martial arts

Kushida Sensei passes away

2012-06-09T04:52:00.002-07:00

http://www.aikidoyoshokai.org/

We are deeply saddened to report the passing of our president and head instructor, Sensei Takashi Kushida, who died on May 10, 2012 after an extended illness. The founder of Yoshokai Aikido, Kushida-sensei was one of the first uchideshi of Gozo Shioda-sensei—an original student of Morihei Ueshiba-sensei.

AYANA activities and training at the Genyokan Dojo in Ann Arbor will continue under the direction of Kushida-sensei's son, Akira Kushida-sensei. In accordance with Kushida-sensei's wishes, there will not be a funeral. Memorial donations may be made to the "Kushida-sensei and Mrs. Kushida Fund" in care of AYANA, 3796 Plaza Dr. , Suite 3, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

Also Sensei Richard RABAGO passed away Friday morning. Not Aikido directly but was a strong supporter of our efforts in Orange County.

I am very sorry to hear of his passing. He sounded to me to be a great teacher and torch bearer of the art. My thoughts and prayers to his immediate and extended family(students).

Very sad news. God bless you guys.

fresh ideas from fellow instructors

2012-05-20T03:45:00.002-07:00

I know we've probably discussed this many times in the past, but I would love some fresh ideas from fellow instructors. I am teaching at a brand new YMCA facility in a small town where there are ZERO other TK instructors. I've been teaching for a couple years, but due to the economy, I have had a couple of programs and studios close down. I have to keep finding new places to teach. I have lost several students along the way, sadly.

At the Y, members are asked to pay a fee for my Turbo class in addition to their membership fees. As a result, I have five students that have stayed with me. That's it! Do any of you have some tips on how to recruit more peeps? This is THE BEST CARDIO EVER! We've done free demos on Saturdays (try before you buy - type classes), we've had drawings, I post it all over facebook, I send out email blasts to friends and family, and I've even posted on bulletin boards and my office door at my "day job". I'm at a loss. Please help!

Thank you and keep kickin'!

A Hand-Book of Wrestling by Hugh Leonard

2012-04-14T17:47:00.002-07:00

I am proud to announce the republish of Hugh Leonard's 1897 "A Hand-Book of Wrestling. Many thanks to Dan Kanagie of Wolfhound Martial Arts for providing the text for this project.

Blurb:

In 1897, at about the age of 29, Hugh Leonard published this Magnum Opus of Catch as Catch Can Wrestling manuals. An early wrestling prodigy, Leonard became the protegé, after impressing him with his skill, wrestling great William "Billy" Muldoon and his friend, boxing legend, John L. Sullivan. By age 16, Leonard was a professional wrestler and was wrestling against all comers for $100 against any who could throw the boy.

In 1893, Leonard became wrestling instructor at the Buffalo Athletic Club of Buffalo, N.Y. A year after ward, Leonard became the wrestling instructor for the Manhattan Athletic Club. Within a short period thereafter, he was installed as the wrestling instructor for the New York Athletic Club, a post at which he remained until his death from a lighting strike, while at a wrestling Training Camp in 1914.

His wrestling career included bouts against such wrestlers as Plen Shoemaker, Matsada Sorakichi, Martin Muldoon, Tom Cannon, and Evan "The Strangler" Lewis.

Among his other noteworthy accomplishments, Leonard served as a referee in the first ever inter-college Collegiate Wrestling matches. Hosted by Columbia University and attended by challenger Yale on March 21, 1903, Leonard, here too, left his mark on the history of wrestling.

Predating by a year the advent of Japanese Jui Jitsu to the West in 1898, Leonard's "A Hand-Book of Wrestling" details hundreds of grappling and throwing technique, including rare chokes and joint locks. With over 200 photographs, digitally retouched, a print run of only 300 copies, making this one of the most rare and valuable wrestling manuals, and weighting in at well past 250 pages, this manual is an essential part of every Catch as Catch Can wrestler or western martial arts historian's toolbox.

As always the PDF is free to download.

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Thailand is the key to MMA in Asia!

2012-04-02T06:48:00.001-07:00

Mma WorldRankings The point is that, Muay Thai is so well respected the World over, and so many Martial Artists and MMA fighters go there to train, that's it's become the "Mecca" of striking training. It's also "THE" place to win a MT title, for any serious Kickboxer.

Thailand is so well-known for it's dominating aggressive style that Muay Thai has virtually become a household word. Nearly every other Asian Martial Artist respects MT as a superior style of striking (with maybe the exception of Sanshou/Sanda practitioners).

Thailand has become very popular since the birth of modern MMA. Muay Thai is an almost essential and integral component of all MMA training. It's really a no-brainer that Thailand is the key to securing Asia into the MMA/UFC market. If Zuffa can make it popular there, then all of Asia would salivate at the chance of being the next partner!

So ...

We need more MMA in Thailand!!!

That's the "KEY" to MMA in Asia.

Muay Thai is virtually the most respected striking art on earth. Countless numbers of fighters, from all over the globe, travel to Thailand to seek out Spartan-like Muay Thai training camps.

China is NOT the key to MMA in Asia. India is not the key to MMA in Asia. The Philippines is not the key to MMA in Asia. Even Singapore or Japan are not the key to MMA in Asia.

Thailand IS the key to MMA in Asia! You get the Thais on-board, you get all of Asia on-board.

Mark my words! ; )

2012 Lenten Challenge

2012-03-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

We're a few weeks into the Lenten Challenge and I wondered how everyone was doing with their practice?

If you've fallen off the wagon, then get back on! It's as easy as that. For myself, the last few weeks have been a challenge. Overhauling the main bathroom in the house has been a late winter project. It's been quite a workout climinb up and down ladders, etc.; however the results have been worth it.

I'm not as young as I used to be and am a little beat up as a result.

Keeping with the Lenten Challenge though, I didn't count the physical labor as my work out. I've just stayed up later, stretched out more and am still continuing with my martial arts practice.

The Mrs is starting a new job today. It's full time in retail and she's not going to have the classic 9-5 hours that she was used to in previous jobs. Some days she'll have to start at 7 pm, and on others she'll have to close which won't get her home until around 10 pm. She'll also have to work most weekends.

I'm planning on structuring my training around her schedule. On the early days she'll have to get up at 5:30 which is an hour earlier than I usually get up. I'll just get up with her and I'll have an extra hour every morning to practice. I'll also continue to practice in the evening, so this will be something of a boost for my own training.

