Kaiden Gad made the Half Moon Bay dojo available to me and invited two other students, Vea and Patrick, to get in some additional sparring so that I could attempt to meet my Red Rope 13th Move requirement and Patrick could get in more of his battles for his Green Braid requirements. During the course of the session, I tried my newest 13th move, “Splinter”, and also tried “Dragon’s Bite” and, after some review and analysis by Gad, “Phantom”. Ultimately, over the course of 35 one-on-one battles, I successfully used Splinter a few times, bringing my total count to five.
During Gad’s review of my requirements, I forgot the body blocks, both during Advanced Blocks and during Cutting Pattern 1. Also, as the test is very formal, I should bow between every kata. For the Traditions, we now state all six, including the previously “unspoken” tradition of Sanctuary. If I correct these minor items, there is no reason why I should not otherwise pass my Red Rope test.
However, before I test, I also need to upgrade my armor. I need to improve or get an all new body armor that includes better should protection and some upper arm protection; I need a better, longer tare; I need a new helmet; and I need to resurface what I can, avoiding the use of black tape in favor of leathers and similar. Last, I must make or obtain at least a couple quality and complete boken.
One other item I found note worthy was that neither Vea nor Patrick carried daggers. I asked Patrick and Gad about this and they said that many of the newer members do not typically carry daggers as lockups are infrequent and, from my observation, they tend to rely on the “three hit” rule instead (i.e. three solid strikes with fists or alternate objects to the head is considered enough to subdue or otherwise incapacitate an opponent). Personally, having a long dagger (or two) is useful as an off hand weapon and more effective in a lock-up.
Tag: wcos
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Today Hiroko, Lynette and I had an opportunity to assist in a martial arts exhibition at Redding School of Art, a private charter elementary school. I solo performed kneeling iai 1 and 5 and standing iai 3, and the Cutting Pattern 1 drill with Lynette and Hiroko each, and lastly 1 and 2 attack Parry with Hiroko. We performed the demonstration twice through, and the second time I included Western Circle kata’s 1 and 2 after the Parry to give Hiroko time to prepare for some Shotokan kata demonstration.
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No other kendo students today so on my own I went through all my WCoS Red Rope requirements and some of the Myo Sim Kendo basics and standing iai.
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Event at Half Moon Bay dojo. Eighteen fighters present and competeing. Logged battles to follow.
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No other students showed for Kendo today so I spent my time covering my Red Rope requirements for WCoS, including some focus work on my 13th move, “Splinter”, and some shadow boxing Centered Cuts.
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Today I trained one on one with Gad. He reviewed my Red Rope requirements with me. I need to work a lot on my Refined Strikes and Centered Cuts. We then armored up and fought a number of rounds of single combat. A significant reason for this was to attempt to use my new 13th move, “Splinter”. Unfortunately, it is designed specifically against Defensive Stance, which is not his favored stance, and though he most tried to use that stance, I still found it difficult to work in my move, which has a distinctive begining, in such a way that it would not be anticipated (as much). Despite this, of the three or so moves I have created, it is still probably the best and I will continue to work on it. A critical component to increasing its success will be making it into one motion instead of two.
(battle log to be added)
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Today was a wood and steel day of combat at the Half Moon Bay dojo. The focus was on one-on-one sparring, though we had several melees, too. I worked on my 13th move some and successfully applied my new one, which I currently call Splinter. Additionally, Gad reviewed my Red Rope requirements with me. There was a correction to my Kata Ni, and the final target on my Jumping Tiger 2 and Mantis was shallow, but otherwise it went fine. He suggested I practice on my own two or three times a week and arrange to meet with him later in January to spar and work more on my 13th move, which I must successfully use three times in combat to meet my requirement. If all goes well, I will test for my Red Rope at the February event. During todays combat, I garnered an additional 40 matches or so, which I will log later.
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Today I journeyed to Half Moon Bay in California for a WCoS event. The day portion of the event began some time in the afternoon, however I arrived close to 4 PM. I decided it would not be worth jumping into armor for just a few one on one matches before everyone stopped for dinner, though I later regretted not getting in those extra few battles. After the break, everyone geared up and we traveled to the Arrata Hay Bale Maze. Arriving near 7 PM, there was no moon though the sky was clear allowing a feeble starlight to barely illuminate once the eyes adjusted. Each fighter was given a glow stick and a tie to attach to their person, primarily for safety. Many simply attached it to the middle of their front, whether high or low, however I strategically attached mine to the left shoulder strap of my armor so that it could be worn externally, or tucked inside.
The first melee was a three-life (30sec res.) free for all with a few minutes to disperse into the maze. It had, of course, changed from the previous year’s incarnation. Once the battle was on, I quickly discovered that most of the fighters had immediately formed teams of two. I however had tucked my glowstick inside my armor and with sword held vertically by my body on the right, was able to move about at the ready without shedding any light to give myself away. This tactic was very successful in surprise, however I found that the glow sticks of my opponents coupled with the dark environment and some visibility issues with my own helmet grill had me misjudging distance. My first two offensive I took out one person, but the other two directly behind then took me at the same time. The second offensive was against a lone fighter and went well. The third I misjudged the distance and the pair took me in response. My last I managed to sneak close in an open space, then held still while my opponent walked right up to me unaware. Unfortunately, I again misjudged distance and only caught the last inch or two and in the ensuing exchange I was ultimately defeated.
The following melee was a two-team event in the central rotundra, then a two-team capture the flag through the maze, and last a general melee back in the rotundra again. The pure darkness continued to be an issue, causing a lack of proper distance gauging and an inability to detect incoming attacks to thence block.
