For the second day of the event, the morning melees were 10 steel and 10 boken, and the afternoon was 10 steel after which we had some one-on-one boken since there was only one boken-only fighter remaining.
Tag: redding dojo
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I travelled down to Redding for Kaiden Sal's public exhibition event at the Shasta Renaissance Faire. For the morning melees, we had 5 steel, 5 boken, 5 steel, and 5 boken. For the afternoon we had 10 steel and 10 boken. In the evening, after the feast, Head Kaiden Gad gathered many of us to play Hide the Belt.
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Second day of the faire event. More steel and boken melees.
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I journed down to Redding for Kaiden Sal's publish exhibition event. There was a mix of steel and wood melees.
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Final Redding Dojo class of the year, attended by Sal, Steven, Joshua, Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. I took the class out to an unlit, undeveloped space of land where we did some night training. After a quick stretch, we did requirements, paired by rank and working on light altered terrain. After a break, we did refined strikes, followed by 200 full circle cuts (bokken only), and finished with unarmored parry.
By final tally, Dalton had the highest attendance percentage, followed by Sal and then Steven.
The weather was cool, lower 40’s perhaps, the only light was ambient city light from the sky and periphery (no moon).
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Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. Tonight was a special sparring field trip. We gathered at the Redding Dojo and then traveled to a near by open space that I had identified. We hiked in a short distance with our gear, armored up, and had a total of 60 one on one matches in altered terrain by the light of just three small torches.
Due to the location, Sal and I used bokken tonight. -
Final class at the current Redding Dojo location, attended by Sal, Steven, Joshua, Elijah, and Dalton. Stretch and requirements, myself with Sal. After a break, we started with three circuits through the gamut and doing kneeling advance down the dojo and back, then 200 full circle cuts (Sal and I did 100 iron sword, 100 steel, and I had Steven do 100 steel, the other 100 bokken). While catching our breath, we did a couple lengths of forward cross-steps in stance and a couple lengths backward cross-steps in stance, then a few minutes of moving around the dojo in stance. Next I setup balance 1 and 2, and we finished with a full round of Blind Man’s Boffer.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Caleb, and Michael. Stretch and requirements. I instructed Caleb and Michael on The Tradition, and then after requirements did a review of the Tradition with the whole class. After the break, we had one on one sparring and a single melee.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah and Dalton. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Elijah, reviewing all of his requirements and then adding Defense Cut to his practiced moves (for a total of 12).
After the break, we did refined strikes, followed by 360 machinegun drills (head, neck or decap), and finished with balance 1 and 2. -
Class with Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. Stretch and requirements. I worked through all of my requirements with Steven while the other four were paired and switched around. After the break, I spoke briefly about fight choreography and how to make “safe-r” full contact attacks in a choreographed fight by using distance/range. We then spent a while in pairs going through an add-on drill, taking turns making an attack, then blocking or evading the responding attack, going through the whole sequence and adding one block and counter per pass. We finished off with one hundred full circle cuts still wearing our mitts and leg armor.
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Class with Sal, Dalton and Caleb. Steven and Michael both observed due to injury. Stretch and requirements. Sal and I went through our full requirements together while Dalton and Caleb went through theirs three times together. After the break, we did 360 machinegun drill for just head and neck attacks, followed by unarmored parry (Sal and I traded Dalton and Caleb back and forth a couple times), and finished with 100 full circle cuts (boken).
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Class with Sal, Steven, Dalton, and Caleb. Michael observed due to injury. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Caleb, reviewing everything he knows and adding the I move. Before the break, I did a review/focus session with the whole class on I move.
During the break, I did unarmored parry with Caleb before we all got into armor.
After the break, we had one on one matches, and I also did armored parry with Caleb. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. Stretch and requirements. I again supervised Caleb and Michael, and instructed Caleb on Jumping Tiger 2.
After the break, I spoke about using lateral/oblique movement for both initiating an attack as well as to evade and counter in the same motion, and we practiced the movements. Next were a few rounds of Refined Strikes, and we finished with Balance 1 & 2. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. Stretch and requirements. I supervised Michael and Caleb as they went through requirements.
After the break, we had 46 one on one matches. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah and Dalton. Stretch and then I started with instructing them on Kodiak, adding it as one of their moves. We then went through requirements for the remainder of the first half.
After the break, I spoke about chaining attacks and not giving our opponent a chance to recover. To cement the point, I had us work at our own pace, picking three of our practiced moves and chaining them together, shadowboxing.
