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Messages - Point Dog

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1
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dog Howie: Rest in Peace----RIP
« on: December 27, 2012, 01:29:20 AM »
I'll miss you Howie, rest easy brother  :-(

2
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Guro Point Dog
« on: December 01, 2012, 08:00:05 AM »
Thank you Guro, and thanks to everyone I've had the pleasure of training with the journey so far!  :-D

I'll do my utmost to live up to what is expected of this honour!

3
Martial Arts Topics / Re: News from DBMA Training Groups
« on: November 26, 2012, 02:56:23 AM »
Good work Kostas and Nicolas!  :-D

4
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Lonely Dog's Workout clips
« on: October 19, 2012, 06:51:29 AM »
Awesome as always Guro L!

And I'm glad I was able to... help demonstrate the technique in context  :lol:

5


Basically, point being; It seems the bigger the tribe grows, that to classify someone as a dick because they don´t hold the same views as others as a result of their life experiences to me, seems small. Maybe I am wrong. I know that I am newer than most, so, who am I to say?

I'm not sure where you're going here either, but I'll play.  Views and principles are different things.  We have DBs who are left on the political spectrum and DBs who are on the right, but what both groups have in common is a shared set of values.  In short, they are all good people.  Personally, I've never been comfortable with bringing a persons politics into the tribe, that is their own business (unless of course they are some kind of extremist who seek to harm others, then they aren't a good person and fall under the catagory of 'dick').

It isn't a 'popularity contest' as you put it, but rather do you live up to the principles of being a good person (and hell, we can argue all day what those are!!)

I'd love to chat a bit more, but I promised my son I'd only be 3mins on the laptop... this is me trying to be a good Dad and instill a bit of mutual respect, more later....

6
Ummm , , , the way I took that was that if you're a dick, you're not living by the principles.  Yes?

That was always my understanding, a lack of Heart.

7

YOU'RE SO STUPID, POINT DOG! IF OUR REAL NAMES WERE EASILY ACCESSIBLE ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE, I WOULD SHOW UP AND KICK YOUR ASS. MY TRUCK ALSO HAS WAY BIGGER TIRES AND A LARGER TAP OUT STICKER ON THE BACK WINDOW THAN YOURS. YOU'VE BEEN FU&%IN' WARNED. DON'T EVER GO OVER MY FU%$IN' HEAD AGAIN, YOU MOTHERFU&%ER! (Okay, the last part was Joe Pesci's dialogue from when he's yelling at DeNiro in Casino).

Okay? I've insulted you with no real provocation and threatened to beat you up; is your world still crashing in on itself, or has order been restored?  :-D

Thanks, I needed that  :wink:

8


Okay.  :-)

No, this is a reasonable discussion!  :-D  I demand that you disagree with me!  :-D  I don't come onto the internet for reasonable debate!  :-D

9
I think any Tribe event should procede any open.  One of the reasons that the Tribal day is before the Open day is because of that strange thing that happens the day following a day of fighting, you're calmer, things click better, etc.  Is it and unfair advantage to Tribe members on the second day? Well, if you have advange...  :-)  Any advantage should remain with the Tribe.

I also don't sync with the idea of:

"Fighters who made Dog at the Open can continue fighting."

If it's someones second Gathering then they may make Dog, they also might not. Can't remember who said it but "You may be the best stickfighter in the world, but if you're a dick you'll never be a Dog Brother."  Many might feel that they 'did' two Gatherings and are staying on... and when they weren't allowed to....  Why create a problem when it's easily avoidable?  Also, just a personal thing, I like the feel of the day when the dubbings are the finale of the day.  You never know who's going to get dubbed, etc, personally I get a big buzz from it!

10
I haven't been out to LA since 2007, but for what it's worth I'm with the Doc. Though... I'm not 100% with the idea of having to come through a 'farm club' as it disrupts the whole idea of an Open. I like the idea of a forum where you can simply just enter, it totally nullifies much of the BS our martial arts.

