American Kenpo Federation/AKSC Camp

[jeffkyle]

Originally posted by cdhall

Yes, I think running the camp is part of the test. It used to be, back in the day when Mr. LaBounty ran them more like Boot Camp.

I just realized that if you are still in Kansas, you won't be at camp will you?

Send me a pic will ya, so I can better remember you. I'm getting old. :shrug:

But, it looks like I will get to go after all, and I might even get there in time for The New Gladiators!

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it this year. But I am hoping to be there next year.
I am in the 2001 picture. I am on the far left, as you are looking at the picture, and in the back row.
I was hanging out with Si-Bok's daughter,Lisa, alot there.

 

[cdhall]

Is that you in the shorts?
I am in the back row and if you look very closely you can tell I am in a Black Gi.
Next year I should be on the front row in a Black Gi. Maybe. I may be eligible in Nov 2003 but if I do well in preparing to test, I might convince Mr. Duffy to let me test at camp.
I hope to test for 2nd this Nov 8th on my Birthday.
:uhoh:

 

[jeffkyle]

Originally posted by cdhall

Is that you in the shorts?
I am in the back row and if you look very closely you can tell I am in a Black Gi.
Next year I should be on the front row in a Black Gi. Maybe. I may be eligible in Nov 2003 but if I do well in preparing to test, I might convince Mr. Duffy to let me test at camp.
I hope to test for 2nd this Nov 8th on my Birthday.
:uhoh:

That is me. I remember you better than you remember me apparently.... Good luck in your training. Hopefully I will see you next year. It will be good to know how it went this year. Tell Mr. Duffy I said Hi.

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by jeffkyle

That is me. I remember you better than you remember me apparently.... Good luck in your training. Hopefully I will see you next year. It will be good to know how it went this year. Tell Mr. Duffy I said Hi.

It takes me a while to get everyone's name...so don't take any offense. I'll look forward to you maybe coming back next year and bringing Mr. Kelly, please God, that would be great if Mr. Kelly could come back and bring some of you guys.

Camp went pretty well, but I got there late however, here is a synopsis of what the Brown and Black Belts worked on based on what I was told about the classes with Mr. White and Mr. Trejo that I missed:

Sat after PT Test and Breakfast
1. Sparring, working angles of entry with Mr. White. Apparently tournament oriented.
2. Sparring with Mr. Trejo. Combinations and follow-ups to overcome and defeat your opponent. Not tournament realted as Mr. White's was.
3. Lunch
4. Lockflow with Mr. Duffy
5. Mr. Conatser discussed a little about the State of the Art, customs and traditions and then went into the various ways in which basics can be addressed, practiced, taught, and quizzed at/for/by advanced ranks. I think we went over a "punch" and how it relates to 12-18 strikes and how similarly all Master Key Basics are employed in many ways, at many angles and for many reasons... it was a drill to get the brain working...go figure.
6. Knife Sparring
7. Dinner
8. Q&A
9. Musical Jam session
Sunday AM after Morning PT
1. Photos were moved to the beginning of the day so people didn't miss photos with people who would be leaving at various times to catch flights and so on
2. Line up, Bow in, promotion results from Sat testing which occurred during Knife sparring for those who tested
3. Advanced guys worked on Sticky Hands and how they related to sparring, trapping, sensitivity, perception and entry strikes.
4. Bow out, clean up, leave

The weather was perfect, I have requested that we order it again for next year.


Maybe Mr. C will give another synopsis. I didn't want to try to "review" it but this is essentially what went on. As I had to rush straight back to work today, here I am able to post again.

I left camp approximately 4 hours ago. Straight to work....

