Episode 1025 - LudoSport: Lightsaber Combat
In this episode join Andrew chats with Seb Ferris, head of LudoSport Britannia (UK), about the growing sport of lightsaber combat.
LudoSport: Lightsaber Combat - Episode 1025
SUMMARY
In this episode of Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio, host Andrew Adams engages in a conversation with Seb Ferris, head of LudoSport Britannia (UK). They discuss the unique aspects of LudoSport, a combat sport centered around lightsaber combat, and explore Seb's personal journey from a young fencer to a key player in the growth of this international sport. The conversation delves into the structure of LudoSport academies, the challenges of balancing life and training, and the exciting expansion of LudoSport across various countries.
Seb also discusses the growth and community engagement of LudoSport, a unique martial arts sport centered around sword fighting. He elaborates on the structure of competitions, the diverse backgrounds of participants, and the rising standards in tournaments. Ferris shares insights into the future aspirations of LudoSport, including expanding globally and increasing awareness. He also explains how individuals can get involved, the various weapon forms and training methods, and the core principles that guide the community's ethos.
TAKEAWAYS
LudoSport is a modern combat sport inspired by lightsaber combat.
Seb Ferris has been involved in LudoSport for 10 years.
The sport offers a unique movement pattern compared to traditional fencing.
LudoSport has a growing international community.
The sport is still in a phase of rapid growth.
LudoSport has expanded to over 10 countries worldwide.
Academies are licensed by the international LudoSport organization.
LudoSport has eight locations in England and is expanding globally.
Competitions are structured at local, national, and international levels.
The community is diverse, attracting people from various backgrounds.
Competitions are becoming more competitive with rising standards.
Future goals include expanding LudoSport to every continent.
Individuals can get involved by searching for local classes or contacting LudoSport International.
Training includes various weapon forms and emphasizes personal growth.
The community ethos focuses on mutual support and respect among participants.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:21 Exploring LudoSport: A Unique Combat Sport
03:11 Sebastian's Journey into LudoSport
8:22 Navigating Life Changes and LudoSport
10:50 The Growth of LudoSport
10:54 Understanding the Structure of LudoSport Academies
11:25 LudoSport's Growth and Community Engagement
13:05 Understanding Competitions in LudoSport
15:12 Diverse Community and Participant Stories
17:05 Rising Standards in Competitions
18:58 Future Aspirations for LudoSport
19:57 Getting Involved with LudoSport
20:27 Exploring Weapon Forms and Training Methods
31:39 Training Dynamics and Personal Growth
34:53 Core Principles and Community Ethos
To connect with Seb Ferris:
https://www.ludosport.co.uk/
After listening to the episode, it would be exciting for us to know your thoughts about it. Don’t forget to drop them in the comment section down below!
SHOW TRANSCRIPT
Andrew Adams (06:21.358)
Welcome, you're listening or watching to the next episode of Whistlekick martial arts radio. And today I'm joined by Seb Farris. Seb, how are you today? Oh, I'm doing quite well. I'm excited to get into a fun and interesting chat about something that our audience might not know much about, but I'm not going to say what it is yet. That's called a teaser. You got to stick around and find out. Before we get into our chat, I want to make sure that our audience knows about the stuff that we do here at Whistlekick.
Sebastian Ferris (06:30.023)
Hi, I'm great, how are you?
Andrew Adams (06:48.96)
Obviously we have this podcast releasing over, we have released over 1000 episodes with interviews and topics all about martial arts, but that is a small part of what we do. If you go to whistlekick.com, you can find out about all of the things we do. have events throughout the country. We have products that you can purchase, whether it's hats or t-shirts or hoodies. We have books available.
There are training programs, all of that stuff you can find at whistlekick.com. And if you use the code podcast one five, you can save yourself 15 % on almost everything over there. But whistlekick martial arts radio has its own page. whistlekickmarshallartsradio.com is where you go to find show notes on this episode and all of our other episodes there. You'll find transcripts, you'll find pictures, you'll find contact information for a lot of our guests. And you'll also find a button at the top to subscribe to our exclusive newsletter.
