A follow on from this weekends National Training. A little Q&A with our very own head marshal Andrew Mowgli.
Q: Do you think all fighters should know the rules?
A: Of course, it's important fighters read and understand the rules, it stops pointless arguments. It would be a nightmare if fighters didn't understand them.
Q: What do you think puts people off becoming a marshal?
A: They can be long days on your feet that get tiring. You can't just go socialise with friends at events as you please and there's the occasional times with having to deal with fighters who aren't happy with outcomes of fights, or some people I guess just find it boring to do.
Q: What’s are your thoughts on the new regulations?
A: Personally I'm a fan of the new rules it's made things clearer with less grey areas. The rule about being allowed to touch the floor with a hand after a throw is something I wish was in place when I was fighting.
Q: What are your plans for the UK marshals?
A: There's a couple of guys who I'm waiting on BL questionnaire before making them officially national Marshalls, one person in particular I'm really happy with is David. He helped me last year at Tournament of Deeds and I think since he's Marshalled almost every UK tournament, not being a fighter also helps massively as I know I don't need to worry about him disappearing to fight. I held the first Marshall training at a national training this past weekend that went well, doing it there means I could also have the guys Marshalling a fight in a setting where the outcome doesn't matter.
Q: What made you decided to be a marshal?
A: I stopped fighting but still wanted to be involved and help White Company out so they could hold tournaments etc. There was a Marshall seminar in the UK organised by Antony that I went to and passed the theory side, then onto dynamo in Moscow for my practical, and now I'm the head UK Marshall and responsible for it all.
Q: How many marshals do you think we need in the UK?
A: I don't think there's really a limit. It would be great to have as many as possible and that way people didn't have to Marshall every round of every fight, but it's difficult to find people who just want to Marshall. It is a very long day at a tournament where you're doing everything.
Q: What makes a good marshal in your opinion?
A: In my opinion I think the best Marshalls are made by ex fighters who were involved with the sport for a while. On top of that coming to any trainings if there are any, whether that's a Marshall training or just a normal national training to practise, reading the rules making sure you understand and not being afraid to ask questions about what you aren't sure on. I still ask questions to the Marshalls above me.
Q: How do you become a marshal?
A: First step is reading rules, then volunteering to come help at a 3 tournaments or 2 and a Marshall training, working alongside an accredited Marshall. Once this is done and they believe you are ready you take a national certification exam to become a National Marshall, the next step is regional Marshall. For this you need to work a tournament alongside the regional head Marshall who will assess how you're doing tell you if you need to work on things still or are ready for the regional test which is more in depth. There is then an interview with them and once the interview is passed you become a regional marshall.
After this becoming buhurt league certified is done by talking to your regional head about gaining this next level, for more in depth explanation its best to read the post on the buhurt league Facebook page.
A massive thank you to Andrew Mowgli for allowing me to ask these questions and for answering them honestly.
We are always in need of more marshals in the UK, even more so with there being more tournaments being held in the UK.
If this is something you are looking to do and want to become a marshal please do not hesitate to get in touch for more information.
