Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.31.2011

Small Class (Jess, Angus and Dave with Luke assisting. Ron for a few sections)

Did a quick warm up including some circle walking double/single stick twirling.

Moved on to sinawali and redunda practice with extra effort on reverse sinawali.

Went to block check counter (high/low/punyo counters) then on to slap off drill.

Luke came up with a neat variation on obstruction removal utilizing the punyo to lock the checking prior to the counter strike. We spent a couple minutes exploring these variations and then transitioned to stick anyos.

Reviewed 1 & 2 together, then I broke off to work on stance work and transition in 2 with Dave. Luke led Jess and Angus in 3 and spent some time focusing on the importance of the figure 8.

I also spent some time on the sinawali with Ron and we reviewed the unfriendly handshake a couple times on the left side.

Norm and Luke kicking at recent American Karate rank testing

Saturday 1.29.11 Youth Karate-Teryn

I led both the 9:30 and 10:30 classes with Scott assisting. The 9:30 class was very large (mostly white and yellow belts). We went through the ten and then some stretching. We practiced basics and then practiced some basic combos for line-work (Scott took the white belts and Tucker). We ended class with Katas (I took the yellow belts, Scott had the white belts and I had Simon oversee Dylan's progress on Wansu). The 10:30 class was much smaller. We started with the ten and then a large amount of stretching. We used the rest of class for sparring. Overall both classes went very well.
-Teryn

Tai Chi Class Notes 01.29.2011

Sandy was sick, so she asked me to cover the class this morning.

Small class (Marty, Dale, Wes, Nancy & Karen) Marty & Dale assisting.

Marty led the warm up exercises, we had a short walk/water break and broke into pairs to work on the dance. The mission, go through the dance with your partner as far as you can, then pick one section to really spend some time on.

Marty and I worked a bit on the section in part three where the left hand feeds the partners split arm over to the right hand and into the play lute arm break/lock. We spent a little time with Karen and Nancy on this as well.

Worked with Dale and Wes on part 7 from the beginning of the section to the kicks right after the "chicken wing." Dale was working on the step back, and back weighting the counters to the knee/ kicks.

Nancy and Karen asked for some help with vertical push hands. After watching them work the beginning of part 6, we decided to do a little house keeping with the first part of the drill. Worked the hand turn and body to arm connection in single push hands, and on the cross hands in the horizontal push hands.

Ended with a round to some music I can't remember the name of. It had some great flutes in it though, and I think it worked well.

Great energy in the room. Teryn was leading Karate with Scott assisting when I left.

Off to Sensei John Sullivan's Dojo in Springfield VT to test his students in American Karate

Sensei Kratz and I will be heading north shortly to test 7 of Sensei Sullivan's students, two testing for Brown II - Newly promoted Black belt, Teryn is in charge at the Studio this morning for the two youth/adult Karate classes - it's a good day for the AK system;^)

Thursday 1.27.11 class notes - Sifu

Little Dragons - small class 6 - Sensei Kratz assisting - I led the 10 - went on to review and work on basics, first in stance and then to bag, worked front thrust kick and round house (they need more time in to a target)

Youth Karate - med/large class 12-15 - Sensei Kratz, Angus, Jesse, Teryn assisting - did an in-class testing of Alexis, Yianni and Dylan - Dylan counted through the 10 - went on to an extensive list of basics in stance and while crescent stepping and then line work - ended class with the testers performing their Kata's in front of the group

5:30-6:30 class - continued the test first with SD and then free-sparring - Peter helped out with the SD and Teryn suited up for sparring with the testers - excellent j-o-b by the way;>)

Dylan promoted to Purple belt, Yianni to Blue and Alexis to Blue with honorable mention in Kata and Sparring....they all did well but Alexis' performance during the testing was truly outstanding.

Adult Karate - med class 10-12 - Sensei Kratz, Angus, Norm, Jesse, Teryn and Thomas assisting - Jesse led the 10, stretching and basics - Sensei Kratz and I were discussing the upcoming testing at John Sullivans in Springfield VT on Saturday (Teryn will be leading the groups this coming Saturday at the Studio) - Sensei Kratz and I joined in on the kata instruction with detail and bonkai - went on to free-sparring for the rest of class time

Note: Great help and energy from the Black belts this past week.....outstanding!!

