Grateful for a fine day in the glow of the aftermath of the DB Gathering and my seminar.

Crafty Dog

Registered Fighters are:

Benjamin "Lonely Dog" Rittiner
Ivan "Kuma Dog" Reboli
Mat "Boo Dog" Booe
Stefan "Cro Dog" Kostanjevec
Tinu "3D Dog" Blatter

Andreas "C-Flexi Dog" Hommel
Colin "C-Point Dog" Stewart
Lynn "C-Psycho Bitch" Brown
Oskar "C- Spider Dog" Bernal
Peter "C-Grumpy Dog" Fray
Thomas "C-Sword Dog” Rickert
Tomek "C-Tank Dog" Jurkiewicz
Torben "C-Old Dog" Lorenian

"Dog" Abu Dayyeh
"Dog" Daniel Budar
"Dog" Detlef Thiem
"Dog" Gerry Casey
"Dog" Heiko Zauske
"Dog" Kai Schilling
"Dog" Pawel Imiela
"Dog" Shanu Singh
"Dog" Stefan Ramsauer
"Dog" Thorsten Picker

Alexander König
Andraz Bole
Arianna Allorte
Axel Datschun
Benjamin Schlieper
Chris Hawker
Christine Martell
Damian Dziengo
David Lowndes
Denis Kachelmus
Filippo Pani
Francisco Tarrafeta Rueda
Ivan Pirozhkov
Josef Temml
Kai Schwahn
Kai Spintig
Kostas Tountas
Marco Felici
Monika Radwańska
Ole Leinz
Oliver Zaum
Rudolf Pollak
Rodolfo Manzano Diaz
Sigi Fischer
Thomas Holtmann
Timo Planke
Tobias Szuwart
Tristan Carmona
Wiesław Hapke

http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en/dog-brothers/gathering.php

wuff !!
Lonely Dog

A big “wuff” to all Fighters, Group Leaders, and DBMA members

I changed the plan, and will do now anyway a small "Training Camp" before the Euro Gathering 2010, namely on Wednesday and Thursday (11. + 12. august).

Inspired by Colin “c-Point Dog” and his idea to classify fighter-types for teaching and coaching. I came up with the idea to make a simple 4-type category:  - Stalker, Counter, Attacker, Mobility -
and to put these 4 fighters types in the context with the 4 elements:  - Earth, Water, Fire, Air -
It’s just a try to have a simple matrix to understand fighters and fight-dynamics better. I know that all these theory-models cannot be perfect, and that these archetypes are rare subsistent. Of course personalities (and fighters) are almost always a blend of different elements/types. Nevertheless this 4 archetype model is very useful to understand your adversary and yourself in a fight…

So the plan for the mini training camp is, to spend 90 minutes for each fighters type / element.

The Camp schedule:
Wednesday: 9.30 – 11.00 (1st Type),  17.00 – 18.30 (2nd Type)
Thursday: 9.30 – 11.00 (3rd Type),  17.00 – 18.30 (4th Type)

(beside of this official training I’m sure that you will find plenty of guys who are willing to train a bit during the day)

The training camp fee is: 100 sfr  (70 euro)

The idea is to stay and train at the campsite "Eichholz" www.campingeichholz.ch
The campsite is in my opinion the best possible accommodation to stay for, not just  that it's very close to the gathering / seminar location but also gives the best possibility to meet the other guys and to do some training the days before.

The costs for the campsite will be around 18 sfr (12 euro) per day.


Schedule for the Camp, Gathering, and Seminar:

Tuesday, 10. august
   - arrival at the campsite "Eichholz"

Wednesday & Thursday, 11. + 12. august
   - training camp (each day 2 training sessions: 9.30-11.00 / 17.00.18.30)

Friday, 13. august
   - tribal gathering, 14.00

Saturday, 14. august
   - gathering 14.00

Sunday, 15. august
   - seminar with Guro “Crafty Dog”, 11.00 - 17.00


If you have interest to do some private lessons  with Guro Marc "Crafty Dog"  between 11. – 16. August, please let me know so I can organize them.

Please register until 18. July!!


If you have any questions, please let me know.
I’m very exited to see many of you again.