Three Opens (LA, Canada, Bern) and a Tribal in LA.  We've had Tribal days the day before the Open in Bern and this has worked well for the 'fight junkies'  :wink: who need more than one day. Maybe more Tribal days immediately before an Open is the answer. I'm very much of the idea of people paying their dues, you want to be 'Tribe' you put the travel, hours, planning, heart, etc in.

Also, I'm mildly worried about all the talk of progression (Dog, c-Dog, etc).  With more Gatherings available now I'v had more people coming to me saying "I wanna be a Dog Brother!" like it's the Black Belt of stick fighting (which arguably it could be  :wink: ). I'm mildly worried that with expansion will come a dilution of what it means to be 'Tribe' (though I have faith in my Elder  :-) ). I think a lot of us never really saw this as progression in the sense of 'belts' but more of an acceptance as standard of living as a fighter, martial artist and human being (though maybe I'm a little bit of a romantic ;) ).

11
Martial Arts Topics / Re: 9/23/12 Dog Brothers Open Gathering of the Pack
« on: September 01, 2012, 12:43:53 PM »
I understood the gist of the point to be that there should be no complaints of staff vs. double KK being unfair.

It's about as unfair as any other mixed weapon fight  :?

I've never heard anyone complain about a mixed weapon fight, be it stick v staff/3-section/nunchaka/etc. I've always been of the opinion that if you were willing to agree to it (and there was no underhand trickery) then there's nothing to complain about if you get whacked.

12
Martial Arts Topics / Re: 9/23/12 Dog Brothers Open Gathering of the Pack
« on: September 01, 2012, 09:09:46 AM »

Never cared for" Dueling"  with matching weapons.   Can't we stick closer to the era of "GLADIATORS"  and embrace the challenges of variables such as this?  

Sticks should vary as much as we do as humans.

MHO
KD

Every mans wood size varies, its just natural.   
Its not the size its how you use it
lol

Heh heh  :-D

Whilst I shan't be there, I'm of the opinion that weapon size is down to the two fighters (perhaps with an elder casting an eye). Unmatch weapons lead to interesting fights ;)

13
This is going to be fun!  :-D

14
I would offer to take pics between fights but I will be outside smoking...lol

 :-D

15
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Conditioning
« on: July 27, 2012, 03:08:25 AM »
I was in Whole Foods yesterday and some granola hippie type offered me a sample of BBQ sauce.  As part of his pitch, he mentioned it was "vegan".

"Did you know that vegan is a word of Apache origin?" I asked.

No, he didn't.

"It means 'bad hunter'."

Went right over his head with nary a look back, but some woman walking by thought this quite humorous.

" some granola hippie type"  :-D

16
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Lonely Dog's Workout clips
« on: July 14, 2012, 01:35:41 AM »

Nice!! this could really help me stay interested in treadmill training.  many creative options there that I'd not thought of.  You could jog on the treadmill and do similar work with doble daga or espada y daga.  very cool.

darrin coe

Unfortunately though most modern treadmills have those sidebars, which would interfere with the stick.  Also you'd end up hitting the control panel at the front and you don't have the space to zig-zag and change gait (you can tell I work in gyms ;) ).

17
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Lonely Dog's Workout clips
« on: May 31, 2012, 10:46:56 AM »
Excellent! As always!  :-D

18
Martial Arts Topics / Re: The Dog Brothers Tribe
« on: May 22, 2012, 02:55:18 AM »
Congratulations Dog Brothers!  :-D

19
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dogzilla & the Hawaii Clan
« on: May 04, 2012, 03:46:24 AM »

Its interesting to see how there are a good number of relatively-unknown groups out there, doing such great work!