I then talked about taking the initiative, not giving it to our opponent. The primary concept was to engage and immediately break the mah with our opening attack while our opponent is still plotting and thinking about simply sizing us up, instead of pausing where the the respective mah are grazing each other. To practice this, we rotated through several partners practicing advancing from range and immediately attacking without settling into stance.
Last we went through a full circuit of two-attack machinegun drill, making any upper level attack. -
I handed off class to Sal tonight as I had a schedule conflict.
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Class with Elijah, Dalton, Michael and Caleb. Stretch and requirements. I worked back and forth with Caleb and Michael. With Caleb, I instructed him on Cutting Pattern 1 and on the training pattern for performing requirements.
After the break, I went over Gad’s sword disarming move and then discussed hand to hand as an auxiliary weapon, using elbow and knee strikes to augment in lockups and wherever else the opportunity permits. We then did a few rounds of hand to hand refined strikes to practice thinking about targets and movement of this nature, followed by another round of Refined Strikes with our bokken. We then did some kneeling advance back and forth lengthwise followed by moving in stance, and finally finished with 100 full circle cuts. -
Special hand to hand session with Dalton, Michael and Caleb. I instructed on Shotokan Karate basics, covering front stance (zenkutsu-dachi), lunge punch (oi-zuki), reverse punch (gyaku-zuki), jab (mai te), front snap kick (mae-geri-keage), side thrust kick (yoko-geri-kekomi), stomping kick (fumikomi), down block (gedan-barai), inside block (uchi-uke), outside/hammerfist block (soto-ude-uke), and rising block (age-uke).
I also briefly touched on side/horse stance (kiba-dachi) and front thrust kick (mae-geri-kekomi). -
Class with Sal, Steven, Ferocitas, Elijah, Dalton, and Nick. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Nick, reviewing his basic cuts and blocks, adding the thrust block, and drilling him on the requirements pattern to get him ready for partner practice. I also had Sal continue with Nick while I worked in with the other four.
Before the break, I went over Akira for all of the students, reviewing the concepts of evasion and timing.
After the break, we had 26 two-on-one matches, rotating through for the solo fighter in each grouping of 3 fighters. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Dalton, Michael, Caleb and Nick. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Nick and Caleb, going over leg blocks with Nick and thrust block with Caleb. Before the break, we did a focus session on Thorn (new move for Caleb and Nick). After the break, we started with a few rounds of Refined Strikes, then Dodging 1 (I asked Sal to bring his bean bags), followed by 100 full circle cuts (bokken only), and finished with Balance 1 and 2 (including light contact facing off with Sal, Steven and Elijah on the raised beam).
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Class with Sal, Joshua, Elijah, Dalton, Michael, Caleb and Nick. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Nick instructing on blocks for head, neck and decap, and with Caleb instructing on blocks for head, neck, decap and leg. After the break, we had 38 one on one sparring matches.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua, Elijah, Dalton, Michael, and Nick. Caleb observed due to injury. Stretch and requirements. I worked with Nick, reviewing his cutting and adding thrust. I also moved through the class checking in with a few other students.
After a break, we started with 100 full circle cuts (Sal and I with steel), then I reviewed some forearm and grip strengthening exercises (waggling the sword in various directions and positions), followed by a gauntlet (static bokken first, then slow attack speed bokken). We finished with a final 100 full circle cuts (Sal and I steel again) including the gauntlet guides as altered terrain. -
Class with Steven, Joshua, Dalton, Ryan, Michael and Nick. Stretch and requirements. I added decap and leg cuts for Nick, and The Mantis for Michael. I also reviewed Dalton a bit. After the break, we had one on one matches.
Temperatures had a high of 104, so it was likely still over 100 when we started sparring.
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Class with Elijah, Dalton, Ryan, Michael, Caleb and Nick. Stretch and requirements. I instructed Nick on resting stance, defensive stance, head and neck cuts. I instructed Caleb on thrust, then started on head blocks. I also checked in with a few other students on a few things.
After the break, we did a focus session on stance and combat movement, starting with a clear dojo, then adding obstacles for altered terrain. We finished with Balance 1 and 2. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Elijah, Ryan, Michael and Caleb. Stretch and requirements. I reviewed Ryan as he’s been out for a while, then instructed Caleb on decap and leg full circle cuts. After the break, we did a few rounds of refined strikes, then did full circle cutting focus work circling the dojo. We finished with balance 1 & 2.