Wuff
Benjamin “Lonely Dog” Rittiner

7: Tinu "c - 3D Dog"

A friendly bark,
Mit freundschaftlichem Bellen,
Avec amical aboyer,
Con amichevole abbaiare,
Con amistoso ladrar,

I am very pleased and excited to host together with Guro “Crafty Dog” our annual “Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack” in Europe.

Please visit: http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en/dog-brothers/gathering.php to get more information, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to write me an e-mail.

Wuff
Guro Benjamin "Lonely Dog"

for me only these dates will work… any date before or after these dates will be difficult.

April 24-25
May 1-2
May 8-9

moreover it’s important for me and “c-3d dog” to know the date as soon as possible, because the holidays have to be planed very soon (work wise…)

Lonely Dog

all 3 dates are fine with me:

April 24-25
May 1-2
May 8-9

A date before or after these dates will be difficult

Lonely Dog

sounds like a awesome trainingcamp. bummer that i'm not able to make it.

would be cool if those 3 great teachers could again a seminar together in 2010. i would be more than glad to attend.....

wuff
benjamin "lonely dog"

wuff to all

i'm glad that we have already quite a big fighter list. if you want to have to look at it:

http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en/dog-brothers/gathering.php

benjamin "lonely dog"

As I have already told everyone the date for this years gathering had to  be shifted to the 24th and 25th of July.

Unfortunately this change of the date caused problems for Guro Marc "Crafty Dog". For him it is not possible to shift his already planned family vacation.
I know that for many this will be a great disappointment. I also greatly regret that he can not be there this year.
However, I will try my best to represent the "council of Elders at the gathering.

The seminar on Sunday  will also happen as planned.  I will give my best to represent Guro "Crafty Dog".
In the coming days I will send further information concerning the seminar on Sunday.

Of course the gathering this year will not be the same without Guro Marc's presence but I still hope that many from you will experience an unforgettable weekend.

Wuff
Guro Benjamin “Lonely Dog”

I'm pleased to announce one more time the:
European “Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack” 2009

Schedule:
Friday 24. July, 14:00  “Tribal Gathering”
Saturday 25. July, 14:00  “Open Gathering”
(Sunday 26. July Seminar)

Location:
Turnhalle Schönau, Lindenauweg 1, 3007 Bern, Schweiz

Registration:
FIGHTERS MUST PRE-REGISTER, even if they have fought before. The Fighter's registration form must be filled out and sent to me until 10. July. For registration and the registration-form please contact me at: lonelydog@dogbrothers.ch

Only those who are pre-registered are allowed to fight. You are not registered until your name appears on the list of registered fighters on the website!

I’m looking forward to have one more time a “DB Gathering of the Pack” in Europe! And would be glad to see many of you again.

Wuff
Guro Benjamin “Lonely Dog”

wuff, wuff everybody

this are important news considering the euro gathering 2009!

unfortunately i had to change the date, because it was not possible to hold the event at the planned date.
the gathering will take place at a very nice location just next to our river. the great thing is also that just 5 min walking distance there is a camping place. what gives the fighter a cheap accomodation possibility.

unfortunately at the planned date there is also a big open air music event and the whole camping is booked.

so i saw me forced to move the event one week afterwards. the new date is:

- tribal gathering 24. july 2009
- open gathering 25. july 2009
- seminar with guro "crafty dog" 26. july 2009

i hope the new date will work for you as well!

wuff
benjamin "lonely dog"

Wuff

I know it took me a while, but the photos from the Tribal Swiss Gathering and the European Gathering 2008 are now ready to watch on my website: http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en/multimedia.php

Lonely Dog

The Euro Gathering will be in July. We will fight again on 2 days. Day 1 will be a Tribal Gathering and day 2 the open Gathering. And on day 3 there will be as every year a Seminar with Guro "Crafty Dog"
The dates are:

Friday 17. july "Tribal"
Saturday 18. july "Open Gathering"
Sunday 19. july "Crafty" Seminar

Wuff
Lonely Dog

Thanks, the "Pak" list is updated... 

Not to forget:
“Dog” Gerry Casey
… you deserved it, "C-Scotty Dog" can be proud of you.

I updated the “Pack” list… http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en/dog-brothers/the-pack.php?lang=EN  ... wow 155 dogs & cats.

“Lonely Dog”

We forgot to put "Dog" Fabian Tillmanns to the list.

