I just figured out how to link youtube to the Staff Blog....I wanted to share this amazing video of an 84 year old Bagua Zhang Master....Wow! Now that gives us something to shoot for...to be that healthy at 84...here's too it! Cheers!!

Ba Gua Zhang Mr Sha Guo Zheng 84 year old

Happy New Year!

Thursday 12.30.10 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - Bob, Read and Sandy - I led the 10 with a variation for #6 and detail on #7 - reviewed arm positions for Old 8 Palms and guard to the mirror - walked individual circles - reviewed the first Yin Fu set ...ran out of time

Tai Chi - large class 14-15 - Read, Marty, Sandy and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups with detail and commentary for two new (visiting) students - broke into two groups with the larger group working on the Dance while I took the beginners through some basic drills designed to develop curiosity about awareness based exercise - ended with a round of the solo form to the music....excellent energy in the room;>)
Note: Very nice to have Max and his two friends in the room...they really added a nice energy....one of his friends is living in Haiti and reports that it's NOT like the media is saying it is there...surprise, surprise!!

Little Dragons - very small class - Sailor, Skyler, Christopher and Gabriel - No help, Marcia called in sick, Colleen had already told me she wouldn't be able to make it - I did receive three calls from Taylor, Tristen and Nick who for various reasons couldn't make it - I ran a 'loose' class - starting with Sailor leading the running around the room - went on to the 10 - ended with some SD and pad work for the hammer fist...the kids were great;.)

Youth Karate - very small class - Skyler, Gabriel, Jack R. (green belt) and Scott M. assisting - I asked for suggestions and Jack wanted to work on forward rolls, so that's what we did for most of the class with Jack and Scott working on one mat and Skyler and Gabriel on the other, everyone was doing pretty well by the end - I went on to backward falling practice (slapping the mat) and added a foot sweep exercise leading up to the 'bridge' take down for Jack and Scott - ended with a Kata - again I took the two yellow belts and Scott worked with Jack R.

Staff Training - Scott was the only one there initially but Read came in for a few minutes at the end - I worked with Scott on Chinto and Kusanku detail with several developmental drills and bonkai as needed

Note: Scott M. is now officially a "Student Leader" (junior instructor) along with Teryn, Thomas and Lily - He has been doing an outstanding job helping with our younger students....such an important part of our Studio and the future of the systems....Congratulations Scott!!

Adult Karate - small class - Norm, Scott, Lily, Lana and Joshua - I led a short standing, explaining the taoist longevity breathing - went on to the 10 with explanation and detail for Joshua - worked on vertical punching and middle block with detail and explanation - went on to work on kata's - I worked with Joshua on Nihanchi and Norm took the others, working on detail in Nihanchi and Seisan - near the end of class I worked with Lana on detail of seiuchin and Norm worked with Lily and Scott on Kusanku - all in all a good class...the last one for 2010!!

Hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve!
Happy New Year!!!

Wed. 12.29.10 class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - small/med class 8-10 - Sensei Sullivan, Thomas, Scott assisting - I led the 10 - paired up with lower ranks with higher ranks and worked on basics to a pad, snap kick, back fist, cross and round house kick - went on to one on one Kata with corrections - ended with SD and a short run around the room....ran out of time!

T'ai Chi - small/med class 10-12 - Marcia assisting - Marcia led the qigong warm ups - I led a standing meditation with detail and talking about 'why' it works and also talked about the difficulty in developing a personal meditation practice and of course the benefits - went on to 90 degree stance work emphasizing the waist controlling the foot pivot and the correct width of the stance itself - went on to forward moving 90 degree stance - reviewed correct arm circling with consistent peng energy - then put it all together with brush knee twist to the mirror - went on to the solo form.....ran out of time!

Modern Arnis - small/med class 10  - Justin, Luke and Marcia assisting - started with one stick against two, with block, check, counter - added punyo passing - went on to tapi tapi with single sticks, went through several basic series of entering and exiting, talked about the foot work and correct eye focus (ie NOT on the sticks), emphasised punyo passing - reviewed stick and empty hand anyo's - ran out of time...again!!

Note: It was great to have Sensei John Sullivan in the room for these classes! Really great energy and enthusiasm from John! So good for the groups, John and me too!! I just love it when long lost students return for a visit/class....it really makes my day;.)

Season's Greetings from Don Miller on the Great Wall of China

I just received this Season's Greetings photo from Don! Looks like a nice place to be practicing...eh?

Tuesday 12.28.10 class notes - Sifu

Staff training - Phil, Luke, Marty, Read and Dale - I came in a bit late...talked about how the blog posts are helping me...worked on the counter for counter locking series from Roland Rivera.....went on to review and introduce to the next class the circular knife disarm drill from Roland

Morning Tai Chi - med/large class 12-14 - Read, Marty, Bob, Phil and Dale assisting - started with the circular knife drill above - went on to a short warm up - ended with a slow round with explanation and detail - talked about keeping peng energy throughout the circles and the detail in single whip

Youth Karate - small class 2-4 - Colleen and Scott assisting - I tested Christopher on the 10, he had the sequence, still having some problems with the rt/left side separation - I then led the group through the 10 - we then broke into two groups with Colleen working with Gabriel and Scott working with Christopher, private lessons in basics, kata and SD - Good job Colleen and Scott;>)

Afternoon/evening Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Marcia, Read and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - went on to a 10-15 minute standing meditation with the 5 basic arm postures, talked about the principles and the roundness of the arms postures - went on to a couple of simple qigong exercises to release turbid chi - broke into two groups - Marcia and Read led the group through a round of the solo form and I worked with Scott and Chris on part two of the form - after the form Read worked the Dance with James and Marcia with Dale, I continued Scott and Chris on the solo form

