07.29.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Marty Lead Entire Class
2. Stretching & Warm-ups
3. Technique Line (by strike)
4. Chokes
5. Takedowns
6. Semi-Circle Drills

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Kicks: Ball & Roundhouse
2. Ground Fighting

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Warm-ups
Warming up today was definitely different than our normal. We did some interesting “partner assisted” stretching but it wasn’t the type that I have been warned to avoid. This employed isometric resistance techniques that really seamed to work well. For example, I partnered with Alex and started on my back. I lifted one leg and placed it on his shoulder as he kneeled in front of me. He lifted my leg toward the ceiling until there was sufficient resistance that I told him to stop. At this point, he simply stopped moving my leg upward and I used my own leg strength to press down onto his shoulder. After several seconds of this, I relaxed my leg muscles and then allowed Alex to slowly lift my leg again. To my surprise, my leg actually moved up again several inches before I felt the similar tension in which I stopped him before. The exercise is repeated a total of three times and then we switched legs. Then it was Alex’s turn and he had similar results.

Another interesting thing we did today reminded me of a picnic in the park… sort of. We paired up and did the wheel borrow to the end of the mat and back. Interesting. I do plenty of push-ups but this works all of the muscles in the upper body differently. I was surprised at how much this challenged me. After the wheel borrow exercise we kept the same pairs and did ‘piggy-back’ drills, where we carried our partner to the other end of the mat and back on our backs. In both cases I had paired up with Walt and he is in pretty good shape. I’m pretty sure I was taxed much more than he was.

We did some kicking exercises that were different than what we have done before. We did some front roundhouse kicks without the foot replacement. Most of us were off balance at first until we got our footing. Using the focus mitts, we did some ball kicks , and then did some ball kicks that transitioned into roundhouse kicks, again with the pads.

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Technique Line
Marty had us line up for a technique line next. I have run technique lines several times before but we did a variant this time that was different for me. Instead of running the same technique over and over again, the ‘attackers’ threw the same strikes and we defended based on the techniques we have learned for that given strike. Obviously the 3 Musketeers knew more than the rest of us but it was still an eye opener as I hadn’t really thought about my Kenpo skills in this way before. Up until now it has been more repetition in order to get the moves right as opposed to spontaneity for a given strike. By the way, the two defenses we did were “inside a right” and “outside a right”.

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Ground Fighting
Next was some ground fighting, an area that Marty really enjoys. We discussed and learned various types of chokes: front choke standing, front choke from the guard position, and the rear naked choke. We also talked about ‘closing the gap’ using some new techniques as well as some techniques from IKCA Kenpo.

Takedowns were another topic we worked on today. We covered several takedowns from a clinched position including the hip toss, a “sit out” type from the side/rear (for when an opponent resists the hip toss), and a ‘leg sweep’ for when the opponent has a wide, solid base. Following the takedowns, we went over some drills starting from a stand up position transitioning into a takedown where we then went through the movements of “ground and pound” utilizing focus mitts on the ground as targets before maneuvering into a choke. Finally we discussed and practiced moving into a front choke when your opponent blocks a Kimura.

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Semi-Circle Drills
The last thing we did in class was a sort of semi-circle drill. I had seen this done out in California when we went to the West Coast Kenpo Confederation last year but I had never participated in one. The drill is designed to increase spontaneity of response as well as giving the defender the option of response based on angle of attack. It is really an interesting drill.

The set up is simple; the person defending winds up in the ‘center’ of the semi-circle and 5 people position themselves around him to create the semi-circle itself. One person, in this case, Marty, stands behind the defending person and points silently to one of the people in the circle. Since the defender can’t see who is being pointed to, he doesn’t know where the next attack will come from.

In our case, we started out by simply blocking right punches from the attackers as they came in. After everyone had a chance, Marty had us follow up the block with a strike or short combination of our choice.

This proved to be a very interesting exercise for me. I just let things happen without giving too much thought to them just to see what would flow. I found that frontal attackers were blocked and then followed up with a ball kick and/or a lunge punch. In one case, it seemed prudent to basically do Returning Serpent, and I did. It was the side attacks that surprised me a little bit. From the right side, I just did a right inward block and contoured back up the arm with a straight elbow. Where the heck did that come from?! From the left I did a left inward block, followed immediately with a left back-fist and right lunge punch.

