Quite a week of martial arts.

I started the extended weekend timeframe with my normal martial arts club, the Columbus Ninjutsu Club.  Most regular readers probably know that I study there, and am a big fan of the art of Ninjutsu.  Thursday, we did Yoko Nage, one of my favorite throws.  It meant hitting the mat many, many times though – probably forty over the course of the class.  Then I did the first randori (full speed training) that I have done in months with friend and fellow ninja Adam-san.

I knew I would be sore the next day, so I drowned my sorrows in 800 milligrams of Advil and 32 ounces of Muscle Milk.

Friday, I was sore.

Saturday I was REALLY sore.

Sunday, I have a three hour seminar with Don Frye.  Don and Dan-sensei are working on a movie together, Apparitions: The Darkness, and had some filming to do in Michigan.  Also, the Arnold was this weekend, so Don was here for that.  In between the two, he held a seminar for us.  Nice guy!

Don Frye seminar

Learned a lot from Mr. Frye.  He is built more like me – heavier, bigger boned – rather than the light willowy guys that mostly make up our classes.  His methods for getting people on the ground, especially, are very much along my idea of best practice.  For instance, for the two leg takedown, he comes straight in, low, still in guard, and then basically head butts you in the gut while grabbing the top of the thighs.  With his larger mass, he doesn’t have to screw around with all of the footwork of the jujitsu method.  Just knocks you down.

Anyway, that was three hours of opening up the top of my head and pouring as much in as I could.  The man knows a lot about fighting.  It wasn’t a very strenuous seminar, actually, though we all did get banged up a lot.  I have two huge bruises on my pecs from Frye demonstrating the head butt on my chest.

Strangely, Monday I didn’t feel too bad.  I guess we didn’t really DO that much, except train on a few of the techniques.  No randori, no drills, really.

Tuesday I went back to Ninjutsu, and had a much liter class under Bryan-sensei.  Did some chokes, drills, pretty laid back.  Good thing, because I went from there to Systema with Steve-sensei, and that was an experience.

Systema is a Russian martial art based on the standup from Sambo.  It has four tenets: breathing, relaxation, movement and posture.  There are no techniques, no kata.  You just use the basic philosophy and do whatever doesn’t hurt. 

Fascinating where that takes you.  Because a lot of akidoka study Systema, a lot of the finishing moves from Systema look like Aikido.  I have 6 years of Aikido, and three more of Ninjutsu (which are all Budo) so I fit right in.  Certainly will be looking more into Systema.

Comments are closed
Mastodon