Class - March 25, 2018

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Bryant
Dan

Notes:
We warmed up with drilling transitional drills 1 - 5. I noticed the guys were forgetting some of the targets from td's 4 and 5. They probably need a refresher course on those drills next class.

Next we worked on some different feeds using 3 of 9 as the main targets for this exercise. We went through at least 10 different feeds. In this exercise, we changed the way the Feeder would deliver the counts. I think the guys liked this approach to doing the 3 of 9 drill. If the Receiver still would get cut, he would reset and try it again until he was able to correctly tap it. With this drill, it helped them become more proficient in their tapping.

Some things to remember to break their habits in doing:
Don't keep a picture pose when a Receiver is tapping. Finish the tap all the way through until blade is away pointing in another direction.
Finish with a control and/or ready to punch.
Get in a ready stance before the attack.
Start farther apart from each other. Don't start off in the drilling range.

Class Notes: March 18, 2018

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Bryant
Dan

Notes:
Reviewed 5 count passing drill. Added a vital target after passing blade.
Reviewed 7 count passing drill. 
Free flowed with both of the students. I fed most of the time. First, I gave them easy lines to counter. When they started getting the control/strip consistently, I added clears to my feed. Next I added non-linear. Most of my attacks and clears came from the 3 of 9 drill. Sometimes I would add transitional drill 1 to my clears.

In the end, we had a good workout. Most of the time they got their control and strips.

Class Notes: March 4, 2018

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Bryant
Dan

Notes:
Taught 5 count passing drill. Emphasizing on gunting (scissors) technique.
Tried using blades in both hands during the drill.
Grip change: one blade in forward grip and the other reverse grip.
Reviewed 3 of 10 template and 4 of 12 template.

 In this class, I asked them to get into their best fighting stance. Whatever they wanted to try to get into the most efficient and safe stance for the 5 count passing drill. I watched and saw that both of them crouched lower and kept the blades closer to their body. I also made them emphasize a slower pace but with intent. No strength involved or speed. Looked pretty good.

Class: Feb 11th & 25th

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Dan
Bryant

Notes:
2/11
Reviewed 3 of 9 true left and transitional drills 1-4 for warm up.
Taught template 4 of 12. Later with two blades.
Reviewed template 3 of 10.

2/25
Reviewed templates 3 of 10 and 4 of 12.
Taught template 4 of 9.
Went over 5 count passing drill. Emphasis on the gunting (scissor) technique. Alternating feeding every count.

Going to see if adding a modifier to templates helps them remember the templates better. Maybe add a timer?

Class Notes: October 1, 2017

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Isaac
Bryant
Andrew

Notes:
We warmed up class with 3 of 9 tapping, left hand template, and left defeats right drill. Reviewed and drilled TD1. Worked through stop-blocks with Bryant. Later, Andrew and Bryant went through TD1-4. I've noticed that sometimes a student gets stuck at a certain count in a drill. Every teacher has a way of letting the student know what's the correct way to do the drill.

Sometimes what I like to do is to let them try again with a slower tempo with no verbal correction. Maybe I'll try that again with a slower tempo and see if they can correct the technique. Later, correct them if they can't figure it out. Sometimes it's nice to have the student work through it in their head. Giving them hints along the way is good but when they figure it out on their own is better for their growth than giving them the answer every time.

Class Notes: Septemeber 24, 2017

Attendees:
Guro Lem
Isaac

Class notes:
We went through 3 of 9 template L/R hand. With tapping. Left defeats right.
Installing TD1

September 12, 2017 - Injuries and Martial Arts

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been busy with life and had some injuries along the way. I thought of chronicling my experience or what I've gone through with injuries. I'm sure some of us go through some pain and aches. Sometimes accidents happen or injuries occur because of the amounts of reps we do to attain perfection or success.

Lately, I've been working through an injury called lateral epicondylitis, or in laymen terms tennis elbow. I did some research on how to work through it. I had some of my students recommend an equipment to work through my pain. I did wait about four days after my initial pain to start working on my injury. I know I wanted to work on it instead of waiting for the pain to stop. Here's what I've found.

