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Sandbox Kali
By kroh - Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:27:03 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
One of the hardest things about being any type of martial arts practitioner is having to leave your training partners. This is when you have to decide whether you are just a casual play partner or whether you want to do this kind of stuff where ever you go.
This is what I had to decide when I shipped out some months ago raising my right hand and after ten years out saying... "Oh what the hell... Bring me back in and send me to play..."
I am currently serving in Iraq with some groovy guys who got stuck with the wrong end of the stick as far as missions go. We do what we can and make do as living here isn't really easy for anyone. We still have a ways to go on our "bid" here in the dirt. So when some guys saw me working out at the gym they asked me about my training. I said I was a "Mastah of the ancient art of No Can Do" and off we went from there...
I talked with a couple of guys and it seemed that if I wanted training partners I was going to have to start from the ground up. Let me preface this by saying that I am NOT some great grand master and that I do not own my own school. I am not an internationally recognized sensei, guro, or master on the mountain and the fact of the matter is that my last few years of formal training has shown me that a good portion of the Kung Pow Crowd I meet are faster with a sales pitch than they are with a punch.
The good part about all this is that I have had some great teachers who have shown me a vast arsenal of tricks to keep me practicing for years to come. When I looked at who my new training partners were and what they had to offer me for the months we would be spending together I decided that kali was the best road to travel on.
I never set out with the intention of getting students as I just like to train. I was very lucky in the crew that decided to train with me as they had some great things going for them. They were not only a captive audience, being Military Police, they were disciplined and liked to get dirty.
The first few sessions were filled with basics as we started to get them off on their new skill. My goal was to have training partners I could train and fight with in roughly three months and I had to start with basics to see where they stood. A few had come from rough and tumble backgrounds, some where police, and others had some limited training. The best part in all this was that I had found several regulars to practice with. This was hard once we got to our duty station as at the end of most days, none of us were eager to pull out a stick and start beating each other up. As they continued to hone basic skills you could definitely see the beauty of a system developed in the Philipines No one brother has to look like the other. If you can put an elbow, knee, or sharp object into a technique after it is finished then by all mean make it happen. The Filipino Martial Arts can be as systemized or as back woods as you make them. It was not long after the first few punches and stick swings were thrown that the questions started to show up.
Can I put this in after I do this?
Is there anything stopping me from smacking this target after that?
It was very clear that I had a thinking mans group on my hands. This would be both good and bad for me. Smart opponents would keep me on my toes but would also force me to draw heavily on years of training to back them up on their heels.
So as it stands right now I have a solid group of six guys who like to swing sticks and throw punches. The question remains, Can we pull it all together to build fighters who can throw down? I have to say thank you to Nick at Bloodsport dot com for all the support he showed to a bunch of kali wana-bes looking for something to do while trying not to get shot. I would also like to place the blame on this article to Arnisador who asked me to share some of the stick smacking fun. Thanks all you guys are truly making a rough time bearable.
Best Regards,
Walt
Read More...
------------------------------------
FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
By kroh - Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:27:03 GMT
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
One of the hardest things about being any type of martial arts practitioner is having to leave your training partners. This is when you have to decide whether you are just a casual play partner or whether you want to do this kind of stuff where ever you go.
This is what I had to decide when I shipped out some months ago raising my right hand and after ten years out saying... "Oh what the hell... Bring me back in and send me to play..."
I am currently serving in Iraq with some groovy guys who got stuck with the wrong end of the stick as far as missions go. We do what we can and make do as living here isn't really easy for anyone. We still have a ways to go on our "bid" here in the dirt. So when some guys saw me working out at the gym they asked me about my training. I said I was a "Mastah of the ancient art of No Can Do" and off we went from there...
I talked with a couple of guys and it seemed that if I wanted training partners I was going to have to start from the ground up. Let me preface this by saying that I am NOT some great grand master and that I do not own my own school. I am not an internationally recognized sensei, guro, or master on the mountain and the fact of the matter is that my last few years of formal training has shown me that a good portion of the Kung Pow Crowd I meet are faster with a sales pitch than they are with a punch.
The good part about all this is that I have had some great teachers who have shown me a vast arsenal of tricks to keep me practicing for years to come. When I looked at who my new training partners were and what they had to offer me for the months we would be spending together I decided that kali was the best road to travel on.
I never set out with the intention of getting students as I just like to train. I was very lucky in the crew that decided to train with me as they had some great things going for them. They were not only a captive audience, being Military Police, they were disciplined and liked to get dirty.
The first few sessions were filled with basics as we started to get them off on their new skill. My goal was to have training partners I could train and fight with in roughly three months and I had to start with basics to see where they stood. A few had come from rough and tumble backgrounds, some where police, and others had some limited training. The best part in all this was that I had found several regulars to practice with. This was hard once we got to our duty station as at the end of most days, none of us were eager to pull out a stick and start beating each other up. As they continued to hone basic skills you could definitely see the beauty of a system developed in the Philipines No one brother has to look like the other. If you can put an elbow, knee, or sharp object into a technique after it is finished then by all mean make it happen. The Filipino Martial Arts can be as systemized or as back woods as you make them. It was not long after the first few punches and stick swings were thrown that the questions started to show up.
Can I put this in after I do this?
Is there anything stopping me from smacking this target after that?
It was very clear that I had a thinking mans group on my hands. This would be both good and bad for me. Smart opponents would keep me on my toes but would also force me to draw heavily on years of training to back them up on their heels.
So as it stands right now I have a solid group of six guys who like to swing sticks and throw punches. The question remains, Can we pull it all together to build fighters who can throw down? I have to say thank you to Nick at Bloodsport dot com for all the support he showed to a bunch of kali wana-bes looking for something to do while trying not to get shot. I would also like to place the blame on this article to Arnisador who asked me to share some of the stick smacking fun. Thanks all you guys are truly making a rough time bearable.
Best Regards,
Walt
Read More...
------------------------------------
FMATalk.com Post Bot - FMA Feed
