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.
Tag: wcos
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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.
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Class with Sal, Chris, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Medical call out for Charlie. Seiza and stretch, requirements twice through for the lower ranks while Sal and I went through our full requirements together. During the break, Sal and i did cutting pattern 3 with steel. After the break, I marshaled one-on-one matches between the students.
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Day two of my second weekend at Arata’s Farm. Today, we had two rounds of steel melees as well as one round of boken melees. I used one handed for the second set of steel.
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I returned for my second weekend at Arata’s Farm. Today, we had three rounds of steel melees as well as a round of boken melees. I used one handed for the second set of steel.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Chris and Charlie called out. Stretch and requirements twice. After mine in solo, I worked with Jesse and Joshua to review their cuts and blocks. I discussed with the class the physics and geometry of sword fighting, talking about how the rotation of the sword and where the impact is made affects the direction of the force, and how that affects how and where we block. After a break, we did some evasion training with me wielding a boffer and them taking turns evading until I struck them, then a round robin of refined strikes and finished with balance 1 & 2 including a medium leap.
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This was my second day at Arata’s this year. We had a total of 50 steel melees (15/15/20). I had intended to use one handed sword today to continue working on my Complete Blade requirements. Gad insisted that I also use a shield to be better prepared to instruct on it for my students. Generally, I did fairly well for my first time using a shield. I used a very low stance to provide better target coverage. I need to work on my timing so that a block and counter strike are simultaneous, not a one-two. I did successfully use an adaptation of the original Phantom to bind my opponents blade with the shield, roll (cw spin) around them, and make an effective cut and draw to their exposed torso. In post analysis, having a barrier at their back was likely significant in preventing them from escaping too easily with an extended retreat.
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Today marked the 2011 Best of the Best tournament, held this year at the Arata’s Farm coliseum. There were nine steel ranked and battle capable fighters present (including Gad) and two boken fighters. Kaiden’s Kris and Craig assisted with marshaling. I tied for fourth place with a 55% victory in 19 matches, Vea won the tournament with an 80%. Notably my students Sal (red rope) and Steven (trainee) participated, too. After the tournament, we finished with five melees as a finale.
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Charlie observed due to personal injury, Chris called out. Stretch and requirements once through, then I went over Jumping Tiger 1 (a new move for Joshua and Jesse). After a break, we had one on one sparring in the rain and mud (altered terrain, all weather).
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Class with Sal, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Chris and Charlie called out. Stretch and requirements twice. After a break, Sal and I worked cutting patterns in steel, then the class rotated through partners for refined strikes several times and with finished with machine gun drill, first for head or neck, then for neck or leg.
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Class with Chris, Steven, Joshua and Jesse. Stretch and requirements. I instructed Joshua and Jesse on Thorn. After a break, we had a total of 42 one on one matches.