Modern Arnis Class Notes 02.28.2011

Medium class: (Angus, Colleen, Dave, Jess, Thomas, Teryn) with Sensei & Luke assisting

Did a quick warm up and then spent just under 1/2 hour on disarms(right/left), and counters if people had them.

Moved on t0 a review of empty hand Anyo 1, then proceeded to on to some bag work. Worked on the twist punch distance and position. This seemed to be a great place to focus for all, but especially for the karate folks for having more punching choices, and for Dave to start building his basics.

Focused on the retraction/elbow strike during punching to the bag, then moved on to elbow strike to the bags while doing the twist punches. A few people moved on to working the elbow strike from guard position while working the lower and upper blocks.

Ended class by doing the first anyo a couple more times with more awareness of the position of the techniques.

Good class, sore elbows.

Saturday Youth Karate 2/19/11 Lily

The first class was a smaller group of mostly white and yellow belts, plus a couple of our new blue belts. We started class with the ten, then went straight into kata work. We went through Naihachi and Sesan with particular attention to detail. With Naihachi we focused on horse stance, and Sesan we worked on stances too. We broke off into smaller groups and I worked with the yellow belts on katas and self defense. Oscar was great with his kata, but I think he needs to work on putting more power into it (we saw that when he performed for the group). Then we went through SD and they all knew the techniques, it was just a matter of being sure of themselves.

The second class I worked with the new student Chelsea. I led her through the ten exercises, trying to give her a start with that. Then we did some basic techniques, high and middle block, with some reverse punches. I tried some basic kicking (snap and thrust) too, but she's definitely going to need help with balance. I also gave up up until the first chicken neck block in Naihachi. She was very attentive and eager to learn, but a little nervous (as we all are when we first start). She even was correcting herself with bending her knees!! I hope she sticks with it, we can always use more girls :).

Saturday 2.26.11 class notes - Sifu

I came in at 9 for a round with the tai chi class - Read was leading the class and they were working on the Dance - nice round!
I led the first youth Karate class through the 10 with corrections and awareness of the feet in the first posture of #9 - went right into the Kata's - several rep's through Nihanchi concentrating on correcting ourselves as we go, emphasizing the Horse Stance with feet pointing forward - continued through the forms up to Chinto, breaking into smaller groups led by Scott, Lily, Sensei Kratz to continue working on the kata's, basics and SD - Great class, great help;.)
Sensei Kratz led the second class - emphasizing and correcting the more advanced SD tech - I saw a bunch of great take downs! Lily worked with the new student Chealsea...great job Lily!!

Thursday 2.24.11 class notes - Sifu

Started the day with a Bagua practice with Bob, Read and Sandy - we practiced the old eight palm form and used the three rep's method, one slow and stopping at the posture, one smooth and fluid and one with eye's closed with the second yin fu set ....really good practice, some good discussion too
The Tai Chi warmed up and went on to a rooting drills we carried that 'feeling' into the solo form, another slow round without the music using the 'five kick method' to check the root and balance - really great round;.)

The Little Dragons class was light with only two students - Marcia and Colleen each took a student and gave them a private lesson concentrating on the '10', basics and kata - great job by the Staff!!

Youth Karate - another light class with 5 students - Marcia, Colleen and Scott each took from one to three students and worked with them in a private, semi/private lesson setting - again great job by the staff

Staff Training - I worked with Colleen on Sunsu - Scott and Angus worked on their own

Adult Karate - med size class with Angus, Norm, Jesse and Colleen in the room to assist - Angus led the warm up and ran the class through some basics - love the three and four way kicks Angus - went on to basics to a focus pad - concentrating on turning and spinning back fist, got some good work done on this tech - went on to SD - really great job by Angus and Black belt crew....really great!!

With an additional 2 hours of training on my own....I was pretty tired by the end of the day....these split shift day's aren't getting any easier..... I had to get up at 5 for my first 7am class and got home a little after 8pm....it was easier 20 years ago....when I was in my 40's....surprise, surprise!

Wed 2.23.11 class notes - Sifu

It was a good day on Wed. - good showing of Staff and good class attendance in the Tai Chi and Arnis programs - the youth Karate was a bit less, but it's school vacation. Lily and Scott were there to assist with the youth class.
Luke assisted with the Tai Chi and Arnis classes. There were 4-5 students that I worked with on the middle of part 2 from needle at sea bottom until high pat horse. Luke took Pat and Craig all the way through the form.
We did a rooting drill after the warm ups and standing...good class
Arnis had 9 students, Luke, Justin and Jeff assisting - Marcia was there observing and helping out - after a warm up with stick we loosened up with self joint locks - we reviewed the stick forms with several rep's each - went on to block check counter, tapi tapi, stance work drills, emphasizing the forward triangle's in all the drills - ended with disarms - good class

Wednesday Youth Karate Class 2/23/11 Lily

Hi all,

Man it's been a while. Today it was a small class, given it was vacation and all (for public school anyway, not for me). We started with the ten and then worked on some kicking exercises for strength and stretch. I think I'm going to try and incorporate them into my home training. We finished with some detail work on Naihachi and Sesan katas.

