Courses

Sifu Alan Neeld arranges and runs various courses in addition to teaching the Lau Gar syllabus. All these courses are designed to enhance the students' knowledge of both the Lau Gar syllabus and of martial arts in general.

The various courses available to all BKFA students include the following:-

Introduction to Lau Gar Eye Brow Kwon.

This course is designed to introduce students to the many rigours that are required when working with a long weapon. During the course students will learn how to wield the weapon both in attack and defence, how to utilise the length of the weapon to both keep the practitioner safe in defence and make the most of its length, when in attack. Time is spent familiarising students with the weapon itself, learning how to rotate it, to work with it and to control it. Finally students are taught how they can use the Kwon to aid in the development of bone density.

All in all the Introduction to Lau Gar Kwon course is a great first delve into long range weapons and is a must for all serious martial artists.

Introduction to Broadsword (Darn Dao).

This course introduces students to the Lau Gar Broadsword, a totally different concept to that found with the Kwon.

Much shorter than the Kwon, the Darn Dao is equally difficult to master. By introducing students to the basics in this course, Sifu Alan Neeld enables his students to gain much needed knowledge for when working with a shorter weapon later on in their training within the syllabus.

The course includes;

• Understanding how to hold and wield the Sword
• Rotating forward and backward
• Slashing and cutting techniques
• Blocking and deflection
• Movement and postures whilst working with the sword

A three hour course full of detail and technique. This course introduces students to all the various attacking and defensive techniques that are to be found in the first Broad sword set.

The techniques learned during the course are easily transferable to other short weapons such as a stick or umbrella.

These techniques could then be used in everyday defence.

Knife Defence Course

For this course Sifu Alan Neeld invites a practitioner of Eskrima into the club to teach. Eskrima is a Filipino Martial Art that is renowned world-wide for its short stick and knife defence techniques something that Is more and more relevant in todays society. The course is a blend of various knife defence techniques and wrist locks designed to disarm an opponent and ultimately to incapacitate them. Run over three hours, students leave the course with a greater understanding of the various ways knives can be used and more importantly defended against thus leaving the student more confident and able if ever they were to be approached by someone with a knife.

With the prevalence of knives on the streets of Great Britain today this course is designed to give students the best chance to escape from an attacker armed with a knife.

As always when teaching knife defence of any sort, throughout the course students are advised never to take on anyone with a knife unless there is absolutely no other option as one mistake could result in serious injury or death, thus is the serious nature of this course.

Introduction to Chi Na

Taught by a visiting instructor the course introduces students to the deadly art of Chi Na. This has always been a very popular course. Following one of the previous Chi Na courses one of the students were hers to say, "That was three hours of pain but with a big smile on my face." This phrase describes perfectly the way everyone feels following the course, as for most people this is their first introduction to pressure points and the effects manipulating them can have.

The course includes an introduction to the meridians of the body and the destructive way these can be used, however, most of the course is taken up learning and practising various techniques. An eye opening course, the introduction to Chi Na give students an insight into what can be achieved by anyone given the right instruction.

There is no avoiding the pain that is involved with this course as it is an integral part of understanding your opponent's reaction to your actions. By integrating the techniques learned during this course with the foundations of Lau Gar, a student will become a formidable opponent and be able to defeat Someone with a more imposing stature than themselves. Not to be missed.

Fan Course

Not a regular course taught at central England Lau Gar, the fan course introduces students to the subtle yet effective art of defending themselves with just a fan.

The traditional fan, normally used for cooling oneself, was modified to make it martial by exchanging the bamboo spokes normally used for supporting the silk, to metal ones. These spokes were often then sharpened at the tip for attacking purposes.

The fan set learned on the course, whilst not a Lau Gar set was originally taught to some of the black sash students from Central England by Lau Gar Guardian and Sifu Morag Quirk. Whilst the course tends to attract more women than men, it is not a single sex course by any means.

During the course, students learn both attacking and defensive moves and will find themselves at one point rolling around on the floor as they leap into attack. An interesting course for people of all ages. Participants will learn how to manipulate the fan, something that at first seems simple, but proves to be much more complicated and technical. Distraction techniques, defensive and attacking moves are all included culminating it what will become a beautiful set when demonstrated well.

Additional Weapons Courses Organised and Run by the BKFA

In addition to the traditional weapons of Lau Gar a handful of other weapons are available to learn within the association and are often taught by the Lau Gar Guardians. See the BKFA calendar for Guardian Courses for more details. The use of these weapons has often learned from various Masters following BKFA training trips to China. Guardian Courses and Instructional DVD's for the following weapons are available on request. See the BKFA Shop for more details.