I didn't get to see your post Friday, but I'll tell Mr. Duffy "hi" for you Tues when I see him.
:asian:

 

[Kirk]

Well it was a helluvan experience! Mr Kelly, and Mr Sepulveda
didn't make it for whatever reasons, so teaching classes were
Mr Conatser, Mr Trejo, Mr White, and Sifu Duffy. They were all
extraordinary at teaching! There was a gentleman there, a
Mr Moreno who taught a knife/knife sparring class that although I
couldn't participate in, was damned good. No idea who he is
really, just that he taught well, and was extremely nice!

Our class got there before quite a few of Mr Duffy's students, and
Mr C was there waiting. We got all settled in, and they kept
telling us to go eat, so we went in, got trays and t hey loaded us
up with sandwiches, chips, drinks .. TONS of food, the whole time!
Mr Conatser came to the table my school was sitting at, and sat
with me, and I introduced him to my friends. It was a GREAT time
just there in itself, because Mr C was so personable! After about
20 minutes of *PUN*ishing jokes, we talked a bit about martial
talk, and then started talking kenpo. The 5 of us from my school
pretty much got our own little seminar right there, as Mr C
displayed his genius! We all finished with him with our jaws on
the floor! It was very interesting, and Mr C presents things so
well! He kinda made us feel special, cause he spent time hangin
out with us. He was also nice enough to p oint up to the
Flourescent light bulbs, and show us the couple hundred
scorpions who died up there . Heheheh .. during this time,
Mr C pointed out a gal from Mr Duffy's school called "Mad Dog".
Kewl little nickname which she was proud of. He also gave a
guy from my school (Reggie) the nickname "Sweet Pea" .. and boy
did it ever stick to him! ROFL! Everyone was calling him Sweet
Pea throughout the rest of the camp! :rofl: He was all "Why can't
I have a cool nickname like Mad Dog??" Mr C said, "cause you're
Sweet Pea!" ROFL! After most showed up and we all met each
other, we sat down to watch The New Gladiators. It was cool,
cause there was a lot of cheering, and comments that were
either funny or interesting by those that were there back then.
Mr Trejo led the cheering whenever Mr C's mug was shown on the
tape.

Well we all woke up at 5 am :shrug: and LOUDLY woke up Sifu
Duffy. He then took us on a half mile jog. Then we jogged from
cabin to cabin (the b.b.'s there got seperate cabins) waking
everyone up. The only time the lower belts got to torture the
higher ranks, because we sang so loudly and poorly!

Then we did a P.F.T. of pushups, and sit ups, and a 1 mile power
walk. According to Sifu Duffy, this was the first time at camp that
it wasn't a mile run, because the test he was using was for a walk
not a run. He assured us that next year it'll go back to being a
run again. It was about 6:30 am and I was WORN OUT!!! Man,
was I tired! I put everything I had into this stuff, and needless
to say, I was the most out of shape person there. NOTHING I'm
proud of, believe me. Then the entire camp stood for 10 minutes
in a DEEP horse stance. Many deny that it was only 10 minutes,
and that it was more like 20, but either way, I died! Note to self:
Gotta work on that. That pretty much killed me. We then split
up into beginner/intermediate/advanced classes. The first was
Mr Conatser, who shared some of his amazing knowledge of
kenpo, his great sense of humor, and his wonderful way of
presenting it. About 10 minutes before class was over, I had to
leave to get a drink, I was parched, EXHAUSTED, hot, sweaty,
dirty, etc, and my back was just killing me (another side effect
of being over weight and standing for long periods of time).