So, I looked up some information on the injury and found some cool articles. One article I found was on a website called, Art of Manliness. This first article called, "Bicep tendonitis - A multi-step approch". I really liked the information that was presented there. I know my tennis elbow was probably a tendon issue and not so much muscle, but I still used the concept in this article to my rehab. I needed more information so I looked up more stuff to see on that website. I found another article with Mark Rippetoe. Actually, it's a video of him explaining what he did when he had "golfers elbow" which effects the bottom of the forearm. It was very similar to the other article above so it seemed like a good idea try it. Here's a small video of him explaining what he did to fix his issue.




One equipment was recommended from one of my students. It's called the Flexbar and you can get it on Amazon. I've been working with it for awhile now and it seems to be helping. I've been doing 3 sets of 10 with this twice a day. It seems to be working and helping me get stronger.

It's been about four weeks now since the initial onset of pain. It looks like it's getting better. Other things that I've done are alternating hot and cold compress, massage, ice after workout, and rest. Before, my first week at rehab I could only lift up a 3 lbs dumbell doing 3 sets of 20. Now, I can lift up to 10 lbs with some pain. Still getting stronger.

These are just my notes and experience on this injury. Please consult your primary doctor for diagnosing and treatment.

Class Notes: March 5, 2017

Attending:
Dan
Bryant
Shane
Adam

Notes:
We warmed up with drilling 3 of 9 tapping and TD1. We went over TD2 so everyone could get on the same page. Later, we reviewed 7 count passing drill. We went through TD1 and 3 of 9 to see where we could pull off one of the techniques from 7 count passing drill. Nice class today.

Class Notes: March 6, 2016

Attendees:
Dan
Bryant
Guro Lem

Notes:
3 of 9 true left
Transitional Drills 1 - 6

Today we went through 3 of 9 w/tapping and true left. In this true left drill, the (1) Feeder's left hand also has a blade. When clearing (2) Feeder's tapping hand, the (1) Feeder hit's the target with left hand.

Also, we reviewed each transitional drill (1-6) switching sides, Feeder/Receiver, to get reps on both sides. Next time I'll have to go through each target with them to make sure they know what shots they are getting.

Northeastern Training Groups Session: Feb 28, 2016

I had the pleasure of training up at, Tuhon Pat Consing's, Kapitid's Academy in Pleasantville, NY. Good times!

Getting plenty of reps on the training line.

Class Notes: Feb 6, 2016

Attendees:
Ivan
Guro Lem

Notes:
Review rh 3 of 9 template
3 of 9 tapping (Receiver)
Discussed:
timers and switches
reflexive, conditioned, and correct responses.
importance of being relaxed while cross-tapping
not anticipating and time traveling to the next move before the attack happens.

Discipline: What is it? What it does to you?

Jocko Willink on JRE.

Also, here's another interview but from one of my coaches in bjj, Ryan Hall, on discipline. Starts talking about it around 3:40 mark: Discipline.

Class Notes: Jan 17, 2016

Attendees:
Dan
Bryant
Guro Lem

Notes:
Transitional Drills 1 through 6
Discussed about visual sensory... like seeing an attack coming. Can this skill be developed over time? Or is a person born with the skill?

It definitely can be developed over time. With good timing and practice a person can develop that skill-set to see a punch or blade attack or takedown before anything even makes contact. So can we tell when the violence is about to happen? Can we sense when something is about to go down and bloody? Can you visually see the attacker's friends circling/flanking around? Or do we get tunnel vision and just see that one thing that's in front of us. What spiraling signs can you visually sense before the real altercation happens?

Class Notes: Jan 6, 2016

Attendees:
Karen (New perspective student)
Ivan (New perspective student)
Guro Lem

Notes:
Discussed blade protocol, training belt rig, templates
3 of 9 right hand template

It was the first class for both students. So we started off with some basic cross tapping. Next class we should be able to go through the tapping for 3 of 9.

