The Metta Centre is set in a beautiful, unspoilt, rural part of central Italy near Macerata, in the  Le Marche region.  It is situated at the foothills of the Sibillini Mountains on the edge of the Sibillini national park. The scenery was absolutely stunning; the hills were dotted with many castles, churches, rural farmhouses. Although off the beaten track and regular tourist haunts there were several interesting medieval towns to explore nearby, such as Sarnano and Penna San Giovanni.  The centre is sited half way up a hill just off the road which then falls away to a large wooded area behind. Jeff Sawyer and his team have done a fantastic job in restoring the building which was first built as a hotel. There are two sitting rooms, one with a log burning fire. This proved to be very useful and welcome as the week of our visit saw the weather in the region change for the colder!. There is a long television / music room with an extensive library of films and music to suit all tastes. All bedrooms have en suite facilities

Juniors on the large decking area

Charlotte & Megan demonstrating the Tiger & Sheep staff form

On the back of the building is a large conservatory which served as the group dinning room. Had the weather been slightly warmer there was plenty of table and chairs outside, where you could sit and enjoy the views The conservatory and back door leads out onto a large wooden decked area which overlooks the wood and the purpose built training hall. I found this training hall very impressive. It measured approximately 6 metres wide by 20 metres long and the main training area was covered with jigsaw mats. This facility also offered a variety of training weapons and striking pads which proved very useful to our group.

Jeff demonstrating a self-defence move to the adult group

a submission pose

Our group consisted of 19 people, of which 15 were students that had travelled to Italy to train. During our week at the centre, Jeff Sawyer taught various Ju Jitsu techniques from his system for three of our days, and the remainder we covered our own style of Black Tiger Kung Fu. Our training times were 9.30am till 12.30 lunch time, which gave us plenty of time to relax or site see after.

Sifu Paul throwing Dave      &         Nathan throwing Chris

We had organised one day off so that twelve of our group could be taught out-door survival skills by an expert instructor.  Originally the plan was to spend the night camped out on the hillsides, however, due to extreme weather on the day of our course, we were restricted to the local wood instead of going to one of the near by mountains. During the course we learnt valuable skills. The day began with basic shelter building. The group had to find suitable materials such as logs, branches then progressing on to smaller pieces with which to build our shelter. Finally, ending up collecting foliage and dried leaves with which to cover and insulate the shelter. After the shelter was complete we moved on to making fire. Our instructor showed us how to make fire using some string he provided; in fact he even showed us how to make string out of certain bark. We spent time being taught observation techniques i.e. what plants to eat and what to avoid. Later we moved on to preparing dinner which was rabbit.  Some rabbits had been freshly killed ready for us to carry out the skinning, gutting and preparing for the pot.  This we duly did and dinner was extremely tasty
The rabbit was one of the meals we ate at the centre. Originally we had planned to be self catering, but as the group grew larger we thought it may be easier to have the meals organised.  We enjoyed a couple of very tasty home cooked meals provided by the centre. There was a fully equipped kitchen, including dishwasher huge oven and fridge which our group could use as we liked. For the other meals the Metta centre staff arranged for us to visit some traditional local restaurants. We enjoyed some fabulous local food and wine and were made to feel very welcome wherever we went. In Italy every meal is an occasion where people sit down and eat, talk and generally enjoy each others company.  It is a far cry from the rushed fast food environment which prevails back home.

The last night's meal at the centre

During our stay, I found Jeff and his team to all be warm, helpful and generally really nice people that ensured we all enjoyed our stay. Jeff is also a Buddhist, and early one morning at dawn several of our group had arranged to rise with him and meditate. Jeff welcomed them, and showed them to the training hall and provided them with blankets to sit on before he then lead them in the chanting and meditation. They informed me after that they found this to be an uplifting and calming experience, and that the peace and tranquillity of the centre was the perfect place to relax.

One day we travelled to the beach, but it wasn't very warm at the end of October

There was plenty for the non training people to do. As mentioned there was plenty of books, dvds and music to listen too. Nicky Sawyer is also trained in massage so a few of the group enjoyed relaxing that way.

The kids at a local market

In the nearby town of Penne there was unbelievably tucked away a fantastic shoe factory where all the shoes were hand made. There was also a cashmere outlet. Both had some great bargains and good quality products. The local area lent itself to walking and if not training many of the group would head out for a long leisurely walk and bit of exploring. One day we even stumbled across a local wild boar hunt.

The Metta Centre can cater for a variety of groups or individuals. For further information about the centre, please visit there web site at
www.mettacentre.com     or email Bernadette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..