutsu and wrestling in our matwork and grappling.

We use the Applied Fighting Arts of Japanese Kobudo, Okinawan Kobudo, Kali, Eskrima and Krabi in our weapons defence, drills, combat and sparring.

We apply these arts in Self Defence and Street Fighting.

We apply these in Sparring and they can be applied in Sport contests.

The application of the Kickboxing arts with the Grappling arts forms Vale Tudo, our MMA sparring system.

Vale Tudo mixed with the Feng Wei arts creates Street Combat or SPARKS.

AFA is an American style anacronysm, simlar to what the JKD guys use.

Where to find us

Our Brown Book ad has a map of where to find us:

shiro-tora-white-tiger-martial-arts

Shiro Tora article MAI magazine September 2009

This article appears in this month's MAI Martial Arts Illustrated magazine, on page 135.

It is accompanied by some pics of White Tiger training including Eskrima stickfighting, Vale Tudo match during the ground phase and blindfold Chi Sao.


The Evolution of the Martial Arts Dojo


Have you ever seen the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice"?

Filmed in the 60s, Bond is stationed in Japan and attends Tiger Tanaka's "Ninja" training camp. This isn't actually a "Ninja" camp at all, but it's a perfect example of a traditional Japanese Budo dojo.

We see lots of Martial Arts going on at the same time - Karate, Judo, Aikido, Kenjtsu, Bojutsu. Rather than being in a dojo hall, the training goes on outside (it's a nice day after all). The point being there are not seperate classes for all the different disciplines. They are all being taught and practiced at the same time.

That's how it was traditionally at Japanese dojos. Everyone trained in every discipline, moving around in small manageable groups between the various Sensei present.

Also, all these "different" arts have a common origin.
Karate is taken from two schools of Okinawan Kempo.
Judo is made up of bits from various schools of Jujutsu.
The Jujutsu schools themselves have a variety of techniques from different sources.
Aikido is a mix of Jujutsu and Kenjutsu.

When Martial Art reached the Western world everybody started specialising in one art, then one style of that art. You "only" did karate, then you "only" did Shotokan, or "only" did Kyukushinkai. Students and clubs focussed on the differences rather than the similarities.

When the UFC, and it's subsequent inspired events, arrived in the 90s, it was originally art vs art. Karate vs Kickboxing, Judo vs karate, Kung Fu vs Jujutsu.
As the competitions evolved, people began "cross training". Kickboxers learnt some grappling. Grapplers learned how to punch and kick.

This gave birth to what is referred to now as "Mixed Martial Arts". Students are attending sessions which incorporate techiques and tactics from different systems again, and learning the similarities and the blends. Once again people are practicing integrated systems and pressure testing them in competition.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st Century, things have come full circle. People are practicing "everything" again.

At the Shiro Tora White Tiger Academy The core class is our Unarmed Combat-Self Protection - Threat Response - Street Fighting system.

This is a set of drills students practice with each other.

There is no punching and kicking the air, though we do incorporate shadow boxing.

There is no hard oriental "discipline", we train in a relaxed and friendly manner.

There is no bowing, we prefer a smile and a handshake.

There is no half hour "warm up", just some basic stretching.
This is not an aerobics class or a yoga class, it is a Martial Arts skills class. You spend your time building skills.

This is real time one-on-one CQC drilling, taken from our core arts of Karate, Jujutsu and Kung Fu (which itself is mainly Wing Chun).

There is karate style sparring and chi sao sparring for those who want to do it.
Nobody is forced to spar until ready, but those who want to can "get stuck in" on their first night if they wish.

There is no special uniform or gi, just wear what you feel comfortable in.

The class then bifurcates into Kickboxing and Kobudo (weapons) for those who want to learn these skills.

For Kickboxing you need your own protective gear for partner drills and sparring.
You can bring your own or buy from us at a reasonable rate.
There is some kit on loan for those who want to "try before they buy".
There is impact work on focus pads, Thai pads, and shields. Again, to get maximum benefit students are encouraged to buy their own pads, though there will be some provided.

