6th Annual Saratoga Martial Arts Festival
Saturday and Sunday, April 1 & 2, 2006

Saratoga Martial Arts Festival info

I had four goals going to SMAF this year -

• learn a couple of new techniques - this one can be tough, because so much is covered at the seminars that by the end of the weekend I'm typically in overload and can't remember much of anything. So rather than trying to remember everything new I did, I wanted to have just a few things that I could add to my repertoire.


• learn some new principles/ideas (or variations on principles/ideas I already know) - I think this is actually easier in some ways than remembering techniques, and also more important, because if I have the principles, I can potentially build or adapt my own techniques using them.


• get to seminars being taught by instructors I wanted to see in the past and didn't - one of the toughest things about events like SMAF is that there's always more to do than there's time to do it. Last year there were several times where two seminars I wanted to attend were going on at the same time. So as difficult as it was to miss seminars being taught by instructors that I know I really enjoyed in the past - I forced myself to do it.


• HAVE FUN DOING MARTIAL ARTS ALL WEEKEND! Woo hoo!

Things were structured a little bit differently this year. On both Saturday and Sunday morning, there were seminars being taught by teams of instructors addressing a common topic, and then in the afternoon each gave a longer seminar individually. Sunday also featured a 2 hour long session on some sort of weapons work. On the plus side, this allowed us to both get a taste for a number of arts and get more in-depth work with one particular instructor. On the minus side, it seemed like there was less to choose from, I guess because the same people were teaching in the morning and then later in the afternoon. But it did fit in well with the overall theme this year, which was looking for the similarities and differences in how various arts approach the same issues.

SATURDAY, APRIL 1

Energy Drills of 4 Styles - This was the first of the team-taught sessions, with each instructor covering about 20 minutes of material. Our group had Instructor George Ilyadis first. Instructor Ilyadis is a Jeet Kune Do stylist, and he covered some JKD concepts of striking and how they relate to sensing energy. He did an excellent job presenting it - it's quite different conceptually from what we do at AMAI. Next up was Dr. Jerome Barber, a kenpo-arnis stylist. I was very impressed by Dr. Barber's demonstration last year, and even more impressed by his discussion of why it's important to have martial arts events like SMAF. He taught us a Filipino energy-sensitivity drill much like Chinese push-hands - I really enjoyed his presentation, and decided I would definitely attend his seminar in the afternoon. Our third instructor was Sifu Jiang Jian-ye, who has a wealth of knowledge about a wide variety of Chinese martial arts. He did variations on push-hands with us; unfortunately, given the time constraints he had very little time to actually explain what we were doing. The final instructor was Sifu Sharif Bey, a Hung Ga stylist and another instructor whose energy and willingness to share knowledge really impressed me last year. Sifu Bey taught us a Hung Ga energy drill which was a lot of fun, and he also gave us an incredible amount of information about Hung Ga training methods.


Sifu Jiang Jian-ye


Sifu Sharif Bey

While I was in the first seminar, Guro Doug Marcaida gave a seminar on Pekiti Tirsia Kali, a Filipino martial art. From what I saw of Guro Marcaida later in the day, I definitely want to take one of his seminars when the opportunity arises! (Yet another example of the difficulty in making choices at SMAF!)


Guro Doug Marcaida

Kata to Combat - this was another of the team-taught seminars, with an emphasis on translating movements and movement concepts from kata into effective self-defense techniques. Our first instructor was Sifu William Luciano, who teaches Pai-Chia Chu'an (Pai Family Boxing), a Chinese style. Sifu Luciano taught us the beginning movements of a Chinese form and explained some of the self-defense principles behind the movements. After that Kyoshi Joe Mansfield, who trains in Okinawa-Te Ryute Renmei. His focus was primarily on using simple, natural movements to defend yourself, and he also explained how similar movements can be found in most style's katas. This theme was continued by Sensei Tony DiSarro, an instructor in Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo. Sensei DiSarro showed us how simple, everyday movements like shaking hands or brushing your hair can be combined with proper body positioning to be used as practical self-defense. The final session was taught by Sifu Mark Cardona, of Wan Yi Chuan Kung Fu. Sifu Cardona taught us several moves from a Chinese tiger kata, and also explained the application of these movements. At the very end he treated us to a demonstration of several other animal styles, giving us a chance to see how different approaches are used to achieve similar goals. Having done this seminar, I came away wanting to take another seminar with each of the instructors (Sifu Cardona is the only one I've worked with before.) They all had a lot to offer and were excellent at explaining the concepts behind their arts. Saturday afternoon I would get the opportunity to work with one of them; hopefully next year I can take seminars with some of the others. (I'm seeing a common theme here... more! more! more!)


