grimfang
Green Belt
Alright… I finally got unpacked, took a nap, and managed to unwind after the train ride back… and had some time to reflect on the weekend camp.
This was by far one of the best martial arts related camp/seminar/event I have ever attended. The entire experience was amazing. The group in attendance was large enough to provide a diverse cross-section of styles and mindsets, but was small enough to allow everyone to have plenty of 1-on-1 time with the camp instructors. Mr. Hartman, Mr. Hutchins, and Mr. Gutowski all took the time to answer every question they were asked, and made sure they worked directly with everyone who attended.
It was a LONG weekend. Every session started a few minutes early, and they all ran a little longer than planned. There was not a lot of wasted time during the weekend.
Ok… specifics…. There was so much material covered in such a short time (yeah, 3 days seems short in comparison to just how much was covered)… the things that are sticking in my mind most at this particular moment:
We had quite a few people there that had never done any stick-work or knife-work before, so Mr. Tim Hartman began with the basics… even those of us with experience using sticks and knives were able to benefit from this, since its always good to brush up on the fundamentals again. We QUICKLY moved on to various block/counter techniques from a multitude of angles, and later moved on to a variety of disarming techniques… those with more experience had the opportunity to work on more advanced material while the beginners focused on the fundamentals.
The sessions with Mr. Dennis Hutchins covered a wide range of materials. A lot of emphasis was given to ‘new ways to use what we already know’… I hope that description does justice to it. The first session was spent practicing ‘sticky hands’ techniques… similar to ‘pushing hands’ for those of you familiar with that. Mr. Hutchins watched each of us doing the exercise with a partner, then pointed out the individual tendencies of each person and offered suggestions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. He also spent a great deal of time discussing and demonstrating various mental aspects of hostile situations… wonderful demonstrations on the concepts of ‘personal space’ and ‘comfort zones’. He also gave us a few techniques to facilitate the non-violent/minimal violent resolution of conflict, in addition to some of the really nasty stuff. One of the things about his presentations that I was most impressed with: after explaining each technique, he went around the room and executed the technique on each person there, then he had each person try it on him before we worked with other partners.
The sessions with Mr. Joe Gutowski were physically demanding. After the initial introductions, he delved right into a detailed session of chokes… right now I can count 9 distinct variations that I actually remember in detail, not counting the minor tweaks to alter each of them… I’m sure there were more than that… yeah, my neck felt special in the morning, but everyone used a lot of control. Armbars were also on the menu… we were given a fair amount from standing positions as well as from the ground… some offensive, some as defensive counters. I was impressed with his detailed explanations regarding the specifics of each position…. ‘why the head is on this side,’ ‘why the this hand is on top, and not that one,’ ‘why the opponent will not try to do X or Y from this position.’ During the session, he saw me applying a slightly different variation of an armlock that I use… he explained to me why it worked from some positions, but would not be effective from that particular position, then demonstrated it on me… he was correct, he got out of the hold quickly and I am not sure what happened next, but it did not feel pleasant… very cool stuff!
The banquet was great. The food was excellent, and it was nice to sit down, relax, and finally get to know some of the people I had been working out with during the weekend. It was a very 'family-like' atmosphere, and it felt like we were a group that got together on a regular basis. There were no 'strangers' or 'outsiders' in the camp, and no divisions among systems or other such factors. It was just one big group.
The entire event was well organized, and ran smoothly. The sessions were long enough to cover a ton of material, but nobody ever got bored with anything. There was a definite flow to the entire event. The mood was light, everyone had a good time, and there were more than a few laughs during the weekend. Most importantly: NOBODY got hurt… yeah, a few bruises here and there, a sore muscle or two… but everyone used common sense and control. Nobody tried to shy away from the rough stuff, but it was all done with control.
Everyone left their egos at the door. There was no sense of competition in the room… nobody tried to prove that ‘their system’ was better at anything… nobody ever said ‘THIS is how it must be done, and everything else is wrong.’ Everyone came to meet people, learn, share, and have fun without any ulterior motives. It was something MartialTalk can be proud to have put together. My compliments to Mr. Hubbard for the event... I am looking forward to the next one.
I would also like to extend a personal thank you to Mr. Hartman, who went out of his way to pick us up at the train station, and ensured that our transportation needs were met during the weekend… he went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable during our visit. I certainly hope for an opportunity to return the favor someday.
