2007
WMAA Camp Review by Guro Jeff Leader
The
2007 WMAA Camp was held 8-10 June in West Seneca, NY. It was
a great success and a great time for all! We had participants
from at least Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York,
California, and Ontario, Canada (and probably more regions
that I've missed).
As
usual, those who were there Thursday night participated in
some extra training, after which we went out for wings and
such. Early Friday afternoon is when the actual camp started
with some opening remarks by Datu Tim Hartman, followed by
a session on Kombatan by Grandmaster Rick Manglinong. He started
with double stick striking and sinawalis then continued into
various aspects of Kombatan. Throughout his sessions the sinawalis
were emphasized.
Throughout
Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday afternoon and early
evening, and Sunday morning until 1PM, sessions were taught
by Grandmasters Manglinong and Hartman and by Punong Guros
Jeff Leader (that's me), Steve Scott, and Sal Todaro. Datu
Hartman covered a range of topics, including striking styles
(banda y banda, rompida, etc.), espada y daga, sumbrada (six
count drill), crossada flow (knife and empty hand), and other
areas. His sessions mixed weapons (stick, knife, sword, empty
hand) and addressed self-defense, sparring, the history of
the arts, and so on. Mr. Scott discussed lock flow, bringing
in his detailed knowledge of how small differences in technique
can have a large effect. His analytic and anatomical approach,
combined with his multiple perspectives on the subject from
different arts studied, gave everyone a real education in locks.
Mr. Todaro taught stick disarms, first reviewing the classics
and then giving the participants even more disarming options.
His sessions generated much enthusiastic discussion among even
advanced practitioners about the novel variants he showed and
the fine technical details he elucidated. My sessions discussed
empty hand against the knife, including hubbud and palusut
training drills. The focus was on what to do against a slightly
more sophisticated or aggressive knifer than the basic techniques
assume, and what to do when an attempt to disarm goes wrong.
Saturday
morning was the black belt test. I'm pleased to say that the
next morning the WMAA promoted six candidates to Lakan Isa/Dayang
Isa (first degree black belt), and two other candidates (Guro
George Harris and Guro Dr. Mike Milazzo) to Lakan Apat (fourth
degree black belt). This is in addition to the promotions to
Lakan Lima (fifth degree black belt) and Punong Guro that were
made the night before camp opened.
Lunch
Saturday was at the same Chinese buffet as in previous years,
but the Saturday evening sit-down meal was replaced this year
with a picnic hosted by Datu Hartman and Guro Janice Stranc
at their house. It was a great deal of fun, with good food
and good conversation. As usual, their three over-sized and
very friendly dogs (Thor, Loki, and Bear) were the main topic
of conversation!
After
the camp closed we had the traditional open sparring session
for those who chose to participate. Many people lingered to
chat, discuss techniques, or go to lunch before leaving town.
As
always, there are many people to thank and I fear I'll miss
someone. But let me mention Datu Hartman and Guro Stranc for
doing the voluminous amount of work that must be done to organize
and host the event; Grandmaster Manglinong for flying in from
California to teach us and bringing his infectious enthusiasm
and upbeat spirit; Punong Guros Scott and Todaro for their
well-prepared and well-received sessions and their help throughout
the camp; Bob Hubbard for his wonderful photography, and Susan
Spann for her assistance; and most importantly, everyone who
came to camp and helped make it the success it was! I enjoyed
meeting many new people, including our own tswolfman, at the
camp, as well as seeing old faces. I particularly want to acknowledge
Guros Jason Arnold, Paul Dawdy, and Rich Parsons for traveling
all the way to the camp then being willing to help while there.
Thanks
to everyone for another great year!
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