Sifu Bill Luciano


Kyoshi Joe Mansfield


Sifu Mark Cardona

Knife Defense with Dr. Jerome Barber - Admittedly, this session was a tough decision, since Sifu Sharif Bey was doing a seminar on Hung Ga Chin Na (joint locking) techniques. But I knew I wanted to try a session with Dr. Barber, and I was not disappointed. We started out with a sensitivity drill designed to help us deflect attacks with little or no applied force. We then extended this to deflecting knife attacks. As we were doing so, Dr. Barber spoke at length about some of the concepts involved in defending against a knife, such as deflecting attacks in ways that won't bring the blade across your own body or leave you open to a weapon in the attacker's other hand. After learning to deflect the attacks, we then worked on following up with locks, strikes, and stripping the knife. He also spent a while talking about legal implications of knife defense and using biomechanical cuts (cuts designed to disable rather than kill an assailant.) At several points, he assisted my partner and I with techniques by demonstrating on me, and his control was excellent - despite multiple kicks to the knee, take-downs, and joint locks, I never once felt that there was any danger of his injuring me. (I believe I even got filmed being beaten up!) Overall, an EXCELLENT seminar taught by a master teacher. (And one which has me even more enthusiastic about possibly attending Dr. Barber's Buffalo Martial Arts Summit in July!)


Dr. Jerome Barber

Timing and Anatomical Power in Kosho Ryu Kempo with Sensei Tony DiSarro - I had wanted to get to Sensei DiSarro's seminars for the past two years, but there was always something I wanted to do even more in the same timeslot. The short session with him in the morning was intriguing enough that I decided to take his afternoon session (a tough choice - I also wanted to do the seminar with Sifu William Luciano - maybe next year!) Sensei DiSarro built on the basic concepts from the morning session - (1) using natural motions and body positioning to defend yourself with as little force as possible, and (2) making physical contact with your assailant in a relaxed, non-threatening way to avoid triggering an adrenaline response in them (ie. take them out before they know what's hit them!) Sensei DiSarro taught in a fairly relaxed way but managed to convey quite a bit of information in the time we had with him. His uke, Sensei Ted Tanaka, was also very helpful in both sessions - he has an eye for detail and an way of explaining things that just makes sense to me. (He also just plain has fun doing martial arts, which makes it fun to work with him!)


Sensei Tony DiSarro

Zenbu Ryu Jujutsu with Sensei Gary Lewis - The last sessions of the day were taught by instructors who had never presented at SMAF before, and I decided to try some jujutsu (another tough choice, since the other seminars were on aikido and Emin Boztepe's style of Wing Chun - I really enjoyed the aikido seminars I've done previously, and I'm particularly interested in the Boztepe system!) Sensei Lewis teaches at Kinderhook Tae Kwon Do, and the first thing that stands out about him is that he is a BIG fellow. The second thing that became very apparent was that we were fortunate that we weren't his uke's - those guys were taking a real beating! Most of the techniques we did worked off of a shoulder grab/lapel grab/single-hand push to the chest, and the variety of techniques that he built off of the initial move was incredible (if only I could remember more of them!) By the end of the 90 minutes, my hand and wrist were throbbing from the constant grab and torque that started out each sequence. Unfortunately, all the up and down aggravated my right knee, so I had to take it easy for the last half an hour or so. Some very cool techniques, and I was impressed with the fact that when Sensei Lewis assisted us with techniques his control was excellent - I initially was worried I would get slammed and cranked like his uke, but that was not the case. All in all, a great (if somewhat strenuous and slightly painful) way to end the first day!


Sensei Gary Lewis

SUNDAY, APRIL 2

Defense Against Bear Hugs - this was the only team-taught session on Sunday, with a focus on how different styles deal with bear hugs, both from the front and from behind. Our group started with Shihan Barbara Dawes. Shihan Dawes' primary style is Shin Ki No Karate, which combines her training in Okinawan Ryu-Te, defensive tactics, and arnis. Her primary apporach for our session was in practical application of basic kata movements in self defense. Her moves didn't always focus on bear hugs, but they were interesting and effective all the same! Next up was Master Dominick Violante, an instructor who I worked with both last year and the year before - and who has impressed me greatly both with the quality and depth of his knowledge and with his teaching ability and open-mindedness. Master Violante focused on aiki techniques for escaping from bear hugs - the sorts of techniques that look like they have no reason to work but then prove to be very effective, when executed correctly. Most involved subtle shifts in body weight to disrupt the attacker's balance and grip. Don't know that I'd want to try any of the movements against someone out to clean my clock without a lot more practice - but this session reinforced my belief in the effectiveness of aikijujutsu and aikido. The final session of the morning was taught by Sensei Michael Campos, founder and head of Zen Do Kai International. The techniques were very practical and combined striking with a variety of jujutsu-style movements; I was also impressed by Sensei Campos' teaching methods. Perhaps I had an advantage of sorts in that we had an odd number of students, so I ended up paired up with Sensei Campos' assistant! In the end, as much as I wanted to do another session with Master Violante, this portion of the morning helped me decide to take Sensei Campos' seminar in the afternoon.


Shihan Barbara Dawes


Master Dominick Violante

Bokken kumitachi with Sensei Ted Tanaka - Next up was a 2 hour session that I'd been looking forward to all weekend, first because the focus would be on sword and bokken kumitachi (something I've been trying to incorporate into my own sword classes) and secondly because the class would be taught by Sensei Ted Tanaka, who is not only an excellent teacher but also a lot of fun! This session was long but a lot of fun, as we moved back and forth attacking and defending with our bokkens. One of the most interesting aspects was getting a chance to do two short sword kumitachi - I'm familiar with several long sword exercises from various books and videos but had never seen any short sword exercises before today! (Now if only I could remember the movements!)


