FMAT: 2007 WMAA Camp Review.

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2007 WMAA Camp Review.
By arnisador - Thu, 14 Jun 2007 02:53:11 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk

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The 2007 WMAA Camp was held 8-10 June in West Seneca, NY. It was a great success and a great time for all! We had participants from at least Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, California, and Ontario, Canada (and probably more regions that I've missed).

As usual, those who were there Thursday night participated in some extra training, after which we went out for wings and such. Early Friday afternoon is when the actual camp started with some opening remarks by Datu Tim Hartman, followed by a session on Kombatan by Grandmaster Rick Manglinong. He started with double stick striking and sinawalis then continued into various aspects of Kombatan. Throughout his sessions the sinawalis were emphasized.

Throughout Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday afternoon and early evening, and Sunday morning until 1PM, sessions were taught by Grandmasters Manglinong and Hartman and by Punong Guros Jeff Leader (that's me), Steve Scott, and Sal Todaro. Datu Hartman covered a range of topics, including striking styles (banda y banda, rompida, etc.), espada y daga, sumbrada (six count drill), crossada flow (knife and empty hand), and other areas. His sessions mixed weapons (stick, knife, sword, empty hand) and addressed self-defense, sparring, the history of the arts, and so on. Mr. Scott discussed lock flow, bringing in his detailed knowledge of how small differences in technique can have a large effect. His analytic and anatomical approach, combined with his multiple perspectives on the subject from different arts studied, gave everyone a real education in locks. Mr. Todaro taught stick disarms, first reviewing the classics and then giving the participants even more disarming options. His sessions generated much enthusiastic discussion among even advanced practitioners about the novel variants he showed and the fine technical details he elucidated. My sessions discussed empty hand against the knife, including hubbud and palusut training drills. The focus was on what to do against a slightly more sophisticated or aggressive knifer than the basic techniques assume, and what to do when an attempt to disarm goes wrong.

Saturday morning was the black belt test. I'm pleased to say that the next morning the WMAA promoted six candidates to Lakan Isa/Dayang Isa (first degree black belt), and two other candidates (Guro George Harris and Guro Dr. Mike Milazzo) to Lakan Apat (fourth degree black belt). This is in addition to the promotions to Lakan Lima (fifth degree black belt) and Punong Guro that were made the night before camp opened.

Lunch Saturday was at the same Chinese buffet as in previous years, but the Saturday evening sit-down meal was replaced this year with a picnic hosted by Datu Hartman and Guro Janice Stranc at their house. It was a great deal of fun, with good food and good conversation. As usual, their three over-sized and very friendly dogs (Thor, Loki, and Bear) were the main topic of conversation!

After the camp closed we had the traditional open sparring session for those who chose to participate. Many people lingered to chat, discuss techniques, or go to lunch before leaving town.

As always, there are many people to thank and I fear I'll miss someone. But let me mention Datu Hartman and Guro Stranc for doing the voluminous amount of work that must be done to organize and host the event; Grandmaster Manglinong for flying in from California to teach us and bringing his infectious enthusiasm and upbeat spirit; Punong Guros Scott and Todaro for their well-prepared and well-received sessions and their help throughout the camp; Bob Hubbard for his wonderful photography, and Susan Spann for her assistance; and most importantly, everyone who came to camp and helped make it the success it was! I enjoyed meeting many new people, including our own tswolfman, at the camp, as well as seeing old faces. I particularly want to acknowledge Guros Jason Arnold, Paul Dawdy, and Rich Parsons for traveling all the way to the camp then being willing to help while there.

Thanks to everyone for another great year!


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