For Kobudo students need to buy their own weapons depending on what they want to get involved with:

A pair of sticks and a knife.
A pair of tonfa.
A set of nunchaku, both foam safety and wood/chain.
Bokken, shinai, jo and bo.

There will be weapons provided for those who want to "try before they buy".

There is basic weapon sparring with sticks, nunchaku, sword and staff.
Later we will look into acquiring armour for full contact weapons sparring.

Then we put the mats down and practice our throws and takedowns, and spar “randori”. Then we practice groundgrappling, and groundfighting, which is not the same thing as “groundfighting” involves strikes.

Finally we put it all together and practice Vale Tudo from outrange, to kicking and punching, to vertical grappling, to the ground. We even have sessions where we incorporate weapons – from outrange to the ground.

In the 60s in LA, Bruce Lee came up with the concept of practicing techniques and drills from many different arts and called his concept "Jeet Kune Do". One of the key concepts was "Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation".

It's something we still aspire to today.

Jujutsu at White Tiger

Our Jujutsu is based on Traditional Koryo Jujutsu, Kempo Goshin Jutsu and Sports Jujutsu.

We train through all 7 dimensions of grappling combat.


Newaza
Groundgrappling, as in Judo, BJJ and wrestling. Pins, chokes, and locks.
We grapple with gi jackets and without.

We also have Ground Fighting as in Vale Tudo and MMA where we keep the gloves on and allow striking in ground range.

Nage - Throws
As in Judo. We practice all kinds of throws and then apply them in randori free sparring.
As well as gi grappling, we use the wrestling concept of tieing up without grabbing the clothes.

Takedowns
Not the same as throws.
Double and single leg takedowns down from the outrange fall into this category.
After a takedown you have the option of following into grappling, locking the leg from standing, striking, or breaking away.

Catch kick takedowns
Fighting at Kickboxing range we catch or "shelf" the kick and perform our takedown.

Karate Sweeps
Fighting at Kickboxing range we sweep the leg to takedown the opponent, as part of an attack combination, or in defence

Projections
As in aikido, when we are grabbed on the wrist, sleeve or collar we use arm and wristlocks to project the opponent to the mat.

Handachi
This is when you are down and the opponent is standing.
In aikido there is a whole section called handachi for this. However, in the West, we don't kneel on the floor as they do in Japan. If you find yourself kneeling in front of a standing opponent you are at the takedown phase, so do a morote gari.
Our handachi would apply if you were sitting in a chair when attacked for example.
But the worst example of this is if you go down and are lying there while your opponent still stands and tries to kick you. The grappling response is to affect a leg takedown, which allows you to follow to grappling, or to get up and reverse the position - you standing, him lying.

Karate at White Tiger

For those wanting to grade in Traditional Karate-Do there is a kata assigned to each belt level:

9th Kihon kata
8th Heian Shodan
7th Heian Nidan
6th Heian Sandan
5th Heian Yondan
4th Heian Godan
3rd Tekki Shodan
2nd Bassai Dai
1st kyu Kanku Dai

black belts:

1st dan Jion
2nd Jitte

The kata we practice here is Japanese Shotokan kata.
However we also look at the ShotoKai versions of the kata for a more fuller understanding, and the Okinawan versions of the kata.
The Heians are called Pinan on Okinawa and performed slightly different. The Tekki are called Naihinchi, etc.

Nobody has to learn kata for STMA and I don't teach it in class regularly. It's there for people who want to add the dimension of kata to their training, or for those who want to learn the Traditional karate-Do.


I will sometimes teach a kata move and it's bunkai in class, explaining where it came from, to give students a deeper understanding, but they don't have to learn the whole kata.
In fact, I tend to start with bunkai and work back, so a kata is really a sequence of bunkai. This gives a greater understanding of what you are doing it for.

We also teach the 3 Wing Chun forms:
Sil Lum Tao
Chum Kil
Bil Jee

We also teach the Yang Tai Chi short form.