Bagua Zhang - three private students - Read, Marcia and Scott - (Sandy and Janee called in sick) - started with holding the basic guard posture to the mirror - went on to walking individual circles with smooth changes of direction when needed, pivoting around the inside index finger, added changing to backward walking - Scott continued with the circle walking - Read, Marcia and I reviewed the first Yin Fu set concentrating on change #6 and #8 (great adjustment to change #6 Marcia!) - went on to review the Ch'eng T'ing Hwa animal set...got up to change #7

Monday, December 27, 2010 - Adult Karate

We had an excellent open workout for adult karate class. It was just Scott, Josh, Jack and me. Scott did a great job with Josh going over some fundamentals. They started out with the 10 and some kata. For some reason, Josh is learning Seisan first - we're not sure if this is intentional. They also worked on some kicks and backwards throw lock. I noticed them doing the muscle memory side kick drill. I could tell that Scott was being very detailed with all of the stances and hand positions.

While that was going on, I was helping Jack with Kusanku. We worked on a couple details and then added the last couple moves to his sequence. We also went over Sanchin together. Next we did a staff warmup. Jack has a staff practice, but we were able to find some new exercises for him to learn. A question that popped up was how many strikes and to what targets are in the rodunda drill. We did the first couple moves from Tai Chi staff and I discoverd questions about what the stances are exactly in that form. We finished off by having Jack reviewing through the new stuff he learned to make sure he retained it. I saw Scott doing the same with Josh.

All in all, I thought it was a great class. It was very productive and I think everyone had a good time.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.27.2010

Small class: Luke, Jess, Colleen, Scott.

Did a quick warm-up with some single and double stick twirling. Moved on to review the stick forms 1-4 on the right and the left side. I had Scott follow along as best he could through all the stick forms on both sides. Moved on to empty hand form review. Had Scott follow along for form two and then Luke and I worked a bit with Colleen and Jess on form three.

Did a quick review of the Rolland R. 2-person locking series on both right and left sides.

Moved on to a review of the slap off drill with the all 12 angles of attack on both left and right sides. Then transitioned to disarms right and left sides.

Ended the class with a formal presentation of a Yellow Belt to Scott.

Really nice to work the left side and see where the body mind connections were working, and where they had lots of room for improvement.

Good class.

Adult Karate class notes - Thursday 12.23.10 - Ron

Ten souls attending. Ron led class with Norm and Colleen assisting
We started with warm up shadow boxing, everyone broke a light sweat before we moved to stretching and conditioning. Josh was there and we went over some basic techniques and stance review including introducing him to side kick and roundhouse kicks. Norman gave him attention and instruction on much of this. I think Josh had a good time. Requests were to continue to go over some form detail, so Colleen lead a group slowly through the advanced forms and Norm volunteered to lead a group through the first two. Each took a group of five and then switched. There were friendly discussions on detail. There was time for some bag work focusing on self defense techniques rather than sparring techniques, and some free style self defense after that. What a pleasure to be involved here this evening. There was some high level of intensity with no injuries.


Ron 

Notes on 12/23/2010 Staff Training

I went to the Staff open training this Thursday, December 23rd, and did the T'ai Chi Dance with Marcia and the T'ai Chi sword form with Marcia and Colleen. I found out that Marcia has learned the fan form and even taken some lessons with Diane Cannon so we are going to revive it for ourselves.

Comments from my banjo teacher that could also apply to martial arts training: "The hard part for most people are to take the time to identify and extract the problem areas, and to have the patience to slowly practice them."

Another interesting quote: "A genuine education enables one to acquire, for oneself, the skills one happens, at a given stage of one's life, to need." (From the Foreward to Mathematics - From the Birth of Numbers)

Have a great holiday.

Read

Merry Everything from Sifu

Many, many thanks to each and everyone of you, for what you do, day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year.....you make the Studio what it is.....a wonderful sanctuary for growth and development, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.....You're the BEST!!

Happy Holiday's
Sifu

Thursday 12.23.10 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - two private students Read and Sandy (Bob called in sick and Wayne is out until further notice) - worked in individual circles the firs three changes in the first Yin Fun set - worked on the basic guard posture to the mirror - worked on the finger thrust timing in the second change - practiced an application for the first part of change three

Tai Chi - small/med size class 7-9 - Read , Sandy, Marty and Dale assisting - I led the 30 qigong warm ups - did a round without music, holding postures in part one, teaching and explaining parts of the form throughout, with several repetitions at the end of the form - after class I did a full round (both sides) with birthday boy...Phil - Happy Birthday Phil!!!

Little Dragons - small class 6-8 - Marcia and Colleen assisting - we worked basic kicks to the pads and body shields for most of the class - went on to the running routine - ended with a review of Nihanchi Kata

Youth Karate - small class 5-8 - Marcia, Colleen and Scott assisting - Scott led the 10 - broke into three groups to work on Kata, SD and Basics

Wed. 12.22.10 class notes - Sifu

I had an unusually great set of classes today! The group of students, the staff and assistance that was present was outstanding....the Chi in the room was wonderful....Happy Holiday's and thanks! What a gift;.)

