Soke Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi

So, today we focused on self-defense training specifically. Michael and I worked on several sequences this morning together and then later we met up with Michael Tatum, a student with Bunjikan Tenguzake Dojo, here in the Central Florida area. This Dojo is in the line of instruction under Masaaki Hatsumi, the reknown Master from Japan.  Truly a man and a system of Martial Arts deserving of much honor and respect.

Michael Tatum will be working with our team for the self-defense portion of our training and presentation. It is an honor and a privilege to be working with him.

What was NOT such “an honor and a privilege” was training in the deluge of rain that came upon us while in the middle of the field we were training in. The rain came so fast and so hard we really had no other choice but to stand there and “enjoy”   Actually, it kinda reminded us of the dreams we have as kids (and adults) about being warriors standing in the rain looking off toward the battlefield ready to engage the enemy with power and skill, ready to lay down our lives for honor…and with a huge rolling mist engulfing us…um, cut to the credits

It was refreshing, pun intended, to work outside and specifically on self-defense techniques ranging from Muy Thai, Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Hapkido, Karate, and Judo to weapons defenses.

I always enjoy working self-defense and am grateful that the U.S. Open has a platform for this portion of our Art to be demonstrated and performed.

We will train for quite a bit tomorrow on this again, as well as with our kata (forms) training in addition to our physical workout.

Then…on Sunday we travel South to meet with Lauren Kearney, my coach, to really begin fine tuning a lot of our training.

We have accomplished a lot this week and are looking to make significant strides in the next few weeks in our preparation for the U.S. Open.

Stay tuned…