Pacific NW Reunion

[Blindside]

Thanks for the offer. I should be ok. I'm staying with a buddy (who is picking me up) and working on some Silat and Doce Pares the day before coming over to the seminar. Then I'm borrowing his car on Saturday to hang with my Kenpo family.

jb :asian:

See you there JB, we start driving up tomorrow afternoon.

Lamont

 

[ikenpo]

See you there JB, we start driving up tomorrow afternoon.

Lamont

Good Lord willing...

jb :asian:

 

[warrior.mama]

Mr. Sipes

Thank you for putting together the 2nd Annual Pacific Northwest Reunion of Warriors.

Any one of the classes by themselves would have made the seminar worthwhile. Professor White, Professor Zaninovich, Dr. Crimi and Professor Sepulveda are outstanding instructors. It was a privilege to have Sibok Tom Kelly and Sigung Stephen LaBounty in attendance. I know I will be absorbing the lessons for weeks to come.

I physically participated in only Professor White's class and sidelined myself for the other three and I still learned more than I could take in.

It was also wonderful to meet kenpo people from other parts of the country. I know people attended from Kansas, Wyoming, California, Oregon, and Nevada as well as Washington State. Did I miss any?

Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you and Sigung on the way out Sunday morning. I appreciated Sigung's statement to us - "Dr. Crimi got your neck and back, Mr. White got your legs and quads, Mr. Zaninovich got your arms and hands, and Mr. Sepulveda took care of all the parts that the others might have missed."

I am inspired by the wisdom, talent, heart and spirit of the instructors, guests, hosts and participants.

The banquet was a great ending to a great day.

And if I may ask, are there still shirts for sale, Sir?

Thank you for the time and energy you put in to bring this calliber of education to us.

warrior.mama

 

[warrior.mama]

I forgot to say in my previous post that I would really like to hear about other people's experience at the Reunion this weekend.

Please share with us!

warrior.mama

 

[ikenpo]

My experience was nothing but positive. When I first arrived and walked up to register Mr. Sipes said, "Mr. Bugg?" and I kind of looked at him and was like, "uh, yes..?" and he said I was already registered. So that was cool...I just paid the tuition and bam...there was Sigung. "Mr. Bugg...you said you were going to make it." And a bear hug followed. Then I saw Mr. White and his lovely wife and he congratulated me on the Black Belt. After that I paid my respects to Mr. Sepulveda and Mr. Kelly. My first session was with Professor Z. It was a good session on some concepts on Filipino stick and knife play (fighting) and it was a pleasure to me such a humble and dangerous man. I then move to Dr. Crimi's session and did a solid session in falls and rolls as the warm up then we looked at some self defense concepts associated with his style of jujitsu. It was good to get a chance to participate in that, but if you weren't up on your rolls you found yourself pretty dizzy...lol. I went to lunch with some guys that came over from Oregon, who were former OAKKA members and had trained under Dave Hebler. We had an instant connection with my IMUA Kenpo instructor, Ron Braughton, being one of Mr. Hebler's oldest active Black Belts. After lunch at Azteca we went to our session with Mr. Sepulveda and looked at several Black Belt extensions and applications within. It was a good class and he keep feeding us tech after tech...it was real cool. Our final session was with Mr. White. I'm guessing the empty water dispencer should have been an indication that Mr. White was gonna bring the funk. He worked us into a lather with conditioning drills and sparring drills, while peppering us with motivational and though provoking stories as any master level coach can do. It was really enjoyable, but probably 85% of why I was walked like I was 80 the next day..lol. I had a really nice time. It was a good chance to train with some different people and see some familiar faces. The spirit and respect for the system and its practicioners was very high at this program and I would encourage anyone who wants to see why we should feel good about where we come from and where we are going to attend in the future...

Respectfully, Jason Bugg

 

[Blindside]

JB,
Well, I didn’t get to meet you, though I think I saw you from across the room. You worked with my instructor and training partner, Jason, in Mr. Z’s class. Mr. LaBounty was planning on introducing us, but it was a busy weekend for all, perhaps next time.

About the Reunion:
Well, I was in the other black belt group than JB was, though my impressions are remarkably similar. I was lucky enough to START the morning with Mr. White, so at least we had a full water jug, though it sounds like he worked a different warm-up routine. I liked the squat jumps so much that I had to introduce them in my class earlier tonight. And yes, I was moaning and groaning the next day, I can still feel my quads and butt protesting. Good stuff. I’d like to thank my partner in this class, Laura from Mr. Trejo’s school, she woke me up with several stiff kicks to the head. :boing2:

Mr. Z’s class was a nice reintroduction to the stick and knife. While I have had a little experience in this, the opportunity to work with men of that caliber was a welcome opportunity. Thanks to Colette and Matt Sipes, my partners in this class.

