SCOTT WORKS WITH SKYLER II

Besides the great kicking ....it's the skill that Scott is using in 1. Choosing the correct combo of tech and 2. the 'way' he is holding the pad....it's harder than he is making it look:^)

SCOTT WORKS WITH SKYLER

Great pad holding Scott....Great kicking Skyler

Lu Zijian the Yangtse River

Daoist Bagua Master Lu Zijian (116) - Taiyi Huolong Palm.

A Brief Introduction to Yin Style Bagua

This week in review - Sifu

The youth Karate classes were a bit light this week, which is usual for the week between Christmas and New Year with folks traveling, school on vacation and family and friends visiting. The morning Bagua and Tai Chi classes along with the advanced Karate students morning practice's led by Sensei Kratz were all very well attended.
I reviewed a bunch of joint locks and take downs (some unusual ones too) on Wed. nights Arnis class and a bunch of applications and some joint locks and counters with the Bagua group along with a series of two person exercises and applications with the morning tai chi group.
I had great help with the little dragons class with Colleen and Teryn working one on one with the Sailor and Grace. I also had great help with the youth karate class; Colleen, Teryn, Thomas and Scott working either one on one or one to two. I saw some really great instruction going on during that class with Colleen getting Gianna to kick as good as I have ever seen her kick!! Scott inspired Skyler to kick and punch the pads as good as I've ever seen...especially lately....really outstanding modeling and focus coming from the student leaders....makes my heart soar;^)
The last class of the year was filled with Black, Brown and Green belts....excellent warm up with Angus, a set of Baji, a set of Kata's followed by the 'Mimic' line work drill, ending with work (lot's of instruction needed on this) on the Bridge take down, the mobililty throw and backward throw along with some advanced tech's once we've got 'em on the ground. Really great group to work with.
It's been really nice to have Lily and Teryn back in the room....I really miss those two!!
Many thanks to Read for repairing the lock on the bathroom door!!
Hope you all have a wonderful New Year holiday.........Hoping that 2012 brings health, happiness and prosperity to you and your families!

Sifu

2 Person Work Class Notes 12.28.2011

(Dale, Phil, Bob, Read)


Worked on Dance, double broadsword and just some free-style push hands.

Nice review to start with.

Really enjoyed the free-style with Read. We even ended up on the ground a few times.

I had to leave at 8:30, so not sure what happened in the last half hour.

-Phil

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.26.2011

Marcia Led class. medium size group.

Reviewed stick and cane form, and reviewed empty hand forms through form 4.

Worked tapi tapi, reviewed disarms and reviewed locking series.

Nice class.

-Phil

Wishing you all a Merry, Merry Christmas!

Week in Review - 12.23.11 - Sifu

It's been a good week!
Student On Break:
A number of our college kids are home on break. I got to see Lily on Wed. and meet her new friend Julian and yesterday started off with Max and Becka in the Bagua and Tai Chi classes and then Teryn in the afternoon/evening classes.
We recently had a Saturday visit from Colin Frederick's too! He brought the Baji back to the table....great job Colin;^)
One of my favorite things about teaching martial arts is to see 'old timers' come back in the room and participate in the training / teaching...it's so cool!!


Getting Sick:
I started to feel a cold coming on, on Tuesday...I thought I was outrunning it but then it caught up to me after my Wed. afternoon/evening shift. Yesterday I again got pooped after my morning shift (but had a great Bagua and Tai Chi workout) and then really faded in the afternoon/evening.

Many Thanks:
Thanks to Scott, Teryn and Angus for leading the Karate class last night and to Marcia and Sensei Kratz for the afternoon help.....you guy's are the BEST!!

Reminder:
No Classes this coming Saturday Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve

Happy Holiday's to you and your families!