I think what I sort of discovered here is that I am on the cusp of beginning to realize spontaneity with my Kenpo… and I like it. I am looking forward to bringing these new skills into my own personal arsenal for use when best suited. At this point I haven’t really felt this in my sparring yet and I would have expected it to come out there first. Interesting. I think I just need to stop analyzing and start practicing more and hopefully it will come of its own accord.

07.22.06 - Saturday Practice

Reviewed Items:

1. Stretching & Warm-ups
2. Lunge Punches
3. Mat work
4. Purple Belt Techniques
5. Master Form

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Warm-Ups
After some warm ups, we started in with some basic Lunge Punches utilizing the focus mitts. I was feeling pretty good today and when it was my turn I just let ‘er rip, focusing on snap and power. I noticed a couple of times that my chin seemed to want to tuck on its own accord so I had to correct that. Otherwise, I was moving and feeling pretty good.

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Matt Work
We sort of cut short our normal routine on the mats but we did get some work in. First on the agenda was forward rolls coming up into a neutral bow facing the way we had just come from, alternating from side to side. Next up was some side falls, left and right. Finally we did some forward break-falls, staying down on the mat when finished. I am definitely stronger on one side than the other but I’m getting better on my weak side. Good stuff. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable on the mat but I’m not quite “at home” on them yet. .

Techniques
Marty and I worked on the Purple belt techniques again today. This time we started at the beginning and worked our way through to the end. I’m getting more comfortable in them. Raking Hammer is still bugging me but I can do the gross movements at this point. Marty sort of gave me some insight on refining my movements in all of the techniques. As Sifu has been telling me of late, I need to start focusing on flow. I also need to make sure I understand relative positioning at all times, including the end of the technique as I will soon be developing extensions. We finished the day with the Master Form, all of us going to the point at which we knew and then bowing out. A good workout today.

07.15.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Bonzi Run Combination

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Stretching & Warm-ups
2. Orange Belt Blocking Set (Form)
3. Mat work
4. Master Form
5. Orange Belt Techniques

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Warm-Ups
After we did the basic portion of warming up and stretching out, we started in with some other basic movements put together in different combinations. First we just did some lead back-fist strikes to the head in the air. This sort of got us moving. Then the combinations; the first being: Ball Kick, Back-Fist, Lunge Punch. This is an interesting combination of moves because you are striking “low-high-center” and it sort of struck me (punny) that my son, Duncan, uses similar striking combinations with his Taekwondo all of the time. Up until now, we haven’t drilled too many of this type of combination outside of the techniques. Anyway, it was cool to drill these ‘new’ combos.

The second combination set is part of the Bonzi Run technique, which appears to be a sort of pursuit technique. The combination we did was a Right Lunge Punch, Right Knee & Left Lunge Punch, Right Lunge Punch. I felt totally discombobulated when we did this the first time. I had the timing and rhythm in my head but couldn’t get my body to follow. Eventually I started to get the hang of it but I never did do it very well.

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Mat Work
After warm ups we got right into the mat work. We started with side falls, alternating from the left to right sides. Sifu instructed that as much of our body as possible should be making contact with the mat at the same time in order to help dissipate the force of the fall. Of course we have all heard this before but we haven’t quite mastered it yet.

It wasn’t long before Sifu placed some objects on the edges of the mats and instructed us to do a forward roll over the object. As we all got more used to going over the object, he started to move the objects and then he used bigger objects. Although we also changed the way we came up out of the rolls, the main thing that he was trying to show us was the proper position of the roll or the break-fall. He stressed that we go directly over the object and stay on that straight line. He also remarked on tucking the lead shoulder as you roll so as not to take a jarring impact on the elbow or shoulder. When done correctly, it actually “feels” good and you just know it.