There will be weapons kata in the future for those who want to add that dimension to their kobudo.

We have kata for each of the Okinawan weapons:
Bo
Nuncha
Tonfa
Kama
Sai

in fact there are several nuncha kata we use.

There are forms for the WC Bart Charm Dao swords and the Kwane "Dragon" Pole, which is very different from Bo.

For the Japanese kobudo, "kata" means something different, so there are no set forms, although there is a Jo "kata" in Aikido worth learning.



Kihon kata
The basic kata. Teaches one step, one block and one strike. Also how to turn. The heian katas, and many other Shorin katas, are based on this basic pattern.

Heian
Called Pinan on Okinawa. Heian means "Peaceful mind", meaning that somebody who has perfected this series of 5 kata has a complete Self defence system and can protect themselves confidently.

Tekki
Called Naihinchi on Okinawa, as they were performed in the Naihinchi stance. Tekki are all performed in the Kiba Dachi horse stance. There are 3 Tekki kata, Tekki Shodan being the first you learn. They are strong Shorei kata.
Tekki means "Victory". Funakoshi was told by his teacher that they are the easiest and the hardest to learn. He spent 3 years learning each kata, spending a decade on the Tekki series alone. Like Heian, Tekki is almost a MA in it's own right.

Bassai
Called passai on Okinawa. Another Shorin kata, based on the moves of heian, specifically heian godan. A powerful combat kata meaning "to storm a fortress".
Bassai Dai is the second of the two bassai kata, but the first you learn.

Kanku
Called Kushanku on Okinawa after the Chinese fighting monk who introduced it to the island.
Kanku means "to look at the sky".
A Shorin kata, again based on the Heians, primarily Yondan and Nidan.

Jion
A powerful Shotokan kata that makes up a series with Heian Godan and the two Bassai.
At STMA this is the black belt kata

Jitte
The favourite kata of Master Enoeda. Meaning "10 Hands" - the person who has perfected this kata can successfully defend himself against 5 opponents.
This is the 2nd dan kata.

Taikyoku
Taikyoku refers to the singularity before the split into Ying and Yang polarity. It means harmony with the Universe, the goal of Zen.
Taikyoku Shodan is actually the Kihon Kata. However, practiced at black belt level it takes on a whole new meaning as basic technique becomes advanced technique.
The difference between a white belt doing Kihon kata and a black belt doing Taikyoku Shodan will be obvious to any observer.
A set of 3 kata.
Taikyoku Nidan introduces the high punch.
Taikyoku Sandan introduces the back stance and middle block.
On Okinawa, students learn the 3 taikyoku before the Pinans.
In STMA it's not until you get to black belt that you learn the other two Taikyoku.
You now have a greater appreciation of the Heians - they are no longer just some katas you did to get your first few belts.
The 3 Taikyokus and Heian Shodan make a nice series of 4.
H Ni to Go also makes a nice series of 4.

For 3rd dan there is no set kata or grading as such.
However you need to learn the next 2 Taikyoku, so you have all three, the next two tekki, so you have all three, and the next Bassai and Kanku. This fleshes out your understanding.

You then learn Ji'in, a Shorin kata based on Jion and Jitte, that makes a set of 3.
With Heian Godan, the Bassais, and the Jis, you have powerful set of 6 kata to perform.

Also, it's not just a case of knowing these kata, it's being able to break them down, perform the bunkai and teach them.

At 3rd dan you are awarded the title "Sensei" and the right to teach and grade your own students.
It is not something given away lightly, it as to be earned!

You now have the following kata:
3 Taikyoku
5 Heian
3 Tekki
2 Bassai
2 Kanku
Jion, Jitte and Jion

The next kata you learn are Enpi and Hangetsu.
Enpi is a Shorin kata, while Hangetsu is a strong Shorei kata.

You now have a total of 20 kata.

This is around the level we would look to promote you to 4th dan and award the title of Renshi

There are now 10 more kata we practice that you can learn over your progressive years in black belt training, if you wish:

Chinte, Gankaku, Meikyo, Seienchin, Wankan
Unsu, Nijushisho, Sochin, Gojushiho Dai, Gojushiho Sho

This makes a total of 30 Karate-Do Kata.