Peace,
Sifu

Monday 12.12.11 - Adult Karate and Arnis class notes - Jeff

Classes on Monday night well, though a little low in attendance.  The arnis class had four students including myself.  We started with the normal warm ups and went in to the cane and empty hand forms.  Marcia and I spent time Colleen and David teaching the new empty hand and cane forms at the end of each run.  We went in to tapi tapi at the end of the class to try to stay with the theme of free form.
     The karate class had seven students including myself.  We started with the 10 exercises and some core strengthening drills as well as some partner streching.  We ran some self defense scenarios off of wrist grabs.  This lead in to the attacker using random grabs and the defender coming up with their own self defense techniques.  We finished the class with cirlce self defense.  The enregy overall was excellent for both the arnis and karate class.
 

Youth Karate - Tuesday, December 20, 2011

It was quite a large class for a Tuesday - 5 students! Warmed up with the ten then broke into pairs. I put the higher ranks with the white belts, and we all practiced backfists to start out. I tried to layer up to a turning backfist by starting with the pivoting crane stance drill, but the white belts were struggling, so we took a water break. The upper ranks' turning backfists looked good.

When we came back, I had the three upper ranks do a round robin with crescent kicks to pads, and I worked directly with the white belts. The upper ranks also added on some spinning into the crescent kicks while the while belts stretched.

We paired up again and practiced freestyle self defense from three basic grabs - single wrist, double front, and double back. We then used these in a round of circle self defense.

To end off class, we went through the katas as a group, and then Simon performed Nihanchi in front of the group.

Adult Karate Class Notes- 12-19-2011 Angus Reid

Adult Karate Class Notes- 12-19-2011
Angus Reid leading, Ron Milcarek & Lily Serentino assisting
7 other students present

In keeping with this month's 'Freestyle' theme, I structured the first
half of class around a series of timed stations, similar to the
'pancakes of death' of a previous week, but with only a type of
training described at each station rather than a specific exercise.
The stations were:
1) cardio
2) leg stretching
3) core
4) focus pads
5) body shield
6) trapping hands
7) SD

The students, in twos, spent four minutes at each station, deciding
for themselves what specific training they would do at each one. Some
stations were necessarily 2-person (focus pads, trapping hands…), but
others could be done solo (core, stretching, cardio…). Nevertheless,
it seemed that even where there was the option of solo work, the
partners trained in tandem, perhaps because of the rapport and
challenge aspect of doing exercises together. Every group came up with
excellent ideas for their own training, and there was a lot of
variety, especially at the core and cardio stations. I immediately
regretted not starting the class with the basic 10, as I realized I
had lost sight of my original vision of "freestyle warmup" when
labeling the stations, and some were actual training that shouldn't be
done cold – something to remember for next time.

In the second half, we worked on various types of kicks, starting with
crescent kicks, inside and outside, then turning/spinning, then
linking them together, focusing on seeking the target with the eyes
immediately after the turn, and building and harnessing momentum for
the kick/spin without letting it throw you off-balance. The white
belts worked on getting the basic kick first, and then on getting
comfortable with the turn in isolation.

Next we did a 2-person roundhouse distancing drill, similar to what we
did this past Saturday, taking turns throwing kicks to each other's
focus pad. Each person had a piece of tape on the floor, which they
started and ended behind, jumping in to throw the kick and then
getting back out on the retraction. Students with long range or who
were finding it easy were instructed to move their pieces of tape
farther apart. Perhaps due to Sifu's demonstrating it on Saturday,
everyone was doing an excellent job of snapping their kicks back to
avoid getting them caught and trapped by their opponent.

Finally, with the same partners we did a linework drill, throwing
roundhouse kicks to a pad as the padholder moved backwards across the
room, using the kick and the supporting foot only to move in and chase
the pad. The goal was to be able to throw subsequent kicks six or so
inches forward each time, as though advancing on an opponent, while
disguising the forward movement and not telegraphing it with body
movement. A difficult but very valuable trick!

We finished with five minutes of cool-down stretching.

Thanks to Ron for giving corrections and advice during the stations,
and to Lily for helping the white belt.

"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."

Mahatma Gandhi

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.20.2011

Small class (Marcia, Ron, Angus, Scott, Jack)

Started with about 7 ,minutes of free style single and double stick twirling.