I wouldn't say 'unknown', just 'quiet'.  As in 'walking quietly with a big stick' ;)

20
Martial Arts Topics / Re: DBMA Tribal Gathering: May 19-20
« on: April 20, 2012, 02:33:12 AM »
And , , , Dog Sigi has been working with me all this week , , ,

Heh heh heh  :-D  I'm so glad I'm nice and safe in Scotland... oh wait, I'll see the Cro Clan in August......  :wink:

All of Cro Dogs fighters are serious individuals, a very strong Clan!  Cro is one of those rare coaches who sees the big picture not just in terms of the parts, but truely knows how to integrate them.  One of my favorite parts of catching up at the Euro-Camp and the Euro Gathering is sidling up to him and asking him a few questions, and he's always willing to share  :-)

21
I got there and thought: "Where are all the skyscrappers!?!"  :-D  Then I got sunburn and fell over, but then I'm Scottish and so pale most Californians thought I was an Albino  :wink:

22
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Lonely Dog's Workout clips
« on: April 20, 2012, 02:23:32 AM »
I can vouch for the coldness of the water!

I thought it was warm!  :-D  But then I'm Scottish and get overheated when the temperature hits double digits  :lol:

23
Have a safe journey!  :-)

24
Martial Arts Topics / Re: How to fight fat people
« on: March 10, 2012, 09:16:52 AM »
Question presented:

How to fight fat people?

a) Fight already underway
b) Dominance games
c) LEO/CO/Bouncer issues

The answer to (c) in my day was: With numerical superiority  :-) And get them as close to a door before anything kicked off as possible (though that should be true for most scenarios.

25
Excellent news!  :-D


26
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Your rambling ruminations
« on: January 01, 2012, 12:48:10 PM »
The past year has taught me that you can't take it all with you, as you transition from one state to another, there is not enough room in your cup.

You have to decide what is important and do it every day, if it is not important then you have to question why it is you carry it with you.

Some aspects of your past self are so tied up with your image of 'self' that to move forward you have to cut a piece of yourself off, otherwise you will be dragged backwards and drown in your own self-doubt.

You have to have the courage to question your own identity if you wish to move forward and seize new opportunities.

27
Rory,

Maybe worthwhile getting in touch with Gerry 'C-Celtic Dog' Casey.  He's based in Glasgow but used to travel 'back to the old country' quite a bit  :wink:

You can get him through:

www.dogbrothersscotland.com


28
Martial Arts Topics / Re: CNN
« on: September 13, 2011, 05:25:51 AM »


Ah!  What to wear, what to wear...

Not black  :wink:

How about something in pink, I bet you'd make some footage if you wore pink  :-D

29
Well I am of Scottish/Irish decent so I guess I can claim "Clan Buchanan", but unfortunately the Highland Games have exactly ZERO stick-fighting involved.

Not so grasshopper ;)

A friend and old member of the Dave 'Yoda' Greens CSA (Combative Stickfighting Alliance) Louie Pastore is heavily into historical scottish martial arts.  Louie isn't a battle recreationalist but someone who's after the martial side, he has fought with the UK Clans and we consider him a friend and good resource.  Louie has managed to have some traditional scottish stickfighting demonstrated at some of the Games here in Scotland.

FYI, historically a Scottish Laird may sponsor the training of young men/boys on his land.  The boys would not be allowed to train with swords until they had proven to be proficient with the short ash stick (with buckler), which would be used to train many of the sword fighting principles.  To keep things alive and competitive ;) at local games the boys could compete with the ash stick.  No protection (with the exception of the buckler) and no grappling (wrestling was included in the training, but not the Games except as a seperate sport sans weapons).  The winner would be the first 'to draw an inch of blood from above the eyeline', basically you had to crack the guy on the top of the head hard enough to draw blood.

Louie and his guys, whilst they take recreation seriously, still wear fencing masks  :wink:

With regards to wrestling, there was Scottish back-lock wrestling who's primary position was a side on version of a seatbelt clinch, which trapped the right arm.  The idea being that during the time in history when Scots were banned from having swords by the English, the Scots trained to grapple an Englishman whilst he tried to draw his sword, pick him up and find a rock to throw him one  :-D

I haven't spoken to Louie for some time, but would love to do some demo fights at the Games!