Feng Wei at White Tiger

Feng Wei is the name we have given to the core Fighting System in Shiro Tora.

In Chinese it means "Phoenix". It is a streetfighting system for the streets of Britain at the start of the 21st Century.

As well as holding a 6th dan in karate, which has Okinawan and Chinese roots, Shihan is a full instructor in Wing Chun Kung Fu. Shihan's training has included classical and modified WC, as well as private training from the late great Master Derek Jones of Body Mind Spirit.

Shihan has been involved for many years in Jun Fan Gung Fu and Jeet Kune Do, so has trained in various aspects of Bruce Lee's art from the modified WC of Oakland to the Seattle Jun Fan to the LA JKD.

So as well as a core of Applied Karate, FW heavily borrows from WC and JF.

There are also elements of Jujutsu, Kali and Muay Thai.

Our Threat Response system is unique to Shiro Tora and the FW class is the best place to learn them.

Classes include: Tool development, lineups, defence and counter drills, attack by combination, HIA traps, locks, chokes, immobilisations, takedowns, KOs, multiple opponent drills, the fence, threat escalation, conflict management.

Whether you want to work in security, or just want an effective Self Protection system, we have it all right here.

This is the best class to start with as it just requires an empty room and people. It's diverse and we train in drills over modules for maximum skill uptake. We've had a lot of success with this format before and it isn't rivalled by anybody else doing the same thing.

It takes the core skills of Wing Chun, but not just traditional WC, but the modified style, and also the BMS system.

We've also added a lot of Jun Fan and JKD drills over the years, and a lot of the boxing skills.
There are also drills from Karate, Thai and Kali, as well as Jujutsu.

We have to call it something other than WC or JF so we call it FW.
(But it's just a name, don't fuss over it!)

We've adapted the functional training for the streets of UK at the start of the 21st century, so it really is a new streetfighting system. It contains the drills we and our doormen and security personnel practice and use, and it's fully effective in those scenarios.

It is done unarmed, one on one, with no equipment or mats.

We start with sequences dealing with punches, kicks and strikes, and counters.

We progress to HIA - Hand Immobilisations - Traps.
Locks from JJ.
Chokes.

NRG - Energy - drills.
Mainly Wing Chun - dan chi, bon lop, luk sao, into full chi sao sparring.
We also have drills from Mantis and Kali.

Sparring is based on 2 ranges from 2 core arts, and done without protective pads:

Wing Chun and Jun Fan Chi sao.
Karate Jiyu kumite.

Grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo at the White Tiger

The way we do this class is start on the ground. We do some stretches from yoga that are relevant to the muscles used in grappling, then play some moves and transitions as a warmup. Then we pair up and play pins. We use the Newaza from Judo and the basic ground moves from Brazilian Jujutsu as they complement each other perfectly and don't leave any gaps.

Each pin has an escape and we play these, also drills such as pass the guard-escape the mount. Then we look at finishes from each position - chokes and locks. Then we look at the counters and reversals.

Then we stand up and look at throws, simple moves from Judo and wrestling such as Kata guruma - cross hip, seoinage - flying mare, o soto gari, simple stuff like that, so we know how to get there, and moves such as morote gari and other leg takedowns, and how not to get caught in the guard. Also pad drills on the ground, punching the pads while in the mount and guard.

Then by adding back in strikes to vertical grappling, the Thai clinch drill, and HKE, we can progress to kickboxing on the mat, and from the clinch, go to ground, practice ground and pound, and grappling.

With the new mats at the club, we can regularly explore grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo, and devote maybe an hour from a 2 hour class to this dimension of our fight training.

Kickboxing at White Tiger

Boxing

This is Western boxing, hands only fighting.

The main tools are:
Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut

The target is the head, the purpose is the knockout.

With lead and rear hooks and uppercuts, this generates 6 basic punches. You learn and practice these on the pads, then try them out in sparring.

