Month: August 2008

Take a friend and a stick and have each of you hold one end of the stick. Apply some tension and start to move with this in mind. First avoid getting hit or stabbed by the stick and afterwards try to “stick” and hit your partner with the stick. Move freely using your walking, your body and different tension and learn to create just enough tension to do the work. Start slowly in order to learn we are not in a race but learning together. Slowly add some swiftness to your work and make sure your breathing is in the right pace to help you move the tension out and remain free in your movement. Note how your hand is feeling and how  your other arm is working. Pay attention.

Later on hold the stick in the middle (both of you) and repeat this drill.

There is much to learn and you can learn from every thing and every one. Smile and be humble.
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Hold your fist in your palm and move it forward and backwards in wave strikes as the other arms resists. Do this slowly by letting the breath dictate the pace and feel where your elbow and shoulder are tense or where there is fear of movement. Shake your arms and neck afterwards and let the head move as a result of the body and shoulder movements. This way you will avoid head injuries from strikes and tension in the back and shoulders.

Do the same with the legs and relax your hips by going up and down without using your hands. (standing sitting)
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

There are many times when you feel tensed or tired and your joints ressist. In case you are squatting down and you want to avoid bending forward (with a backpack on you or an injured friend) Simply slide one feet as you go down and this funnels the tension so you can keep the alignment. Try this in movement by throwing something light to the ground and squat to pick it up as you keep moving and repeat a few times. It is a good way to learn to move well and you can do this with a partner as a response to a strong push. Using this you can both stay close to the pusher and escape his hands which can be the thing to do in knife or gun cases. Decide for yourself when it will work for you and remember to keep thinking and moving as you work with different partners.

Another note is to work with different people. You can learn something from everyone.
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Take a stick or a sword and at least two friends and in an open space or work slowly. Now have your partners come to grab and hit you and your job is to keep them away with your movement and the stick. The idea is to learn to keep moving in a way that helps you be aware to more around you and to keep the movement relaxed and minimal by moving from the body. Things to look at are the tension in your face and in your hands (means you are focusing on the outside and moving from the hands and not from the body), relaxed breathing and your walking (if you jump, cross your legs or move erratically it means you are controlled and your movement is not your own)

… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Have your partner lie down on the ground. Lie on top of him with a knife in hand and start to roll over him in any way you want using your body and legs to move and keeping both hands free. As you become more comfortable add slashes and cuts that are part of your body movement and if you stop moving your partner will slap or hit you in any way he can to help you keep moving as you work. Remember the person or persons that keep moving after an encounter are alive.
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Take a chain and hold it tight between your hands in front of you and squat down. Listen to the chain sounds and try to keep it tight as the shoulders remain relaxed. Now roll forward and backwards and side to side as you keep the tightness of the chain and this will teach you to keep both tense and relax as you move and to place your body better according to what you have with you. Remember not to lean on your hands on the way down. It is the same as bending forward to hit. It means you are afraid to move your body in some direction (unless you do this on purpose) breath and relax from the feet up and see how the roll happens. Avoid trying to create something that is in your mind and note what you have already. This is a good way to avoid death.

Another drill is to hold the chain ends relaxed in both hands and walk in the squat moving with the breath and working to come closer to a friend who is listening. If he hears you you have to go all the way and start again. This is a way to relax and focus on the same time. Be aware of all your parts.

… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Part 2 of the get ready for the army notes: What to work on?

In the years I have studied the martial arts I have followed many ways to train and exercise. So far the best method to advance and enjoy the work for me is a two end approach. You take a good look at yourself and point out what are your very best parts and the worst. You create a plan to work on those both ends in the same time and so you bring yourself closer to a clean place while you enjoy and learn from the work. For example I enjoy and love to roll so I practice this natural movement to advance something I have a minor talent for and I do not enjoy nor am I good at swift movement so I work on spring movements and the way I look at them. This is just a simple example but you can apply this to your daily work and to anything else in your life. You have to be honest though. Otherwise you are looking at a distorted mirror.

There is great power in being able to laugh at yourself and to enjoy yourself at the same time.
… Read More Part 2 of the get ready for the army notes: What to work on?

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Lie flat on your belly and place both hands on the back of the neck. Look forward lifting your head only as much as is needed and crawl forward and backwards for a few minutes. This will teach you to relax the shoulders and upper body more and to still move even if you are tensed up. More on this will come later.
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

lie on your back and tense up your body to the max and hold it for a few heart beats. Relax and repeat this a few times till you feel more relaxed on the ground. Now raise both arms in the air so the shoulders are in the air as well and slowly do a few leg raises overhead. Defend your spine by using your sides and movement to move and check how you can be aware to more of the movement in your back.

Another way to do this with less effort is to place a stick under your back and do sit ups as you move the stick from point to point to learn to relax with the ground you are on and to use it to your survival.
… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment

Start with your partner prone on the ground and you along side him with the stick. Place one end on him and see where he is relaxed and where he is tense or easy to control and also where his body has a lot of room to move and where it is restricted (for example how far can the hip move without the body following). Now start to move him toward a goal and when you reach the goal (10-15 meters or more) reverse yourself so you are facing up and repeat the drill. Take note to the angle of your neck from your body and the direction of your eyes when you work so you learn to move with alignment even in these movements and to pay attention to the signs that you are in danger or in poor alignment (the same for example if you are crooked necked and looking down)
The next drill is squatting with the feet fully relaxed on the ground and again you push and pull your partner toward some target and back as you learn to move the stick less and less by using the already existing tension and lack of alignment in the body from the first movement and keeping yourself relaxed so you can feel and move well.

… Read More

Sharon FriedmanLeave a comment