Thou Shall Not Miss Out Class

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Picked up my very good friend, John Will, on Friday from the Airport and then straight to Newport for a BJJ seminar.  I had to sit this one out on the sideline but it was just as enjoyable as participating – practicing my mental skills.  Then we went to dinner for big steaks.  John was figuring out how I could make better use of my crutches up and down the stairs because YouTube was no help.   

Next morning we parked the car to do coffee at GJ’s.  I was starting to whine about the crutches and I had a little laugh when John said he would piggy back me.  He came around to my side of the car ,on the crutches, and I was starting to get worried and expecting him to say, ‘hop on my back’.  Luckily, that didn’t happen; must’ve been a gee-up.  Anyway, John did a great job taking care of me.  Whe we arrived at Newport, a little late, I told John to make his way to the school whilst I park the car because I didn't want him to be any more late than we already were.  As I was reverse parking I saw John standing behind the car and guiding me in then helped me out onto my feet!  They're the little things that give a person big character.

Then it was our turn for a seminar at West Pennant Hills.  I was not allowed to be the ‘water boy’ and John had me, this time, participate.  I’m glad I did, what a great seminar!  There is no John Will taking back control of Ben Langfordsuch thing as ‘too many seminars’.  When I want to get good at something I have to do more than one thing.  The seminar is not like a regular class.   The content provided is from years of experience; you are not going to find it from books or YouTube.  Imagine doing a technique one thousand times over, usually in battle, just to find out which is the best way to do it.  I prefer, “PLEASE JUST TELL ME (I haven't got time to try it out a thousand times)”. 

A seminar is like a church gathering or special event.  There’s a purpose to it all and the people attending want something from it.  Once, again, I take my hat off to the people who came from the ACT, Danny Weir, Ben Langford (& his student) and our own guy, Storm.  These people must be very 'religious'. 

The seminar you miss or any class, for that matter, is not going to be every repeated again because each one is unique.  It's not like a movie when you cancel the morning session for the evening. 

I only believe in choosing the best persons for seminars.  It's all about improving everyone of us because martial arts is an ongoing quest for knowledge.

John and I had  a good discussion about the miraculous recoevery of his son, Ronin, who was stabbed to death recently (literally).  It's absolutely amazing to hear the whole story how this young pulled through beating the odds, one in 10 thousand chance of survival.
GA

Accidents do Happen

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Another mishap and little setback; this time my motorcycle fell on my foot fracturing a couple of bones whilst wheeling it out of my garage.  The irony is I clock up almost a thousand kilometres per month and something simple like this to happen to you is hard to accept.  Victor came to the rescue (it’s great to have friends like him) and took to me hospital to have it put in plaster.  You take it for granted when you see somebody on crutches.  That is hard work!  You’ve got to pre-plan everything, something as simple as looking for a hair brush or making a cup of coffee in the morning.  Then the hard part, how to use the stairs, YouTube didn’t help; the advantages of living in a double storey house!

When people demonstrate a martial art skill, you may not necessarily want to learn it but it’s usually difficult to appreciate the amount of time put in to learn that skill, not unless you live through the whole process of understanding what it takes to achieve that.  I am living the process right now.

A handicap, such as this, makes you more conscious because you can’t afford to be absentminded which could mean a lot of hard work if you forget where you leave your wallet or keys.  This is no different to a handicap in the martial arts.  In other words you have to slow down things in your mind to make sure every step of the way in your pre-plan is going to get you where you want to be.  This is the right mindset of a BJJ student. 

It will mean a few weeks off training but I can still get to my classes.  I'd like to lead by example and hopefully make students be a little more conscious when they feel the urge to take the night off. 

All goes well, the plaster comes off next week which will be replaced with a removeable brace.  Anybody is quite welcome to put their foot in plaster for tomorrow’s seminar.  John Will promises there is something he can show me on the mat tomorrow morning which doesn’t require the use of my legs (?). 
GA

Sorting Things Out

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As an Instructor I am always trying to find solutions for problems that pop up, in practicing the martial arts, whether it be my own or students.  I thought I might give it a try when I told my senior BJJ students to do a private workout with me the other night.  I thought to myself this will give me the opportunity to practice the higher level stuff and test my ability to be able to teach them.  In other words, I better know this stuff well if I am going to demonstrate them.  Everything went well and the session was extremely productive for both me and my senior grades.  We all had smiling faces at the end of the session.  It felt good! 

It was the process of doing this stuff which made me work on what I needed to do.  There was no threat or embarrassment if something did not work out right the first time.  You just drill, analyse and drill until it happens without putting a time limit as what usually might happen in a classroom.  Then we wrestled, taking it back a couple of notches, to maximise our skills and try something new without the fear of being 'hammered', The night turned out to be perfect. 