Sensei Ted Tanaka

Self-Defense Against Club Attacks with Sensei Michael Campos - the last seminar of the weekend, and another tough choice, because all three of the morning instructors had interesting things to present. In the end I decided on Sensei Campos' session, both because I had wanted to do one with him in the previous years and because I'm very interested in self-defense against club attacks. This was a great way to wrap up the weekend... the techniques Sensei Campos taught were not that complicated (so I might remember a few of them) and he also explained the principles behind how they work. We covered single-handed strikes to the head and body, back-handed swings, and two-handed swings (like a baseball bat.) All in all, informative and a lot of fun!


Sensei Michael Campos

So, another year at SMAF has concluded, and the question is - did I accomplish my goals? I think so... I came away with a few techniques which I'm going to try to incorporate into my knowledge base, and a few concepts and principles as well. I also took classes with three instructors I'd been interested in from previous years, as well as short sessions with a couple of old favorites. (Of course, this may just mean that the decision-making for next year's seminars will be even more difficult, since I would gladly do another class with any of them!) And I definitely had some fun in the process, and hopefully gave the instructors and students there a good impression of instructors and students from AMAI.

Only a year to go until SMAF 2007!

JMH

Froggy Went A'Courting... mm hmm... mm hmm...
3 hour run in the Albany Pine Bush
Friday, March 31, 2006

Well, after two days of trying to get off my backside and do my long run for the week... finally pulled it off.

Gorgeous day today. Temperature was in the high 60's and may have even hit 70. I was a little worried I didn't pack enough fluids, but I had just the right amount (ie. I was almost out when I finished.)

The critters were definitely enjoying the warm weather. Saw 4 snakes - either garter or ribbon snakes - sunning themselves. The ponds were FULL of frogs... one of the larger ones must have had several hundred frogs in it. Saw some females with egg masses, so guess it's breeding time. Boy, several hundred frogs sure do make a racket when they're all talking at once.

As far as the run goes, I have only one thing to say:

Three hours HURTS.

Hopefully in a few more weeks that won't be the case.

JMH

coming up: the Northern Nipmuck 16 mile trail race in two weeks! With luck that will give me some clue as to what I'll be facing at the Nipmuck Trail Marathon at the end of May...

Muskrats, Otters, and Big Fish
12 mile bike ride along the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Got out for the first ride of the season on one of the road bikes - now there are some muscles that haven't been used for a little while! The Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway was fairly quiet - surprisingly so, given the nice weather.

I'm used to seeing a variety of birds and, in the summer, lots of rabbits along the trail in the evening. But tonight's animal encounters were quite unusual... the first was a muskrat munching on something at the edge of a drainage ditch near the Colonie Town Park. I hoped he'd still be there when I rode back through, but apparently there'd been too much foot traffic.

At the other end of the ride, I stopped along the river at the Colonie/Niskayuna line. The geese on the river were making a fuss, so I walked down to see what was going on. Never did figure out what they were upset about... but I did see some pretty large fish (well over a foot, I think) jumping. In most cases they were almost entirely out of the water. Even more interesting were the four animals that were swimming in the water. From the size and shape, I'm pretty sure they were otters. I'd heard there were otters in the Mohawk, but never expected to see any! Anyway, watched them for about 20 minutes. at which point they swam off and I decided it was time to get back to the car, since itwas getting pretty chilly.

I guess now I have something else to look out for during my evening rides...

JMH

Plotter Kill DID Kick My Butt!
3 Hour Trail Run/Hike in the Plotter Kill Preserve
Thursday, March 23, 2006

map of Plotter Kill

Plotter Kill Run Photo Slideshow

Ann and I visited Plotter Kill Nature Preserve in late December, 2004, after reading about it on some waterfall web-sites. (Plotter Kill has three reasonably large waterfalls.) We hiked in to the third falls, after which it was simply too cold and the trail was too icy for us to continue. Last summer various groups from the Albany Running Exchange ran the Plotter Kill trails on several occasions. So for a number of months I have been looking to get over there and run, and today I finally managed to do so! And on a gorgeous sunny day to boot!







In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I actually ran for about 2 hours, and spent the remaining hour hiking areas that were either too steep for me to run, or when trying to find relatively dry places to cross several streams. (Since I wasn't sure what the terrain would be like, I didn't want to soak my shoes... what a wimp. That won't be a problem in future Plotter Kill runs...)







The Plotter Kill trails are quite challenging... unlike the "tame" trails in the Pine Bush, they are loaded with rocks, roots, and mud. A lot of the latter was still frozen that day I was there - I suspect once warmer weather consistently hits the trails are going to be VERY muddy for a while. There were several steep uphills, including a long (3/4 mile) uphill stretch not long after crossing the stream at the far end of the preserve. At the same time, this is a beautiful area to run in... much of the time the trail follows the ridge line on either side of the main stream running through the preserve, and while I was there at least I saw no other people once I got away from the first mile or so.





Sometime in the future I hope to run not only the trails I ran today but also follow the stream bed and perhaps get a chance to see the waterfalls (which were still mostly iced over today.) There just aren't any good views of them from the top of the ridge.



So all in all, a good training run, albeit one where I hiked a good deal more than I'd have preferred. Next time - more running and less hiking!

