Dog Brothers Public Forum

As a fun, free, Haloween-themed exercise, I will be teaching a workshop on Halloween night at my school in Pomona, California on the very topic suggested in the subject line of this thread: using the FMA's to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Some people get very uptight about the Pagan origins of Halloween. I have always considered it a secular holiday, and would have no problem with the name being changed to “The Annual, Secular Scary Movie/Story Celebration". The topic of the workshop is not intended to be offensive; it is the martial arts equivalent of creative writing.

The workshop will start at 5:30 PM and last until 7 PM, which is hopefully early enough that participants can still trick-or-treat or get home to hand out candy afterwards. You are welcome to wear regular street clothes, loose-fitting workout clothes, or even your Halloween costume. Anyone may attend, so long as they fill out a liability wavier (or have one executed in their name if they are a minor); the workshop will be recorded and turned into one of my first commercially available DVD's.

For those thinking about attending with children, there will be an emphasis on blade work. I leave it up to parents to decide how young is too young, in the same manner that a parent has to make a decision about the appropriate age at which to introduce any reality/scenario training to his/her child.

My school is located at:
3900 Valley Blvd., Suite B.
Pomona, CA 91768

in the Big Valley Industrial Complex, next door to The Sugar Rush Cafe

If you have further questions, please visit my Website

http://stoopsma.com

or send me an E-mail

bryan@stoopsma.com

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you.

GD

Forgive me if this is not the proper place for this, but wasn't this the guy who trained Kimo and then danced in the octagon with him when Royce Gracie decided not to continue after his fight with Kimo in UFC III?

I also seem to remember this guy being involved in a UFC fight before groin shots were illegal during which someone was repeatedly punched in the groin. I can't remember if this guy was on the receiving end or the giving end, so to speak.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44867359?GT1=43001#.TpUcIxx8SzY

Grateful to have gotten, and gotten over my first cold of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Had a moment of pure bliss tonight teaching martial arts in my new space. Only half of my mats were set up but we were finally able to safely cover some panuntukan/Silat style throws. One of my students said something like "I was completely exhausted before I got here tonight, but you're so excited when you teach that you make it impossible not to get pumped up."

I'm grateful for all of my instructors, including GC, who have played a part in shaping what I have to offer my students. After I had closed the big warehouse door, before I drove home at the end of the night, I stood in the wai position facing the many pictures (including some DB action shots) I have in my new academy with my eyes closed for about 30 seconds. It was an intense moment of feeling like I was doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing with my life.

I am moving my garage program to a proper 1400 sqft space. My first classes begin in my new facility tomorrow. I will be starting with three days a week (Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays), and hoping to add more classes as enrollment increases.

Children's classes (ages 5 to 13) are from 5 to 6 PM, and the adult classes are from 6 to 9 PM on all three nights.

I teach eight different arts in two progressions: my empty handed blend consists of Jeet Kune Do, Thai Boxing, Silat, Savate, Wing Chun, and Grappling and my FMA progression consists of Dog Brothers Martial Arts and Inosanto/LaCoste. Your first evening of training is always free, whether you stay for 30 minutes or all three hours.

For more specific questions, please visit my Website at
http://stoopsma.com

I am having a grand opening celebration on Saturday, September 24th. There will be free sample classes all day and two of my students will be testing at the end of the day. The schedule for the day is on my Website.

Below, I have posted a video for my school one of my students made me from footage shot in my garage academy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkEipiexa0[/youtube]

I am very fortunate to be able to represent the instructors, martial systems, and organizations that I do. East Los Angeles County, west San Bernardino County, and north Orange County are undeserved in terms of the systems that I teach; I want to change that. I hope to see you in my academy soon, even if you are just stopping by to hang out and leave behind some positive energy.

GD

Grateful for when seemingly simple processes turn out to actually be simple.

Cranewings,

Certainly, when a technique lands, it can end the fight. I once took a glancing, accidental groin shot with a stick at a Gathering (wearing a cup), but try as I might, I had to call off the fight, and that turned out to be the only exchange.

I am in agreement that a single shot can end a fight, having experienced it. I don't know how much long-term debilitation has been caused in DBMA but fight-ending shots. If someone takes a really good head shot, Guro Crafty will often tell that person they are done for the day. Of the folks I have seen who have had their days ended by a good head shot, I don't remember anyone carried off of the floor.

I would suggest that your goal should be to avoid/prevent violence if possible, and if not, your next goal should cultivating the ability to use whatever level of force is appropriate. If drunken Uncle Fred wants to "test your Kung-fu" at a family get together, I don't know that knees from the clinch, or a fully committed Thai round kick to the back of his leg, are necessary. If someone is trying to seriously harm you or your family, they need to be put down.

GD

Grateful that a nice summer that has allowed me to spend time with my children is coming to a close. I am ready to get back to work, and the fall will bring with it answers about what space will end up being my first commercial school.

Grateful for a long, silly phone conversation with my best friend that lasted late into the evening.

Grateful for another evening of mentally saying, "Man, I would rather do anything than teach tonight", that turned into me walking in my house afterwards, mentally saying, "I love martial arts."

I'm in the mood to take my inner smart-a$$ out for a walk, so please indulge me. For those new folks planning on fighting in September, just show up and be mentally present. The rest will take care of itself. What follows is me just being silly; please don't take any of this seriously.


Guide Dog's Advice for "Winning" at a Dog Brother's Gathering

1. When you arrive at the Gathering site, be sure to push a few people in line out of the way, even though Pretty Kitty or who ever is working the door will usually stop the line for the fighters. Does anyone really remember Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies? No way! We remember Mr. T's Clubber Lang, and why? Because he was an a$$hole. Act accordingly.