I'm very proud and honored to be the host for this great 2 day Gathering. Everybody fought with spirit and skill. It's a pleasure to welcome the new "Dogs" to the Tribe. And I'm happy to have a bunch of new "Candidate Dog Brothers"....

Wuff
Lonely Dog

At the moment we have already 32 registered fighters...

http://www.dogbrothers.ch/pages/en.php?lang=EN

Hi Matt

There are 2 hotels in Stettlen:
http://www.linde-stettlen.ch/  &  http://www.ziegelhuesi.ch/ 
If you looking for a cheaper possibility, here some ideas in Bern. (there is a Train conection between Bern – Stettlen, about 15 min.)
http://www.marthahaus.ch/e/preise.html ,  http://www.etaphotel.com/etaphotel/index.html  or  www.bernbackpackers.com/index.htm

If you need more Informations: www.bernetourism.ch

Wuff
Benjamin “Lonely Dog”

Wuff Sled Dog:

Guro Crafty and I first came up with the idea to have a fighting day to prepare our fighters for the first Euro "Dog Brothers Open Gathering" so that they would be ready when other groups arrived to have a good, clear, strong standard of the Dog Brother way, not only in fighting skill, but in comportment and values.   We thought to have a strong and seasoned group from day one to be important to prevent the risk of immature groups coming in with lower consciousness agendas.

Since then we have continued it because it is nice to have a day where the people we train and the people we know well can explore without a big crowd and "strangers".

To be precise, the "Dog Brothers Closed Door Gathering" is for members of the Dog Brothers Tribe, DBMAA members, Training Group members, and very good friends".  It is similar to the idea of the "Tribal Gathering" that was just held two weeks ago for three days in Acu Canyon and Temecula in which you inspired us all.

Wuff
Lonely Dog

Gathering Report


We find ourselves in a gymnasium in Bern, Switzerland. 38 fighters are listening to the magic words of Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny, with which he always starts a Gathering: "No judges, no referees, no trophies. One rule only: Be friends at the end of the day! This means no one should spend the night in the hospital, and everyone should leave with the IQ that they came with."

It’s the European “Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack”. Fighters came from Germany, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Portugal and USA. A lot of the faces were already known from the first gathering, on the other hand it was nice to see several fighters for the first time.

This time the gymnasium was smaller than at the last gathering.  There was a large audience again this year, which due to the smaller gym were able to be much closer to the fights. Thanks to the superb organization by Benjamin “Lonely Dog” Rittiner and his team the technical course of the gathering was flawless.

At this gathering the fighters decided not to do warm up rounds with knives. For this reason it was truly an event of stickfighting only. Most of the fights were done with single sticks but there were also a few double stick fights. It would be very interesting if next year some exotic weapons like Nunchaku, Tonfa, etc. would be used.

Several fights were held on a technically high level.  Also the fights were more intensive than at the last gathering and it was obvious that the fighters were well prepared for this event. It was also pleasing to see the increasing number of female fighters and hopefully this trend will continue in the future.

All these details wound up causing an unbelievable atmosphere that everyone in the gym felt so that even days later people spoke enthusiastically about the fights.

As the tradition goes the fighters meet after the gathering for the fighters dinner. Just as last year the atmosphere was great. Especially in the hours right after the fights when everyone was still caught in the atmosphere of the experience and the high adrenalin levels, lots of interesting discussions were to be found. And just as last year one of the highlights was the announcement of the new “Members of the Tribe”:


Ivan “Kuma Dog” Rebli achieved the well earned “Dog Brother” Status.

Marlon, Stefan and Marcus were proposed as “Candidate Dog Brothers”
Marlon “C-Red Dog” Höss-Böttger
Stefan “C-Cro Dog” Konstanjevec
Marcus “C-? Dog” Schillinger

And the following fighters were added to the Tribe:

“Dog” Christian Eckert
“Dog” Daniel Budar
“Dog” Jiri Söderblom
“Dog” Oskar Bernal
“Dog” Lars Christie
“Dog” Riccardo Bassani
“Dog” Roberto Cereda
“Dog” Michele Gemini
“Cat” Lynn Brown

All in all the European “Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack” 2007 was a very exciting and successful event. And we look with anticipation to the next gathering in 2008.