Class Notes: Jan 3, 2016

Attendees:
Yonas
Dan
Guro Lem

Notes:
Review 3 of 9 template w/tapping
Transitional Drills 1 and 6
Taught transitional drill 2

Class Notes: Dec 6, 2015

Attendees:
Bryant
Dan
Yonas
Guro Lem

Notes:
Reviewed Transitional Drills 1-5 with Dan and Bryant
Reviewed TD 1 with Yonas and learned TD 2

Switched between teaching and drilling with the guys. Talked about how each drill has a theme and not just individual techniques. Each transitional drill teaches the Feeder or Receiver something new, but each one has a concept or theme that can be learned as a whole. These drills can be learned to be ingrained into muscle memory, but it is meant to orient and feel/see different attacks. The transitional drills can also assist our blade observation skills. By seeing a wide range of attacks that can come from a bladed encounter, we can make a correct response to a knife attack.

Class Notes: Nov 22, 2015

Attendees:
Yonas
Bryant
Dan
Guro Lem

Notes:
 Yonas and Dan reviewed transitonal drill 1.
 Bryant reviewed with Dan TDs 1-5.
 Taught TD6 to Dan and Bryant.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mr. Dan and Mr. Bryant and family.

Class Notes: Nov 15, 2015

Attendees:
Bryant
Yonas
Guro Lem

Notes:
Review 3 of 9 w/tapping, 3 of 9 rh/lh, left defeats right
Installed transitional drill (TD) 6 from Instructors weekend 2015 (winter sama sama)

Heart
Abdominal Aorta
Abdominal Aorta
Kidney
Heart
Lung
Subclavian
BW
Kidney
Heart

During a transition in the drill, one of the guys was having problems with the footwork and kicking. We figured out that he wasn't stepping back with his left leg when passing with his right hand. This gives him time and distance when the blade comes for his subclavian. I remembered when doing 7 count passing drill, Tuhon Tom Kier talked about how to correctly pass the attackers blade without pretending we were the fastest man alive. It's like having his blade hand moving at you at 50mph, you'd have to be twice as fast to catch up to his attack or your getting hit. You'd have to move 100mph to get that attack passed. Three things needed for a good pass to happen correctly. Time (you can bump his attack arm to buy time), distance (angle in or angle out), and technique. It was good to see what happens when the technique isn't working out. Problem solving why and how to make it work is more rewarding than seeing my guys getting it the first time.

Next, we will try getting our cross-tapping stronger and making our forearms harder. Thanks to Guro Matt Campbell for his suggestions on hardening. Also, we will work with Atienza Kali passing with weapons in the future with Bolo Evo 1.

Class Notes: Nov 1, 2015

Attendees:
Yonas
Rich
Guro Lem

Notes:
3 of 9 template rh/lh/both at the same time
3 of 9 left defeats right
7 count passing drill
Counters to reflexive response with two hand grabs

Class Notes: Oct 11, 2015

Attendees:
Dan
Guro Lem
Richard
Yonas


Notes:
Reviewed 3 of 9 template RH
Taught 3 of 9 template LH
3 of 9 w/tapping
Left defeats Right hand
Back to back drill/exercise: Feeder chose 3 predetermined attacks. Receiver tries to correctly tap his attacks. 

Later, we discussed the exercise and what questions they may have, "What should the Receiver try to do if being crowded?" Some answers were to strike back or go into the grappling range. All good answers, but for this exercise it might be hard to do unless we can gear up with protection and mma gloves. But for now, I asked again, "What other answers could you come up with?". Distance to extend the time to react. Also, work on getting better with cross-tapping.

One thing to remember when training. It's just training. It's a time to get better in areas where we are weak. Everyone has a skill set in fighting. It's easy to train our strengths, but we need to train our weaknesses too to get well rounded and better. You'll get cut and messed up, but it's a time to see what works and what doesn't. So when the time comes for us to use it in real life situation, it will be tried with many reps (hopefully with correct technique and responses). So... Find the answers during training!