Why ‘Revolution’?

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve had some seriously brain-bending discussions covering a range of things some personal, some group-based. One of the topics that came up yesterday was the meaning of the club name Revolution.

The thinking behind the name came from a desire to move away from our old brand – Stockport Submission Fighting – for three reasons.

• The use of location in the name would hinder future growth


• Having fighting in the name scared off many of the people who would find the training environment most beneficial


• Despite our continued delusions, the general population of the UK knows more about Paris Hilton’s ex-dog than they do about Submission Fighting and other forms of MMA

These considerations drove me to look at a name that more effectively portrayed what we do and, more importantly, how and why we do it.

The initial idea was Evolution, hackneyed but relevant. The club had undergone a huge transformation over a short space of time, largely due to the introduction of the CM programme and the rapid improvement of a core group of the club’s members.

This idea grew into Revolution to reflect the cyclical nature of our teaching, always returning to the fundamentals and building a spiral of development that reinforces prior learning rather than a linear route that leaves existing training behind.

More recently the name Revolution has taken on a whole new meaning and seems to be more appropriate due to the recent shifts in the direction of the club.

‘Revolution is a drastic change that usually occurs relatively quickly. This may be a change in the social or political institutions over a relatively short period of time, or a major change in its culture or economy. Some revolutions are led by the majority of the populace of a nation, others by a small band of revolutionaries’
From Wikipedia

The major cultural change is the drive behind the CM Life programme, harnessing the benefits of training in a positive martial arts environment and leveraging them in other aspects of our lives. Why is this drastic? For the most part this is something that gets a lot of lip service but very little actual attention. We believe that understanding yourself is the end goal of training at Revolution, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Yes, you’ll get fit, lose weight, learn to defend yourself, make friends, manage stress and many other things but most of all you will learn to step out of your comfort zone, on a number of levels. The physical training can be challenging and from that challenge a new confidence is forged. Alongside that you will be asked to engage in your training on other levels, we want people to come in and bring new ideas, thoughts, methods and practices to the party. Everyone is able to speak their mind and their heart, there is no need to dumb-down or suppress who you are.

So how does this relate to the name?

Change! Each and every person at Revolution is undergoing a journey of self-discovery, sometimes painful, often frustrating, regularly confusing, but always rewarding. The aim is for everyone to have their own revolution, change your ideas of yourself, fight off the shackles and burdens of expectation and start a new world order. Even if it is just your own world.

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