Moved onto disarms. I had people go through the standard disarms in 1-12, then had them throw strikes in a random order. Everyone tried a little left handed disarms at some point as well.

Jack and Scott transitioned to working the first 3 counters. Angus and Ron did some accuracy work. Making a controlled strike to the hand with the very end of the stick the first part of each of the disarms.

There was a good awareness present of how stance work and positioning.

Wrapped up the 15 minutes of class with freestyle trapping hands. Emphasis on putting in as many locks and throws as possible. I had Scott and Jack make sure to bring the techniques to the ground, and back up.

Ron and Angus worked more on locks and counters within the trapping hands platform.

Really nice work all around.

-Phil

2 Person Work Class Notes 12.14.2011

Bob,Dale,Phil,Angus & Read.

We started with some tune up drills. Round robin of wuji drill with random feeds and rollback or ward off responses. The the closed eyes following drill that we had worked on last week.

Moved on to free-style dance with focus on wa-na-da. Sped up the timing slightly and worked in lots of footwork, sweeps, kicks and throws.

Despite having worked up a good sweat during the faster free-style work, everyone was able to keep a very calm, centered, detached and yet playful mindset.

Time flew by all too fast. Great practice.

-Phil

Baji - The Eight Stances

1. Horse riding stance
2. Bow and arrow stance
3. Taming the tiger stance
4. Cross leg stance (crane)
5. Empty stance (cat)
6. T'ai-Chi stance (seven star)
7. Unicorn stance (Chi-Ling)
8. Rooster

Note: Bend the knees only as much as is appropriate for your age, ability and joint health

Better to do the Baji a little higher than not at all!

Remember to focus your mind on the T'aoist Longevity Breathing (T'an T'ien breathing)

Baji

Ba = eight

Ji = stance

Baji=The eight stances - This is a set I originally learned from Dr. Leung Kay-Chi in 1979 when I first started to study Bagua Zhang. The first things I studied with Dr. Leung were The 10 Exercises and The Baji

Congratulations to Colin Fredericks one his promotion to 2nd degree Black Belt (nidan) and to Colleen Golrick on her promotion to 1st degree Black Belt (shodan) in American Karate-do

This past Saturday I observed Colin lead two classes and perform the eight Kata in the system as well as 1/2 the T'ai Chi Ch'uan form he is learning from Master Harn Lin-Lin (the wife of Dr. Leung Kay-Chi). While leading class, Colin gave an excellent explanation with detail on the Baji stance set.

Colleen is one of the most successful probationary Black Belts in recent memory. She has truly stepped up to the plate with her involvement with the youth and adult Karate-do programs. Since her Black Belt test, she remains very consistent, attending numerous classes per week. On Saturday I observed her performing the eight Kata's and I have been observing Colleen teaching in small and large groups over the past several years. Colleen is an excellent example of a real Shodan!

Congratulations to Colin and Colleen!!

Sifu

Contentment is the only real wealth.

Alfred Nobel

Tai Chi class notes - Saturday Dec. 10, 2011 - Marty

 Had a good class this morning there were 6 of us present.Dale,Pat,Mike,Sandy,Troy and myself.

Did the usual warm ups then we paired off , Dale worked with Troy on the begining of the form, Sandy and Pat worked on the dance and I worked with Mike. 

Mike is up to fan through back - Troy is up to ward off right - Sandy and Pat worked on part 3 of the dance.

Ending class with a round with you.

Marty

2 Person Work Class Notes 12.07.2011

(Dale, Phil, Bob, Angus and Read)

Started out with eyes closed, follow the other person maintaining 1-oz. pressure throughout. Primary contact point for the follower being a right or left ward off.

Worked on long power pushing for a while doing pushes back and forth across the room.

Dale and Bob moved on to work the Dance and perhaps some other stuff.

Angus had a small injury limiting his left arm movement so we did some free style one armed trapping/push hands.

Then Read joined us and we worked some interesting trapping variations with 3 people and and 4 arms.

Then we did some two on one, still working in the single arm handicap. Worked up quite a sweat. :-)

Great practice.

