Simon Wells Kali Seminar – May 2018

Robin French with Simon Wells and Nick Opyrchal - May 2018

Whilst I usually write about the Muay Thai seminars I have attended with Simon Wells, on this occasion I get to write about one of his Kali seminars that I managed to get to; this time at Laurence Sandum’s Academy in Witham.

With experience in a variety of Filipino Martial Art systems, Guro Simon has a quite unique vantage point to compare the pros and cons of each, and comment on in what way the styles are similar and also where they are not.

This particular session focussed for the most part on Lapunti Arnis de Abanico; more specifically the street fighting combination series.

After warming up with some basic angles, Guro Simon worked us all through the first two follow up combinations.

Next, we worked through the defences for each of the twelve angles; first dealing with the incoming strike itself, before then following up with either the first or second follow up combination.

Rounding out the seminar, on the request of one of the participants, Guro Simon showed some empty hand defences against a single stick; material he learnt from GM Inting Karin.

It is always great to see Guro Simon, not just for the training, but also to witness the knowledge, enthusiasm, and obvious love for the arts he teaches. Thank you for your time, and generosity with the information.

Thanks also to Guro Simon’s assistant for the day, Nick Opyrchal; with who it’s always a pleasure to spend time with.

Thank you to my long term training partner, David Farmer; always great to train buddy!

Final thank you to Guro Laurence Sandum for hosting yet another World-class session; I look forward to the next one!