Sophie Mei

Kick, sweep and takedown!

To see video highlights CLICK HERE

Girl Grappler

“Organized like a team and fighting like a family. It’s in our ethos,” says John Goldson, owner of at The Forge Martial Arts Centre, Sheffield.

It is written on the wall at the newly refurbished Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Centre. This is not your softly-lit leisure gym, ladies don’t do lunch here, this is the place “to learn to become a man,” says Ross Pettifer, a fulltime professional fighter who trains at this Gracie Barra school.

I think he was trying to reassure me as I stood looking worried in my fluffy jacket and suede boots.

The red and blue coloured mats, a sign of conflict in this city, aroused feelings of uncertainty but Ross and John’s friendliness and banter quickly warmed me into the fighting spirit.

MMA is a full contact combat sport commonly referred to as ‘cage fighting,’ mixing a variety of Martial Arts and fighting techniques. It has been thrown into the spotlight courtesy of Alex “Reidanator” Reid, glamour model Jordan’s other half, who won Celebrity Big Brother 2010.

Reidanator said on his MMA career:

“It was a natural progression for a young lad wanting to find the latest and best style. It’s just the most efficient and effective blend of martial arts really.”

John gives Sophie the hold-down

Top instructor john shares his singlet of secrets

Who does it?

“Anyone can do MMA without stepping into a cage or having a fight. It helps develop fitness and flexibility.”

What are the risks?

“We train smart so we prevent injuries. We’re a team and work together.”

What style?

It’s a mixture of 3 disciplines – Stand-up (boxing, Muay Thai), Clinch (wrestling, throw downs) and Groundwork (grappling).

What do you wear?

“It’s no glitz and glamour but now people tend to wear shorts and t-shirts to train. Professionals wear fingerless gloves for training and beginners usually wear weightier gloves.”

PHEW! Traditionally men are topless and women wear very tight tops for fights inside the cage, along with adequate protection. Luckily for me, no titivating of my top was needed, as I am an amateur in training.

THE LOWDOWN

MMA began underground and without many rules, just a cage and a pair of topless men fighting.

It has now been refined and combines a mix of modern and traditional martial arts with regimented rules attached.

“If anyone is wanting to come here and just fight without thought – they can get out now,” warns John.

The scene has swept into the mainstream arena due to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and pay per view channels. It is now competing with the boxing and wrestling audience’s as it is the latest fighting craze.

The combat sport, originally from Brazil is, based on Vale Tudo. In 1993, MMA was brought into the mainstream by the Gracie family, which gave birth to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the United States.

There is no official rule regulation body in Japan and Europe but as the sport progresses; the promoters have added regulations to protect their fighters.

Gracie Barra Company is a global organization formed by more than 100 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools, The Forge Centre, Sheffield being one of them.

It has the mission of training body, mind and spirit through the highest level of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction as a means for individual development and the strengthening of the family spirit, going beyond the competitive realm.

LETS GET DOWN AND GRAPPLE (use PIX)

DO NOT TRY AT HOME

1)    Bandi kick

Kick with the shin as you step and turn from the side. No need to defend, just retaliate by kicking through the opponents legs to ensure power.

2)    Elbow

After your kick step and follow through with your elbow.

3)    The Shark aka Grapple

On the floor wrap your legs around your opponents head. Pull your opponents arm across your body whilst elbowing their head.

Finally, push your legs off from their hips …

Verdict? Girls can grapple…

It’s definitely an intimate sport but so much fun!

I’d always wanted to try MMA ‘Cage fighting’ after I met a professional fighter in Dubai. I did think it was just two people grappling inside a cage so I was glad of a warm welcome and full explanation of the professionalism involved in MMA.

It’s an addictive sport and a brilliant discipline. I’d love to do it more regularly as it’s great for building strength endurance and a good way of releasing your aggression.

My style? “Pure aggression. Doesn’t give up.”

To which John added:

“There’s a reason why a lot of women don’t fight. They’re far too aggressive.”

To see video highlights CLICK HERE

Forged MMA sessions run Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-8.30 and Saturdays 11 -1 at The Forge Martial Arts centre, Clough Rd, Sheffield http://www.theforge-ma.co.uk

T: 07738 588 925 
E: info@theforge-ma.co.uk

Tweet up:

It started with a tweet 140 characters in total and four businesses from across the country united , as a result of their Twitter connections. The power of Twitter.

Along with a photographer @KTSerendipity, was a Cupcake maker Laura @gencakes, a local stylist Natasha @NatashaLyons and a pregnant woman/wedding planner Phillipa @Kell_Weddings. It was not just an exclusive Tweet up as they invited a make up artist from Doncaster, called Tonia, who is a self confessed ˜Tweetaphobe.