What you get through that newsletter? Obviously, you're going to get emails on all of the episodes that we get released, but you're also going to get a free book. So check that out. Whistlekickmarchelarturito.com and the subscribe button at the top. Seb, I'm really excited and have been excited to chat with you for quite a while because you are in your own words, not a martial artist. Would you agree?
Sebastian Ferris (08:12.561)
No, I would agree with that. We, LudoSport, we consider to be a combat sport. So we take a lot of the influence that comes from martial art background. But we don't consider ourselves a martial arts in the same way as other martial arts such as karate or jujitsu or things like
Andrew Adams (08:26.414)
Now you didn't bury the lead. You already mentioned that you're involved heavily with, and we'll get there in a second, Ludo sport, which is if you were to describe Ludo sport in a couple sentences, what would that be?
Sebastian Ferris (08:41.917)
Cool, put me on the spot. I would say Ludovic Sport is a lightsaber combat academy that takes influence from lots of sword combats and creates something fresh, something new, something modernized and brings together an awesome international community to compete under one banner.
Andrew Adams (08:43.424)
You
Andrew Adams (09:04.718)
And you know, a little bit about Ludo sport. You've been involved in this for a little bit of time, right? So let's talk about your history, your history with Ludo sport and, and how you got, how you got started.
Sebastian Ferris (09:11.219)
a little
Sebastian Ferris (09:18.097)
So I've been part of the LudoSport community now for 10 years. So I actually started when I was 13, when I was very, young. Or I suppose in the martial arts community, that's probably not that young to get started in a community. But the UK started with LudoSport in 2014. So it's now in its 11th year. And I've been here for 10 of those. So I've been around for quite a while.
Andrew Adams (09:47.394)
Now, how did you get involved with it when you were 13 years old?
Sebastian Ferris (09:52.475)
So I fenced at the time and I did foil, foil fencing. And I did it for a while and then I, it just wasn't for me. I have loads of friends who I met through fencing who still do it to now and they absolutely love it. But I wanted something slightly different. I personally, for me, the thing that I was really keen with was a slightly different movement pattern rather than kind of the linear pieced fencing. So at the time,
The BBC in the UK had just done a piece on Ludo Sport and I found it, went to a trial session and here we are 10 years later. It didn't take much for me to be convinced.
Andrew Adams (10:35.468)
And talk about what that early training was like, like when you were 13 and you got involved, how did that go? What was it like for a 13 year old getting involved in such a new sport?
Sebastian Ferris (10:47.537)
Yeah, I mean, when I started the sport was only five months, if even that, into the UK. We were the first country outside of Italy. I'm almost certain we were the first country outside of Italy to have the network growing. So because it was so new, was definitely like, you know, it was at the beginning, but what was amazing is seeing something so fresh, evolving kind of really naturally and organically.
For me personally at the time, was the youngest student for a long time in the UK. There were lot of adults rather than children at the time. Now we have more of a mix. There's anyone from the age. I think our youngest member at the moment, not including kind of the children's classes themselves, is 11. And we go all the way up. think our eldest member is in the mid-60s, although they might kill me for telling you that.
But yeah, at the time, think it was just something that I wanted to get really involved in because I wanted to do something different, something fun, and found a community that I really loved and found a sport that I'm really passionate about.
Andrew Adams (11:55.414)
and what kept you involved.
Sebastian Ferris (11:58.779)
everything. mean from the sport itself to the international community, the national community, I think very quickly I felt part of something bigger, which I think was really important. But I think also the thing that's amazing with what we do is we're kind of into the sport because there's so many different ways of fighting within one sport and I think that's what makes us really interesting.
