From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #272 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Fri, 25 June 1999 Vol 06 : Num 272 In this issue: [none] eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #270 eskrima: Fighting Women eskrima: Re:Knife eskrima: Commitment to self eskrima: Re: Wavemaster eskrima: Siete Pares Escrima / Labitan-Labor System eskrima: re Erle Montaigue Re: eskrima: re sensitivity, Chi, Jing eskrima: Switching gears eskrima: Re: Surviving Edged Weapons eskrima: To: Michael Kitchen eskrima: Re: Wavemaster eskrima: Crafty points... eskrima: Unfortunate postponement of Garimot Summer camp eskrima: . .......................................................................... Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~1100 members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Inayan System of Eskrima, Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe eskrima-digest" (no quotes) in the body of an e-mail (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To send e-mail to this list use eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) FAQ and online search the last two years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! Ray Terry, PO Box 110841, Campbell, CA 95011 FMA@MartialArtsResource.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Y Me Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 03:55:05 CEST Subject: [none] Greetings to all. I am one of those :-) and I would like to make a few comments. Being a MA student (wing chun and eskrima) has helped me to stop pretending to be smaller for good. But it did not make me believe that I can handle any attack or that I should start kicking bad guys around saving the planet :-) It is not because I am not a good martial artist yet: I know I will get better as I practice and learn more and more. But I am not getting more and more willing to try these in a dark backstreet. On the contrary, practicing and specially sparring has convinced me that even a person with great skills should avoid getting into trouble. My training is a very important part of my life - among reasons other than this practical application - because I am convinced that it will help me to give better emergency reactions: when trouble comes I will not be like a deer in the spotlight and I will have that precious extra time Jocelyne referred to. point #1 Anybody can be countered, even big + strong + confident men. Probability changes with skills and attributes, but it is never zero. A MA student/ practitioner male or female thinking otherwise is making a mistake. Overestimating one's ability, e.g. walking through dark and dangerous places for bravo when there are other, safer solutions is simply stupid and in deed stubborn. Becoming such a stubborn person after a two days self-defence course is not a sole female characteristic. Any serious master/ trainer should warn students against such behaviour. point #2 Woman have certainly less chance to learn the great truth in . Although there is a lot of fighting in girls' locker rooms, it stops in teenage years when mothers, sisters and female teachers tell us that it is against our social role and (ultimate argument!) that boys find such girls unattractive. Learning MA and practicing a lot with advanced fellow-students and teachers helps a lot to follow this line of education shut down by the society. point #3 >I am constantly amazed at some women's stubborn refusal to believe >that there are both men and situations out there that they cannot >handle. With due respect, if these women are your students and they do not believe your arguments (which I have no doubt you have made), can not you just demonstrate them how wrong they are? I am sure you are able to do this without seriously hurting anything else than their pride :-) point #4 It has nothing to do with being able to win verbal sparring sessions. Arguments are social, a learnt, conscious behaviour which is put into action on intention. When you are under attack, these functions shut off and only deep imprinted body reactions (more "spinal" than "brain"?) reactions work. For one thing, it has never occurred me to throw a punch instead an other argument on a blockhead academic opponent. The other thing is, my man finds that as I train MA I argue less with him (no punches there either :-) but when I do argue, do pull out less "emotional arguments". good training days to you all, Eva ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: AnimalMac@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 23:03:15 EDT Subject: eskrima: Re: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #270 In a message dated 99-06-24 16:00:29 EDT, you write: << that y'all are forgetting one tiny but important thing........a criminal is a predator....plain and simple....as such, it is looking for a