As a side note - on my way home I was hit with a bad case of what I suspect was food poisoning that had me in bed with a rampaging fever for roughly two days (my digestive system wasn't too happy, either.) An excellent reminder of the basic frailty of human beings and how quickly things can go from being pretty darn good to pretty darn awful.

JMH

Self Defense with the RPI Air Force ROTC
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

A while back we were approached by the RPI Air Force ROTC and asked if we could do a short self-defense program for their cadets. Grand Master Crandall came down from Utica Monday night and Tuesday morning, bright and way too early, a bunch of us headed over to RPI to do the program.

GMC started off talking to the cadets about some of the historical background and the original purpose of martial arts, and drew some comparisons with their future service in the Air Force. I have no clue how interested they were in that info, but they were attentive and focused the whole time he was talking. That was something which became even more apparent when we got into the physical portion of the program - we've worked with many great groups over the years, but I don't know that we've ever worked with one this disciplined and focused before.

After that it was time to get physical! Master Hillicoss took the group through some quick stretching and then punches and center kick/side kick as a warm up. After that they paired up and GMC ran them through a number of basic self-defense techniques - defending against wrist grabs, a punch to the face, bear hug from behind, and against someone with a handgun in front. Unfortunately, the time passed all too quickly and it was time for many of the cadets to head off to ther next academic class. They were definitely a fun group to work with - with luck they'll ask us back again next year!

JMH


GMC speaks to the group


defending against a cross wrist grab


Master Hillicoss heads toward the mat


defending against a handgun

PEDALING (AND SHIVERING) THROUGH JORDAN
60 minutes of cold windy biking in Jordan, NY
Monday, March 20, 2006

Jordan Ride Photo Slideshow

On my way back to Albany today I decided to stop in Jordan (home of the Jordan Alpine Classic, a race I ran in Sept 2005 and absolutely loved!) and ride my bike along the Erie Canal Trail. On the way into town I passed Historic Lock 51, a fairly well-preserved cut stone lock from the 2nd (or Enlarged) Erie Canal.

Not long after the first canal was completed in 1825 it became apparent that it was too small, so the canal was enlarged (from 40 feet wide to 70 feet) and in some areas re-routed in 1835. The Enlarged Erie Canal was used until 1922, when the canal was enlarged a 3rd time and in some places re-routed to make use of natural waterways like the Mohawk River. (Originally this wasn't possible in some areas because engineers didn't know how to control water levels in major rivers.) The section of canal from Port Byron to Camillus (passing through Jordan along the way) is an abandoned portion of the Enlarged Erie Canal. The towpath has been cleared for use as a multi-use trail, and several old locks, aqueducts, and canal-era buildings have been cleared or restored. (For more info on these paths, see Take Your Bike! Family Rides in the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley Region, by Rich and Sue Freeman, published by Footprint Press. Their books are great guides to hiking and biking in Central and Western NY, and they include lots of great historical background as well!)



Arriving in Jordan, I unpacked my ATB and bundled up, because it was pretty darn cold! While Rochester had gotten a light dusting of snow over the weekend, Jordan had about 6-8 inches on the ground, and it was clear that the snow-deprived snowmobilers had taken advantage of it - there were tracks all over the place. Little did I realize that was a sign of what was to come! I hit the canal trail - and discovered that the stone dust surface was wet and churned up by the snowmobile traffic, so I was essentially plowing through loose, wet sand about 6 inches deep. That did have the advantage of keeping me very warm - talk about hard work! After about 20 minutes of constant struggle just to maintain some slight forward motion, I gave up, and took a crossroad out to the main road, and headed back into town.

On the way back to town I decided to ride out to Lock 51 and take some pictures. Other than being pretty cold and windy, that was uneventful. The lock was pretty cool. On the way back I found the Lock 51 garden, a park in town built around the old aqueduct, and stopped to take more pictures. It's really impressive when you think about that fact that they built all this stuff by hand, with no power tools or heavy machinery, and it still stands today (albeit marred with some graffiti... grrr.) Quite the opposite of our current "everything is disposable" mind-set.

Sometime this summer I'll have to stop and ride the path from Port Byron to Camillus. Once the path is a bit more rideable than it was today...

JMH

RUNNING AGAIN AFTER TWO WEEKS (OW OW OW!)
9.5 Mile Run Along Genesee Valley Greenway
Sunday, March 19, 2006

Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (somewhat out of date)

After two weeks, finally got out for a run again. Decided to go with the Genesee Valley Greenway, a railbed southwest of Rochester that's been converted to a multi-use, mostly dirt-and-cinder trail. Why? Partly because it's flat, and I thought that might be a good way to break myself back in. And partly because the trail is very well-cleared, which meant I wouldn't be stumbling over too much when it got dark (which it was for about half the run.)

The Greenway has an interesting history (well... it's interesting to me, at least.) It mostly follows the route used by the Genesee Valley Canal from 1840 to 1878. One sign of this is the old canal prism which runs along much of the portion I ran Sunday night; another is the remains of a cut stone lock. Both give a feel for how small this canal was compared to what we're used to today. After that, from 1880 to the mid 1960's, the corridor was used by the Pennsylvania Railroad, running from Rochester to Orleans. In the 1990's work was begun to convert the corridor into a multi-use trail, in part to preserve and protect some of the history of the area. Since then New York State has acquired the corridor and the hope is that someday all 90 miles will be open for public use (currently there are between 50 and 60 miles open.) This info and more can be found in several of the excellent hiking and biking guides published by Rich & Sue Freeman at Footprint Press.