Sorry,,, thats all that comes to mind at the moment.. after 9 hours on a train, my brain is still fried... I'll let the others share all the cool stories from the event (there were more than a few worth sharing.) Alright… I finally got unpacked, took a nap, and managed to unwind after the train ride back… and had some time to reflect on the weekend camp.
This was by far one of the best martial arts related camp/seminar/event I have ever attended. The entire experience was amazing. The group in attendance was large enough to provide a diverse cross-section of styles and mindsets, but was small enough to allow everyone to have plenty of 1-on-1 time with the camp instructors. Mr. Hartman, Mr. Hutchins, and Mr. Gutowski all took the time to answer every question they were asked, and made sure they worked directly with everyone who attended.
It was a LONG weekend. Every session started a few minutes early, and they all ran a little longer than planned. There was not a lot of wasted time during the weekend.
Ok… specifics…. There was so much material covered in such a short time (yeah, 3 days seems short in comparison to just how much was covered)… the things that are sticking in my mind most at this particular moment:
We had quite a few people there that had never done any stick-work or knife-work before, so Mr. Tim Hartman began with the basics… even those of us with experience using sticks and knives were able to benefit from this, since its always good to brush up on the fundamentals again. We QUICKLY moved on to various block/counter techniques from a multitude of angles, and later moved on to a variety of disarming techniques… those with more experience had the opportunity to work on more advanced material while the beginners focused on the fundamentals.
The sessions with Mr. Dennis Hutchins covered a wide range of materials. A lot of emphasis was given to ‘new ways to use what we already know’… I hope that description does justice to it. The first session was spent practicing ‘sticky hands’ techniques… similar to ‘pushing hands’ for those of you familiar with that. Mr. Hutchins watched each of us doing the exercise with a partner, then pointed out the individual tendencies of each person and offered suggestions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. He also spent a great deal of time discussing and demonstrating various mental aspects of hostile situations… wonderful demonstrations on the concepts of ‘personal space’ and ‘comfort zones’. He also gave us a few techniques to facilitate the non-violent/minimal violent resolution of conflict, in addition to some of the really nasty stuff. One of the things about his presentations that I was most impressed with: after explaining each technique, he went around the room and executed the technique on each person there, then he had each person try it on him before we worked with other partners.
The sessions with Mr. Joe Gutowski were physically demanding. After the initial introductions, he delved right into a detailed session of chokes… right now I can count 9 distinct variations that I actually remember in detail, not counting the minor tweaks to alter each of them… I’m sure there were more than that… yeah, my neck felt special in the morning, but everyone used a lot of control. Armbars were also on the menu… we were given a fair amount from standing positions as well as from the ground… some offensive, some as defensive counters. I was impressed with his detailed explanations regarding the specifics of each position…. ‘why the head is on this side,’ ‘why the this hand is on top, and not that one,’ ‘why the opponent will not try to do X or Y from this position.’ During the session, he saw me applying a slightly different variation of an armlock that I use… he explained to me why it worked from some positions, but would not be effective from that particular position, then demonstrated it on me… he was correct, he got out of the hold quickly and I am not sure what happened next, but it did not feel pleasant… very cool stuff!
The banquet was great. The food was excellent, and it was nice to sit down, relax, and finally get to know some of the people I had been working out with during the weekend. It was a very 'family-like' atmosphere, and it felt like we were a group that got together on a regular basis. There were no 'strangers' or 'outsiders' in the camp, and no divisions among systems or other such factors. It was just one big group.
The entire event was well organized, and ran smoothly. The sessions were long enough to cover a ton of material, but nobody ever got bored with anything. There was a definite flow to the entire event. The mood was light, everyone had a good time, and there were more than a few laughs during the weekend. Most importantly: NOBODY got hurt… yeah, a few bruises here and there, a sore muscle or two… but everyone used common sense and control. Nobody tried to shy away from the rough stuff, but it was all done with control.
Everyone left their egos at the door. There was no sense of competition in the room… nobody tried to prove that ‘their system’ was better at anything… nobody ever said ‘THIS is how it must be done, and everything else is wrong.’ Everyone came to meet people, learn, share, and have fun without any ulterior motives. It was something MartialTalk can be proud to have put together. My compliments to Mr. Hubbard for the event... I am looking forward to the next one.
I would also like to extend a personal thank you to Mr. Hartman, who went out of his way to pick us up at the train station, and ensured that our transportation needs were met during the weekend… he went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable during our visit. I certainly hope for an opportunity to return the favor someday.