Then we went to Mr White's sparring class, where we first all
went through yellow belt techs (Mr White did every single one
with us) and then he showed us sparring techniques, which
were just ingenious. I don't know anything about sparring, so
maybe others wouldn't think so, but I found them to be. About
the last quarter of Mr White's class, a couple of us were told to
help bring in some groceries into the caffeteria. I grabbed a few
bags, walked them in, put them on the counter and when I let
go, my vision went black, and my balance was all screwy and
I almost passed out. One of Mr Duffy's students, Mary saw it
and had me sit down, and told Mrs Duffy about it. So I was given
water, gatorade, coke, etc from various people "drink this" etc.
I sat there until I felt okay, which was pretty much about the time
lunch started. I was SO tired, and felt like crap! People felt that
if I'd eat something, I'd feel better, but I sooooooo didn't want
to eat! I forced down a sandwich, and then I got naseous. I
pushed myself to go to Mr Trejo's class on sticky hands, which
was super cool! And oh yeah .. "Sweet Pea" was the dummy for
all classes so far I enjoyed Mr Trejo's class, and it wasn't all
that exerting, but it sure was HOT. I felt like I was gonna puke
and/or pass out, and Mr Trejo picked up on it without me having
to say a word! He nicely kicked me out .. said to go sit down and
get some water and cool off. Well from that point on it just got
worse and worse. I couldn't blink without feeling dizzy, I was
nauseous, couldn't catch my breath, etc. I tried laying down for
a bit, but that didn't help either. The people there were extremely
cool, and tried really hard to help me out in anyway they could. I
got to sit and watch Mr Duffy's class, and Mr Moreno's knife
sparring class. Both were exceptional, and both made me want
so badly to particpate in. I look forward to next year, when I can
take their classes! They teach really well.

When the classes were done for the day, I just felt like I needed
to see a doctor, so I asked a friend if he could take me home, and
I went to clear it with my instructor. I missed the fire talk, and
the jam session at night and 2 classes the next day. There
was a LOT of comraderie and joking etc. It was a great camp,
and I KNOW the night activities were probably a riot! Anyways,
I came down with a majorly bad case of heat exhaustion, which
I'm still trying to recover from today. I totally enjoyed the camp
and only wish I didn't have to leave early! Anyways, the following
will be the few pictures I was lucky enough to take.

 

[Kirk]

Assistant instructor at my school, Craig, Mr C, and Frank, also
from my school.

 

[Kirk]

Left to right,

"Sweet Pea", Me (white Tee shirt), Mr Conatser, Frank, Craig,
Rick, and Margaret (students from my school).

 

[Kirk]

Same as above, only we talked our instructor into getting in
the picture. That's Mr Abernathy on the right.

 

[Kirk]

Just a general picture I took of a crowd. That's Mad Dog on the
very right.

 

[Kirk]

Just another general crowd photo.

 

[Kirk]

Tried to get one of Mr White and Mr Duffy ... they turned their
heads just as I pressed the button LOL.

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by Kirk
Well it was a helluvan experience! Mr Kelly, and Mr Sepulveda
didn't make it for whatever reasons, so teaching classes were
Mr Conatser, Mr Trejo, Mr White, and Sifu Duffy. They were all
extraordinary at teaching! There was a gentleman there, a
Mr Moreno who taught a knife/knife sparring class that although I
couldn't participate in, was damned good. No idea who he is
really, just that he taught well, and was extremely nice!

Mr. Moreno is an "old timer" from Mr. Duffy's NCKKA days. I am not sure of his lineage (I think he comes from Mr. Swan like Mr. Duffy and I do), but Mr. Moreno often teaches a knife class and a massage class at camp.

... during this time,
Mr C pointed out a gal from Mr Duffy's school called "Mad Dog".

I asked Mad Dog about her nickname after camp. She says that she went with Mr. Duffy and some of the students to the Internationals (IKC) one year when she was an Orange Belt I think (I'm so jealous, I only went once in 1997) and her brother who was also a student, was watching her sparring match. He said something like "Look! She's fighting like a Mad Dog!" And the rest, as they say, is history.

...Anyways, the following
will be the few pictures I was lucky enough to take.

