On the 17th and 18th of May Savate Professors Julie Gabriel and Ollie Batts hosted an Instructor training weekend in Cambridge. GBSF members old and new attended from the all over the country including Birmingham and north east Scotland, some 500 miles away.
Day 1
After a good warm up, day 1 saw DTN Laura Gilbert, Treasurer Jasbir Nagi, and the hosts run through the Blue, Green and White syllabus prior to grading with Initiateurs and attending members. After a briefing on the role of the grading panel Initiateurs and Initiateurs-to-be sat on a mock panel whilst the actual gradings took place. The afternoon’s training finished off with training drills led by Ollie Batts concentrating on decalage and debordement. Newly-awarded Moniteur Jon West led the evening’s drinking and eating at local establishments with those who stayed on in Cambridge.
Day 2
Day 2 started off in the classroom. Ollie Batts and Jasbir Nagi took those present through elements of the Moniteur portfolio. Over two hours various sections were discussed including mandatory units such as devising and delivering a training session and Maintaining a Safe Training Environment. After a short break everyone moved into the gym where Jon West conducted a Canne de Combat training session. The enthusiasm for the cane led to a longer stint than anticipated but meant that those new to cane went away with knowledge of all the strikes and the ability to start sparring in the sport. Canne defence followed and sparked great interest, as did the Savate defence session. Before the day was brought to a close each person gave a 10 minute snapshot of a class taking fellow trainees through elements such as defensive offense and boxing skills.
The weekend was a tremendous success and welcomed new clubs to the GBSF whose enthusiasm for Savate and its associated disciplines.
Congratulations to:
- Kasia Marszalkiewicz-Efta, passed and awarded full blue glove
- Peter Newton, passed and awarded full blue glove
- Andrew Usher, passed and awarded full blue glove
- Andrew Devy, passed and awarded full blue glove
- Oliver Bullock, passed and awarded full green glove
- Jon West, awarded GBSF Moniteur status, Savate and Canne de Combat
- Morgan Alexander, awarded GBSF Moniteur status, Savate and Canne de Combat
- Rafal Tichanow, awarded GBSF Initiateur
- Andrew Usher, awarded GBSF Initiateur