Reflections on Transition

So, it's been awhile, before the Holidays, since the last post. Since then a lot has happened, some professional, some personal, that has me thinking a lot about transition. We use the term a lot in Tai Chi to describe how we get from posture to posture and how transition should be seamless, smooth, and flow from beginning to end (flow being another loaded word that we could talk about for... oh, let me see...EVER). Transition implies change and we indeed change from one posture to the next. It's no different in the Karate or Arnis forms, albeit at a different pace with different emphasis, and to a certain extent no different in our lives in general, although I would posit that keeping the life transitions seamless and smooth tends to be a tad more difficult. Teaching, whether it be martial arts or academic classes or anything else, at it's best should also have seamless, smooth transitions and I find, as with my individual practice, that consistent time actually doing it improves, what I think, is the quality and effectiveness of teaching. Students "get it" more readily, more sophisticated info can be transmitted and the "process" becomes more streamlined. Along with this an ability to adapt and integrate new material and resynthesize ways of transmitting old material, to me, becomes easier. I have a full load this semester and with the time put in preparing for the courses along with the time put in actually teaching has got me at more than full enrollment in most of the classes and enthusiastic, intrinsically motivated students. Can't ask for too much more than that! Think a bit about the broader meaning of transition and adapt your practice strategies to other aspects of your lives and see if it doesn't improve things a bit.

Wed. 1.26.11 class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - med class 10-12 - Lily and Dennis assisting - I led the 10, followed by floor stretching, sit ups and push ups - went on to crescent step/block/punch (the yellow and blue belts still need work on this) - went on to basics in stance - Wallace round kick drill - reviewed the first 10 SD (they are getting them....finally!) - reviewed and worked on the kata's

Tai Chi - small/med class 8-10 - Luke and Phil assisting - I led a shorter version of the qigong warm ups and a 15 minute standing meditation - the grand circulation qigong - did a slow round of the solo form up to wave hands, with explanations - worked on wave hands and repulse monkey with explanations about weight distributions and waist/spine detail

Arnis - small/med class 8 - Luke and Phil assisting - warmed up while walking the circle - went on to several discreet locking drills using progressive stepping, backward throw, standing center lock, arm bar - went on to two skill drills for locks, one for the center lock another for backward throw to center lock - went on to two sticks against one, starting with pokes and block/check/counters, talked about the readiness of the checking hand and using like a cobra striking, added series of tech. including puno passing and 'wrapping', went on to right/left puno passing from both directions

Tuesday 1.25.11 class notes - Sifu

Staff training - Bob, Sandy, Phil and Dale - talked about teaching vs simply instructing, the psychology of giving a correction, also talked about starting a Wed. morning practice for Staff - worked on the Dance

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Bob and Dale assisting - we continued to work on the Dance for the next hour and fifteen minutes - I made it a point to work with everyone in the room ended with a Round of the Dance with Bob - ended class with a Round of the Solo Form to the music - good round, great class!

Youth Karate - med class 9-10 - Jesse Stone and Peter assisting - I led the 10 - went on to crescent step/block/punch with all three basic blocks, concentrating on holding a proper fist - went on to three way kicks against the stretching bar, Peter and Jesse away from the bar - reviewed the first 10 SD - reviewed and worked on the kata's

Tai Chi - tiny class 3 - Janee, Dale and Chris - I led the qigong warm ups and standing meditation, followed by the grand circulation qigong - went on to a round of the solo form with the music - I answered questions on the solo form and developed a couple of exercises and drills to help - went on to work on the dance, I did a round with Janee and Chris adjusting as we went.

Bagua Zhang - the tai chi dance training went into this class, since Janee was the only student we stopped at 7:45 - I'm thinking of making the Tuesday night Bagua class on open training - I'll keep teaching the Thursday morning class - Bagua players let me know what you think.....please!

Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.24.2011

Luke led class - (Phil, Jess, Scott, Angus, Thomas)

Review of the unfriendly handshake series right and left. I spent extra time with Angus on the end of the series while Luke moved everyone else on to another drill.

