We approach self-protection from a holistic perspective, acknowledging that it is not only about physical strikes and kicks, but also requires mental and emotional resilience and preparedness. Often the ‘attack’ commences well before any physical altercation; and in order to survive, we must be prepared to disrupt the assailant’s planning beforehand and put your escape plan into play if possible. Consequently, we cover such topics as the meaning of violence, survival, situational awareness, avoidance, the power of intuition, making yourself a ‘hard’ target, FEAR management and more.
In the event that a physical confrontation is unavoidable, you need to be prepared to retaliate with ferocity and 100% commitment. We focus on mimicking ‘real world’ scenarios and teach relevant concepts that are effective, easy to learn and recall under duress, applied against single and multiple opponents. The techniques cover a mix of mental alertness, drilled primal responses using empty hands, other body weapons and any environmental weapons at our disposal.
The Approach Self-protection method is a system developed by Eddie Quinn, and is a clever distillation of Pencak Silat Fitrah, with influences from Thai, Filipino and Indonesian Martial Arts to make up a comprehensive dynamic and reliable self-protection system.
The Approach with a structure is different from a martial art style with a syllabus. It is noted for its ability to fill and take up space economically and effectively by using primal heavy hitting using explosive powerful strikes (hammer fist, elbow, knee) that are easy to learn and apply under stress.
It is a highly functional method of self-defense suitable for people from all walks of life, and extremely enjoyable to learn.
Eskrima (also known as Kali and Arnis) is a weapon-based martial art which originated from the Philippines. It covers the use of impact weapons (e.g. rattan stick / baston), edged weapons and empty-hand combat. It is largely different from mainstream martial arts systems in that the novice starts training with weapons right from the start. This type of training helps build manual dexterity and also results in faster conditioned responses to various attacks.
The focus of our training is on the De Campo 1-2-3 Original family system founded by GM Jose Diaz Caballero in 1925. He successfully fought in many Juego Todo matches at the time using his De Campo techniques. The system has a well-designed, easy to follow curriculum passed down from the founder himself. The rigorous drills provide an excellent martial grounding using the efficient and beautiful concepts, and also provide a great physical workout.
We also teach elements from a variety of other FMA systems, namely Doce Pares, amongst others.
Wing Chun is a system of martial arts developed in Southern China. It is a concept-based system that is arguably one of the more practical and effective Kung Fu systems being taught today. It is designed to be structurally faster than other systems, and does not rely on brute strength, and is therefore suited for persons of all ages, body size, athletic ability or natural physical abilities.
It is characterized by its focus on close-quarter hand-to-hand combat, and straightforward efficiency, employing an integration of many scientific principles, bio-dynamics, human anatomy and psychology.
Wing Chun is an excellent vehicle to attaining and sustaining good physical, mental and emotional well-being.
The Kubotan is a trademarked keychain impact self-defense weapon designed by Takayuki Kubota in the late 60’s. It is a useful tool for control and restraint, fist-loading and striking vulnerable parts of the human body. Due to its size, weight and design it resembles an ‘oversize’ key holder, and is therefore easy to carry and conceal.
The concepts and techniques taught are designed to be effective, easily learned and recalled in stressful situations against unarmed or armed opponents. The training is also easily adaptable and transferable to other martial arts and combat systems.
Kubotan training is recommended for anyone seeking to enhance their preparedness for real world violence.
The Piper Knife System is the brainchild of Nigel February from Cape Town. It is a uniquely South African system and is also the first official South African martial art. It essentially is the culmination of an extensive research project conducted over many years studying Cape Town and South African criminal psychology and knife violence. Nigel also drew on elements of other systems such as Indo Malayan Silat, form and western boxing, Xhosa stick fighting and Zulu shield and spear combat concepts, which he was familiar with, to create the system now known as the Piper Knife System.
The curriculum has been systemized into a close-quarter structured knife system aimed at weaponizing ordinary law-abiding citizens to better equip them to effectively counter knife violence using explosive, effective and offensive knife concepts.
If you want to learn a no-nonsense, dynamic, and ever evolving effective knife system, then look no further — give Piper a try. We have Piper Master Guardians, Guardians and Piper Instructors to guide you on your exciting journey.