There may be some more pictures up later on
http://www.akfkenpo.com
and/or
http://www.cdouglashall.com/kenpo.html

If you have pictures or want pictures, feel free to email me and I'll see if I can compile some on a CD or something. There were about 12 cameras there and some of us have already arranged to swap photos.
:asian:

 

[KenpoGirl]

Originally posted by Kirk

It was about 6:30 am and I was WORN OUT!!! Man, was I tired! I put everything I had into this stuff, and needless to say, I was the most out of shape person there. NOTHING I'm proud of, believe me. Then the entire camp stood for 10 minutes in a DEEP horse stance. Many deny that it was only 10 minutes, and that it was more like 20, but either way, I died! Note to self: Gotta work on that. That pretty much killed me. We then split up into beginner/intermediate/advanced classes. The first was Mr Conatser, who shared some of his amazing knowledge of kenpo, his great sense of humor, and his wonderful way of presenting it. About 10 minutes before class was over, I had to leave to get a drink, I was parched, EXHAUSTED, hot, sweaty, dirty, etc, and my back was just killing me (another side effect of being over weight and standing for long periods of time).

As one over weight and outta shape kenpoist to another, I feel your pain Kirk. I went to Jeff Blay's Weekend Camp in 2001 and I wasn't sure I was going to survive. Many hours of training surely does wear out a body, and you did it outside in the sun. I applaude your effort, and I have no doubt you'll be back next year. Don't let this get you down, just keep pluggin' and all you can do is improve. And next year you'll do the whole camp including those morning runs.

I am hoping to be able to get back into going to camps next year, I look forward to training with my friends and traveling to others schools to learn and make friends.

Mr. C, has told me about the Camp, and I had thought to one day make it, but Texas is a long way away from Ontario so it may be a goal in a few years once I am more advanced with my Kenpo studies and healthier too.

Dot

P.S. Those are some great pictures.

 

[Goldendragon7]

Originally posted by Kirk
Well it was a helluvan experience!

It was about 6:30 am and I was WORN OUT!!! Man,
was I tired! I put everything I had into this.

I'm still trying to recover from today. I totally enjoyed the camp and only wish I didn't have to leave early!

Hey, We all enjoyed your efforts and attitudes as well!!!!!!!! You just overdid it a bit. But you did show up (unlike that Ricardo Character LOL) and gave it your best. Next year you will know a bit better how to Pace Yourself!!

But you can say you DID it!!

We all were worried about you..... glad to hear you are ok!!

:asian:

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7

Hey, We all enjoyed your efforts and attitudes as well!!!!!!!! You just overdid it a bit. But you did show up (unlike that Ricardo Character LOL) and gave it your best. Next year you will know a bit better how to Pace Yourself!!

But you can say you DID it!!

We all were worried about you..... glad to hear you are ok!!

:asian:

Amen! Well put. I think this was the attitude of everyone. :karate:
Well, everyone who was there! Ahem. No names will be mentioned... again.
:asian:

 

[Goldendragon7]

But I guess it was getting too moldy for him.

:asian:

 

[Kirk]

Anyone else got any pics to post???? *Ahem* Mr Bugg

 

[ikenpo]

Originally posted by Kirk

Anyone else got any pics to post???? *Ahem* Mr Bugg

Well,

I was just gonna keep my picts to myself or eventually put them on my personal site, maybe... me and Mr. C, me and Mr. T, Me and Mr. White...see a theme here...no one wants to see my ugly mug on this site, but I may post a couple since you requested.

Mr. C also asked me to post a brief overview of the advanced classes..so I'm working on that...so much info, so little interest in typing a long description...but I will faithfully do as I have been asked.

jb:asian:

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by Goldendragon7

But I guess it was getting too moldy for him.

:asian:

Well, I guess Kirk is now the "New" rookie of the year for the camp?

I've fallen into disfavor from the Goldendragon.

It'll be a long, hard climb back up!

 

[Kirk]

Originally posted by RCastillo

Well, I guess Kirk is now the "New" rookie of the year for the camp?

I've fallen into disfavor from the Goldendragon.

It'll be a long, hard climb back up!

TURN IN YOUR FEATHERS!

Where ya been, stranger?