Round 49 might finally replace Round 45 as my favorite of the post R

2012-03-11T03:19:00.000-07:00

I did R49 through Turbo today and I LOVE it! I semi did the sections after that to practice them, but here is what you do - though keep in mind this is with MY athletic modidfications, I don't do tomahawks, pump-it's or much turning..

DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED!

*Warmup: * is good! The song is a little mellow but still a good song, "We Found Love"

*Punches: * FUN! Side A songs are something like "I'm Gonna Make You Sweat" and "Drinks" Jab, elbow, triple jab cross jab upper x2 turn to 3:00 twist to 3:00 x2 2 uppers left, 2 right

b) double bob slice x2

single knee strikes

jab jab speedbag

2 high crosses, 2 low

*Kicks: *LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SECTION!!!!! songs are "Forever" and "I've Got this Feeling"

1,2,3 crescent kick, 1,2,3 front kick

back kick, front kick x2

2 high knees r, 2 low knees r

2 low knees left, lunge punch down + knee

b) speedbag R & L, uppers

speedbag R& L zigzag

Jab cross @ 3:00, Jab cross @9:00

single jabs 3 and 9 FUN FUN FUN!!!

*Punches & Kicks: * songs are "Jello" and "Get to Know me Better" ski 3 knee, double knees 1,2 side kick to 12:00, jacks back 3 step, mud run (I just did the kick part above a second time instead)

*LOVE THE TURBO!* I don't want to spoil it because it starts with something we haven't heard since ROUND 5!!! Also, the moves are more basic than the last few have been, easy to memorize, heart rate still way up :)

*Recovery: * songs are "Everybody" and "We Run the Night" Capoeira x2, firethrow x4 double bob slice

left side hi low, 2 right jabs

b) speedbag around + upper 3 ski jabs at 9:00 - fun!!

4 crosses high, 4 low, 2 right down + "High Middle High" - a fun dancey thing I kept in!

*Finale:* song "Attenzioine" has a Scooter feel to it double jab, heel strike to nose speed R & L in this lunge x4 2 left knees, 2 right back kick front kick x2

Finesse - simple and great for working on the kicks! I LOVE KICKS.

Legs - tough as usual, featuring Brett Johnson's "3 point stance" from football practice!

Abs - the usual torture Cooldown on floor

Lovin' it, can't wait to learn it better!!

Wow - something from 5?! Cool! So funny because I called March "Instructors Choice" - saving 49 for April/Spring rollout - and while myself and the other 3 TK instructors are teaching any round we'd like - I am the only one with rounds older than 25 :) I have been revisiting the old choreo - and to be honest, I miss it :(

Seems lately every punches/kicks section is Ski 3 knee.....

Songs for Round 49 are in the database. Maybe someone can help with who sings the "I Go Hard" song? (Recovery Right and Left B) It sounds like it should be a Lil Jon song but I searched songs AND lyrics and found nothing. If anyone figures it out, please share!.

Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body

2012-02-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

The chi kung system that BK Frantzis created is organized as a loop of 5 Elements, each set corresponds to Water, Fire, Wood, Metal or Earth. There are a lot of different reasons for this, and aspects to it. It's nice though because it makes it easy to see each part in relation to the others.

He took all the chi kung he learned from a lot of study and developed these five sets. The first set Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body is primarily based on exercises he learned from his first teacher Wang Shu Jin in Taiwan. Master Wang liked to stand a lot, so OEG begins with standing and relaxing as its basis. This is the healing aspect, designed to release stuck energy and clenched muscles in a natural way.

The next part of Opening the Energy Gates is Cloud Hands, which is a basic exercise from Wang's class. Taking the same ideas of dropping awareness and feeling "sung" in the body, you begin to work on twisting the muscles and shifting your weight. This is to gently wake up the body, engage the fascia and help the body become unified, connecting the legs and arms by way of the trunk and waist. All the most important alignments of the body are taught there.

Also part of the set are the Three Swings that Master Wang used to teach. These are good for loosening up the body, and begins to teach you about the Three Burners of the body. This is where you develop the smooth, soft and heavy slapping and striking power of internal martial arts. By the time you complete this set you have created whole body power, the ability to put your whole body weight behind a relaxed and casual slap.

The final piece is the Spine Stretch. Every one of the five sets in this system has a different aspect of spine chi kung. Spine Stretch is the first and begins the process of getting your mind into each of the vertebrae, and helping create a miniscule space between each one to improve spine health. The other sets go much further and deeper into working with the spine.

The five sets replicated BK Frantzis's journey in China. The first set comes from his first teacher Wang Shu Jin. Each of the other sets are composed of knowledge from one or more of his other teachers. The final set is Gods Playing in the Clouds, and was the primary practice of his final teacher Liu Hung Chieh in Beijing.

Overall I think it's an elegant and deep system, and well thought out. Obviously Kumar would be able to explain it way better than me, but I've gotten some of his ideas over the years. The five sets recapitulate his experience of learning chi kung, and in the same sense they form the pathway for his students to follow.

The first set is Opening the Energy Gates. Even the name is a pun on the Chinese idea of the teacher opening the gate for the student to enter. This is the public set, taught for the outdoor students and for the general public to get a good start on the thing. Not that the other stuff is better somehow, but if you were to learn just one set, this would be the one. It's for everyone. It can be done without (much) supervision pretty safely and gives good benefits. It's the most "external" of the sets.

The first set is all about alignments, knee safety, engaging the fascia as a whole, getting acquainted with the kwa and the spine. And on a energy level, the felt sense of your mind dropping through your body, actively letting go of tension. Again, this is to set the stage, to clear away the accumulated junk, to make a blank canvass upon which to work.

Once you have things cleared up, the actual training can begin. Most people don't need to go any further, this first set can give you everything you needed, unless you wish to achieve more in the realm of chi gung.

To take the next step, you learn the second set Spiraling Energy Body. This is the initiation into the indoor work, metaphorically. You can't do the later sets until you've activated your energy body with this second set. In the old days this is where the teacher would empower you to be a member of the family and participate in all the more intense work. You'd become a disciple, bow to the altar, hit your head on the floor, give the teacher a gold brick etc.

