Walk in the Right Way(The event to support Disabled Martial Arts). One hundred and thirty
eight martial arts enthusiasts, including over fifty black belts, gathered on 14 th October 2006 to receive a master class from the very best of the best of Great Britain 's instructors.
Students converged on sleepy rural Worcester coming from every corner of England and Wales . Some instructors travelled even further, two returning early
from Australia and Korea especially to teach at the event.
Walk in the Right Way lived up to its pre-event publicity
as the leading multi-style event of the year. |
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But what did it actually achieve?
Apart from five hours of training from some of the true
greats of British martial arts such as Terry Wingrove,
Chris Crudelli, Master Sken and international stars such as Braulio Estima and Papa John, what did it achieve?
The event achieved its two goals of raising money
and awareness for disabled martial artist.
The pre event publicity consisted of 16 articles in 9
separate publications with a total combined circulation of 660,000.
Whilst magazines as Combat do have regular readers,
circulation figures are always less than readerships.
For example, Birmingham Mail has a circulation figure
of 85,000 and a readership figure of 261,000.
Therefore the minimum number of readers who have read
the Dave Lee Story will be well in excess of half a million.
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If that was not success enough, two radio interviews
reached another estimated 200,000 people. None of
the above include Chris Crulelli's interview in Nuts magazines (305,000 circulation), or the many people who read
about the event on the Walkright.org website and the many other posting around the web.
In short, it is realistic to claim that the Dave Lee Story and disabled martial arts has reached over one million people.
This has raised the profile of disabled martial arts beyond our wildest expectations. |
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Students and instructors alike had ample opportunity to see disabled martial arts in practice with demonstrations given by Kyle and Carl Swaby teenage Kick Boxing Champions and Dave Lee wheelchair martial artist extraordinaire. Many of the participants took part in an Iaido Samurai Sword class given by visually impaired instructor John Brookes.
We are confident, that disabled martial artists will
find many more instructors willing and able to teach
them as a result of Walk in the Right Way Event. |
What about the Money?
Thanks to the main sponsor Butlins and other sponsors
such as Derby University and Gerald Simonds the
event proved to be extremely financially sound. By lunch
time on the day Walk in the Right Way Event had
raised £3,900. Since then there have been a number of very generous donations from individuals who have brought
the total to £4,800.
Dave Lee's Stand-up wheelchair has been ordered
and will be ready for ‘International Day of Disabled
Persons' marked on 3 rd December. We are talking to
Dave Lee about how we can help him raise the balance
for the Sports Wheelchair. |
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So What Next?
Halfway during the planning of Walk in the right
way event my husband declared that, “Hell will freeze over before we do another one.” Just like the Eagles,
when the likes of Chris Crudelli and Terry Wingrove say that they want to do it again next year, there has to be an encore. The Walk in the Right Way 2007 will be announced soon. Any one wishing to sponsor the event can contact Jeffet Jenkins at Info@walkright.org . The website walkright.org will be regularly updated with the latest news as of when it occurs. |
Emailed Comments about the event
Dear Jeffet and David,
Just would like to say thank you for giving us an
opportunity to participate in the Walkright event, and glad to know that
it has served the purpose of raising enough money for the
wheel chair.
It was an enjoyable and fruitful day for Sifu and students.
We thought you should organise similar events in future
as now that you have more experience and contacts, most
of all you have the skills to do so. Thank you and well done.
Best Regards
Eva, Sifu and students |
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Hi Jeffet,
Just wanted to tell you how much i enjoyed the event on saturday, it was a really good experience to train with such a variety of different martial arts teachers. A high spot was also meeting Chris Crudelli who it seems is a fellow brummie! and and all round nice bloke, i was also fortunate enough to do his workshop at the end as well. If anything the only downside was not being able to cram it all in, as a taichi student i was looking forward to trying a different style with Master Yan Liang but unfortunately we ran out of time and missed out,
but aside from that a thoroughly enjoyable day. Let me
know if there are any plans for another one next year!
all the best
Martin |
it was great it should definately be organised again id say more than once a year too!
Rreally nice meeting some other coaches and looking
at the way they taught
students were quick learners and good fun
Salman Mirza |
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Hi Jeffet,
Just a short note to say how privileged and honoured I felt in you asking me to speak on Saturday. I congratulate you
on the success of the event and the monies raised for
David Lee's chair.
If ever you need any help in the future, please feel free
to contact me anytime.
Warmest regards
Ash |
Hi ; My name is Terry Howard and i attended the seminar yesterday and wanted to convey my respect,thanks and admiration not only for the participants but everyone on the day . all i saw most of the time were smiling faces , like myself enjoying the training , with all ages , i think i was the oldest /?????.the instruction was of highest quality and the rapport with and between all was really good . i observed no hint of bad humour or large ego,s . All in all i think you should be rather pleased with the calibre of the event and the underlying benefits of barrier breaking where all can attend an event with no visible prejudice whatsoever.Respect and thanks Terry ps, i was the kungfu guy with the white tee shirt and glasses. |
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Hi Jeffett,
Just to say well done for your great effort on Saturday, there should be more people in the world like
you my darling. Well done to you and your husband
and all that helped.
Good Luck for the future
Master Deadly
WUMA Federation |
Dear Jeffet and David
Just a quick note to say thank you for organising such an amazing educational and inspirational event. The instructors were open and inspiring, giving us a very special insight in to their own styles and art.
Please give my best wishes to Dave, he is an inspiration to us all. I could of easily found myself using a wheelchair... I fractured my spine in two places eight years ago and thanks to good luck and Tai Chi I lead a normal life.
Thanks again
With fond regards |
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Hi guys, Had a great time on Saturday
Best regards, Tony Bull |
Hi again Jeffet ,
i was honoured to be involved in this event with people of this calibre ,Sensei&Sifu and students and celebs . Thanks again Terry |
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