Sorry,,, thats all that comes to mind at the moment.. after 9 hours on a train, my brain is still fried... I'll let the others share all the cool stories from the event
This was by far one of the best martial arts related camp/seminar/event I have ever attended. The entire experience was amazing. The group in attendance was large enough to provide a diverse cross-section of styles and mindsets, but was small enough to allow everyone to have plenty of 1-on-1 time with the camp instructors. Mr. Hartman, Mr. Hutchins, and Mr. Gutowski all took the time to answer every question they were asked, and made sure they worked directly with everyone who attended.
It was a LONG weekend. Every session started a few minutes early, and they all ran a little longer than planned. There was not a lot of wasted time during the weekend.
Ok… specifics…. There was so much material covered in such a short time (yeah, 3 days seems short in comparison to just how much was covered)… the things that are sticking in my mind most at this particular moment:
We had quite a few people there that had never done any stick-work or knife-work before, so Mr. Tim Hartman began with the basics… even those of us with experience using sticks and knives were able to benefit from this, since its always good to brush up on the fundamentals again. We QUICKLY moved on to various block/counter techniques from a multitude of angles, and later moved on to a variety of disarming techniques… those with more experience had the opportunity to work on more advanced material while the beginners focused on the fundamentals.
The sessions with Mr. Dennis Hutchins covered a wide range of materials. A lot of emphasis was given to ‘new ways to use what we already know’… I hope that description does justice to it. The first session was spent practicing ‘sticky hands’ techniques… similar to ‘pushing hands’ for those of you familiar with that. Mr. Hutchins watched each of us doing the exercise with a partner, then pointed out the individual tendencies of each person and offered suggestions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. He also spent a great deal of time discussing and demonstrating various mental aspects of hostile situations… wonderful demonstrations on the concepts of ‘personal space’ and ‘comfort zones’. He also gave us a few techniques to facilitate the non-violent/minimal violent resolution of conflict, in addition to some of the really nasty stuff. One of the things about his presentations that I was most impressed with: after explaining each technique, he went around the room and executed the technique on each person there, then he had each person try it on him before we worked with other partners.
The sessions with Mr. Joe Gutowski were physically demanding. After the initial introductions, he delved right into a detailed session of chokes… right now I can count 9 distinct variations that I actually remember in detail, not counting the minor tweaks to alter each of them… I’m sure there were more than that… yeah, my neck felt special in the morning, but everyone used a lot of control. Armbars were also on the menu… we were given a fair amount from standing positions as well as from the ground… some offensive, some as defensive counters. I was impressed with his detailed explanations regarding the specifics of each position…. ‘why the head is on this side,’ ‘why the this hand is on top, and not that one,’ ‘why the opponent will not try to do X or Y from this position.’ During the session, he saw me applying a slightly different variation of an armlock that I use… he explained to me why it worked from some positions, but would not be effective from that particular position, then demonstrated it on me… he was correct, he got out of the hold quickly and I am not sure what happened next, but it did not feel pleasant… very cool stuff!
The banquet was great. The food was excellent, and it was nice to sit down, relax, and finally get to know some of the people I had been working out with during the weekend. It was a very 'family-like' atmosphere, and it felt like we were a group that got together on a regular basis. There were no 'strangers' or 'outsiders' in the camp, and no divisions among systems or other such factors. It was just one big group.
The entire event was well organized, and ran smoothly. The sessions were long enough to cover a ton of material, but nobody ever got bored with anything. There was a definite flow to the entire event. The mood was light, everyone had a good time, and there were more than a few laughs during the weekend. Most importantly: NOBODY got hurt… yeah, a few bruises here and there, a sore muscle or two… but everyone used common sense and control. Nobody tried to shy away from the rough stuff, but it was all done with control.
Everyone left their egos at the door. There was no sense of competition in the room… nobody tried to prove that ‘their system’ was better at anything… nobody ever said ‘THIS is how it must be done, and everything else is wrong.’ Everyone came to meet people, learn, share, and have fun without any ulterior motives. It was something MartialTalk can be proud to have put together. My compliments to Mr. Hubbard for the event... I am looking forward to the next one.
I would also like to extend a personal thank you to Mr. Hartman, who went out of his way to pick us up at the train station, and ensured that our transportation needs were met during the weekend… he went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable during our visit. I certainly hope for an opportunity to return the favor someday.
Sorry,,, thats all that comes to mind at the moment.. after 9 hours on a train, my brain is still fried... I'll let the others share all the cool stories from the event (there were more than a few worth sharing.) Alright… I finally got unpacked, took a nap, and managed to unwind after the train ride back… and had some time to reflect on the weekend camp.
