Just checking in...

[IMP]

Hey guys, it's Ian. This is the first time in a while that I've checked out the forum, and I wanted to give you an update from my new Tang Soo Do school.

All's well, I've been in training again for three weeks and I have a really good teacher. He's a second dan black belt. I like the class size (roughly five people per class, but he's got twelve students), and there's actually a kid who is devoted to come every week other than me! (okay, so it's the teacher's son...) Anyway, I've been learning the different names for the techniques and the slightly tweaked forms. I'm having a great time, and my teacher says I'm a very fast learner. I'll see ya later!

Ian

 

[terryl965]

Thanks for the update. I tis good to see you have made a decission to train all the time. Keep up the great work.

 

[jdwindsurfer]

Ian,

Good to see that you are still at it. I went back to my old Jujutsu Dojo. They had actually just started a kids class, so all three of my girls are in it, too. I am an assistant teacher for that class (After 7 weeks of class I am pretty much back up to speed to live up to the brown belt I had earned back in 1996). There are three of us teaching and 16 kids in the class.

I am taking class 2 nights a week (plus 1 Saturday AM class with the kids). The Sensei are a 4th and 5th degree blackbelt in Dan Zan Rhyu Jujutsu. There are also 3 2nd degree black belts that come to class regularly. Generally there are 2-5 white and gold belts in class, too, except for the advanced class that is only for brown belts and up.

I have also had a three day "Winter Clinic" already. It was right here in Duluth and taught by a 6th degree black belt from California who is a professor in the system. Here is a link to the dojo website and you can see the picture from the Winter Clinic with me hiding in the back:
<http://www.duluthjudo.com/>

A lot of the grappling and throwing we did with John has helped me stay in practice for Jujutsu, so that has really smoothed the transition for me. I'm not doing nearly as much striking as we worked on, nor any forms. I am doing a ton of throwing, grappling, joint locks, and chokes. There is a similar energy and enthusiasm to what we had going at John's classes, so I am having a blast.

Take care,
Jason

 

[IMP]

Ian,

Good to see that you are still at it. I went back to my old Jujutsu Dojo. They had actually just started a kids class, so all three of my girls are in it, too. I am an assistant teacher for that class (After 7 weeks of class I am pretty much back up to speed to live up to the brown belt I had earned back in 1996). There are three of us teaching and 16 kids in the class.

I am taking class 2 nights a week (plus 1 Saturday AM class with the kids). The Sensei are a 4th and 5th degree blackbelt in Dan Zan Rhyu Jujutsu. There are also 3 2nd degree black belts that come to class regularly. Generally there are 2-5 white and gold belts in class, too, except for the advanced class that is only for brown belts and up.

I have also had a three day "Winter Clinic" already. It was right here in Duluth and taught by a 6th degree black belt from California who is a professor in the system. Here is a link to the dojo website and you can see the picture from the Winter Clinic with me hiding in the back:
<http://www.duluthjudo.com/>

A lot of the grappling and throwing we did with John has helped me stay in practice for Jujutsu, so that has really smoothed the transition for me. I'm not doing nearly as much striking as we worked on, nor any forms. I am doing a ton of throwing, grappling, joint locks, and chokes. There is a similar energy and enthusiasm to what we had going at John's classes, so I am having a blast.

Take care,
Jason

Great to hear from somebody I know! It's good to see you're back in the habit of practicing, and teaching, if I understood correctly. I'm typically the highest ranking in my class, save for one time when there was a dan-to-be. It's sounds like you're having a great time and I look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Makalakumu]

This thread has drawn many sheepish sighs from me as of late...

What can I say? I think you guys are doing great! I am glad that my instruction has at least inspired enough love for the martial arts that both of you have sought further instruction. I feel terrible about how sudden the curtain drew on our school. However, I do hope to resurrect Superior Tangsoodo before I move. It may only creep along in its infancy for a while, but it will move until the wind catches it.