I also would like to know more about our karate style's linage and mentioned it to Sifu. He said he'd be willing to talk a little after Saturday's class about it, so anyone else interested in learning is welcome.

Tuesday 2.22.11 class notes - Sifu

Little different format for my posts today.....

Light class attendance Tuesday....especially the youth class...Maybe school vacation? Hopefully today's class will be better attended. 

I started the day working with Staff, talked about Sifu Haywards new book "Lessons with Master Liang" I have put a sign up sheet and will be accepting orders (checks payable to JRRMAS $25 soft cover) for the next few weeks. I'll place the order for all books that are pre-paid - I also talked a bit about coverage for my upcoming trip starting the week of Monday March 7th for two weeks. Please take a look at the schedule, talk to me and your fellow staff members, do what you can. Please sign up as early as you can...otherwise I start getting nervous. Thanks!!

I continued working with Luke and Phil on the Arnis forms detail and concepts - we started again on #1 and worked our way up to #5. Great discussions, their understanding continues to make progress.

The Tai Chi class warmed up and I led a short meditation followed by a slow round without music, some detail and explanations and the 'five kick method'. Great round!!! We went on to review and work on the dance

Sensei Kratz came in early for the afternoon youth karate class with Thomas and Scott. Colleen and I came in for the class. We only had two students show up, so Sensei Kratz worked with Dylan and Thomas worked with Skyler. I worked some with Scott and Colleen and they worked together on their own too. Lot's of great material covered. Great to work the counter locking drill and the ice pick knife disarming drill too!! 

Only four students for the tai chi class - Sandy, Janee, Dale and Chris - I led the qigong warm ups, a round of the 21 and a slow round of the form, like the morning round without music and with the 5 kick method, a short standing meditation at the end. We went on to review and work on the dance. I worked detail and sequence and applications with both pairs. Concentrating on the end of #3 and the middle of #5

All in all a light day....good practice....good energy by all, especially the Staff!!

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 2.21.11 - Angus

Adult Karate, Monday, February 21st, 2011
Angus Reid teaching, Ron Milcarek assisting, 9 other students
Warmup & basics:
10 exercises
triple kick exercise, five each side, singles & doubles
independent standing roundhouse- 10x each side
3 minutes independent stretching

Class divided into pairs, for roundhouse kicking with pads
90 seconds each leg, per person, advancing/retreating while throwing
kicks to pad at different heights

SD Groundwork:
1) Attacker standing, defender on ground- attacker tries to touch head
without being warded away or evaded by defender. Defender on ground
practiced pivoting, moving, evasion on hands, while aiming feet for
kicks at attacker.
2) Same as above, attacker with a knife.

Class was then asked how being attacked by a knife-wielding attacker
was different. The consensus was that it made you shift into a more
defensive mindset, and some people found themselves using
crescent-type kicks to try to bat away or block the attacker's
slashes.

3) defender still on ground, attacker stationary, defender aims
strikes at reachable target areas- feet, ankles, shins, knees, groin.
No contact.

4) defender on ground, while partner holds body shield against base of
standing punching bags. defender practices throwing strikes with power
from a prone position. Most found that thrusting, stomping kicks
worked well, kicks with the instep not as much.

At this point, mats were deployed and used for remaining exercises

5) SD drill- defender prone on ground, attacker sitting, mounted on
chest, with hands pinning defender's arms to the ground beside head.
Defender:
       a) forces attacker to shift weight forward by kneeing in buttocks
       b) pushes arms over head along floor to drop attacker from control position
       c) rolls to one side with attacker underneath, counterattacks

6) SD drill 2- attacker mounted as before, now striking at defender's
face. Defender "embraces" attacker, pulling in from back, and grapples

7) Scissor take-down

Closing exercises:
2-person abdominal exercise- 1 person lies on ground, holds onto
partner's ankles next to head, raises feet above head. Standing
partner pushes them to the ground; repeat. 10 forward, 10 left, 10
right

cool-down stretch

Modern Arnis Class Notes - 2.21.11 - Marcia

Modern Arnis -
Phil and Luke assisting - Started off with some warm-up drills Did sinawalis and redonda and obstruction removal drills. Focused on chambering the stick and on the stance work. Pretty big class, good energy.   Marcia

