The Salsa Connection

I have just come back from my first experience dancing salsa!   It was during one of the magicmatchparty.com events that I rarely attend, but was intrigued by the prospect of learning how to do some latin dance (something that my sister had always suggest I try out).  

It was a wonderful time, but what was most striking from a martial-artist point of view was how similar the physical teaching layout was to combative art.   The emphasis on how important it was for the leader to be the one responsible for all the actions of the couple reminded me of Sayoc Kali's feeder-based mentality.     The importance of the "frame" reminded me of structural concepts hammered into me in JKD, Wing Chun, and Kali, and all martial arts in general.   Without the proper frame, the energy and communication between the partners is lost.

The instructor was mostly clear on how to perform the various manuevers.   He used the classic teaching of a base form, and then added variations upon the form.    Many of the classes in the academy I train at use that format to instill proper mechanics, yet simultaneously exposing students to enough variation to make the motions unique to the themselves as single person or as pairs.

Rotating through various pairings with several women, there was a different energy and synchronization with each one.   Sometimes it worked, sometimes it just didn't.    Adaptability became paramount for success.  

Combat arts have you sense the energy of the opponents so as to disrupt their structure.  Harmonious dancing arts have you sense the energy in the same way, but it is channeled towards preservation of a mutual structure.   

Who knew that a Salsa class would awaken such ruminations?

Whoa.

It's been a long time between blog posts...  just on a whim, I'm posting again.

I've taken on an IT job that has considerably helped my financial situation, but at the same time really cut down on my training.   At the moment, I only train 2 days out of the week, for 2 hour sessions.  Once a month, I train Atienza Kali for a 3 hour session on top of that.

But, a new class schedule is coming into play later this month that will allow me to be at the academy for 4, possibly 5 days out of the week.   Of those days, one will be dedicated mainly to assisting in Phase 1 classes.

It's been a very dark time for me, but the future is starting to get a bit brighter.

I love the crew..

... that I train with... It's a good bunch of guys (and the occasional gal) who make training fun and while at times spirited, rarely dangerous.

This past Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to do some live blade training at Tuhon Carl's place with some members of the PMA AK training group... nobody got seriously hurt, in fact, it was just one scratch that was quickly patched with a bandaid on one of my colleagues.

Imagine the control and the cameraderie that brings out...

It's days like that which make me realize I can be truly blessed.

After being sick as a dog the past week, I'm finally on the road to recovery, though my new job tests that rebound at times...

I'm hopelessly behind on some of the JKD material from this block, and need to catch up at some point. There was a clinch lock flow from an attempted shoot that I totally missed the past two weeks. Back when I was training nearly 4 or 5 days a week, it wouldn't have been a problem, but now every miss is critical. When I'm in better health, I think things will get a little back to normal.

Kali class was rather mixed... one of the difficult things about Kali is that there is a lot of possibilities to counter even just one of the attack angles. The class structure is difficult to navigate if they are just blitzed through like some of it was today, and I think a number of people, including myself, got a bit lost.

Guro Dan Inosanto will be coming in two weeks... I look forward to attending that seminar.

Wow, the week went fast.   I guess work does that sometimes.  

Thursday night training was rather easy, which was good, because I was pretty exhausted.   The Sayoc Kali class got back to the basics of funnel tapping.   It also was the first time I got to do Transition Drills with my friend Andrew, who is new to Sayoc training...  He did well!   It's always interesting to feel the different energy and flow with different people during Transition drills, because they're all unique.   

JKD class assistance went well... I think most of the class is starting to understand 3-count sumbrada.   

Howdy!

So tired... working this new job has its challenges, and I haven't even started doing the real stuff yet...

But managed to make it to tonight's Inosanto Kali class, and worked more sumbrada and stick-switches. Guro Nick has been having us go at the heavy bags lately, which is great for conditioning.

Had a sort of emergency fill-in as an assistant at tonight's JKD class afterwards.... was a bit tricky, since we were trying to teach basic 3-count sumbrada. It tends to fry brain cells for a bit, but they (Phase 1) is starting to get the hang of things.

This day-after habit is starting to become the norm... :P

Last night was Sayoc Kali training. As Guro Nick was away for the weekend to go for his RKC Kettlebell certification, we started with Transition Drills until Guro Agapito arrived. As usual, he had us doing knife-vs.-knife Panantukan combinations while wearing goggles and using mini-trainers for safety. What was a twist was he had us take turns facing off against 3 opponents sequentially, using the same combinations as they attacked. Then he had the instructor-candidates Len and Tom go through the drill, but now it was more dynamic, simulating a multiple attacker "randori" sort of flow, with random attackers performing single attacks with no letup.