Youth Karate - med size class 12-14 - Dennis, Marcia, Teryn and Thomas assisting - started with the spider walk stance work, then lunge, back, back, lunge with back-fist then cross - went on to bar stretching with proper front thrust kick position, then side kick with proper foot position, did the guided leg with the foot against the abdomen to give resistance exercise for  muscle memory training for the side kick (excellent drill), went on to free style line work with partner. moving back with skill and blocks - reviewed Kata's - went on to free sparring - great class - good energy - great help!!

Tai Chi - med size class 12-14 - Marcia and Phil assisting - I led the 30 qigong warm ups, talked about the dumb bell exercise with wuji squats - went on to standing meditation, I did corrections to the standing; posture, tension and rooting - went on to the heaven/earth/man qigong and the centering the breath qigong - Phil worked with James on the Dance and I worked with the rest of the group on part one and the beginning of part two - concentrated on the width of the stance and the 5 'lines' - again...great class!

Arnis - small class 6 - Marcia, Justin and Phil assisting - ran the group through white to yellow belt material and promoted Dave and Scott to yellow belt at the end of class - the whole group looked good - started with Sinawalli's and redonda with cane, then empty hand, then with knife - went on to applications from sinawalli and redonda - started with whole finger lock, then the thumb lock variation of center lock, then backward throw to the ground (note: when working with younger folks, always go to the ground with the locks, unless they are dealing with an injury), went on to standing center lock with the progressive stance work ala the first empty hand anyo - watched the first empty hand anyo one at a time (looked good) - went on to block, check, counter with triangle stance work - then the 12 disarms - watched the first stick anyo (looked good) - another great class!!

Congratulations to Dave and Scott on their promotions to Yellow Belt in Modern Arnis - great job staff, it's reflected in their skill!

Tuesday 12.21.10 class notes - Sifu

Private student/staff class - Sandy, Reed, Marty and Dale - reviewed the dance on both sides - I talked about the 'grinding' exercise from Don Miller - I taught the basic (stationary) tai chi spear exercise

Tai Chi - small class 7-8 - Reid, Marty and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups and standing meditation and the grand circulation qigong - broke into pairs to work on the Dance - I worked the end of part one with Shira and Marty, concentrating on Chop and Lower Deflect Parry and Punch

Youth Karate - small class 7 - Jack Fox assisting (Colleen called in sick) - started right off with Nihanchi several times, I corrected the double punch in the middle and at the end for Jack, concentrating on the relaxing, extending and retracting the strikes, also talked about the importance and quality of the horse stance - went on to Seisan for several reps, first for detail and sequence and then for power and speed, I introduced a two person drill for the chicken neck block to train the position and jing for Riley and talked about the importance of a proper fist and knife hand (for the twins), we worked the Kata's with that in mind (it looked much better with good hand positions) - Jack took the twins through Seuichin and Wansu with corrections and detail (nice job with that Jack) Riley needed Seisan Kata practice so we kept on with that for several more reps..his Kata was weak and he was having trouble remembering the sequence - went on to SD I worked the first 10 with Yianni and Riley, again Riley's tech's were very weak, barely able to remember the sequence's of the first 5, the second 5 were a bit better

Tai Chi - small class 4 - Marcia and Dale assisting - I taught the 10 exercises with detail - led through a standing meditation and the '21' qigong - practiced the first two sections of the solo form - broke into pairs to work on the Dance - worked part 3 extensively -

Bagua Zhang - one private student Marcia - we worked on the first Yin Fu set, concentrating on change #7 and #8 - worked on the first change in the second Yin Fu set - I introduced a bag striking drill for the deadly low body shot

Note: I received more 'sick' calls yesterday than any other day in memory! Scary!!

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 12.20.10 - Ron

Monday December 20 Karate.
Great group with Seinsei Kratz, and Mr. Reid attending. Warmed up with shadow boxing, then to the ten exercises. Continued with stretching, then sit-ups and pushups. Went through all the forms, lead well by Colleen, Thomas, Scott, Angus, myself, and Jason. The form leaders hit a real solid, unhurried tempo and stuck to it. Class followed well,and was clearly thinking about detail and good body mechanics. Went through, short cane, Low family staff, Broad Sword, and Tai Chi staff drills on right and left sides with everyone who had forms. Several folks got one on one instruction on form detail and sequence. Short break to gear up, and we had about twenty five minutes for free sparring. I talked just briefly about how I see the guard as a strong self defense position, when we are past the point of descalating the situation. The guard is dynamic, with moving the elbows and hands, trying to ward off the first attack without taking too much damage. Jason agreed and added that protecting the head in the first unexpected assault would be most important. Five minutes for some calming standing meditation and the night was over.

Youth Karate class notes Saturday 12.18.10 - Sensei Kratz

Happy Holidays,
  
Sat. 0930 youth class, Sifu ran class, with several of us assisting. Dicussion surrounding focus and concentration with the younger ones. Ended with group katas and then break down. We had a date set for Sat. Jan 22nd for a youth eval at this point.  If anyone has any input please let it be known. It looks now that the date may not work due to a few students not available for the weekend. We may have promote during class times individually.  Scheduling is very difficult.
  
1030 class, started with some staff work with the ten exercises, then a spear drill which needed some presentation work on my part.  Second half of class worked on five joint locks/throws/control techiques from the partner simply standing with their arms down at their sides.  Arm bar, bent wrist lock, backwards throw, center lock and single shoulder lock. Discussed initial attachment and grab.     


Hope all have a peaceful holiday season.     