target that is considered easy and vulnerable..... >> From Animal I have a slightly different take on it...criminals are scavangers. Whether cockroaches, rats, coyotes or hyenas, they survive by living off the work of others. Usually through stealth and cunning. However, a scavanger can become predatory if it thinks it can get away with it. And indeed some scavangers are as nasty as predators. ------------------------------ From: Kaesa@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 23:20:22 EDT Subject: eskrima: Fighting Women Hello, I thought this would fit in nice with the latest threads. I saw a story on the Philly news today about 2 elderly women in Pensicola FL. It was late in the evening and an intruder entered into the women's house, and after finding one of the women (age 72) asleep on the couch, held a sharpened paint-scraper against her throat and demanded $50.00. Her screaming woke up her older sister (age 80) who appeared from the bedroom with a 15 inch machette and started swinging. The intruder took a look at her and headed for the hills. The women were not hurt in the least, and the perp. was caught about 10 minutes later hiding under his house (he was their next door neighbor) by the police/dog team. Joe Happy Birthday list, and thanks alot Ray. ------------------------------ From: Kilap@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 23:36:02 EDT Subject: eskrima: Re:Knife << But as far as our knife training enabling some to kill easier the answer is yes. It is also explained in the book. We are conditioning a response to a stimuli so that it becomes a reaction. There is no concious thought till afterwards. There are many examples of this in the book of soldiers saying they just fired without thinking,it was reflexive. Afterwards is when the guilt kicks in. >> Gun / knife/ emptyhand aside, what the Martial Artist is conditioned for is self defense, and hopefully neutralizing the threat, not a "kill". Soldiers / Marines are conditioned to do otherwise. The mission of the Marine Corps. Rifle Squad is to locate. close with and DESTROY the enemy by fire and maneuver or repel an enemy's assault by fire and close combat. Very different philosophies. That said, and like I said before, watering things down and you short change your students. Say they did find themselves in a jam outnumbered / out armed / some strung out crackfortified junkhead and they just didn't make it how'd you feel then? There's a flip side to the coin is all I'm trying to say here. E.g (flawed thinking) I'll teach this lock instead of something more debilitating (yes, perhaps even life threatening). - Teach'em both. It could save the good one's life. Regards, Travis ------------------------------ From: AnimalMac@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 23:52:53 EDT Subject: eskrima: Commitment to self From Animal Here's something that I want you folks to consider on this thread of women's self-defense. I am someone who has on several occassions had people try to play show and tell with my vital organs. Sometimes it was just random and I was in the wrong place time at the WAY wrong time (drive bys), other times it was in the line of duty and still other times it was because of something I had said (gee I thought it was funny) or did. However, the one time I was absolutely convinced that I was going down - flat out I am going to die - was facing a woman. We were working event security and our crew had screwed up on the location of a child in distress. My partner and I had run all over creation while our panicking crew called in conflicting locations. By the time we got there the kid had gone code blue - respritory arrest. An important thing to know is the little girl was with her grandparents. At the time I didn't know CPR and neither did anyone else. I handed my radio to my partner and said, "We're transporting to first aid" I scooped the girl up and we formed a flying wedge. We were blowing through the crowds when all of a sudden a 185 pound guard who was running next to me suddenly decided to go flying backwards. I looked over and realized Momma had arrived. Not only that she had casually backhanded a 6 foot guy and sent him flying without even thinking about it. He was incidental. The person she was going to take apart was me. Now this woman, couldn't have been more than 5'4" and with one look into her eyes I knew she was going to kill me. That's it, nothing I could do, my training wasn't going to save me, I was going to die. The absolute best I could hope for was to try to take her with me. Fortunately a part of my brain didnt freeze and I shouted "First Aid!" She suddenly realized I was on her side and we ran together. (Happy ending of this is as I ran, the pumping action of me carrying her, revived the little girl) Now, if a woman can do that about protecting