As a side note, Kumar doesn't take disciples, and teaches his whole system openly to just about anyone. So my metaphor here about "indoor" is my words, not his. He teaches everyone as if they are indoor students. Anyways, Spiraling Energy Body is where you go through each of the energy gates and fill them with energy. In a sense you've gotten your car built with the first set, now you fill it with oil and gas and rev the engine. One by one you've cleared the energy gates, now one by one you activate them with your mind. The energy of the earth is pulled up through the body centimeter by centimeter, always tempered by the dissolving that has been built into the system.

Spiraling Energy Body is the second set because it is essential to moving on to the rest of the system. The first set teaches the downward flow of energy. The second set brings the energy up, through every energy gate one by one, and filling each of the Tan Tians with your awareness.

The first set uses one basic standing posture to dissolve all your tension. Spiraling Energy Body adds 200 more postures, and each one is crafted to help build up the energy pathways in your body. Normally the teacher assigns specific postures to each student on a prescriptive basis so that they work on the pathways that need the most help. No one bothers to learn all 200 unless you were going to be a teacher.

This second set represents the Fire element, energy rising, filling and jumping from place to place. It can be dangerous if you try to rush it all up to your head at once, therefore it's essential to get the Water element in place first as a safety mechanism.

There is a HUGE amount that could go into this discussion, but obviously it's best talked about in person. As I said before, Kumar took all the stuff he learned over the years and put it into the sets in a logical grouping. Much in Spiraling Energy Body comes from the Taoist training he did in Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1970's.

The third set is Marriage of Heaven and Earth where you work with the upward and downward flow of energy simultaneously. This is the set that represents the Wood element, living growing pulsing, opening & closing, the power of life between heaven above and earth below. That's a whole different practice and can't be fully experienced without the grounding of the first two sets.

Another aspect of the training is that Opening the Energy Gates contains all the basis for healing, Heaven and Earth contains the fulfillment of martial power, and Gods in the Clouds at the end takes you toward spirituality. It gets a lot more convoluted and interconnected than that, but these are just a few words on how Kumar's chi kung system is constructed.

Note that he has a list of 16 Nei Gung skills, that's the ultimate aim of the 5 sets, and each set specializes in some of those nei gung skills. The five sets were designed as a logical way to develop the 16 nei gung elements. Once you complete the 5 sets, you move on to the internal martial arts where you combine, mix and match the nei gung skills at full speed and under pressure.

Anyways, just putting some of these ideas out there, hope you find it interesting!

In terms of the spine chi gung, that's one of Kumar's favorite topics. One reason being he's had spine injuries and wanted to work toward healing them. Also because that's the center of your nervous system and the spine has to be fully awakened and enlivened to then move on to working with the brain. The first set has Spine Stretch, where you dissolve each vertebrae. The second set teaches you to pull energy up and into each vertebrae, and to spiral the chi between each one. The third set is all about pulsing the space between the vertebrae.

The fourth set is called Bend the Bow, Shoot the Arrow and is entirely focused on spine chi gung. At this point you begin to bend the spine in the shape of a "C", stretching the spine from the top of the skull to the tail bone. By now you've strengthened and opened the spine, so you can begin to work on moving each vertebrae, and getting in touch with the movement of the dura and spinal cord. This type of work is not to be trifled with, which is why each previous set builds on the last so you have a solid sense of being able to feel every nuance within your spine. If you try too hard or too soon you can crank it out of whack.

The fourth set Bend the Bow is also prescriptive, there are many many hand postures used to connect your arms to your spine and manipulate your spine with the pressure of pumping your arms. If one vertebrae needs to be moved, you'll use a specific posture and pump to being gently moving it to it's more natural position.

Eventually you can learn to move each vertebra individually and I've seen and felt people do it with more or less precision. This set can get extremely complex as you move from a general pumping of the spine and associated tissues to insanely precise workings of individual nerve clusters and vertebrae. If the early sets are more like fitness and overall health, this one is more like spine surgery, and requires a comparable level of training if you want to take it to the maximum. It's a deep well of knowledge, that can only be found through your own experimentation and experience. The set gives you the tools to explore, but you can only find the answers through your own efforts, which takes a lot of concentration and care so that you don't hurt yourself by overdoing it. Bend the Bow can be exhausting for this reason. Bend the Bow relates to the Metal element, which emphasizes the Spine and lungs, as this is where Reverse breathing is emphasized along with all the most advances spine training.

In terms of Kumar's sources for the sets, the third set Heaven and Earth is a generic chi kung form that he said he'd learned many times from many sources with many different variations. He made his the most basic and simple form, including Macrocosmic and Microcosmic orbit. The outer shape I suspect is a combination of many forms he learned and the inner nei gung work comes from the Taoists in Hong Kong and China he learned from as well as his chi gung tui na training there and in Beijing. Like I said, it's the most generic of the sets and a real combination of influences from all the different training he did.

The fourth set is Bend the Bow, and I think a lot of that comes from one of his chi gung tui na teachers in Taiwan, Huang Hsi I, who he profiles in his book. Ultimately he gives credit to his last teacher Liu Hung Chieh as the one who helped him put it all together and went through everything with him start to finish and make it all into one big whole. The final set is Liu's personal set that he learned at a monastery in Sichuan province, called Gods Playing in the Clouds. That's where Liu also learned Taoist circle walking which may be one of the influences that led Dong Hai Chuan to creating Ba Gua Zhang.

In Kumar's system, each of the sets also corresponds to the internal martial arts: Opening the Energy Gates emphasizes the softness and relaxed power of Tai Chi. Heaven & Earth teaches the opening and closing, explosive and growing strength of Hsing-I. Gods Playing in the Clouds focuses on the twisting, spiraling, winding movements that support Ba Gua.

In the long run all the 16 nei gung skills are direction signs to try and connect to the Central Channel, the deepest of the energy channels that connects to the primordial life giving energy of the cosmos itself. This requires awakening to the "Xin" called the HeartMind in Buddhism and Taoism, the deeper source of all thought and intention before it is formed. These nei gung skills help you get deeper into your body and mind, and eventually they will help trigger awareness of the Xin and you can return to where you began. That's way over my ability at this point but it's a cool concept and worth investigating!

Sambo Session

2012-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Chris, Dave, Matt and I today...

2 rounds shadow boxing

3 rounds boxing, mainly close quarters work.

1 round all against all, gang boxing...brutal!

