Moscow Training Log 13 (16/01/2015 17:30, 19:00) Instructor: Artem Usov This was a long training man. Like really long. Well actually it’s just slightly longer than the trainings I used to have with my first instructor, James. I’m catching up on logs again, so my post won’t be very long. I think anybody who has been reading my logs since the last time would know that I’m much less specific this time around. That would be largely because I set out to write less, but also because I have much less time than I recalled a day should have. Perhaps this has something to do with me living further away from the training grounds and also spending more time with the people I stay with. Anyway. In this training, we were working on some sensitivity. Our partners would push us slowly in one direction and we were supposed to feel the tension in our partners’ bodies and use it to connect with them and move them or bring them down. Working with a woman, I felt much more psychologically comfortable as there was much less tension and ego. We also worked from back which was great as we couldn’t rely on visual cues and had to feel the tension for what it is worth. At some point, Artem decided to turn the lights off and closed the door so that we would work in the dark, which frankly, really helped me focus on what I was supposed to do. There were some interesting points to take note of in this lesson, namely: You can start to feel where the tension is in somebody by sliding your hand along their bodies with something like 10% tension. Strangely, or perhaps exactly because of this, your fingers will find areas which it just gets slowed or stops moving and these are the spots of tension which you should then work into to take your partner down by simply connecting into these points and “pulling along” their bodies as it were. You dont need to think it, let your hands find it. You should always keep your form and comfort, even when “moving in” to do a take down. (Then Andrei came!!!) When a push is coming in, you should get your hands prepared. They should be collected but not tensed. When the push comes in, you can use the movement (or tension) to cock your hand to prepare to work into your opponent. You can then stretch your opponent out or even direct them to your other hand to work (which makes it feel like so many things are happening at once). When you feel someone, you make them push themselves. You can even make them fall the direction they pull you in. After class a few of us did massage work and the Russian guy I worked with said I was very good and sensitive!
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 00:12:22 +0000