her child, why can't she do that about protecting herself? I want you people to realize, that gender, size, pride, confidence or any other thing that people talk about as important, doesn't really matter. It is a person's commitment to him or herself that counts. That is what will deter a criminal or an attacker 90% of the time. And in the same vein, if the guy is still stupid enough to make a move, that commitment to oneself, the willingness to do whatever it takes to prevent him from harming you is what is going to allow you to react fast enough and hard enough to handle the situation. I'm not talking about macho bluster. Nor am I talking about becoming a kung fu killer. I am especially not talking about, "well if I got mad enough, I could." I am talking about the calm and rational decision to take a human life if necessary. And once that decision is made to be able to act without hesitation. I am talking about going from putting your groceries into your trunk to crushing the throat of the guy who just stuck a gun in your face. Because that is how fast it will happen. If you are calmly and rationally willing to do what it takes, then the odds are against you being attacked. Your body language, your voice and your posture all will reflect this decision. And the animals out there know that such a person is not safe to attack, because that person is willing to go to extremes just as fast as the violent person. Going violent hard and fast is no longer a guaranteed way to win for the dirt bag. The thing about it is, people who don't have this commitment are vulnerable to attack. Why not? If I'm a dirt bag who is willing to use violence to get what I want, I love someone one who has to work herself up through multible layers of moral indignation before she'd even consider striking me. Face it folks, a barking dog isn't biting. The would be violent person knows that. In regards to walking with confidence, unless you havepreveiously made this decision - and accepted that there will be horrible reprecussions if you ever have to act on it - I have only one thing to say "I got your confidence right here!" I will take you because I know I am willing to go farther and faster than you. Now here is the flip side, once you have made that decision it is like Massad Ayoob said "Kemotherapy is horrible, but when you are diagnosed with cancer, are you going to take it?" You betcha.Because the alternative is worse. However, knowing that the cure itself sucks, you're going to do anything in your power to prevent from ending up in a situation where you would be faced with chosing between the lesser of two evils. And you know what? When you know what violence is like, you can "Boldly Walk Wide" or even run like hell, without any feeling of loss of face or hurt pride. Why take Kemo, if you can avoid getting cancer in the first place? Face it we can't teach someone without this commitment to defend themselves. Not in a day, not in a decade. Because they will never have what it takes. On the other hand we can show them that it really is smarter not to gargle with uranium. The thing is until a person has seen the horrors of violence, most have no comprehension on how much damage it can do. Therefore they often arrogantly grab that cup of glowing mouthwash. If they do find they have a mouthful of toxic waste, spit it out and run! And if you have to run over the guys face to do it, so be it. ------------------------------ From: Wschpunyo@aol.com Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 00:28:15 EDT Subject: eskrima: Re: Wavemaster >I'm considering a couple of options as far as getting a heavy bag into my > 2nd-floor apartment - one I would use for hitting not only with my own body > parts but also sticks (rattan, of course). The Wavemaster seems to be the > most convenient solution for this. I bought a Wavemaster to work out with when I lived in an apartment. It held up very well to my stick work outs. Even thrusts and punyo shots. >The only draw back is if your art uses very low cut-kicks, to the >inside/outside of the calf, you cannot practice that kick--the base is very >hard. Take packing foam and duct tape it to the base. It's ugly but it allows you to practice low line kicks. >Your downstairs neighbors are going to >soon hate you. It makes *a lot* of noise when you kick it. True, it does make a lot of noise. It will actually bunny hop off the ground about an inch and smack down hard when you land solid shots. It also tends to slide around the floor quite a bit. >When filled properly, the base has 275 pounds of water inside. I >have NEVER been able to Thai-kick the Wavemaster over and I have tried. Actually I have kicked mine over quite a few times with Thai and reverse kicks. Probably being 6' 6" and 255lbs has something to do with it. The last time I was practicing full power Thai