Month: September 2008

Have a friend come to hit you as he walks through you. Your job is to move your body away so the arms are free to move and to continue walking with him and closing the distance between your bodies without interrupting his movement.

The next drill is doing the same only now you add to this another direction of your own after you move with him and feel where he is not dense or aware. Have patience and keep breathing as you move and avoid focusing your eyes where your hands rest. Let them see for themselves.

Next have him come at you without pause and without stop and you have to blend with his movement and only do your work to bring him down when you feel you are safe and relaxed. Note the distance between you and check if your arms are defending the air around you or working. Many evade the first strike and than fall into a struggle in place working like a screw left and right. Avoid that by not giving any support and you will survive.

Take your stick and a small ball or a few of them (about the size of a large marble or one of the small rubber balls for kids to bounce off walls) Place the ball on the ground and slowly use the stick to move the ball by touching first and than moving it without loosing contact. Do this for a while as you relax the shoulders and hips so you don’t become bent from the attention and than using a wall send the ball to bounce off the wall and play return with it for a while. Un-focus your eyes and let them take in all that is around you. Once this is done Throw the ball in the air and work on directing it either up or down using the end of the stick. Remember to move from the body and use a comfortable grip. Place no importance on where you start the movement from (left right high low) and remember that the body when aligned can move in any direction from any location.
Throw the ball behind you or in front of you with your eyes closed and than open them and work. Have a partner help you with this if you can and work also using either hand or or from the position of holding the stick as a walking stick. Relax your face and keep your breath going. Close either eye and work to find your range of vision and how you can best move to survive with this happening to you.

Remember that it is easier to keep moving than to move and stop and move. Keep your breath going. It is the beginning of all movement.

Take a partner or better yet your child and sit or stand comfortably with them. Relax your eyes by avoiding focusing on one thing or traveling from one thing to another all the time and see his chest and throat move with the breathing. Observe for a while and than start to breathe with him and follow his changes in breath. Feel if there is a difference in your interaction and than with your partner or if your child is grown enough work on a drill like take downs or hitting and while you do this observe the breathing again and note to yourself how this works for you.

Find a corridor or two trees that are close enough that you cannot turn on the spot with both hands to the sides without bumping them and place your back on one side of the wall. Place one CLEAN leg on the other side. Find the support with your back and lift the other leg. Play with your back to find the easier point of support and use the hands and legs to move either up and down or to the sides as you keep yourself off the ground and learn to create support for yourself.

This is a fun drill for kids as well and can be usuful in gaining a different perspective or if you need to reach something higher or over rough surfaces. Work on this to free your movement and you can also do this using a door and climb over it. This too is a way to look and hide or get to a hiding spot which requires nothing but you and some breathing.

Tension is not a dirty word. It is one of the tools you are born with. Just use it and avoid trying to become something not natural. If you are tense, breathe and it will come out in a natural way. Forcing relaxation simply pushes it under the carpet and it will come out in another way.

Wear clothes you do not care too much for and have a partner do the same. Walk around each other and check where you can hold onto the clothes and slowly pull and push and twist. Use first only one hand and than both.
Now have one person walk  and you walk alongside him and than you hold onto his clothes and change direction of your walk. Feel with your hands where he is less full and aid him in meeting the ground. Don’t forget that the work is never over and guide him so he is not looking at you and his legs are not in kicking position toward you.
Now repeat the drill only you close your eyes and he comes and bumps into you and than you start to work. Remember to use the collar for chocking, the pockets for twisting and pulling and above all your own movement. Keep moving and you will find a way.

Take a friend or a heavy chair that moves badly on the ground and place your fist on him. Relax your elbow so your fist can align and slowly let it sink toward the opening in the tension or structure of the partner. Relax your shoulders and hips and avoid pushing. Once you sink as much as possible walk to another comfortable position and repeat.
Go down to half a squat height and remain with a relaxed back and repeat only now change the angle you choose to come to the body with with each fist and remember not to hit and move around the target or partner. If you do this than you anchor him as a point of support in your head and thus your fists will strive to keep him in place. Freedom begins with cleaning yourself from desires and perceptions before the fight begins so you may with the grace of whatever you believe in avoid it and solve the problem.

If you do fight though end it as soon as you can with you still breathing.

Have a partner put you in a lock or lever such as a wrist twist which causes the tension to move from the impacted joint to the next in the tension chain and breath. Relax and walk and as you walk move your entire body to move that impacted body part and find the opening in your partner through this contact. For example if your partner takes your hand and and turns it so your little finger is facing up and and your elbow is twisted to point at your middle, relax your hand and become aware of his intended movement and tension and for example note that he is leaning on the hand forward. Take a step to the side to allow him to complete his movement and at the same time move your hand so he is unbalanced. This takes a lot of patience and awareness to do so progress slowly and don’t be afraid of moving all your body at the same time. Kneel, lever your own limbs, use your neck as a fulcrum and so on. Learn to find a way.
Have a partner walk around you and come to take you down and take your wallet when he feels secure in entering your second distance (stand a pace away so you can touch without stepping in) your job is to be where you are comfortable and listen to comfort and discomfort in your body and mind and work with them but not according to them. Keep all your faculties working and remain calm by being aware of your breathing.

Another important note is your state of mind. If you choose to protect the status-qua than you are defending the air and not yourself and are at a disadvantage. Have a mind to avoid sparring for sparring. Fighting when you cannot avoid it is done to stay alive and to stop fighting. Think about it.

Have two friends walk toward you and at the same time close the distance between themselves. Your job is to pass between them without touching or with little contact and to remain calm. If you sense you are too late simply avoid them altogether and try another time. After all of you work on this add some eye contact with one of them in order to create an attachment and to draw or push him but without aggression (stay with your self and in yourself) Add movement to draw and control their actions in the form of extending your arms to the sides and relaxing them, tilting your body toward one of them and moving and teach yourself to note how they act and how this effects them. This is a way to learn to control others via your awareness and relaxation and it is important to be sure of yourself and avoid attaching to much importance to what happens.
Have all of you do this drill and than repeat it with one eye closed and with a lot of regard to your breathing.