Author Topic: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny  (Read 10875 times)

Guard Dog

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"DOG RYAN GRUHN" & TITAN FITNESS ARE PROUD TO PRESENT:

GURO MARC "CRAFTY DOG" DENNY OF DOG BROTHERS FOR A TWO DAY SEMINAR


WHEN: MARCH 31ST - APRIL 1ST 2007
WHERE: TITAN FITNESS IN STATE COLLEGE, PA

MORE TO BE POSTED SOON . . .

guro@titanfitness.com
http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers

« Last Edit: April 01, 2007, 10:03:26 PM by Crafty_Dog »
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Guard Dog

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2006, 06:53:40 PM »
Here is the flyer:

http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers/flyer.pdf

Registration information will be posted soon.


« Last Edit: December 06, 2006, 06:55:51 PM by ryangruhn »
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Guard Dog

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2006, 01:33:10 PM »
Registration is now available!

http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers/registration.htm

This seminar will fill up fast folks!  Due of space limitations and the added room needed to use sticks there will be a limit to the number of seminar attendees!  I cannot guarantee any spots!

Gruhn
« Last Edit: December 07, 2006, 01:34:49 PM by ryangruhn »
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

JAYCE

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2006, 03:33:15 PM »
I just wanted to check before registering. Do I need to be a certain skill level to attend? What equipment should I be sure to bring? As of now I have no experience but by March I should have some knowledge but will still be very inexperienced.

                                                                                                                 Jason

Guard Dog

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2006, 05:18:08 PM »
No previous skills needed.  I will have my students and instructors there for help if anyone should get lost.  BTW everyone we are about 75% full with this seminar and I am expecting a good amount of registrations to come in now that we are going into the new year.  If you plan on attending secure your spot!

http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers/registration.htm

Gruhn
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Crafty_Dog

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ttt

Guard Dog

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Thanks for bringing this back up Crafty, it slipped off my radar!

Less than a month left to get the discounted rate on this seminar everyone!  February 1st the price is bumped up.  We are 85% full right now.

Gruhn
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Guard Dog

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2007, 09:55:52 PM »
My apologizes for not posting a downloadable registration form for people to mail in.  It has been brought to my attention and I have done so; you can download it here: http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers/registration.pdf .  You can pay by check, money order or credit card by filling out and mailing in this form.  Please understand that I need to receive registration forms by March 15th to secure a spot.  It is recommended that you register via the web to gain instant security for your spot.  An email confirmation will be sent once your payment has been processed.  For further information please visit the site @ http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers .

Woof!

Dog Ryan Gruhn
« Last Edit: February 19, 2007, 09:38:35 AM by ryangruhn »
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Jeff Gentry

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2007, 05:50:38 AM »
Hey who is that young guy in the picture?  :-o

Jeff

Usque Ad Finem

Crafty_Dog

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Re: Dog Brothers East Cost Seminar featuring Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2007, 07:33:32 AM »
Hah!

That picture is from 1998 or 1999 IIRC which would make me 46 or 47.  The dog is "Moro/Morro", who was my second Akita.   I was still dyeing my hair back then, so there is no grey  :lol:  The foto is from the shoot that Martial Arts Illustrated did for what turned out to be my first cover shot. 


PS:  Regarding the name "Moro".  Several years after I had named him I had some Filipinos tell me that despite my honorable intentions, the dog's name was offensive.  "What about the MILF (the Moro Islamic Liberation Front)?" I asked-- rather reasonablyI thought.  But this rejoinder was deemd insufficient, so to get along I renamed him "Morro", after Morro Bay on the California coast and Morro never knew the difference.

Guard Dog

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95% FULL!  Unfortunately it does not look like we will be accepting any "Day Of" registrations as previously anticipated folks.  If you have not all ready, register ASAP and if we are full before your registration gets to me, I will put you on the waiting list.

http://www.titanfitness.com/dogbrothers/registration.htm 

Woof!

