Class with Sal, Chris, Joshua, Steven, Jesse B and Elijah (Jesse A called out). Stretch and just five or six pushups with lateral extenders. Requirements a couple times through, while I first reviewed Jesse B now that he’s rejoining, and then reviewed Elijah to see what he needs to work on for his Green Braid. After a break, we had 31 one on one matches.
Tag: wcos
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, and Elijah. Stretch and five burpees, then requirements once through. I instructed Elijah on Jumping Tiger 1 (reviewing for Steven). After the break, we constructed technique chains (3 to 5 techniques), practicing them a couple to few passes back and forth across the dojo. We finished with some machinegun drill, but I changed it to be two attacks from each opponent to improve the attackers’ stances.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua, Jesse and Elijah. Stretch and frog burpees (2 dojo lengths). Paired off for requirements (once through for Sal and I, twice for everyone else), then I had Sal instruct Elijah on The Tradition while I covered Double Chop with the other three. During the break, we armored up and in the second half had one on one matches in a limited quarters sparring square.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Elijah. Jesse called out. Stretch and requirements. Sal and I went through our cuts, blocks and cutting patterns, then he worked alone while Steven and Joshua paired and I worked with Elijah, reviewing his requirements and adding The I Move to his list. After a break, we had one on one sparring totaling 34 matches.
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Special class with Kaiden Gad today, and I handed over my sword book for review. Vea and I reviewed Silver Chain requirements with Gad at the Half Moon Bay dojo. We went over Battle Stance, the 9 deflections (with steel), and reviewed some of the advanced blocks, plus I discussed some of my ideas regarding head blocks. Gad suggested I do a full write-up and submit to the council for review. We went over several new practiced moves:
– Aku (and Flying Aku): From shinkageryu with sword vertical, make and arching thrust to the chest
– Shadow: From defensive stance, make a decap, pull back, pause for a reaction, and then chop
– Gad’s Bane: From warriors stance, make a leap to close distance while making a pinwheel full circle cut to the neck
– Rolling Thunder: From battle stance, make a high right to left feint followed by a right to left torso draw cut, returning to battle stance
– Spike: From defensive stance, thrust one handed to the face (generally, eye opposing dominate hand)
After a break, we reviewed some notes on sword and shield, including modifications/application for The Tradition, Thorn, Dragons Tail, The I Move, and Jumping Tiger 1.
We finished with some hand to hand training, with Gad getting a sense of my current hand to hand level and then covering two restraints, a take down, and some tips on escapes. -
Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua, Jesse and Elijah. Stretch and requirements (once through for Sal and I paired, twice through for the other four paired). While working with Sal, covered Draw Cuts and the first six deflections. Break, then fortress defense (defend a roughly one meter circle, back to a fence), first for just head or neck, then for any attack. Followed with 100 full circle cuts (Sal and I with steel). Finished with Balance 1 and 2.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Jesse and Elijah. Both Chris and Joshua called out. Stretch and requirements, then I reviewed The Mantis (new move for Elijah). After the break, we had one on one sparring totaling 21 matches.
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, Joshua, Jesse and Elijah. In seiza and briefly introduced the issue of ensuring a victory is certain. Quick stretch, and then reviewed the various kill targets, and why they are a kill. We then began going through requirements, myself observing and correcting. I finished the first half with a few rounds of refined strikes.
After the break, I started with 200 full circle cuts (myself 100 with iron sword, the second 100 with steel). Elijah was all boken, everyone else had 100 with steel, 100 with boken. We finished with multi-opponent machinegun drill, first with head attack only, then a second round with head or neck attacks. -
First day of Shadowwood. There were a number of melee matches, with a field of 16 fighters. In addition to several last-fighter-standing matches, there was a two team match, a Hunger Games inspired match (half as many weapons as fighters in a pile at start), and an additional two-person team match where one had the last used weapon of the previous match, and the other started with none.
Before taking dinner, I tested for and received the rank of Crimson Chain and was awarded full Kaidenship. Details to follow in a separate log.
After the dinner, there were two castle sieges, for which I was on the attacking force both times (and died both times at the gate in our attempt to break through). -
Class with Sal, Chris, Joshua, Steven, Jesse and Elijah. Requirements for the first half, one on one sparring for the second half. During the break, I did unarmored parry with Elijah.
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Class with Sal, Joshua, Steven, Jesse and Elijah. Stretch and requirements (Sal I did ours while the others did theirs twice). I reviewed Thorn (instructing Elijah on it), then we took a break. Sal I worked with steel, doing our cuts and blocks, cutting pattern 1 and cutting pattern 2, and finishing with refined strikes. Main class resumed with boken and we did a few rounds of refined strikes, then I went through two rounds of steel defense where the students got to hold steel and defend as I called out an attack and made that attack, several attacks in a row. When Sal came up in the line, we used the opportunity to do unarmored steel parry. We finished class with three training stations, two to a station: thrust rings, refined strikes, and cutting pattern 1 on a balance 1 beam. Rotating through to everyone had twice at each station.
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, and Joshua. Stretch and requirements. I reviewed Chris’ White Rope requirements, then reviewed Steven. After the break, we had one on one sparring and ended with three melees.