2. When Guro Crafty is giving the same pre- fight speech he always gives, make sure you are listening to your I-pod. After all, the day is really about you and you alone.

3. When the camera comes around to you and you have to say your name and your age, make sure that you use your title of "Super Grandmaster Founder" before doing so.

4. Before the fighting starts, make a point to not speak to anyone, especially the other fighters. This will really cultivate your air of mystery and cause everyone in the room to fear and respect you.

5. Be sure before your knife fights to specify that your opponent is not allowed to use any grappling, slashes, thrusts, punching, kicking, lead switches, or fakes. This is after all a simulation of a knife fight! If you score a lethal shot in exchange for your opponent scoring a lethal shot a half second later, that is a major victory.

6. Be sure to inspect any potential opponent's stick(s). First, measure the weapon, then quickly run it through an X-ray filter. Demand that your opponent provide the name of the manufacturer of the stick, as well as the forms to indicate that the weapon(s) cleared customs in a legal fashion if the sticks were not made in America. Once the weapon(s) has/have been deemed legitimate, escort your potential opponent to the restroom where you will verify his/her weight and height, and obtain a urine sample. Do not take any fights with anyone who weighs more than five pounds than you do, or is more than three inches taller than you, as doing so is simply NOT how it is going to be in the street. After all, MMA has weight classes, and MMA is as close as it gets to real combat. If the urine sample comes back positive for caffeine, call off the fight. You do not associate with people who use performance enhancing drugs.

7. If someone does manage to make it through your screening process and you agree to a stick fight, be sure that when on deck, you are drawing as much attention to yourself as possible, almost making it impossible for anyone to watch the fight in progress. You are, after all, NEXT, and everyone better damn well know it. Be sure to say some really personal, inappropriate, profanity-laden comments about your opponent just before you put your mouthpiece in and fencing mask on. Dog Brothers is all about stress testing; your opponent will thank you for pointing out that his wife is a fat whore, because that will cause him to really lose his temper and if he still happens to be breathing after your fight having come in seething with rage, than you have given him a great gift.

8. If you do score a shot, and your opponent waves you off to indicate the fight is over, by all means, hit him/her as hard as you can anyway. STRIKE HARD! STRIKE FAST! NO MERCY, SIR!

9. When the fight is over, if your opponent attempts to give you a hug, ESPECIALLY if you are male, eye-jab the prick! Let all the ladies in the house know that you are STRAIGHT, STRAIGHT, STRAIGHT. Even though you just got done doing a real contact stick fight, hugging someone of the same gender sends the wrong message. Showing that you are a nice person gives you about as much street cred as a 10 year-old girl showing off her Kelly Clarkson CD collection.

10. When the day's fights are over, immediately demand that you are the first in line for a tribal ascension, particularly if it is your first day fighting, and particularly if you only had one stick fight, did not sustain any injuries, but decided to call it a day as a "favor" to the other fighters.

11. At each level: dog, C-dog, and full DB, the moment after Guro Crafty asks you to rise, make sure you shout, "Where's my fu&%in' belt?!!!!"

12. When you do make full DB, demand that Top Dog go back to simply "Eric Knaus", because it's pretty clear that you are the real Top Dog in the group.

13. Each day, send Guro Crafty an E-mail reminding him that you are still waiting for your Tuhonship in DBMA, and as a mere Guro, he needs to get moving on that sh&%!  

Grateful to have students.

Grateful for a lasting opportunity in a list that has been consistently disappointing.

Grateful to be hosting a good family friend from out of town for the weekend. Sometimes (especially when you have little children), it's nice to be in the company of adults.

The tragedies in Norway, a bullet train crash in China, and Amy Winehouse dying have me a little freaked out today.

I know many will say something like, "Is it all that shocking that she's dead?" No matter how troubled people are, I am always a little shocked when they leave us.

Prayers for those lost in Norway, China, and for Ms. Winehouse's family/friends/fans.

Preyers that there will be lots of good news tomorrow to balance this all out, no matter how naive that may make me.

I am also scared that as a country, we are going to default on our debt. I pray for a resolution.

Grateful for my children.

Grateful for a wonderful day of training with friends.

Grateful to have gotten up early with my kids to let my wife sleep in, and then to have gone back to sleep while she hung out with them.

Grateful for a wonderful Fourth with family and friends. Happy Independence Day to all who are celebrating!

Grateful for a sustained sense of momentum regarding a project.

I'm not a fan of the word "mastery" or "master". To me it seems to indicate an area in which one has achieved perfection. I don't really believe in perfection as an obtainable state in any endeavor. I'm not trying to be difficult or suggest this thread is linguistically invalid (it's a very worthwhile question), the word "mastery" just doesn't work for me. As I often tell the high school students to whom I teach writing, "Perfection is boring." I much prefer the word "expert" over the word "master".

There have already been some great points made in this thread. As far as what and what should not be daily practice, I believe in annual phases. My daily training looks different when I am closer to a Gathering than when I am getting ready to go to a multi-day seminar in some of the systems I teach. I do several empty handed forms on a mostly daily basis of the mushin or mediative aspects. My practice looks different after having children, and I imagine it will change again when my kids are a little older.

My main instructor says that you have to adjust your training every five to ten years. I like that. As for what I practice daily, it depends on the season and what events are coming up in my annual training calendar.

Great vid, GC.

Grateful that the very fruitful 2010-2011 academic year is coming to close. It has been a great year.

Grateful to have seen a friendly face from out of state in class last night.

Grateful to have made it through a minor spiritual dark period this weekend. Prayers for Professor Wally Jay's family and students; may their grieving be what it needs to be.

My belated congrats on all ascentions!

Grateful for a temporary sense of order.