Angus and I were able t get a few minutes of the locking drill Luke was running. It was transitioning back and forth from Backwards Throw and Center lock, but the focus was less on the lock ending position and more on the sensitivity in the transition movement. Keeping tension in the arm and using footwork and body position. I found this a very useful exercise.

Moved on to review stick forms and empty hand forms 1 and 2. I worked with Angus on applications and footwork on form 1 while Luke worked on form 2.

Good class.

Saturday 11.22.11 class notes - Sifu

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Marty led the class - Dale assisting - I came in right at the end and talked about the 'internal' aspect of the dance - demonstrating some of these principles with Dale - the basic idea is that the outside movements (or sequence in the dance) is designed to contain the real art which is inside and invisible - Dale did a great job in assisting!

First Youth Karate Class - small/med class 6-8, Sensei Kratz, Colleen, Lily assisting - I led the 10,  interspersed with basics, concentrating on correct punching (vertical punching) and quality snap kicks with good balance after the kick retracts - went on to review and work on the kata's in groups

Second Youth Karate Class - med size class 8-12 - Sensei Kratz led the class - Colleen, Lily, Teryn and myself assisting - Sensei led a great stretching class as a bunch of those that tested on Thursday night were very tight!! Went on to work the kata's - I worked with Dylan on Seiuchin

Tai Chi class Saturday 1.22.11 - Marty

Had a good class this morning with Nancy, Karen, Dale, Pat, Wess. I did the usual qigong warm ups, then Standing Meditation, ending with a round of the 21 excerise.  We worked on the dance Nancy ] Karen Wess ] Dale and I worked with Pat on the first and part of second part.

      Ending with a round 

Absolutely awesome American Karate rank testing this evening...wow!

Front row: Peter, (Green belt, honorable mention basics), Lana (Purple belt), Thomas (third degree Brown belt), Colleen (prob. Black belt, honorable mention kata), Mrs. Gobiel

Back row: Sensei Kratz, Mr. Gobiel, Mr. Levesque, Andrew (Blue belt), Scott (second degree Brown belt, honorable mention in all areas), Mr. Milcarek, Teryn (double promotion to prob. Black belt), Ian (Green belt, honorable mention sparring), Mr. Reed, Mr. Chaisson, Sifu Roy

Congratulations to Colleen on her promotion to prob. Black belt. She also received an honorable mention for kata....Incredible forms Colleen.


Also congratulations to Teryn for his double promotion from second degree Brown belt to prob. Black belt......excellent skill and consistency throughout Teryn.

Scott also had incredible consistency throughout the test...from basics to sparring, SD to kata's.....excellent skill Scott

Peter really rose to the occasion with his first testing with the adult group...really held his own. His basics were outstanding!

Ian was a force to reckon with during the sparring....great poise, distancing was second to none, and fast, fast hands...great cross Ian!

This was the A group all around...from the lower ranks to the upper ranks ...everyone did outstanding! Congratulations to all.....

Sifu

Thursday 1.20.11 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - Read and myself - talked about yin/yang as it relates to Bagua Zhang practices, including overhead position, length of joints, stepping, turning in the old eight palms and reviewed and worked on change #6 in the second yin fu set

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Sandy, Marty, Dale assisting - talked and modeled 'close chain' and 'open chain' exercises - started with wuji squat with weights - went on to a full open chain regimen for the hips (thigh and knee) - did a round with exaggerated stepping, lifting the knee to waist height before stepping down

Little Dragons - small class 6-8 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen assisting - I led the 10 with basics interspersed throughout - run around the room sequence - quiet standing

Youth Karate - small class 6-8 - Colleen, Dennis, Teryn assisting - Colleen and Dennis led most of the class while Sensei Kratz and I conferred about the upcoming testings - we came in towards the end to help out with kata's - I worked with Dylan on the end of Seiuchin

The evening class was an Adult American Karate rank testing - excellent turn out of AKS Black belts to serve on the board and an excellent turn out of family and friends to bear witness and support the testers. Excellent job by all involved;.)

Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.19.2011

Medium size class - Luke, Justin, Jess, Scott, Angus & Thomas

Did a quick warm up with focus on where the stick was circling related the center line. A little single and double stick twirling.

Then went on to use trapping hands as the platform most of the rest of class. Started with focus on alternating stance work with V step, right forward with shuffle, left forward with shuffle.

Moved to more free form stance work and then inserted the backwards throw, with flow to keep the trapping hands drill going.

Moved to Backwards throw to the floor with, sweep the floor and the thumb come along back up and back into trapping hands. We spent a lot of time developing some report with the techniques. Scott and Thomas worked a bunch making the circle for the backwards throw smaller.

Moved on to inserting the mobility throw into trappings hands to ground. Then outside kick to the head, step over to flip the person onto their stomach, and up again with the thumb come along and back to trapping hands. We spent quite a while on this as well. Great energy in the room and some great self awareness and observations.

Ended the class with a couple applications from the beginning of form two. Gunting, to armbreak to mobility throw. Then did shoulder grab from behind, to off-balance, to "part the hair" wrist lock to wrap around arm bar.

Luke and Justin got to work together most of the class, which I thought was a great opportunity for them to really let their whole art come out.

Ran a little late and would have kept going if the clock had let us.

Wednesday Youth Karate Class 1/19/11 Lily

A smaller group tonight, but some good work all around. We started with the ten (I was leading) and did some leg stretches. Next we worked on a series of kicks, trust, roundhouse, side. I worked with Yoni and he has great attention to detail. He could tell his side kicks were off and I told him to focus more on the direction of the kick coming strait out. I also had him work on the direction of his knee for roundhouse. We worked on turning back kick and again, his was very interested in how the kick worked and how to get it right. His main issues were balance and timing. Next we worked on katas. I helped Gabriel with Nihachi and Seisan. He needs to focus on his thrust kick position and general detail. He has the sequence down well, it's a matter of perfecting it now. I worked a little self defense with him too. At the end the brown belts worked on our rank kata and san chin in preparation for the testing (not me, but Thomas and Scott). All and all, a good, focused class.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.17.2011

Small Class - Colleen, Scott, Angus

Quick warm up and then reviewed the unfriendly handshake locking series. Colleen and Scott worked on both right and left sides, while I worked on the ending sequence with Angus.

Moved on to the Rolland Rivera Locking Series.

Scott worked with Angus on the disarms, and I reviewed the counters to the disarms with Colleen.

In the last five minutes Scott and Angus tried working the disarms left handed.

Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.10.2011

Medium class.(Luke, Angus, Thomas, Dennis, Colleen, Marcia)

Did a quick warm up and then spent the entire class on Counters to the disarms, except for with Angus, who Luke spent most of the class going through the first 1-12 disarms.

-Phil

Li Ziming (1900-1993)

Little Dragons class notes 1.14.11 - Marcia

Lil Dragons class went well. We did the 10 exercises, worked on front snap kicks, and side kicks. There were seven kids in the class. Colleen and Jason assisted. Kids were all excited about the previous day's snowfall.

Marcia

Thursday (1/13/2010) Morning T'ai Chi Class

Six students including Sandy & Dale.

Warmups, Master Duan's Qigong (See Master Duan Zhi-Liang wuji qigong on YouTube.com)


Then a row of Brush Knee Twist slowly. Came back with "Kick with Toe" emphasizing good balance in cat stance before kicking. Challenged balanced by multiple kicks from the knee, holding posture and even closing eyes while on one leg. Finished return row with Repulse Monkey with emphasis on parallel footwork. This can be trained by having the rear heel out as the back foot touches down and as the foot rotates to be flat on the floor the foot will be parallel.


Then three pairs of students worked on the dance for about fifteen minutes and then we finished with the Solo form on the right side with music only.


Thanks,


Read

Snow Removal Qigong

Phil just reminded me about remembering good posture when shoveling ( and snow blowing). Thanks for the reminder Phil!!

Note to myself; You can turn snow removal into great training! Qigong even!! (now that's a positive spin..eh?) Just use good alignment, leg power instead of the lower back, avoid twisting with snow on the shovel, using stepping instead twisting (kai bu, bei bu), use longevity breathing, change sides often, drink plenty of water and remember to stretch after the 'snow removal work out'! 

