Fall Gathering of the Tribes

I recently attended a seminar in Michigan at one of my favorite places to visit, Innovative Martial Arts with my host, Chuck Pippin Sensei. I consider a trip to see him and his immediate and extended family a distinct pleasure and seriously consider it a home away from home.
Quick review:
Chuck and his partner in the MA, Don Young, woke us all up in the morning to some drills from San Yan Do and the sweat was soon flowing.
Following the duo was Brian “Buzz” Smith of Maralinka Kuntaw and let me tell you, if you have the opportunity to visit him in Northern Michigan or attend one of his seminars, do so. He presents his information coherently and concisely. Aside from the information, he is a ball of energy and his students were a blast to work out with as well.
After lunch we were treated to a bit of Silat Zulfikari with Guru Mushtaq Ali Shah. We focused on structure in movement built upon some of the concepts that Buzz had introduced to us earlier.
The only real bummer of the day was that the opening stuff was supposed to be presented by Sterling Heibeck, but he went off and had his appendix removed. He is doing well, so I am sure that next time he will be rearin’ to go. I know that he particularly missed the fireside chat that delved deep into the gully of geekdom! Next time, man.
Prior to that chat we had a wonderful potluck at Chuck and Jeannie’s and a good time was had by all. The fire was still being stoked at 2 AM and that is par for the course.
The next day was a quick review by Buzz before he headed home with his crew. Once again; good info and sweat.
After a long lunch break, Guru Mushtaq made sure that Tony and I were on the right path with our Silat Zulfikari. We tweaked jurus-jurus 1 through 8 and looked at a few more things needing improvement. I am looking forward to new and improved training videos on the horizon.
All in all, I came away with some good memories, new friends and a better understanding of areas I was looking for.
Now is the time to train.
Jay