Over the web they constructed an idea to create a glamorous maternity photoshoot in Sheffield’s Leopold Hotel.

Think cupcakes, fashionable maternity wear and a strawberry blonde photographer.

Katy Thompson of Serendipity Photography said:

“When we all met up it was like we’d been friends for years and that’s all down to the support and friendliness of Twitter. We all offer wedding services and have a similar aim of developing our maternity strand – from photography to yummy cupcakes.

Laura Payne of Genii Cupcakes, who is busy baking and tweeting about National Cupcake week said;

“ I wanted to create a cupcake for pregnant women that offered them a little piece of luxury and indulgence, tailored specifically for them using ingredients such as ginger with added benefits for their pregnancy.

I travelled from Southampton with the cupcakes to do the shoot and was touched by the others kindness.

The yummy mummy-to be on the day was Sheffielder Phillipa Barrass of Kellington Weddings. Phillipa was styled by fellow businesswoman and follower Natasha Lyons.

Twitter was launched back in June 2006 and is now one of the largest social network’s as it has engaged 190 million people across the globe with an international average of 65 million tweets a day.

There are even Twitter™ awards across the world and one of which @KTSerendipity has been awarded as she has won the title as one of the top wedding supplier tweeters.After all, over 80% of her suppliers are down to Twitter networking.

The twittering women also invited their ‘followers’ to join them (in reality or online) at Millennium Galleries, Sheffield for a ‘Strawberry Tweet Up Tea Party’ in aid of breast cancer care.

Follow them on twitter @StrawberryTU

You can view the slideshow of the maternity shoot at thestar.co.uk.

By @Sophie Mei for @SheffieldStar

Have your say: What relationships have you developed as a result of social networking?

10 Reasons why people use Twitter (as tweeted by followers);

-       To connect with other businesses

-       To develop new interests and hobbies

-       To share ideas and opinions

-       To interact with celebrities and other well-known figures

-       To keep upto date with the news and gossip in your local area

-       A marketing ploy for most businesses great and small

-       To publish your point of view

-       To stay in regular contact with friends and colleagues

-       A way to discover likeminded people and build new relationships

-       A way to pitch new ideas and investment opportunities

The best way to achieve the above is to tweet with care, personability and most of all tweet with intent.

Watch highlights now

The international human rights campaigner and founder of Protest the Pope, has delivered a controversial speech on lowering the age of consent.

Peter Tatchell, aged 58, is fresh from his Channel 4 documentary on the Papal visit, has now been campaigning to lower the current ‘age of consent’ from 16 to 14.

A young person under the age of 16 can be convicted for murder and at the same time that young person does not have the right to make “their own sexual choices by law.”

Instead young people can be imprisoned for up to five years if they are found engaging in a sexual act with another consenting minor.

He claims that; “We must make the age of consent more realistic and reasonable. Take the case of James Bulger as an example. At the age of 14 the boys were old enough to be convicted of murder but by law would not be old enough to engage in sexual activity.”

He founds is argument on the fact that 14-years-old is the average age when a person has their first sexual contact.  His view is not a popular one amongst faith groups.

24 year-old Hayley Pogson, a childcare worker at a local faith centre disagrees:

“Lowering the age of consent gives the wrong message to those adults who are interested in porn and paedophilia. If anything I think the age of consent should be higher.”

She continues: “Anyone 16 years old and under are not mature enough to engage in a sexual relations. I don’t think they should necessarily be criminalised if it’s consensual – just punished.”

Tatchell argues for a more lenient approach; “We need to lower the age of consent or have a tiered consent policy. So that we do not criminalise people of similar ages who engage in consensual sex.”

He delivered his speech despite the fluid in his lungs and the brain damage he has endured as a result of his endless human rights campaigns.

Sex and the Law was the theme of the national conference that was organized by Centre for HIV and Sexual Health in Sheffield.

Delegates from across the UK attended the conference to discuss topical

and sometimes controversial issues such as pornography, female genital

mutilation, international trafficking and sexual exploitation, sex, the

law and learning disabilities and prostitution and the law.

Its main aim was to provide information on issues concerning human

rights around sex and the law and open-up an informative forum for debate.

Alongside Peter Tatchell, the key speaker’s on the day were, Yusef Azad from the National Aids Trust who argued for the decriminalization of HIV transmission and Kim Stevenson of Plymouth University.

