Owen Clayton – Lead Instructor
Owen was first introduced to martial arts at the age of seven when he started training in Judo.
He began kickboxing at the age of thirteen. However it wasn’t until he met David Hastings, Judo and Hapkido instructor at his school that his eyes were opened much wider to the world of martial arts.
Having been fortunate enough to have the guidance of David Hastings, Norris Wood, and later Jamie Fujii, Owen has explored and studied a variety of styles.
In 2012, whilst teaching Yamabushi Ryu ninjutsu & Jiu Jitsu with the Mountain Warriors school under Richard Gillies, he attended various invitation only sessions with the likes of Stephen Hayes, continuing down the traditional budo path. The same year he attended Vladimir Vasiliev’s seminar on strikes and knife work in London. Something clicked!
Since then he has incorporated Systema practices into his teaching and more and more, his every day life. He attends seminars with the masters as often as possible.
Owen works as a bespoke furniture designer and builder in Brighton and Hove. He is currently the chief instructor and leads the classes at Systema Brighton.
Owen leads Systema Brighton classes at present and is the the best point of contact with the club (text 07508091226).
Dr Sasha Mitrofanov, PhD, Club Manager and Instructor
Originally from Leningrad, Russia, Sasha began his martial arts training in Shotokan Karate when he was 15 years old. He studied karate in total for about 10 years and holds a first degree Black belt under Sensei Tom Martin in Midlands. Seeking something more intuitive, applied and practical, Sasha then studied Personal Protection with John Skillen and Krav Maga with Roger Hunt in Leicestershire and, later, with Gerard Barnett and Ceri Phelps in Swansea, Wales. Sasha has supplemented his martial arts training with practicing Dynamic Hot Yoga . He has also studied salsa dancing for 7 years. Sasha has finally discovered Systema when he turned 40 and has never looked back. He is qualified as an Instructor with Systema Vasiliev. He has trained with Vladimir Vasiliev, Matt Hill, Rob Poyton and David Kirillov. In his main occupation, Sasha is a director of a private psychology company, Inner Wisdom Ltd, that helps people in distress to let go of depression, anxiety, addiction, and to dramatically improve their sense of wellbeing through a combination of cutting-edge linguistic and somatic methods.
Michael Jad Azkoul, Visiting Instructor
Michael first discovered Systema at the Subrosa school in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012. This came after many years exploring various martial arts, never satisfied with any particular method. Finding Systema not only revolutionized his understanding of martial arts, it also influenced his worldview and greatly affected his teaching methodologies across all fields. For the next 5 years he continued taking regular classes at Subrosa Systema, as well as attending seminars with such great masters as Emmanuel Manolakakis, Martin Wheeler, and the Zettler Twins. He continues to deepen his own knowledge, attending classes and seminars whenever possible in Geneva, London, and around the world. Michael has received his Instructor qualification from the most senior Systema Instructor in the West, Vladimir Vasiliev.
Michael has also been studying Solva Therapy in Geneva, a mostly massage-based holistic system with the aim of eliminating chronic pain. Michael integrates this practice into his understanding of Systema and its principles. As well as being a Systema Instructor and massage therapist, Michael is an artist, activist, manager, and educator in Hip Hop culture.