kicks I split the seam in the middle of the upper part of the base. Century offered to replace it without any hassles. Its not the best piece of equipment out there, but when you live in an apartment your choices are limited. Hope this helps, Bill wschpunyo@aol.com ------------------------------ From: digital-man@home.com Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 21:41:07 -0700 Subject: eskrima: Siete Pares Escrima / Labitan-Labor System I have have been studying Siete Pares Escrima / Labitan-Labor System, under Guru Lamberto "Bert" Labitan. Does anyone know of this system? And if so I would appreciate any comments. Jeffrey Rea ------------------------------ From: JYCHOW@au.oracle.com Date: 25 Jun 99 19:42:29 +1000 Subject: eskrima: re Erle Montaigue >On the Tai Chi front, anyone familiar with Erle Montaigue's system? I >mention him because he mentions Dan Inosanto and did study some Kali while >in the Phillipines. > Yes, I have keep an eye on Erle, on and off, since 1983. He was an ex profesional wrestler (those on TV shows, I think), and rock band singer and guitarist in England, and then learnt some Tai Chi from Master Chu of London (brother of Master Chu of Boston). Supposed to be the 1st and most senior student of master Chu. Also supposed to be the 1st Westerner to be awarded a Master Degree in Chinese martial arts from China itself. Erle passed thru Hong Kong and Philippines on his way down to live in Sydney (Australia) around 1979/1980. While in Hong Kong, he was supposed to have learnt the original style of Yang style of Yang Lu Chan (Cantonese Yong Lo Sim) from Yang Sau Chung, the eldest son of the famous Yang Cheng Fu. While passing thru Rizal Park in Manila, Erle chanced upon a 'group of young men attacking an old man'. Erle was nearly about to go to the man's = aid when he realised that the old chap was handling himself well and belting the young thugs. That man was Antonio 'Tatang' Illustrisimo and the 'thugs'= were his students. So, Erle, being the very enterprising person he is, interviewed Tatang Ilustrisimo and learnt a bit about some principles of Kali Ilustrisimo. Not a student of Tatang. I do not know which other Arnis= master he has interviewed while there. When Tony Diego came to Australia with Edgar Sulite, they popped in to se Erle, and I believe they gave an impromptu demo. Henry Jaime of the Balintawak group of Velez came to Sydney in the 1980s (1983?) and was introduced to Erle. Erle could also have learnt some Balintawak off him. (David Eke should know details of this). Erle, being resourceful, even managed to produce a video tape on 'Stick and = Knife Fighting - the Tai Chi Way' not long after that. I have not seen this tape. Erle is an astute interviewer, and he has the uncanny ability to learn the main (perhaps the most important) principles of a system by interviewing a master. He made extensive use of his talents from 1983 onwards. He has produced dozens of books and video tapes on Chinese Internal Martial Arts. = I know he has a web site somewhere. Erle has made many innovations and new contributions to Tai Chi, besides Old Yang Style and Tai Chi Stick and Knife Fighting. eg. The secretive and illustrious Tai Chi Dragon Prawn Boxing, Reptilian Curved C Back..etc After George Dillman came out with his pressure point stuff in Australia, Erle followed with his own revelations that Tai Chi is not about all those Yin/Yang, Pushing Hands, Fa Jing ......etc but the real secret art that Tai Chi really is, and even most masters or grandmasters did not know, is taht it is actually the art of Dim Mak (Tian Hsueh : atemi). The deadly art of pressure point. It is claimed that all the rest of Tai Chi goodies, while being good things, are just a mask to camouflage the fact that the real art of Tai Chi is actually Dim Mak in disguise. The old masters must = got the wrong thing? At least that is the impression I get from his books and magazine articles. Erle likes a bit of controversy once in a while and has definite ideas about certain famous Tai Chi masters. Notably singled out for severe criticisms is the Cheng Man Ching lineage. Professor Cheng and his students like GM Huang Shen Shen (of Sarawak, Malaysia) were supposed to have hopeless Tai Chi and can not fight. I not only heard it second hand, but directly from Erle's lips. (BTW, old William Chen of USA is also a student of Prof Cheng, so is the late GM Liang of USA). He is also a severe critic of any old Chinese master demonstrating Tai Chi tricks of bouncing students with little effort shown - as a big fraud. In all, Erle is a colourful character and very entertaining and has quite a lot to offer. Cheers! John Chow Melbourne Australia ------------------------------ From: "G. Michael Zimmer" Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 00:32:19 -0700 Subject: Re: eskrima: re