Andrew Adams (13:55.128)
So, you know, at that age, the, when you got started, that's when typically students in martial arts schools anyway, will start to get pulled away from what they're doing. You know, they're getting older, they're getting involved with, you know, girls or boys or doing other sports and things, you know, involved with school. You know, how difficult was it for you at that age to start something that was so new?
Sebastian Ferris (14:22.423)
think initially, so I'd come from a background where I was always, I was always the sort of person who did lots and lots of things. I, know, big into music, big into drama, big into academia. lots of different aspects of my life were kind of, busy at the same time. I think when I started LudoSport, it was very much a go to a weekly class, do your weekly session for two hours, go home. And then that was rinse, repeat. and then the older I got, obviously.
slightly different to the way you guys do it in the U S but GCC's and A levels, which are the kind of national exams we have over here. They did get in the way a little bit. I had to have, you know, a couple of months off here and there, but always coming back whenever I could to make sure that I wasn't missing and missing training and that I could catch up the best I could. so I don't feel like, despite being that weird age where I think you're right, you know, it very often ends up being that people
get pulled away from extracurricular activities, I managed to keep my toes dipped into the pool and keep my hand in at the same time.
Andrew Adams (15:29.742)
And then what about, let's, let's fast forward a bit. you go, you're 13, you go through high school, you start to get into university, you know, life, that's a major life change at that point. How did that affect things?
Sebastian Ferris (15:42.063)
So I actually, so when I started LudoSport, I started in Cheltenham, which is a very small little town in the southwest of the UK. And when I was looking at universities, one of the things that I was trying to work out was where I could go and still train. That was definitely a factor that I was considering at the time. And I ended up going down to Bristol, where one of our biggest academies was at the time. Now a school, which I'll explain probably a little bit more about the system later on.
I went down there, went to Bristol Uni and trained in Bristol. So that did not impact me at all until COVID, of course.
Andrew Adams (16:21.738)
And I'm sure that there are audience members listening that have done similar things. I know, for example, Jeremy, the owner of Whistlekick, he purposely went to college making sure that he would be able to train in schools that were nearby. So I think that's fairly common. Now, let's fast forward from uni to today. know, LudoSport is not this small little thing that was created 11 years ago.
Talk about where it's come from and how it got there. Cause it didn't just happen.
Sebastian Ferris (16:57.947)
No, absolutely not. And I think we're still, we're still in a massive, kind of exponential phase of growth at the moment. especially for example, in the UK, just since, this time last year we've doubled in size. So we've, you know, we're still in a massive phase of expansion, and on an, on an international scale as well. So the, the sport started in 2006. So again, in terms of sport life, life length, it's still really, really, really new.
And it was started by three friends with martial arts backgrounds who decided that they again wanted something fresh, something unique, something different and started thinking about what it would be like to create a sport using the lightsaber, using kind of that weapon, the iconic weapon that everyone knows. So they created the sport and for eight years it was only Italy that really
that really had access to LudoSport until somebody from the UK went over and brought it back. Now we are looking at a network where we have over, I think, well over 10 countries now. I can't tell you exactly how many off the top of my head. But all over, so the UK, all over Europe, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, all over the US as well, from the East Coast to the West Coast and all the way down to Hawaii.
And then we've most recently just opened somewhere in Osaka, in Japan. So very, very excited to see how Japan takes off. think it's definitely gonna stick.
Andrew Adams (18:37.536)
Now let's talk about you mentioned school versus academies and you know how the structure of it works. You know, again, could be similar or not to how we do things in martial arts. So let's let's why don't we head to that topic and figure out what that's like.
Sebastian Ferris (18:54.545)
Yeah, absolutely. So in terms of the way the structure works, the Academy is basically given the license to do the sport by the international company. So they are the ones that orchestrate all of their kind of memberships and things like that and all the fun admin side of things. And the schools are essentially the locations under said Academy. So for example, I run Loot-a-Sport Britannia, which is a UK wide, UK wide Academy.
