Phil has been training for over 10 years in a number of styles and has
enjoyed a long friendship with Bushido Martial Arts as both a student and,
until now, a guest instructor.
Having started in traditional and then freestyle karate he received his 1st
Dan black belt in 1998. Having reached this milestone he then began to
actively research other arts and approaches to broaden his scope as both a
student and an instructor. Inspired by watching the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, Phil questioned his ability to make his training work under
pressure and concentrated on groundfighting and reality-based systems.
Looking at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, shootfighting and submission
fighting before graduating to and competing in the mixed martial arts style
of Vale Tudo (portuguese for Anything Goes), Phil continues to use the
latest in martial arts thinking, practice and application to push the
boundaries of his martial knowledge.
To complement these ground skills Phil has also studied Muay Thai ‹ a form
of kickboxing from Thailand that specialises in low kicks, knees and elbows,
Jeet Kune Do ‹ the system of fighting concepts developed by Bruce Lee and
Kali Silat ‹ a filipino martial art that focuses on stick and knife work and
techniques derived from those weapons.
Alongside his martial studies he has studied psychology, as an aid to
understanding violent behaviour and our responses to it. By also studying
how people learn Phil has developed his skills as an instructor by being
able to match teaching methods to a students learning style.
Incredibly active in the UK Mixed Martial Arts scene he is a senior staff
member of the massive Submission Fighting UK site (http://www.sfuk.net) and
a respected writer and commentator on martial arts.
