chris arena
Green Belt
I have been working on developing my Tapi-Tapi technique and have researched the Visidario tapes and other Marpio seminar tapes with my training partners since last summer and have gotten familiar with the basics. Now, I got to make all of this stuff mine. In other words I have to 1nternalize all of this stuff. Otherwise it will just be the typical "if he does this, you do that kind of stuff that never works when you need it!
I am now working on applying the techniques from 4 count sinawalli and La Tranaka type flow drills. It works great when you have a partner, but what about when you are alone? I think that I have come up with a plan.
Back when I was learning the basics, our class used to warm-up by doing random stick work in solo form, you know, throwing fiqure-8s, reverse figure 8's, banda banda, abanico in a continues flowing motion, throwing in preloads, thrusts, double o's, transfering the stick from right to left hand, etc, etc.
The thing here is when you are doing these solo exercises that you should be seriously thinking about what you are doing. It is not some lame boxercise type of movement! you have to really visuallize what you are doing. NOW, go ahead and apply some tapi-tapi moves into the solo drill!! You know, stop a #2 strike, grab the imaginary opponent stick with your left hand, punyo him with your stick, imagine his block/grab to your left hand strike, bring his imaginary stink up and trap the back of his imaginary hand, trapping him. Finish him off with a #2 head strike. Continue flow stike movments and maybe switch your stick to your left hand and do a left hand tapi-tapi move to his imaginary #1 stike. etc, etc. Start of slow, keep good form. stop if you lose the flow or form. Regoup and start again.
Keep it up for about 30 minutes each night. Do this every night for one week then in class work the tapi-tapi stuff with a partner. I think that you will notice a difference in play as this will help internalize you technique.
Oh, one other thing. For some time all of this tapi-tapi stuff seemed awfully complicated. It really isnt. In its simplest form, no matter what the angle, all you are doing is placing HIS stick across the back of HIS wrist.
Simple as that! (yea, right). Play with it, get a little background rythm going and keep a movin and stay loose! (my wife just shakes her head, wipes a tear away, deep down she loves me, I think).
Chris Arena
(entusiastic intermediate
I am now working on applying the techniques from 4 count sinawalli and La Tranaka type flow drills. It works great when you have a partner, but what about when you are alone? I think that I have come up with a plan.
Back when I was learning the basics, our class used to warm-up by doing random stick work in solo form, you know, throwing fiqure-8s, reverse figure 8's, banda banda, abanico in a continues flowing motion, throwing in preloads, thrusts, double o's, transfering the stick from right to left hand, etc, etc.
The thing here is when you are doing these solo exercises that you should be seriously thinking about what you are doing. It is not some lame boxercise type of movement! you have to really visuallize what you are doing. NOW, go ahead and apply some tapi-tapi moves into the solo drill!! You know, stop a #2 strike, grab the imaginary opponent stick with your left hand, punyo him with your stick, imagine his block/grab to your left hand strike, bring his imaginary stink up and trap the back of his imaginary hand, trapping him. Finish him off with a #2 head strike. Continue flow stike movments and maybe switch your stick to your left hand and do a left hand tapi-tapi move to his imaginary #1 stike. etc, etc. Start of slow, keep good form. stop if you lose the flow or form. Regoup and start again.
Keep it up for about 30 minutes each night. Do this every night for one week then in class work the tapi-tapi stuff with a partner. I think that you will notice a difference in play as this will help internalize you technique.
Oh, one other thing. For some time all of this tapi-tapi stuff seemed awfully complicated. It really isnt. In its simplest form, no matter what the angle, all you are doing is placing HIS stick across the back of HIS wrist.
Simple as that! (yea, right). Play with it, get a little background rythm going and keep a movin and stay loose! (my wife just shakes her head, wipes a tear away, deep down she loves me, I think).
Chris Arena
(entusiastic intermediate