We have eight locations currently just within England with a couple more already announced and several more to come after that. So then on top of Ludo's Port Britannia, we have three other locations within the UK, which are just their own community, but also well integrated within the UK. We do a lot of things together all the time, despite the fact that we're not part of the same kind of UK banner, if you like. But as we're a small sport, we all see each other all the time, and still very much there's kind of that intra-academy rivalry, inter-school rivalry as well.
which I think is all part of the fun.
Andrew Adams (20:36.968)
And, it, as you mentioned, it's grown globally. you know, obviously you mentioned the U S you just opened in Osaka, to get to that level, there have to be people that trained with you and then took it elsewhere, right. And have created these competitions. So talk a little bit about the sports side of it, right? We, we've been talking about, you know, learning the sword fighting.
but talk a little bit about the competitions and how they run and how they work.
Sebastian Ferris (21:09.533)
So in terms of the, in terms of the competitions, we have several different rated tournaments, obviously, like any sport, we have the kind of open friendly tournaments and things like that. so usually in an, a national scale, have the school level. So your location, then you have your academy level, then national and then international. So international is always moving around. So last year it was in Milan, going back to the home city. The year before that we had Paris and then Stockholm before that.
This year for the first time we are hosting it in the UK. So it will be in Manchester in November, which we're very, very excited for. But it's, yeah, the competitions we have are in referee body as well. And we have two different ways of competing. So whilst we compete everyone in the same tournament, so men, women, all ages, genders, and everything like that.
The one thing we do do is we have two different categories. So we have the war category or the arena category, which is the traditional, how many points can you get by hitting your opponent? Then we have what's called the style category, which I think is, I think is personally, it's more niche. It's more interesting. And essentially this is a category based on technical ability and execution of those techniques. So for example, you have a
a technique, category that's based on basic technique. So how much variation are you showing? And then another category based on movement, how well and effectively you're moving around the arena to control your opponent and control the space and things like that. And then dynamic is kind of the other main one, which is how much are you linking things together? How much are able to change the rhythm and attack and defend as you need to in order to close and get the point or not be killed and concede a point?
So yeah, I think the style judgment is something that's really unique and interesting about our sport.
Andrew Adams (23:12.246)
Now you have to have clientele that are martial artists. It would be so hard to do this type of thing and not be excited as a martial artist to get involved. Can you talk about a little bit about the people that you have drawn to the sport?
Sebastian Ferris (23:31.283)
It's everything, everything, everyone. We have a real mix of people. think that's what also makes our sport really, really amazing as a community. We have people who simply have joined us because they go, lightsabers, you know, obviously there's that kind of instant link to Star Wars, which we don't affiliate ourselves with. To be honest, I always forget that we're anything related with them at all because we are just, for me, we're just, we're just a sport. And I think that that's...
That's the exciting thing is it's kind of, it's come from this thing, but we've moved so far away from that, that it's just now we are our own entity. In terms of clientele, you we have, we have people who are just wanting to do something different, get fitter. We have people who just want to be part of a new community. And we have, of course, the people who come in and go, I reckon I can do really well at this. I'm going to compete at international level. I'm going to try and win as best I can. So it really is kind of,
everything under the sun, every single type of person. And I think again, that's what's so amazing because we draw in everyone from all backgrounds. Again, like I said earlier, all genders and ages as well. And I think that's, it's really awesome to have a community that's so inclusive like that.
Andrew Adams (24:52.905)
And there have to be some fun stories that have happened, things that have happened at tournaments or competitions. Is there anything that we might be able to discuss there?
Sebastian Ferris (25:05.011)
Why do you even start? In terms of tournaments, think when we're talking about the kind of really high level competitions, so national and international level, I think every year we're seeing an increase in level and an increase in ability. I think this past international tournament, we call it Champions Arena, which is our international level tournament. So this past Champions Arena, think across the board, the standard just went up a level.
which is amazing to see because know year on year it's going up and up and up. I was actually refereeing this past year and I think as a referee it was really clear that the level had been going so consistently upwards which was amazing to see.
