13 coaches locked, threw and kicked their partners on 19 November 2006 at the National Training Centre to impress the assessors. They had to do that because they were undergoing the unarmed combat accreditation assessment.
Candidates were given 15 minutes to display their unarmed combat skills including defence against an assailant using various weapons. After that, they were assessed on their theoretical knowledge of self-defence.
Most of the candidates could perform reasonably well. However, they found it challenging when it came to answering the questions.
The oldest participant, seventy-year-old Mr Ong Ban Guan, proved that age was of no barrier. He could still execute a mean throw and take a bad fall. Although he could not outperform his younger counterparts, he certainly could draw some admiration from them for being so courageous and sporting.
Mr Milan Kwee, STF President, who witnessed the assessments conducted by Mr Lim Teong Chin and Mr Chin Khee Shin, shared his observations with the participants at the end of the session. While he was impressed with some of the performances, he felt that some of the techniques shown were not practical.
Mr. Kwee should know as he was trained in unarmed combat too!
The results: All 13 coaches were accredited their respective levels ranging from Level 1 to 3.