Mr. Kratz

Saturday 12.18.10 class notes - Sifu

T'ai Chi - small class 6-7 - Marty led the class - Sandy assisted - I came in at the end of class, talked about Gong Fu Power, the line and the compressing and releasing of it in the solo form - we did a Round to the music

Youth Karate first class - med size class 10-14 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen, Lily assisting - I led the 10 with detail throughout - went on to basics in line, working especially on vertical punching detail, broke into pairs for Wallace roundhouse kick drill, reviewed the first few SD. The group was very weak on these, they need to be reviewed more often gang. I did an accuracy/attention to detail exercise for hammer fist to TMJ, knee to solar plexus and groin and palm heel to nose, went back to the SD tech. - reviewed the Kata's with emphasis on correct punching.

Youth Karate second class - med size class 10-12 - Sensei Kratz led the class with assistance from Colleen, Lily, Teryn and Scott - Sensei led the 10 with staff (very cool), went on the Yang family T'ai Chi Spear exercise from Leung Kay-Chi and Master Liang, went on to a number of locks with the locker approaching the partner who was standing with arms at the side....I thought this was an excellent and unique way of practicing the locks....great job Sensei Kratz

Saturday 12.18.10 - T'ai Chi class notes - Marty

We had a good class with 7 including myself,Sandy, Phil, Nancy,Pat, Wess,and Mark. Insted of standing in a circle we did meditation sitting,it was good, then I led through the 21 Qigong.
Everyone wanted to pratice the dance, so we paired up, Sandy with Mark, Mancy and Wess, and Phil with Pat. I helped Pat with part 2. It helps Pat to see the posistions,I would do them with Phil then Phil would do them with Pat It was helpful for her. We ended class with a round to the music with Sifu.

Saturday Youth Karate 12/18/10 Lily

First class was mostly yellow belts. Sifu went through the ten with some extra detail work. Scott, Colleen, Sensei Kratz and I helped with that. Then we did some partner work with the wallace roundhouse exercise and self defense. We finished with going through forms. I was leading the group and accidentally messed up Naihachi because I went through it like I was mirroring, oops! I guess I've been teaching a little too much ;).

The second class was a good group. We started with the ten with staff, which was fun. Then we did some staff basics. I'd like to learn more with that. It really seems to click with me. We finished up with partner work with some basic joint locks; arm bar, center lock, backwards throw, shoulder lock, and another I can't think of the name of. Scott, Teryn and I stayed for a few extra minutes to review the brown belt form.

I think everyone knows, but I'll put it up here too. I'm going to be in Arizona until the 29th to see my grandparents. I hope you all have a great holiday!

Tai Chi class notes at Service Net - Dale

Dale, one of my newest private students has been given permission to teach a beginner level T'ai Chi class at his place of work. He works for Service Net and has been asked by them to teach a weekly class for staff and clients. He  has been running the class for a number of months. Here are some of his insights: 


"The Tai Chi group I am running is going very well. We usually have between one and three people. It is strange to teach this wonderful art when there is so much that needs to be worked in my own practice. Nevertheless I am giving it my best shot. I am learning so much as I attempt to teach. I guess teaching and learning go hand in hand, like you said."


Dale

J. R. Roy Martial Arts Studio Blog: Wudang Sword basics - Lazy D

J. R. Roy Martial Arts Studio Blog: Wudang Sword basics - Lazy D: "Sifu and JRRMAS Staff practice a Wudang Sword basic - The Lazy DLesson 1:Practicing lines of basics is a long tradition in Martial ArtsMost ..."

FYI - I just set up and easy way to share the stuff I've posted on the Studio Blog - it's button you can click on and either email it, share it on facebook or in this case post it to another blog. Don't know if I'll keep that up or not...any thoughts?

J. R. Roy Martial Arts Studio Blog: "Looking deeply and any one thing, we see the whol...: "Tich Nhat Hanh"

Bagua Zhang class notes 12.14.10 - Marcia

Open Class - Sandy, Janee, Reid and Marcia. Worked on 1st Yin Fu form and Chung Ting Hua form.

Tai Chi class notes 12.8.10 - Marcia

James Cusimano assisted - Qigong Warm-ups, 21 Qigong, Part 1 of solo form. We then split up into 2 groups; those learning Part 2, and those that know the whole form.

Thursday 12.16.10 class notes - Sifu

Little Dragons - small class 4-6 - Marcia and Colleen assisting - started with running around the room forward and backward, added jumping over a staff forward and backward then crawling under it too - went through the 10, Taylor's been working on them and she's got 'em all;.) - went on to basics, low block, vertical punching, backfist, reverse punch, snap kick, angle kick - ended with a review of the Nihanchi Kata

Youth Karate - small class 4-5 - Colleen assisting - I led the 10, energy and concentration were low at the start with the notable exception of Dylan, but they all got better as we got into #6, I talked about the big red 'effort' button - went on to basics to pads, I used the back and forth (1&2) method with snap kicks, round house kicks and inside outside crescent kicks - went on to the first five self defense tech again with the exception of Dylan the tech were very weak they had a difficult time ever remembering them never mind having any skill whatsoever;.( They need to be working on them gang!! went on to review of the kata - Shawns basic punches were almost unrecognizable and with the exception of Dylan again all of them need work on basic vertical punching - I had them do vertical punching in horse stance and got them all doing a decent punch then talked about the idea that that quality of punch from the basic stance is the same on that they should be doing in the Kata's - if the reverse punch is weak and inaccurate the majority of the Kata will be incorrect....They need to be working on the basics gang!!