Youth Karate Rank Testing 2.19.11 - Sensei Kratz

Eval notes: started with 6 young ones ended with 4 due to sickness by this date. Four yellow belts were promoted to blue belt. All were eight years old, one just turned 9 recently (Gabe). They did really well with alot of attention and corrections given from Sifu (amazing energy and input given out by Sifu, made me tired!)  With a huge group of black belts, 6 total in the room. Wow! Thomas was intense running the group with the ten exercises. His presentation is really stepping up.  We need to discuss possibly holding off on moving Shawn to the next kata just yet depending on some review. Overall went really well with Lily's assist in the room.   Sparring still needs some work of course. Really hard at that age. Lets stop putting photos in with my eyes closed.   The ring sparring should be more explosive overall. Setting up, having a plan, thinking what technique is coming next should be discussed with classes. Its not free sparring, not the number of techniques thrown or for exercise.      PO KRATZ

Youth Karate Rank Testing 2.19.11

In the Shadow of Professor Presas

We have a new student club on campus called the "Tactics Club" consisting of ROTC students and others interested in law-enforcement and/or military careers. They asked if we could do a joint workout with the Mixed Martial Arts Club and would I do some training for them. I thought an ideal mini-seminar would be knife defenses and joint lock/pain compliance techniques. I do not currently teach a formal Modern Arnis class and corral people who are interested in some Arnis training when I can, but am far from regular in teaching Professor's art, so it was really nice to highlight some of the really practical aspects of Arnis for these young people who had never heard of Arnis or the Professor. I often hear my teacher's voices in my head as I teach, but Friday's workout with this group really had Professor's spirit in the room as we worked knife defense, lock flow, and throws with locking setting up cuffing positions. It was all at once exciting and sad as the realization of Professor's absence mixed with his art being practiced with such focus and intensity. They really enjoyed the training and will be back next month for some review and baton work. 24 years ago this year since my first Easthampton seminar and the Beverly summer camp and it sometimes seems like yesterday when teaching and practicing. Thanks Professor for an immortal and organic art never to be forgotten.

Thursday 2.17.11 class notes - Sifu

If your reading this please let me know (jrroysifu@gmail.com) It's a fair amount of effort to continue to post all the classes I teach and the view counter for the blog is indicating that the traffic to the Staff Blog is going down significantly over the past month.... if you are participating by checking in and reading the staff blog please let me know that you are....thanks! So far I only hear back from Phil and Sensei Kratz.....thanks you guy's!

Bagua - Bob, Sandy and Read - I started with a round of the wild goose qigong to warm up - a round of the old eight palms - a round of the first yin fu set - ran out of time - good review/practice

Tai Chi - med class 9-11 - Sandy, Marty and Dale assisting - I started with the qigong warm ups - talked about a 'check list' to observe and adjust while holding the form postures - did part one and half of part two holding the postures from one to three breaths while observing and adjusting - Dale worked with Ted and I took the rest of the group through to the end of the form - great energy from the round!

Little Dragons - small class 6-8 - Marcia assisting - started off with running around the room sequence - went on to a circle for stretching and basic punches and kicks - tried the wallace round kick with a partner, had to switch gears to doing it against the stretching bar - did the side kick as well as the round house - worked on crash of the eagle without a partner

Youth Karate - small/med class - Marcia and Colleen assisting - geared the class toward  Shawn, Gianna and Skyler who are testing on Saturday - concentrating on balance, balance, balance for Shawn, he's getting it, some of his problem is concentration on balance and going too fast and hard too soon. Some students (like Shawn) just need to be encouraged to go slower with less power, other students (like Skyler) have good detail and balance and need to juice it up with speed and power. I told Shawn that I'd tell him when it was appropriate to speed things up and add power...but not right now....just to concentrate on good balance and fully extending his punches and kicks. We reviewed step/block/punch/turning, basic kicks, punches and blocks - Kata review and practice performances by the folks testing on Saturday - also reviewed SD - gave black tips to Shawn and Luke - good class

Staff Training - Scott, Colleen, Angus, Ron - I worked on the tai chi form with Scott (he's getting it!) - worked on Sunsu with Ron and Colleen

Adult Karate - med class 10-12 - Ron, Colleen, Jesse, Angus, Thomas assisting (Sensei Kratz came in for a visit in uniform) - started with individual stretching warm up for 15 minutes - we worked advanced kicks to pads and the bags for most of the class, concentrating on turning, spinning and jumping kicks - the A team was in the room so it was appropriate material for that group, there were some really talented kicking going on - wish I had filmed some of this class...next time! - we also did some free style line work with blocking/critical distancing and mirroring combinations to each other and also a review of the kata at the end of class - I worked with Josh on Nihanchi (he's getting it!) - ran out of time...great, great energy in the room!!