-Phil

Modern Arnis Class Notes 12.05.2011

Medium class (Luke, Jeff, Scott, Colleen, Thomas, Dave, Ron, and Jack)

Did a quick warm up. Then worked block check counter for a while with extra attention to triangle stepping, general footwork and body alignment. Had some groups do slap off drill as well.

Moved on to 15-20 minutes of tapi tapi, then finished up with trapping hands.

Good energy.

-Phil

Theme of the month for December 2011: Free-Style

A few ideas that come to mind when I think about this whole idea of free-styling or improvising and the creative space that the magic comes out of. For me it's a very interesting subject. I hope that all of you can add some of your own ideas and favorite drills on the subject to the Staff Blog, to your daily practices and the classes that you lead.

Here's a few ideas in random order for you to ponder....Hmmmmm.....

* Free styling is to be in the moment.......mind focused and relaxed.... and then to spontaneously improvise


*We often do semi-free style drills and exercises as in trapping hands. Free Style Platforms such as push hands, rou shou and tapi tapi  can be used to jump into an improvisational sequence, then back into the platform.

*Improvising uses knowledge that has been actively trained, perfected and consciously inputted/uploaded to the unconscious mind. With repeated practice over time the unconscious mind gets 'wired' with the material. 

* Improvising is where preparation (Yang training) meets opportunity (Yin training).

* The four F's: Form, Function, Feeling and Forgetting -  Note: Forgetting is the non-thinking state of mind that allow's you to access the material that lives in your unconscious mind

* The Japanese word for the forgetting state of mind is: Mushin - mind no mind

*The conscious mind training is Yang the unconscious mind training is Yin.

*Free-Style is Yin mind training while a portion of your consciousness is observing and adjusting the  practice 'in the moment'. Some traditions call this state of consciousness the "watcher"

 (Just try and wrap your brain around the incredible complexity of neurons that have to fire and internal chemistry that has to happen in order to achieve that kind of state of mind! Yikes!)

*My personal experience is that the 'watcher' is a semi-conscious portion of your unconscious mind...But I'm still actively pondering and researching this in my daily practices

* The unconscious mind cannot think in negatives......

*I'm continually blown away at the complexity of human consciousness. To study it, is to observe the Tao 

*Improvising has a 'play' feeling to it....it's light....it's creative....it's spontaneous. 

*Personal Qigong has a listening aspect that is used in order to diagnose yourself, that information then used to select the appropriate material to be practiced.

*One of basics of daily martial arts practice is:  "If it hurts, don't do it"! 

When your injured there is a necessary adjustment that is important to insure that you don't continue to re-injure yourself as you do your daily practice. Otherwise how could you continue?

*There are some aspects of developing improvisational skills that are easier than others.

*As with all skill sets, improvising is easier for some than for others. 

Here are few ideas to start with:

I - Warm Up's-

              I suggest a moment of stillness in order to listen to yourself then proceed to warm up with what 'feels' right to you at that very moment in time. Improvising your warm up demands and encourages that you are listening to yourself. Listening is the springboard that decide what and when to do something. 

II - Basics -

             Again starting with a moment of stillness, listen internally and feel the technique of the moment crystallize. Once you start with one tech. let yourself naturally flow into the next tech that 'feels right' for that particular moment in time. You can do this with individual basic tech's or movements from forms.

Sometimes Free-Styling is built into the basics of the Art's as line work, bag work and shadow boxing in American Karate-do, and weapons twirling, trapping hands and Tapi Tapi in Modern Arnis. 

III - Partner practices - 

            Free-Sparring, line work (with a partner blocking) and gauntlet self-defense exercises in American Karate-do, push hands and free-style 'Dance' in Tai Chi Ch'uan, Rou Shou in Bagua Zhang and trapping hands and tapi tapi in Modern Arnis 

This is by no means a definitive list of free-style exercises and drills, but I'm hoping is gives you a good start and stimulates some thoughts, practices and teachings that lead to a better understanding of the Yin side of Martial Arts.

