Summer Jam 2012

Wow, what a trip.
Last June, three of us from KSMA Denver made the trip up to Des Moines Iowa for the inaugural KSMA Summer Jam. Johnny, Troy and I roadtripped our way and arrived early in the morning.
The first day was spent unwinding, catching up with our martial family and eating.
An aside, food has always been an important part of any KSMA event, and this one was no exception. Jay makes an exceptional Harira, I would cross deserts to eat this wonderful Middle Eastern Stew. Add some sack yogurt and good thick sourdough and a great meal is made. The company made it better.

On to Saturday. What can I say, Jay has a great location at the KSMA "hombu" there, and it fit all of us nicely. Saturday started out with introductions, a small safety briefing, and thanks to Jake, coffee. Nothing in silat starts without coffee.
We started with some pikal work, cross referencing to empty hand and pocket stick work. Everyone seemed to pick up the drills nicely, and skills were coming up quickly.
After this section, Jay took over with Nick Stick, which is an awesome conceptual tool based on a medio sumbrada. Seriously, hit him up for a seminar (jay@ksma.us), this material is golden, and Jay is masterful at teaching it.
Lunch!!! Have you noticed how much we like to eat? Jay and Tina escorted us to a nice Mexican restaurant which seated our large group and provided us great service.
Back to the school for round 3.
Jay kicked off the afternoon session with an exploration of Hubud and some of the switches. This is such a foundation of our training that I don't think we can go a session with out referencing it some how. Once again, Jay taught with aplomb and we all learned alot.
Too close out the day it was once again my turn. We had a session of Flow Sparring, which gives everyone a chance to try their skills and apply force in a safer manner. It also can wear you out rapidly, so after this, the day was done.
We all convened at Tina and Jays place for a potluck. Much good food was consumed, some tasty beer and desserts, and entertainment was mostly provided by Jake.

Day two started on time, and with no hangovers... I guess we learn and grow over the years.
Sunday was mostly lecture, with Jay and I going over the intellectual side of the house. Many good questions were asked, which spurred even more exploration. Our guest samurai instructors then showed up to give us a taste of their mix of Japanese arts and some Systema.
After they left, we got back down to the mental game that is so important to make this work.

A cajun meal and back to Jays place for a great evening hanging out and watching heavy metal documentaries closed out our stay.
Thank you Jay and Tina, you are great hosts, and made us feel at home.
Monday morning my ruffians and I rolled out and made it back to Denver hungry for the next Jam.
Join us, it's a blast.

Hubud; My opinion

Hubud Lubud; To tie and untie (loosely translated from Tagalog)<br />Almost exclusively taught as a sensitivity drill in Filipino Martial Arts.===========================
 Since working Hubud, and making it a cornerstone of my training, it has revealed itself as a multifaceted exercise, with three main areas:Attribute building;Strategic overview and Tactical application. For building fighting attributes, Hubud is a great expandable drill. In its most basic form, it teaches; threat recognition, sensitivity, timing, flow, and transition. Since it consists of three fairly Gross Motor Movements, once learned, it gives a good base of defensive responses. It is also modular, meaning, it does not teach in a by rote fashion. Each piece of the drill performs a good defensive action to aggressive attacks. You can also work Hubud to practice other techniques. Start Hubud with your training partner, and after a few rounds, start throwing in guntings, limb destructions, insertion shots, or low kicks, etc. Or use Hubud as a moving base to start training techniques from a moving base. The best attributes this drill imparts are sensitivity and flow. Varying the intensity of the drill, as well as the timing, teaches one to feel the attack, and respond as required, not as you may have planned. All of the above is directly related to flow, or moving in the most beneficial manner to effectively accomplish your goal. Getting well versed in sensitivity and flow leads to real skill in trapping, skill that can be done real time, instead of just for show. And finally, as we progress through Hubud, we can use to build attributes in things such as knife and short weapon work. The strategic overview that comes from Hubud Lubud is keeping your center and exploiting the center of your opponent. Every move covers and protects your center line, and opens and clears your attackers center line. Tactically, Hubud provides an "immediate action drill" which provides three means of defense and offense in one logical progression. Each movement can be performed as a stand alone defense, if you are able to follow it with an immediate counter attack. But when performed in a synergistic manner, as a whole, it works wonderfully, providing defense, mobility, offense, flow, and an opening into your opponents center. Each of the three motions in Hubud can be applied in both an offensive or defensive capability, as needed. In other words, the first motion, which appears in the drill as a rising deflection/block, is very effective at this purpose. But, with a difference in range and intent, it could also be an effective blow, such as a forearm upper cut to the throat/jaw area. To borrow a great bit of terminology from Kuntao Silat instructor Bob Orlando, they can be applied in either block mode, or in strike mode. Finally, when you add in the switches, it leads to a form of fighting ambidexterousness. Practicing Hubud will not teach you to write with both hands, but it will expand your options in combat, by letting either side to perform the action needed, without getting in each others way.