tallgeese

Congrats!

3/4 Drilled material from the weekend. Had to walk thru the footwork due to the toe. But did get lots of reps of form and attack angles. Warmed up with some previous double stick work. Finished night with abs and weight circuit.

Hey all, just wanted to say a couple of things given a recent experience I've just had. I've been busy lately between work and preparation for a seminar I was honored to teach at and and be part of (more in another post about that later.) It's kept me tied up and away from checking in as much as I normally do. However, it did give me the opportunity to look into some specific other arts and reformulate some of my long help hypothesis'. Everyone here knows that I am not a proponent of kata. In fact, I'm usually very outspoken as a critic of the training modality. I think I've got good arguments for this, and everyone who has been here long enough has heard them enough that I don't need to go over them again That said, I had the chance to really get a great overview of Pekiti Tersia Kali at this event. I've danced around the outside of the JKD/ FMA circles for some time but this was my first chance to really get to see some in depth looks at this particular form of Kali. I was highly impressed. One of the core elements of this style is it's progression from form, to drilling, to application. I was most taken by it's focus on form. The stress that the instructor placed on this sort of predetermined model of repetition was high and at the core of skill development. So, I am grudgingly giving way on the kata argument and an big enough to admit that it might have a place. To see it utilized so dynamically for skill acquisition was a game changer for me. See, not so stubborn to admit that there might be other options That said, there are some notable differences in the way PTK approaches its form work and the most common methods of kata work in America. First, the form is never the end nor the goal. Its a way to gain skill for drilling (which we all know is where I spend the bulk of time.) Secondly, there is no "hidden technique" in the form. Everything is pretty much there to see. The trick is to see the application across ranges. No moving textbooks though, what you see is what you get. This I like much more than the bunkai concept. Rather than reconstruct technique you're only matching bio-mechanical advantageous attacks to range. No out of order, or "this was meant to be..." arguments. It's pure, and simple at an application level. The finite matters of technical control, that's of course built in, and not obvious to the student. But that's true of any form of instruction and why instructors are so critical. Last, it's very dynamic in it's movement and leads quickly to drilling and application. No extended period of form for forms sake. Movement is mimicking actual combat speed and footwork, not artificial pattern. For me, that's a huge time saver and learning point. I'd call them "organic" where I always felt that traditional kata felt "artificial." Now, before the bashing starts, I am not saying that I feel PTK is better or worse than anything else. Just that I saw a real difference in how they approach form (kata) than other schools I've seen, BUT what I did take away is that there is a place in training for forms (do I have to say it...kata ) in martial arts learning. Now, everyone can sort out their "I told you so" responses and that's fine. And I am going to figure out how I can work some time to train PTK into my schedule. And- it's good to have time again to be around.

Excellent to hear! Please keep us updated, especially about your grading!

Welcome to KF!

Injuries in MAs can be common if you're in any contact-centric art. Bruises, sprains, strains...all common. Take some time when they happen. A night or two off can pay dividends in the long run. And don't neglect things that continue to nag. Those are the things that can turn into bigger problems if left unchecked. I have a non-union fracture in a wrist thanks to the "I'll work thru it" mindset. Occasionally, fractures and dislocations will happen and the odd off concussion. Again, deal with it as it comes. Good trauma care on site is a must to mitigate the effects of these things happening. Of course there are less common things, but those are the biggies. Taking steps like were discussed above can really go a long way to prevent things like this happening. But they will happen. It's the nature of the beast when we train dynamically. Taking the proper time to heal, especially as we age, is critical in the healing process. As well as working our training around our injuries.

2/28 Drilled lapel chokes from rear mount. 30 min free roll 15 min takedown work 15 min no gi against the fence with one of the fighters. 3/1 Day 1 of Warrior's Weekend seminar. I'll have more posts elsewhere about the event. But I got a couple of hours training with some Dog Brothers MAs, Wing Chung, and then I taught a block of BJJ for JKD. 3/2 Day 2 with knife work from Pekiti Tirsia Kali and JKD low line attacks.....and a broken toe. 3/3 Drilled taking back from guard followed by armbar from same position. 10 min free roll. Suffer over broken toe for a bit and realize I shouldn't have hit up open mat. Lol. Whew. Now I feel like I caught up finally!

Welcome aboard! Can't wait to hear your take on things.

The system I initially came out of spent most of it's weapons time with the knife, club and gun. Since then, the last couple of years I've gotten to take a deeper look into the FMA's thru JKD. This has really let me develop a deeper understanding of the stick and knife. I really love the fact that my job has afforded me the opportunity to get much deeper in firearms work as well. Clearly an additional thing and not part of the schools I come out of.

7/26 Drilled RNC and moved into lapel chokes from rear mount. 30 min free roll. 7/27 Drilled stick work patterns with movement. Light and short stick sparring work.

9/25 Drilled stick patterns for 20 min Abs Bis/shoulders

9/24 Drilled strong side RNC finish. 30 min free roll. 20 min mma sparring 5 min no gi against the cage.

2/23 Drilled double stick patterns. Worked on footwork and integrating movement.

2/22 60 min free roll. Good times were had by all.

2/21 Drilled same side arm bar from top side. Finished by working on grip breaks. 40 min free roll.

2/19 Drilled arm bar from top side, near side. Bfollowed by breaking grip counters. 30 min free roll. 1 round stand up sparring. MMA.

2/18 Kicked off teaching a 5 week block of control tactics at the department today. Aside fro the teaching, it's gonna mean lots of demo reps and rounds as well as doing live. Rounds with the students in some drills.

2/17 am: Drilled step over far side arm bar from top side. Moved into defeating counters to the arm bar by linking hands. 30 min free roll. pm: Drilled the 2, 4 count stick patters and combination from last night. Moved on to heaven and earth pattern and finished by working it in combination as well.

Welcome aboard KF!

2/16 Drilled 2, 4 count stick patterns. Worked in to combination of both. B

2/15 Drilled lasso guard (spider variant) and sweep. 35 min free roll

Yes, bushidoman, it is a great time. It really has to be looked at as attribute and skill set development. It's not so much a fight simulation as the first two. That's where it gets misunderstood. And of course it is a ton of fun 2/13 Finished up a 4 day pistol course with Chris Cerino today and can really say that it was excellent. Probably the best shooting school I've been to so far, really took my pistol craft to a new level. Lots of new training methods to work on.

That is the worst. Get better. 2/12 Drilled breaking the closed guard. Moved into knee slide pass. Finished with knee over same side pass. 20 min free roll. 1 round stand up w strikes.

2/9 Drilled knee slide guard pass from open guard at range followed by the same pass from a tighter position but still open. 20 min free roll. 20 min free form knife work. Return drill then same with pressure. Some flow work. 5 count defanging drill.

2/9 Drilled knife work. Return drill, live versions of progressing complexity and some functional de-ranging work. Finished with a bit of knife sparring.