Overall it was a good run. One of the pluses to this time of year is the days are getting longer, and one of the pluses to Rochester is the sun sets about half an hour later than it does in Albany. So even though I started at 6 PM, I really didn't need my light for almost an hour. Ran the trail from Brook Road down to Canawaugus Park in Scottsville... unlike in the summer, when you'll frequently encounter runners, riders, and walkers along the trail, I had it totally to myself. Didn't even see any ATV's (they're not supposed to use the trail, but we all know how much good THAT admonition does...!) All in all it was a nice run on a chilly evening along a fairly pleasant trail.

The only downside was that it took me 2 hours to run 9.5 miles... I have a LOT of work to do before the end of May and the Nipmuck Trail Marathon. For that matter, I have a lot of work to do before mid-April and the Northern Nipmuck 16 mile Trail Race... (only a month away!!!)

-JMH

ANOTHER NIGHT RIDE
90 minutes of biking along the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Whisper of wheels
Moonlight sparkles on water
Exquisite chill in the air!

Stars and clouds watch in silence
Only the night sees him pass.

-JMH

Season of the SnōShū, weekend #11
Spruce Hill Climb (cancelled)
Sunday, March 12, 2006

The Curse of the No SnōShū struck one last time, ending the Season of the SnōShū not with a bang but with a whimper. Word came down Friday night that conditions wouldn't allow the race, and that the WMAC snowshoe series had come to a close.

Made it to four races in the Season of the SnōShū... two were snowshoe races and two ended up being trail races instead. Still, two snowshoe races and multiple snowshoe training runs isn't bad... considering I'd never been on snowshoes before December 2005! Now I have a great pair of Dion's, and I'm looking forward to next season, when hopefully we'll have lots of snow and I'll get to go out for some distance runs in some great places in the Berkshires.

And now it's time to get training for the Nipmuck Trail Marathon!

JMH

Next up: the Northern Nipmuck 16 mile trail race, in mid-April!

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

IT'S OVER!!! (And I passed!)
5th Degree Black Belt Testing
Saturday, March 11, 2006

Finally the big day arrived! We had an iaido class in Utica on Friday night - that was a pretty good time. We spent most of the class practicing the three basic katas: Ten no Kata (Kata of Heaven), Chi no Kata (Kata of Earth), and Jin no Kata (Kata of Man.) So it didn't take a tremendous amount of thought - just focus, focus, focus on the movements for about an hour.

After a night of tossing and turning I had a very good breakfast at Denny's (a scrambled egg & ham sandwich, hashbrowns, and a bagel -…great stuff!) and then it was off to the Utica training hall for the test.

Turns out there were only four of us testing - Jim Colasurdo and Cindy Prentice from Rochester (both of whom I'd worked with prepping for the test) and Terry Hommel and me from Albany (ditto.) Overall, a great group to be testing with. Nobody out to prove anything, and everyone concerned for the safety and well-being of the others.

We spent the first hour working on the written exams. Mine had a fair number of essay questions, as well as lots of short answer. Some of the essays took some thought - they were mostly the sorts of questions that didn't have a right answer, but definitely had some better and some worse answers. On the whole, though, it wasn't as difficult as I'd been expecting (and from what I heard afterwards, was easier than the 4th degree written exam.)

After that came the physical portion of the test. We warmed up with some punches, then jumped into basic forms. After running through half a dozen of the standard 36, we worked on some moving strikes that aren't part of the standard curriculum, and got pointers on how we can do some of those better. Then we went through most of the Ippon Kumite combinations. And then it was time for katas. In some ways I was fortunate - other than Pal-gwe 1, I got to concentrate on the katas needed for 5th degree: Heian Shodan, Hookiyu, and Hansoo. The other candidates did many of the Pal-gwes, plus a variety of Black Belt katas (above and beyond their required forms.) On the other hand, while the katas I was doing are in some ways fairly basic, there are many fine points involved which I didn't always get right, so I ended up doing each one several times, and got some feedback on how I could be doing them better.

Once we had finished with katas, it was time for self-defense: 1st empty hand, then take downs, then knives, and finally guns. I was paired up with Terry, which was a real pleasure. He's a great partner to work with. Though he did seem a bit surprised at times that he was ending up on the mat - what can I say, I like putting people of the ground when I'm defending myself. It seemed like this part of the test flowed really well - I think it was one of my best sections. (I heard afterwards that Jim Colasurdo's partner, another instructor who'd been brought in to help with self-defense and sparring, was a challenge - so Jim ended up having to thump him quite a bit to make his techniques work. I definitely lucked out!)

The sparring stayed pretty sane this time, with each of the other candidates sparring first one, then two, and finally three partners. Apparently I've sufficiently paid my dues in previous testings, because all of my sparring was as one member of a 2 or 3 person team. With only four of us testing, that was over pretty quickly, and then we had a LONG wait while the judges conferred in the office.