Drilling is progressive:

Basic punches - the "big 6"
Defences
Attack combinations
Defensive combinations
Sparring


Kickboxing - Full Contact

This is basically boxing with the addition of the 4 primary karate kicks:

front kick - mygeri
Round kick - mawashigeri
Side Kick - kekome
Back kick - ushiro geri

These are learnt on the shield and primarily delivered to the stomach.

Head kicks are secondary and you don't have to learn them unless you want to.

Other secondary kicks include the hook kick, done to the head, and jump kicks.

Practice is progressive:

ABCs:
Hand, hand
Hand, Foot
Foot, hand
Foot, foot

There are of course defences for the kicks and defensive combinations.

Then there is progressive sparring:

Boxing v boxing
Boxing v kickboxing
Kickboxing v kb

Then isolation sparring:

Lead hand only
Lead hand and leg only
LH and LL against kb
...etc


Semi Contact Kickboxing

This is the same as Freestyle karate.

Primary drilling is done on the focus mitts. Sparring uses the lighter mitts and is touch or semi contact only.

Additional hand techniques include the ridge hand and backfist.

The stance tends to be more side on the FC, and there is more use of the side push kick than the front push kick.

Good head kicking is necessary to become really proficient at SC KB.


Lo Kix KB

Same as FC KB but includes low kicks to the leg, and involves the leg block.


Thai boxing

With KB we have taken our drilling mainly from karate and boxing.

Thai boxing takes training methods from Muay Thai, a different MA.

This involves the use of the knee, and training on the Thai pads.

Weapons at White Tiger

Krabi
Krabi Krabong is the weapons art of Thailand, the military weapons forerunner to the unarmed combat art of Muay Thai and the ring sport of Thai Boxing.

Krabi uses twin stix, the number 1 strike and jodan uke block.

It uses an advancing pushing, pressure step, and retreats with defence.

5 step sparring involves advancing and retreating in attack and defence.

We start with a single step and strike, then progress to a double step and strike.

We finish the sequence with a power strike, a "kradot" jumping strike or a double "tenchi" strike.
It is also possible to put in a kick at the end of the sequence.

The stixs represent swords, as in kali. Though brutal as a stick combat art, the ultimate intention is to train for blade combat.

It is , like boxing, a very basic and primative art, with not a lot to learn. Which is what makes it so effective.

Eskrima and Kali
Eskrima and Kali are the weapons arts of the Philipines, referred to as Filipino Martial Arts or FMA.

Training is done with the short stick, single or double.

In Eskrima we fight with the stick, so stick training represents stick combat.

In Kali we fight with swords, so stick training represents blade combat. That is the real distinction between the two. Kali is a lot like Krabi, but also very different, as you will see.

Eskrima training consists of:

Sinawalli - double sticks
Largo mano - long range single stick
Serrada - close range single stick
Kadena de mano - knife and hand


Largo
Largo is the long range.

Largo mano actually means long hand, but we use it to cover weapons method as well.

The basic drill is an advancing and retreating 5 step kumite.

This can be done with the single stick, the longer stick, the sword and the staff, both jo and bo.

We can also mix and match weapons:

stick v 2 stix
boken v stix
boken v bo
boken v jo
jo v stix
bo v stix
tonfa v stix
tonfa v boken
tonfa v jo
tonfa v bo


Sinawalli
Sinawalli means "weaving". It refers to the patterns the stick make in the drills.

Sinawalli is done with double sticks at the largo range.

The first thing you learn is the basic different counts:
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

4 count also has a twirl and sipat henka
5 also has a sipta henka
5 and 7 are also performed "offside"

6 count is a series in it's own right, containing standard, heaven, earth, redondo, stab and sipat henka.

The second thing you learn is "chains" - 2 and 4,
4 and 6,
2, 4, 6
6 chains such as heaven, earth

Then you learn concepts:
chaining, matching, mirroring, redondo, chasing, etc.

It is a very dynamic, thorough and fulfilling art to learn and practice.