sensitivity, Chi, Jing > JYCHOW@au.oracle.com wrote: > ..... However, these are squables and politics, and the winner will be the one > who has the best propaganda and promotion machine .... > What I can say definitely without insulting either party is that the ones in > China practiced very hard (China is still a tough place) and continued to this > day. Those outside (eg. South East Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan) had a very good > advantage in the beginning but did not make use of their advantage to practice > hard. This is the practice side. Hint: compare a student learning under a > mediocre master but who practises extremely hard, with a student learning under > a great master, but barely practising. Both are good and bad situation. > ... Too many practitioners in the West are too vocal in discussing Jings, and > criticising > other masters, without having truly and accurately understood the subject > matter and influencing too many other practitioners who read their theories. > .... > By the way, I thought the NeiJia list is composed of people outside of > China? > ..... Hi John, good points. I thought that I might bring you out of lurk mode! I don't understand the politics, but it seems rampant in the North American version of the internal arts. Slamming the skills of the other guys seems to be a universal game. On the other hand, there is some VERY flaky, very commercial, very successful, and non-martial Tai Chi Chuan over here, so that has drawn a lot of criticism by the real (TM) martial artists. Beyond that, there seem to be rivalries and jealousies galore. I don't pretend to follow it. I'm not on the Neija list and have not been for a couple of years. I got very tired of the incivility. coupled with the fact that I had no idea what they were talking about more often than not, nor who to pay attention to. There were people from Europe, Australia, and North America when I was subscribed, but I don't know how much web presence there is in China, nor how widespread the written understanding of English is. I only just recently purchased Mike Sigman's tapes. See http://www.neijia.com . I really have enjoyed them. I don't know if he has the definitive word on the history of the internal arts, who has the Tai Chi Chuan right stuff, or what have you, but he does put out a good video product, within the parameters he has set for himself; explaining the body mechanics. I realize that you think there is more, and he seems to as well, to some degree. I don't want to overstate that, and hope that I did not misinterpret him. I have taken an interest (perverse fascination?) over the last few months, of tracking his various internet "debates" with various parties. Do a query on http://www.deja.com/ and search for "meeting mit Mikey" on rec.martial-arts, for instance, and draw your own conclusions. By exploring Chen Tai Chi Chuan, I have come to understand Balintawak better, and can transfer some of the learning. I found that just doing the Chen silk-reeling exercises was of great benefit. Back to lurk mode, I'm spending too much time posting these days. Regards. G. Michael Zimmer ------------------------------ From: "Jeffrey Monaghan" Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 00:37:15 -0700 Subject: eskrima: Switching gears The best lesson I got on being prepared for physical violence was working in the ER and psycho ward, it was a real an eye opener for me. I've been in fights, most of them were the average bar fight. Some were pretty bad, but the person was out to hurt you not kill you, although you would get the face drag on the concrete or kicked in the mouth, etc. In the ER, people would be brought in high on PCP, Meth, etc or just crazy. Sometimes I would have to get them into the ER and it would be a hell of a fight all the way. Sometimes they would be very calm and then just flip out into a rage. I got to be very good at recognizing who was likely to flip out by their body language, etc. Being attacked by someone in a drug induced rage and the raw violence was much more than any bar fight... they wanted to maim or kill you because they had nothing let to lose or you were the person who was going to lock them up, etc. I've been bitten, eye gouged, kicked, punched, etc more times than I care to count. Most people don't know what it is like to have a suicidal-homicidal person coming at them with no fear of dying (or they want to die), and they just want to take you along with them because you are stopping them from their goal. Every once in a while I would come into contact with a true sociopath - absolutely no feeling of remorse for their actions, very calculating and dangerous. They wouldn't go through the stages or show any signs they would simply act. They would be calmly taking to you and then without missing a beat pull a knife or