Wed. 2.16.11 class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - med/large class 10-12 - Teryn, Dennis and Lily assisting - I led the 10 emphasizing balance as the first and foremost principle in all martial arts tech. - I continued with this balance theme throughout the class mostly to encourage Shawn (who is testing this coming Saturday) to concentrate on staying in balance when practicing, but also to remind everyone in the class the importance of rooting and staying in balance at all times - went on to step/block/punch/turn - then to line work - went on to work on the kata's and review the first 10 SD - good class, lot's of material, great help!

Tai Chi - small/med class 8-9 - initially no Staff present, Luke came in after the Standing Meditation - I led the qigong warm ups with some variations - went on to 10-15 minute standing with explanations - went on to two rounds of part 1 with comments and explanations - Luke took Teryn to continue on part 1 - I went on to part 2 with the rest of the group - concentrating on the sequence just after needle at sea bottom - did several repetitions - ran out of time....

Arnis - small/med class 8-9 - Luke assisting - I led the warm ups - reviewed a number of tech to use while doing double stick twirling, with progressive stepping and coiled dragon stances, fluid attacks, double zero, bind the head, palis palis etc. - stayed with the palis palis theme with a partner, worked the basic drill then added a tech or two off of a #1 attack - added the espada y daga with palis palis - went on to crossada continuing with the espada y daga theme - ran out of time.....good class

Tuesday 2.15.11 class notes - Sifu

Staff Training - Bob, Marty, Phil, Luke, Read, Sandy and Dale - I worked on the first 5 Modern Arnis forms with Phil and Luke concentrating on #5 - went on to work tai chi staff and spear with the group - great energy in the room;.)

Tai Chi (morning class) - med/large class 12-14 - Bob, Read, Marty, Luke and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - broke into partners to check the Standing Meditation posture and TL breathing - went on to wuji push hands  trying to sense intent - worked on the dance, I worked with Dan concentrating on part 5 - finished with a round to the music - great energy in the class!

Youth Karate - med class 9-12 - Colleen, Jesse and Scott assisting - good blend of ranks, excellent teaching 'team' - I led the 10 concentrating on the first position in #9 for balance for Shawn - several  additional stretches - crescent step/block/punch practice (Skyler and Shawn needed additional help and a slower pace so Colleen took them to the side) I added a stepping to the corners low block drill for Seiuchin Kata - went on work the kata's - reviewed SD for the yellow belts and trapping hands for the more advanced - added X block to arm bar for the advanced students - went on to pad work for rear leg and forward leg round house kicks - ended with Shawn and Skyler performing Nihanchi and Seisan Kata in front of the group in preparation for their rank testing this coming Saturday.....attention all AKS Black Belts please attend if at all possible. - Excellent class....excellent help!!

Tai Chi (evening class) - Dale, James and Jeff - no senior staff present - Dale only knows one side of the dance so the partners were limited - luckily Jeff and James have the receiving side, so all worked out ok - we started with individual warm ups - went right to the dance and worked it for the entire class ....excellent work by everyone.....upgrades and adjustments as we went along - finished with a med/fast round without the music or the count - small but good class, could have been better with at least one senior staff who has both sides of the dance....next week??

Modern Arnis Class Notes 02.14.2011

Large class: Luke led with Sensei and Phil assisting. 11-12 people total.

Luke led a double stick warm up and awareness drill. walking around the room with sinawali and redonda hooked in to stance work for power and timing. Then moved on to intent of changing pace of the lower body movement and upper body movement. Great awareness drill for mind directed practice.

Moved on partner work with mobile sinawali practice and the 8,12,8 drill.

I spent some extra time with Dave on this and we translated to empty hand while looking at our body position and angles in the mirror. Focused some on not hunching over during the reverse sinawali. Made some really good progress.

Moved on to block check counter, staying same side forward throughout the drill with attention to the line of the attack for both parties. Reset the line in between each strike.

Great class good energy.

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 2.14.11 - Angus

Adult Karate, February 14th, 2011
Angus Reid teaching, Sensei Kratz assisting, 8 other students
Warmup and basic exercises:
Three minutes shadowboxing- hands & feet separate, then integrated
10 exercises, three-minute independent stretching
Triple kick exercise, five each side, single kicks and doubles

Class divided into pairs, for Wallace roundhouse kicking drill & linework
Attack side threw set strikes, Defense side responded according to the
nature of the drill:
1) Evasion/Blocking while stepping back
2) Evasion/Blocking while stepping to advantageous position
3) Evasion with only passive blocking
4) Evasion/Blocking while stepping to advantageous position, then
counter-attacking

This fourth drill revealed interesting complexities due to the varying
distances between the partners, their differing limb lengths, heights,
and so on. Therefore the next drill was a more simplified version,
focusing on just a single attack, allowing the defender to explore the
options for a response:

5) Evasion into an advantageous position, with counter, off of a
right-side-forward jab

Class then put on gear for sparring drills:
1) one person attacks, other evades into counter-attack position if
possible, and throws single counter-strike.
2) one person only strikes with hands, other person only strikes with feet

Class was queried which was easier- being the puncher or the kicker?
Results were inconclusive: Those who said they consider themselves
kickers said being the kicker was easier; those who self-identified as
punchers said being the puncher was. As I looked around the room
during the drill, I saw a lot of good learning happening, as people
created strategies based on the range of attack they knew to expect.