When I get stalemate I look for new methods to further advance.  This is not to replace anything I already do but it is another training method.  It’s great to be a student but I need to be an Instructor to become a great student.
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Never Ending Story

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During conversation, with Mr Norton on the way back from the ACT, it was interesting to hear how technical BJJ is compared to the other martial arts where there are only a finite number of techniques.  In BJJ there are literally thousands of them and the number is still growing.  Who would have ever thought this was going to happen when inventing this art?

I often tell people this is my back up art to what I already know.  In the true spirit of martial arts it’s all about seeking new challenges and ways.  All martial arts are challenging but BJJ can get quite intricate which requires the mind to be fully engaged.   If martial arts were that simple then there would be a lot more people doing them.  This is what separates us from the norm making us special in a certain way. 

Going back to grass roots is always an interesting thing.  Mr Norton and I were going over the basic knife hand block and back stance in a carpark one evening (Richard never forgets his routes).  Proof to students that Instructors do get around to discussing the simplest techniques.  Furthermore, I spent a whole 2 weeks with Richard going over and over a basic guard pass (lesson 101), picking up more and more detail of the technique each time.  IT'S LIKE A NEVER ENDING STORY! 

Kickboxing, when first coming on the scene, was quite primitive.  Getting on the floor today with Sensei Urquidez and Mr Norton will certainly convince anyone it is as technical as any other martial art, if not, more.  What makes masters of these arts is the way they do it effortlessly.   That takes time, dedication, enthusiasm and a lot of work.There's really no finishing line to cross in the martial arts.

Looking forward to seeing Mr John Will over the weekend.  Should do around 8 hours of training and 4 cups of coffees with him.
GA 

Richard Sargeant – new BJJ Black Belt

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Just got the news that my very good friend and one of my BJJ coaches was awarded his Black Belt in BJJ, yesterday, by John Will at a seminar in Penrith.  Normally, I would be there, but at the time, I was in the ACT.  Ten years in the making and I have to say Richard is a great martial artist and superb athlete not to mention he is one of the nicest guys around.  I wish I was there because I would've liked to have shared the moment of joy.  This would've also been a great moment for his Instructor, Steve Perceval.

Richard Sargeant has always taken a special interest in Instructors of other martial arts, like myself, by taking up new challenges such as BJJ.  His example is about perseverance, dedication and enthusiasm which is what I am always looking for from our own students.  An important thing to look for when a student deserves to get a Black Belt is passion and drive.  Richard is extremely passionate and has mega drive!

Congratulations, Richard, from me and Mr Norton.  Very well deserved promotion.  It's always a pleasure to roll with you. I hope the guys are organising a dinner night out.
GA

ACT visit

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Just returned with Shihan Richard Norton from the ACT for a BJJ seminar on Saturday which turned out to be quite outstanding.  This was followed by a Karate Grading conducted by me, putting Damien Philpott’s students to the test, and they performed quite well.  We were very honoured by Richard who sat in at the grading.  Dinner afterwards with Richard and some of our Budoshinkai students at a nice Turkish restaurant.

Also came along was Steve Micakovski of United Kempo.  The next day we left the ACT and headed to Steve's full time school at Austral and met up with his father, Shihan Jordan Micakovski, where Richard put on a seminar for his students.  Jordan’s other son, Alex, is a movie car buff, who surprised us with his new toy, ‘Herbie the love bug’ car which he recently purchased.  a fictional character (an old Volkswagon vehicle), which was featured in several Disney motion pictures in the late '60's (you can look it up on Wikipedia).  

One thing I have particularly noticed about BJJ is the infinite web of moves and counters.  I relate this to our rules, regulations and laws in our society; if somebody finds a way to beat the system, the government comes up with a new regulation to counter.  That’s what happens in BJJ.  Everybody finds a way to beat a new move but there is somebody out there who is going to come up with a solution to counter it – ‘thus a new technique is born’.

Best wishes to Mr John Will and his family.  His son, Ronin, is in a serious condition in hospital.  Those who wish to read about his progress may do so by reading John's blogs.  These are tough times for John but I believe a positive outcome.
GA

Richard Norton – 6th Degree Black Belt

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My very good friend and mentor, Shihan Richard Norton, got the word he has just been promoted to 6th Degree Black Belt by the legendary Benny ‘the jet’ Urquidez in the Urquidokan martial arts system.  What an honour to be graded by one of the greatest martial arts masters on earth!  After spending 30 years training with Sensei Benny this grading is well deserved.

Mr Norton is staying in Sydney for a few weeks to do some work on the start of the ‘Mad Max 4' film.  I have been keeping regular contact and putting some workshops at various schools in his spare time (not much of it).   

I was told about the promotion when I met up with Richard on Saturday morning and I was the first one to congratulate and shake his hand.  Richard’s grades are long overdue considering he started the martial arts almost 50 years ago.  Mr Norton currently holds the rank of ‘Shihan’ under Hanshi Tino Ceberano (his original Instructor) and was also graded to 5th Degree, several years ago, by Chuck Norris.  He also holds a 4th Degree in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under JJ Machado.

