About

For many years, Peter Consterdine and Geoff Thompson had felt that the UK Martial Arts scene lacked a credible organisation which specifically dealt with the issues of practical martial arts and self defence and which should ideally be run by people who had both years of street experience, as well as being traditional martial artists; not just people who had a theoretical and erroneous belief about how traditional martial arts would work for self defence.

Also, even after decades of martial arts in Britain, most ‘style’ organisations were still political in the sense that they were protectionist, prevented their instructors from studying elsewhere, were closed to practical and realistic applications and were often run by people who were happier in a committee than engaged in hard training and being progressive.

Peter had interviewed Geoff for an article which was going to appear in the UK’s leading martial arts magazine, Martial Arts Illustrated, and this was going to be the first review of the manuscript for Geoff’s, then unpublished book, ‘Watch My Back.’ During the interview Peter and Geoff got on really well and patently shared many of the same views as to what would and would not work in the street, on the door, or in any violent encounter and how traditional martial arts had a part to play.

When Peter firmed up his ideas about the British Combat Association, he spoke to Geoff and asked if he wanted to come in as joint Chief Instructor and that was it – the rest, since 1993, as they say, is history.

Since its formation, it can accurately be said, and without fear of contradiction, that the BCA has been ground-breaking in what it has achieved. There has been no other martial arts organisation, before, or since, which has brought under one roof the very, very  best Instructors, in not just practical, combat applications but in ‘core,’ traditional martial arts.

Over the succeeding years the BCA has also provided a platform for many, now well known combat Instructors, to springboard themselves and their organisations into prominence and rightly so. Our instructor cadre reads like a martial arts hall of fame and our prime philosophy is that we are a family, not just an organisation.

The Chief Instructor of the Association, Peter Consterdine, is a 10th Dan in Karate. Peter started his martial arts career in 1964 and in the ’60s and ’70s spent over 8 years as a full Great Britain and England Karate International. In the late 1970s Peter was one of the very few Karate Internationals who entered the then new full contact arena and had early success going on to win the British Middleweight title. Peter added to his Karate skills with many years of study and practise of Chinese systems, particularly Wing Chun.

Throughout the ’70s and into the ’80s Peter worked as a doorman in Manchester and operated the door supervision for his own licensed premises. Peter now runs his own specialist security risk consultancy company and over the past 30 years has operated in nearly 30 countries running Executive Protection details (Bodyguarding), security risk audite  and specialist training.

Peter’s particular area of expertise is in the field of Personal Security where he is recognised as an International expert. On the combative front, it is in the field of impact development and Close Quarter Combat (CQC) that Peter is called upon to instruct and has been a consultant instructor at the UK's National Police Training College as well as an instructor for many other regional police forces. He has authored the definitive works on close protection, self defence and fitness training in his three books – The Modern Bodyguard, Streetwise and Fit To Fight and Travelsafe.

Black Belt magazine in its April 2006 edition rated Peter and Geoff in the top 5 of the 20 best street fighters in the martial arts world.

Peter is renowned for having a reputation as an ultra-hard, uncompromising trainer, with a long traditional background, years of competitive success and many years of handling face to face violence as a profession.

The BCA's Instructor cadre reads like a Who's Who of internationally renowned martail arts and combat specialists.