It warmed up a bit since last week,, but it was raining a bit. But warm is good. And so we returned to the regular AO at the Salty Caper. Chief arrived early and showed YHC a very nice new blade. So we took a small detour from the originally planned schedule of techniques to go over some basic knife fighting techniques. Motorboat and Shambala arrived a short time later and we put the knife techniques on hold,, for a short while. Today we focused on focusing on everything. Tunnel vision is a natural result of stress and especially during a fight or dangerous encounter. So we focused on techniques to train the mind and body to, not only do many things at once but, focus on everything in its entirety. The technique, hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, feet (for the opponenet and ourselves)movement, direction, intent and our surroundings must all be keep in focus in order to make the right choices and to move in the proper fashion. When we block we strike, when we attack we control, our movement is also toward controlling or limiting the opponent and must be in sync with what is going on around us. Yes, it sounds more ethereal than one would think fighting should be but it is required to ensure we "dont win the fight only to lose to a brick to the head",, as Motorboat so eloquently put it.. Most people in a fight focus on the strike coming at them or the target we are trying to hit. But this leads to a very limited course of action with only one or two strikes and probably no movement at all. Practice and training help resolve some of the stress but we must train the mind and body to understand the options available when we keep track of things on a larger scale. Another result of this process is the reduction of any attack into the components tha make it up, the emotional response gets seperated and the mind gets out of the way therefore allowing the bidy to produce and effective response. But as YHC has stated before,,, we must DRILL this into our minds and bodys. Much of the initial response must be automatic to allow the mind time to understand what is going on. The training for this becomes confusing at first as the mind and body struggle for control, but eventually a balance is reached that allows each part of the self to perform in unison. But as YHC has promissed,,, as it gets easier it will get harder. So for those that had the hand responses for the drills up to speed,, we added a small step and leg tap. Seems easy, it will be easy,, but at this point it is not easy. The drills that were performed without thought became cumbersome again as the focus on only one other component overloaded the circuits. But this too will pass.
And then we went back to knife techniques. What we will find is that there is very little difference between fighting with or against knives when compared to the techniques we have been training in. The same system of moves and the same theory of movement and attack iare deployed. This allows us to adapt and respond to situaions that have not been specifically addressed. So, in review. We destroy what is attacking us or what is exposed when an attack is made and then move on to center line attacks. Nothing has changed excepts the danger increasing drastically when a blade is involved. And as Chief and Shambala stated,, it is best not to get involved in a knife fight. Both parties will get cut and serious injury is a guarantee. If you need to take out a knife or defend against a knife we must realize that it is likely to be a deadly result. But we must learn this system just in case the situation calls for such a response.
Thank you for the time training with you fine men. I thank you for allowing me to share this system.