For Jason

The Kuroinukan is one of the best dojos in Duluth. Researching martial arts in Hawaii has really shown me just how limited the competition is in this area. The "House of the Black Dog" stands out from the pack because it is the only thing that doesn't really follow the trite format that all of the other martial arts schools follow up here. Plus, you guys get to do a lot of the alive training that I tried to incorporate into my school...at least where it comes to randori and grappling.

My hope is that, down the road, you pick up your karate spurs and dust off your kata. I suspect that they will hold a great many more secrets then you ever suspected. Then, if you can find a good teacher, tackle some of the more advanced kata. Shotokan, Tang soo do, it doesn't matter. Check them out.

BTW - I've been invited by Relson Gracie to train at his Dojo in Honolulu. I can also train at the very same dojang that Okazaki sensei taught at...

For Ian

We need to get together sooner rather then later. I feel that all of this all of this got pushed so far down on my priority list by all of my life changes that you were neglected.

Ian, I'm glad that you are continuing your learning of TSD. I think you should take some, when you have the chance, to analyze how our styles are different. You will see that the way we look at things are different. One of the things that I'd like to go over with you is that you don't have to lose a particular viewpoint just because you change teachers.

In fact, I think that Mr. Tapa may very well learn a few things. Ian, I met his teacher and trained with him. I've met Mr. Tapa before. I'm not sure if he remembers, but I do. Anyway, there are a few things I'd like to impart upon you before I leave.

 

[IMP]

Well, i've got another update.

I've been training all summer, really gotten into the class, learned some new things, and... *drumroll* I'm testing for my red belt on the fourth of September! I just got the news tonight, and I'm psyched for it. The only thing I know is new is breaking. Tonight was the first class I'd been to in a month or so (something came up every night) and I did really well in class. My teacher thinks I'm great, and I can tell that I've improved.

I'll keep you guys updated as I go along!

Ian

 

[Makalakumu]

Thanks for the update, Ian! Congratulations on the testing date! Keep up the good work!

 

[jdwindsurfer]

Hey guys,

The new dojo looks great! Ian, it sounds like you are doing great too!

Thought I would also update you on our progress...

I have been working twice a week on Jujutsu classes and I have been assisting to teach the kids' class on Saturday mornings. Brooke and Kiana just took their second rank exams Saturday (two black stripes on a white belt) and Angelique earned her first stripe. They are really enjoying class. Brooke is dominating randori with a really strong O Soto Gari. Kiana was the only one to beat her on Saturday, sneaking in a successful Tomoe Nagi. There are 19 kids in the class, with 12-14 showing up on a given day. Brooke and Kian can take full sutemis from throws like Tomoe Nagi consistently and safely, which is really cool to see.

In addition to working out two days a week, I've had the chance to do two clinics and have a third one coming up in September. I have pretty much gotten back to spedd with my Sankyu (3rd Brown) rank and am going to do the Nikyu (2nd Brown) test in September. There are about 10 brow belts int he midwest region, many from Chicago and the Twin Cities. They will all be up for the September clinic and the theme will be preparing all of us for Shodan tests. All three of these clinics were put on by my dojo, but I also could have traveled to a couple more in the Twin Cities and Chicago had I been so inclined. While I gear up for my Shodan exam over the next year or two I will likely do that and try to hit at least one national convention (they tend to be in California.

My Sensei (Ward and Sohn) have commented that my Kiai, stance work, and hip rotation are really strong, so my time in TSD has definitely had positive impact on my Dan Zan Ryu.

My classes consist of those two and two or three others. 5th, 4th, and two 2nd degree black belts respectively. We have another half dozen white and gold belts around, but no other intermediate ranks. I end up getting a ton of the focus in class and we pretty much work on my requirements nonstop.

If anyone is interested in following my training blog, checking out the latest music I am into, seeing our dojo and national organization links, etc. you can find all that on the lower left corner of my website:

http://www.d.umn.edu/~jdavis/

My training blog is out of date. I have continued working, but not writing. I'm getting ready to start another 40 day practice though, so I will be writing again leading up to my test.