Assisting in the JKD class was rewarding as usual, as one woman was saying "You're so encouraging!"... it's my teaching style, and for myself I usually find students respond quicker and stay in a discipline with positive criticism rather than negative.

Oops.

Forgot to post last night... was too tired.

Yesterday's Inosanto Kali was good, with a lot of punyo sumbrada and some advanced trapping drills that came out of it. JKD consisted mostly of TBA 4-count drills, and some wedge trapping.

It's a range that requires some tactile sensitivity, and how long you stay in it is usually momentary... There's also a limited window which you can fire off the technique before the geometry or structure of your opponent changes, so you have to be quick on the trigger.

Didn't train tonight... I have a mini-audition for the Queens Symphony conductor tomorrow (just to see if I can get some sub work occassionally). Didn't want to risk injuring myself beforehand. Tomorrow will be the usual Sayoc and assist at JKD.

Gathering intelligence....

I could have gone training today, but thought that today would be best spent wandering around my future workplace neighborhood and beginning the process of getting familiar with the surrounds and the routes I would take for public transportation.

The neighborhood is bustling and busy, in the area around the mid W. 30s between 7th and 8th avenues. Lots of good places for lunch and the occasional dinner. I'd most likely be coming in the area via the 34th street F line station...

On the way back is where things get dicey. As predicted in previous posts, I'll have a hard time making 7pm classes... I tried out a route today that had me taking the LIRR at Penn Station towards Flushing, then taking the Q17. I left at 6:05 from the workplace door, and passed the bus station that I would have gotten off at around 7:05pm for PMA. That, of course, is being incredibly optimistic, and it's far more likely that I'd end up leaving work around the neighborhood of 6:15 or maybe even 6:30...

So... it looks like I'll have to let Guro Nick know that 7pm classes are going to be impossible for me to make on time, and that I might be a little late, or I might even be really late. Most likely, this will force my emphasis at PMA to Muay Thai classes, at 8pm. There is a Tuesday 8pm JKD class I'll try to make, and I might scrap Inosanto Kali altogether. Sayoc is mandatory for me to attempt, and I also have 8pm training duties on Thursdays. I don't know if the new job will provide me enough energy to make these classes... We'll see next week.

Oh well, no sense fretting too much about it right now. The schedule might even drastically change in the near future.... and I still have all of this week to get some training in on time and in the usual state of mind...

AK

The day didn't start out so great.... early morning drive to drop off the VW for what would eventually be a $769 servicing.... I haven't been sleeping well because of all the nervousness of the oncoming change in life (and it's still more than a week away!).

When I got to the school, I was saying... "Alright, got my rig, got my.... got my... oh shit, I forgot my uniform". Fortunately, I live like a 5 minute drive away from the academy, but it still turned me from being calm and all zen 15 minutes early to being 3 minutes late and rushing to get dressed and set.

I got smacked in the hand with aluminum trainers, actionflex sticks..... got killed on a mass-attack exercise when I tired and got indecisive on the next move.... ugh. But still, a lot of good things came out of the training tonight. The tactics and the training method are top notch. On thinking back to what transpired tonight, I realized that a lot of talk about what a trainer/feeder does in Atienza Kali, I do with my own flute students. It was an interesting self-revelation.

The next meeting for my AK group is the 29th... By then I'm almost guaranteed to be late, but I'll try to prepare myself better beforehand for it all.

Projectiles everywhere, teaching euphoria, and new beginnings coming soon

Today's Sayoc Kali class was rather interesting. After lots of spirited transition drills, we added a bit of training modification. Feeder could back away at any point and throw his blade at the receiver, then drawing another blade and continuing with the drill. Then another round, receiver initiates the backing away and attempts the projectile, which feeder responds. Later on, we executed transition drills where feeder projectiles the blade without drawing back, loading another blade, and continuing with the drill.

It's a miracle no mirrors were broken. :)

Later on, I assisted in tonight's JKD class. Split-entry series was worked, and I think most of the people got it. I worked a lot of one-on-one with this newer student, and things really seemed to start to click and fall into place for him.