It's also a lot of fun!


Serrada
Serrada is the close range system done at the medio and corto ranges.

Drills include:

sombrada - both 3 and 5 count
box sombrada
hubud
entry from largo to medio and out again
move from largo to medio to corto and out
locks with stick

Serrada uses the 12 angle number system of Cabales Eskrima.

We can also drill with tonfa at serrada, and even nuncha (called tayok in FMA)


Knife
Though we do Japanese tanto training from kobudo and ninpo, the bulk of our knife training is from Eskrima.

Kadena de mano means knife and hand. It is the close range art of fighting and defending with the knife.

Knife to knife, hand to knife, and hand to hand are the 3 phases.

Knife uses the first 7 angles of Eskrima.

Knife defence we work on at an early level.

Knife "fighting" itself is taught to seniors.

Tonfa and nunchaku
We play tonfa and nuncha in serrada range as well as largo.

stick v tonfa
stick v nuncha
tonfa v nuncha
nuncha v nuncha
tonfa v tonfa

Bokken, Jo and Bo
We play these at largo range, extending the range out as needed.

Open to anyone

Whether you are a complete beginner or seasoned black belt, a competition fighter, or just somebody interested in Self Protection, we have something for you.

Everyone will be able to work at their own pace, so this is an ideal class for beginners and ladies, but also for students who want to go a bit faster and harder and learn a bit quicker.

One of our mottos is:
"Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative".
This means we take what you are good at and help you polish and improve it, help you get even better. We then take what you are not so good at and bring you up to speed. Our aim is to make you a fully functional Martial Artist at all ranges, fill in the blanks, and make what you do fully functional for the real world.

Another of our mottos is:
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, add what is specifically your own"
(quoted from the late, great Bruce Lee, the original cross-trainer)
which does exactly what it says. You take what is useful to you (including what you learn here), discard what is useless (including what you learn here), and add what is your own, to develop your own unique style of fighting that works for you.

The first rule of Fight Club...

... is don't talk about Fight Club.
I'm sure you've all seen the film (you may have even read the book).
It's also the second rule as well.

However at our "Fight Club" we want to reverse this rule.

DO tell people about our club. Tell your friends and invite the along. Email people our website address. Spread the word and get some new people here!

Give it a fair go!

Don't just come to one class and decide you didn't like it.

Each class is different and the training is progressive. Try a few classes, 3 or maybe 4, before you decide.

We accept that some people will leave, just as new people will come along. Also not everybody will make every class.

But keep in mind we can tailor your training to what YOU want to learn and accomplish. It's not a rule that everybody practices then same. At a session we can have a couple of people kickboxing, a couple practicing locks, a couple working weapons.

Let me know what YOU want to see more or less of. Talk to me at class or send me an email. At Shoro Tora you have more latitude than at a "Traditional" class, so let us know what YOU want to gain from your time with us.

How a White Tiger Martial Arts class works

The core class is our Unarmed Combat-Self Protection - Threat Response - Street Fighting system.

This is a set of drills students practice with each other.

There is no punching and kicking the air, though we do incorporate shadow boxing.

There is no hard oriental "discipline", we train in a relaxed and friendly manner.

There is no bowing, we prefer a smile and a handshake.

There is no half hour "warm up", just some basic stretching.
This is not an aerobics class or a yoga class, it is a Martial Arts skills class. You spend your time building skills.

This is real time one-on-one CQC drilling, taken from our core arts of Karate, Jujutsu and Kung Fu (which itself is mainly Wing Chun).

There is karate style sparring and chi sao sparring for those who want to do it.
Nobody is forced to spar until ready, but those who want to can "get stuck in" on their first night if they wish.

There is no special uniform or gi, just wear what you feel comfortable in.

The class then bifurcates into Kickboxing and Kobudo (weapons) for those who want to learn these skills.

For Kickboxing you need your own protective gear for partner drills and sparring.
You can bring your own or buy from us at a reasonable rate.
There is some kit on loan for those who want to "try before they buy".
There is impact work on focus pads, Thai pads, and shields. Again, to get maximum benefit students are encouraged to buy their own pads, though there will be some provided.

