Enter The Dojo Episode 6 LOL

If you haven't seen them yet, you have to check out Master Ken and his students at the Ameri-Do-Te dojo:

Karate de Okinawa

This was shared by the Budokyokai Karate Do FB page, highly recommended (even for you people that no habla espa~nol :-)  :

Knife defense training on the Dragon's Orb blog

Some interesting knife defense work by Sensei Strange, very similar to the techniques I've been working on in small circle jujutsu for the last month:

Isshin ryu Seisan & Naihanchi kata, redux

I recorded these tonight after jujutsu class, been meaning to do so for some time now so as to gauge where I am in my performance of them. Eight years have passed since my dojo closed when my teacher Sensei Horowitz retired, and I've done my best to keep a modicum of competence and recollection of the forms in the midst of some very trying personal times that left me very little time to train (hell I had very little time to SLEEP, let alone practice while taking care of a newborn and a toddler between 12 hr shifts).

 End result? Well, I can say that going from four years of three-four hours of training a day, four to five times per week to solo training whenever I had an hour to spare a week (if I had the energy for it that is) does very detrimental things to both mind and body. Gained 50 lbs, developed high blood & cholesterol problems, even had a mini stroke (which left no lasting effect save a permanent numbness of the left side of my face, small price to pay). The TIA (transient ischemic attack) has been a severe, but needed wake up call. So now, six months later, I've got my high blood & cholesterol under control and hope to be off meds for good soon; lost 20 lbs (got 30 more to go, but slow and steady wins the race the turtle always says), and more importantly I have found time and energy to again pursue martial arts.

Remembering what we used to be can be the cruelest form of self punishment, or the springboard to achieve higher peaks than we ever thought possible. The trick is not to dwell on how bad we are compared to what we used to be, but how much better could we become if we could harness that fire, that drive that pushed us then to achieve and trudge on no matter how long, no matter how hard.  To be honest with ourselves, to see what we lost along the way and find ways to recapture the spirit to make new things happen, rather than blame circumstances. Obligations and responsibilities are a part of life, and it is so easy to put the burden of our failings on them. That is not, however, in accord with the Way. First and foremost, the Way is about being responsible for our own actions and their consequences, for good or ill.

I will post other forms as I film them, comments are welcome and please: be honest. I can say that watching these I find things I like, as well as some that make me cringe; but they are mine, and I will own them as they are. If I do not own up to them, how can I change them? For the only thing that one can ever truly change, is oneself.

Seisan kata:

Naihanchi kata:

The Myth of "Pressure Testing" by Phil Elmore

Here is a link to one of the best summations I've read on the differences between sport and civilian self defense training:
http://themartialist.net/?p=130

A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the article on Dan Djurdjevic's forum TFAF, check it out below if interested:

http://www.traditionalfightingartsforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=1117&hilit=pressure+testing

Comments?

Here's to the future...

My sons Patrick (center) and Chris (right), along with their friend Vito and Sifu Michelle Thompson after they passed their gold belt test at the East Coast Academy of Martial Arts. They performed Muay Thai and Jun Fan/JKD punching & kicking sets, Wing Chun pak sao & lop sao, Kali four & six count double stick combos and physical test. Very proud of them, they've had a more rounded exposure at their age than I did at 12!

I am glad to have found a place for my children to get a good martial education and I feel sad for so many parents who wish the best in training for their kids, but are ensnared by the plethora of McDojos out there because they just don't know any better...

Being able to see my kids develop their skills, assist them when they need help with some drill or explain to them why they should keep their wrist aligned while punching... these are things special and dear to me.

Rory Miller on humility

Rory Miller's blog, Chiron, is IMHO a must read for anyone even remotely serious about keeping their martial training "real" and relevant to self defense.  His last post clearly illustrates a lot of the misgivings I mentioned in my first blog post (eerie.. but cool).  Take the time to read it carefully:
http://chirontraining.blogspot.com/2011/12/humility.html