Be safe! 

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 11.9.11 - Dennis

Angus was there unexpectedly.  He said that he returned from his trip early.  The other students were Marcia, Colleen, Scott, Thomas, Jack, Lana and Josh.  The class consisted almost entirely of partner work.  Since I was the odd duck out, I walked around and gave tips.  Partners were changed frequently.  I thought that the pairings were good.  I saw a LOT of really good feedback going on.  It seemed like the class ran at optimal efficiency.

 

Scott was a big help.  He was my uke for demonstrating most of the drills.  Also, when we did harmony sparring at the end, he volunteered to sit out so that I could work with Josh.  I had Marcia sit out instead, since I knew she wasn't feeling 100%, however I was really impressed that Scott was thinking ahead like that.

We started with the ten exercises and stretching.  Then we did some drills for stealing the opponent's space and pushing followed by some SD applications.  After that we did pad work for a crescent kick/hook punch combination.  It's one of my favorite combinations in sparring.  Finally we did harmony sparring.  I worked with Josh.  I found that it was much more productive to have him focus on resetting his stance rather than following each block immediately with a strike.  It was so productive, in fact, that I instructed the rest of the class to try and counter by shuffling in and out of range rather than just blocking.  The energy in the room was good.

-Dennis

Tuesday 1.11.11 class notes - Sifu

First of all....... 1/11/11   nice numbers!!

It'll be another 1,000 years before that happens again!! Jan. 11, 3011....yikes!!

Staff Training - I came in at the end....Bob, Read, Sandy, Dale, Luke and Phil....one of you (or more) can post something about your training/thinking this morning....

Tai Chi (morning) - small/med class 8-10 - Bob, Read and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - worked on 90 degree stepping with a bunch of detail and reasons why....to get the mind connected and down in the body!! Went on to a Round with stepping/stance work detail, without music or count - everyone did really well;.)

Youth Karate - med class 10-12 - Colleen and Jack assisting - I started with an explanation on how to develop a stable qigong breath followed by some qigong breathing practice - went on to the 10 note: qigong breathing should be done whenever doing the 10 as they ARE qigong exercises when done properly - did a bit more stretching - partnered up for line work, practiced correct movement forward and backward with back fist / side kick combo - everyone did really well - went on to forward roll practice and then trapping hands - went on to mobility throw and the bridge take down - reviewed and worked on all kata's up through Sanchin

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Sandy and Janee assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - we worked on the nuance of the 90 degree stepping - did a round - partnered up for the willow drill - went on to free style push hands - reviewed the dance

Bagua Zhang - Read, Sandy, Max, Becca, Janee - I led the 10 - explained the hand position for the guard posture - practiced first the hands then added the lower body and torso twisting checking posture in the mirror - added forward stepping with explanation - added kai bu / bei bu - went on to the first change of the yin fu set to the mirror with corrections - I had Becca working on walking the circle and the rest of the group went on to review all 8 changes of the first and second set

Personal note: I had a tough week end, emotionally draining, (wake/funeral etc.) with very little sleep for three nights in a row, started really running out of gas right after the youth karate class.....just tired;.(

The Meaning of Life......two

:: Pamper yourself.....

:: Face your fears.....

:: Go to a museum 

:: Exercise

:: Limit television

:: Get in touch with nature.....

:: Lighten up

:: Get a good night's sleep

:: Read books

:: Buy yourself flowers

:: Don't compare yourself with others

:: Don't beat yourself up

:: Be open to new ideas

:: Don't focus on negative thoughts......

:: Focus on creating what you want

:: Make time just to have fun.....

:: Keep the romance in your life.....

:: Make a gratitude list.....

:: Love your mother earth

:: Want what you have....

:: Be true to yourself....

Meaning of Life.....one

 :: Show Up


 :: Follow your heart


 :: Find a new perspective


 :: Have a sense of wonder......


 :: Find people you love


 :: Set goals....


 :: Help others...


 :: Dance

More to come.......


