Sharon Friedman – Vigilance and Tranquility

A few simple drills to learn efficient movement. For starters you can stand close to each other whith three or more people also can do if they arrange themselves in each other’s blind spot. If you are close to a person than the lower half of you is invisible to bothe of you unless you focus on that but more on that later. Now start to hit each other  moving as little as possible. You have to relax so the wave doesn’t show in your shoulder and chest and back and eyes. Later on place your hands forward on your friends forearms with both of you at 90 degree angle at the elbows and from that point hit. Your partner will tell you by hitting you first if you have leaned on him.

Close your eyes and have your partner stab or slash you with a knife. Start slowly or with a demmo knife and simply move to keep from hurt. To begin to understand how to move without restrictions have a person with two knives (or more if you live in a circus :)) and through that you can begin to move efficiently becasue when all doors are closed you have to open one yourself.  The person with the two knives will probably feel a bit limited at first in the grab and hit departments but once you work slow the body will wake up and you will be jamming your elbows into clavicles and levering with your chest and elbow like a …

When I first give a knife to a person and tell them to start to work with it, I tell them to try and not cut themselves. It hasn’t happened yet on the first time. Fear is a great servent and the worst of sovereign.