Pennsylvania Seminars

Last weekend I went to Leesport, PA to Brian Price's studio in Leesport to teach seminars for the kids and adults. The kids class was on staying focused in training and we even had parents on the mat with us. The adult subjects were concussions/sleeper holds for the first and the second was on "category completion". The turnouts were very good and many schools were represented.
   We were honored to have Hanshi Ron Martin, 8th dan, Goju-Ryu present. He was the captain of the first US Karate Team and was known as one of the top karate fighters.

Self, Brian Price, Hanshi Martin

 

 Mr. Price had recently earned his instructor certificate in Systema and we did a little hands-on during the weekend, which was fun. He and his wife, Sue (who bakes a mean cake), took me to dinner Friday and we had an enjoyable evening. Saturday's dinner after the seminar was attended by about 15 people, including Mark Schiffman, Jim Deery, Marc Shay, Mike Corsello, Stephanie Hammond and Hanshi Martin. It was entertaining, to say the least.

  Photos to follow.
  I'll be in the Philadelphia area the weekend of July 27-28 at Marc Shay's and hope to see our PA people again.

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.

Seminar at Brian Price's studio

I was up at Brian Price's studio in Leesport, PA the weekend of May 12. I go up there once a year and Brian and Sue are great hosts. He always takes me out to the range to shoot for a few hours with one of his co-workers - He Who Shall Be Nameless. Nameless is a one-man armory and this year it was mostly .45 cal we were shooting. He's got a Performance Center 1911 model that he better keep his eye on or one of us will swipe it.
     Saturday was a full day with private lessons to start. With the kids I worked on some freestyle concepts. The adults did joint locking techniques in the first session and two man defenses in the second.
     Sam Babikian was in from Phildelphia to pick my brain as were Marc Shay and Jim Deery. These three gentlemen and now a part of my lineage, with Jim being the newest addition. Sam is working toward his 5th degree and has an interesting thesis in the works. Brian being my senior guy in the state of Pennsylvania, is doing a fine job with perpetuating the art and improving his own peformance with continued kenpo training and cross-training in Systema. He recently got his Instructor In Training certificate directly from Vladimir Vasiliev. Congrats to him for that.
   The adult seminars were pretty packed with students from Mr. Price's studio as well as the aforementioned Philadelphia contingent along with Dan Meck from Meta Martial Arts and Mike and Stephanie from Corsello's studio. Other studios were represented, too, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

 

PA seminar photos

Got to do some shooting with Brian, Emidio, and Brian's father, Bob. Good guys all. 

Brian Price promoted

I was in Leesport, PA over the weekend at Brian Price's studio. The seminars there went very well with three sessions conducted. I had about 20 children in the first and then two groups of adults to cover Defending the Third Person and What-If subjects with.
  While there I promoted Mr. Price to sixth black. He had recently finished his written thesis requirement and it was approved. His time-in-grade was appropriate and he has been contributing to the art for many years by instructing and continuing his education in order to be a better teacher.
  Please join me in congratulating him.

Seminar at Brian Price's in Pennsylvania

I taught at Brian Price's studio in Leesport, PA last weekend. We did a solid day of seminars and private lessons. It was a full house in each session. Brian runs a tight ship up there and it shows in his students. Each group was a pleasure to work with.

After the classes on Saturday we went to a nice Italian restaurant where I got a chance to talk for a while with the troops. It's good to catch up on what's going on in various parts of the country.

I was able to work one-on-one with Mr. Price, who is working toward his next degree, and with Sam Babikian, also working toward a promotion. Both these gentlemen provide mental stimulation with the questions asked and I get as much from them as they get from me. Not to say that others I worked with don't, everyone up there is great to work with.

Keep up the good work there in Pennsylvania!

PA seminar

My visit to Brian Price's studio in Leesport, PA was great. Mr. Price and his people are a great group. The kids class was big fun, and adults came from other schools as well, resulting in two well-attended seminars. The subjects were family groupings and I covered some self-defense concepts using an idea of breaking a technique in half.
I'm looking forward to going back later this year.