Remainder of class time was spent on slow free-sparring, with emphasis
on evasion into an advantageous position, keeping control of one's
weight and balance, and presenting a minimal body area as a target.

Three-minute final cool-down and stretch.

-Angus

Tai Chi class notes - Saturday 2.12.11 - Sandy

We had a small group with good energy and humor. Myself, Marty (who assisted me in class), Dale, Wes, Nancy and Pat.  I call them the "regulars".  We all decided that winter has taken a toll on us and decided to do our stretching slowly to give enough time for the body to release.

Since stretching took a bit longer than usual, we took a quick walk and water break and proceeded to some push hands.  I like to go back to basic push hands as much as possible to help seal in principles.  We started with single hand and paid attention to our center, their center, relaxing, using the waist, no arm business and so on.  It amazing how you think you are facing "their" center and when you take a good look it's a shoulder or a hip or their head.  So we slowly worked on this concentrating on all of the basic principles.  From here we moved to the brush knee twist two person work.  Again, I kept reminding our group, where are you pushing to? Where is the energy going? How are you rolling back, are you over turning in your waist, where are your hand positions at the end of roll back and are you staying connected?  There was a lot of great discussions going on.  It's always great to review.  I know how much it helps me.

We had some time to review the dance.  We started with part one and stopped where the sequence began to break down and just kept repeating.  That's when you came in and helped us through questions in part 2 and demonstration of part 5.  Which was very helpful, especially for me.  Then we finished with the solo form.  We had a nice class.

Great training with Sensei Sullivan yesterday morning!

I traveled up to Springfield VT yesterday morning for a session with Sensei Sullivan at his home Dojo/music studio - We spent the first hour and half working on the American Karate system, detail in Standing Meditation and T'aoist Longevity Breathing, the 10 Exercises and Nihanchi and Seisan Kata's. Then for the next hour and half I received an excellent bass guitar lesson, concentrating on correct right hand technique to create an clean and even sound. We worked on several blues walking grooves, then a couple of songs: The Badge by Jack Bruce and Day Tripper by the Beatles....I've got my homework....thanks for the guidance, patience and wisdom John.
This is a format that we plan on offering to the public in a seminar format ....a combination of martial arts training and music. We both find from our individual experience's that the martial and the music practices very much help each other and the benefit from the balanced practice of both is truly amazing and very satisfying. The martial being Yang practice the music being Yin....a perfect blend for ones health and happiness.........more to come on this;.)

The Four Agreements

From ancient Mexican Toltec culture comes these Four Agreements, which not only are for individual self-improvement but help us live in community. My sense of a school, dojo, kwoon is of a community in which we choose to be a part. Check out Don Miguel Ruiz and his book on these four ideas. Sifu/Sensei Roy has always encouraged independent investigation, scholarly research and incorporating wisdom from many sources to help us find our own truth in our art and this is something I intend to share in my classes as it goes directly to our art as a vehicle for self-enlightenment and character building. Enjoy.

*Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of TRUTH and LOVE.

*Don't Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. We are free to love without fear of judgment.

*Don't Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

*Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to when you are sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Saturday 2.12.11 class notes - Sifu

Another great day of classes this morning...rounds out the week! Thanks again for everything that you each contribute to the wonderful culture of our Studio...it's so healthy in all respects....[Bow]!

Tai Chi - Sandy led the class with 5-6 students - they were working the dance when I came in - I demonstrated part 2 and 5 with Sandy and gave explanations on tech. and concepts - we did a round to the music - great energy in the room

First Youth Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz, Teryn, Colleen, Scott assisting - I started with the first few of the 10 went on to basic punching and blocking emphasizing the elbow to the rear, correct fist, correct extension and correct tense/relax - went on to review the first review and work on the first 10 SD concentrating on proper practice between the more advanced practitioner and the student they are helping out....correct modeling of the tech and the practice of the tech....the advanced students were doing really well with this concept and up'd the anti on their practice;.) Broke into groups to work on the kata's - Sensei and Colleen worked with the two beginners on basics while we were practicing the SD

Second Youth Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz led the class -  Colleen, Teryn and Scott assisting