30
Martial Arts Topics / To name a thing is to give it power...
« on: August 20, 2011, 01:13:32 AM »
Advice that I would give cherries.

Whilst it's important that we understand the psychological aspects of our pre-fight experience, it's important that we don't direct our energies in the wrong direction.

When you give something a name ('The Chatter') you give it a kind of coporeal power over you, but also by naming it, you CAN gain a power over it.  The level of pre-fight chatter you experience depends on many things, most importantly where your 'pre-set adrenalinekick in level' is.

How to combat chatter.  Firstly, don't give it power over you!  Accept it as a necessary and vital part of your existance.  I'm fortunate in that for all my athletic flaws, I'm very good at visualisation.  Find some quiet alone time and let the idea of your fight wash over your mind, identify the aspects that concern you the most, then work on these.  Preparation, be physically fit, and with regards to technical skill I find having a small toolbox but knowing each tool intimately is better than having the worlds largest collection of technique.  Put the time into figuring out how a strike you're good at works against a stalker, a runner, a speed merchant.

Also, if you're in a training group, a Gathering shouldn't, IMHO, be the first place you have a fight.  Of the UK clans, nobody who is a decendant of the 'Yoda Clan' will go to a Gathering a total cherry, it just doesn't happen.  The effect of fighting in front of a crowd (spectators/other fighters) should not be ignored.  Going to a quiet park/squash court with limited spectators should be on your pre-fight agenda (but make sure it's more than 6 weeks before the Gathering!).

I see many who convince themselves that they should have chatter and develop an even worse case of it than they would have otherwise done.  Chill, relax, have faith in your training and faith in the Pack.  Choose an experienced fighter for your first fight.  Accept that they WILL push you and hurt you, but they will (most likely ;) ) NOT break you.

31
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dealing with Social Breakdown (The UK riots)
« on: August 18, 2011, 04:15:47 AM »

@PD:  " I was VERY impressed with the Police tactics, the use of horses and dogs.  Their snatch and grab methods of specific people from the crowd were smooth!"

Please describe :-)

In essence the mounted officers (who have light armour on horses with certain areas protected) are the blunt object that drives a wedge into the crowd (often from different starting points to target a certain part of the crowd), are followed in the corridor they create by canine officers and riot 'snatch' officers.  The dogs act as a 'finer' tool than the horses to isolate small groups and drive them out of the crowd into Police lines.  I assume the riot officers (who have no animal) are there for even 'finer' tuning if required.

A story:

I was working at a Hibs/Hearts game (LOTS of sectarian violence), I'm working the queue for the turnstyles carrying out searches for weapons/booze and explaining to an elderly couple that it would be a discrimination to them NOT to search them ;) (A big history of 'retired' gang members in their pensionable years smuggling in weapons for their grandkids).

A shout goes out from the Police lines (who filter people towards to the turnstyles) "GET HIM!"

A lone man is legging it from the Police line towards where we are carrying out the search.  Myself and the two men working with me position ourselves to intercept, there is a definate 'Hell yes, game on!' attitude to the three of us (we've been searching people in the freezing cold for over 40mins by this point).

Just as we think we're going to get to do something, a horse gallops out of nowhere and sideswipes him into the wall, pinning him there.  This was an awesome thing, as he was a couple of metres from the wall to start with!  Three canine officers appear and whilst the horse 'smears' off of him the dogs come in to corner him against the wall.  A 'gap' appears that he tries to escape through but a Police van has now done a 'skidding slide' into the mouth of the gap with the back doors open.  The dogs chase him into rear of the van where it appeared three officers were waiting to 'help' him escape the dogs  :-D

We were both amazed at the smoothness and speed (seriously, from the shout to the van leaving, less than 20seconds), and disappointed that we never got to put a boot in ;)

32
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dealing with Social Breakdown (The UK riots)
« on: August 17, 2011, 04:46:52 AM »

I thought that hooliganism in the UK had dwindled due to the advent of season tickets etc or is it just that the policing has contained the problem?