shiv and try to kill you acting as if they are simply carving the Thanksgiving turkey. It is very discerning to know that there are people out there that could crush you're head with a pipe wrench, then go have lunch with their mother and a priest and not even have a shred of guilt about what they just did. It is very hard to switch gears from calmly talking to fighting for you're life. It is even harder to switch gears into fighting mode when you are in what is normally a safe place like a restaurant at noon Vs a dark street in Hunter's Point (projects in San Francisco) where you would normally be very wary. Next time you are at MA class just walk up to someone (you know real well and would forgive you) and talk to them a bit. Then suddenly start attacking them with a (training) blade or something and see how long it takes for them to switch gears to defense mode. This doesn't even come close to really being attacked. I think even very well trained people have problems unless they come into contact with violence on a regular bases. I'm sorry this is such as long post but someone mentioned the four guys who tried to rape that girl and when she put up a fight they were going to shoot her and then rape her. It reminded me of some of the people I've come up against in the past. I wonder how common it is for someone who is normally very capable of defending themselves to get beaten, etc. because they failed to switch gears. I realize the goal of constant drilling is to react without thinking about it. But you still have to at some point take control of the situation instead of reacting to it. Even if that means consciously fighting your way over to get a piece of pipe to use as a weapon or run away. How do other member's of the list train for this? Or is it something that must be experienced before it comes ingrained? Jeff Monaghan ------------------------------ From: Tom Valesky Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 08:15:04 -0400 (EDT) Subject: eskrima: Re: Surviving Edged Weapons I've seen it. As Ray says, there's not much about knife tactics in there. It's more like one of those "Blood on the Highways" movies they show you in Driver's Ed; its intent is to impress upon the viewer that someone _can_ "bring a knife to a gunfight" and do serious mischief to the fellow with the gun. It's definitely worth seeing, though. If you're a teacher, it's probably a good thing to show to your students once they get to the "I'm a super ninja martial-arts master" phase. ============================================================================ Tom Valesky -- tvalesky@patriot.net -- http://www.patriot.net/users/tvalesky ------------------------------ From: Mike Casto Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 06:04:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: eskrima: To: Michael Kitchen << On the better side of things: I have increased my push-up/sit-up (for push-ups, I cross the 'bad' ankle on top of the good side) ladder work outs to 121 per set. Single stick: while it isn't the best form with one crutch under your left side, I have been banging the basic 8-count on the heavy bag. I miss the sinawali. >> Can you do your siniwalli on your knees? Or maybe kneeling on a pillow (put the pillow under the shin of your injured leg so your achilles doesn't have to be stretched or anything) and put your weight on your other foot? I don't know if these would work, but you might try ... at least you could do some siniwalli then :-) Mike _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: David Fulton Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 09:44:42 -0400 Subject: eskrima: Re: Wavemaster > >From: "Michael Kitchen" >Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 11:29:06 -0400 >Subject: eskrima: Re: Wavemaster > > >Paolo, > >I own and use the Wavemaster--the stand alone type that has the water-filled >base. I'll assume you are talking about the same, since I don't think many >landlords appreciate beefing up and attaching a hanging heavy bag to the >ceiling rafters. > >I really like mine. All of my family practice Muay Thai and Kali. Since no >one in my family eagerly volunteers to hold the Thai Pads for me, I use the >Wavemaster a lot. The ability to vary the (top) height from ~4'6" to 6' is >nice. The only draw back is if your art uses very low cut-kicks, to the >inside/outside of the calf, you cannot practice that kick--the base is very >hard. When filled properly, the base has 275 pounds of water inside. I >have NEVER been able to thai-kick the Wavemaster over and I have tried. >(I'm 6'1" and no one has ever said I was ....uhh... skinny) I suppose that >some kicks that are more of a heavy/fast push (spinning side kick?) might >topple the bag. I dunno... Me: I've tried to knock them over too, and have come pretty close a couple of times