Like any Association I want the SPA to grow, so what you have is available to more people. Making the change is not easy, many people are unwilling to do it. 

George Downing first contacted the SPA in ‘97. George has lived in Germany for more than 18 years, and has trained in many styles of martial arts. After finding out more about the SPA, George contacted me to see if was possible for him to come over and do some training with me in London. How could I say no? If anyone is willing to get on a plane and train in another country, in my book that person deserves respect. 

Within no time George had booked a flight and made arrangements to stay with friends in London. I arranged to meet him at a local train station, on the drive back to my home he told me how he got interested in the more practical fighting systems. "It is not always possible to get copies of the UK martial art magazines in Germany. But friends send me out copies and I have enjoyed reading the articles by Geoff Thompson, I would like to meet him one day" he said. "Yes, Geoff has opened a lot of people's eyes to reality training, no matter how many times you meet or train with him you always want more" I said. 

From that first meeting and training session George's enthusiasm and willingness to learn was infectious. He told me that he enjoyed the no nonsense approach and the realism in the SPA training, something he had not found in Germany. George was over for 4 days and trained every day, he took on information like a sponge. The 4 days went too quickly, we went through a lot, covering power striking, colour coding, grappling, fighting and conditioning drills. George asked me to thank all the London members for making him feel so welcome, and said he looked forward to training with them again soon. 

He came back and trained in London in March and June. On his last visit he was awarded the position of SPA area representative for Germany. George is hoping to open the first SPA school in Germany early next year. But he will be getting back on the plane in August to do some more training in London.