Actually, now that I think of it the only time I've seen any fans kick off at a sporting event here, was an MMA show  :lol:

Thanks.  I was using soccer as an example as it's our 'biggest' sport.  I suppose in the US the analogy would be 'American Football' (sorry, just can't bring myself to call it just 'Football' ;) ), baseball or basketball.

Season tickets or not, you still get nobs ;)  I worked security at a few Hearts/Hibs games in Edinburgh (a slightly toned down version of a Celtic/Rangers game in Glasgow).  I was VERY impressed with the Police tactics, the use of horses and dogs.  Their snatch and grab methods of specific people from the crowd were smooth!

33
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dealing with Social Breakdown (The UK riots)
« on: August 15, 2011, 12:33:34 PM »
I also meant to ask the US posters (and any other nationality too).  Out of curiosity how much sports related violence does your country suffer? Baring in mind that the US is probably 50 different countries all with different flavours...

I ask because in London, Birminingham, Manchester and Glasgow (others too, but they're the worst) we have a lot of football (soccer) related 'tribal' violence.  This is something that our Police are very experienced in dealing with.  If you look at the violence in the London riots compared to what happens when there is a Birmingham derby, you have to ask why it was allowed to continue? (Police are very effective at containing the football thugs)

34
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dealing with Social Breakdown (The UK riots)
« on: August 15, 2011, 12:25:04 PM »

I too was glad to read your post, Point Dog, and I was also glad to read see some encouragement by Guro Crafty and others, regarding getting other viewpoints.  There were also posts here, by some who disagreed, but nonetheless came across as welcoming a different viewpoint, and the chance to debate the issue.

There also seemed to be a minority who disagreed, and came across quite differently.  Guess this is why people like Point Dog and myself don't much bother posting in such discussions.


Hey C-Spartan ;) (I still love that name!  :-D )

What happened here is small potatoes compared to what you guys have had recently.  I try not to judge other countries/cultures because I'm not there and not living the problems.  When I saw the severity of what happened in Greece I thought that it would never happen here ;) [Still hasn't, but it certainly looks possible now]

Though I'd add that the Greek protests were political, whereas the London problems were criminal.

35
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Dealing with Social Breakdown (The UK riots)
« on: August 13, 2011, 01:58:43 AM »
Gentlemen, I've avoided entering this conversation.

a) The majority of posters here seem to be of the die-hard republican variety, a political concept with is looked upon with some bemusement in the UK by the majority of the public.  Consider that Obama has good press over here, the only dent being how long it took him to commit initially to Lybia (and people here understand why he wouldn't want to commit his country to another war).  Actually having a meaningful political conversation here is difficult for those of us who live outside of the US as generally wee are ignored or looked down upon.

b) The UK majority public view isn't that we have draconian firearms laws, but more that the US (but strangely not Canada) have too relaxed firearms legislation.

c) I believe Niles Gardiner was quoted as a UK journalist here.  Gardiner is a UK national, but is US educated and spent most of his life in the US (in fact I believe he lives in Washington).  Even die hard conservatives consider him right wing and a throwback to the Thatcher years (I think he was a researcher or advisor to Thatchers government).

d) The 'riots' were only really front page news because parliment was in summer break.

e) The 'riots' were allowed to progress because of MPs instructing the Police to 'stand and observe' rather than intervene initially.  This is because there are 12 legal cases still outstanding from the G8 protests about Police 'brutality'.  Also, the political lords misread the situation as politically motivated, rather than criminally.

f) Once the acting Chief Constable decided that it was criminal, rather than political, 9,000 officers were deployed to take control of the streets.  Tactics included driving armoured vehicles at high speed towards 'criminals' to disperse them (seems to have been effective).

g) The acting Chief has asked that people stop calling them rioters, this implies that there is political motivation.

