Double Booty Buttkicking
Class started out with Nate (he's been a student of Sensei Ross for the longest of any of us, besides Sensei Jan) guiding the class through the different wrist stretches so the newer students would learn the correct way to stretch out before class, and the students that have been around longer would be reminded of the importance of stretching.
Sensei Jan wasn't there tonight... we can only speculate why. But my theory is she was teaching Sensei Ross a lesson because of the hole he dug on monday. He said there was only one female in class, Anne-Marie. Then he realized that Sensei Jan was there, and she is most definately female. So he felt the need to defend his statement. He said that she's not a female, she's a non-female. Noting that this was worse, he said that she is not really any sex, she's just a Sensei Jan. Then he pointed out that he saw he was digging a really deep hole for himself and it just kept getting deeper and deeper. So for the rest of the class he kept on saying things like "Sensei Jan, our female instructor...." I pointed out that he was only digging the hole deeper by thinking we needed a reminder of her gender. He said "I'm just going to give up. I'm digging a hole to China." So, I'm guessing that's why she wasn't there tonight.
We worked on taking our opponents energy and flowing it in a vertical circle (the Circle Principle). Then we worked on flowing the energy in a circle, but passing from one hand to the other. Then we worked on flowing from one hand to the next, in a cirle, but put in a Ki-strike to the chest or ribs (depending on which hand you start flowing with), an elbow strick to the face, a knee to the face, and a really fun arm-lock. I've decided to call this one the "Hug Myself" armlock, cause that's what it feels like to do it. I worked with the new lady (this was her second class) and helped her work through these techniques. She said she loved working with me because I helped her and I let her do them until SHE felt good about them, and I gave her lots of feedback about what she was or wasn't doing and how to make the techniques work. She said that I let her "feel what it's like to do a technique correctly" so she knows what the techniques should feel like. She told all this to Sensei Ross and he thanked me for it after class.
The last technique we did was a variant of an outside wrist-lock. It's like a wrist lock, minus the wrist lock. We locked up the arm instead and used their momentum to throw them to the ground. I really liked this one and intend to use it in class from now on. Sensei Ross pointed out that if you use a foot trap, the throw will tear their ankle apart for good. So I tried it a few times with the foot trap (but not the throw of course) and I really like it.
After class I talked with Sensei Ross for over an hour about lots of things from training philosophies, to his night club that he owns. I primarily stayed behind to ask him to please point out the principles that the techniques are illustrations of (ie. Water Principle, Circle Principle, and Non-Agression Principle) because I've been looking for the principles behind the moves and haven't seen them most of the time. Once I finally got to bring that subject up, he said that he understands, and that he is working on a student handbook that will make it easier for him to point out the principles behind the principles. He says some students don't even know about the Water Principle, Circle Principle, and Non-Resistance Principle. He told me about how much Anne-Marie liked working with me. They just know that he's said not to resist, but to flow with people energy they give you. He likes that I am looking for the art within the techniques.
The last monday this month, Sensei Ross is putting on a seminar for using a Cane for self defense. I'm hoping to bring my father, but I haven't had a chance to ask him if he's interested yet.
"There are cycles"
Sensei Jan wasn't there tonight... we can only speculate why. But my theory is she was teaching Sensei Ross a lesson because of the hole he dug on monday. He said there was only one female in class, Anne-Marie. Then he realized that Sensei Jan was there, and she is most definately female. So he felt the need to defend his statement. He said that she's not a female, she's a non-female. Noting that this was worse, he said that she is not really any sex, she's just a Sensei Jan. Then he pointed out that he saw he was digging a really deep hole for himself and it just kept getting deeper and deeper. So for the rest of the class he kept on saying things like "Sensei Jan, our female instructor...." I pointed out that he was only digging the hole deeper by thinking we needed a reminder of her gender. He said "I'm just going to give up. I'm digging a hole to China." So, I'm guessing that's why she wasn't there tonight.
We worked on taking our opponents energy and flowing it in a vertical circle (the Circle Principle). Then we worked on flowing the energy in a circle, but passing from one hand to the other. Then we worked on flowing from one hand to the next, in a cirle, but put in a Ki-strike to the chest or ribs (depending on which hand you start flowing with), an elbow strick to the face, a knee to the face, and a really fun arm-lock. I've decided to call this one the "Hug Myself" armlock, cause that's what it feels like to do it. I worked with the new lady (this was her second class) and helped her work through these techniques. She said she loved working with me because I helped her and I let her do them until SHE felt good about them, and I gave her lots of feedback about what she was or wasn't doing and how to make the techniques work. She said that I let her "feel what it's like to do a technique correctly" so she knows what the techniques should feel like. She told all this to Sensei Ross and he thanked me for it after class.
The last technique we did was a variant of an outside wrist-lock. It's like a wrist lock, minus the wrist lock. We locked up the arm instead and used their momentum to throw them to the ground. I really liked this one and intend to use it in class from now on. Sensei Ross pointed out that if you use a foot trap, the throw will tear their ankle apart for good. So I tried it a few times with the foot trap (but not the throw of course) and I really like it.
After class I talked with Sensei Ross for over an hour about lots of things from training philosophies, to his night club that he owns. I primarily stayed behind to ask him to please point out the principles that the techniques are illustrations of (ie. Water Principle, Circle Principle, and Non-Agression Principle) because I've been looking for the principles behind the moves and haven't seen them most of the time. Once I finally got to bring that subject up, he said that he understands, and that he is working on a student handbook that will make it easier for him to point out the principles behind the principles. He says some students don't even know about the Water Principle, Circle Principle, and Non-Resistance Principle. He told me about how much Anne-Marie liked working with me. They just know that he's said not to resist, but to flow with people energy they give you. He likes that I am looking for the art within the techniques.
The last monday this month, Sensei Ross is putting on a seminar for using a Cane for self defense. I'm hoping to bring my father, but I haven't had a chance to ask him if he's interested yet.
"There are cycles"