April's Germany Visit

Marc Sigle flew me over to Esslingen, near Stuttgart. I went a day early and he and I went screaming down the Autobahn to Friedrichshafen, on Lake Constance.

Lake Constance

 

Marc's parents have a condo down there so we had lunch, went to the Zeppelin museum, http://www.zeppelin-museum.de/dasmuseum0.0.html then out to the airport there for a huge aviation expo they happened to be having. On the way to the condo we stopped at the church at Birnau, famous for its Baroque architecture. http://en.seeferien.com/Cultural-activities/Birnau-The-pilgrimage-church-and-baroque-jewel-of-Lake-Constance

 

We went back to Esslingen on Friday to start the weekend off with a children's class and one for the adults on the gun defenses. By then, Thomas Kozitzky and Claudia Neumann had arrived from Willich as well as Phil Buck from England.
Saturday and Sunday were full days with more gun defense, forms work, and an emphasis on working with the Web of Knowledge. Saturday night we went to our usual dinner spot at Katerinalinde, which overlooks Stuttgart with a beautiful view.

 

Working the gun techniques in Europe is always a bit different because they don't have the widespread ownership and have less experience with handling guns than many Americans. I spent extra time on the handling and the psychology of a gun fighter or criminal. I have gotten good feedback on this approach.

Phil Buck bet me I couldn't work a line from a Monty Python movie, of his choosing, into my seminar; "He's not the Messiah, but he a very naughty boy." He lost. Below, he has a light snack at Barista in Esslingen.

 

 

 

There was a all-over positive atmosphere the entire weekend. Maybe it was Kirsten's cookies. But everyone had a great time. Marc is a wonderful host and I can't thank him enough. We both thank everyone who supported the event.

 

 

Look Out Deutschland!

I'm on my way to German this week to see our people over there. Marc Sigle hosts at his studio in Esslingen, near Stuttgart. Phil Buck will be down from England. Thomas Kozitzky and Claudia Neumann will be there from the Dusseldorf area and we may have reps from Athens, Greece.
Always fun with this group. Be there if you can.

A New Systema Instructor

Congratulations go out to Brian Price in Pennsylvania on earning his instructor certificate from Vladimir Vasiliev at the headquarters school in Toronto. Brian is one of my 6th degrees and has been working with my old friend, Al McLuckie and also going up to Toronto to train. Al is a Filipino Martial Arts guro but got into the Russian system years ago, just before I did. Brian has been exposed to some high-level practitioners and worked very hard to do this. He makes us proud.

Covington, Louisiana seminars

I was teaching at Danny Sullivan's studio on Saturday and worked with his children's class and a group of adults. The kids did falls and ground defense and the adults worked joint lock techniques and grafting.
The kids did a great job. The adults were introduced to grafting some of the locking techniques, based off our handshake defenses. We had guests from a local Tae Kwon Do studio and they picked it right up.
I found that I had two more 20 year students there in Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Peter Galvano, both of who had started with me in Ft. Myers, FL in 1992-93. Pete now has a studio in Gulf Shores, Alabama, near Mobile.
I had the opportunity to work with them and Mr. Felix Indest afterward, as they're all working toward their next rank. It's good to see they're motivated and improving and make time in their schedules to work together, even with the distances involved.
On Friday night we were hosted at the Southern Yacht Club by brown belt Paul Kavanaugh for dinner. Group of a dozen of us enjoyed a meal with a great view and interesting conversation. My thanks to Paul, along with a Happy Birthday!
Thanks to everyone who supported and to Mr. Sullivan for making it happen.
 

New Orleans area this weekend

I'll be at Danny Sullivan's Covington Karate Studio this Saturday, April 20 for one kids and two adults seminars. Kids will be working on falls and rolls. The adults are doing joint locks and grafting.
www.karatecovington.com