Note: I recently received an animated video from my diving pal Gerri. She posted this video on YouTube. I was unable to link the video to the blogs....but I really liked what it said.....so here's the first installment's of the text....ponder at will....

 - Please feel free to 'comment' on any of these 'Ideas on the Meaning of life'.

Saturday 11.8,11 - class notes - Sifu

Tai Chi - small class 3 - Read led the class - I came in around 9 for the Round - talked about opening and closing the Kua (inguinal fold) during the basic step - I  counted the One beat and the half of the 2, 4, or 6 to get the stop/conclusion of the postures synchronized

First Youth Karate - med/large class 10-14 - Sensei Kratz, Teryn, Thomas, Scott and Lily assisting - I led the 10 - broke into groups with the student leaders Thomas with the yellow belts for basics and SD, Lily with Riley preparing him for Blue belt testing, Scott with Simon for work on Chinto, Teryn with new student Tucker for intro to basics and Sensei and myself supervising and pitching in when needed - great job by the Brown Belts!

Second Youth Karate - med large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz leading - Jesse, Teryn, Thomas, Lily and Scott assisting - another great class with great work on the Kata's and SD - I worked with the Green belts on Chinto and the Brown Belts on SD: Drop Knee and Lower X - The Student Leaders are SUCH a pleasure to work with;>)

Youth Karate Saturday 1/8/11

A great group today. The first class was primarily yellow belts and we started with the ten and some crunches. Then we broke up into groups to prepare for the testing. I worked one on one with Tristan (that's his name right?) and he's looking good. We went through Niahachi and Seisan kata and he knows the sequences, but could work on his details a little more, namely his thrust kicks and angle kicks. We did self defense, and he was a little fuzzy on Aiming the Spear and the double wrist grab, but I had him do it a few times to help him remember it. I worked some of his basics too, the snap and thrust kicks. I told him about pushing his hips forward with the thrust kick and that seemed to help him. He had several good kicks. Then I just did some bunching and middle block practice. He's definitely ready to go up a rank.

The second class was another good group. We worked on the katas going at performance speed. Then the brown belts broke off and did San Chin (sp?). We finished with self defense review, but the brown belts practiced techniques against kicks. That was fun, despite the fact Scott dropped me. I'm fine, I just got a little jolted. All and all a great class (much better than my last one).

Thursday 1.6.11 class notes - Sifu

Bagua Zhang - Lenny, Sandy, Read, Bob, Max and Becca - I led the 10 - Standing Meditation in the guard posture - kai bu, bei bu to the mirror with single palm change - walking to the mirror with direction changes - partner work

Tai Chi - med/large class 12-14 - Lenny, Sandy, Marty and Dale assisting - started off working on joint locks then split into two groups, on working on either the solo form or the dance - finished with a round to the music

Little Dragons - small class 6 - no help (Marcia called in) - I led the 10 - went on to the running around the room routine - basics in line - corrected the fist - reviewed the nihanchi Kata - lying meditation

Youth Karate - small class 6 - no help - one new student, Tucker (who did really, really well) - I led the 10 - went on to basics in horse stance - went on to strikes to the bag, palm heel, back fist, thrust kick - reviewed the Kata's - Riley demonstrated Seisan in front of the group

Staff Training - one private student, Read - we worked on the tai chi jian form

Adult Karate - small class 6 - Scott assisting - Scott led the 10 and a some additional stretches and calisthenics - worked on crescent step, block and punch - the group worked on their own and I worked with Josh - went on to pad work for hands and feet, progressed to free style pad work ala sparring but to the pads - went on to work the kata's - Scott worked with the group and I worked with Josh on nihanchi

  Note: Handed out some  invites to the adult karate rank testing yesterday. The test is on Thursday 1/20 from 5:30 until finished - All AKS black belts are strongly encouraged to participate if at all possible - Colleen is testing for probationary black belt - Please RSVP - Thanks

Wed. 1.5.11 - class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz, Teryn, Lily, Dennis and Marcia assisting - I led the 10 letting students set their own standard, with a couple of exceptions the effort and tech looked good - went on basics concentrating on holding a good fist, first vertical punching, and all three blocks, then snap kicks concentrating on balance and knee position after the retraction - went on to crescent step, block, punch with good fists - water break - reviewed the first 13-14 SD tech. Note: The group is just starting get familiar with these tech. they need to keep running through them a little each class, we are basically supervising their practice, they are NOT practicing these tech outside of classes. - went on to work the kata's up through Kusanku, again emphasizing a good fist, knife hand and claw....ran out of time....great class, great help, great students!

