Photos: Mr Martin Hewlett, Mr Philip Lear

Over 30 Members of the Vision Taekwon-Do Association (VTA) attended a two-day summer camp of Tactical Edge self defence on 29th-30th August in Crowborough, England.

Tactical Edge is a cutting-edge close quarter combat system for both unarmed and armed combat. It is taught to and used by both the military (inc. UK Special Forces) and civilians (inc. law enforcement and martial artists). Tactical Edge founder Mark Davies (5th Degree ITF) travelled from Scotland to Sussex in the south-east of England to teach his combat system to the VTA summer camp.

The host for the event was Mr Philip Lear (5th Degree and AETF Director). Mr Lear, along with Mr Martin Hewlett (6th Degree), assisted Mr Mark Davies across the two tiring days of this hardcore combat art.

The course covered unarmed combatives, as well as defence with knives, self-defence against a handgun, improvised weapons and use of the ‘stinger’. Also covered were Native American arts of war, including how the Native American Indians used the tomahawk in battle. All those who volunteered to be demonstrated on by Mr Davies were made to feel the full effectiveness of the techniques which, despite hurting a lot, made the students appreciate the potency of Tactical Edge.

The weekend ended with a barbeque, where everyone took the opportunity to compare bruises and stories of pain. Everyone enjoyed the two days immensely and we all look forward to seeing Mr Davies again in the future for some more real life self defence.

Report by Matt Gibb (4thDegree)