For many years, Peter Consterdine and Geoff Thompson had felt that the UK Martial Arts scene lacked a credible organisation which specifically dealt with the issues of practical martial arts and self defence and which should ideally be run by people who had both years of street experience, as well as being traditional martial artists; not just people who had a theoretical and erroneous belief about how traditional martial arts would work for self defence. Also, even after decades of martial arts in Britain, most ‘style’ organisations were still political in the sense that they were protectionist, prevented their instructors from studying elsewhere, were closed to practical and realistic applications and were often run by people who were happier in a committee than engaged in hard training and being progressive. Peter had interviewed Geoff for an article which was going to appear in the UK’s leading martial arts magazine, Martial Arts Illustrated, and this was going to be the first review of the manuscript for Geoff’s, then unpublished book, ‘Watch My Back.’ During the interview Peter and Geoff got on really well and patently shared many of the same views as to what would and would not work in the street, on the door, or in any violent encounter and how traditional martial arts had a part to play.