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Techniques
Marty led us through a few items at this point. First we did the Orange Belt Form (blocking drill). It had been a while since I practiced this and I actually felt a little ‘rusty’ the first time through, but quickly shook it off and got solid again. After we went through it a couple of times, Marty lead me and the 3 Musketeers through the Master Form up to Purple. I had been practicing this but my transitions are still shaky. I did okay but still need work. The rest of the class went on through to their portion after we did mine a couple of times and I tried to keep up as best as I could. I know the Purple belt techniques but I’m having a heck of a time getting them down in the form! Practice, practice, practice.

Eventually Sifu had Marty work directly with me on the Purple belt techniques. We went through them all starting with the ones I was having the most trouble with. After we went through the technique enough that he was sure I understood the basic elements, he would come in and do something backwards or introduce some other “what if…?” factor to see how I would respond. I responded better in some instances than others but I started to just relax and go with it and things tended to flow much better. I actually surprised myself at one point as I began to do a technique “backwards”. He attacked with the opposite hand that I was expecting and I just went into the technique from the opposite side. It seemed to flow just fine until I realized that I was backwards and then I just sort of froze. Marty encouraged me to continue as he recognized what I had done. I finished the technique and pondered it a little. I hadn’t given it too much thought but maybe I should be practicing both sides on occasion.

We finished up class and bowed out. Good class. I stayed warmed up the whole time and learned a bunch.

07.08.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

• Discussion: Concepts & Principles
• Ground Fighting: Kimura Variant

Reviewed Other Items:

• Stretching & Warm-ups
• Mat work
• Master Form
• Orange Belt Blocking Set (Form)

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Mat Work
Our warm up was straight forward today with no real additional focus on any particular area of the body. Immediately following the warm up we pulled the mats out and practiced some different break falls and rolls.

We started with a forward roll into a break fall. While I’m still not a pro at this, I’m getting better – at least on one side. When I roll to the left shoulder, I still have a tendency of getting my legs backwards at the very end; in other words, the wrong leg is straightened to assist in lessening the impact. The next maneuver is a little easier for me and that is to go into a forward roll and then back up again into a neutral bow stance facing the ‘attacker’ (the direction you came from).Sifu noted that we should be solid in the stance and not leaning away from the action due to the momentum of the roll. I have found that when this happens to me that I can either make a small adjustment step or a slight hop to get solid again.

There was a dash of flavor on the mat today as Sifu had us throwing any combination of our choice following the forward roll to the neutral bow. This was interesting. I found myself hesitating a lot which tells me that I’m not at a level of spontaneity yet. If I think ahead before I do the roll, then no problem. But without a threat to consider I just hesitated. The more we did it the more comfortable it became but it still bothered me just a bit.

Finally we were told that instead of doing a combination of our choice, Sifu wanted us all to do Returning Serpent when we came out of the roll. This was certainly easier because I didn’t have to think about what I was going to be doing. However, when we came up into a left neutral bow, we had to make an adjustment to do the technique. I considered this the first time through and just did Returning Serpent from the left side, but Sifu was looking for the transition.

Before we finished up with the mats today, we did some side falls. These look simple but when it comes to doing them, it feels so unnatural somehow. We swing our left (or right) leg and arm to about horizontal and then bend the opposite leg, allowing the body to come down on it’s side. The arm and leg are supposed to slap down to dissipate the force of the fall in the exact same way that we practiced the forward roll. For some reason, I kept slapping with the back of my hand instead of the palm. I knew it wasn’t right, and even made a mental note before stepping on the mat for my next turn, but more times than not I still slapped incorrectly.

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Master Form
Next up was the Master Form. Jeff was kind enough to step off the mat while the rest of us went through the form, or at least in my case, went through as much of the form as I could. The first time through I just stopped after the Orange belt techniques. Sifu told me on the second time through to stick with the rest of them as much as I could. Well, I got into the next two techniques (Purple belt) and then lost the transition. I picked up again when I could and then lost it again. I never did the entire Purple belt portion of the form today in a single pass, but I think I got it all in pieces. I did just stop when it got to the Blue belt techniques as I haven’t even seen them much yet.

It was sort of funny as we were going through them. Phyl was closest to me and I was watching him when I could as a guide. The points in which I was getting lost in the Purple belt techniques was when the transition had me turning away from the group. Each time Phyl would whisper to me which way to go and which technique was next. Thanks for the help, Phyl.

