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

Tai Chi class notes - Thursday Nov. 10, 2011 - Sandy

Thursday's Tai Chi class was on the same idea of my Saturday Class the week before.  We started with our warm ups, the energy was light and fun.  Again, we have the fasination with the balance board.  This time Dan Post started the ball rounding.  He practices this at home all the time and it shows.  So we all took turns and worked the the balance board and from there we broke up into partners.  Marty worked with Ted on a review of part 3 solo form.  Janee and Karen worked on the Dance.  I had Dale run through the cane form as Dan and I observed.  Dan has had some practice in class with the cane so for fun we followed Dale.  Dale is working hard on this form and is doing well. Then Dale and Dan did a review of the dance.  We ended with a round of the solo form.  Thank you for the opportunity, Sandy

Youth Karate class notes - Wed. Nov. 9 - Thomas

"There was a class of 8, we started off with the ten exercises. Then we did some line work for exercise, starting all together with several combinations and eventually moving into freestyle. We did three times up and down the length of the room, trying to keep the movement forward at least a walking pace, then took a water break. We stretched for a few minutes, doing several leg and lower back stretches. Following the stretching, I talked about one of the important aspects of any kind of weapon use/disarm, having a solid grip. To train this we started with some trapping hands, (with stance work for those who had it, and stationary for those who were new to it) putting the focus on the grab. Next we used the padded sticks for a simple #12 strike x-block to disarm. This gave them the chance to train the x-block further, followed up by the strong grab and disarm. We finished the class with Katas."

Adult Karate - Thursday, November 10th, 2011 - Angus

Class notes - Adult Karate - Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Angus Reid leading, Colleen Golrick assisting, three other students attending

Warmed up with Basic 10, triple kick exercise with VM addition, timed
partner stretching at the bar with isometric intervals, partner
shoulder and straddle stretching.

We then trained and drilled crescent kicks, starting with basic single
kicks with stepping, then linking them together by 2's, then 4's,
spinning crescent from the rear leg, and a combination using a hook
punch to disguise the wind-up to the spinning crescent. The green
belts are learning to control their weight, momentum, and center line,
and will benefit from practicing and drilling such spinning movements.

For weapons training, we started with trapping hands, then distributed
safety glasses and put a foam stick in the attacker's hand to train
block-check-counter against a #1 and #2 strike. The green belts worked
on positioning their bodies in response to the attack so as not to be
struck by the weapon's momentum after they stop the arm swinging it.
They then worked the same drill in turns each with a stick, with
particular attention to the block-check flow. The white belt worked
with Ms. Golrick on trapping hands, which she was still being
introduced to.

We finished with some core conditioning, holding a hollow-body
position on the floor for 30 seconds, boat position for five intervals
of five seconds, and the world's slowest push-up.

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

- Aristotle

Modern Arnis Class Notes 01.10.2011

Small-medium class (Jeff, Justin, Scott, Dave, Thomas, Phil)

Jeff led class. Started with basic warm ups, extra emphasis on double zero and following the weight of the cane.

Review of stick forms and the short cane form. review of all 8 empty hand forms.

Spent a bunch of time reviewing applications form the forms. Went through and pulled one application out of each of the forms.

Moved on to crasada, with espada y daga. High and low feeds. Then fed the twelve angles and responded with crasada and a disarm.

great class.

-Phil

2 Person Work Class Notes 11.09.2011

Small group. Bob, Dale, Angus & Phil

Started with Wuji response drill. started with responding to a single technique feed, then a combination technique feed.

Dale and Bob broke off to work on the dance. I worked with Angus on some basic stick drills for adaptation in the Karate class. Block check counter (high, low, punyo) and basic disarms 1-5.

I had to leave early, so not sure what happened in the last half hour.

-Phil

"A black belt is just a white belt who never quits." — Hanshi Vincent Cruz

Adult Karate class notes - Monday Nov. 7, 2011 - Scott

Started with the 10 exercises while incorporating single and double stick variation. Most of the exercises felt the same as they usually would empty hand. However exercise number 4 and 9 required more innovative thinking and coordination.

Then we jumped into a quick conditioning/cardio routine concentrating on leg strengthening and core training. I find it more beneficial to do the more rigorous part of the class in the beginning rather than the middle or end.

We then went into trapping hands, and focused on a few individual variations that I felt were important to know. This was then followed up with a series of joint locks coming off the back fist from the trapping hands. We focused on three techniques working up the arm starting from the inside. Then repeated the same drill, but starting on the outside. I decided to have blue belts and above bring each technique to the ground. While the more beginner students focused on getting the direction of the lock first.

Then we went into a variation of the trapping hands involving ridge hand, and straight punch, and finally ending with a round through the Kata’s. Overall I felt went very well. Great group to work with!