This was by far one of the best martial arts related camp/seminar/event I have ever attended. The entire experience was amazing. The group in attendance was large enough to provide a diverse cross-section of styles and mindsets, but was small enough to allow everyone to have plenty of 1-on-1 time with the camp instructors. Mr. Hartman, Mr. Hutchins, and Mr. Gutowski all took the time to answer every question they were asked, and made sure they worked directly with everyone who attended.
It was a LONG weekend. Every session started a few minutes early, and they all ran a little longer than planned. There was not a lot of wasted time during the weekend.
Ok… specifics…. There was so much material covered in such a short time (yeah, 3 days seems short in comparison to just how much was covered)… the things that are sticking in my mind most at this particular moment:
We had quite a few people there that had never done any stick-work or knife-work before, so Mr. Tim Hartman began with the basics… even those of us with experience using sticks and knives were able to benefit from this, since its always good to brush up on the fundamentals again. We QUICKLY moved on to various block/counter techniques from a multitude of angles, and later moved on to a variety of disarming techniques… those with more experience had the opportunity to work on more advanced material while the beginners focused on the fundamentals.
The sessions with Mr. Dennis Hutchins covered a wide range of materials. A lot of emphasis was given to ‘new ways to use what we already know’… I hope that description does justice to it. The first session was spent practicing ‘sticky hands’ techniques… similar to ‘pushing hands’ for those of you familiar with that. Mr. Hutchins watched each of us doing the exercise with a partner, then pointed out the individual tendencies of each person and offered suggestions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. He also spent a great deal of time discussing and demonstrating various mental aspects of hostile situations… wonderful demonstrations on the concepts of ‘personal space’ and ‘comfort zones’. He also gave us a few techniques to facilitate the non-violent/minimal violent resolution of conflict, in addition to some of the really nasty stuff. One of the things about his presentations that I was most impressed with: after explaining each technique, he went around the room and executed the technique on each person there, then he had each person try it on him before we worked with other partners.
The sessions with Mr. Joe Gutowski were physically demanding. After the initial introductions, he delved right into a detailed session of chokes… right now I can count 9 distinct variations that I actually remember in detail, not counting the minor tweaks to alter each of them… I’m sure there were more than that… yeah, my neck felt special in the morning, but everyone used a lot of control. Armbars were also on the menu… we were given a fair amount from standing positions as well as from the ground… some offensive, some as defensive counters. I was impressed with his detailed explanations regarding the specifics of each position…. ‘why the head is on this side,’ ‘why the this hand is on top, and not that one,’ ‘why the opponent will not try to do X or Y from this position.’ During the session, he saw me applying a slightly different variation of an armlock that I use… he explained to me why it worked from some positions, but would not be effective from that particular position, then demonstrated it on me… he was correct, he got out of the hold quickly and I am not sure what happened next, but it did not feel pleasant… very cool stuff!
The banquet was great. The food was excellent, and it was nice to sit down, relax, and finally get to know some of the people I had been working out with during the weekend. It was a very 'family-like' atmosphere, and it felt like we were a group that got together on a regular basis. There were no 'strangers' or 'outsiders' in the camp, and no divisions among systems or other such factors. It was just one big group.
The entire event was well organized, and ran smoothly. The sessions were long enough to cover a ton of material, but nobody ever got bored with anything. There was a definite flow to the entire event. The mood was light, everyone had a good time, and there were more than a few laughs during the weekend. Most importantly: NOBODY got hurt… yeah, a few bruises here and there, a sore muscle or two… but everyone used common sense and control. Nobody tried to shy away from the rough stuff, but it was all done with control.
Everyone left their egos at the door. There was no sense of competition in the room… nobody tried to prove that ‘their system’ was better at anything… nobody ever said ‘THIS is how it must be done, and everything else is wrong.’ Everyone came to meet people, learn, share, and have fun without any ulterior motives. It was something MartialTalk can be proud to have put together. My compliments to Mr. Hubbard for the event... I am looking forward to the next one.
I would also like to extend a personal thank you to Mr. Hartman, who went out of his way to pick us up at the train station, and ensured that our transportation needs were met during the weekend… he went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable during our visit. I certainly hope for an opportunity to return the favor someday.
Sorry,,, thats all that comes to mind at the moment.. after 9 hours on a train, my brain is still fried... I'll let the others share all the cool stories from the event
! It really shows you care though! 