Andrew Adams (25:49.678)
And where does where does LudoSport go from here? Where do you go with LudoSport to take it to the next level?
Sebastian Ferris (25:58.739)
So think that the main thing at the moment for us is getting people aware of it and getting people kind of interested in it on a global scale, on a national scale. As I said before, the UK has had a really good growth over the past year, but I am fairly confident in saying that it's not just the UK that's had that. think most countries have seen a lot of really, really good growth and interest rates rising over the past couple of years.
The main thing from here is, the main thing I would like to see is kind of that getting into every continent. That's the main thing for me at the moment. So we've just done, we've just moved into Asia, obviously with Japan. So for me, it's one of those things where like Africa and Oceania, Australia, Asia, like those are where I think it would be amazing to see that next. And then we can go, we've got all continents. And I think from there, it'll be so much easier to kind of spread the word and get everyone involved.
Andrew Adams (26:58.132)
And if someone wants to get involved, how would they do that?
Sebastian Ferris (27:01.395)
So it really depends on kind of what level you want to get involved in terms of just becoming a member. The best thing to do is just Google LudoSport, Google your location and see if we're around. Or you can check out ludosport.net as well, which has kind of all that information on there. Or if you want to kind of push it to the next level and go, actually, do you know what? I would really like to teach this. I'd really like to run this. Then get in touch with LudoSport International. Or again, if it's already around in your country and...
you want to expand into a different location, getting in contact with the kind of national board. And I'm sure that they would be really interested to talk to you, to people about starting a new location up and getting people down as instructors and things like that.
Andrew Adams (27:47.878)
And if people wanted to reach out to you directly, because maybe they're in the UK, would it just be through that same website or do you have contact information?
Sebastian Ferris (27:56.179)
We have ludosport.co.uk, is our national website, well, Britannia's national website. So yeah, that's the easiest way to contact or britannia at ludosport.net. That's me that picks up the emails. So if people get in contact through that, they'll get directly in contact with me so they can have a nice chat with me over email.
Andrew Adams (28:12.494)
you
Andrew Adams (28:17.942)
Excellent. What are we missing, Seb? What have we not talked about that we should make sure that the audience knows about Ludo Sport and what you do?
Sebastian Ferris (28:27.751)
I think the main thing that I think is always really exciting to talk about is the way in which the forms work. So I think we have, so we have three weapon types. We have the long saber and then we have the dual sabers and the staff, the saber staff. So I think as soon as I say all three of those, hopefully clear images in your head pop in of who you remember were using each type of weapon and things like that.
And then essentially what we have is those weapons are split into different forms of learning. Now, the idea is that, again, all sports accessible to everyone, of course, how hard you train and how much you apply stuff is entirely individual. But you start with form one. Now, form one takes quite a lot of inspiration from kind of those two handed sword combat martial arts. So things like kendo or Kenjitsu, things like that.
And the idea is that it's simplistic, effective, and has a really good balance of attacking and defending all the time. So, you know, you've got a nice strong guard position in front of you. when you're not attacking or defending to keep, to manage that distance really, really well, trying to keep yourself stable, trying to move around the arena in a circular fashion to kind of, again, like I said, move one way to them, move the other way, but it's trying to do it in the most kind of simple and effective way.
that we can with a saber. The main thing as well with Form 1 is training that initial control. Because of the way in which we work, are really, controlled when we're doing all of our strikes. So we wear no protection apart from gloves and gents at their discretion, obviously wearing a cup. That's advised, very much advised.
The first form, the idea is to give you the basics of movement, the basics of the control with two hands. As you then move into the second form, you're looking at the control with one hand. So instead of using two hands on the saber all the time, we take the other one off and we have a bit more of kind of those narrow entry points with the saber, looking at more, I think more medieval fencing than Olympic fencing, I would say. So kind of those, kind of you imagine those bowels from medieval fencing and things like that.
