Classes
All of our classes are held in Yorkshire, England. We have been running classes in West Yorkshire since 2002 and in North Yorkshire since March 2008.
A monthly membership fee of £35 is charged at the start of each calendar month. New students can start at any time and their membership will be calculated for the remainder of the month.
Weekly attendance is expected; advance warning of non-attendance should be given whenever possible. Students who wish to attend more than one class per week may do so at no extra cost. There are no additional or hidden charges for gradings, belts or certificates. Students do have buy their own body armour and uniforms though - see uniform details below.
Please be aware that all students will practice contact / martial application training from the outset, as well as some fairly demanding developmental work.
Due to the seriously martial nature of our classes and the levels of precision, patience and concentration required to practice these arts, we regret that we are unable to take students who are under 14 years of age.
3 Benefits of Membership
1) Half Price DVDs
All members of the School qualify for a full 50% discount off the price of any of our DVD range. To qualify for this offer, please make sure that you buy your DVDs from us at our classes, rather than from this website.
2) Cut Price Private Tuition Fees
All members also qualify for one third discount off the cost of private lessons, so the rate is £10 per hour instead of £15.
3) Access To Our Private Internet Group And Member's Forum
Here you can talk to us and other students, have your questions answered, download diagrams and syllabuses, order DVDs, uniforms or other equipment, let us know about upcoming holidays, swap Youtube clips, cake recipes or chat about anything else you like.
Class Times and Venues
Please contact us to let us know you are coming. We can provide you with directions or any further information you might require. You can also telephone us on 01723 882 011.
In all of our regular classes we first teach students our United Combat System. This is a powerful unarmed and armed self-defence system in its own right, drawing from Martial Tai Chi™ / Taiji, Bagua, Xingyi, Boxing, Silat and Escrima. From this martial foundation, students who wish to do so may go on to study Xingyi, Bagua and / or Taiji fighting methods and concepts.
West Yorkshire Classes
Mondays and Thursdays 7.30 - 9.30pm
North Bridge Leisure Centre
North Bridge
Halifax
West Yorkshire
HX3 6TE
North Yorkshire Classes
Wednesdays 8 - 10pm
Whitby Leisure Centre
West Cliff
Whitby
North Yorkshire
YO21 3HT
Fridays 7 - 9pm
Scarborough Sports Centre
Filey Road
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO11 2TP
We also run Saturday seminars fortnightly in Scarborough. We do a half day (4 hours) once per month, exploring a traditional style such as Xingyiquan. We also teach a full day (8 hours) intensive UCS seminar once per month - these are particularly useful for our trainee instructors. Please feel free to contact us for more information.
Private tuition is also available
The usual rate is £15 per hour. School members pay £10 per hour. The reason I make my private lessons so cheap (compared to what many instructors charge) is because I want to make tuition sustainable for anyone who is interested, rather than just catering to rich people.
Uniform
SHOES - Soft or flat soled shoes of some description - no modern trainers. Pumps or baseball boots are ideal; any colour.
CLOTHES - Plain black, comfortable clothes that allow freedom of movement. This can either be:
1) Plain black vest, T-shirt or long sleeved top (no logos, slogans, pictures or labels) - either loose or fitted. With black training bottoms - i.e. jogging bottoms; Kung Fu / Martial Arts trousers (ideally these should be plain, but a side-stripe is OK if you've already got some with one on). No jeans or regular trousers.
2) Kung Fu suit - black cotton. No satin or silk. You can order these through us (£25 - £30 depending on size).
3) Black Salwar Kameez.
Please talk to us if you have any problems with the uniform.
Reasons for wearing a uniform:
1) It helps you to keep the rest of your clothes separate, clean and undamaged.
2) It helps you to get into a different mindset for martial training.
3) It allows you full freedom of movement without fear of tearing or stretching.
4) It allows you to roll around on the floor without having to worry about the state of the floor and the effect this might have on your clothes.
5) It helps to develop a sense of group unity.
Other Considerations
Jewellery should ideally not be worn. Where possible please remove wristwatches, rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings etc.
Nails should be kept short and clean.
As training involves lots of close proximity work, students should try to arrive reasonably clean and free from strong smells (such as perfumes or other scents, cigarette smoke etc.)
Students are required not to smoke. It is extremely important that you do not inflict the lethal cocktail of poisons contained within cigarettes on yourself or the people around you (to do so would go against the spirit of the ethical code of the school - defending others and safeguarding yourself). Find out some of the shocking facts about secondary smoking by downloading this NHS leaflet. You might also be interested to discover just how long the health hazards of smoking have been known about. Read this article on Tobacco Effects and Prevention Data showing that health hazards were recorded as far back as 1527. You can also read this fascinating paper from 1916: The Evils of Tobacco and Cigarettes.
If you feel like you need help to give up smoking, check out NHS - Go Smoke Free.
We'd always recommend a completely alcohol and recreational drug-free lifestyle, and students should certainly never ever train while under the influence of intoxicating substances.