Thursday 2.9.11 afternoon/evening class notes - Sifu

Note: Classes this week have been really great...good turn out....I've seen some students that I haven't seen in a while....great energy and just a really great feeling all around. It's week's like this one that really feed me internally and I'm so grateful for the culture that we've all created....Many thanks to all of you for your contribution to the good Chi of the Studio.....[Bow]

Little Dragons - small/med class 8-10 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen assisting - I led 10 - went on to basics in line with a review of 1/2 of Nihanchi Kata at the end

Youth Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen and Scott assisting - Sensei Kratz led the class -  he started with a warm up and stretch including the 10, calisthenics and basics, he also included some SD and Kata

Staff Training - Sensei Kratz, Colleen, Scott - we worked tai chi spear and staff solo and two person for the entire hour (excellent) - I reviewed the three staff forms with Colleen and Sensei Kratz

Adult Karate - med/large class 10-12 - Sensei Kratz, Colleen, Scott, Angus, Jesse and Thomas assisting - Sensei Kratz led the class -

Thursday morning 2.9.11 class notes - Sifu

Bagua - Lenny, Read and Sandy - worked tai chi/bagua spear exercises solo and two person for the entire class....Excellent class!!

Tai Chi - med/large class 12-14 - Lenny, Read, Sandy, Marty and Dale assisting - I led a modified warm up, concentrated on the tea cup exercises with tennis balls - partnered up to check each others Standing Meditation posture and breathing, talked about the breathing - stayed in pairs and worked the dance, Sandy worked with Lana on the solo form - ended with a round to the music -

Note: both yesterday and today...excellent classes, great energy:^)

Wed. 2.8.11 class notes - Sifu

Youth Karate - med/large class 12-14 - Sensei Kratz, Teryn and Peter assisting - Sensei Kratz started off with stretching at the bar, went on work the first 10 SD - went on to 1/2 speed free sparring with one person blocking the other attacking then switching - broke into groups to work on Kata's - GREAT CLASS;.)

Tai Chi - med/large class 10-12 - Marcia and James assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - went on to an explanation of Standing Meditation with some detail - went on to 90 degree empty stepping - a slow round of part one with explanations - broke into two groups, James took Teryn and worked on part one, I took the rest of the group and worked on part two up until turn and throw fist - good class

Arnis - med class 8-10 - Luke, Marcia and Phil assisting - new student Randall in the room so I tailored the class around him (he is a police officer in Athol and interested in material that would be useful in his line of work) - I led the warm ups with some explanations as we went along - went on to work on the sinawalli's, then with empty hands and added the backward throw application, worked the throw to the ground with submission follow up and thumb lock guiding the back up on their feet - went on to trapping hands, first application was to arm bar (in two beats) followed by forward take down to submission on the ground, added mobility throw from the inside with submission follow up on the ground, talked about some of the detail and timing involved with both take downs - went on to block/check/counter concentrating on staying on the same side stance work - added the 'slap off' - Really, really good to be back in the room with everyone after having to cancel the last two Wed. nights due to snow....great class ...great group!!

Modern Arnis Class Notes 02.07.2011

Smallish class: Scott, Thomas, Angus with Marcia assisting

Did a short warm up. Worked on the disarms and counters. Then moved on to a sensitivity disarm drill.

Both people with two sticks. Worked on tip insert and disarm with the left and right side from from strikes 1-4 from both sides. moved on to the other twelve angles with tip inserts, then worked a bit on the same drill with punyo inserts.

Tuesday 2.8.11 class notes - Sifu

Staff Training - Phil, Read and Dale - Great to have Read back in the room! We worked on the short stick form and the Dance

Tai Chi - small class 5-6 - Read and Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - went on to work on the dance - did a round to the music - talked about single whip and the rear foot during roll back

Youth Karate - med class 10-12 - Thomas and Peter assisting - I led the 10 - talked about Taoist Longevity Breathing and the importance of training the mind to watch/observe the breath (meditation), talked about vertical and horizontal alignment when practicing martial arts - did a 3 minute standing meditation (everyone in the group needed upper body alignment corrections, they were all leaning back pretty significantly) concentrating on TL breathing returning the mind to the breath when it wanders - went on to light sparring with a partner, one person feeding the other blocking (lightly, no gear) - went on to step block punch concentrating on shuffling (they were all doing really well with this),  reviewed through the first couple of kata, concentrating on shuffling -  broke into groups and started the beginning of the Seiuchin for Yianni, Wansu for Dylan  and Chinto for Peter - Thomas was a great help;^)
Note: The Student Leaders Thomas, Teryn and Scott set up a schedule on the teaching calendar...very, very cool!! GREAT j-o-b you guy's!!!