Private student and staff class - small but excellent group Read, Colleen, Ron, Angus - we worked on Arnis basic twirling one stick changing from rt. to left - basic circles up and down, talked about the pivot point, momentum, following the weight of the stick, the plane the stick moves in, keeping the hand closed, breaking the wrist etc. - went on to double zero overhead and on the side, talked about corto and largo, we were practicing corto and not largo, explained the stance work involved in some detail, talked about using the waist to move the stick, talked about momentum at length - went on to 1 and half's through the fingers, that was tough and takes some time - I demonstrated the 1 1/2 from side to side using the waist, I think that is one of the very best momentum based exercises that I know of and very good for hand and finger strength and wrist flexibility too.

Adult Karate - large class 14 - Norm, Ron, Angus, Marcia, Colleen, Jesse, Thomas assisting - one new student's first class Josh - Ron worked with him one on one for the entire class - Angus led the 10 - went on to crescent stepping and triangle step turn around - added reverse punch - added shuffle step timing the heel landing with the punch, some had it, some didn't, even a few brown belts were having difficulty with the timing. - most were NOT loading the hip correctly or using the waist turn or the leg for power, but using more or less the arm by itself - I went on to explain the concept of Gong Fu Power; The kind of power one can only get from training, it's difficult, it takes concentrated practice, and has very specific detail that must be understood first and then worked on breaking old habits of getting power from just the arm - first I talked about how to load the hip while crescent stepping then while turning around, then I talked about the line, then I talked about the waist and the timing involved - most did pretty good with all of this - I went on to the 'grinding' exercise from Don Miller that I got a bunch of years ago, it involves compressing/bending the line of power by equally flexing the nine joints from foot to hand equally like loading a spring, all joints start bending or unbending at the same time and end at the same time, first we did it solo then with a partner - I talked about the responsibility of the partner to issue the knowledge through the touch, the only real knowledge that is transferred in martial arts from teacher to student is through contact/touch all else is academic, which is good but not the highest level - the partner guided the 'line' and the even bending of the 9 joints - the group did not have it trained enough to go on to the fast fa jin exercises or the pressure exercises without it degrading - we went on looking for the Gong Fu Power punching in Seisan Kata, first solo and then with a partner watching and giving feed back - the whole group did outstandingly well with these very sophisticated practices - did a short stretch and ended with the back and forth pad work that I did with the Youth Karate class - at the end of class I talked about the quality of the group as I think and would have no trouble saying the adult Karate group is the most trained group in the Studio, especially in regards to basics, foundation, Fa Jin and real SD applications and what a true pleasure they are to work with - I feel I could pull anything out of my tool box, even really sophisticated stuff like what I did in this class and the group is ready to go....so cool! Wish you all had been there for this class.

Wednesday 12.15.10 Youth Karate-Teryn

Small class led by Thomas, Colleen, Lily and myself. Lily led through the ten. Thomas had them run around the room then circle up and go through some of his leg stretching set. I had them pair up and work on the Wallace round-kick exercise and then thrust kicks to body shields (the twins' thrust kicks are looking great!). Balance and retraction need some work. We finished class by running through the forms.
Good job everybody!

Thursday 12.16.12 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - three private students - Lenny, Read and Sandy - worked on the first Yin Fu set - did a two person exercise for the first change with the partner pushing from the back - very interesting;.)

Tai Chi - med size class 10-12 - Lenny, Sandy and Dale assisting - I led the Qigong Warm Ups - broke into partners and did two drills from bow stance - fist to the inside of the push, then to the outside - emphasis on using the waist as apposed to just the arm and moving only as much as is needed - proceeded to check that skill level out by practicing a free style drill - only the more advanced got it most everyone else tended to go back to arm only blocking as in a basic Karate type block - ended with a Round to the music and Master Liang counting

After class I reviewed the Dance on both sides with Lenny

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.15.2010

Luke led the class. (Justin, Jeff, Dave, Scott, Thomas, Jess, Phil)

Started with circle walking and stick twirling. Moved to review block check counter, high strikes, low strikes, punyo strikes. Reviewed disarms and counters.

Drilled in the change step as it relates to pallis pallis. Moved to basic one stick pallis pallis drill, then worked pallis pallis off the twelve angles of attack.

ended class with a review of the Roland R. 2 person locking series.

Great class.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.13.2010

Luke Led Class: (Phil, Colleen, Angus, Jess, Dave)

Warmed up with striking styles and free single/double stick twirling while walking in a circle around the room.

Moved on to stick forms 1-4 with several repetitions of each including empty hand translations of the stick forms and then back to a stick in the hand for the form. (I found this really added a lot to the form practice, thanks Luke)

Then moved on to empty hand forms 1 and 2. Worked some applications off of the Horse Stance, elbow strike, palm heal technique.

Application included a break away from a same side wrist grab, with a roll back style block to a punch from the other side. Rollback transitions to elbow strike then arm bar, punch from other side comes in, catch punch with ward off style block and transition that punch to arm bar. Several variations ensued.

Nice energy in the room.

Harvard Health Publications - How to release a frozen shoulder

How to release a frozen shoulder

Shoulder problems are such a common thing...most of us have had some sort of shoulder pain over the years....that I thought this article would be helpful to read....please pass along any links or information that you come across ...for the benefit of all!  Sifu

Frozen shoulder (also called adhesive capsulitis) is a common disorder that causes pain, stiffness, and loss of normal range of motion in the shoulder. The resulting disability can be serious, and the condition tends to get worse with time if it’s not treated. It affects mainly people ages 40 to 60 — women more often than men.