Sebastian Ferris (30:53.649)
but we don't stab. our motions aren't direct to the body. So we do what's called a strike called a semi-afondo, which is a semi-stab, if you like, a semi-lunge. So it's always this trajectory, but the kind of from the inside to the outside trajectory, but always coming on the outside of the body so that we don't injure our opponent. And again, I think that's something quite niche for us, because obviously foil and things like that go straight towards, because they have all the protection and they can.
So then Form 2 looks at kind of being a bit more explosive and kind of I always like to think of it as like being like a serpent. So you're kind of making your way through the grass and then just randomly just and attack. Form 2 is very much like that. That's the kind of game but also still very fluid, very, very elegant. And then so those are kind of your foundational forms.
And then you move on to something called course. Why the idea is like a why, because it's like a fork in the crossroads. And at that point it's kind of where you start going, Hmm, I really want to focus on this now. I really want to focus on this now. And I think that's the, again, the really interesting thing is after only two years of kind of those foundational forms, you can then start going, actually, my body wants to move like this. I want to work in this way. I'm going to go down that path. So that could be, perhaps you want to go down the path of form three.
which is my preferred case, which is the idea of continuous movement, multi-defensive movements, always trying to set traps, lure your opponent in, lots of mind games. for me, that's a really interesting way of fighting. You could be wanting to do form four, which is much more, I think, unpredictable with the way in which it moves. things like losing balance to then regain balance.
For example, with rolls and jumps and things like that. again, think something you don't see a lot in other sword combats is how to safely roll and safely jump with the weapon. So I think that's really interesting as well. And then form five is basically scare the living daylights out of your opponent whilst remaining as safe as you absolutely can at all times. So a lot of stripes coming outside of the body.
Sebastian Ferris (33:14.099)
at quite a fast speed or quite a tight trajectory with the intention of making your opponent kind of tense up, get all nervous, and then you can close with something else. Again, trying to kind of be this whirlwind of death at the same time. And then forms three, four, and five that I've just mentioned, you can study those with the staff and the daggers as well. So as you can see, there's so many different
parts of the sport. I think this is something that the reason I say, you know, as you when you're saying, what are we missing? This is this is something that I think people don't always don't always understand that kind of face value because it's there's so much to it. There's so much that's being that's being developed by the founders in Italy and is still being developed. So Form 6 and 7 are happening. Form 6 will be previewed this year. So in
the CIS, which is the Scuola Internazionale Superiore. So the Superior International School essentially is what that would translate to for any non-Italian speakers. And essentially what that then means is that's where new instructors are formed, or one of the ways new instructors are formed, but always where the new form is first done. So this year we have Form 6, or the first part of Form 6, because they're going to split it to two just because of the amount of content within it.
Andrew Adams (34:20.43)
you
Sebastian Ferris (34:39.539)
And then over the coming years, we'll get the rest of Form 6 and Form 7 as well. So it's always evolving. And I think that the really exciting thing for us is being part of a live sport where the founders are still around. We were able to get their insight on lot of different things, train with them personally in a lot of different cases. I've been very fortunate that I've been able to train with them quite regularly.
And that's amazing, you know, and to be able to have their constant influence on the sport that they've created, their viewpoint on, you know, their vision, essentially, it's their dream. And I think what's really nice is us being able to then take that and carry it out and keep going with it.
Andrew Adams (35:22.412)
Now you're talking form one, form two, form three, like are these forms that are the same? So for example, could you get six people in a room all doing form one and it's an actual form or is it more movements done in a certain way?
Sebastian Ferris (35:39.635)
That's a really good question. essentially it's, I think the easiest way to explain it is it's a mindset of dueling. It's a mindset of fighting. I think, you know, for example, like I was saying, form one is that kind of simple, effective, stable form, balanced form. But the way in which somebody uses form one will differ to the way in which somebody else uses it.