Wuff
Guro Benjamin “Lonely Dog” Rittiner

Wuff all

I'm glad to announce that we have already 40 fighters.
If you want to have a look at the registered fighters list: http://www.mypage.bluewindow.ch/lonely72/mainE.html

Lonely Dog

A heartly wuff
 
Once again I'm happy to announce the annual European "Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack" on Saturday 29.September.

And I'm glad also to announce the annual seminar with Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny (Head Instructor of DBMA), on Sunday 30.September. This is one of the very few seminars that Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny gives in Europe! So don’t miss the opportunity...

This time I will host the seminar in Stettlen, a nice little village close to Bern. Here some more infos:

Location: Turnhalle Bleiche / Bleichestrasse 1 / 3066 Stettlen (close to Bern)

Schedule: Saturday 16.00 (DB-Gathering)  /  Sunday 12.00 - 18.00 ("Crafty"-Seminar)

Seminar Costs: 100 sFr  /  65 Euro

Registration: 0041 79 341 34 84 / lonelydog@bluewin.ch

If you have interest in fighting you have to preregister until 14.September. Please send me an e-mail and I will send you the form.

I'm looking to this weekend...
Wuff
Guro Benjamin "Lonely Dog"

P.S.
On my homepage I listed the at the moment registered fighters www.dogbrothers.ch

 

we have 15 registered fighters already

wuff
lonely

Woof All:

Top Dog and I are now in Bern  as is the camera crew from Spike.

The Adventure continues,
Crafty Dog

Wuff all

I'm happy to tell that we have more registered fighters. To have an actual fighters list please have a look at my site: http://www.mypage.bluewindow.ch/lonely72/mainE.html

Lonely Dog

I am sorry to read about the passing of Master Sonny Umpad. I was glad to meet him at the last FMA festival in Germany. I was very impressed.

I'm looking forward to see Grandfathers Speak Vol. 2. To know this extraordinary man a bit more.   

With deep respect,

Benjamin "Lonely Dog"

Wuff all

First I would like to thanks Marc for this great article. Perfect introduction to the first "Dog Brothers Gathering of the pack" outside of the U.S.
Also I would like to express my thanks to his kind words about my person. I feel his deep confidence in me. And I'm really happy to be part of all this.

The last years I worked hard to help DBMA growing in Europe. So to have a "DB Gathering" here in Europe it's really an important step. I feel that there is a lot of interest in this regard. For sure it will help DBMA practitioners who are willing to fight. I'm also glad to see that a lot good people from other FMA communities and even other martial arts have interest to participate at a "Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack".

Through conversations with some of the participants after my seminars, I thoroughly saw a demand and wish to make the experience to fight at an "DB Gathering". Most people I had the pleasure to meet were really openminded and had the right attitude for such an event. And I'm pretty much confident that we will have a great energy and spirit on this weekend. 

I'm also looking forward to the seminar on saturday. I'm really glad to have Marc and Eric together at the seminar teaching. It's really sad that Arlan is not able to make it, but I will do my best to fill this gap with my presence.

If somebody has questions or need more informations, please contact me without hesitation.

Wuff
Benjamin "Lonely Dog"

Wuff all

I'm very glad that DBMA in Europe is growing. And I'm very happy that also concidering the Dog Brothers and the "Gathering of the Pack" it's moving forward in Europe. For the moment the tribe in Europe is quite small ("Lonely Dog", Ivan "C-Kuma Dog" Reboli, "Dog" Andrea Solimei, "Dog" Kris Dunnage) but I'm sure it will change......

I'm working hard on spread DBMA in Europe. And I'm happy to see that it's growing. To have Tomek Jurkiewicz in Poland it's a good thing. He is a very quiet person and even if we have problems with the communication (he doesn't speak english so much) we understand each other.
I was very impressed when he and some of his students came the first time. They drove something about 18 hours by car, trained for the weekend and just had to leave after the training back to Poland to work on monday....  I meet him now 3 times and I saw a great progress in his movements. I think he fought well on the CD-Gathering. Even he is not the tallest he is very strong and fights with spirit.

Wuff
Lonely

Hi Guro Marc

I really like the picture with you and your son Conrad. It seems you had a lot of fun while the shooting....

I'm looking forward to see you all very soon.

Wuff
Benjamin "Lonely Dog"