We don’t fully understand the causes, but an inflammatory process is probably involved. Sometimes freezing occurs because the shoulder has been immobilized for a long time by injury, surgery, or illness. In many cases the cause is obscure. Fortunately, the shoulder can usually be unfrozen, though full recovery takes time — and lots of self-help.

The shoulder has a wider and more varied range of motion than any other part of the body. It pivots mainly on a ball-and-socket arrangement called the glenohumeral joint, which joins the top of the humerus (upper arm bone) to a scooped-out part of the scapula (shoulder blade) called the glenoid cavity.

How does the shoulder become frozen?

The process usually begins with an injury (such as a fracture) or inflammation of the soft tissues, such as bursitis or tendinitis of the rotator cuff. Inflammation causes pain that is worse with movement and limits the shoulder’s range of motion.

When the shoulder becomes immobilized in this way, the connective tissue surrounding the glenohumeral joint — the joint capsule — thickens and contracts, losing its normal capacity to stretch. Trying to avoid the pain caused by moving the shoulder leads to further contraction of the capsule. The humerus has less space to move in, and the joint may lose its lubricating synovial fluid. In advanced cases, bands of scar tissue (adhesions) form between the joint capsule and the head of the humerus.

A frozen shoulder may take two to nine months to develop. Although the pain may slowly improve, stiffness continues, and range of motion remains limited.

Who gets frozen shoulder?

The risk is increased when you don’t receive exercise therapy after tendinitis or an injury, and when you wear a sling for more than a few days without intermittent stretching. About 10% of people with rotator cuff disorders develop frozen shoulder. Enforced immobility resulting from a stroke, heart condition, or surgery may also result in a frozen shoulder. Other conditions that raise the risk are thyroid disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes (frozen shoulder affects 10% to 20% of people with diabetes).

What to do

If you think you have a frozen shoulder or are developing one, see your clinician or a shoulder expert for a physical exam. To assess your shoulder’s range of motion, the clinician will ask you to perform various movements with your arm, such as reaching across your chest to touch the opposite shoulder or down your back to touch the opposite shoulder blade (the Apley scratch test). She or he may take x-rays to make sure there’s no other underlying problem, such as arthritic changes or a dislocation. An MRI may be ordered to check for a rotator cuff tear.

Treatment is focused on relieving pain and restoring the shoulder’s normal range of motion. Your clinician may recommend an anti-inflammatory medication such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox). An ice pack or bag of frozen vegetables applied to the shoulder for 10 to 15 minutes several times a day can also help with pain. You may be given a corticosteroid injection into the shoulder joint or soft tissues. But the cornerstone of treatment is physical therapy, concentrating first on exercises that stretch the joint capsule, and later, on strengthening exercises. A physical therapist can show you how far to push yourself and can teach you the appropriate exercises. Once you’ve learned your limitations, you can practice most of your exercises on your own at home.

As you work to stretch the shoulder capsule, you should avoid any activities that require overhead reaching, lifting, or anything else that aggravates your pain. If you diligently follow your regimen of shoulder exercises, it’s likely that you’ll be able to resume your usual level of activity (more than 90% of people improve with these nonsurgical measures). But full recovery takes time — from several months to two or three years. If you don’t improve steadily or if you reach a plateau, go back to your clinician or consult a shoulder expert. Rarely, recalcitrant cases require surgery.

Bagua class Thursday 12/9 AM

Warmed up with the old 8 palms circle and before finishing up we just moved into spontaneous movement while circle walking. Interchanging with ourselves and each other Lenny. Read & Sandy kept on walking and moving and intertwining..Lots of fun and we all were breathing deep when we closed out.
We then worked on last weeks circles, joint interaction and then #2 with arm bar and reversal

Tai Chi Sat AM class 12/11
We did our warm up and then rows of stepping with brush knee twist which then transitioned to grasping sparrows tail right and left side as we made our way back down the room. Nice discussion and structural calibration with everyone. Left side was very challenging for everyone as to be expected...

An experiment uploading photo's from Picasa Web Albums...It worked;>)

Student Leader and Assistant Instructor Thomas P.

Saturday Youth Karate 12/11/10 Lily

Hi guys. It was great to be in class this week since I've been missing a lot with school/college work.

Today in the first class we did the ten, but took a break to get some jogging etc. around the room to wake the kids up. Then we did some circle work with back fist and cross. We partnered up and did some leg stretches, then did some snap kicking practice. I was with Luke and he is still trying to get the idea of the kick, which makes sense since he's only a white belt. He has trouble balancing on one leg for long periods, and tends to use his whole leg rather than just snapping the lower leg. When I reminded him he started to get it. We did some roundhouse kick work as well and finished with katas.

In the second class Jack and Scott led the ten. Then we did some shadow boxing, which gave me a nasty headache for some reason. When we took a break I drank a bunch of water, and I'd had tea and a bagel for breakfast, so that wasn't the problem. Anyway, then we did some stepping and punching practice. I tried getting my timing right with landing the foot and the punch or block, but it wasn't really clicking which was frustrating. Then we did some partner work with one person pushing on the other as we switched directions with the stance. That was interesting. I had to stop after that because my head was killing me. Everyone else worked on the joint lock series.

I'm better now, thankfully. :)

Saturday 12.11.10 message from Sifu in Fla.