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Concepts & Principles
We slowed the pace of the class down just a little bit today and examined closely some of the principles and concepts that we have learned and are learning in Kenpo. The format we utilized was that of Sifu playing the roll of ‘attacker’ as we individually went up in front of the class and chose one of the Orange belt techniques to dissect. (Note: Instead of writing all of the individual items down here in the session journal, I think I am going to update the pages of the technical journal instead so there is a better point of reference for the future.) The techniques that we discussed were as follows:

• Walt: Beheading the Dragon
• Phyl: Returning Serpent
• Alex: Thunder and Lightning
• Tom: Escaping Ram
• Jeff: Thrusting Release

The actual concepts and principles that were discussed as they applied to each of the above mentioned techniques are as follows:

• Opposing Forces
• Borrowed Force
• Mass in Motion
• Back-up Mass
• Body Alignment
• Penetration vs. Dissipation
• Marriage of Gravity
• Zone of Sanctuary
• Double Factor
• Contouring (with subcategory: Fitting)
• Point of Origin
• “Meet it, Beat it, or Eat it” principle

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Ground Fighting: Kimura (Variant)
We very quickly covered a move today that is a variant of the Kimura. After a brief description by Marty, I partnered up with Jeff and we practiced the move. Describing from my point of view starting from a guard position on my back, I grip the attacker’s left wrist with my right hand as he has his weight on it (tripodding). I then sit up, reaching across my body and over his left shoulder with my left arm, coming under his arm to grab hold of my own wrist. From this position I have some leverage on his arm and can pull him back to the mat with me as I return to my back. Slightly re-adjusting my hips and using my right leg for leverage, I simply pin his elbow to my chest with my left arm will cranking his arm up with my right hand. This puts undue stress on the shoulder and will render a submission, or in cases of personal defense, a dislocation or break.

Jeff and I were playing around with this a bit and determined that you really have to shoot this fast in order to be effective. If you see it coming, it can be avoided. Also, I noticed that when I was on top and he grabbed my hand, all I had to do to thwart the move was to grab something with that hand. Since there is no leverage to break my grip, it is pure strength that would be required to get me to let go. I’m sure there are technical escapes and counter measures to this but Marty simply didn’t have time to go in-depth with it today.

07.01.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

• Ground Fighting: Americana
• Ground Fighting: Straight Armbar

Reviewed Other Items:

• Stretching & Warm-ups
• Punches: Lunge Punches
• Kicks: Purple Belt Kicking Drill
• Kicks: Cardinal Direction Kicking Drill
• Techniques: Purple Belt

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Stretchng and Warm-Ups
We did a pretty basic warm-up set today with some additional focus on stretching the legs. My lower back was fairly relaxed today and I got a good stretch in before we got started so I felt pretty good getting started. The class moved quickly into doing drills.

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Punches: Lunge Punch
Sifu grabbed some target mitts and we paired up to do lunge punches. I paired up with Sifu and we took turns. I have been working my weak (left) side in the evenings and I think it is starting to show some positive effect. I don’t have the power to match my strong side but the technique and snap are solid so hopefully the power will come with more practice. Sifu pointed out something to me again today that I don’t realize I’m doing. As I make contact with my target, I blink. “Don’t do that.” Got it.

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Kicks: Purple Belt Kicking Drill
We worked on kicks today and started off with the Purple belt Kicking Drill. This drill focuses on a linear kicking pattern that can be utilized as a pursuit maneuver. There are several kicks involved, including ball kick, lead leg roundhouse, 2 types of rear kicks, and a low side kick (knife edge kick). At the end of the pattern, you cover to face the other direction and can do the same pattern back again utilizing the opposite side you started with. It’s a great drill and I practice it occasionally at home. What we focused on today is accuracy and intent of the kicks; no dead fish and no dead legging. Balance is achieved and maintained by keeping the knees bent and your weight centered over your supporting leg.