It really isn’t about the grades.  Richard’s philosophy, ‘don’t show me your belt, show me what you can do’.  The grades are only as good as from the person they came from.   Guys, I have thrown a few certificates away in the past and my senior Black Belts can vouch for that.  I only honour the certificates from the people who I honour.

To get back to the events of the day (Saturday), we first started with an hour of BJJ and then an hour and a half of Kickboxing.  It was great to see the many happy and stunned faces at my school; they were totally impressed.  Then a 2 hour BJJ seminar for kids at Wayne Miller’s school (the kids were fantastic).  I was amazed I picked up quite a few things there as well.  That was a great session for me, too.

What a great day, I’ve learnt a hell of a lot.  Victor (senior Instructor) was absolutely astounded with the Kickboxing!

CONGRATULATIONS MR NORTON!  FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT.  I AND MANY OTHERS ARE REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU.
GA

Choke on this!

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The other night, I had an interesting question put to me by one of my Brown Belts about a concern not being able to get out of a rear choke put on by one of her male friends.  I said, "of course you couldn't because they already had the choke on, nor could've anybody else if on that tight."  That’s similar to saying, ‘how do you stop a punch when it is only a centimetre away from your face?’  You are not supposed to let it get that far, you react the moment you perceive the threat (or at least see it coming).  The same goes for the choke.

Self defence techniques are at their best when applied early.  You don't let the opponent take away all your escape options.  A technique’s effectiveness should not be judged solely on scenarios where your opponent is aware what's coming to them and they react accordingly, compromising the technique.

Many techniques are taught and practiced but not all are going to make it through the goal posts when it comes to the final crunch in a situation.  But all techniques need to be practiced to ensure the understanding of reaction and body motion.  A martial arts expert is a person who fully understands 'all' techniques and they are in a pretty good position to say what is or isn’t effective.  Sometimes techniques may seem fruitless or even trivial but we are in the business of examining all options. 

Techniques are only as good as the person practicing them.  Not all of them are going to be good for everybody in every situation.  That's why there are options.
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Martial Arts – now in 3D!

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Nobody can argue a movie in 3D is better than in 2D.  Traditional martial arts are usually based on training without a partner by executing techniques in the air.  Whilst this is a good way of developing discipline and perfecting the moves it is a bit like an artist without a brush, paint and canvas, usually left with the devices of good imagination. 

Kickboxing and Ground Fighting are martial arts in 3D.  Their training heavily relies on partner work instead of imagination.  It would be far too complex to imagine the moves like you would in a Karate kata or Kung Fu form.  Training with a partner takes into account the many variables whilst executing the techniques ie distancing, focus on the target and actual application for neuromuscular feedback to see what happens when you make actual contact or, in the case of BJJ, applying wrestling moves. 

Our traditional training is important which is the basis of building strong foundations, sharpening techniques and developing discipline (perfect when you don’t have a partner), but was is also important, is interaction with another human being.  Imagine performing all those street self defence techniques, in the air, without a partner!  None of it would make much sense. 

My philosophy is before getting into Kickboxing, they better have a good foundation in traditional Karate then they might be ready for the next dimension.
GA

Ahead of Times

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When I started the martial arts 35 years ago I didn’t know what I really wanted or what to expect.  There was very little to go on – no youtube, no media, no information but only a couple of magazines on the news stand to give some information if my chosen martial art was the correct choice.  In those days (especially being young) decisions were usually based on the locality of the school, price and whether the Instructor looked liked he knew what he was doing or you just got it by word of mouth.  Of course, today, people can now make more informed decisions because of advanced technology and global communication.

We’ve come a long way since then but there were stages during my martial arts training that I would’ve been ahead of times but soon everybody caught up and now doing what I was doing back then.  I remember one of my Instructors, in my 13th year of training, who absolutely fascinated me with what he was teaching me but I look back at it now and say ‘that’s old school’.  This is no different to the first computer on the market – how impressive was that!  If you look at it now, I would be too embarrassed to tell anyone of today’s generation that I ever owned one of those. Just to keep up with times I have to constantly refine and update my skills by cross training and working out with persons who are specialists in their fields eg Richard Norton and John Will; they are ahead of their times.

Martial arts schools can get very stale or stagnate in their training.  A good school’s programme has to constantly update and keep up with the times.  Your computer automatically does that with little messages on screen, ‘click for updates’.  It’s not necessarily about replacing techniques, it’s about updating! 

If an Instructor or school does not introduce new techniques, methods or skills, then the student does not have the opportunity to advance.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we can just hit a button to download updates.

On another note, another great weekend with Shihan Richard Norton for some more training.  It does get better and better.  The 43 degree heat may have kept some people away but not Damien who drove down from Canberra so I won't be taking any excuses from absentees please!  A big welcome to our new BJJ students, Alex and Pedro, to their first seminar. 

A special acknowledgement and thanks to Gary Davis, who is a 5th Dan in Japanese Jiu Jitsu, for organising a couple of seminars at the Burwood Police Citizens Youth Club which he manages. 

I will keep you updated.
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