3 rounds partnered footwork drill

Dave, Matt and I then gave Chris 3 rounds of cover drill against the wall. We ended out striking section with some Russian fisticuff drills working on dealing with getting the arms out of the way, pushing, pulling and chopping to clear a path for a straight blow.

On with the kurtka for some sambo...

We went over last weeks session: hip throw to ankle pick to inside leg hook. Also the low, low single. We also did some work from the Russian 2 on 1 tie up.

We ended on time this week (2 hour session) due to the weather...at my house it was near 40 F when we started, ten minutes in it looked like a scene from "The Thing". I was half expecting to see a helicopter chasing a dog across the yard. better t finish early and get everyone home safe.

Report from Chicago Bartitsu Club

2012-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

I went in to Chicago on Sunday to participate in Tony Wolf's Bartitsu seminar at the new venue for the Chicago Bartitsu Club.. He had an excellent turn out with just over 30 students. It was an interesting mix of participants with experienced martial artists such as members of the Chicago Swordplay Guild (CSG) to steampunkers who knew little or nothing about the Arts of Mars.

Tony related the history of Barton-Wrights founding of the club in London and where Bartisu has gone from there. He then had everyone do warm ups with the synergy games he uses to get folks used to working and feeling how they move.

We then worked on some pugilism strikes and concepts and segued into some of the jujutsu set plays. Tony included a number of what I call "Failure drills" where the opponent is able to block part of the set play so you have to move to more strikes or other types of take downs from the one that is originally called for.

After lunch we worked on the Vigny stick set plays. Again, Tony had failure drills in almost all cases to show how pugilism and jujutsu still form part of the Vigny techniques. By the end of the afternoon pretty much everyone had the idea of flowing through the set plays and failure drills with out really having to think about how to use them.

Tony, as usual, did an excellent job of imparting this material so both the experienced martial arts folks and those who had never swung a stick before could participate and learn along the way. It certainly looked like he was going to be able to fill up his six week class just from those who were there .

The venue for the seminar is the new home of the Forteza Fitness, Physical Culture and Martial Arts studio, fortezafitness.com. It is in an industrial space and very bare bones at this point. However, they worked very hard to get a raised dance floor built in three days so we weren't falling on cement all day. I look forward to seeing how Forteza develops with CSG, Tony and others teaching classes there.

Mixing and matching - what do you do?

2012-01-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

I'm still learning how to teach my classes. So far I've learned two Rounds 42 and 44. I was curious - for those of you more seasoned, do you find yourself mixing rounds? Do you choose music from different rounds to match with choreography from other rounds? What do you find makes the best mix for a class?

Just curious on this. Personally I'm finding 42 a bit repetitive and am interested in how others structure their playlists.

I don't know how seasoned I am, but I do mix rounds. I pick a new segment (right now, it's punches) and introduce that into the "old" round. Next week, I'll introduce the new kick section into the "old" round, etc., until it's all entirely the new round.

I put the music on my phone, and currently use music from Round 44 with a mix of choreography from 2 rounds. As the music is all 32 counts, I find it doesn't really matter. And for the cooldown, you can get creative.

My dealings with Gallowglass Academy

2011-12-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

I apologise if this is slightly off topic but since Allen Reed is a regular here I thought it was as good a place as any to post this.

I recently purchased a book from Gallowglass (to bring things on topic, it was Paulus Kal's "In Service of the Duke" fechtbuch, which is long out of print and I was delighted to find an as-new copy for original retail price) and the service I received was excellent. Andrea was extremely helpful, and the book travelled across the Atlantic and got to me in perfect condition, which is no mean feat as the posties tend to like to kick stuff around.

Just thought I'd say thanks to the Gallowglass team for this wonderful acquisition to my WMA library, and mention to everyone that if you have cause to do business with them then you are in good hands.

Thanks for the attaboy. Andrea always tries to do the best she can when she sells books. Hope you can make it to the States and drop by sometime.

Slung-Shots by the historian John Evangelist Walsh

2011-12-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

I just started reading a true-crime book called Moonlight, by the historian John Evangelist Walsh. It is about a notorious 1857 murder case which took place in Illinois. The defendant's lawyer, a young fellow named Abraham Lincoln, won a spectacular "Perry Mason" victory. (This case, highly fictionalized, is a highlight of John Ford's film Young Mr. Lincoln.)

One thing that interested me was that the murder weapon was "a certain hard metallic substance commonly called a slung-shot (a lead ball encased in leather with a cord attached for swinging.)" It also turns out that Lincoln, as a young man, was an enthusiastic belt-wrestler. One of the decisive moments in Lincoln's early career came when he defeated Jack Armstrong, the champion of New Salem. The match got a bit rough towards the end, with both men resorting to foul tactics. The crowd, fearing for the safety of their local hero, threatened to riot. All turned out well in the end, however. Lincoln managed to stare down the crowd. Armstrong was so impressed by Lincoln's stamina and courage that the two men became lifelong friends. The rough-hewn folks of New Salem formed the core of Lincoln's Illinois constituency.

Incredibly cool stuff; and I'm only on chapter two. I'm from ILL originally. There are many stories of Lincoln, but I didn't know about his wrestling. In England the policemanâ€™s truncheon became known as a â€˜life-preserverâ€™ but in fact before that people carried a â€˜self-defenceâ€™ weapon which was nicknamed the â€˜life-preserverâ€™. This consisted of a small (possibly lead) ball attached by cord/chain to a short stick. It was like a miniature mace which was small enough to be carried inside a coat pocket and was intended for use against footpads and suchlike. I wonder if this was similar/identical to the slung-shot?

Flip and Flick

2011-12-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

Just Greg and I. We focused on the Cane in close range and confined spaces. We first defined what "close range" and "confined spaces" was in a historic context and then in the modern. We looked at Lang's "Flip" and "Flick," both my interpretation and Craigs. Then Lang and Vigny's bayonet related material. Examined the different grips used in the Lang and Vigny bayonet style material. We also brought in a bit of Cunningham work ("Double Guard"). Did a few drills using modified bayonet (Lang, Vigny, Cunningham) against a knife in a restricted area, then developed a "practice set" of chained techniques and defenses.

Followed this with an inclusion of the defenses against a grab from the "Cane and the Footpad" article along with the logical extensions for left or right use.

Finally, I taught one blood-choke using the cane which flows sometimes from Lang's "Flip." It's a variant of gyaku.