Tai Chi - med/large class 10-12 - Marcia, Luke and Phil assisting - Marcia started the qigong warm ups I joined in about 1/3 the way through - I read an excerpt from Sifu Haywards news letter about the origin of the internal Lung meridian and how deep abdominal breathing effects and stimulates all the meridians - great article which I'll try and post excerpts of on the Staff Blog - I led a Standing Meditation emphasizing the taoist longevity breathing from a narrow stance with hands on the lower tan tien - went on to a round of part one to the mirror with corrections - went on to work on part two up until fan through the back a couple of time ....went over time - good class

Arnis - small class 6-8 - Luke, Marcia and Phil  assisting - we worked the empty hand anyos all evening, with detail and discussion as needed - we got through the first 4 - the first four forms looked good with everyone on the same page;.) - good class

Tuesday 1.4.11 class notes - Sifu

Staff Training - Bob, Read, Marty, Dale, Sandy, Luke and Phil - I came in late (lost ...er misplaced my car key's) everyone was working on various things - I did a 'first of the year' round of the Dance with Read, we talked about the Roll Back position and a change in part 4 - I then talked with Phil and Luke about ranking in Modern Arnis....productive talk! The ranking has been tough in Modern Arnis...for a while now...so it's time to change it up.....the gist is please keep me posted about students that I'm not seeing on Wed. nights and to raise the bar for detail and quality in general, if teaching the Anyo's to higher ranking Karate students and watch their basic's to make sure they are using twisting punches and blocks

Tai Chi (morning class) - med/large class 10-11 - Read, Dale, Marty and Bob assisting - Marty led the qigong warm ups (I was still talking with Phil and Luke) - I led a 10 minute Standing Meditation and a round of the '21' - broke into pairs to work on the Dance - I took Shira and worked the end of part 1 repeatedly - ended with a Round of the solo form to the music with Master Liang counting - great class

After class I stayed and worked with Dale on his 90 degree stepping and my theory on teaching

Youth Karate - small class 7-8 - Scott and Peter assisting (note: Colleen is away this week) - I led the 10 - went on to crescent stepping, added punches, added blocks - went on to line work, started with jab, cross, front thrust kick, then jab, cross, outside/inside crescent kick, went on to round house kicks, then back fist side kick, finished the line work with side kick, round house, turning back kick - went on to work the kata's emphasizing  a good fist and a good knife hand - did several rounds of each kata - Scott worked with the yellow belts on seisan and nihanchi and I worked with Peter, Scott G. and Andrew on seiuchin and wansu -
Scott reviewed some SD with the yellow belts....ran out of time!

Tai Chi - small class 6-8 - Marcia, Sandy and Dale assisting - there was a new student in class, a friend of Max, Rebecca - I led the qigong warm ups with some additional explanation for Rebecca - went on to a teach the taoist longevity breathing and then a Standing Meditation starting with the heels just inches apart (for James) - Dale broke off with Rebecca to work on the 90 degree stepping (Dale needs work on that) - I did a round with the rest of the group - ran out of time....WILL get to the Dance next week!

Bagua Zhang - Marcia, Sandy, Janee, Max and Rebecca - I led the 10 - did Standing Meditation with the bagua guard posture - went on to kai bu, bei bu and bagua walking while facing the mirror - I thought everyones walking was looking better after 10-15 minutes - I would suggest to the group to continue with the walking in the guard posture to the mirror in order to correct and adjust form - went on to individual circles with a changes of choice, everyone choose the first yin fu set - we all worked on change 5, talked about the shuffle up from the basic rear weighted bagua stance....ran out of time

Student Leaders Thomas, Teryn and Scott practice a SD scenario, two against one