WTG

Hi all...

As I told Burton, I had to close my Gym due to high overhead and I was losing my butt! So in the meantime as I look for a new place, me and a few of my dedicated students are training in the park!

Well, it's been interesting, from the HOT sun (it's been in the high 80's to low 90's and HUMID!) to the fun of groundfighting in the dirt with big twigs and rocks and grass, un-even ground etc... Man I miss my mat!

Well, by far, the most interesting thing to happen was last night.
I was approached by a BIG Samoan holding a Budwieser he also was obviously high as well (pot). He was nice enough, but very agressive and their was a sense of "testing" going on. Long story short, he seen us working corner drills and started talking boxing with me while throwing combo's at me in a "playful" manner, he asked if I had heard the music he was playing and pointed toward his truck where 7 other big and lean Samoans were drinking and openly smoking herb.

He said, thats David Tua! I said oh really... Cool... Trying to get back to training, he then pointed to a guy and said, see him? He is REALLY good man! FAST!!! He could knock you out in two seconds, he's the real thing Brother! (as an aside, do all Samoans talk about God allot? Because these guys did ALLOT as well as called me Brother ALLOT and loved to shake hands and hug! LOL!)

Anyway, it ends up with his friends coming over and the guy who was spozed to be good coming over to me and playfully started to slap box with me, he was testing me I felt and there was a sense of danger in the air, they all looked like panthers waiting to pounce at the first sign of weakness.

Well, he got more and more agressive, so I started to make contact and gave him a few slaps,which at first seemed to excite him! LOL! He started to fake a tackle and get more unpredictable, so I landed harder and more often, then suddenly, he snapped up
and said, hey, your all right my brother!

Then asked what we did and we chatted a while and they took off.

All's well that ends well I guess

But I must admit, I was sure praying that they all didn't want to "play" I think, as did those students who were there, that if they sensed any weakness or fear, they would have had some fun with us...

In any event, sure made me glad that I train against agressive partnersand reminded my of what could happen, so, don't get lazy! It is like insurance ya know? Ya might hate paying out the money all the time when ya never use it, but man, when something happens, your sure glad it's there!

I have really hated training in this heat and dirt etc... I am getting tired of running, and lifting too, but last night woke me up and said Rick, keep paying on that insurance my friend, ya never know what tomorrow brings!

Should be a fun summer

-Rick

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White Tiger Gym "Truth through experience..."

Burton

Great story. I grew up in Carson, California which has more Samoans than the capitol of Samoa. They are very large and fun-loving. The culture is different, and hitting another person is not that big of a deal there. Interesting to note that culturally speaking you did the right thing. If you back down or become passive, you would probably been whacked around. By standing up and giving back some smacks, you gain their respect and friendship. Same in the Hawaiian culture. I know a Hawaiian family where a caucasian guy married into the family. The girls dad was not thrilled, and there was a strained relationship between the guy and the father-in-law. One day, they came to blows, and the mainland guy gave pops some good shots, and fought back hard. After that, he was totally accepted into the family without any hard feelings at all. Culture operate differently, and you did the right thing. Good thing you train realistically. Can you imagine what would have happened if you practiced trapping flow drills all day?

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"If you want to learn how to fight, you must practice fighting against someone who is fighting back!" Burton Richardson

WTG

Hi Burton,

that was my first time meeting a Samaon let alone eight of them!! LOL!

And man, you have NO IDEA how happy I was that I train realistically LOL! Yeah, I was suprised, because as he came harder, and I answered harder, I expected him or THEM to just throw down! Instead, he snapped up and it was like we had been buddies for life! LOL!

Great experience. And next time I meet some Samoans, I will remember this and your advice, thanks!

BTW, I have a REAL fight coming up in July... Someone I knew from another art is coming for a seminar to some school up here.
Well, he and I always differed in opinion as to training, he believes in doing it JUST as in Japan (Bujinkan) with a fully relaxed partner, and only against tsuki (lunge punch) or the straight kick etc... No sparring AT ALL or resistance (because they are too dangerous LOL!)

Anyway, I simply told him that I KNEW what I say to be true due to experience and I would be willing to show him whenever. SO now that he is coming up here, he wants to fight all out no gloves etc...

So I accepted...


I'll let ya know what happens, oh, and he insisted that it be video taped, so, if any of you want to see it

-Rick

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White Tiger Gym "Truth through experience..."

Jim McRae

"he believes in doing it JUST as in Japan (Bujinkan) with a fully relaxed partner, and only against tsuki (lunge punch) or the straight kick etc... No sparring AT ALL or resistance (because they are too dangerous LOL!)
Anyway, I simply told him that I KNEW what I say to be true due to experience and I would be willing to show him whenever. SO now that he is coming up here, he wants to fight all out no gloves etc... "

Make sure you get him to sign a waiver! Unless he can fight better than most Aikido guys that I know who spout off the same stuff about "deadly technique" and "maintaining proper Ki through non-resistance," he'll probably need serious medical attention after the fight (not to mention psychotherapy to mend his battered ego). During my first year of JKD training, when I was still doing Aikido, I used to test out Aikido techniques with moderate to full resistance with my Aikido students (using gloves and headgear). I found, not surprisingly, that techniques that are developed in a vacuum only work in a vacuum. (I also found that Aikido works great after you hit a guy four or five times!). Also, techniques that work really well against mune-tsuki and mae-keri don't hold up against big-fat-cross-tsuki and mean-ol'-snapkick-keri. I made sure my Sensei never found out about my series of experiments, because he would have been extraordinarily upset (how dare I question the art, etc, etc). One of the reasons that I love training in JKD is that it demands that we question reality and then put our understanding of reality to the test — why this is missing from many other "martial arts" is a complete mystery.

Hope you can find a new school soon!

Take care and train hard,
Jim

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We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.
-Socrates

WTG

Hi Jim,

yes I won't fight unless he signs, I'll make sure we get that on video as well! btw, this whole video thing is because he wants to show all his buddies that us "sport" guys are no match for proper traditional training. Yeah, he hears the words ThaiBoxing and Brazilian Jiujitsu or Greco and we become a sport. Or as he says,
it's "just a sport for god sakes!" This is BUDO! LOL!

There is also the small factor that this guy weighs about 130-145lbs as is an inch smaller than me. I on the other hand weigh almost 260 look something like Herb (only prettier )
bench 375, squat 450 etc...

Now, if he trained like Bruce Lee, I might be in trouble LOL! But as I said, the way he trains is like Aikido Although the nature of the actual techniques are more combative.

He said that he was at one time an area Rep. for Larry Hartsell and "knows all about JKD" and is not impressed...

We will see...

-Rick

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White Tiger Gym "Truth through experience..."