Friday Knight News
“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain” Miyamoto Musashi
It seems to me one of the greatest values I have received in martial arts instruction has come from the inclusion of seminar training into my routine. At one time, I sought out instruction in every style that came down the pike. I studied under famous masters and I studied under individuals no one outside of their group knew anything about. I found great lessons in both camps, I've also found that at least for me it is better to focus on systems that correlate with my practice. It is much easier for me to distill knowledge that I have found in similarities.
In the past I have had instructors that forbade us from practicing or taking training in any system outside of our own lineage. That was until I met Tom Manson, who encouraged outside training. I've tried to avoid teachers with a closed mindset, but on several occasions in my past due to situations or circumstances I had no other choice. Still, I can understand why sometimes instructors feel that way, as I have seen many students that want to jump from one fad to another without applying themselves to the lesson at hand. No one seems to want to work on the basics!
A novice student doesn't want to bother learning how to form a correct fist to throw a punch. Never mind if doing it his way will wind up breaking his thumb. Needless to say learning this basic for a correctly formed fist combined with a punching motion can also be utilized as a wrist lock. Still it is much simpler to teach one thing at a time, without having to cater to thirty students that want an explanation to a host of various topics. Perhaps my greatest pet peeve was students who didn't train diligently enough to apply any single given technique, but constantly wanted entertained with the next technique. Then again, we can run into dedicated hard-working students that are able to extrapolate lessons from other systems and apply it to what they're learning.
The truth be told when it comes down to it, there is no one-size-fits-all in the martial arts. There also isn't any real differentiation between styles other than the arbitrary ceremonial wrapping that denotes club and style affiliation, or a preference of one method over another. These things can be as simple as establishing an esprit de corps that one has from wearing the same emblem emblazoned on a T-shirt and shorts or embroidered on a gi. It may also correspond to the way a person's built and their preference for body movement, or comfort within various combat ranges. Sometimes style can be recognized by the manner a person shrugs off the punch, ducks under an attack, or even assumes a ready stance or avoids taking one. All of these things can be altered to fill in the blanks once the foundation has been mastered.
Now that I no longer teach publicly, and primarily train alone, I rely on seminars for socialization, stimulation and substantiation. I like training in other styles similar to my base arts of kempo, jujutsu, and aiki jujutsu. This includes systema, as well as stand up styles of silat, kali and kuntao as they often run parallel with my base arts. The benefit from seminar instruction is that sometimes seeing how another style addresses your problem areas makes it easier for you to unlock those gates for yourself. Sometimes the benefit of seminar instruction comes from validation that you receive from outside of your circle as it pertains to your development. Other times benefits comes from being put in stressful and uncomfortable circumstances that force you to grow or evolve.
"You can only fight the way you practice" Miyamoto Musashi
It seems to me one of the greatest values I have received in martial arts instruction has come from the inclusion of seminar training into my routine. At one time, I sought out instruction in every style that came down the pike. I studied under famous masters and I studied under individuals no one outside of their group knew anything about. I found great lessons in both camps, I've also found that at least for me it is better to focus on systems that correlate with my practice. It is much easier for me to distill knowledge that I have found in similarities.
In the past I have had instructors that forbade us from practicing or taking training in any system outside of our own lineage. That was until I met Tom Manson, who encouraged outside training. I've tried to avoid teachers with a closed mindset, but on several occasions in my past due to situations or circumstances I had no other choice. Still, I can understand why sometimes instructors feel that way, as I have seen many students that want to jump from one fad to another without applying themselves to the lesson at hand. No one seems to want to work on the basics!
A novice student doesn't want to bother learning how to form a correct fist to throw a punch. Never mind if doing it his way will wind up breaking his thumb. Needless to say learning this basic for a correctly formed fist combined with a punching motion can also be utilized as a wrist lock. Still it is much simpler to teach one thing at a time, without having to cater to thirty students that want an explanation to a host of various topics. Perhaps my greatest pet peeve was students who didn't train diligently enough to apply any single given technique, but constantly wanted entertained with the next technique. Then again, we can run into dedicated hard-working students that are able to extrapolate lessons from other systems and apply it to what they're learning.
The truth be told when it comes down to it, there is no one-size-fits-all in the martial arts. There also isn't any real differentiation between styles other than the arbitrary ceremonial wrapping that denotes club and style affiliation, or a preference of one method over another. These things can be as simple as establishing an esprit de corps that one has from wearing the same emblem emblazoned on a T-shirt and shorts or embroidered on a gi. It may also correspond to the way a person's built and their preference for body movement, or comfort within various combat ranges. Sometimes style can be recognized by the manner a person shrugs off the punch, ducks under an attack, or even assumes a ready stance or avoids taking one. All of these things can be altered to fill in the blanks once the foundation has been mastered.
Now that I no longer teach publicly, and primarily train alone, I rely on seminars for socialization, stimulation and substantiation. I like training in other styles similar to my base arts of kempo, jujutsu, and aiki jujutsu. This includes systema, as well as stand up styles of silat, kali and kuntao as they often run parallel with my base arts. The benefit from seminar instruction is that sometimes seeing how another style addresses your problem areas makes it easier for you to unlock those gates for yourself. Sometimes the benefit of seminar instruction comes from validation that you receive from outside of your circle as it pertains to your development. Other times benefits comes from being put in stressful and uncomfortable circumstances that force you to grow or evolve.
"You can only fight the way you practice" Miyamoto Musashi
My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with some science fiction, conspiracies, laughter, love and mystic experiences. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream meditation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.
Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to cope with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past.
The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.
Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.
Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, which is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.
Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.
Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.
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