For Kobudo students need to buy their own weapons depending on what they want to get involved with:

A pair of sticks and a knife.
A pair of tonfa.
A set of nunchaku, both foam safety and wood/chain.
Bokken, shinai, jo and bo.

There will be weapons provided for those who want to "try before they buy".

There is basic weapon sparring with sticks, nunchaku, sword and staff.
Later we will look into acquiring armour for full contact weapons sparring.

Classes

Sessions will be based on the following arts and systems:

Combat Karate
Practical applied karate from Japanese Shotokan, Shotokai and Kyukushinkai, Okinawan Goju and American Kenpo.
Learn how to apply karate from a 6th degree black belt who has real street experience.
Traditional katas available for those who want to learn them.
Karate Kumite to test your skills in sparring.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Karate here


Combat Jujutsu
The perfect compliment to Combat Karate. As well as strikes and counters, we practice locks, pressure points, takedowns and ground finishes.
Syllabus based on Kempo JuJutsu, Goshin Jutsu, Kyushindo, Taijutsu, and also some Brazilian JJ and Judo Newaza for those who like their groundwork.
OK you can roll and fight on mats? What about on the wooden floor? What about on concrete? What about a flight of stairs? Come to us and make your grappling functional for the real world.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Jujutsu here

Learn more about Shiro Tora Grappling and MMA here


Combat Kung Fu (Feng Wei)
Syllabus distilled from the Chinese arts we practice and teach - Traditional and Modified Wing Chun, Jun Fan, Mantis, Ba Gua, Shaolin, and some Tai Chi (yes it does have some combat applications).
Classes include NRG (energy) drills, HIA (Trapping) and locking, Close Quarter Combat, and Chi Sao sparring.
Traditional Wing Chun forms available for those who want to learn them.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Kung Fu - Feng Wei here



Kickboxing
Functional drills for tool development, and defence and counter, building to a comprehensive sparring program to test and develop your skills to the max.
Impact work on pads to develop the important attributes of speed, power, coordination, distance and timing.
Sparring forms include points karate, semi contact, full contact Kickboxing, and Thai boxing.
Syllabus taken from karate, freestyle, semi contact, full contact, Tae Kwon Do (WTF), Kung Fu, Muay Thai, and Savate.
Mat, ring, and street tested methods.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Kickboxing here


Kobudo - weapons
Filipino Kali and Eskrima stick and knife,
Okinawan Nunchaku and Tonfa,
Japanese bokken, shinai, bo and jo - sword, spear and staff.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Weapons here


Grappling
Throws, takedowns and groundfighting. Methods taken from Judo and Jujutsu and the western Wrestling systems of Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Russian Sombo.
Judo is 90% throws and 10% groundwork. Brazilian JJ is 90% groundwork and 10% throws. In this session we work to combine the elements and bridge the gap.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Grappling here

Vale Tudo
Vale Tudo is the Portuguese for "anything goes". The original Mixed Martial Art in Brazil.
In our club we combine the elements of Kickboxing and Grappling so you spar and fight at all ranges. Functional drills and sparring to make you a fully competant fighter.

Learn more about Shiro Tora Vale Tudo here

Over 18s Only!

Over 18s Only!
Due to the content and standard of our training it is only suitable for persons over the age of 18.
We suggest junior students join an external Junior club in Karate or Judo, then come to us as a senior once they reach 18.
Any MA experience you get before you turn up here will be beneficial, so go for it!

Class Times

Classes are held at:
Caterham Methodist Church Hall, Coulsdon Road,
Caterham on the Hill
(near Tescos)

Wednesday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm

Thursday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm

Monthly membership: £35 for unlimited sessions
or
£5 a session pay as you go

Class prices

Each class is £5 a session.
Classes last 2 hours
No joining fee or membership, just turn up and join in.