Peace,
Sifu

Dojo Holiday Party photo's on our Studio Blog

 I just uploaded a bunch of photo's from yesterday's Dojo Holiday Party on the Studio Blog...check up out! If you 'rate' the posts on the blog (s) I can tell that someone's been looking at 'em.....and that really great for me;^)

Relay winning team....love the hat's!

Wonderful "Dojo Holiday Party" yesterday!!! Thanks to all of you that help make it such a success!!

Hope to see you all at the Dojo Holiday Party tomorrow morning.....

A re-post from Sifu Ken Cohen's newsletter....

An Old Farmer's Advice

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.    

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.      

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.  

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.    

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. 

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.   

Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.  

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.   

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.  

You cannot unsay a cruel word.  

Every path has a few puddles.  

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. 

The best sermons are lived, not preached. 

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway. 

Don't judge folks by their relatives.  

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.  

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none. 

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.  

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.   

 Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. 

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'. 

Always drink upstream from the herd.    

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.    

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.    

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 11.28.2011

Luke led class (Marcia, Phil, Dave, Colleen, Jeff, Scott)

Did a walking warm up. Reviewed disarms. Worked up to counters for 1-7 with the blue belts.

Then worked disarms from empty hand verse cane.

Good class.

-Phil

Remember the Dojo Holiday Party is this Saturday!!!10am to 1pm

Sign up for the Pot Luck and helping to set up and tear down are in the hallway

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and your's a wonderful Thanksgiving with family

and friends! 

I am so grateful for having each and everyone of you in my life. 

Thanks so much for all that you do, day in and day out to make the Studio what it is! 

Your the very, very Best!!!

Sifu

Modern Arnis class notes - Mon. Nov. 21 2011 - Marcia

 - Total of 7 in the class. Began with "walking warm-ups". Worked on Block, Check, Counter drills with 2 sticks, concentrating on abeniko strikes, then counter for counter drills and tapi-tapi. Ended with stick anyos. Phil and Luke assisted. I noticed that David  needs review of triangle stepping to turn around. Fun class.
Marcia Gobeil :^)

Adult Karate class notes - Monday Nov. 21, 2011 - Angus

Adult Karate class report - 11-21-2011
Angus Reid leading, 5 students attending: 1 black, 1 brown, and 3 green belts.

The room was cold, but we dove right into it, with a class strong on
conditioning, and warmed up the room by the end.

Following the Basic 10, we tried a series of station exercises dubbed
the "pancakes of death" at the circus studio in Easthampton where I
was introduced to them. We did 45-second intervals at 10 stations,
including:
jumping jacks;
push ups;
knee raises;
hollow-body hold;
mountain-climber exercise;
freestyle bag striking;
back arches;
burpees;
bag punching;
low meditation stance;

In less than 10 minutes, everyone was very warmed up.

We did the five-way kick exercise, doubles, five per side, then stretched.

In partners, we trained jab-cross to the focus pads, then roundhouse,
and finished with a line of continuous roundhouse kicking w/one-legged
shuffle across the room.

We then put on gear for sparring drills. We took turns in pairs with
one partner only attacking with a jab, and the other figuring out how
to respond.

The last ten minutes we sparred in 3-minute rounds. Scott and I both
noticed improvement in the twins' sparring technique.

We finished up with a cool-down stretch.

Chuck Merriman identifies 10 often-misunderstood karate terms

Waterford, Connecticut-based traditional Karate-do master, Chuck Merriman identifies 10 often-misunderstood karate terms and sets the record straight on what they really mean.

Bunkai
Misunderstood meaning: application
Actual meaning: analysis
Why it matters: When Merriman says bunkai is one of the most misunderstood terms in karate, he’s speaking from experience. “The first thing I do when I run seminars is ask people what bunkai means, and the first answer is invariably ‘application,’” he says.