Conditions tonight were wet, muddy and treacherous.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua, Jesse and Elijah. After the stretch, I worked with Elijah while the other four paired off for a requirements a couple times through. With Elijah, I reviewed his basics and I instructed him on thrust, thrust block and cutting pattern 1, as well as covered the three rules of swordsmanship and the six traditions. I moved Sal to working with him and covered cutting pattern 2 with the three green braids.
After a break, we did two hundred full circle cuts (100 with iron sword, except for Elijah), and then did machinegun drills, first for head attack, then for any upper attack (head/neck/decap). When Sal and I were defending, I permitted chop cuts from the students that know them. -
Class with Joshua, Jesse and Elijah. Megan and Sarah observed for their second time. Stretch, followed by requirements twice through for Joshua and Jesse while I worked with Elijah on review and adding decap and leg cuts and blocks. I then reviewed kata ich with Joshua and Jesse, as well as their choice of one move.
After the break, we had 20 matches of one-on-one sparring in light to moderate rain and mud (5 at a time, 10 each for Joshua and Jesse, and I went two handed for the first two sets, one handed for the second two). -
Class with Steven, Joshua and Elijah (his first). Megan and Sarah observed, and Sal, Chris and Jesse called out. Stretch and requirements. Steven and Joshua went through requirement about 1.5 times while I instructed Elijah on defensive stance, head and neck full circle cuts, and head and neck blocks. I then instructed Steven and Joshua on Akira while Elijah worked on repetition.
After the break, we did machinegun drills for head and neck attacks, then balance 1 and 2.(No class the past few weeks due to some personal schedule conflicts)
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven and Joshua. This was a special night training session. There is no moon (new moon) so I took the class out to an area with grasses, light brush and trees, and no light sources. We did requirements once through, then switched partners and did cutting pattern 1 and a couple moves. After a break which I suggested using to further attune with the night, we moved to another section of the area with some good altered terrain and did light unarmored altered terrain parry, switching out for a few different partners. We finished with several rounds of light contact 50% speed (approx) unarmored melee.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Stretch and requirements, then I worked on Basic Strikes with Steven, Joshua and Jesse. At the end of break, Sal and I did Cutting Patterns 1, 2 and 3 with steel. The second half of class we rotated through a few partners of Refined Strikes and thrust practice, then had Balance 1 and 2 to finish up.
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. During seiza, I spoke about awareness as a broad spectrum, ranging from awareness of your own internal body to the immediate surroundings, to remembering key aspects of spaces that you have left, and even to time and events past, present and pending. Stretch and requirements once through. I then instructed on Defense Cut, a new move for some. After break, we worked on Kata Ich, then I instructed on The Illusion. I covered how to handle a threat from either side when in defensive stance, and then finished with a little more Kata Ich.
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Class with Sal, Chris, Joshua, Steven, Jesse and Joe. Stretch and requirements once through. During the break, Joshua, Steven and Jesse took their Green Braid evaluations. After the break, I setup an altered terrain gauntlet which we first used to verbally guide a blind man, then reused with boken along the sides and a boffer at the end as we rotated through turns going through the gauntlet with a boffer in hand, three cycles with each cycle increasing from static pose to quarter speed attack to third speed attack. We finished with several rounds of Blind Man’s Boffer.
This was the final class for 2011, classes will resume January 31st, 2012.
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Class with Sal, Joshua, Steven and Jesse. Quick stretch and requirements once through. After a break, we had a large number of one on one matches to meet the goal of qualifying Steven, Joshua and Jesse for Green Braid before the end of the year.
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Class with Sal, Joshua, Steven and Jesse. Stretch and requirements. I reviewed Sal’s newest requirements, then worked with each of the other students one at a time to review a few key skills. After a break, we had one on one sparring, focusing on getting the three trainees their battles to complete their Green Braid requirements.
(I fought primarily one-handed until I had to loan my boken to Steven when the one he was using broke)
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Chris and Charlie called out. Stretch and requirements three times through. I reviewed each of the trainees in preparation for their Green Braid evaluations. After a break, we had one on one sparring totaling 44 matches.
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Class with Chris, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Stretch and requirements once through, then a focus session on good movement followed by a study on The Mantis. After the break, I instructed on Shotokan Karate kihon (basics), teaching zenkutsu dachi (front stance), oi zuki (front punch), mae geri keage (front snap kick), yoko geri kekomi (side thrust kick), and gedan barai, soto uke and age uke (down, outside and rising blocks). I finished up with Gad’s sword disarming technique.
(After class, Jesse and Joshua expressed interest in kata Taikyoku Shodan, so we went through it a few times, too)
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Stretch and requirements (twice for the lower ranks). I worked with Jesse, then Joshua. After a break, we had one on one boken matches.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Chris and Charlie called out. Stretch and requirements once through, then a focus session on Double Thrust (a new move for Joshua and Jesse). After a break, we did some advanced response training (one at a time, boffers, me in helmet attacking, they evade and counter), followed by five sets of full circle cuts (100/100/100/100/50, the first and last with iron sword and rest with boken for me). We finished with Balance 1 & 2.