h) Contrary to what our illustrious Prime Minister would have you believe, the Met have always had the capability and authority to deploy baton rounds, rubber bullets, water cannons, gas and call on two army squadrons of police/riot trained infantry. They have chosen not to.

i) In the cities of Glasgow and Dundee, 'rioters' tried to organise.  They were immediately informed on to the Police by friends and family and arrested within two hours.

j) Despite cutbacks in funding, UK volunteer groups have been out in force on the streets to educate youngsters that this is not acceptable.

k) UK police have been identifying criminals from CCTV footage and conducting twilight raids, with courts in London and Birmingham sitting overnight to try and prosecute.

UK society is not collapsing and we are able to police ourselves against criminals of opportunity without the deployment of lethal force and adding that we have and are able to apply even that.  Which is what kicked off these 'riots' in the first place, but I'm sure you are all aware of that.

UK society is not collapsing

36
I'd add for first timers, try and get your first fight in early in the day.

If you sit watching, waiting for a long time for your first fight, those butterflies can really churn up your insides.  Once you get your first fight out of the way and realise that you're still alive and have all your limbs, you will feel much better.

37
Guide Dog!  Thank you sir!  :-D :-D :-D

38
Martial Arts Topics / Re: European “Gathering of the Pack” 2011
« on: July 20, 2011, 05:14:35 AM »
Point Dog, thanks lot for your kind words! I hope that next year we will have a dance? Would be a honor for me to learn from such an experienced fighter like you are!!


But after our beer fuelled chat at the campsite you now know my plan. Double v 3SS, I crash and get armbarred by you! ;)  That way I don't get hit!  :-D

I agree C-Gong fu! I run a very large corporation and am measured daily on my ability to fulfill my "word". Sometimes, there are financial consequences to them that affect the company, but as a good leader, you back-up what you say you're going to do regardless of those "consequences". In the case for the Gathering, the only consequence is...Pain! There is no shame in saying that "I can't make it", "i'm not ready","I'm broke" or "I'm scared shitless". But if you say you're going to go, many people are expecting you, not only for the "numbers" in turn-out, but also to fight and develop relationships...it is time to Step-up, Step-back, Put-up or Shut up.
Heal up! we're dancing in a few months!

Yes.  I feel there is a certain manliness in being able to say either "Funk that! I'm not that stupid!" or "No thanks, too scary!". I always make it clear to my guys that there is never any expecation from me that they will ever fight (that said, I'm always super proud when they do!).

39
Martial Arts Topics / Re: European “Gathering of the Pack” 2011
« on: July 18, 2011, 02:38:12 PM »
A bit late, but better than never.... ;)

A fantastic day! And training camp!

Over 50 fighters on the day, 65 registered but for many reasons several people couldn't attend.

We had single stick, double stick, stick & knife, knife, double knife, sword, double sword and staff fights!  A few even went to NHB when weapons were out of play.

Big props to Crossover Dog and C-Gong Fu Dog.  Crossover fought with the largest range of weapons of any of us, including 'mace', sarrong, and 'sarrong with a baseball in it'!  C-Gong Fu is deep into CMA and is a beast with the 3-sectional staff, the usual tactic of 'crash and smash' is made slightly problematic by his Brown Belt in BJJ and MMA background!

Congratulations to those who ascended!

Jerome "Frisbee Dog" Challon
Lynn "Psycho Bitch" Brown
Oli "Ghost Dog" Schaer
Peter "Grumpy Dog" Fray
Thomas "Sword Dog" Rickert

Benjamin "C-Thunder Dog" Schlieper
Filippo "C-Vegan Dog" Pani
Ivan "C-??? Dog" Pirozhkov
Kostas "C-Spartan Dog" Tountas (oldest fighter on the day, at 52!)
Manfred "C-Cop Dog" Schilka

A personal thanks to those that shared their day with me.


The Sunday was a seminar with Guro Marc, who focused on the alive hand throughout the day.