using thai kicks but then I have naturally large/strong legs. When I was younger, I had to buy my pants a waist size or two larger so they'd fit me in the thighs (boy was I excited about 'relaxed fit' jeans)....now my waist has mostly caught up with my legs ;^( >On the note of kicking the thing: Your downstairs neighbors are going to >soon hate you. It makes *a lot* of noise when you kick it. Mine is outside >on a covered cement patio. When it is being kicked, it sounds like someone >is in the house abusing a bed/mattress with a baseball bat--WHUMP! WHUMP! >I cannot begin to imagine how that sound energy would translate down through >to a first floor. (You may be practicing your arts more/sooner than you >ever expected.) > One draw back on the Wavemaster here. When that thing starts rocking, that base thumps the floor pretty hard and your down stairs neighbors may not appreciate it. The most annoying thing to me about the WM is that height adjustment feature. It's a great concept, poorly executed IMHO. I have to keep stopping, so I can readjust it because it keeps falling to the lowest position when I get rolling. HTH Dave Fulton dfulton@computerpackages.com "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie!'...'til you can find a big stick." ------------------------------ From: "Branwen Thomas" Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 11:26:50 -0230 Subject: eskrima: Crafty points... Crafty Dog and others: I understand what you are saying about the reality of confronting violence versus the controlled aggression of training etc. I also AGREE with it, as well as the idea of adapting to your surroundings; I disagree with many of the restrictions put upon women in Islamic countries, but I GUARANTEE you that I would wear hijab if I were to visit one of these countries. I may be a feisty kitty, but i ain't stupid ;) I know that what I "want" and what actually is are two extremely different things; what I meant is simply that women specifically shouldn't be told "walk the extra 5 minutes to avoid danger"...EVERYONE (men women cats dogs etc) should be told these things, and if you are still foolish enough to think "it won't happen to me because I am trained/brawny/dressed appropriately/crazy" etc, then I wish you luck. Again, it is the mindset we are taught, although the point about biological choice is also taken. Yes, women should be protected...so should MEN. I'd like to think that men and women both prefer to avoid trouble, although men may be more mentally/physically prepared to face it. When I first started training, I found it very difficult to hit people ie I would do a Pak Sao on my partner and then apologize if I slapped too hard (now of course, I'm slap-happy ;) Women, moreso than men, do need to be taught to realize that IF you are going to hit someone, you had better make it count. If you are not prepared to do that, then your training will not be as effective, and could even be dangerous. If you are attacked and fight back but cause little damage, the attacker may use even more force because of your response. My Sifu often tells the class that how you train a technique is how you will do it combat .I have thought about these possibilities A LOT, since one day it might happen to me. It's true, I might freeze no matter how long I've been training, but if I mentally prepare myself to hit as hard as I can when truly threatened, maybe I'll be able to do it. Here's hoping none of us ever has to find out if we can use what we've learned :) Jocelyne Roaring Girl * Purveyor Of Fine Books * Beater Of Bodhrans * Smiter Of The Wicked * * Owned By Angus, Most Elegant And Pleasing Of Cats * ------------------------------ From: Lonnie Pollard Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 10:04:49 -0400 Subject: eskrima: Unfortunate postponement of Garimot Summer camp Gat Puno Abon Baet's work schedule has unfortunately come into conflict with his plans for a Garimot Summer Camp. The camp will have to be postponed until a later date, not yet determined. I would like to thank those who expressed an interest in attending the camp. As soon as a new date begins to materialize, we will post the information. Thanks. Lonnie ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 07:58:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: eskrima: . ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V6 #272 **************************************** To unsubscribe from this digest, eskrima-digest, send the command: unsubscribe eskrima-digest -or- unsubscribe eskrima-digest your.old@address in the BODY of email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com, directory pub/eskrima/digests. All digest files have the suffix '.txt' Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Inayan System of Eskrima, Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.