Dog Ryan Gruhn
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Crafty_Dog

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Woof All:

Over on the DBMA Association forum Dog Ryan shared a clip of his drumming-- he's very good!  Apparently he played professionally for some years and so to provide music for the training he will be providing a djembe drum for me to back him on his.  This could be amusing , , ,  :lol:

The Adventure continues,
Guro Crafty

Guard Dog

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Don't let Crafty full you guys, he is no slouch on the skins either!  I'm much looking forward to playing drums with you Crafty.  If you can remember back to my first gathering this was something I really wanted to do but I think my nerves took over that day and I never got the chance.  :wink: 

O and acchhhhem, there are still a few spots open for the seminar!

Woof!

Gruhn
Ryan “Guard Dog” Gruhn
Guro / DBMAA Business Director
Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association
"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style”
ryan@dogbrothers.com | www.dogbrothers.com

Crafty_Dog

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Woof All:

Thanks to Dog Ryan and Tiffany for putting together a fine weekend.  I had a great time with a big and diverse group.

The Adventure continues,
Guro Crafty

mako

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Greetings all,
Just wanted to comment on this seminar, and thank Guro Crafy and Guro Ryan (along with all others who helped) for a great time.

 I have VERY limited experience with FMA's,  I attended this to try to pick up some functional footwork, and was very happy with what I came away with! Guro Crafty and Guro Ryan were very helpful and patient in their teaching.The seminar site was great and we were lucky enough to have dinner with them on Saturday night. This was truly a very thought provoking and informative experience.

I also wanted to comment on the expereince as an "outsider". I really felt the "tribe" vibe that is so often talked about when refering to the Dog Brothers. No egos, everyone interested in learning, practical, functional material, friendly participants, the list goes on. Those involved in this seminar should be commended on a great display of true "martial arts" attitude.
Peace,
Mark

Crafty_Dog

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Two reviews of this seminar from the Warrior Talk forum:
======================

My background: approximately 2 years of JKD style training, to include Kali, Silat, Boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ. I know a little bit of everything, but am certainly not an expert in anything.

My familiarity with Guro Marc Denny's material, prior to attending this seminar, was from his "Die Less Often" DVD, as well as reading things he had posted and watching videos on the Dog Brothers site.

Titan Fitness was an excellent facility for the seminar. They have considerable amounts of floor space, including a lot of mat space, which is helpful for any evolutions that involve going to the ground. They were also very close to lodging and multiple eateries. (These, at least for me, are important considerations!)

Guro Denny, aka "Crafty," started the seminar on time at 10:00am, Saturday morning. We began with a fun warmup, which Crafty referred to as a "prison yard riot." It got everybody moving and having fun at the same time, which is often a difficult thing to do. After that we did some stretches and moved right in to the instructional block of material.

Crafty started us out with some very basic footwork drills, but obviously footwork is the key to fighting, and I appreciate that greatly. All of Crafty's footwork is straight from Kali/Silat paradigms, however he has a different perspective on it. Further, he's used a different naming convention more in keeping with the Dog Brothers mentality. Instead of calling things "triangles," they're called variants of "teeth." Additionally he introduced the "Kali Fence."

We built upon the initial footwork drills, and as the instruction continued, it became apparent that what Crafty was offering was an "entry system." The remainder of the seminar confirmed this hunch. Crafty's specialty, at least during this block of instruction, was getting from the outside range and into real engagement distance. Crafty referred to it as "filling in the vowels in the alphabet." He said that most styles teach you what do to once you've gone hands on, but many of them fall down when it comes to closing the gap.

Crafty is a fan of taking a later lunch, and the first day we didn't break for a meal until 1:00pm. For those of you who eat every few hours, I recommend you bring a protein bar and water or similar. His instruction style and scheduling is a bit more informal than some other seminar instructors, so be prepared for a more "flexible" schedule. Based on what I saw, you may have regular breaks, or not. You will likely end each day closer to 5:30pm than the scheduled 4:00pm. I was fine with this, but some people don't like that sort of schedule. You should simply know about it and come prepared.