Some people prefer to be a little bit more direct with things that they're doing. Some people prefer to be more fluid and a little bit more elegant. And I think that's what's really, really nice is you can watch a hundred different people doing Ludo sport and you can go, I know that that is form one and I know that that is form one, but they're very, very different things. And I think that's that kind of, like I was saying before, making it accessible to everyone.
means that some people can use it in a way more athletic way if they are athletically inclined, you know, with their body and things like that. If somebody isn't, they can use it in a much more kind of relaxed, laid back kind of way. And everyone can take each form and use it as they want to. For example, I'm not very flexible. So form four for me was always a little bit of a fear that I had, this kind of irrational fear.
of I don't want to throw myself on the floor, I don't want to jump in the air. And I worked really, really hard with my instructor to kind of get to a point where I felt more comfortable doing those kind of things. And now I have like very little, very little worry about, you know, those kind of things as well. So I think now I'm way more comfortable with the form because I found a way in which even though the form kind of has this, it looks like you need to be kind of a bit more acrobatic. It's actually not true. It's not the case. You just need to be comfortable using the techniques for you. And I think that's why each form is really, interesting because as I was saying before, we want to be able to identify
bit like when you watch karate or when you watch kung fu you know if you're watching karate you're looking for those kind of more tight precise movements if you're watching kung fu you're looking for those kind of more fluid continuous motions I'm sure you know way more about that than I do but they're identifiable with the motions that they're doing and the idea is that Ludo sports should be the same it should be a that person is using this form that person is using this form and they're maybe blending them together in different ways
This is the also exciting bit that I didn't mention before, is, they're not, it's not a competition of form one versus form one, form one versus form two. You can use whatever you know in the arena, which then ends up with, okay, maybe I do an attack from form four and then return to a defense of form three, before finishing with a strike of form two. And this is the really, really exciting thing is the dynamics are always different. Each fight's always different.
And it keeps it fresh all the time because you can always change the way in which you want to fight and change the dynamics of the sport as a whole. So yeah, that's, I think that's a really, really awesome thing that we have going for us is, is that variation. And then if you get bored of that, you can go, well, I'm going to pick up a staff or I'm going to pick up daggers and then I'm going to do the same thing again and change the way in which I'm fighting with those two. So the variation is kind of limitless and that's, that's awesome.
Andrew Adams (39:39.36)
And what's the training itself like? Like someone walks in or you get together with your instructors. Like what is the training itself like?
Sebastian Ferris (39:48.947)
Again, it can be fairly individual. It depends on what level you're training. if you're training kind of, I think the kind of minimum amount that somebody can do is that kind of weekly two hour class. And you know, some people turn up, they do their two hour class, they go home. And that can be the way in which they train. We have some people who have done that and they've got to a very, very high level just by doing that.
And actually, I think those people are the ones to be admired because it means that during those two hours, they're putting in absolutely everything they can to get the most out of it. It's like every sport, you get out what you put in and that improvement comes from how much effort goes in, you know. Then on top of that, there's kind of events outside of your normal class. So maybe there's a workshop where you can go and try a specific form with a different instructor.
or a new weapon or focus on the style judgment I was talking about earlier, focus on the the best way of scoring points or maybe the workshop is just a mobility workshop or a general fitness workshop or those kind of things you know we try and look at everything we can and then on top of that you kind of have the next level which is going up to the instructor level. Now instructors usually do a week-long course
By week long, mean usually nine till five or ten till six every day for a week with an exam at the end. So really quite intense training. And with that, they'll obviously have all the theory and all of that. And then that would be for each form. So for one, for example, you do a week of for one with an exam at the end. So instantly you've kind of got that kind of more intense level of training, but it's needed because ultimately people have to go and then.
teach it to other people so they need to make sure that they understand it really, really in depth. And then you move up to Technico level, which is the, again, Technico translating from Italian as kind of technician. So looking at the people who can then teach new instructors. So it's one of those ones where actually the level of...
