Sheffield Snow

Sheffield seminar done.  Two good days with a roomful of good men.  We covered the A&T (Ambushes and Thugs, the Introduction to Violence) material.

It was frustrating for me.  Knee brace, cane and strict orders not to play.  I love rolling with good people.  Getting into the toilet stalls and practicing environmental fighting.  Doing the mass brawl in the concrete fire escape stairwell.  So I played a little. Don't tell my doctor.  And had a great time.  But there are a few things, like fighting, martial sports, football and naked dancing that were never meant to be spectator sports.  The fun is in playing, not watching.

Still, for career reasons it's good to know that I can teach even when I'm crippled up.  That the message still get through.  Some good feedback.

Some repeats from last year including one who'd been at Edinburgh.

And, as always, the talk and camaraderie at the pub.  And anyone who says English food is terrible really needs to try gammon.  And bacon tomato sandwiches. And hunter's pie.  And their pub snack pork rinds are way more like New Orleans cracklin's than grocery store chicharrones.  I'll have to try to bring some back if DHS will let a packaged meat product through.

Rambling.  Karen and Garry are wonderful hosts and good people.  Watching them banter really makes me miss K.  Got to see John again and Mick and Mike and Mike, all of whom left an impression last year.

The eight hour time difference is exactly wrong for calling home.  K is leaving for work as the seminar winds up; I'll be asleep when she gets home.  Slight possibility she will still be awake if I get up early enough in the morning.  The twelve hour difference in Iraq actually made calling much easier.

A&T-- covered One-step, seeing and efficient movement; Context of self-defense (the '7' talk); blindfolded infighting; SD Law (shortened version, I'm not in the US); power generation, power stealing and power conservation; Violence Dynamics; Counter-assault; Ground movement; ethics and application of pain; striking from the ground; dynamic fighting; using walls and geometry; environmental fighting; groups; fighting to the goal.  Plus a debrief each day.  And the end of class ritual.

Lots of thinking.  Looked like some lightbulbs went off.

Next up: Edinburgh.  Unless someone wants to do something during the weekdays.