Just using this as a place to work on a new Rambling Rumination until I have access to my own computer:
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Woof All:
In a superficial way, I've been around firearms for a while now (since about 2004?) and have had some training with some instructors of note, but given that I lived in Los Angeles there were practical barriers to putting in the proper training. The tendency has been that good lessons tended to gradually vaporize in the absence of proper follow up.
Today I began my firearms training with Sean O'Dowd.
Over the years I have had a number of "first lessons" with a variety of instructors of note and as I was driving home I found myself reflecting on just how influential first lessons with great teachers can be.
PUNONG GURO EDGAR SULITE
In 1989 at a Pekiti Tirsia camp in Tennessee Guro Inosanto introduced me to Punong Guro Edgar Sulite, who had just arrived from the Philippines, and suggested I train with him.
We met at my house in Hermosa Beach. My first lesson with PG Edgar consisted of two parts.
Knowing of my path with the Dog Brothers (then in a very early stage of development) he read my way of looking things and so he put the Lameco handguard that he had designed on me. For those not familiar with it, it is both very protective and allows for complete wrist mobility. The sticks we used were sort of padded and the sparring called for hitting the hand only.
I had never experienced anything like it. He had crisp, utterly non-telegraphic striking from stillness unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was utterly dominated. Despite the strong protective qualities of the hand guard and the padding on the sticks, my hand was to be swollen for a couple of weeks after.
With that settled, the lesson moved on to beginning the striking patterns he called "Eskrima 1-12". Later on, when I asked him why he did not call then "Lameco 1-12" he answered "Oh, everyone has these" but somehow the only other system I have seen that did was Kali Illustrisimo, a system of major influence on him, so when I teach them in DBMA (I teach only the first five) I name them Lameco 1-5.
For me what made them different was that though like the four PTK power strokes I had learned from Eric (the hourglass that formed tape one of the first Dog Brothers tape in 1993) they were both vertical and horizontal instead of the diagonal with which most FMA systems begin, they taught going from the horizontal to the vertical with remarkable efficiency, and they integrated footwork (the Ilustrisimo Cross Step) from the very first strokes of the stick.
Though he did not seem to be moving that fast, somehow I struggled to keep up. I experienced that, unlike him, my feet were slower than my stick. Over time I came to understand that this played a major role in how had so decisively handled .
Those who have trained with me will recognize deep themes from my teaching about "the one for one relationship" between feet and weapon(s), the emphasis on the vertical and horizontal plane of motion and the articulation of the diagonal as a combination of the two, and the use of the Ilustrisimo Cross Step in both stick and empty hand fighting-- all these were present in my first lesson.
CARLOS MACHADO and BJJ:
Though we had no idea of what we were doing and though it was well before the UFC Revolution of 1993, from the days of the pre-Dog Brothers "After Midnight Group" at the Inosanto Academy (1986-88) we allowed grappling. Propelled by underground video, rumors of Gracie Jiu Jitsu had floated around for a few years, and under Yorinaga Nakamura Japanese Shootfighting was beginning to make an appearance. Inosanto Academy friend Chris Haueter, who over the years has risen to 5th degree BB under Rigan Machado introduced me to the five Machado Brothers in the summer of 1990.
The classic BJJ teaching progression begins with countering the mount position, but my immediate problems were Salty Dog Arlan Sanford, whose strength greatly exceeded mine, grabbing me by the head and throwing me down and Top Dog Eric Knaus bowling me over with a flying roof block and fang choking me out of a head lock (kesa gatame) on the ground.
To be continued
