Keeping the faith

Last night we were treated to a two and half hour seminar with our association head (AH) who is a 7th Dan. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the occasion and walked away with a real sense of pride.
It is not uncommon for all practitioners in their art to suffer an occasional dip in form, self-confidence or enthusiasm – it is all part of the learning process. The Meerkat is no stranger to these ‘lows.’ Seminars like the one last night do much to reinvigorate the senses and wake you up to the fact that the martial art you do is pretty damned fine. Everyone needs role models and people to look up to in their lives. When these people show you the amazing potential of the art – you cannot help but be enthused.
True to his word, our AH showed us lots of ground techniques – something he has been keen to promote since taking over the association. Some of it was familiar to me from a BJJ point of view, although with slight variations. There were still lots of techniques I have never encountered before, and I made sure to make a good mental note of them for use in BJJ class!
There were still plenty of 'Old Skool' techniques - still very effective, and painful! Plus one extremely weird trick that some poeple seem to have encountered before but I never have and it was a bit freaky!
Having chatted to the AH in private before. He mentioned he was keen to see more of other clubs and meet members in a more relaxed dojo environment, rather than simply being viewed as the serious looking sensei who barks commands during gradings. I understand his point entirely. At one point in the seminar, I asked a question about a technique and he replied that he didn’t know the answer! Well, if the AH is big enough to admit he didn’t know the answer to my question, then I am impressed. How many people have you met who would rather make up some gobbledy-gook than admit they don’t know the answer to your question (politicians aside). In the end, he did in fact have an answer to my query, which he worked out on an unsuspecting uke. There is a certain aura that surrounds someone of such high calibre, whatever their profession or art – but last night, we were given the chance to meet the more human side of our AH.