Morning all,
Just a word of thanks for all the help and support while I'm away. This is my first trip away with the Staff Blog in place. Even though everyone is not participating fully yet...it's been very, very helpful to be able to go in and see what's been happening at the Studio....very helpful indeed;>) Many thanks to Phil, Colleen and Thomas for the posts so far.
I like what I see!! Good choices of material ya'll.
Please keep the posts coming....if you're having trouble posting... I know it can be troublesome posting sometimes especially if your just getting started...Just email me the class notes and I'll post them for you. I firmly believe it's going to be worth the effort in the long run. I'm hoping this format will help us all to develop as teachers by engaging our brains a bit more and the communication with each other will assist with the continuity in the curriculum.
For example;  I really appreciate knowing that Sensei Kratz did a Rad Suit session with the Th. youth class and some basic Arnis with the adult Karate class...great stuff. I also really appreciate knowing that Phil and Co. reviewed the counter for counter locking drill and the ice pick disarm drills from Roland Rivera ....also great stuff.
Again if your having trouble posting...just email me the class notes and I'll do it for you. Another suggestion that I have is not to wait too long as the memory of that particular class will get mixed with other classes..at least that's what I experience, especially on those day's that I teach 4-5 classes.
Also please give me estimate of the number of students in class and who is there to assist...both of those are very important indicators. Oh and of course who was the lead teacher..usually the person posting....but I'm encouraging everyone to post their own notes on classes that they attend....any and all insights are important to communicate for the benefit of everyone involved.

Good chi,
Sifu

Thursday, December 9th Class Notes - Colleen

> Lil Dragons < We went through all the the ten exercises. They did really well at remembering them all. Next we moved on to snap kicks. We went nice and slow and made sure they practiced good pad holding technique. Then we worked on the forms. I took those learning Nihanchi, and Marcia took those who already knew the movements. Class ended with a quick run and a few calming breaths. > Youth Class < Sensei Kratz had each of the six students lead through one or two of the 10 exercises to get practice in front of the group. Then they paired up and practiced elbows, knees and palm heel strikes while Sensei Kratz geared up in the RAD suit. We then went through two different scenarios - a bear hug from behind, and an attack from the front. The second round went much better than the first - possibly because it was an attack from the front, but I think more so because they had more practice with it. > Adult Class <

We started out with some warm up exercises and then took a quick run through the forms. We were initially going to only do one arnis drill but ended up doing that for the rest of class! We did rodunda and single sinawali with both the sticks and empty hand. There were a couple people in class with no arnis experience but I thought they did really well. Everyone had fun in any case.

Wed -12-8-10- Youth Karate - Thomas

Wednesday's class was a good one, although many of the kids showed up late to class. There's not much that can be done about that when you have to rely on other people for rides, but I think we should address it anyways. If nothing else, I think we should make a point to start class at the time that it is supposed to be started.

As far as the actual class, I thought it went very well. Lily ran through the ten and then some of her own stretches. We had the class run for a couple minutes and do the different types of movement and Peter showed a good example for the other kids to follow. Sensei Kratz had everyone gear up for sparring except for me, I walked around and pointed out things the kids could try. To me, it looked very good for a group of yellow through purple belts. Their stance-work has definitely benifited from the focus we've had on it lately. I didn't see one person walking backwards, they were all making an effort at the proper sparring stance.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.08.2010

Small-Medium class - Marcia, Justin, Dennis, Angus, Scott, Thomas & Dave.

Started class with a quick stick warm up with some single and double stick twirling. Moved on to work more on the two-person locking series focusing on the switching sides while not breaking the flow of the drill.

Moved on to the slash vs ice pick knife drill. Worked on the grip change transition off the ice pick, with the stab to the leg. Moved on to the Hand change off the slash, and incorporated a leg stab to that as well. A few people made it to additional variations of the disarms while maintaining the same basic drill flow.

Ended class with a review of the cane forms.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.06.2010

Small Class - Marcia, Luke, Colleen and Scott (with Jess and Ron jumping in in later)

Marcia, Luke & I reviewed the empty hand anyos prior to class starting. led a quick stick warm up with some single and double stick twirling. Spent most of the class reviewing the 2 person locking series from Arnis Camp. Worked on the basics with the right hand version, left hand version and the transition/switch between right and left hands using the "steal the backwards throw" method.

Ended the last 5 minutes with a review of the ice-pick to slashing knife disarm drill.

Tuesday 12.7.10 class notes - Sifu

Private student practice - Excellent group Bob, Marty, Read, Sandy and Dale - worked on the Dance and the Jian Sword form - Bob and Luke worked the joint lock series - Sandy and Dale the dance - Read and Dale worked the tai chi stick form

Tai Chi - med/large class 12-15 - Bob, Read, Marty and Dale assisted - I led the 30 Qigong warm ups and a 10 minute Standing Meditation - practiced a round on the right side and another on the left - Bob and Karen worked with the beginners - I talked about the refining the energy as it comes up the body - and the four F's

Youth Karate - small class 4-7 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen and Scott assisting - Sensei Kratz led the class - I worked with the Grote brothers on Kata at the end

Tai Chi - small class 4 - Marcia, Sandy and Dale assisting - short warm up and a nice Standing Meditation and a round of the 21 Qigong, followed by a round of the solo form - talked about the waist directing the foot pivots at the end of the bow stance stepping - broke into pairs and worked on the Dance

Bagua Zhang - open class

Congratulations to Sensei (Jason Kratz) on his promotion to 6th Dan "Sensei"

Sensei at his best ---- Mentoring and guiding young (old too!) students. A great example is Peter D. to his right. Sensei looks happy doesn't he??

