- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Martials arts boom in London as financiers beat out their stress
- Date: 27th November 2010
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - NOVEMBER 18, 2010) (REUTERS) MEMBERS RUNNING AROUND CAGE AT MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA) CLUB VIEW THROUGH CAGE OF MEMBERS EXERCISING ON MAT MEMBERS EXERCISING IN CAGE MORE OF VIEW THROUGH CAGE OF MEMBERS EXERCISING ON MAT BRITISH BANKER AND CAGE FIGHTER, PATRICK VICKERS, ENTERING CAGE AND PUTTING ON GLOVES CLOSE VIEW OF VICKERS
- Embargoed: 12th December 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7XRFF3HNGORPPH1CBMURAL6JG
- Story Text: A cage fighting gym in London might not immediately come to mind when you think of the UK's financial elite. But it seems white collar workers -- like bankers, accountants and lawyers -- are developing a taste for combat.
Patrick Vickers works at one of the world's top banks during the day and at night he swaps the boardroom for a grapple on the mats.
"It enables you to have (a) an outside interest, which means your work isn't the main thing in you life," he told Reuters Television. "But it also enables you to let off steam when things are getting a little bit hectic."
One in five people regularly practice martial arts in the UK. And now that number is being on the rise by a boom in white collar members, according to a recent market study by Combat, Britain's largest martial arts magazine.
Patrick Vickers says it's a good way to bring in the clients.
"The last fight I had, I had a hundred people from work or clients come and watch me," Vickers said. "But, you know, it still is a people business so the more interesting you are, the more likely people want to deal with you."
But it's not just cages that are pulling in the professionals.
Jon Bullock runs a club for Krav Maga, a form of self-defence used by Israeli Special Forces and says that the growth of his club over the last year has been largely due to the white collar market.
"Especially across the Square Mile, the City of London, right to Canary Wharf -- to the point where we've now opened over 25 classes across the City of London just to meet the demand from the white collar market," he said.
Until recently most martial clubs were run on a small, part-time, scale. But now companies like Krav Maga are investing in professional business models.
"Any martial arts club should be looking to the white collar sector for growth over the next 12 months," Bullock explained. "We fully expect to double in size purely just through the marketing in that area."
And on top of it - it's a very hands-on way of beating the recession. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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