Tai Chi - small class 4 - Dale assisting - I led the qigong warm ups - introduced the tai chi spear drills talking about what makes it qigong and fa jing developing (Gong Fu Power) introduced the intercept/cross, coil, push down, strike, the two person drill with staff/spear, I demonstrated the drill with Jian Sword and talked about how it relates to the solo form - went on to discreet drills for the separate and kick with left and right foot - went on to an application for the that kicking sequence - went on to a round of the solo form to the music - good class, good energy

Bagua - Cancelled....no students - I'm officially shutting down this class until the spring - then a sign up will be required - I'll need 4 students present to open the class again - I'll keep the Thursday morning 7am Bagua class open as long as I get students showing up - Bagua players please keep me posted week to week on your attendance - Thanks

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 2.7.11 - Ron

Monday night Karate class was Jeff, Angus, Teryn, Scott, Thomas, Jack, Ian, and Josh. Looking at the folks there, I suggested a sparring oriented class and Angus and Jeff agreed. There was also enthusiastic response from the rest of class members. So, we warmed up with shadow boxing. Went to half an hour of stretching lead by Angus. With gear on, we went on to 3 minute timed rounds. A few open rounds of free sparring. Then with instruction on "turning the corner", some on "closing the distance", some thoughts from Jeff on body punching. There was a lot of coaching back and forth and really exceptional energy. There was good interest in doing some judged point sparring. We formed two "rings", did that for about 45 minutes. I think some of the younger guys started to think more strategically about what they are doing, rather than just throwing out their favorite techniques. Josh got right into the mix, which was only possible with the fantastic guidance from everyone who went with him. Teryn, Scott, and Angus stayed after 8:30 to work more on their own!! High quality crew, great vibe.

Youth Karate class notes Saturday 2.5.11 - Sensei Kratz

0930 hours Karate Youth Class, All worked on Self Defense techniques, it is slowly coming along. I don't see the correct intent with the young ones which is difficult of course.  Needs more energy. Chokes and attacks are weak. Excellent help from Teryn, Scott and Tom. 1030 hours class with 8 total. John G. arrived and made the group complete! Warm up with the katas. Looked at Andrew and Scotts Wansu kata. Later worked on the shuffles. Bar stretches and then sparring.  Good times. No one got hurt. Stayed until 12:30 with Tom, Teryn and Scott working on trapping hands, joint locks and pushing. Much fun.  


Youth eval,  Sat. Feb 19th 9am   Be there !!!  Looks like 5 or 6 total. Did speak with Lukes father about question mark on the eval. He is still working on his left and right.  


PEACE Officer KRATZ

What kind of practices would be recommended for pregnant women.....

Excerpts from a recent email to a student who is pregnant. My suggestions for what portion of my art/teaching that I would recommend for anyone that is pregnant.

First and foremost, T'ai Chi and Qigong, especially standing, sitting or lying meditation. Concentrating on correct alignment in the field of gravity, a balanced/centered posture, sung (relax/sink) all tension downward to the soles of the feet, taoist longevity breathing (TL breathing), all with an alert but calm, centered state of mind, will greatly contribute to the Mom and the child's overall health. There's been no studies on such things but I can personally guarantee that these particular practices, the way we do them, is a very, very positive thing to do prior, during and after child birth.

Try and spend some time each day either standing, sitting or lying in meditation with TL breathing.....major in the TL breathing with a calm centered state of mind, remember your postural alignment and try to sung (relax/sink) all tension, physical and mental, down to your feet. Do your forms/Kata's with TL breathing, extra emhasise on correct postural alignment, applications (Bonkai) and take it easy on the fa jing (issuing), unless it feels especially good to focus your techniques, just stay 'soft', with correct ending postures. Keep to slow kicking drills like the wallace round kick drill and the slow three way kick drill while holding onto something for balance and don't kick the bag or targets with any force...everything light and relaxed! 

Above all .....listen to yourself and do what you can, when you can.

Breathing in Peace and Calm,

Sifu

Saturday 2.5.11 class notes - Sifu

If your reading this ....thanks! The traffic on the staff blog has slowed down considerably the past few weeks. I'll keep posting my notes and encourage all of you to do the same. You can post notes, ideas and experiences in classes even if you not the lead teacher. I'm very interested in reading you comments....please, please participate!?!?

Tai Chi - I came in around 9 - answered questions about the dance in part 5 where there is a change step to a hammer lock (arm bar) - did a round to the music without the count

Youth Karate - small/med class 10-12 - Sensei Kratz, Teryn, Scott, Thomas assisting - started right off with prep for the upcoming testing, worked on the first 10 SD (they are getting it ...but still need practice) - broke into groups for kata work

Youth Karate (second class) - small/med class 10-12 - Sensei Kratz led the group, Teryn, Scott and Thomas assisting - I'll ask that Sensei Kratz and/or the Student Leaders post notes for this class

Tai Chi class Saturday 2.5.11 - Marty

Tai Chi - This morning 6 were there,Nancy, Wess, Dale, Karen, Pat and me. I led the qigong warm ups and standing meditation. We paired up Dale and Karen, Wess and Nancy.  Pat and I worked on the begining of part 2, Pat wanted to work on the ending of part 3 of the form. She was having trouble from the last snake creeps down to the end ,we went over that part several times, ending class with a whole form.