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Kicks: Cardinal Directions
I suppose this drill could be used in a real situation but the circumstances would have to be ideal. The drill itself is awesome for practicing several kicks in a relatively small area and gives you practice not only with the kicks involved, but also front crossovers and general balance skills. The kicks included are a front ball kick, left side kick, right side kick, rear heel kick and then you reset into the opposite neutral bow that you started from, enabling you to do the same drill with the opposite side. As with the other drill, the focus on this was the accuracy and intent. It is real easy to just throw out those side kicks with ‘dead fish’ on the ends of your legs. It becomes apparent quickly if you are not centered over your supporting leg as loss of balance will have you stumbling or deploying your arms straight out in any direction.

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Ground Fighting
The class was handed over to Marty for another segment in ground fighting today. Our focus today was an arm lock he referred to as the “Americana” and a straight arm bar. The Americana (also known as the Ude Garami or key lock) was the first item covered and is a type of joint lock that affects the shoulder joint primarily but also puts some exertion on the elbow as well. Working with Sifu again, we started this maneuver with Sifu assuming a mount position on the mat. Working my left arm, he first basically pinned it down to the matt flat, and then held it there with his left arm position such that his elbow was near my head. He then moved his right hand under my arm, up between and grabbing his own arm. At this point, my arm was locked up and I couldn’t move it but I wasn’t in pain. The submission or break comes when Sifu lifts his right elbow off the floor levering the shoulder joint. This is hard to visualize from a text description – see the following illustration:

The other maneuver we did today was a straight arm bar. The tricky part was in getting to the bar itself from the mount position. We basically push down on the chest of the opponent to get our feet under us and from there we swung the left leg around and over the head, essentially laying across his upper chest with his arm between our legs. We then use the leverage point of our own pelvis by cranking the arm toward us while raising the hips.

Obviously, with these techniques and maneuvers the possibility of physical injury runs high if the person practicing just cranks the arm hard or ignores a tap. Sifu made it crystal clear that he wouldn’t hesitate to throw anyone out of class that ignores a tap.

I am still amazed at just how effective a joint manipulation can be. As Sifu and I worked our way through these moves, we experimented a little bit with position to see what exactly was the most effective in isolating the joint. Once we were in proper position, the slightest movement – as little as ¼ to ½ of an inch – was enough to have the other tapping franticly.

Another interesting caveat to what we learned today was small joint manipulations. Sifu noted that these type of manipulations are forbidden in certain competitive arenas such as the UFC. However, for what we do, everything is fair game. One item of example was rotating the arm of the opponent in the arm bar. Instead of the “thumb up” position which is what you would be looking for typically, you can add another level of effectiveness to this by continuing this rotation to the point of tension in the arm. I’m not exactly sure why but this increased the pain of the arm bar dramatically and reduced the amount of physical travel that was required to get to the stage of submittal or breakage. Good stuff! Thanks again to Marty for sharing his knowledge with us.

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Techniques
The last segment of the day was spent going over techniques. We paired up again to work with a partner and this time I was working with Marty. I basically picked the techniques I am currently having the most problem with and worked them, starting with Stopping the Storm. We worked this one quite a bit and I think I figured out my issues – with Sifu’s help. Following the parry-block-grab, I pull the elbow in and anchor it but I am pulling the attacker’s arm down to far. Sifu says to anchor the elbow back more, not down. In practicing this I could see the greater effectiveness, especially in pulling the attacker’s face into your fist for the stop punch.

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The next one was Circling Serpent. I didn’t really have any problems with this one, I just need to smooth it out and get it less choppy. I’m still working on the whipping back-fist too.

Raking Hammer is going to be the one I work the most, I can see it already. I still seem to be having some difficulty dropping into the initial horse stance and starting the technique. Sifu reprimanded my poor initial block today as well, which I quickly remedied. He noticed something that I hadn’t realized I was doing. I have a tendency to lean away from the action slightly, especially with the initial block. “Trust your training” is what Sifu said. Again. And finally, he also noticed… a lot of head movement as I executed the rake and hammer-fist. He jokingly said that he had better not hear any “whaaataaaaa” noises coming from my corner. Of course this is a Bruce Lee movie reference and I think he probably nailed it right on the head – too many movies! I’ll try to be more careful and precise in my movements.