First Class!

2011-12-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

Anybody first Class in this week from today! Any last minute advice?

I taught my first class a few weeks ago. I'm actually teaching my third tomorrow. My advice is this: know you'll screw up and accept it and just have fun!

One thing I did for my second class was write on GIANT Post Its my choreography notes. I could see them easier to glance at and my class could "cheat" if they needed to. Since I don't have cuing down to a science yet, it was a great thing to do!

By the way, if your group is new to Turbo Kick too they really will only get about 4 layers or less. I didn't believe it, but low and behold, that's what happened.

Yes, definitely write my notes out on something you can see so you can glance down at them. Keep your layers simple. You will do great! I haven't been teaching too long..:a little over a year, and the other day I froze during the warmup and couldnt remember what to do after the double bob and punches! Luckily there was another instructor in there and she started marching. Lol see, we will all mess up from time to time, but as long as we can laugh it off, we will be fine. :)

Have fun and let us know how your first class goes. What round are u teaching?

Know that you will mess something up & embrace that. Focus on having fun & keeping your participants safe. If that means big ole' monster cheat sheets, then cheat away. Let them know that safety & a solid workout are your priority. You may not even need the notes, but with them you can have fun, monitor exertion levels & engage your students :o) Without the notes, you may prove that you nailed memorization, but at the expense of an amazing experience -- you build classes based on experience, not memorization skills.

Get a really good nights rest the night before! I was so nervous that I could not sleep, but it didn't help that I kept on practicing late that night. Lack of sleep just intensified my fears of being on stage and I completely blanked out and froze with a deer in headlights look on my face! Thankfully my second time went much better as I accepted my 1st experience and really it was not the end of the world and as I reflected I realized that in teaching group fitness, its the students experience in your class that matters the most! So I quit worrying about me and chose to be positive, excited, and full of energy for them. Just go with it...have fun and your class will too! :)

This is all good stuff! I love the advice and reading your own personal stories. I'm going with R45. The presenter here kind of taught me how to break it down even more so it should be fairly easy for people new to Turbo.

Staying positive

2011-11-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

It's been quiet plus we need some humor as the holidays approach. This is not a joke, but I found it amusing.......So a friend told me that there is a guy on cable TV that supposedly is a real life paid gigolo/male escort in Vegas. Here's the funny part...they said he states that he seriously studied Yoshokai Aikido (I think that's the Kushida Sensei group) and participated in Kenshu. Now THAT is using your ki! Anyone hear of this or see that show? Anyone know this guy or ever practice with him? Wonder how much kamae comes into play? LOL

I am 44 years young and have recently returned to Aikido, after a 27 year absence. I don't roll like I used too LOL. I walked into the Grafton Dojo back in March and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. The Club trains 3 times a week, Tues & Thurs evenings 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm & Sat 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.

I have been attending all 3 classes, work commitments allowing. I haven't been able to attend the last 3 weeks, as I am Funeral Director (Undertaker) and unfortunately, have been flat out with work. As I normally work 24/7 for 10 days and get a 4 day weekend every second weekend. But I am currently on my 21st day straight on call. As I have a colleague away with personal issues and have been unable to attend class.

I have had every Mon, Weds & Sunday free, the opposite days to class of late. So I am not to happy about that, as I am looking forward to my 5th Kyu grading.

I am trying my hardest to get back on track, have go Jo 1 & 2 down pat and have nearly got Bokken 2 as well. As I have been practicing in the back yard in the heat an humidity( Summers building).

So just trying to stay positive and train when I can at present.

Sorry for the waffle

the Fitzsimmons shift

2011-11-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Chris, Matt and I today...

2 rounds shadow boxing

2 rounds three count cadence drill

1 round heavy bag

2 rounds boxing

We then went over the Fitzsimmons shift. We have done it before but it has been a while and I realized that this was something new to Chris so it seemed like a good subject for the day. We also worked in Biddle's Killing shift and a few variations of our own on the concept. Once we had this ingrained a bit we geared up again and each boxed two more rounds with an emphasis on landing the shift.

Next up shillelagh working through the Footpad and the Cane article: http://adf.ly/3l0ua

We had a good bit of fun working with this short text. It is short but has a good deal of useful and interesting material. We ended the session working through some basic attack and defense with the shillelagh followed up with two bout each shillelagh vs shillelagh. Always the most violent of all.

What's the difference between Biddle's shift and Fitz's? I think Biddle was a student of Fitz, or am I imagining things?

Insurance for the turbo kick instructor

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am currently teaching Turbo Kick at my church. However, starting in January I am planning to teach it at the hospital that I work for. They called today and said that I would need insurance. I called my insurance agent, but they do not offer it. I looked at some sites online and am seeing it for anywhere from $150-250/year depending on the amount you want to be approved for and if you are certified (doesn't include the TK cert, they are talking about ACE/etc).

What kind of insurance does everyone else use, and what is the most affordable one? My concern is that I do not charge for my classes, but this is an additional cost. I have already spent $500 between the certification day, the Elite 11 DVDs, and the 5 pack of DVDs that were on sale on the Turbo Kick site. That is fine, because I love teaching and doing the workouts... However, I'm considering starting to charge at least a small amount of money to help cover the insurance and any new DVDs that I may want to purchase in the future. When the lady from the hospital called to see if I planned to charge, I said "no" so I'm not sure if she was going to say that it wasn't allowed, or if she just wanted to know...

Here's an option - http://adf.ly/3jejE - About 144/yr. I wouldn't teach without it - When I looked at the site, it said it would be asking for a registration number for certification. There isn't one on the TK certificate. Did you have to give one?

Blades -Brawling

2011-11-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Just Greg last night. So, I knew it was going to be a warm, dry, beautiful day so I planned on using what may be the last nice day of the season to do outdoor work, Greatstick and Singlestick/Saber. What I forgot was that Daylight Savings Time borks evening daylight hours in favor of morning. I'd rather have the evening daylight than the morning but the government didn't ask my opinion. Therefore, even though the garage door was open, we worked inside, beneath the cold glare of my fluorescent bulbs.

Brawling – First looked at the Head Butt again. Reviewed the three uses: modern, French Apache attack, and "Scientific Boxing" technique. Spent the most time on the mechanics of the modern technique. Then we went on to Slungshot. Looked at the commonly reported historic carry techniques then worked on deploying from the pocket draw in conjunction with initial attack technique. Next up was pairing the Slungshot with commonly reported history weapons pairings. This includes the knife, coat, and [redacted – I'm saving it as a surprise for the Seminar and book!]