Once they came back out, I demonstrated some seated self-defense techniques, which went moderately well considering I was making them up as I went along (I understand the basic principles Grand Master Crandall is looking for, but we really haven't done much to practice those types of techniques.) Then I had a quick ground-fighting match with Terry (he took me to the ground and I put a choke hold on him) and an even quicker one with Jim (who stepped up, threw himself to the ground, and tapped out as soon as I picked up his wrist and gave it a slight twist - everybody was cracking up, including the the judges.)

After that we had an oral question-and-answer session, where Grand Master Crandall talked about some of the questions from the written exams (mostly in the vein of "You need to look that up in your textbook!") and asked us some extremely tough questions about katas and the development/applicability of different martial arts styles. That was a challenge not only because the questions were tough, but also because we were standing out on the floor with out muscles stiffening and and cramping, and all our bumps and bruises starting to clamor for attention (once again, back to that idea of "focus, focus, focus"!)

Finally, one more brief trip to the office, during which we tried to stretch and limber back up and hoped we wouldn't have to do anything more, and then we got the news that we all passed and were presented with the new tips for our belts. And then it was over, except for some picture-taking!



I'm very fortunate to have tested with this group... they are all fantastic people and made the testing very special (as well as prepping for the test.) I feel fairly good about this one (unlike my 4th degree test! After that one I felt my performance was really pretty pathetic!) though there are some things I wish I had done better (but then - that would always be the case.) And best of all - it will be a long time before I have to do it again!

So saving the most important part for last - a few thank you's:

Ann - for putting up with me being cranky and bad-tempered, and loving me despite that



Miss Moller - for being a good supportive friend

Master Hillicoss - for all he's done to get me to where I am today. He is my instructor, and I couldn't ask for a better mentor to follow along the martial way. And I am honored to consider him a good friend as well.



JMH

RIDE!
90 minutes of biking along the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway
Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Well, after missing out on two nice days in a row, I finally got out on my bike! Of course... I didn't start until almost 6 PM... so much for sunshine! But it was great to ride again... I rode the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway between the hilltop in Colonie (right next to the Northway) and the park near Knolls on Niskayuna. Much of the time it was fairly dark, so my light came in very handy. Other than a runner, a rider, and a walker right near the start, I had the path to myself. (Not surprising, after dark on a chilly March evening.)

Maybe my legs will be grumbling a bit tomorrow - but it was worth it! I definitely need to get back into my old schedule of getting out to either ride or run 4-5 times a week...

...AFTER the black belt testing on Saturday...!

JMH

Katas and Running... and WORK, WORK, WORK
Friday - Sunday, March 3-5, 2006

After two days of fairly cold temperatures and NASTY windchills, today wasn't so bad... so I took a break from a weekend of grading and headed over to the Pine Bush for a run.

Some days everything clicks and I can run seemingly without effort... those are good days. OK, they don't happen very often... most days I'm a turtle, not a gazelle! Today... I was a turtle with legs filled with concrete. There were a few moments when running felt good... but most of the time it was just hard work. But at least I got out for just under 2 hours, and hit most of the trails in the Columbia Circle section of the Pine Bush. That's one of the more challenging sections, and even more so now that they've ripped up part of it for habitat restoration (removing a sizeable colony of black locusts, with the eventual goal of restoring the native pine bush plants.) I'll be glad when some of the vegetation grows back... I certainly understand and support the idea of restoring the habitat, but right now it's just ugly and depressing.

Friday nigh Master Hillicoss checked out my katas... so now I have some things to work on (and less than a week to do so!) Ran through many of them again yesterday... next Saturday is definitely going to be interesting... I'll be glad when it's over.

The blasted grading STILL isn't done, so I may take a break from working out tomorrow night (I suspect my body can use the rest) so I can knock off the rest.

-JMH

Season of the SnōShū, weekend #10

Hawley Kiln Klassic 5K (MISSED)
Saturday, March 4, 2006

Curly's Record Run 5K at Greylock (MISSED)
Sunday, March 5, 2006

Hawley Snowshoe race info & results
Curly's Snowshoe race info & results

The Curse of the No SnōShū was briefly dispelled this weekend... apparently some parts of the Berkshires got a few inches of snow, and the decision was made to hold a modifed Hawley race and the move Curly's Record Run from Pittsfield to Mount Greylock. Conditions weren't great - but from the pictures it looks like the folks who went had a good time.

I ended up skipping both races, unfortunately. I'm currently buried under work, so spending 7 hours driving back and forth just wasn't feasible. Also, since I haven't been able to run on my snowshoes since late January, I didn't want to risk hurting myself (not with the black belt testing a week away...)

I know the folks at the WMAC Snowshoe Series are hoping to make up a few more races between now and the end of March... but I suspect the Season of the SnōShū may be just about done...

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #9
Greylock 4.5 & 8 mi Snowshoe Races - POSTPONED
Saturday, February 25, 2006

Greylock Snowshoe races info

The Curse of the No SnōShū continues... word came down last night that the Greylock races scheduled for Saturday have been postponed, as has Sunday's already postponed Curly's Record Run. No great surprise - there's NO SNOW. But we are supposed to get a little bit in the next few days, and maybe we'll have a few good storms that will allow some of these postponed races to be run in March.