That makes my day. :)

What also makes my day is I have a set day to begin my new IT career... February 18th. The hours are 10 to 6, so it makes getting to class on time particularly rough, but I'll try to work the logistics of it in my remaining free week next week.

Ugh....

Recovering from a cold... thank goodness for Theraflu. I was feeling okay during last night's training, but got progressively worse.

Yesterday's kali training was emphasizing knife and stick and dagger. Sumbrada, abcedario, and some disarms, locks and throws were introduced and repped.

Since I missed Monday's training due to a Trio rehearsal, I decided to double up classes Tuesday, so attended JKD immediately after Kali... a new curriculum block is starting, and I don't want to fall behind...

Continuing with last month's block, more Thai Boxing Association material was worked on. TBA four count. This is stuff I've been struggling with throughout my attendance at PMA. Because of my nerve-deafness impairment affect my cochlea, balance is compromised. The Thai kickstance and the shin kick in particular require body timing and balance to help generating its power, especially with its requirement of pivoting on one foot, so much so that the heel of the pivot foot is actually expected to be pointing towards your opponent at its finish.

For this month, I think I'll need to emphasize form over speed. I've learned that I tend to rush into the next motion without properly completing the previous motion... therefore robbing myself of power, accuracy, or defense.

To wit, execute the technique quickly and briskly, but make sure I'm set properly before each technique before pulling the trigger.

Sayoc Kali, assistance with JKD

Tonight the Sayoc Kali class reviewed and worked body positioning and footwork for Receivers using True Right concepts, using 3 of 9 as the skeleton. Then we added weapon arm controls/locks and then simulated striking during the controls and locks. It was a good class that exposed a lot of my weakness in the footwork and body positioning, usually ending with a grievous or fatal injury.

Afterwards, I assisted in tonight's JKD class. The assistance duties really help keep me on my toes, as I try to better my abilities to be a better example to the newer students. Working the TBA boxing count learned today will hopefully shore up my weak hand-to-hand game, and help with my defense. I got knocked around a bit during some of the demonstrations with Sifu Nick because I failed to recover from punches, or left my head or my chin too exposed during exchanges. He gave some structural pointers today in a mini-private session during some of the drills which really fixed a lot of flaws.....

• Tucking my chin down and in to be shielded by shoulders during punches and during bobbing-and-weaving.
• Aligning my hooks so they're parallel to the ground, and not at an angle like a weaker shovel hook.
• Not leaning too heavily to one side or the other.
• Keeping the eyes focused on the opponent's center during bobbing-and-weaving
• Snapping the punches out for quicker recovery

All in all, a good evening of training.

Stepping stones

Yesterday was an evening of intense concentration and exertion. In my Inosanto Kali class, we hit the heavy bags, did a lot of free flow sumbrada, and a few rounds of light soft-stick sparring. I tried to pace myself during this class, because the previous week I gassed after overdoing it on the bags.

Then came the evaluation again. The previous day I was told I needed to work on the Muay Thai component of this week's block, and so I spent a good deal of practice, shadowboxing, and visualization time working on it. Guro Nick gave me some last minute pointers that resharpened my focus. When I finally passed, it was quite a relief, but I know that my work isn't done yet (is it ever?). Once I get my schedule figured out pending a new employment possibility, I'll see about training Muay Thai again once a week.

We hop across stepping stones all throughout the pond of life. Sometimes we slip and fall, but as long as we know how to swim a little bit, we resurface and try again.

Today, I'll be resting, as I feel a bit sore, and need a mental break. Tomorrow will be Sayoc Kali, a class I enjoy quite a bit, and some limited assistance duties later in the evening that don't figure to be too intense, due to this being evaluation week.

Perseverence

What does it mean to persevere?

Today was the start of evaluations week for this cycle at PMA. Phase 2 was being tested on their performance of TBA 15-count thai pad drills, Panantukan Destruction Series #6, and JKD Loy Pak trapping series.

My Muay Thai kickboxing skills, which has degraded precipitously since I stopped training in the MT classes (my skills weren't all that fantastic to begin with), were very poor today, and cost me any chance of passing the evaluation for promotion.

"You're not pivoting on your shin kicks". "Your punches are nearly indistinguishable from one another". "You need to get up off your heels and rotate your hips into your knee strikes". "You're overcocking your right leg, and you're leaving your hands down". These were the words spoken to me by my instructor. Harsh, direct, and to the point.

