The focus of Peter's section was promotion of awareness and the seriousness of dealing with edged weapons.  The seminar started with Paul Child and Steve Carter demonstrating how easily it was to conceal weapons on a person by inviting the students to point out where they thought they had hidden them.  This ranged from tiny blades concealed in the hand, under a watch strap or ring, to screwdrivers, boot knives, cleavers, various strappings around the body and eventually a 16 inch machete which no one managed to spot!  It simply and effectively underlined that you can under no circumstances assume that your assailant is unarmed.  It also highlights the difficulty faced by door supervisors when screening night-club visitors.  Peter then went on to show how devastating a wound from a 1 inch blade from a typical freebie promotional penknife can be by demonstrating on a several layers of cardboard taped together (Held by Paul Child in the background of the photo above).  Not only did the knife cut long and to the full blade depth but as Peter highlighted, in reality flesh compression would make the wound many times deeper giving access to internal organs.  Again, the focus of this was simply to prevent the students from underestimating the danger of any edged or penetrating weapon.  If you think that a small weapon is any less dangerous than a larger one you will find that you are sadly and possibly fatally mistaken (if stupid enough to think and act otherwise in a real situation).  What may appear to be a small cut on the surface might well be hiding much more devastating damage underneath! 

Add to this a simple fact:  The vast majority of people who actively carry edged weapons do not carry 'Rambo' knives and machetes.  They carry weapons that are easily concealed which enable them, if stopped and searched by police, to plead ignorance and get away with no more than confiscation of the item and/or a verbal warning. This is in no way a criticism of our police force, it is intended to show how a small minority are prepared to work the system.

Peter went on to explain how different types of edged weapon will determine the type of attack you are likely to encounter.  Particularly useful was a set of techniques and drills used to increase and maintain peripheral vision which is one of the first things you lose in a high stress situation.  We started by getting a partner and gauging their peripheral vision by standing behind them with arms at 180 degrees and slowly moving the hands forwards until they could see both hands together.  After this we were shown how to relax key muscle groups in the neck and back with massage and manipulate the neck (gently of course) to the correct position the test was done again and everyone had a marked improvement. 

When we had swapped places and repeated the process we were then directed by Peter to walk around the room without focussing on anything.  Whilst we did this Peter, Paul and Steve walked among us intermittently drawing a blade against students at random.  This was to get the students to focus on the blade, react positively and then try to regain peripheral vision as soon as possible. 

Peter pointed out that his focus is entirely on blade defence but in his own words 'You cannot destroy what you cannot create', you need to know how to attack with a blade if you want any realistic chance of stopping one. 

Next up was Jim McDonnell who we asked along because of his obvious credentials having fought five world champions, Jim is an amazing technician.  A major part in our training is handwork,  especially useful for developing this skill when done properly is focus mitt sparring.  Focus mitt drills are not just about one person throwing punches, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication with both the holder and the puncher working as a team and you are only as good as the person holding the mitts.  In this case the person holding was Pat Leemy, Jim's trainer who has many years experience within the 'fight game' although game is probably the least accurate description of professional boxing. 

Left to Right: Alan Charlton (S.P.A.), Pat Leemy (Jim's Trainer), Jim McDonnell & Glen Clarke (S.P.A). 

 We all like to think we are pretty good on the mitts but it is only when you see this standard of work that you realise you have a long way to go.  After a great display on the mitts Pat took Jim through a typical workout which had all of us in awe of his stamina.  Finally, Jim was kind enough to answer questions from the students about his career, fighting style, ring technique and his mental preparation leading up to fights which to his credit he was not expecting to do.  In particular, the preparation for his fight with Barry McGuigan (which effectively ended McGuigan's career) and psychological games leading up to it were of great interest to all, Jim's amiable style often had us laughing.