Congratulations Al

Just want to pass on my sincere Congratulations to Al for his promotion to 5th Dan.
I understand Al will be doing a write up of the grading he went through under Peter Consterdine and really looking forward to reading this.

Well done Al
Sincerely
Stuart

First I heard of that.. nice one mate

Same here, Nice one Al

Nice work Al, congratulations.

Must be the time of year for gradings we have got ours this week @ FFMA.

Catch up with you Sunday.

Tim

Well done mate
well deserved x

Congrats Al.

Peter awarding you it, I'm sure you had to work for it

Hi Guys

Many thanks for the kind compliments - first time I've had a grading mentioned on the world wide web

I've just posted an article on my website - although it's just a bit of waffle really. I don't go into too much detail about what I covered in the session with Peter - I didn't see it as my place to do that - I hope you understand.

http://www.completeselfprotection.com/

But it was nothing secret, although Peter shared some interesting concepts that he teaches with the regulars who go every week. All I can say is these guys are all delivering some of the most powerful, fast, and accurate strikes and combinations I have seen and felt in a long time. Seriously, just holding the pads for these guys was worse than some fights I've had.


As for working hard for it. It was definitely one of the toughest sessions I've done in a long time, particularly from a fitness point of view.

As I mention in my article, it's been a fantastic 22 years. Martial Arts and everything that has gone along with it has shaped my entire life, as have the wonderful people I have been priveleged enough to share the mat with.
I can't wait for the next 22 and everything that it holds.
I'm now surrounded by the most amazing and inspiring people and to top it all, I've got friends posting congratulation messages onto the internet for me.

I'm very flattered - thank you all

well done mate. glad to hear it

Excellent, well done Sir

Well Done Al mate

Well deserved and knowing peter, I am sure you had to work you A&& off for it, many congratulations mate. will catch up soon.

Craig

well done Al, must have been a bit nerve racking!!! or maybe a lot!!! ive got a grading this week also, a red. I would imagine that it would seem many gradings ago compared to your 5th dan!!!! I have to say im a little nervous!!! Well done again.

Thanks again all.

Hi Esther

Just wanted to wish you the best of luck for your grading. You'll be great.

What you are feeling now, during this slow build up period before the event is probably the worst type of nerves/fear you have to manage. It's long and drawn out and gives you're inner negative voice plenty of time to conjure up all manner of stories that will have you fearing the worst, expecting everything to go wrong, doubting your ability, the list goes on.

But once you realise that these are simply stories, you can change them to bring about a different way of feeling, a different emotion that can make you excited about the grading, confident that you're going to be fine and do well.

We conjure stories all the time. Imagine the last time you planned a night out with the girls or prepared for a party or a fun day out. Before it's even happened, you are already expecting to have a good time and as a result, you look forward to the event and get excited at the thought of it.
But it's still only a story you're creating.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, look at the positives, change the story, imagine a great successful outcome and you'll actually start to look forward to the grading. You're performance will be all the much better as a result too.

Yes, I've had lots of gradings. My early Karate gradings used to literally scare me all the way to the toilet. My sister used to be physically sick with nerves. But nothing bad ever really happened, it was all a result of what we conjured up in our minds.

You already train hard at FFMA, you've got the best people around you so I'm sure you're more than ready.

Good luck and have fun.

Taka care

Al

Fantastic news alan well done

Well done Al!

Mike

Alan,

Well done mate you deserve it - also thanks for posting such thoughtful reply to our Esther it was very gracious of you and I loved it - Mark Twain said it all in his famout quote:
" I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened"

See you at the BCA resedential course mate

Regards,
Tony. T

Thanks all

Yeah, looking forward to catching up and meeting up with lots of you guys on the BCA Residential

Take care

AL

Nice little write up Al.
Out of interest, did you kn0ow you were being graded or did it come as a surprise?

That's great news - well done Al
See you at the residential.

Cheers

Andy

Congrats Al!

Awesome.

Well done Al.