I've posted a couple of short videos of the Holiday Party on the Studio Blog

Thursday 12.2.10 class notes - Sensei Kratz

Little dragons, assisted with end of class, partner work which worked out well, pad holding and snap kicks


 4:30 Youth class with Peter leading 10 exercises. Jogging around room taking into account some of the sick students with a cough. Important to always keep on eye on the younger ones for things as such. Attempted a three person SD drill from front and rear attack off of Crash of the Eagle. Almost pulled it from the show but it worked out in the end with most. Attention discussed, some still working on right and left side , front and rear side and which is which. Thrust kicks to pads with partners, ended with Kata and Skyler completing all the movements adding a black tip to her yellow belt. Everyone can keep an eye on who is at a point where they think the student is ready for that and let Sifu or I know. It is difficult at times to keep up with those little things which are not little for the younger folk and important for most surrounding acknowledgement. 


Staff class workout was excellent, I worked with Peter on Tai Chi staff. It was great to work with him after a long period of not seeing him due to scheduling. He picked up the form quickly. Up and coming star.


6:30 Adult Karate class with the A group in the room. Lowest rank was purple belt which allowed for all and any material to be presented. Continued with three person SD drill, hook kicks and old school ridge hands to pads. Ended with Kata. 


(Sensei) Mr. Kratz 

Thursday 12.2.10 Karate-Teryn

Great class tonight!
Lots of people, lots of good energy. We did a little of everything, weapons, basics, self-defense and katas. Just an overall great class.
Teryn

Thursday 12.2.10 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - Excellent class of private students - Lenny, Bob, Read, Sandy and Janee - we worked the whole class on locks starting with the 'whirlpool' and then the 'fountain' entrances with several discreet tech, including one from behind - I ended with as application from the first Yin Fu set change #2

Tai Chi - large class 14-16 - Lenny, Sandy, Read, Marty and Dale assisting - Marty and I led the 30 Qigong warm ups - we worked on a partner exercise first, interacting from Wuji Standing Meditation - went on to small internal movement improvisation, I demonstrated and gave some instruction on this - went on to review and work on the Dance - Lenny and I demonstrated the Dance's 'internal' idea - finished with a Round

Little Dragons - small/med class 6-8 - Marcia, Jason and Colleen assisting - started with the running routine, went on to stretching in a circle - ended with snap kicks to a pad

Youth Karate - small/med class 8-10 - Jason, Colleen, Teryn, Thomas and Peter assisting - Peter led the 10 - Jason led the class basics to a pad, kata and an excellent self defense scenario that culminated in a creative exercise that students then demonstrated in front of class.....excellent!!! Great job Jason and team;>)

Private Student Class - Excellent group: Jason, Ron, Marcia, Teryn, Colleen, Thomas, Scott, Peter - totally awesome group worked on a wide variety of material from weapons to joint locks, forms to tassel twirling!! Just so much fun to work with each and everyone of these incredible individuals....can't say enough about how well the group is functioning

Adult Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Jason, Marcia, Ron, Jesse, Angus, Teryn and Thomas assisting - Jason led the class.....AWESOME class!!! Can't say enough about how incredible this group is doing....classes like this makes me feel like I have NOT wasted my adult life;>)

Wed. 12.1.10 class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - med size class 10 - Thomas and Scott assisting - I led a short meditation concentrating on what we were experiencing and then talking about that - went on to the 10 exc. - several rounds of shadow boxing, starting with just jab and cross, then adding kicks, talked about having rapport with your tech's - went on to the Wallace Kick drill, then a critical distance exercise for the forward leg Roundhouse kick, finished with a full Kata review all the way to Kusanku

T'ai Chi - med size class 10 - Marcia assisting - I led the Qigong warm ups - part one with holding the postures - part one with flow - broke in to two groups, Marcia worked with the beginners on the beginning of part 2 - I went on to part 2 and 3 with the rest of the group

Arnis - small class 6 - Marcia, Justin and Phil assisting - I led the warm ups - block check counter - just blocking against improve attacks - went on to 'get out of the way of the sword' - disarms 1-12 - 6 count drill - finished with seniors working tapi tapi with the beginners

Arnis class notes Monday 11.29.10 - Marcia

Arnis - small class 6-7 - Luke and Phil assisting - Did warm-ups, redonda drills, disarms, and the locking series from the 2010 arnis camp 


Marcia

Tuesday 11.30.10 class notes - Sifu

Private Student Class - Excellent group Bob, Read, Marty, Luke, Dale - reviewed the two person cane set and the solo form as well, reviewed and worked on the Dance

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Bob, Read, Marty, Dale assisting, I led the 30 Qigong set - broke into groups for Wuji Standing Meditation with a partner, from WSM while sensing movement, the partners interacted with Qigong as the focus, went on to pushing on the back ala the Willow drill, the partners stopped periodically to do a short WSM and then discuss their experiences, went on to practice the Dance, finished with a Round

Youth Karate - small class 5-6 - Colleen assisting - worked SD the whole class - started with a defense against a club that was worked in Monday nights class - I added the mobility throw - went on to the first Arnis sword disarm for a #12 attack - reviewed the first 15 SD tech

Tai Chi - small class 5-6 - Sandy and Dale assisting - started with a Round without music talking about detail as we went through, I introduced two new exercises, the first one involves roll back to press and separate to push both forward actions with a shuffle step, I talked about the timing and detail of the exercise, the second one I developed to assist with the lotus kick at the end of the form - both these exercises are in my first "personal practice" video clip that I've posted to my Picasa Web Albums - the class went on to practice the Dance

Bagua Zhang - two private students Sandy and Janee - we reviewed the first two Yin Fu Sets and worked on the last change (#8) of both sets - ended with seated meditation and some discussion afterwards