London Internal Martial Arts
Classes: Tuesdays 8-9:30pm @Crofton Park
What are internal martial arts?
The core principle of internal martial arts is the idea that mind and body are deeply interconnected. Practitioners aim to harmonise the body's movements with the mind's intention, leading to efficient and fluid power. This is achieved through:
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Mind-Body Connection: movement with intent. There is a mental focus on the connections within the body and linking those movements from the core, or dantian, to provide a whole body movement.
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Posture - the ‘Frame’: posture is foundational. It acts as the "operating system" for the entire body. It’s not just about standing up straight; it’s a specific, dynamic alignment that maximises efficiency and power.
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Active Relaxation: relaxation does not mean ‘limp’. Instead, relaxation is a deliberate relaxed state, thereby maintaining a ‘ready’ connection. The goal is to develop the body so that it remains actively relaxed for all movement, and training targets areas of the body and actively relaxing them. A relaxed state means the musculature, tendons, ligaments and fascia are all operating in their optimum positions.
Internal Martial Arts Training
This study group based in London focuses on body organisation and training, which does not rely on conventional muscular strength but on a set of exercises to progressively develop whole-body connection and power. We follow Robert John's Seidokan, the School of Stillness and Motion, a modern Japanese martial art founded to systematically develop the highly valued skills known within the Japanese Martial Arts world as Aiki.
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The study group is open to anyone regardless of their background or level who is interested in developing internal strength and working towards a more connected body and movement. Classes typically involve a warm-up followed by exercises that provide the cornerstone to a connected body. These exercises have many variations that can be performed solo or with a partner. Classes will involve a mixture of individual and paired work.
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Is this for me?
Perhaps you have trained in a particular way and reached a level and are thinking, “Why can I not do these movements in the way my Sensei does?”. Or, maybe, you have never done any martial arts, but would like to have more control and awareness over your body. If you are interested in exercising your body in a different way, or if you are looking for an alternative way of learning how to adjust your body to absorb, redirect, and generate power, then ‘yes.’
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Although it takes time and dedication to develop internal connections, you will experience improvements immediately, and the more time you devote to training (outside of class), the sooner you will experience significant results. You will be surprised at what your body can do. The first session is free, so why not?
Who am I?
My name is Alex Damon and I will take the class through the exercises and techniques.
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I have a Dan ranking in Seidokan, and Aunkai, and regularly participate in Pilates. Formerly I trained in Aikido, boxing and rugby.
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Class info and contact
Classes are held on Tuesdays in Crofton Park, Brockley, between 8pm and 9:30pm at St Hilda's Church, Courtrai Road, London SE23 1PL (see map).
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First class is free. All other classes £15 per class. Please pay in cash or by bank transfer on the night. All money goes towards covering the cost of room hire, insurance and administering the study group . Over 18s only.
Track suit and t-shirt are fine as are traditional martial arts gi.
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Email: internalmartialarts@btinternet.com for more info or if you have any questions.
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