01.18.06 - Practice Out of Class
Session with Bill during lunch at work
We were not able to get to our usual workout space today due to a meeting being held in the conference room. We stayed in my office discussing a few concepts and Bill took me through a couple of demonstrations. The first thing he asked me was whether I had any questions about the material we had been discussing and studying in class. I responded that I didn’t have questions regarding the material in so much as some of the technical aspects of certain activities, like sparring.
I told him that I was having some difficulty with straight in attacks and he quickly described my typical actions and reactions to both forward and angled attacks. He stated that I seem to be able to control an angled attacker well enough for now but when an attack comes straight in, I go fully into a defense and retreat mode. He described something he called “going up the circle”.
Going up the circle refers to the circular reference of motion during a strike or maneuver. He demonstrated by simply extending his lead hand forward and locking out his elbow, so as not to move the position of the fist. He then pivoted around the lead foot bringing his rear foot away from the line of attack. This motion does at least two things that we noted and discussed; it moves you out of the direct line of attack while at the same time extends your reach with your lead hand. It was so simple and direct that it was hard to comprehend at first. Another item of note is that your core stays protected and covered through the maneuver.
We also spoke about Orbits. He prefaced the discussion by asking if I had noticed all of the movement he does with his hands when we are sparring. The concept he is employing is one that takes advantage of orbits, or the natural circular motion of your limbs as they are deflected or moved. Sifu encouraged me to be aware of my orbits and to use them to my advantage. This seems like a natural flowing motion that should be more natural that it is, probably because I’m not relaxed enough. This is relatively new to me so I’ll practice with it when I work out.
After work today, I stopped by an associate's house and purchased his UltraMan Kenpo practice dummy from him. It is mounted on a board already and is outfitted with a black gi. In addition, he threw in some nice gloves to protect my hands from the canvas surface. They fit well and seem to work good too. I’m looking forward to working out on this piece of equipment and sharpening my targeting skills. Now, if I can only think of a good name for him…and Bill wasn’t flattered about me naming it after him either! Perhaps… Ed… Ed Gruberman, from the “Boot to the Head” parody. We’ll see.
We were not able to get to our usual workout space today due to a meeting being held in the conference room. We stayed in my office discussing a few concepts and Bill took me through a couple of demonstrations. The first thing he asked me was whether I had any questions about the material we had been discussing and studying in class. I responded that I didn’t have questions regarding the material in so much as some of the technical aspects of certain activities, like sparring.
I told him that I was having some difficulty with straight in attacks and he quickly described my typical actions and reactions to both forward and angled attacks. He stated that I seem to be able to control an angled attacker well enough for now but when an attack comes straight in, I go fully into a defense and retreat mode. He described something he called “going up the circle”.
Going up the circle refers to the circular reference of motion during a strike or maneuver. He demonstrated by simply extending his lead hand forward and locking out his elbow, so as not to move the position of the fist. He then pivoted around the lead foot bringing his rear foot away from the line of attack. This motion does at least two things that we noted and discussed; it moves you out of the direct line of attack while at the same time extends your reach with your lead hand. It was so simple and direct that it was hard to comprehend at first. Another item of note is that your core stays protected and covered through the maneuver.
We also spoke about Orbits. He prefaced the discussion by asking if I had noticed all of the movement he does with his hands when we are sparring. The concept he is employing is one that takes advantage of orbits, or the natural circular motion of your limbs as they are deflected or moved. Sifu encouraged me to be aware of my orbits and to use them to my advantage. This seems like a natural flowing motion that should be more natural that it is, probably because I’m not relaxed enough. This is relatively new to me so I’ll practice with it when I work out.
After work today, I stopped by an associate's house and purchased his UltraMan Kenpo practice dummy from him. It is mounted on a board already and is outfitted with a black gi. In addition, he threw in some nice gloves to protect my hands from the canvas surface. They fit well and seem to work good too. I’m looking forward to working out on this piece of equipment and sharpening my targeting skills. Now, if I can only think of a good name for him…and Bill wasn’t flattered about me naming it after him either! Perhaps… Ed… Ed Gruberman, from the “Boot to the Head” parody. We’ll see.
posted by Bonzai at 1/18/2006 08:00:00 PM
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