I would very much have liked a couple more rounds of general melee in the maze, perhaps with some non-teaming rules to see how that would pan out, but it was a good night, if perhaps short. -
human haybale maze #2
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human haybale maze
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Castle and glade event
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I went through my Red Rope requirements twice tonight, repeating a few of the named moves several times to work on getting back into their flow. My desire is to begin training in the Western Circle style in earnest again in order to prepare for and take the Red Rope test by the end of this year.
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While at the Civic Center, I decided it was also a good time to touch on my WCoS training. I went through a formal display of my requirements for Red Rope. I have not done this in a while. I was satisfied with my technique, but I had a couple minor mistakes in the order of techniques that, though I realized and correctly quickly, would not be ideal during a test. The correct order should be; Defensive Stance, Basic Cuts, Chop Cuts, Advanced Blocks, Cutting Pattern 1, Cutting Pattern 2, Cutting Pattern 3, My 13 Practiced Moves, Kata Ichi, Kata Ni, Five Traditions, Three Types of Practiced Moves, Refined Strikes.
Additionally, since I have been out of classes, I believe two additional stances have been added directly after Defensive Stance; Warrior Stance and Jodan Stance. I will have to confirm this as I get back into serious training for my next test. -
Combat Day in Snowy Forested Terrain
It has been a good day. I travelled to Truckee, California for a day of combat in the snow. Though it has been warm, there was yet up to six or so inches of snow on the field, making footing and movement unusual, to say the least. I chose to wear my snowboarding boots for their tread, relatively large surface area, and comfort in snow. This proved to be a wise decision as I heard many comments about cold wet feet from those that had elected to wear their usual leather combat boots. As it was, I found the snow was not an exceptional hinderance, though rapid changes in direction were not feasible.
Our maximum warriors on the field this day numbered nine. There were a total of ten melees, three team scenarios, and I had eight single combat sparring matches. The actual outcomes are transcribed below.
After the main event, I worked with Kaiden Hedge on Cutting Pattern 3, which also will be copied into this journal on the morrow or next day after.
Home now, I count seven bruisings, three on my thighs, one on my ribs, a mark on my forearm, and two mushed fingers. However, nothing is significant import, the worst being a bit of swelling and color on one of the fingers. I expect it all to fade within a few days or so. As I said, it has been a good day.Match Results:
Melee
(9 on 9)Win Loss Kill Notes 1 Gad Taage Leg 2 Taage James Leg Taage Faith Leg Gad Taage Torso 3 Taage Bennet Thorn D/K Taage/Will Head/Leg 4 Hedge Taage Leg 5 Gad Taage Leg 6 David Taage Torso Fallen Warrior 7 Taage Gad Thrust D/K David Head/Thrust 8 Taage ? ? Gad Taage Head *9* Taage Hedge Dagger (Melee Winner) Taage Will Leg Taage Faith Yeild 10 Taage James Leg Tina Taage Torso
1-on-1 Win Loss Kill Notes 1 Taage James Dagger 2 Taage James Thrust 3 Taage James Leg 4 Taage Will Head Modified Lightning 5 Will Taage Head 6 Taage Will Leg 7 Will Taage Torso 8 Taage Will Leg
Scenario Win Loss Kill Type 1 Taage James Barrier Four teams of 2 Gad Taage Head (from behind) “ *2* Taage Will Thrust Two teams of 4 Taage David Leg “ 3 Gad Taage Head Two teams of 4 -
Tonight, while waiting for some friends, I pulled Cado out of my trunk and reviewed my requirements once through.
I was also toying with an idea for sparring regarding timing. When you make a flurry of cuts (i.e. several consecutive cuts), at some point your either kill them or pause long enough for them to come back at you. If you feign a pause just long enough to think they have a chance to come back at you, but you are really just preparing your final attack, then you might be able to slip in a killing blow before they can switch back to defense from their offensive action, and hopefully before their strike has fully developed. I wish I had some sparring partners to test this and work on it. -
A day of combat was held in Davis, hosted by Mike Mac. In total we had 11 melees, 5 scenario battles, and a number of pit fights and some one-on-one sparring.
It was a good day. In some ways too good. The weather was just right, the ground was level and plain, in short, the conditions were near-optimal. Even as such, as my battle tallies will show, I have much to work on in live sparring. My averages are still relatively dismal considering me degree of training. I intend to go into a new round of intensive training in the art of the Western Circle come mid-spring, with the intent to achieve my next rank, Red Rope, and to ultimately open a new branch of the Western Circle here in my area. We shall see.
Match Results:
1-on-1 Win Lose Kill Notes 1 Ohma Taage Leg
Melee Win Lose Kill Notes 1 – Taage Barrier 2 Mike Mac Taage Leg 3 Kris Taage Head 4 Tina Taage Leg *5* Taage Tina Dagger (Lockup) (Melee Winner) 6 Green Mike Taage Head 7 Taage Nathan Thrust Kris Taage Thrust (Lockup) 8 Taage Ben Head (Back Attack) Mike Mac Taage Leg 9 Brennan Taage Torso 10 Taage Faith Leg Richard Taage Leg 11 Taage Gordon Shoulder Kris Taage Leg
Scenario Win Lose Kill Type 1 Gordon Taage Dagger (Lockup) Two Teams 2 Taage Tina Thrust Two Teams Taage Will Thrust “ ? Taage Leg “ 3 Will Taage Head Two Teams 4 ? Taage Thrust Four Teams of 4 with Innocent 5 – Taage Team Innocent Died Four Teams of 4 with Innocent *6* – – (no death or kill) Fortress Assault (Attacker) 7 Taage Bennet Leg Fortress Assault (Defender) ? Taage Thrust “