On the positive side, now I can take the cane class that Mr. Stalloch is teaching tomorrow morning at the Albany location. And with luck, in between grading papers this weekend I can get out for either a long run or a snowshoe run. (And practice katas... two weeks until the black belt testing...)

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

Black Creek Park DIDN'T Kick My Butt
10 mile trail run
Monday, February 20, 2006

Black Creek Park info

Black Creek Park is fairly close to Ann's house, and is one of the nicest of the Monroe County Parks. In the summer the trails are fairly busy with walkers; in the winter they see a lot of use for XC skiing. The trails are a mix of woods and fields.

Black Creek has also typically kicked my butt every time I've run there. Admittedly, the 5 mile loop that covers the park perimeter should have been challenging back when I was typically running maximum distances of 5-6 miles, but last summer I did an out-and back perimeter run (run most of the perimeter one way, then turn and go back the other way) and the heat and humidity clobbered me. So in some ways, as much as I like Black Creek, it's something of a running nemesis for me.

Yesterday I set out to do the same perimeter out-and-back, confident that the heat and humidity wouldn't be a problem (windchill, on the other hand, was a concern... so I packed a variety of gloves and headgear.) The trails were nice - some mud, some ice, but lots of fun to run. Didn't see too many people - always a plus. The last half hour was challenging, just because I've been a lazy slug for 2 weeks and only run once (so a 2 1/4 hour run was challenging!) But much of the run felt pretty darn good and I can honestly say that, for once, Black Creek did not kick my butt!

Of course, the Greylock 8 mile snowshoe race on Saturday will be another story... if it happens (I'm not holding out much hope for that.)

In any case, it's definitely time to start extending my long distances and building my medium distance (12-15 miles) base... Nipmuck is only 3 1/2 months away!

JMH

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekends #7 & #8

Brave the Blizzard/Bummer No Blizzard
3.5mi Trail Race (MISSED)
Saturday, February 11, 2006

Camp Saratoga 8K Snowshoe Race - CANCELLED
Saturday, February 18, 2006

I passed on running the Brave the Blizzard 3.5 mile trail race because (1) we had a busy Saturday at the karate school, between classes in the morning and the Family Activity Day at Latham Circle Mall in the late morning & afternoon, and (2) I run those trails all the time. It sounds like they had a good time, but I still think my morning was better spent at karate.

Just got word that the Camp Saratoga 8k race has been cancelled because the trails are wall-to-wall ice. Oh, well. The Curse of the No SnōShū continues...

We'll just have to wait and see if the Greylock Snowshoe Races happen next weekend... I'm hoping I can get in some time on the snowshoes this weekend out in Rochester, since running an 8 mile race in them could be fairly painful otherwise...

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

Karate Demonstration
Clear Channel Communications Family Activity Day
Latham Circle Mall
Saturday, February 11, 2006

This was well worth doing... the students got VERY excited about being in the demo. (It's been so long since we've done one, I think we had forgotten how much they enjoy them sometimes!) We had 18 students participating, as well as 5 instructors, and there was a decent-sized crowd watching (so maybe we'll get some new students to boot...)

After Master Hillicoss did a brief intro to the school, the students ran through some stretching, punches, kicks, and blocks. Then came katas - lots of katas, including two black belt forms.




And then came my moment of "fun" - being Master Hillicoss' partner as he demonstrated a variety of self defense techniques. I'm VERY glad the organizers insisted that we bring along a mat! It did seem like some of the parents took far too much pleasure in seeing me get beat up!












Then we had breaks, breaks, and more breaks. Two of my students (a green belt and a purple belt) did their first board breaks. The big finale was meditation breaks - first Miss Moller relaxed on a bed of nails and had two patio blocks smashed on her chest with a sledgehammer, and then Master Hillicoss walked across a tray of broken glass, smashing 6 patio blocks at once along the way.







After that we wrapped everything up and manned the booth we'd rented... Master Hillicoss said they talked to lots of folks all afternoon, so we may indeed get some new students from this. Regardless, the students got excited and had a great time - and that's the most important point by far!

JMH

No Short Sleeves Today!
5-6 mile trail run at
Five Rivers Environmental Education Center
Iaido class
Friday, February 10, 2006

I'm glad I enjoyed the warm weather while it lasted, because seasonable temperatures have definitely returned! On the plus side, maybe we'll get some snow and the last few snowshoe races will be, well, snowshoe races.

After spending much of the week inactive (practiced katas and self-defense for a while on Monday, and taught classes Wednesday and Thursday... but no running or biking since Sunday) I managed to get out for a short run at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, a nature preserve/education center that takes its name from the 5 major rivers that flow into this area (the Hudson, Mohawk, Sacandaga, Schoharie, and Hoosick rivers, to be exact.) The trails there are pretty nice, though in good weather I sometimes find them a bit crowded (it seems to be a popular place to walk.) Today I saw very few people. The terrain was challenging at times - the mud from the warm weather has frozen, leaving behind a crunchy unstable surface. But that was no big deal. Saw a flock of turkeys while running on the Wild Turkey Trail (they seemed less enthused to see me than I was to see them) but my favorite part is running along the Vloman Kill - the trail runs along both sides, through essentially a pine forest, so with the pines above and the water running in the stream its very peaceful and very scenic. The ice made some really cool patterns on the water as well. All in all, a very good run.

