Warrior’s Grappling Academy

Mission Statement

The Warriors Grappling Academy (WGA) was founded in 1986 to cater initially for Sambo/Sombo, but since then we have branched out to many forms of grappling including Belt Wrestling, Kurash, SportCombatSombo, Judo, SportCombatSombo, Submission Wrestling and Pankration.

The Club is fully insured and has always kept up to date with new innovations and regulations. Hence we demand all our coaches to have first aid certificates, be fully qualified and insured. Likewise, all pupils have to join the IBF/BCSA which is recognised by the governing body for Sambo in Great Britain, (the British Sambo Federation) for insurance purposes. The Academy is also affiliated to the British Grappling Association and International Budo Federation.

Grappling should be an enjoyable educational experience - something we Warriors are proud of. Warriors Grappling Academy encourages its students to compete and strive to improve themselves. One way is to participate in grading/belt promotion.

Sambo and CombatSombo use the belt colour system to denote your rank (progression). This method of grading is often used in many other martial arts/combat disciplines and is based on the belt system which was first introduced by Jigaro Kano - the founder of Judo - and has been widely adopted by most martial arts/combat disciplines.

As a Sambo/CombatSombo student progresses through the curriculum, the process of grading occurs to test the student's skills alongside their discipline, leadership skills and humility. The rank (belt) achieved should always be looked upon as an honour; it is not a 'status symbol' and should in no way be treated this way.

The belt system works through the colours starting with white belt and progressing all the way to black belt (known as a Degree). On average it takes approximately three years for a student to progress through the colour belts and reach 1st Degree - Black Belt rank. This achievement is based on attendance, attitude and technical knowledge/ability.

Students in general should grade every 4 - 6 months. Some will move quicker than others. However, it’s not about getting to your goal the quickest; it’s about making the most of your journey towards your goal. The student should always push themselves to understand the techniques and how to use them effectively, ask questions and condition their mind and body, start to see what is possible. The more training, the faster the progression. All our gradings are carried out under the auspices of the various governing bodies we belong to. For examples of the various Sambo/CombatSombo syllabus go to combatsombo.co.uk/grading.htm.

Junior gradings are different to senior gradings as the link above will explain. It is important to remember that children are not mini adults and thus are graded and coached differently. The Academy actively encourages all its pupils to participate in as many varied grappling competitions, courses and gradings as possible. WGA prides itself on the fact that all its coaches have risen within the Academy and we encourage senior grades to become coaches, referees and officials. On behalf of the various national governing bodies we organise courses at the Academy including those which are require for good management, such as First Aid.

WGA is not all about work. We do have a thriving social side organising Award Nights, disco's for all the family, and money raising events to help with the cost of travelling to competitions.

Our Grapplers have County, Area, National, International and World titles, which we are very proud of, but the most important thing is participation.