As we add more sessions we will look into monthly membership to reduce the cost to you the student. Training 3 times a week will not cost you £15. If we reduce the cost to £10 a week, you get a lesson free, or 3 for the price of 2 . For a monthly membershipwe would reduce even further to maybe £35.

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Forum

You can join the Forum here:
Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts Forum

It is a members only forum, it can't be read by the public, and membership has to be approved by an administrator. If you look at it now it looks blank, but once your membership is approved and you log in you will have access to the boards.

You need to be a member of Shiro Tora and attend our class to join this forum.

It is firstly a place for us to post information regarding the club and classes, and to discuss techniques and training through the week between sessions. We have used these before at other clubs we've run and students found them really useful. Also, if you miss a session, you will be able to catch up with what happened.

You can join the Forum from this page:
Join Shiro Tora Forum

Once registered, your login details will be emailed to you. Then once we've approved your account, you'll be in.

MEMBERS: If you are using an email or username that we may not recognise, eg "Dragonfly" or something like that, email to let us know who you are and then we can verify your account.

See you all at The Forum!

Contact us

Email us at:

shirotoratiger@yahoo.co.uk

Equipment from Blitz

We have a deal worked out with Blitz to supply us with all our equipment.

Check what you want to order from our price list, bring the money to the Wednesday or Thursday class - cash is preferred - and I will place the order on the Friday morning. All things being well the kit should be delivered in time for next week's class.

For the basic ST session you don't need any specific kit or equipment, nor do you need a specific uniform - just wear what's comfortable. However we can get you training kit that's better, more durable, and cheaper than what you'll find in the shops.


For our list of Essential and Recommended kit go here:
STMA Kit List

You can view the Blitz website here:
http://www.blitzsport.com/

Their full range of products here:
http://www.blitzsport.com/Products

Their range of DVDs here:
http://www.blitzsport.com/Products/DVDs

Their range of books here:
http://www.blitzsport.com/Products/Books

Their range of supplements here:
http://www.blitzsport.com/Products/Nutrition

Club Uniform

Uniform
We don't have a uniform as such but in the past we have tended to "evolve" one naturally. Wear what you are comfortable with. We recommend a vest and T-shirt, and track pants and/or shorts. Also a good pair of trainers or boxing boots. We will be using Gi jackets in future sessions for our standing grappling and defence against grabs.

Club T-Shirts
We have had T-Shirts made for other clubs we have run. If there is enough interest we will create T-shirts for this club.

STMA Kit Price List

Essential list

Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50

Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.

Judo gi £30


Recomended list:

Groin guard £10
for guys

Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30

Shinguards £10
For kb

Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25

Weapons
Bokken £10
Shinai £20

rattan nuncha £10
rattan jo £13
rattan bo £15

Tonfa
Tonfa oak pair £20
Foam practice pair £10

Nunchaku
Foam/cord £5 each - pair £10 - practice and spar
Foam/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - intermediate
Wood/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - kata and "pro" practice


Optional extra:

MMA gloves
Basic training Firepower gloves £20
Pro Star gloves £25
Bad Breed £30

Hand inner glove £5
Boxing Vest £10
Boxing shorts £10
Thai shorts £10
MMA Shorts £20
Blitz T shirts £10

Female Maxi Guard £20

Thai pads £50 a pair
Boxing rope £10
Knife £5

Tiger pics

Private lessons available

Private lessons available

Private tuition available at your home or a venue of your choice.

Personal one-to-one tuition or group tuition available.

We can hold courses or seminars at your club for you and your students.

White Tiger links

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Our Zimbio articles:



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Our Martial Edge page:

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and three versions of our ad:

A1 Martial Arts Caterham White Tiger Martial Arts Shiro Tora Budo Kai

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Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts

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White Tiger Martial Arts Blog

I have opened a new blog, seperate from the main STMA Website:

White Tiger Martial Arts Blog

The main STMA website, although done blog style, is for general information purposes. Most of what is posted there is permanent and set.

The WTMA Blog will be constantly updated with news and information as the club and training progress.

"Private" club information will only be posted on the Forum for members to read.