We had a pretty decent iaido class this evening. Reviewed some terminology and philosophical points, then practiced advanced katas - first Ninin Giri (which is one I really enjoy doing!) and then we learned Yoko-Ichi-Monji, which we practiced three years ago in Japan and I remembered as a real knee-killer (my memory is sound.) Other than spending a lot of the time trying not to blow out my knees while we did that one, it was a pretty good class.

Tomorrow is the big day at the Latham Circle Mall - the Clear Channel Communications Family Activity Day. Hopefully they will have a great turnout and it will be worth the time and money we've invested. In any case, it will be good for the students to participate in and see a demo (but it sure would be nice to get some new students out of the deal!) With luck I'll have some pictures to post later in the weekend.

JMH

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #6
Saratoga Winterfest 5K Snowshoe Trail Race
Sunday, February 5, 2006

Saratoga Winterfest trail race 2006 results
Saratoga Winterfest 2006 snowshoe race info

Saratoga Winterfest Trail Race 2006 Photo Slideshow

We were told in advance that this would be a trail race, since the Curse of the No SnōShū has continued to plague us (though WMAC did manage to hold a snowshoe race yesterday, by moving the site from Northfield Mountain to Dubuque State Forest in Hawley, MA. But even in the Berkshires the conditions are far from ideal…)

I’d only been to the Saratoga Spa State Park once before, and then it was just to drive through so I could do the MHCC Metric Century ride… but I was impressed with how nice it was then (of course, that was on a sunny day in September…) Today we were at the main complex, and the architecture is fairly cool. (So were the temperatures – it was pretty windy.)



The race course was a mixture of surfaces – a little pavement, some grass, some dirt roads through the woods, and some singletrack trail through the woods. And some ice… not as much as on Friday, but enough that some of the runners had ice spikes on their shoes. In the interest of safety, the race organizers routed much of the course around the ice, and where it was unavoidable they put down kitty litter to add some traction (making this the only race I’ve ever done where kitty litter was one of the running surfaces.) Parts were very scenic – we even got to run past a geyser! – and other parts were less so. But overall it was a nice course, with two lengthy hills.






photo courtesy of www.saratogastryders.org




I didn’t think I was pushing all that hard at first, but about halfway through I started really feeling the effort, and the last mile was tough – I may not have been in oxygen bankruptcy, but I was definitely feeling some oxygen debt. When I crossed the finish line it became apparent why: I finished in 30:17, or 9:46 miles – UNDER 10 MINUTE MILES! That was exciting! It’s nice to have definite proof that my time riding and running has had some positive effect.









Afterwards I grabbed my camera and walked about 2/3 of the course to take pictures. (I thought about running it again, because I wasn’t dead tired… but then decided not to push it. I don’t need to get injured…) There were also several photographers out on the course, so I’m hoping one of the web sites will have my photo somewhere.

The one definitely would have been a lot prettier as a snowshoe run (and also a lot harder!) But it was still well worth doing – I had a good run, got a cool T-shirt, and got to walk around a little bit of the park. And only 40 minutes from home.

JMH

Next up – depends on whether the Curse continues to hold. I had signed up to run the Brave the Blizzard 5K Snowshoe Run next Saturday – but if it turns out to be the Bummer No Blizzard 5K Trail Run I’m planning to skip it, since I run the trails they're using all the time anyway (and I’m missing lots of Saturday classes this winter.) In which case the next event would be the Camp Saratoga 8K Snowshoe Run up in Wilton. Maybe the Curse will have lifted by then…

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

SHORT SLEEVES IN FEBRUARY???
8 mile trail run in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve
Friday, February 3, 2006

When I left the house to go help with the Friday night karate class, it was 58 degrees outside. After class I headed over to the Madison Ave Ext section of the Pine Bush and set out on a medium length run (90 - 120 minutes... admittedly, running that in the woods at 8:30 PM on a Friday night is a little unusual. OK, maybe not that unusual for me.)Half an hour into the run I was cooking, so - off came the fleece top and I ran the remaining 75 minutes in my short sleeve shirt. And I wasn't chilly until I stopped. Absolutely wacky.Running trails at night has been one of the fun things I've done this winter. It's usually very peaceful (except when I start imagining that a sasquatch is going to come crashing out of the bushes and attack me... sigh) and sometimes very pretty (I've run a couple of times under the full moon when I almost didn't need my headlamp... talk about magical...) Tonight seemed noisier than usual - lots of traffic and aircraft sounds - but it was still a good run, and a real treat to be out in my shirt sleeves running. There were a few icy patches, but my Yaktrax worked great, and the rest of the trails there are soft enough that I could keep them on my shoes the whole time. (I recommend Yaktrax wholeheartedly if you're going to be running on icy surfaces! I use the Yaktrax Pro, which has an extra strap to keep the unit more secure. They're GREAT!)And now I think it's time to collapse into bed...

JMH

P.S. I am convinced that I am the cause of this insanely warm winter we've had... after all, I bought a pair of brand new snowshoes back in December (and bought Ann a pair for Christmas.) All I know is - the longer races in late February and early March are going to be mighty tough if I don't get a chance to practice snowshoe running between now and then...