Blades – Next up, BOWIE KNIFE!!!! Huzzah!

Drill 1: Thrust on inside line and parry to the inside.

Drill 2: Mandriti style thrust on outside line and parry/back-parry to the outside.

Drill 3: Combine 1 2, Thrust inside, parry inside, thrust outside, parry outside, lather rinse repeat. Then footwork, parry, and thrust drill with the "swinging bar."

Finally, SPARRING! WOOT!!!

Supreme Grand Master Angel Cabales Exclusive Interview

2011-11-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

Grand Master *D*

Grandmaster *D* has over {30} + years of actual training in the field of martial arts. The combat arts that he has studied includes Kajukenbo, Chinese Kempo, Thai Boxing, Tai Chi Chuan, Western Boxing, Kali and the fine art of *Serrada Escrima* as personally taught to him by the late

*Supreme Grand Master Guru Angel O. Cabales* GM *D* Always Looks to be in tip top shape

Regardless of your skill level, style, experience or previous training in the pugilistic weapon or "empty-hand" arts…Grandmaster *D* thoughtfully, and thoroughly guides, and personally teaches you this "beginner to expert" stick-knife and empty-hand training program. The time worn notion that all students must train for 3, 6 or even 10 yrs. is a misnomer, and, is a thing of the past.

By extracting the essence of Serrada Escrima and combining it with his over {30}+ years of martial arts expertise…You are presented with an "eclectic" modern day style that will give you the decisive edge in the absolute art of streetwise combat.

With Grandmaster *D* "It's all about superior quality of service".

Serrada Escrima is not only based upon technique, but also, on theories, and concepts that were developed and refined throughout many years by SGM Angel Cabales himself.

SGM Angel Cabales learned the rudimentary foundation of the Filipino art of escrima from his mentor, 'Dequerdas' SGM Felicisimo Dizon.

GM *D* began studying Serrada Escrima in 1984 in Stockton, California. With several years of genuine combat experience already underneath his belt, GM *D* knew that after having witnessed SGM Angel Cabales in actual combat action he was indeed a genuine weapons master.

The Late Great Prof. Gilbert Tenio teams up with SGM Angel Cabales at GM *D*s 1984, *Classic Cabales Serrada System of Escrima Seminar* in San Francisco, Ca. GM Angel Cabales once said to GM *D* that his intentions were not to inflict upon him his particular style of martial arts; but rather to demonstrate & to teach him some effective tactics that he could use to make his 'own' style of martial arts even more applicable & even more effective.

SGM Angel Cabales also said to GM *D*, "Any student whose primary focus is to be a carbon copy of his teacher is doing themselves a great disservice. No one can be exactly like the teacher and still retain their own personal identity."

In essence, the 'Cabales Serrada System of Escrima' was designed as a method of personal self-discovery & for self-transformation of the soul. In this hands-on learning system, SGM Cabales called the highest level of martial arts attainment " presence of mind " or "spontaneous intelligent reaction". Around 1986-87, GM *D* arranged & introduced GM Gura Graciela Casillas to SGM Angel Cabales where she began her transformative stages of training within the field of Cabales Serrada Escrima

"When a person is seriously engaged in close-quarter combat, there is no time for thinking, feeling, choosing or judging what is occurring from moment-to-moment" SGM Angel Cabales

Here's how SGM Angel Cabales put it:

On June 3, 1990, GM *D* traveled to SGM Angel Cabales' home in order to conduct a very special interview on him. Although GM *D* had spoken to SGM Cabales many times about his style of fighting, he was always reluctant to ask him about his death matches. SGM Angel Cabales told GM *D* that escrima death matches were an integral part of the ancient warrior code & traditions of the Philippines.

"To willfully test one's skills in an actual match to the death is the ultimate test of true fighting skill and indomitable courage".

SGM Angel Cabales

SGM Angel Cabales added, " Whenever you are engaged in mortal combat you must forget about all of the antics of your opponent. One must not worry about things like how big or strong or how great your opponent's reputation or image is. One must remain calm & cool, but as alert as possible and strike the enemy down with certainty, accuracy, and with overwhelming pinpointed, and strategic execution of overriding power."

SGM Angel Cabales insisted that in order to survive in any life or death encounter, you must bypass all negative and positive conflictualities. Any type of conflictuality constricts the natural flow or " presence of mind of a person."

Freezing in the midst of a life or death encounter can be very fatal. It is only in a natural state of mind that one can effectively defend himself against myriad of attacks. SGM Angel Cabales taught GM *D* that obtaining high levels of rank or degrees should never be the primary focus of a martial arts aspirant. Instead, a practitioner should focus upon the fundamentals & upon the metaphysical ingredients that lie behind all external formulas for combat fighting.

According to SGM Angel Cabales, no level of rank could ever equate with the raw courage and skill that is latent within the hearts, bodies, and the minds of every human being. A real warrior works from a position of practicality, and begins the process of becoming a master craftsman by using whatever personality & circumstances he/she is in at the time.

To SGM Angel Cabales, befriending and assisting a person with the elevation of their mind was his greatest and highest achievement award within his lifetime. The 'Cabales Serrada System of Escrima' was designed for thinkers, and for all those who are seeking a supreme martial arts type of lifestyle.

The art of Serrada Escrima as developed by SGM Angel Cabales entails many aspects of the art of combat.

"In order to make my art of Serrada Escrima serve the present time, we only have to assemble or reassemble my art into its fullest dimensions scientifically, and then my students have to bring to life my art of Serrada Escrima, and then make it there own." SGM Angel Cabales

Supreme Grand Master Guru Angel O. Cabales

{1917-1991}SGM Angel Cabales stated that his style of fighting could not fail him in any combative encounter. In SGM Angel Cabales' mind his art could never fail him because he always thought in a completely positivist way when it came to close-quarter-combat-fighting. SGM Angel Cabales was not afraid to engage in actual hand-to-hand or weapon-to-weapon encounters.

The Serrada System of Escrima as taught by SGM Angel Cabales was very people oriented. SGM Cabales was not only the first escrimador master to open a commercial escrima academy in America in 1966, but also! like the legendary Bruce Lee; he was amongst one of the first Filipino masters to teach outside of his race.

