Posted June 22nd, 2009
Two weeks ago I was up in Brattleboro, VT competing in the 2nd Traditional Chinese Sword League tournament. Before I continue, I have to thank our hosts and all the people that help make the tournament work. Sensei Donahue and his school, the Brattleboro School of Budo, were wonderful hosts. The traditional nature of the school along with the diligence of their practice makes the school a special place.
 This year, I prepared in a fairly different manner from last year. I believe the training paid off. As with last year, there was a round of pool matches to determine the seeding for the final tournament. As with last year, I won the pool matches, earning me a bye in the first round. Unlike last year, I did not get knocked on it in the semis. I faced a tough opponent who beat me in the pool round. Beating him, I faced my classmate Greg in the finals.
I truly enjoy my matches with Greg, or as he is known around the school, Mugen. For our pool match, I fought him left-handed with the thought that as we face each other so often, I’d come out and show him something different. That worked and work well. Our match was fairly short. For the finals, I got greedy and fought him using my left hand. I went to the well too many times, trying the same attack that works so well in the pool matches. He clocked right across the eyes after a few exchanges; he won outright. Continue reading "2nd Traditional Chinese Sword League Tournament Results"...
Posted June 8th, 2009
I suppose there’s a certain point in training. Or said differently, I think I have a point I reach when training. Distracted. Sore. But physically as ready as I am going to be.
I’m at that point with a few days before this latest Chinese swordsmanship tournament.
Could I in better shape? Yes.
Do I wish that my foot and shoulder weren’t tweaked? Yes.
Could I practice more? Yes… but I fear with diminishing returns.
Muscle memory accounts for a lot. You’ve got to train the basics into the bones, by passing the brain. Deflections, counter-cuts, basic cuts, stepping – all of it has to be trained into the bones so that you can execute anything and any time.
Until this sort of training isn’t done unquestioningly then you can fight practice match after practice match and not get a bit better. You’ll be stuck thinking about what to do as supposed to doing it.
But, at a certain point, that training ceases to return the same kind of gains as it once did.
And that’s when the training gets much much harder. It becomes all mental.
I’ve been playing my opponents in my head now for a few days. Thinking about what they like to do and considering what my response will be. Thinking about what people who I’ve never faced will likely do and what my responses would be. Continue reading "On training"...
Posted June 16th, 2008
Last week a friend of mine from the tai chi school, William Nicholson, dropped dead. He was at the school joking with other students when he turned his head and fell to the floor. He died leaving his wife and two daughters.
I don’t think that you ever fully appreciate the people around you until they are no longer there. William had an amazing positive spirit and great sense of humor. Work was secondary to him. Although he was a successful lawyer, work was merely a means to an end and not an end in and of itself. He was very active in the community. He took an active role with his eldest daughter’s field hockey team. He made sure if someone around him needed help that he found a way to help.
In short, he was a man I could have learned a lot more from.Big Willy, as he was known at Great River, was an active martial artist. He had been studying taijiquan for nearly fifteen years. He was at the school usually twice a week. He and I roomed together in Estonia during one of our festivals there. Most recently, he was the head judge at the Traditional Chinese Sword League’s First Tournament. He also helped manage the school’s finances. He will be sorely missed. Continue reading "Do not wait – In memory of William Nicholson"...
Posted May 19th, 2008
Just wanted to post a quick follow-up on the Chinese Traditional Sword League tournament. As an event, it went really well. We have over a hundred and fifty people in the audience which was great. The organizers were awesome; in fact, everyone I met in Bozeman just exuded warmth and generosity. Great people all around.
So how did I fair? I won the pool bouts, which were used to determine the seeding. I won out with a 4 and 2 record. I got a bye into the semi-finals. I lost in the semis to the guy who placed second. All in all, a decent showing all things considered.
Can’t wait until the next one.
Until the videos and professional pictures are out – you can see my shots here.
Posted April 27th, 2008
I practice taijiquan (tai chi chuan) and have for some years now. I had always been interested in Taoism and (incorrectly) believed that there was a connection between Taoism and taiji. Coming out of university, with a Taoism class fueling my interests, I found myself at the Great River Taoist Center here in DC. And at GRTC I learn that taiji was a true martial art and not some New Age crystal infused pajama festival. The first few classes kicked my ass, and I was hooked.
My teacher, Scott Rodell, is an internationally renowned swordsman and focused on revitalizing the sword practice. This includes not only the Yang family sword forms but also actual cutting and fighting. I’ve been practicing these sword forms for a few years now.
And with that practice has brought pay off, or at least the opportunity to test my stuff out against other practitioners in a judged competition. In two weeks, I’ll be headed out to Bozeman to compete at the Traditional Chinese Sword League’s first full-contact competition. Needless to say juggling my day job, which rarely stays contained to just daylight hours, and the regular tasks and diversions that fill up time, I have found it harder than I expected to properly train for this competition. I can swing a stick with the best of them, but knowing some of the competitors, especially the bruisers coming from the Great River branch in Estonia, I am concerned. The fact that the rules allows for full contact at full speed isn’t so worrisome. It’s more the case that I really really don’t want to get eliminated in the first round. Guess we’ll see how it goes. Continue reading "Traditional Chinese Sword League: The Entire Body is a Target"...
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