During the afternoon of the first day, Crafty went into his "Die Less Often" material. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a system to deal with very agressive knife attacks on the forehand line. What Crafty taught during this phase was exactly what you get in his DVD. He went into the "Dog Catcher," as well as all of the nuances that make or break this technique.

The beginning of the second day was more of the DLO material, and then some of what Crafty calls Kali Tudo, or the implementation of Kali and Silat principles into armed and unarmed fighting.

As the day progressed, we started working with stick fighting paradigms. Once again, Crafty was teaching entries, this time with single and double stick. Prior to this point, everything had been quite simple, and, as near as I could tell, everybody in the seminar had no problems grasping what Crafty was teaching. When the sticks came out, however, things changed quite a bit.

While the stick paradigms that Crafty was teaching were still basic, many of the seminar attendees had very little experience with singel or double stick, and so they were having problems. I'm left to conclude that a seminar is, quite possibly, the worst place to try and pick up single or double stick.

Overall I had a great time at the seminar. Crafty is very engaging, and more than willing to entertain questions about any aspect of his instruction, training, past, philosophies, etc. He continually mentions and gives credit to other instructors from which he has learned, most especially Guro Dan Inosanto.

Throughout his instruction he is actively discussing the problems he's trying to deal with, as well as jokingly referring to some of the techniques that he plays with: "oh, that doesn't work, does it?" He is very reality based, and he talks about the differences between the ring and reality quite a bit.

I enjoyed the seminar and would highly recommend it. One of the things I really appreciate about what Crafty teaches is the fact that you can plug it in to just about any other martial art and make it work. He has spent a considerable amount of time researching and playing with the area that I feel many martial arts don't deal with so well, and I believe with a bit of practice, the things I learned from Guro Crafty will be a part of my standard repetoire from here on out.


======================

Really good overview of the seminar. I'm going to add my two cents or so, from a rather different perspective.
The first time I trained with Crafty is pushing 11 or 12 years ago- his seminar format (and content) has evolved quite a bit over that time. I would guess that I see Crafty something around every two years (though that will likely as east coast appearances are on the rise) so there is definately an evolution in progress. 10+ years ago the emphasis was on the stick and on preparing for and then playing "real contact;" an early model impact based force on force if you will. If I had to sum up "Seminar Crafty" circa 1995 or 6 it would be "here are some variables you must plug into whatever you do if it is going to work under pressure."

Moving forward, today's Crafty is teaching a very coherent series of modules which dovetail nicely (one underlying theme for the weekend was similarity of footwork grids and final positions relative to the opponent regardless of the particular tool being used.

There was also a very real sense of the material being developed beyond simple fight strategies and pressure-testing. Crafty has a very well-developed theory of violence and agression and weaves this through the various blocks of instruction. A very refreshing part of this was the frequent warning that America is a gun culture, and that one is as likely to be dealing with a firearm as any other type of weapon.

The only real negative in Jayman's review was the observation that quite a few folks had some degree of difficulty with the stick material. This certainly was the case, although I think part of the difficulty may have been that, while Crafty is known as a stick teacher, this event was not so much a stick seminar. Perhaps is the sticks had come out early on day one rather than late on day two there might have been less brain fade...on the other hand I really enjoyed the new material.

As anyone who reads his posts knows Crafty is a pretty analytic fellow- his seminars are honestly worth it just for the thoughts and ideas one can pick up. His material is evolving and growing, though he does always make a great effort to give credit to his sources, teachers, and inspirations. This was the first time I had seen him since he really started collaborating with Gabe- I think the exchange of ideas is working well for both men.

The short conclusion- if Crafty isn't on your short list of people to train with you should re-think that list.