A good example of this are the top three African American master graduate students that Cabales personally taught escrima to; Professor Sultan Uddin, Master Guru Jerry Preciado, and Grand Master *D*. (l-to-r) GM Jim Mather, SGM Angel Cabales, Grand Master *D* & Professor *Sultan Uddin* (l-to-r) Co-Founder of 'Angel's Disciples' Serrada Escrima Master/ Jerry Preciado & Grand Master *D*

Finally, Angel Cabales believed in the eternal goodness of man. Even when the usurers were closing in on him, he still had faith in his; 'Serrada System of Escrima'. After more than {27} years of practicing and promoting the Serrada Escrima System of martial arts worldwide; GM *D* still continues to discover hidden clues & further meaning that has unearthed some of the deepest secrets of the "Angel Cabales Serrada System of Escrima".

It's these energy-releasing secrets that continue to propel GM *D* upon an " Endless Journey " of self-discovery & further development within the area of close quarter combat.

In an interview in early 1990, just prior to SGM Angel Cabales' death, GM *D* asked the 'Supreme Grand Master' who he felt are some of his top Serrada Escrima graduate student(s). In a proud, and in a jubilant voice, he said;

"All of my students are my top students".

That's how SGM Angel Cabales truly thought, he was always fair & equitable in regards to giving recognition to all of his graduate students.

2007, Grand Master *D* had the distinct pleasure of meeting in person in Augsburg, Germany, one of Ving Tsun Kung Fu's best fighting master's. Master/Guru Sifu Muammer is probally one of the least known of Grand Master Leung Ting's graduate master students. Additionally! Master Muammer has mastered & studied extensively within GM Rene Latosa's Escrima system.

Note: Grand Master Rene Latosa is a former Serrada Escrima graduate instructor under the late *Supreme Grand Master* Angel Cabales.

GM Rene Latosa received the fundamental's of the combat art of Serrada Escrima directly from SGM Angel Cabales, which in turn greatly aided him when he first introduced his rendition of the art of Serrada Escrima known as 'PMAS' all across Europe.

{1983} Escrima Grand Master Rene Latosa Makes a Special Guest Appearance at GM *D*s "Kali/Jeet Kune Do" Seminar featuring Maha Guru Ted Lucaylucay & Guro Dan Inosanto (l-to-r) Guro Dan Inosanto & GM *D*/1980 Cleveland, Ohio "Kali/Jeet Kune do Workshop"

Ving Tsun/ Escrima Expert Master Guru/Sifu Muammer Grand Master *D* had the distinct pleasure of being one of the first of the late Grand Master Angel Cabales' graduate students to formally introduce the "Serrada System of Escrima" directly to Master Guru/Sifu Muammer at his academy in Augsburg, Germany.

THE IMMACULATE SGM YIP MAN

Grand Master *D* Formally Introduces Serrada Escrima to Master Guru/Sifu Muammer in Germany {l-to-r} Grand Master *D* Prepares to Utilize a Serrada Escrima Cross Block {l-to-r} Master Guru/Sifu Muammer & GM *D* Indeed the fine art of 'Serrada Escrima' along with the illustrious legacy of the "Father of Escrima in America" has crossed over to various shore's all over the world. "Long Live the art of Supreme Grand Master Angel Cabales" THE GM *D* SGM ANGEL CABALES ALLIANCE FORMED IN{1984}

Ghosts, Demons and Ru Ding

2011-10-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

I was recently reading in Bruce's book "The Power of Internal Martial Arts" about how on the path towards spiritual evolution, there are some very challenging stages where we can experience such things as "searing deserts" of the soul and "gnawing psychic thirsts," as we encounter the depths of our being through inner dissolving and martial training. He also talks about how being a spiritual warrior involves a willingness to live through several "dark nights of the soul."

I'm wondering if anyone here would be willing to share some of their expereinces of working with their demons through meditation and martial arts? Has anyone here lived through any of these "dark nights?" if so, what was it like, how long did it last and what helped you in dealing with it?

My reason for this request is to help to get some perspective on my own experience, as well as for sharing and community around these rarely-discussed experiences.

I know about it, and it is very recent history. It started when I was in China. I was teaching in a university there, and I started to have some panic attacks, coming from absolutely nowhere, heart beating very fast, a feeling of death coming very soon, and other pains in the chest. Symptoms of a heart attack. Went to many doctors who said my body was perfectly well! I was kinda thinking "the guy is fooling me". But check-up after check-up, I realized that they were right.

So were was allthis pain/fear coming from? It was incredible, coming out of nowhere, especially in the evening. Really was an agony, on the physical, but even more on the emotional level. I later learnt from the internet that I was not alone. It is a symptom called "Spasmophilia" by the French. Don't look in a dictionary, the concept doesn't exist in english, it is a kind of "panic attack symptoms. People may have this for years.

Knowing this started to help me, also a supporting wife, and an australian neighbor I consider to be a sage helped me a lot too. Having a warrior spirit: oh yes it definitely was what made the difference. I can honestly say I had it. I didn't want to lose; losing meaning to be dead/crazy.

The last doctor I saw said I should be on medication for a year minimum. I thought, "fuck it, no way, better die than become a zombie". And it did finally work! Compared with some other people having the same stuff:

- I never took medication (maybe one pill when I was to take a plane)

- I never lost my job, despite the many sleepless nights I had

- I never tried to commit suicide

- I was - strangely- happy when not in a crisis.

However, my "I don't wanna lose" attitude was also my biggest flaw in many aspects. What I needed to learn (and still need somehow) was the idea of letting go. Accepting, even things I thought terrible. Including death.

That is not easy. I realized my fears and angers where coming out in my body. And it was a result of my energy practices. Not because I was not practicing correctly, I believe, but because it was a stage. I hated it.

I realized I was in a constant anger against many things. The weather, the bad environment. Fear was coming almost instantly when I was hearing a story of someone dying in car accident, or something like that. I was feeling helpless, powerless in a threatening world. I didn't want to admit it, my body spoke for me!

2 words were for me to learn: acceptance, and no-judgement. I knew these (I read some spiritual literature, too!), but I had to make them become real in my very body., not just as words. I thought coming back to my country would help me. It did, but not immediatly. It was not a matter of place, it was purely internal stuff.