  

Thursday 2.3.11 class notes - Sifu

Well today is Chinese New Year - the year of the Rabbit (metal rabbit) and the first day of classes after having to close Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Don't think I've ever had to do that before...close two day's in a row!! What a winter....

Bagua - cancelled

Tai Chi - small class 6 - no Staff present - I led the qigong warm ups - did a round without music with corrections, using the 5 kick method, worked the kick section and did the very end to the mirror with explanation

Little Dragons - small class 6 - no Staff present - I led the 10 interspersed with basics, vertical punching, chicken neck blocks, front snap kicks, I talked about proper usage, not hitting other people, when to practice, what to practice, teaching martial arts to young children is like teaching them to use a sharp kitchen knife - did the run around the room routine with a short lying meditation at the end  

Youth Karate - small/med 8 - Ron came in toward the end and helped with the kata's...thanks Ron!)
I started with the 10 - went on to partner stretching on the floor - went on to pad work with front snap kick and round house off the rear leg - reviewed first two SD - went on to work on the Kata's ...thanks for the help Ron!

Supervised Practice - Ron and Angus, Sensei Kratz came in, in uniform, he was working - We worked on Sunsu detail, technique and drills

Adult Karate - small/med class 7-8 - Ron, Angus, Jesse assisting - I led the 10 - went on to a 15 min Standing Meditation with explanation and prompts, talked about longevity breathing and goals for a stable qigong breath (i.e. 10 second inhale, 10 second exhale, natural and relaxed, actively moving the abdomen, the chest moves passively) - broke into groups to work on kata - Ron supervised sparring for the last part of class

An excerpt from a note I recently sent to young students Mom

Very typical conversation with a parent......Kid's want to keep playing or hanging out...they don't want to get ready to come to class right now....sound familiar?  I don't know much....but one thing I do have some experience with is this idea of keeping a consistent training schedule. In reality there is NO other concern with training if this one is not in place. The idea of daily training, or weekly training for beginners is the crux of the spirituality in the Martial Arts. The self-knowledge that can be (and will be) developed by cultivating a life long daily practice is immense and extremely worthwhile....in my humble opinion.


These are the types of things I regularly discuss with parents, young and old students...it's at the crux of Mastery...consistency of practice=daily........

"Everyone has trouble from time to time getting themselves (or their kids) to class. I too struggle to initiate all of my daily practices from time to time, but it always feels good by the end of the practice....that's the part I lock onto....ALL types of practices, including musical practices and the like,will have a 'pre-practice' phenomena (inertia?), occasionally. In my experience, consistency is a difficult thing, with all types of practices and with exercise in general.

The more demanding (concentrations and effort wise), the more difficulty one may encounter. Eventually as one progresses, the practitioner get's acclimated to the demands and more experienced with the great feelings that one get's from regular practice and exercise...The results! It's tough, at times, but I really believe that it's worthwhile. Developing resilience to daily practice and exercise, early in life, gives the young student a head start. It only becomes more difficult as one ages.

I wish it was easier, but then again, everyone would be Black Belt or an accomplished musician, writer,singer,artist,dancer,figure skater...etc."

Happy Chinese New Year - The year of the Metal Rabbit

Traditional Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year period began in the middle of the 12th month and ended around the middle of the first month with the waxing of the full moon. Observance of the New Year period was traditionally divided into New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year.

Traditionally for the Chinese, New Year was the most important festival on the calendar. The entire attention of the household was fixed on the celebration. During this time, business life came nearly to a stop. Home and family were the principal focuses. In preparation for the holiday, homes were thoroughly cleaned to rid them of "huiqi," or inauspicious breaths, which might have collected during the old year. Cleaning was also meant to appease the gods who would be coming down from heaven to make inspections. Ritual sacrifices of food and paper icons were offered to gods and ancestors. People posted scrolls printed with lucky messages on household gates and set off firecrackers to frighten evil spirits. Elders gave out money to children. In fact, many of the rites carried out during this period were meant to bring good luck to the household and long life to the family–particularly to the parents.

Most important was the feasting. On New Year's Eve, the extended family would join around the table for a meal that included as the last course a fish that was symbolic of abundance and therefore not meant to be eaten. In the first five days of the New Year, people ate long noodles to symbolize long life. On the 15th and final day of the New Year, round dumplings shaped like the full moon were shared as a sign of the family unit and of perfection.