Take care!
Jason

 

[Makalakumu]

I'm glad that jujutsu is working out so well for you and your family. Are you doing much randori, or is it mostly kata as you ramp up towards your shodan? How about newaza?

I am meeting a godan in Isshinryu Karate on Friday. Isshinryu is a traditional Okinawan system that teaches empty hand and weapon kata and really focuses on the bunkai for those kata. There are a total of eight empty hand kata and five weapon kata that are taught, so this is a really different way of thinking for me.

I think, overall, training in this system will improve my understanding of kata. It'll be nice to actually see how its done rather then guessing all of the time.

John

 

[jdwindsurfer]

My practice on Wednesday nights (open class) is a little different than Friday nights (advanced class for Nikyu and above only).

Wednesday class:
Rolls and Falls
1. Yawara (20 basic escape and lock techniques)
2. Nage (20 throws on the list)
3. Goshin (advanced self defense like yawara but for higher ranks) or
4. Shime (constriction) or Oku (fluid combination of throws / locks / constrictions into more realistic self defense) - this is me off with one of the Senseis while the other is teaching more basics to the new students.
5. Newaza (ground work) this is working a few techniques and then doing full speed ground-fighting.

Finally, after class we generally stick around and do half an hour of Judo randori.

Friday class:
Rolls and falls
1. Yawara and Nage at speed and with variations
2. Striking drill that incorporates 20 pressure points (you'd reckognize all of them from TKD).
3. Zanchin Drill - this is basically getting attacked by everyone there at 3/4 speed and doing whatever you need to do to avoid / counter etc.
4. Oku, restorative massage, knife and gun defense, deeper exploration of a particular technique or family of techniques, etc. - changes every class but the usual theme is we take something from the basic class and go deeper with it or we work on advanced techniques that don't happen during the basic class.

We usually end this Friday class with beer. There is a lounge and fridge at the front of the Dojo and we generally sit around and have a few beers after the Friday class.


Monday nights are the same as Wednesday, but my wife is doing belly-dancing and yoga on Mondays, so I am home with the kids.


The kids class on Saturday mornings looks like this:

1. Balance Drills
2. Rolls and Falls (front roll, sutemi, face falls for now)
3. Yawara (4 wrist-grab escapes for now)
4. Nage (Osotogari, Tomoe Nage and Tai O Toshi)
5. Nage into Newaza (hold downs into full speed ground work contests)
6. Elbow-Crawling races, shrimping races, leap frog races
7. High jump into a front roll, standing broad jump and long jump
8. Tug of War
9. Kneeling Randori then standing Randori
10. Ground work kids against Sensei (basically the come across the floor and we turn them over, then whoever was turned over joins our team until no one is left -- or we crawlt the floor and they team up to turn us over.
11. Attack the sensei - object is for them to team up and get us to the floor like team randori.

The kids have mostly progressed so that they no longer need the crash matt to take falls from Tomoe Nage. There is generally a great deal of enthusiasm and they really look forward to the last part of class. We have three 6 year-olds that generally get grouped together and 8-12 kids in the 9-11 year old range any given Saturday.

 

[jdwindsurfer]

I guess I didn't really answer your question....

I am mostly practicing kata for the test...

I have about 220 techniques I need to know for the Shodan exam... but we are also required to do at least one Shiai (judo tournament), one free-style contest (sort of a more structured randori); one taping clinic (lots of restorative / preventative focus in DanZan Ryu); and a few other things like CPR certification... The philosophy is that you need to be exposed to full speed stuff and real world stuff, but the test itself is more the accurate demonstration of techniques in a kata.

I'm doing plenty of Randori including striking in the Zanchin drills, but that is not a part of what I will be tested on. Instead the test is geared toward AJJF requirements. To get my Shodan I will need to be tested by 4 AJJF professors at a national event. My 1st brown belt exam will be that same material, just in my dojo - and then I'll spend time polishing everything prior to the Shodan test.

 

[IMP]

Good luck for the test! I've only got a couple things...

