A Dark Side Adventure

Monday Ashihara

Medium intecnsity warmup with mixed strength and basics then stretching. Very pleased with my progress here, measureable improvement in flexibility

Then interesting partner stuff based on tackling. Started with the basic shoot, then sprawling defence.  Then onto takedowns, grappling variations, arm and  headlocks etc. This all based on Sensei’s (unproven but entirely plausible) theory that much bar violence is caused by drunken rugby players who just want to tackle….!!!

Actually bloody awesome fun, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Small group tonight. Long warmup 45 mins, stair running with lunges 5 loops, variety of fiendish stuff including squat-jumps over partners back, whell-barrow jumping pushups, resistance running. Then a lot of stretching.

Sabaki partner work, I’m improving gradually. Kata to finish, Mark personally working with me on the first part of Fighting Kata No 1. This worked well, I enjoyed it.

Systema.

We’re in a tiny hall on Tuesdays now, just the right size for 8 diehards – vinyl floor on concrete so fairly hard.

Began with ground warmup drills, using arm only to wriggle forward and backwards, then legs only, stomachs and backs. Rolling forward and back, first singly then as a pair holding hands or shoulders. Much hilarity. I’m still going verrry cautiously with this stuff because of the shoulder. Next  just going to ground – collapsing with structure, then same in pairs holding hands or arms round shoulders.

Pushing in changing groups of four, progressing to pairs pushing to the ground, moving on the ground and getting up. Then adding a trap or lock or jam if it was available. In some cases (Janet!) this progressed to fairly full on wrestling….

Pushups slow. I just went very shallow.

Then a stomping game -  move your feet out of the way of the stomps, keeping structure, keeping close but always not being there.  Then adding a jam or a gift as the leg comes through. Lovely knee stuff – theres a cool double Intuflow thing. Then adding pre-emptive actions, not letting the stomper actually get started. Good session.

Shoulder has improved a lot after specialist medical assessments and a second cortisone injection but still hugely reduced mobility.

Ashihara.

Interesting warmup. Women with 10kg weight bar, men with 20kg. Six different exercises – deadlift, kind of a bent over lift, an up to the armpit kind of lift, full height above the head, bending with the bar on the back of the neck (I had to hold it across my chest, cant get my arm up and back to hold it safely), and full depth squats. Four sets of six each, two sets of 8.  The weight was manageable and the whole thing pitched perfectly intensity-wise. I enjoyed it, I’ll feel it tomorrow but hopefully not too badly.

Then some basics.

Then a long stretching session – for some reason I was able to stretch longer and deeper than ever, head easily to the knees – can only assume the weight work was very beneficial.

Then some strike/kick drills to muai thai pads and spinning hooking stuff to the bats. Finished with number two fighting kata done so fast I haven’t much idea what we did. Sigh. Sometimes this stuff so good, but sometimes I’m just frustrated.

Sunday Systema

Small group – we are down to the hardcore now, about six of us. Started with pushing/moving. Have to give a firm, definite direction for the person to react to. First just avoiding  – be not there! –  then avoiding staying close, then adding a gift or a lock if applicable. Keep moving, keep structure, use what is closest.

 Added the training knives, same drills. The idea was not to make this a specific knife defense exercise, at least to start with, but to gain awareness of distancing and movement. Started slow motion then ramped up in intensity. Finished with quite full-on knife defence with the requirement to finish the sequence (disarm or disable).  Fairly new stuff for me, lots of experimentation, lots of learning.

I love it when you get into the headspace of just processing – not thinking, just dealing with incoming, moving to the next. Stressful at times but really alive training, brilliant fun.

Tonight we started with squats  – slowly sitting down into a straight chair and getting back up, using the legs, keeping posture and structure.

The onto pushing and moving – not absorbing but using the feet to make the body go anywhere directed, always maintaining structure. Pushes to head particularly tricky. Then changed to using the body to move. Then combined the two. Then added a stick or gift if it happened to work. Then two on one. Quick strength stuff inbetween each set.

Finished with one in the middle and the whole group pushing,  person in the middle just moving and flowing, continuous and relaxed.  I find a real pleasure (joy?) in the movement and the painful remnants of last nights training completely dissipated.

Ashihara. Tough warmup with 6kg of handweights. Sets of pushups, situps and squats with a short run between each. 30 of each with 1 run between then 25 with 2 runs etcetc. Started off ok but those damm little weights made a huge difference.  I tried a few tentative pushups but didnt like how it felt so doubled up on the leg/core stuff. Then stretching and basics.

Kicks tonight – spinning and jumping combinations progressing in complexity.

My training is not back to where it was by a long way but I’m just grateful to be training at all.

Sunday – Systema in the band rotunda. Continued with work based on grabs rear and side. Began with sensitivity, moving, experimenting with non-familiar solutions, slow time. Added a stick or a gift still going relatively gently. Then Loren ramped it up, increased the speed of attack (but not of defense), direction etc. Then two on one, quite hard and strong. Moving, processing, finishing – using one attacker to interfere with the other - very good stuff.

A few strength things to reset the brain. Then back a few notches in intensity, starting with movement again. Lot of work on pre-emptive actions. Then a kind of free for all group fight. Excellent.

Probably the most physical fight work I’ve done in Systema so far and very useful in a whole lot of ways. A lot of trust built up with the group now, very important. Everyone looking after each other but still attacking properly with integrity and intent. Lots of laughing. Shoulder feels a bit sore though.

Ashihara. Warmup with leg-lift variations and lunges.

Then SD drills using the goose-neck lock. Some with knives which I find to be somewhat unrealistic for a beginner. But good exploration of principles and a Systema-like clamp of the attacking hand to the body. Lots of sabaki. I love it when these things I do overlap and build on each other.

Lots of missed training because of work    (Sadly I gotta eat).

So straight into pushing, but this time the attacks are all from behind. Just moving, sensitivity. Then the pushing becomes more aggressive, becomes grabbing and headlocking sort of stuff. More moving, sensitivity.

Adding a strike if it works. Ramp up to locks, takedowns, all from a rear attack. Some wrestling lol. Have to be careful here, there are some old karate reactions that kick in. Some of these are good but… this isn’t karate.

So back to moving, sensitivity. Sweet.