Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch first, then I reviewed their respective cuts and blocks individually before putting them together for requirments while I soloed my own requirements. We then took some time to work on The Mantis, including examining variations in application. After a break we did 100 CFCC (myself steel), a few rounds of Refined Strikes, and finished with Balance 1 & 2.
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Class with Chris. Stretch and his Green Braid requirements once through (myself matching him). Did a focus session on Dragons Tail. Took a break and get into protective gear. After the break, had 21 one-on-one matches. I did 9 with my two handed style, 9 with one handed style, and the final 3 with a two-sword style.
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Class with Rakta Nadi and Chris. Stretch and had them go through requirements while I soloed mine (with steel), after which we then did a focus session on Jumping Tiger 2. Took a break, then started the second half with a roughly half mile jog, after which we sat in seiza for several minutes to take a moment to take in the evening and let all students regain their breath. We continued with Refined Strikes, then a pel gambit, and finally some Move Builder.
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Class with Bryce. Stretch and our respective requirements, him repeating his once. We did a focus session on Thorn, focusing on clean movement using our quads and core, not leaning into it. After a break, we had 24 one-on-one matches. I used two handed for 9, one handed for 9, and two sword for the last 6.
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Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch and had them do requirements while I soloed mine. We then did a focus session on The Tradition. After a break, we did 100 continuous full circle cuts (myself steel), a few rounds of Refined Strikes, and some Pel Gauntlet.
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Class with Chris. Stretch and our respective requirements, with him repeating his practiced moves a few times through. Focus work on one of his moves, then a break. After the break, we did just 50 continuous full circle cuts (myself steel), then a couple rounds of Add-On, then we donned helmets, mits, and legs for armored parry ( 1-attack, 3-attack, and switch- ).
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Class with Rakta Nadi. Stretch and went through his requirements, then reviewed Dragons Tail a little and did a focus session on The Tradition. After a break, we did some Move Builder, followed by Add-On, and finished with 100 full circle cuts (myself steel).
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Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch and requirements, first reviewing their cuts and blocks individually, then paired them for their full requirements while I soloed mine. We then spent some time studying Jumping Tiger 1, a new move for Chris. After the break, we did 100 full circle cuts (myself steel), refined strikes, and move builder.
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Attended the annual Best of the Best tournament, held in Half Moon Bay again as typical. There were 18 competitors including myself. Master Gemini took first again, Kaiden The Severer took second, and Daniel took third. I had made some adjustments to my armor so I had some better mobility, but I still need more work, particularly on my grill and bevor. As usual, I had some good matches, and some matches where I should have done better, but in general I felt reasonably good about the day.
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Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch and then had them review requirements while I solo’d my own. We then had a focus session on The I Move and did 100 continuous Full Circle Cuts (bokken). During the break we geared up, then had a total of 36 one on one matches and a final multi-opponent match with all three of us.
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Class with Chris. Stretch and requirements. We did 100 full circle cuts (bokken) and a focus session on The Mantis. During the break, got our protective gear on, and in the second half got in 25 one-on-one matches.
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Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch and requirements (paired them, I went through mine solo). Study on Mantis again, continuing to work to move that muscle memory groove/habit into the smoother, better transition into each follow-up attack. After a break, instructed on Gad’s Sword Disarming Move, then worked on combat movement, did 100 full circle cuts (me with steel), and finished with Balance 1 & 2.
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Class with Bryce. Stretch and respective requirements. Worked on Mantis with the revised/improved flow from cut to cut. 100 full circle cuts. Did some Move Builder and Add-On. I used one handed all night except steel for the FCC.
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Class with Chris. Stretch and one through our respective requirements. Instructed him on Dragons Tail. Got in armor and had 20 of 1-on-1 matches. Spates of medium to heavy rain, muddy unstable footing conditions.
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Class with Bryce and Chris. Stretch and 50 continuous full circle cuts (FCC) to warm up, followed by requirements. I reviewed both Bryce and Chris individually, then paired them to go through once more together. After a break, we reviewed The Mantis, a new move for Chris. Next was another 100 FCC (myself with steel) and then several rounds of Refined Strikes.
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Class with Rakta Nadi and Chris. Stretch and requirements, break, then sparring. Due to armor swapping, just did a full set of matches with myself and Chris, then a full set with myself and Rakta Nadi.
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First class of 2022 today. Delayed opening to wait out a pandemic surge. Attended by Rakta Nadi and Chris G. I reviewed requirements individually with Chris and Rakta Nadi, then we did some focus study on The Tradition. After a break, we started with Refined Strikes against the pels, followed by rotating through ukes. We then did a number of passes through pel gauntlet/gambit and finished with Balance 1 & 2.
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Class with Bryce, Rakta Nadi, and Chris. Final class for 2021. Stretch, 50 continuous full circle cuts to warm up (myself steel), and requirements. Focus study on The I Move. Blind Man’s Boffer. Armored up and had 1-on-1 sparring.
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Special 1-on-1 session with Rakta Nadi. Reviewed his requirements in depth, took a short break, then further reviewed Kata Ich, then did a couple rounds of Refined Strikes, followed by some Silent Bokken (aka 1 attack parry), and finished with a bit more review of the extended interactions in Dragons Tail.
I matched him with one handed for the full session.
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Class with Chris (Bryce called out). Stretch and reviewed his requirements, then did some focus work on The I Move and The Tradition. After a break, we did a couple rounds of Refined Strikes, followed by 100 continuous full circle cuts (myself steel). We then donned helmet and gloves and did light armored one attack parry (akin to silent sword), followed by switch parry. Finished with a couple more times through Cutting Pattern 1.
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Class with Jesse B and Chris (Bryce and Rakta Nadi called out). Stretch and requirements, starting with me reviewing Jesse’s most recent five moves, then having Jesse and Chris go through requirements while I soloed some of mine and observed and interjected on theirs. We then took some time to do a focus session on Thorn. After a break, we did 150 continuous full circle cuts (me with steel) in increments of 50 as well as 25 CFCC with iron sword. Followed with one round of Refined Strikes, and finished with pumpkin cutting using blunted steel, first against a standing post, then against chunks tossed at us.
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Class with Rakta Nadi and Bryce, Chris called out (medical). Stretch and requirements once through, then worked on Akira, with an eye to flow and ending body position. After the break, Bryce and I had 20 one-on-one matches while Rakta Nadi logged (due to recent personal injuries).
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Class with Chris. Stretch and once through his requirements. I then instructed him on The I Move as his first Straight Offense move. After a break, I took some time to go through some hand to hand basics (stance, movement, front punch, and front kick). Chris has a background in some hand to hand already, so it was mostly review, nuance, and discussing application in a sword fight context. We got in some Refined Strikes and 100 Continuous Full Circle cuts (mine steel).
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Class with Chris, both Bryce and Rakta Nadi called out for health reasons. Stretch and once through our respective requirements (Chris repeating his practiced moves as I got through all of mine). After a break, we did 100 full circle cuts (me with steel), refined strikes, bokken sword dance aka one attack parry (quarter speed, no circle), and finished with Balance 1.
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Class with Bryce and Chris, Rakta Nadi called out. Stretch and requirements. I reviewed Chris first, then paired him with Bryce and went through my own requirements while they worked together, interjecting as needed. We spent some time working on Thorn, then took a break. After the break, we practiced combat movement, did 100 continuous Full Circle Cuts (me with steel), a few rounds of Move Builder (we each created a sequence), and finished with a single round of Refined Strikes.