In fact, the word refers to analyzing a technique by looking at the overall movement and breaking it down into the individual components, he says.
“Bunkai is not the obvious,” he continues. “It’s like having an outline that’s not filled in.” Furthermore, it can change over the years as your body, experience and depth of knowledge change. There are three levels of bunkai, he says. The first,kihon bunkai, is basic. Everybody does the movement exactly the same way. It’s like learning kata, he says. The second is oyo bunkai. It refers to varying the movement according to your body size. The third, renzoku bunkai, entails a continuous action whereby you do one technique, then your opponent executes a different one. “It’s almost like fighting,” he says. “It’s a gradual progression, almost a free exercise, but it’s not sparring.”

Bushido
Misunderstood meaning: warrior way
Actual meaning: military-gentleman way
Why it matters: Based on the characters bushi (bu—military, and shi—gentleman) and do (way), bushido refers to a method of training designed to enable you to protect yourself and others, Merriman says. The Okinawan interpretation isn’t aggressive; it’s defensive, he adds. “Bushido is not, ‘Let’s attack those guys.’ The term sanchin means ‘three conflicts.’ The three conflicts are mind, body and spirit. That’s where the warrior comes in; that’s the battle. If you train properly, you won’t be so quick to take offense and jump into fights because you’re more secure in yourself.”

Dan
Misunderstood meaning: degree
Actual meaning: level, step or grade
Why it matters: When karate was introduced in the West, many people erroneously believed that anyone with a black belt was an expert, Merriman says. That may also account for their tendency to refer to dan ranking in terms of degrees. “It’s the furthest thing from the truth. There are different levels—from shodan, or first level, all the way up to 10th dan—[which mark your] progress throughout your career in karate.”

That’s one reason he’s a little skeptical when he runs into a 20-year-old boasting about his fifth-level black belt. “It doesn’t add up to the training time and experience you need to achieve that level of expertise,” he argues. “Of course, if it’s just for sport, everything is based on how many tournaments you win and what seeding you have. So, in that respect, you could be a 20-year-old fifth dan.”

Dojo
Misunderstood meaning: academy, school or studio
Actual meaning: “way place,” a location at which you study the deeper aspects of karate
Why it matters: Derived from the words do (way, or a philosophical approach to training) and jo (place), a dojo is not just “a building where you go to practice karate twice a week because you don’t want to go bowling,” Merriman chides. It’s a place where you learn a traditional art and acquire a new viewpoint on life.

Kata
Misunderstood meaning: prearranged set of movements
Actual meaning: form or shape
Why it matters: “Kata is much deeper than can be summed up in a couple of words,” he says. “It’s a way for a student of karate-do to set a pattern of training for a long period.”

Some styles of karate teach relatively few kata — goju, for instance, has only 12 short ones. But don’t be fooled, he says. When you develop the three levels of bunkai for each one, there are seemingly endless variations. “The analogy I use is that there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet, but go look in the library sometime,” Merriman says. “You can apply the same idea to karate with a limited number of basics and a limited number of kata. The rest is how you develop these things for yourself.”

Kumite
Misunderstood meaning: sparring
Actual meaning: grappling or engagement of hands
Why it matters: Composed of two roots — kumi (grapple) and te (hand) — kumiterefers to the instant a fight actually begins. It’s when you and your partner first make contact, Merriman says. “When you think about it, you’ve got to be standing right in front of each other when you touch. It’s important to understand the real meaning of the word to better understand what happens during oyo bunkai.”

Mokuso
Misunderstood meaning: meditation
Actual meaning: reflection and contemplation
Why it matters: Practicing mokuso gives you an opportunity to get in the proper mindset to train, he explains. “It’s not meditation in the sense of going off into another world. It’s reflecting on your past training and contemplating the training you’re about to do.”

Rei
Misunderstood meaning: bow
Actual meaning: spirit or soul
Why it matters: “For somebody practicing karate for exercise or sport, rei is merely a salutation,” Merriman says. “These days, people bow by nodding their head and slapping the sides of their legs, but that’s not the proper way to do it.” The bow must come from the abdominal area because that’s where the tan tien(the seat of the soul) is. “If rei is ‘soul,’ obviously the bow has to be done from there,” he adds.