Sebastian Ferris (42:06.719)
training physically is probably slightly higher than that of an instructor. What changes a lot is the understanding, being able to go, I need to understand every single thing because I could get asked every single question in this specific form. I love Technico. I love Technico courses because I think you get so much information, so much knowledge. But it depends on how you want to learn. I think, again, those kind of different avenues make our sport interesting because you can kind of...
Go down whichever route you want.
Andrew Adams (42:40.654)
Where else can we go from here? what again, what, I don't know what I don't know. And I want to make sure we hit all of the important points.
Sebastian Ferris (42:53.781)
I think the basis of the important points has been kind of hit. the main thing for me is, again, the thing that I really like about the way we do things is we always say we fight with each other rather than against each other. It's always that kind of ethos of, look, we have our three main principles and this is something I think is really, important is we have security, it's called, so servizio, cura and rispetto. So service, care and respect.
And these are kind of our main, this is our main ethos as a sport is to kind of carry this through, through the sport, through the, through the different courses, through the tournaments as well. And make sure that everyone is being the best version of themselves. Yes, inside the sport, but hopefully also taking that away and doing the same outside of the sport is always a great thing as well. And if we have any kind of influence on that, then amazing. If we can help somebody be a better person, then absolutely great.
but yeah, we, we train kind of, you the idea is that we train to really help each other. if I see that you have a weakness, I don't just continue to exploit that weakness. I'll tell you, I'll say, actually, have you noticed that something you're doing is this? And that can be as an instructor, as a technical, or even just as a fellow athlete. I'll give you that kind of information. And from there you can go, okay, so I need to work on that. Maybe personally, you know how to work on that already.
maybe the person who's informed you is the best person to help you. Maybe your instructor, maybe somebody completely different. But it's that I get better by making you better because by making you better, you're harder for me to train with. And then the level just goes up and up and up. And that's kind of the mentality that we have. I think, I mean, I'm sure that's the same in other martial arts as well. But I think it's something that we try and really push as much as we can is
I can only be the best version of myself if I help you be the best version of yourself.
Andrew Adams (44:57.502)
So, you know, in just a second here, Seb, I'm going to throw it back to you to close this out. But I want to make sure again that the audience knows about the stuff we do here at Whistlekick. Whistlekick.com to find out all of the different things we do, whether you want to purchase a training program or a book or merchandise. WhistlekickMarshallArtsRadio.com is where you'll go for this podcast. And I would be remiss if I didn't at least make sure the audience knows.
patreon.com forward slash whistle kick to help support this show. We bring you this show two episodes a week. have for 10 plus years, all completely for free, but the show does cost money to produce and, uh, make available for all of you out there, which get to receive it for free. So if you're interested in helping support the show, patreon.com forward slash whistle cake would really help us out for as little as $5 a month. That would be amazing.
If you're in the UK, that's probably like three and a half pounds.
Sebastian Ferris (45:58.391)
3.50 something like that.
Andrew Adams (46:00.886)
Yeah. So Seb, how do you want to close us out today? Where do you want to wrap up here with making sure the audience knows about?
Sebastian Ferris (46:09.301)
I think, I think the main thing is kind of the, the, the obvious thing to say, is look, if you're interested, try it out. It's like any sport. It's like any martial art. Don't, don't sit on your hands and wonder, what if I did that? What if I did that? No, come and try it. I think that's the main thing. And most sessions, most locations, if you ask them just to go and try it, they will be all for it. so please do, please do take a look. If you're, if you're UK based again, like I said before, ludosport.co.uk.
have us look us up on there, get in touch via email or through the website as well. We have loads of different links. So you should be able to find your locations or also you can email international at udersport.net if you want to bring it to you. So yeah, absolutely keep spreading the word and hopefully I'll see everyone in class at some point.