1. My test has been moved a week early, to the 28th. Only two weeks!

2. I broke my first board last night!

That's it for now.

Ian

 

[IMP]

I passed my test! It wasn't for a red belt, it was for a stripe on my green belt, next test is a brown belt, i think. It went great, and I'm ready to move on with Tang Soo Do.

Ian

 

[Makalakumu]

I passed my test! It wasn't for a red belt, it was for a stripe on my green belt, next test is a brown belt, i think. It went great, and I'm ready to move on with Tang Soo Do.

Ian

Hey, congratulations! What gup rank number was this test for? There are so many organizations and different colors of belts that I'm not sure what means anything anymore.

I went to my first Brazilian Jui Jutsu class on Monday. It was really fun. I was invited by one of my physics students and I think he was surprised when I showed up to studio with my gi and that I actually knew what I was doing.

The class was a beginner class, but there were a lot of really good grapplers there. I ended up getting owned a few times, but not before I showed them what for.

Anyway, thanks for keeping in touch. When you get the time, I'd like to hear how what you are doing now compares/contrasts with what we were doing.

 

[IMP]

If i'm not mistaken, I'm 5th gup now. And the different things? Well, the forms are a little different, we don't spar much, there are much more Ill Soo Shik, I've been breaking and focus kicking/punching. That's not detailed, I know, but that's an overview.

Ian

 

[jdwindsurfer]

Congrats Ian!

I'll be testing later in September. We have a big clinic we are putting on the weekend of September 12-14. Once that is past I will be testing. We are expecting about 10 brown belts from around the midwest and New York, so one big push for this event will be mock Shodan testing. It will be a great tune up for me before my test.

The girls are starting to do Randori (Judo sparring) and really doing well.

Tang Soo!

Jason

 

[jdwindsurfer]

I wanted to share a couple of interesting things with you guys. First off, some things about my Jujutsu that have improved a lot due to the time I spent in Tang Soo Do (and that my Jujutsu seneai who knew me before and after have specifically noticed):

-Kiai (Kihap) is much more powerful. They are complaining that on one specific technique (Osotogari) they feel like I may deafen them...

-Hip rotation has really improved for me and it makes a huge difference in throws, but especially in techniques that require a block / strike / throw combination... and for that matter in locks and bars.

-Final body position (i.e. square hips at the end of a punch, perpendicular hips and stance to acquire leverage on an arm bar, etc.)

Finally, if you are interested in seeing what I am up to as I prepare for my upcoming rank exam, check out my journal online. I am doing it partially to teach incoming freshmen in my class how to hournal and how to use the ePortfolio system...

https://portfolio.umn.edu/portfolio/publicRenderView.do?shareId=221805

Tang Soo!
Jason

 

[jdwindsurfer]

Hey all,

Just wanted to post a note following three grueling days of the midwest camp. Our theme this year was "Sutemi" which is the label for a basic fall that you use to avoid damage when thrown, but also translates into "abandon self" or "sacrifice self" depending on context. For instance, the camp T-shirt has a picture of a pouncing cougar "abandoning himself" through attack.

We worked through an increidble array of ways that concept manifests itself in Dan Zan Ryu Jujutsu. We had about 25 guys from all ofver the midwest.

I am quite sore but learned a ton of stuff and I was able to work through a mock Shodan exam with a bunch of other brown belts.

Jason

 

[IMP]

Hmmm... Interesting. Apparently I already know everything I need to for my next test (which will be for a brown belt). I just need to refine everything I know.
I could post some pics of my last test, but I'm in my school library right now... so I'll post 'em later.

Ian

 

[jdwindsurfer]

Hey all,

I tested on Friday night. I am now a Nikyu (second brown). The test lasted about 2 hours. My notebook is currently about 90 pages long...

I plan to gain my Ikkyu (first brown) within 6 months so that I can have it done before the national convention in LA in April. If I am an Ikkyu by that time I will be eligible to watch the Shodan exams and get a preview of that for next year.

Take care,
Jason