Mr. Crimi’s class may have been my favorite. I attended this seminar last year, and my general impression was that kenpo black belts fall like bricks. It was better this year, but there is much room for improvement. The difference in falling skills between Mr. Crimi and his assistant instructor (sorry I can't remember his name) was so evident that quite frankly, it was almost embarrassing. Taking one of Mr. White’s sayings; CANI (constant and never-ending improvement) and applying it to this situation, should have shot falling skills to the top of the list for skills that need improvement. Thanks to Mr. Bechtel who suffered through my takedown and submission attempts.

I was very impressed with Mr. Sepulveda, though I was playing catch-up through most of the class. Being a Tracy offshoot, many of the techs were new or just different enough to screw me up. Thanks to Laura (again!) for keeping me on track, I just hope that I did not slow her and Geneva Sipes’ learning in that class.

Thanks to Mr. Sipes for putting this on, the three people who made the trip up from Wyoming with me, all had a wonderful time. The event had a great energy and I hope to attend next year as well.

Thanks,

Lamont

 

[Blindside]

I'm an idiot, Laura is from Tom Kelly's studio, not Mr. Trejos.

Lamont

 

[Maltair]

This was my first year, and it shan't be my last. Had a great time and met some wonderful people.
I loved learning the different rolls in Dr. Crimi's class. Being an old gymnast, it was kinda hard not to roll straight, started to get the hang of it. And the falls is something that was sorely missing from my repertoire. (Did you get the pun

Next was Mr. Sepulveda, I was his uki for the class. That is even better then sitting in the front row of class, you actually get to feel the effect and intention of the strike. 2nd time this year I've had the honor to work with Mr. Sepulveda, always learn a ton.

During lunch at the hotel I was trying to write some notes but my whole body was still buzzing, I couldn't read it :boing2:

Mr. White's class was the one my body is still remembering. He has some great drills and I can't wait to try out some of those sparring steps around the baseball field at my next tourney. Those techs are in my plan. My mind is still remembering his words of wisdom and inspiration. A couple times, during work or the day, the words have come up from nowhere and I'll stop and rethink what I was just doing, with those words at hand. Has made a difference.

Working with Mr. Z and the sticks was a blast. Being the last class and the lowest belt, they though for sure someone was going to loose a finger I got a good wack on my hand but it didn't hurt as bad as it should, it was a good whack. When we finished doing what we were doing I looked down at my hand and she had got me right on the wedding ring Bent it pretty good, still not sure if she was trying to tell me something though :idunno:

Dinner was goooood. Nice thing about buffets in the NW is there is always Salmon. Got to sit and have dinner with some of the Masters and listen to stories, asked a couple questions. Mostly sat in awe :fanboy:
Had to drive back to Oregon that night so I left after Mr. LaBounty received his award. That was something. Anything interesting happen after that? I'm getting a room next year so I can stay for the rest of it.

All in all, definitely a seminar in the "well worth it, can't wait till next year" category Thank you Mr. Sipes. (I have a T-shirt, but thanxs :lol: )

 

[sumdumguy]

Yea, Mr. Sipes!
What happen to the email invite and iformation that you were going to send? what happened to "you wanna help with this one"? Thanks!
Todd Durgan

 

[Les Sipes]

To All that Attended the Reunion-
Many thank yous are due to those that put forth the effort to assist, teach, and participate in this years most successful event.
Martial Artists attended from as far away as Texas and Kansas.
Be assured that I have written a letter of gratitude to the presenters, and I am profoundly appreciative of the energy they brought and shared with us all.
JB and Blindside, in response to your earlier post. Ground defense and the concentration on Sigung LaBounty's complete scenario process is a requirement in his lineage. Personally, understanding Dr. Crimis techniques, as with any "grappling" art, allows me the latitude to train in Kenpo lines with a new perspective. An example, not to leave any thing hanging, or the speed in which to regroup, or cover out with a sense of urgency. I thank you for coming, and are looking forward to seeing you next year.
I wish to thank all of those that sent the letters of appreciation. I promise to continue to improve this event in all the "behind the scenes" activities. I say this because it would be difficult to improve the quality of instruction.
If anyone would like to comment, I will welcome all questions, critiques, and suggestions if you would email me at [email protected] and I will respond.

to sumdumguy- if there was the slightest hint of avoidance or you felt ignored, it was noones intention. When I recieved no other correspondence from you, I didn't feel it was necessary to nag, or bother you. Once the momentum began, I put the bulk of my attention toward the event as a whole. I had recieved many registrations and inquiries from well intended people that for one reason or another could not attend. I can only place the information for accessability and the effort for them to pursue involvement is up to them. I will never turn away someone that wants to assist, and in our case, the last contact we had was a request from me to meet for coffee.
I am aware that our days are short, and our plates are full. If you interpret anything as an intentional "slighting" or your desire to assist was ignored, please accept my apology, as there was no other consideration except that you were unable to get back to me.

Thanks to all, Les Sipes