Scott

Modern Arnis Class Notes 11.07.2011

Small Class (Marcia, Colleen, Scott and Dave)

Started with standard warm ups. Tried have folks pay extra attention to following the weight of the canes.

Moved on to a review of disarms. Dave and Scott worked right and left side, and Marcia and Colleen worked counters.

We then moved on to disarms from passing. Partner fed the 12 angles as usual, but instead of reinforced block insert we did a strike pass and then disarm. The drill really stretched people's minds and it was interested to see which disarms came out for different people. We worked this for quite a while, and for the last 5 minutes of class we switched to a crosada entrance.

Time flew by way to fast.

-Phil

JRRMAS Dojo Holiday Party - Saturday Dec. 3rd - 10am-1pm

Dojo Holiday Party

Saturday Dec. 3rd from 10am-1pm

Pot Luck (sign up sheet in hallway)

Gift Swap - bring one wrapped gift for each person that will be participating 

There is also a sign up sheet for helping to set up and tear down

Tai Chi class notes - Saturday Nov. 5, 2011 - Sandy

Saturday's class was fun and had great energy, there were six of us.  We began with our warm up, I was going to go into a meditation and Mike our newst student was over on the balance board, doing quite well so I changed things around and had everyone grab a board and give it a try.  I asked that they tried to keep their balance to think about their posture, their alignment, tucking the chin in, head lifted as in our meditation, as in our whole practice.  They were good sports and kept at it for a bit.  From there we paired up, Marty worked with Mike on the end of part one Solo Form.  He is doing very well.  Karen and Pat worked on Parts one and Two of the dance and since this months theme is weapons, I had Dale run through the Cane Form up into the second row.  So we did a review on that for a while.  Then we traded partners and worked on the dance and I traded with Marty who had been working with Mike so she could get some dance time in. We ended class with the solo form.  It was a good class.  Thank you and take care, Sandy

Adult Karate class notes - Monday 10.31.11 - Dennis

Ron and Colleen were there to assist me and Andrew and Scott were in attendance.  First we did the ten exercises and then some kicking at the bar.  After that we did partner drills for blocking and attacking and incorperated bunkai from the kata.  Ron led through the katas.  Class went a few minutes over.

 

-Dennis

Weapons training ...a few things to consider when teaching weapons.

First consideration when teaching weapons as part of a Martial Arts curriculum is age and maturity (and temperament in older students) .....the younger students should always start weapons training with a single (or double) stick and should be an appropriate age (teenager?) before proceeding to any bladed weapons training. 

 Secondly, I also agree with Sensei Kratz that:

Knife disarms DO NOT WORK 95% of the time in real life....

A successful knife disarm in real life depends on who is doing the disarming, how much practice they have (recently!), skill level (beginner or 40 year Master?), real life experience etc. (think Prof.) and who it's being done too. 

The other consideration in whether the disarm will have the slightest chance of working is what kind of sharp thing it is....daggers are tough and I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a Jian...eh? A butter knife would be a different story though!

Whether a disarm works or not, is all in the context of that particular situation...fancy that?? 

I couple of pertinent quotes from the Prof. Presas: 

 " If you try to disarm someone with a knife or sword you will be cut!"  

 "If they are good with the knife...forget about it!"

NOTE: 

Whenever your teaching knife, sword or gun disarms start with a disclaimer....this will probably not work in a real situation and depends entirely on the context of the particular situation.

Another suggestion for training are the sword disarms from Prof. Presas with a single stick and the stick to stick disarms and counter to the disarms.

The order of the weapons in the system:

First weapon in the system is a single stick (and double stick)

Second weapon in the system is a 6' staff

Third is a single broadsword  (and double broadsword) and/or knife's (of all sizes and shapes)

Fourth is double edged straight sword (Chinese Jian)

Training focus for November: Weapons

The training focus for November 2011 is Weapons - This includes solo forms, two person forms (stick), any and all Modern Arnis techniques such as disarms, tapi tapi, stick to stick, stick to empty hand etc.
The Tai Chi/Bagua group is learning or refining the double broadsword and the tai chi stick form. The Karate group can work on any of the stick and knife disarms and knife to knife drills. Any of the groups can practice any basic Arnis drills and basic stick and staff twirling is a good bet also.
Please add a little Weapons based information and drills to each class that you lead....I hope this helps you all to reach into your vast well of knowledge and dust a few drills and techniques off!!
Fire away with any requests or questions....
One tip I would have is to try and review the material you are going to present on your own and/or privately with a partner before you present it to a class......and.......Have FUN!!!

A little 'curl' of snow sliding off the back of my garage....

Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, a better one.

 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Modern Arnis - Monday 10.31.11 - Marcia

Modern Arnis- Oct. 31. Colleen, Dennis and I did a lot of work on staff vs cane, as well as staff vs staff, with a little work on cane form. Time flew by.    Marcia :^)