South Carolina PDS

Nick Dreiling hosted one of my Professional Development Seminars at his new location in Goose Creek, near Charleston, on Saturday, April 13. He was a bit under the weather but toughed it out.
A PDS is a small-group, intensive seminar very focused on a subject or subjects and this one was a continuation of detailing the original Ed Parker purple belt techniques.
Fourteen participants from all over SC and Genie Byrd drove up from Florida. Nick had lunch catered in. We ran about six hours and covered a lot of material.
Friday night we ran some seminars, too, with Bruce Meyer working with juniors and I taught a class on the freestyle techniques. It's always interesting to watch Mr. Meyer with a class and this time was no exception. He started to teach the advanced juniors a thesis form he's been working on. When I say started, I mean he gave them the first part. As I listened and watched I saw how well he had thought out what he had created, and that's what we want to see as instructors- what's come out of what we put in.
Thanks to Nick's wife Terri and his mom, Linda, for handling lunch. I think their baby girl, Lily, had a hand in there, too.  Nick's dad picked me up at the airport when Nick was feeling ill, so it was a pleasure to get a chance to know him, too.
I'll be back in SC in August, watch the website for details.

And I saw Bill Murray at the airport!

Ft. Myers Comprehensive Review Seminar Recap

They came, they saw, they had enough after 6 1/2 hours. Genie Byrd hosted at Imperial Dragon Kenpo in Ft. Myers, FL. About a dozen black belts participated in the review, coming from the local studio, Ed Cabrera's in Tampa, Tim Walker's AKKU in Branford and American Karate in Tallahassee. Jim Deery flew in from Philly. Four of them had just passed their 20 year anniversary on kenpo under me.
Jim Deery had a car accident and totaled his vehicle, went to the hospital and made it to the studio anyway! That's dedication. Frank Triolo, who is fighting and beating cancer sat in, too. Big pats on the back to these two.
We started with the original yellow, went into the orange and the extensions, continued up to purple with extensions, too, and on to blue. The forms from one thru Long Three were done also. We discussed variations, themes, relationships, where the techniques came from and I told some anecdotes. The feedback has been very positive.
This session was designed for those working toward 3rd and above, hence the amount of detail and the length of time it took. Other sessions are planned in other states as well as a follow up to this one so we can finish. Watch for dates on my website seminar page at www.wedlakekenpotv.com/leewedlake/seminars-2 and on my Facebook pages.
  I managed to see my tai chi teacher, Tom Baeli, very briefly and my Systema buddy, Pater Annazone. I spent some time working with Dr. Marc Rowe, who took over my tai chi classes at the hospital when I left Ft. Myers. It's always interesting hanging with him. One of my tai chi students from Celebration, Deborah Porter, came down and had dinner with us as a group after the Saturday class. She told me I'd inspired her and she's now in her second year as a student of Chinese medicine and will be an acupuncturist.
  I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to but got some time with my sisters and my dad, who will be 86 this month and is doing well. Since it seems I got most of his genes, it looks like I'll be around a while to pass on the knowledge.
  Thanks to all who supported the event. It was good to see y'all.
  

Damewood, Walker, Caldwell, Byrd, Cabrera, Shaffer, Jenkins, self, Weil, Deery and Miragliotta. Brad Congress and Frank Triolo missing.

Well, duh- the April article is out...

and I forgot to post the excerpt. Here it is, it's on scanning.

 

As we cross out that same angle won’t help us much with our scan, so we have to move the head. But how we move the head is important. I’ve seen some snap their head around; once on the single cover and twice on the double. Looks strong but it’s not good for your neck. It’s really not good if your neck is tense, as it probably would be in a fight. Resources say there can be soft tissue damage in the neck, as there can be in a car accident.

Snapping your head also starts the fluids in your ear’s vestibular system moving and produces a sense of dizziness or unsteadiness in some people. The fluid in your ears moves against the hairs (cilia) in them and that movement produces a signal that goes to the brain, where it’s processed to tell you which way you’re moving. The vestibular system has three tubes in it, basically one for each major axis; vertical, lateral and diagonal. Move your head fast and the fluid moves fast, slowly and it moves slowly. When you snap it and stop, the fluid is still moving and the brain has to sort out the signals. It’s processing that plus what the eyes see and other pressures such as weight on the feet (proprioception) or someone pressing on you. There’s a lot going on. Type vestibular system in Google images, for example, to see what it looks like.

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Old Guys Rule

I wish two good friends a Happy Birthday this month. Kurt Barnhart of Chicago and Bruce Meyer of Columbia, SC. We're all about the same age, and still kicking. I'll see them both in the next few weeks. I guess I'll have to find some "Old Guys Rule" t-shirts for them. I have one -took it off an old guy.