That was a real dark night of the soul. AS for "ghosts", well, I was not thinking of it that way in the beginning. But I had heard about Castaneda's "flyers", ghosts feeding on human energy through emotions. I don't know if those exist, but I managed to get out definitely by saying strongly, but without hatred: "ok, you will do all the crazy stuff to my body, you may even kill me, I don't care if can't sleep, but I WON'T GIVE YOU MY FEAR.

Since then, I had some "crisises", but nothing compared with the ones I had before. I know the protocol to get out. And more important, I don't bother. Actually I believe what we feel emotionally is more important than anything else. Events may be important, but they should never be a loss of emotional balance, which is our very soul (in chinese, the heart is the root of the shen or spirit)

Several minor ones and one big one. In a period when I was practicing a great deal, something started coming out of the lungs. Then it worked out to the skin...there is stayed giving me a really hellish experience for about six months of continual skin itching along with spasmodic leg stuff every time I tried to sleep. One of the hardest times of my life. Thought I mind end there. Kept practicing...in fact my meditation was about the only thing that gave me any break at all. Couldn't sleep for very long periods. Really, really happy when that was over.

Italian Knife Fighting System?

2011-10-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever heard of this instructor and knife fighting system?

Master Gilberto Pauciullo and Northern Italian Piedmont (?) knife fighting system.

I have been lurking for a long time,and people who know me, like Ken, are aware that I research South American Fighting systems like Garrote and now in Colombia Grima. But another aspect of my research has to do with my Italian heritage, on my fathers side. So for a long time now I have been looking into Italian traditions of Knife and Stick fighting. There are quite a few that are still alive and kept that way by old Masters. The only problem is a certain veil of secrecy maintained by several knife and stick traditions, especially the Sicilian ones. And yes, they exist,they are not reconstructed thru old manuals, the only problem is getting in. Look up BASTONE SICILIANO or COLTELLO SICILIANO and you will get some answers.

COMBAT AGAINST MULTIPLE OPPONENTS

2011-10-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here's some more info on my newest book, which happens to be on one of my most beloved topics:

Combat in Outnumbered Scenarios: The origin of Historical Fencing.

...

In this book I cover the fundamentals of combat against multiple opponents both with long double hand weapons (staff) and short single hand weapons (baton).

The main topics are:

- Combat strategy against multiple opponents,

- Principles of engagement,

- Principles and usefulness of active and reactive behavior,

- Technique for distance optimization,

- In motion sweeping parrying technique,

- Scenarios specific of baton due to its shorter length and single hand manipulation,

- Tactical decision making during combat.

The book has one additional chapter in which I cover the historical evolution of combat technique, more specifically parrying technique, presenting why and for what purpose different parrying techniques were created over time, hoping that these contents contribute not only for a better understanding of Martial Art's history but also improve combat strategy.

The book costs 19,95 dollars and is available at www.pretomartialarts.com, as well as on www.amazon.com

More information can be found on www.pretomartialarts.com and http://bf3c2baf.linkbucks.com

Although the Portuguese version of my website is still under construction, all my books are available in both languages.

Bartitsu Session at Gallowglass Academy

2011-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the second session with my Bartitsu student.

We reviewed our pugilism from last week including the left lead, the right rear punch and the upper cut. We then reviewed using your left lead arm to block an incoming right hand punch and then counter punching with your right fist. I then introduced the idea of using the inverted fist punch used as hook to strike at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)

We then talked again about how you can get someone off balance by moving them into the empty triangle point in front of behind them.

We then worked on making someone fall over backward from the collar and elbow/randori position both with and without blocking the leg. From there we worked on the back heel throw from pugilism. Once we had worked on that I introduced the cross buttock throw from pugilism also called the neck hip throw in jujutsu.

We finished the session by an introduction to Vigny's cane with the front guard and using cuts #1 and #2 and then falling into a two handed bayonet stance to add a thrust.

A Weekend of Iberian Swordplay at Gallowglass Academy

2011-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I can't speak to the Destreza material, but I've taken several classes with Eric and Puck at WMAWs in 2007, 2009 and 2011 on the montante, the Iberian greatsword that Allen references.

For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a fascinating weapon and style, IMHO. The primary sources are predominantly centered on tactics, not techniques, so while Eric, Puck, Steve Hicks and others have had to work hard to clarify the techniques involved, the scenarios provided in the sources give us a level of insight into the weapon that we have for few other historical weapons.

For example, there are combinations for fighting in an alleyway that's so narrow you can't swing the sword, combos for use in streets that are *just* wide enough to let you swing the sword, and scenarios for guarding a noble lady, for breaking up a fight between fencers, for fighting on the central walkway of a sailing galley, and more.

Given all the source material available, I have no doubt that Eric could easily fill a day with interesting stuff.

I'm definitely planning on going!

I discussed with Maestro Puck Curtis at WMAW having him come out to do a seminar at Gallowglass Academy (25 miles from Rockford, IL and 90 miles from Chicago) next year. Based on our preliminary discussions we are currently looking at doing a two day event on either April 21 - 22 or 28 - 29, 2012.

Maestro Curtis has suggested he do a one day Destreza seminar with sidesword, rapier or longsword and then Maestro Eric Meyers do a one day seminar on Iberian great sword. This will necessitate we get at least 20 students at close to $100 each for the weekend. I am looking to get feedback to see if we can get enough interest in the seminar to let them know to plan on coming out.

So please talk amongst yourselves and any interested students or friends and get me feedback ASAP so I can let Maestri Curtis and Meyers know what is going on.

Invitation to participate in a survey on Historical European Martial

2011-09-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

some of us in Melbourne (Au) were discussing the merits of a journal article on "Martial arts participation: consumer motivation" that was in International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship;20100101, p105, 19p.

It did not seem to represent the HEMA community at all, so since I have already given money to SurveyMonkey I decided to make a survey and see what we can find out (then added some extra questions of interest).

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wma-survey2011

Please also share this where you may like (eg. social media, blogs, websites, classes , etc).

I look forward to sharing results once we have a reasonable sample size. All identifying information will be private and only used for statistical purposes.

If any groups would like a snapshot of their members results (minus identifying information) please contact me personally on snimmo@swordplay.org.au.

Warning though, I will attempt to verify any such request as being legitimate (eg. emailing said organisation to confirm) If not successful I will refuse as I cannot verify you run that particular organisation.