Updated Family Tree of Black Belts

Below is my updated family tree of black belts (32 black belts in 24 years of running my school):

Simon Ball
Adam Brandejs
Dana Broadhead
Jennifer Brock
Vince Brock
Craig Cote
Janel Cote
Kurtis Cote
Michelle Everitt
Brent Fowler
Justin Franklin
Geordie Gauld
Josh Girges
Michael Greenberg
Graham Harden
Geoff Kent
John McDonald
Chris Newsome
Rick Robson
Michaela Saker
Mike Saker
Morgan Seabrook
Lee Stanley
Scott Southwell
Jesse Toth
Matt Trejo
Alexa Vreman
Brennan Weatherhead
Ryan Welsh
Evan Wiley
Reese Wunnink
Darren Wynes

Our Holiday in Cuba

Hi Everyone,

Happy New Year to all! We had an amazing holiday and spent Dec 23-Jan 5 in Holguin Cuba. The weather was awesome, with temperatures between 30-35 Celsius every day.Here are some photos of our time there.

Noah Bragg Promoted to Junior Black Belt

Last night, Noah Bragg was promoted to Junior Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate after more than 6 years of training at Seabrook Martial Arts Academy in London, Ontario. His testing consisted of full-contact continuous stand-up sparring, a jiu jitsu roll (ground fight), and American Kenpo forms and sets. The pictures on the left were from his Junior Black Belt testing and those on the right are from when he was still a beginner at our school. Congratulations Noah!

When to Use a Modified Mount

One reason to use a modified mount is when the opponent is trying to use an elbow escape to get out of the mount position. When their elbow or hand pushes on our knee, immediately modify the mount to take away their elbow escape attempt. The modified mount is effective because it decreases the likelihood that the person trying to do an elbow escape can hook your foot that is now located in the opponent's stomach. Additionally, a modified mount is more advantageous than a full mount when the opponent rolls over to their side.

Escaping the High Mount Position

When you are being mounted and your opponent is sitting low on your hips, the elbow escape, trap and roll technique, and hip thrusts are very good options to escape. However, these techniques don't work well when the opponent is able to establish a high mount on you. Although it's possible for you to wiggle back down to try these same techniques, sometimes the opponent is effective at maintaining the high mount. In this situation, a good strategy is to place your hands in the opponent's armpits with stiff arms (assuming his hands are on the ground), bump your hips, and to place your feet quickly in the opponent's armpits to come out the back door to escape.

Timothy Brock Promoted to Junior Black Belt

A huge congratulations goes out to Timothy Brock who was promoted to Junior Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate on October 29, 2018. Timothy has been training at Seabrook Martial Arts Academy for over 7 years now, and is now on a path where he will start learning all of the self-defense techniques required for promotion to 1st Degree Black Belt. Congratulations Timothy!

Women's Assault Prevention Seminar

On October 19, 2018, Matt Trejo and I teamed up to teach a women's assault prevention seminar in London, Ontario. The class was packed! We taught how to strike effectively, how to establish a strong base, and how to defend against front chokes, wrist grabs, bear hugs, and to defend if you are on the ground and the opponent is on top of you. We also taught self-defense techniques against hair grabs and rear chokes. More seminars to come!