BLACK BELT ACADEMY COMES TO STONEHAVEN
THE former bodyguard of Mohamed Al Fayed is set to start up a branch of his successful martial arts academy in Stonehaven.
Lee Sansum worked for Mr Al Fayed for five years before setting up the Sansum Black Belt Academy (SBBA) and now teaches internationally on personal awareness, self protection and martial arts.
He has trained special forces, elite military police and front line troops in Afghanistan, using his experience as a former military policeman. Mr Sansum is a black belt in jujitsu, karate and kickboxing.
And with 13 successful SBBA under his belt in Scotland in places such as Elgin, Inverness and Orkney, Mr Sansum and wife Kate are now bringing the academy to Stonehaven.
Stonehaven instructor Malcolm Evans was trained by Mr Sansum himself for three years, and is excited about bringing the classes to the Mearns.
He said: "It is very exciting for one of these schools to be opening in Stonehaven. The opening week will kick off with Master Lee coming through to take the classes alongside myself. SBBA are very well respected throughout the world and have had many kickboxing champions at all levels, including world."
He added: "I am really hoping to make my academy a large part of the Stonehaven community."
The classes will start in mid-April, and will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings at Stonehaven Community Centre.
Kate Sansum, Organisational Director of SBBA, said: "We started up the first school in Forres, in the back of a nightclub, so the academy has come from really humble beginnings. At the moment we have 13 schools and over 500 students across Scotland. We are now at that stage where we are seeing instructors develop out of students, which tends to take three to five years and that's great. Malcolm has been training with us for three years now. It sounds like we have a superb venue in Stonehaven, which we will down to visit shortly and we are really looking forward to starting a school and working in the area."
Mrs Sansum said that the couple were hoping to work as part of the wider community in Stonehaven, as they do elsewhere, incorporating school visits and self protection seminars into the day to day activities of the new group.:
She added: "Over the years we have found out what children need, what their parents need. Lee comes from a strong health protection background, and we teach health and nutrition too so through the medium of martial arts we are able to put across an awful lot of positive information."
Mrs Sansum also urged any local groups or businesses in the area to get in touch if they were interested in having a self protection demonstration.
She said: "If there are any local groups in the Stonehaven area that would like us to get involved, then that is something Lee and I are hoping to do, to give something back to the community."
Anyone interested in the classes should get in touch with Malcolm Evans at sbbastonehaven@btinternet.com or by phone on 07769266994.
Children's classes will run from 6pm to 6.45pm; teenager and adult classes from 7pm to 7.45pm, Mondays and Wednesdays.
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Weather for Stonehaven
Thursday 09 February 2012
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