After Action ---and Stuff

It's already Wednesday.  Wow.

The weekend was good, full and rich.  I'm still letting it settle.

The seminar Saturday was a small gathering, but nice.  Sifu Jim Sanborn found a nice spot.  I'd expected a class mostly of college students with very limited knowledge and awareness of some of the bad things the world has to offer.  What I got was a much more mature crowd, mostly violence professionals or with at least a hand in that world.  That let me take it a little deeper than might have been possible otherwise, but I still wish, as I always do, for more time.  This particular class gave really short shrift to all but the most basic physical things.

An impromptu house party followed, with old friends and new friends and some good talking.

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Maija was here for the weekend.  I'll add links later, if I remember.  She is a devoted student of Sonny Umpad and carries on his legacy... with the special difficulty of carrying on a legacy that Sonny was careful to never define.  She wears it well and was a pure pleasure to flow with.

I don't want to put words in her mouth or descriptions that I'm unsure of.  So all that follows should come with a 'so it seems to me' caveat:

Maija's specialty is in unscripted flow, particularly with a variety of Filipino weapons.  No set patterns.  No if-then.  Awareness of what is going on and what that gives you; what is happening and where it naturally leads...  So we played with that attitude and skill in the context of close-quarters work.  Played with damage when you couldn't rely on sharp steel.  Touched on Sonny's idea of the dark side (and that's when the athletic club manager got nervous and asked us to put the weapons away.)  Played with the shadow zone between armed and unarmed.

It was fun, and I'm still finding little bruises I did not notice during the weekend.  That's cool.  And moving at that level with someone so skilled, unafraid, and exploring was energizing as anything.

We also talked for hours and it wasn't enough.  Just the two of us sometimes and over coffee with Mac.  She told me a lot about Sonny.  Maija is too humble to accept it, but she is definitely what he was trying to create and represents him well.

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More writing, which is always frustrating at this (the rewrite with editorial input) stage. Who knew that The Chicago Manual of Style was my editor's bible?  Ick.

Also received the manuscript of the book that Tim wrote before he died.  I'm reading it, hearing his voice.  I agreed to edit it in preparation for submission.  It's good, but there are parts that should be removed from an editorial standpoint that I want to keep as a memorial.  It will all work out.

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Asked to speak with an immigrant group about American laws and customs concerning violence.  Evidently some have been getting into trouble dealing with insults and the like the old-school way.

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One day seminar in Beaverton May 8th.  "Facing Violence" ships May 16.  Drills workshop in Everett Washington May 21.  Signing at Cedar Hills Powell's May 25th.  Athens, Greece May 27-29.  Check the specific page or the calendar at the main website:

http://chirontraining.com/Site/Home.html