... and much needed.

What does it mean to persevere?

It was a hard pill to swallow. I thought I was trying hard, I was trying to hit the thai pads as hard as I can. Yet, aggression without control or technique is little more than a wild animal thrashing about. Martial arts is the creation and the realm of humanity, and must be elevated above mere primal instinct.

Form and technique, within each other. It is what I have to recapture. I had lost it today, and wasn't even aware of my own failings in this regard. Just going through the motions overconfidently doesn't cut it. It shouldn't, because if it did, the value of what we're trying to do at the academy in elevating our level will be lost in a worthless avalanche of underqualified promotions and pointless backpatting.

What does it mean to persevere?

I enjoy weapons work the most of all my training at PMA. Yet, the core of the school curriculum is still the empty-handed fighting skills. After all, what to do when you're disarmed for one reason or another? I cannot neglect it for these very reasons.

So, this week, I will work slowly the TBA 15 count drill, shadowboxing it, working it in front of a mirror. Within it is a lot of key concepts of generating power Muay Thai style that I must try to clean up. I will take the words spoken to me and let them echo in my mind as I work to fire every neuron, every muscle fiber, slowly, putting it all in the proper structure and timing as best I can.

Regardless of whether the promotion happens or not, I will have learned a powerful lesson today. If the lesson is applied, it will be what counts most, regardless of some stripe or some new color belt.

What does it mean to persevere?

It means that when you are knocked down, you keep getting up, and try to be better each time. Sometimes, it's hard to be best, even as we strive towards perfection. The last man standing is the best by default. So keep getting up.

The Alpha post - a not so brief introduction.

Hello.

Some of you who know me well know me as the crazy cat fanatic behind www.kennethchia.blogspot.com ... That blog has been rather inactive for quite a while (darn you, Facebook!), yet I've decided today to start a martial arts workout journal today.

First, a bit of background. I am an American-born Chinese male, age 33. I'm about 5'7" tall, and 160 lbs, give or take a pound or two. My first exposure to martial arts was a bit of Taekwondo around age 9 or 10, only at the 1st little yellow stripe... injury and schedules cut that short. Then there was a little bit of chi-gong training at some Shaolin temple off-shoot in Flushing, which didn't last very long due to teenage impatience. Not a very auspicious beginning.

My next experiences were in college, again very brief and not terribly dedicated. There was a little JKD at Progressive Martial Arts Academy, which I was only able to do for 3 months around 1994 before transferring to CMU and leaving NY. There was the Aikido club, which didn't mix well with the heavy harmful binge drinking I did in college in Pittsburgh, with its 7:30am start times. Then there was the Kempo Karate club... fun stuff, but a knee injury from a spirited (read: out-of-control) sparring session knocked me out of it. Not surprising, since at the time, I was the same height I am now, yet 120lbs wearing a wet sweater. Martial arts lay dormant for many years thereafter.

Flash forward to 2002. Years of college, graduate school, and general inactivity have left me pudgy, and sorely in need of exercise and an outlet for aggression. Master Gao Xian, a martial arts trainer and actor from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had opened up a wushu school in Flushing. My mother suggested I give it a try, and I enjoyed it so much, I stayed with it, for nearly 4 years. I met very good people there, some of whom I still keep in touch with. Those bad knees of mine (made worse by the repetitive low stances, and all the jumping kicks performed on hardwood floors), and some extenuating situations, forced me to leave... but I still remember a few of the old forms.

I wasn't leaving martial arts though... I remembered the JKD I was doing nearly 12 years prior, and thought I'd try out the school again, since I was disatisfied with little to no contact and combat skills with wushu. I was 160 lbs now, not terribly muscular, but infinitely more durable than the scared 120lb weakling that strolled in that long ago spring season. Thus began another long martial arts dedication period, this time at my current training hall at Progressive Martial Arts Academy, under Sifu/Guro Nick Sacoulas. The place has become a second home to me! I currently study Jeet Kune Do Concepts, and several methods of Filipino Kali (Inosanto/Lacoste Method, Sayoc, and Atienza family systems).

I am a very active forum member for the school member's site, frequently posting up class notes both for sharing with students and for my own personal recollection. The notes I post here in this workout journal will be of a more purely personal nature. I put them here to remind me of where I've been, where I have to go, and what I need to do, on my martial arts journey.

And so it continues... read on. :)