Monday and Tuesday were training camp days, with the training shared between Guro Marc and Guro Ben.  Guro Ben taught Krabi Krabong (ok, not an FMA!) and how it can blend with the traditional concepts of Kali, he also beasted us with his now famous Kali Fitness sessions (river training!).

On Monday Guro Marc focused on DBMA Dos Triques (double stick) and the interplay with empty had (Kali Tudo).  The Tuesday was focused on the Die Less Often (DLO) material, of knife v empty hand in a 360 environment.

A fantastic camp, and I thank all those who made it possible!


A special note must be made of Frisbee Dog, who's tent was next to a tree that was struck by lightning during the night!  He was fine, but the large tree has a huge crack in it now!

40
I'm off to Switzerland in 9 hours for a week, but should be able to post here from there.


See you there!  :-)

41
Martial Arts Topics / Re: DBMA in the Philippines
« on: July 04, 2011, 12:10:00 PM »
You're Absolutely correct Point Dog on the Winners and Losers (tournament terminology). You probably already know that I used "tournament" for our new guy, as he probably didn't know what a Gathering was,...otherwise HE would have used it. Have some great fights next week! :lol:


Hey, I took that as read  :-)  Mostly I just wanted to point out the idea to the OP.

42
Martial Arts Topics / Re: DBMA in the Philippines
« on: July 04, 2011, 07:57:49 AM »
Also, to add to C-Mighty's good points, in the 20+ years that the Dog Brothers Gatherings have been taking place they have only been held in two places.  Those being LA ("Where It All Began!") and in Bern, Switzerland, where Tribal Elder Guro Lonely Dog lives.  And only when it became apparent that there was enough of a following 'in the spirit' in continental Europe to support annual Gatherings.

20+ years and only two locations, quite telling that.  :wink:

Also, we don't like the term 'tournament' or competition, as they imply winners and losers.  At the Gathering we should ALL be winners, so long as we are there in the correct spirit.

43
Martial Arts Topics / Re: European “Gathering of the Pack” 2011
« on: July 04, 2011, 02:44:06 AM »
57 fighters!  :-o

Can't remember exactly how many were at the first Euro-Open, I think it was 60+.

Seeing some of the names on that list has made me wish I'd train that wee bit harder!  :lol:

I forsee a long day, with many spectacular displays of Heart, Mind and plenty of Balls!  :-D

44
Martial Arts Topics / Re: European “Gathering of the Pack” 2011
« on: May 24, 2011, 05:50:40 AM »
Just back from seeing my surgeon, there is a possibility I won't be fighting this year  :-(

I have a chunk of 'missing' cartilage behind my right knee cap and will require an arthroscopy to 'find and remove' it.  Depending on when I can get operated on this will mean that I may not be able to fight  :cry:

45
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Solo training
« on: April 07, 2011, 11:45:59 AM »
It's great that a group of people who have been doing this for some time can still remember what it was like the first time and help support someone new.

The first time?  Try 'every time'!  :-D

In my experience it does get easier with time, but if you're not feeling 'something' then I'd suggest you weren't taking it seriously enough.

Dr Guide Dog has offered up some good advice there too  :-)  I know some like to wear soft/neoprene elbow/knees, but personally I find them slightly restricting. I'm a mask, gumshield, gloves, cup and shoes guy (yep, some guys like to go barefoot!).  I know some of the guys like the elbows/knees in case they strike the front of the 'grater' of the mask, but I tend to avoid doing that (I did headbutt one once, that was an education  :wink: ).

46
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Solo training
« on: April 07, 2011, 07:48:09 AM »
PD:

I got a running dog footlock on one very surprised athletic 18 year old last night :-D

I am feelling very tickled with myself  :lol:

Nice!

I'm suprised at the lack of awareness many have for the leg/ankle and especially wrist submission (in our gym they become 'legal' at Blue Belt and above).