You can watch highlights of the conference and an exclusive interview with Peter Tatchell here

Cinemas are notorious for flashing phone’s, rustling sweets and people slurping, however, with the launch of hit movie The Social Network it feels somewhat correct to revert back to college behaviour.

There we were sat in The Showroom Cinema for our regular Friday film fix and as ever we had out our flashing smart phones this time with a Facebook message saying

‘DELETE MY EX FROM YOUR FACEBOOK. EXPLAIN LATER. THANX’

How apt a message during a film based on the young founder of Facebook (FB). My friend’s message proves how powerful FB is to our young community and the importance your FB ‘ profile’ holds. It somewhat reflects your status within our society and you can even write your own status.

Here’s the lowdown on the film;

Sophie: As the master of Facebook reaches 1 million members or ‘friends’ you realize the stark difference between reality (as he is an unsociable ‘geek’ and far from the popular crowd at college) compared to his FB profile.

Social networking gives you different friends, the friends who only know your best bits.

As Mark Zucherbeg (the founder) cut his real best friend out of picture (according to the film) reminded me of the saying “a friend to many is a friend to no-one” – i.e. you can have a million friends but who actually knows you?

In summary, the film was entertaining and simple. A very subjective film about an inspiring entrepreneur who has made it big at a very young age. Obviously he now has enemies.

The film is very topical as we are now in a society/gov that claims entrepreneurs to be the new society ... but how many people will actually make a success of it?

Capitalism.

Deb Noble: “An interesting film depicting the founding of Facebook. A timely lesson in how not to mix business and pleasure.  Is the Facebook phenomenon worth more than his only true friendship?  I’m sad to say that his friendship seemed less important than what I am sure he knew in his heart to be morally right!  It reminded me that I should never underestimate a good idea, but always keep progression within moral boundaries.”

Ruth Lucas : “It all shows timely lesson in how not to mix business and pleasure. It shows Mark Zucherberg as an idiot because of what his girlfriend did to him

Anna Mac: I liked it! The character of Zuckerburg was very interesting, though it is always strange to see a film showing someone who is still alive. I liked that it came to no definite conclusions and lots of different issues rather than a clear and definite point – and that still at the end you weren’t clear whose side you were on. Quite a cute theme of even massive events being founded on individual and seemingly insignificant details – like his girlfriend dumping him.

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Sophie Mei

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About me

Basic info

 

Gender:

Female

 



Birthday:

03 April

 



 

 



Siblings:

Gemma Slack

Lynette       Loh

Louise       Wilcockson

 



Parents:

Panni Loh

Stephen       John Slack

 



 

 



Interested in:

Women

Men

 



Looking for:

Friendship

Networking

 



 

 



Current location:

Manchester,       United Kingdom

 



Hometown:

Sheffield

 



Political Views:

Very       Liberal

 



Religious views:

Optimistic

 




 

 




 

 




 



Bio

I'm an actress, dancer (bellydancer, street),      presenter and training for a career in broadcast journalism. I love      performing and, alongside my career I also co-own 'MEI International Ltd'      - that specializes in media relations, entertainment and Sophie Mei      Schools (teaching bellydance and cultural arts/languages).

 

My dream is to have a successful company that      encourages social change/equality and have a job as a broadcast journalist      and of course, I'll always be a performer!



 



Favourite Quotations

"I'm a tom boy in fluffy knickers" (about me      by me)

 

"Absolute star quality..." Simon Cowell

 

"Impatience is a virtue"

...See more

Literature has landed…

Read all about it!

Reading and writing is being put back on Sheffield’s map this month as one of the North’s most prestigious literature festival’s returns to the city.

Off the Shelf is an annual celebration, which encompasses some of the most innovative and exciting literature through a diverse programme of walks, talks, events and famous faces.

Now’s the time to take notes from the Time Traveller’s wife author – Audrey Niffenegger or indulge in a wordy debate with Alastair Campbell. The opportunities for literature lovers are never-ending, from young rappers to an all-star line-up.

An all-day Spoken Word Tent opened the festival where members of the public were invited to join local poet Matt Black and friends to the stage outside Sheffield Town Hall.

The festival attracts people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in events from 9th to 30^th October.

This week’s highlights include; An evening with Tony Benn, ‘The Poet Factor’ as well as opportunities to publish your own work or learn from those who have as the Woman’s voices book launch.

Once upon a time, 19 years ago to be exact, the festival began and ever since it has attracted over 20,000 people annually, to its various events. It is organized by the Culture department of Sheffield City Council backed by, The Star.

PHOTO: DEWA BOOK LAUNCH PART OF OFF THE SHELF

To find out more log on to: offtheshelf.org.uk