Reishiki
Misunderstood meaning: spirit
Actual meaning: manners, etiquette or correctness
Why it matters: “[It refers to] the correct attitude — why you’re training and always keeping your mind on the path or way,” he says. For example, you’re expected to know and demonstrate proper etiquette in the kohai-sempai (junior-senior) relationship. “Your sempai always precedes you. You open the door and let him go first. Before you take care of yourself, you always make sure he’s taken care of.”

Sensei
Misunderstood meaning: teacher
Actual meaning: guide
Why it matters: Because it’s composed of the roots sen (before) and sei (life), the literal translation of sensei is “before in life,” Merriman says. “A sensei is somebody who guides another person. For example, if you went to climb a mountain, you’d probably need a guide. Why? Because the guy has climbed that mountain before, and he made it.”

It’s the same thing with karate. The sensei was once at the same stage of training you’re at, and he can show you the way up. If you understand what his role is, you will have a better idea of what you can expect from him and what he can expect from you, he says. “Think of it this way: A sensei is behind you, pushing you forward, not standing in front of you, pulling. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to progress,” he says.

T'ai Chi class notes - Saturday Nov. 19, 2011 - Marty

Class was very small, Dale and Mike were there.

      Dale and I worked on the short cane before Mike got there, then we did the warm ups, standing and 2 rounds of the 21.

       We did the round early so Dale could get the whole round in as he had to leave early. We ended class with another round with you.

"The whole is more than the sum of its parts."

- Aristotle

Modern Arnis Class Notes 11.16.2011

Small class (Luke, Jess, Dave, Scott, Phil)

Luke led class. Jumped right into sinawali practice.

Then moved on to disarms. Attention drawn to angles, lines and taking space.

Worked on counters to disarms as a group for 1-3.

Good energy in the room. Great to have Luke and Jess back at class.

-Phil

2 Person Work Class Notes 11.16.2011

small practice (Bob,Dale, Phil & Angus)

Bob & Dale started out with a round of the dance.

Then we all worked on trapping hands for a little while. We spent some time breaking down the Wa, Na, Da aspects of the drill.

Next we did a variant of the "wuji" drill we have been working on. Two main variations. The first was that we put a knife in the hands of the attacker, and the second was not squaring off with one partner. The four of us made a square and the attacker chose someone at random from the group to attack. The 3 non-attackers tried to stay in the ready place and react accordingly to the attacks.

The uncertainty of if the attack was coming at me, and the knife, really increased the challenge of keeping relaxed and centered. I noticed my legs feeling very heavy as I waited for the attack to manifest.

Time flew by.

Great practice,

-Phil

Little Dragons class notes - Thursday Nov. 10, 2011 - Marcia

Lil Dragons - Nov 10th. Four students with Colleen assisting. Willow was a little distracted with "Bob" today. But on the other hand, Christian did REALLY well. Did 10 exercises, foot stomps to the pads, basics, running, and meditation. Fun class.  Received a phone call re: the possibility of   2 new LDs coming in on Thur to check out the class.  Marcia

Tai Chi class notes - Wed. Nov. 9, 2011 - Marcia

Tai Chi Nov 9th - Big class, Began with Master Hayward's exercises, did a little standing meditation, then did several "coordination drills" (i.e. wave hands like clouds, reverse, repulse monkey), then split up class and everyone did a little bit of form work. Jeff assisted. As always, it went by too fast.   Marcia

Modern Arnis Class Notes 11.14.2011

Smallish Class (Sensei, Thomas, Scott, Dave, Marcia, ?Victoria?, myself)

Marcia brought a guest who, 20 years prior, had participated in The Professor's seminars/camp.

I started class off with some basic warm-ups and some single stick twirling.

Then we broke into pairs. Marcia worked a review of misc material with her guest.

I had folks start with disarms, then worked on disarms from passing and flow drills.

Sensei and and Scott worked a number variations off the drill, and broke out the padded sticks to up the energy a bit.

With Thomas and Dave we worked more on foot work and body positioning with the passing and flow drills.

In retrospect, I think it would be good to spend some time drilling in the passing and flow drills from the ground up before adding in the followup disarms.

-Phil