In a moment of advertising for Guro C  :wink: The Running Dog posture (available on just a few clicks away) and the Guard Dog (you'll have to see the Dogfather himself) are both fantastic launch pads for both of these types of attack.

47
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Solo training
« on: April 07, 2011, 04:15:53 AM »
Apologies, I was thinking purely in terms of stickgrappling. 

Of course the dvds Guro Crafty lists are all awesome too!  There is a great depth of material in all of them, though I'd single out KT3 as the most information dense to date!  Kenny just 'leaks' grappling knowledge everywhere, just watching 5 mins of him teach could easily be the basis of weeks of class plans!

Being a Judo/BJJ/MMA practitioner myself, KT2 was a fantastic addition to my game (and in fact, it's probably due a rewatch ;) ).  I was fortunate enough to train some of this material with Guro C and integrate it into my game.  At my previous MMA gym (where I helped to coach), whilst not being the best grappler or striker, my ground and pound was definately up there.  This was due, in major part, to the material in KT2.

As Guro C says, it's about mental fluidity and viewing things in their entirety.

48
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Solo training
« on: April 06, 2011, 12:15:45 PM »
Another question I have, since I haven't been able to watch all the DBMA dvds I have yet, is whether or not there had been a dog brothers dvd that focuses on grappling. If so, which one? And if not is there any video series that you would recommend to help build a ground game? Like I said though, I'm pretty sure I have all of the instructional DVDs except for maybe one or two.

There are the members only video lessons, Stickgrappling on dvd, and Stickclinch on dvd. Not sure if you're a DBMAA member, but they are available in the members store.

In the public dvds there's RCSF #5 (I think) which has a section on the Fang choke.  The Attacking Blocks dvd shows lots of nice takedowns and a bit of groundwork.

49
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Solo training
« on: April 06, 2011, 04:18:43 AM »
You can take some inspiration from the fact that Top Dog was a solo trainer for a lot of his fighting career ;)

The material on the first four RCSF tapes can take you a long way!

50
Martial Arts Topics / Re: Train like a man!!!
« on: March 31, 2011, 04:23:06 AM »
I'm torn here.  Because I'm (hopefully) just about to qualify as a REPS level 3 PT I'm full of 'up to date book learning'.  But also Rooney is one of the guys who I've had big respect for over the years.

Too dangerous - Agreed that everything is too dangerous if you don't know how to do it (though as an RCSF combatant I probably have a scewed perception of danger).

Too much knowledge - Agreed, to much talking and not enough training! But that's the 'net for you (reminds me, I still have to do workout no. 2 today ;) ).

Kettlebells - From where I'm sat in my front room I can see two of my six kettlebells (which I do use everyday, checkout Dan John's latest article on T-Nation as to why!).  I've used KBs for since about 2008, if I was stranded on an island and only allowed one piece of fitness kit, I'd take my 20kg (light/heavy enough for most things).  What I currently HATE is what I call "The Church of Kettlebell", the idea that the KB is all you need.  Story time:

Having just finished an 'easy' lunchtime MT session where a "Church Member" was present, I announced I was off to the gym to do some heavy Deadlift work (it was a fairly easy MT session, a nice warm up so I'd be able to just go straight in and DL). "Why not use the KBs we have here......." I had to explain that unless they had at LEAST six 24's and a bar strong enough to hold them........  There's 'power', there's 'endurance' and then there is strength.

From my understanding.... static stretching = bad.... if you're cold.  So pre-workout static is bad (or at least this is what we're taught).

Post workout static stretching as a developmental stretch (30+ seconds per stretch position) = good.

The bi vs uni lateral debate is endless. My opinion is that it depends ;)  Sometimes a uni-lift is much less than what you can do in a b-lift (squats), pretty much due to what Baltic Dog said.  But sometimes.... if you do a uni-lateral floor press (with a DB) you can lift more than half your barbell floor press.  I don't think it's a clear answer as to what is better, rather what exactly you're doing and trying to achieve.


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