Informal FlowFighting® Group: Bellingham

[Soheil John Ward]

We had our first Informal FlowFighting® group session this past Saturday. Brian Bentz and Joel Seymour were kind enough to show up.

The weather was pleasant, cloudy, but balmy and no rain. I’m not counting on that for very long.

We started with some exercises from Intu-Flow to get loose, we progressed to some exercises from FlowFit® and Forward Pressure to raise core temperature. Then we did some vibration drills and waves (body, arms, etc) to disperse residual tension.

We started with some low key, slow speed, noncompetitive drills

First was a simple hook and push flow drill.

Next we moved on to a joint articulation study. Joel and Brian hadn’t done this one before so it was pretty interesting. Coming from a competitive grappling background (some wrestling and judo) Brian caught on pretty quickly. Ironically (but not really), coming from a background of training in LEO type restraining techniques, Joel took a little time. It was pretty funny because I was at the same place when I started working with Coach Dan a little over a year ago. I came from a TMA and military background and learned restraining and small joint manipulation techniques that were practiced over and over in the hopes that they would be ingrained into the nervous system for access when we needed them. The techniques worked, during practice, or against someone that had had similar training. The problem comes along when you encounter someone who doesn’t know that these techniques work.

We worked on suspending the belief that the armbar or wrist lock worked. We would go slowly and stopped when we felt the tension and allow the person to move away from the force or guide them away from the force with the opposite hand. At one point I told Joel as he looked up from some kind of wristlock/armbar “I don’t have you, you just think I do”. At that point he found a way to spiral away from the force and break my grasp.

Next was a little shock absorption we worked first on absorbing pushes to the torso, hips and thighs. The receiver controlled the force that was used. The giver worked on solid, controlled pushes through the body. With a solid background in Intu-Flow and at that level of force everyone did pretty damn well.

Finally we finished up with a competitive drill, a variation on push hands.

The rules of engagement:
We start in an approximately 7X7 square. Pushing and hooking are allowed except to the head. No grabbing body parts or clothing. If a person is moved out of the square or to the ground he loses.

We played with this switching in and out. We also did a variation where we could only use our hips to move the other person.
Overall it was a dang fun day. Joel capped it off with a hilarious story about a guy he works with who claimed to be able to deadlift 570lbs. Joel pulled a 5 dollar bill out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. “Deadlift this and you can keep it”. Joel then did an imitation of the guy grunting and groaning, doing what can only be described as an creeky old-guy lunge trying so hard to pick up the money. Joel then slowly reached down and snatched the money from the floor before the guy could get into a solid position. Now that’s functional.


Brian and Joel won’t be able to come up but twice a month but I’m getting together some interested friends and acquaintances. It should be fun. I’d like to get something going 3 times a week but every Saturday should be a good start.

[Coach Jones]

The problem comes along when you encounter someone who doesn’t know that these techniques work.

Brother, I can't wait to see you at the next FlowFighting® seminar! That one sentence is so incredibly difficult for people to grasp. When you say that to people, you might as well be talking about their mama.

You guys are doing some great work!

[Coach Bentz]

Brian Bentz and Joel Seymour were kind enough to show up.

And Soheil was kind enough to share a great deal with a couple of FlowFighting® newbs!

Next we moved on to a joint articulation study. Joel and Brian hadn’t done this one before so it was pretty interesting. Coming from a competitive grappling background (some wrestling and judo) Brian caught on pretty quickly.

There was something familiar about that drill. We used to do something similar, trying to apply locks one after the other, seeing if we could anticipate the escape route the defender might take to get out of the prior lock, and keep them in pain as long as possible.

This time was totally different. The focus was on the person escaping, and done slowly enough that the principles of escaping from a lock start to become clearer, and I'm gathering, reflexive over time. (This was not so in my prior training. you always tried to move fast enough and cause pain with the lock that the defender never really learned anything. S/he was basically there to give you feedback on how much pain they were in - or how much they'd submitted to the lock - in a given moment.)

Next was a little shock absorption we worked first on absorbing pushes to the torso, hips and thighs. The receiver controlled the force that was used. The giver worked on solid, controlled pushes through the body. With a solid background in Intu-Flow® and at that level of force everyone did pretty damn well.

It was very interesting to watch Soheil's body in this drill. I really got a sense in his movement of watching the energy of a push being absorbed like a wave into his structure, and returned as his structure waved back to its upright state.

It was also interesting, in general, to catch my own reactions to these practices. Especially the ever-present temptation to dip into force, or revert unconsciously to grappling techniques, when I got stuck or frustrated. Looking at Mushtaq's recent posts on RMAXing Silat in an attempt to describe it, I wonder if those were points where I was taking on more energy than I could successfully integrate. Lots of habits I'll have to reprogram, that's for sure. But from what i've seen so far, that effort will be more than worth it.

All in all, an absolutely fascinating practice session! My deepest thanks once again to Soheil for sharing his skill and time, and keeping us from getting too 'hard' with the practice! And to both of you for providing supportive, smiling resistance! Looking forward to the next session!

[joelsey]

All I can say is WOW!!! If you are anywhere near Bellingham, get to Soheil's training!

Soheil is an AWESOME instructor. Keep in mind that I have almost no martial arts experience, so this was great!

While I didn't know most of the terminology, Soheil and Brian were great in explaining it to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the work we did in the slow-motion flowing through and out of various holds and locks. The shock absorption was amazing. WHile I was nowhere near the leave Soheil can absorb, it did go to show how Intu-Flow permeates all CST.

This was the ultimate in learning and fun. It was a great time, and I can't wait for the next session....

Smiling......

[Soheil John Ward]

Thanks guys, it was a lot of fun, lets make a habit of it!

I hope I can get to the next seminar, I would love to eventually get certified to coach FlowFighting® in the next few years.

[Soheil John Ward]

This weekend's session was a blast. Unfortunately Joel and Brian can only come up every other week or so, but my friend Doug came out to play. The weather was pretty warm and sunny. I did some Clubbell® work and forward pressure before we began, then some vibration and mobility drills to get rid of any residual tension.

We started with slow hooks and pushes then moved up to weaponizing structure, punching tripping, throwing, grabbing, and strikes to the head. We gradually ramped up speed. Then moved back down to hooking and pushing with the hands as well as the rest body.

Doug's an amazing martial artist and a hell of a wrestler. He is great at capitalizing on his opponent's tension (or lack of). For example he came in with a bear hug for a throw and I went wet noodle to make it difficult for him. He instantly picked up on my lack of tension and with the gentlest of shoves he sent me sprawling to the ground. It was pretty cool. In the last year I've re-learned that if someone is trying to pick you up, it's very hard if you go limp, children understand this intuitively. I previously learned to tense up during conflict, and because I was unused to being within grappling range, that was amplified. This made me the perfect wrestling dummy. I have a better understanding of selective tension now, I obviously have some practicing to do but the process is going to be fun. .

[Coach Bentz]

This week's meeting was Soheil and I out for a little more play, out in his backyard. I know I'm forgetting stuff, but this is still pretty new and doesn't all stick in my memory yet. Getting there, though!

Soheil's warmup included long kinetic chains with both a 15# Clubbell® and the Bruiser. (I love that, like Jarlo's, Soheil's 15#er has distinctive markings!) My own warmup was misc Intu-Flow to loosen up from the drive, trinity squats, and playing with 1 & 2 handed mills. Mostly I spent that time with my mouth hanging open watching Soheil work the Bruiser with one hand.

We spent about an hour doing out different drills. We started out with a hook/push flow drill, but I wasn't quite onto it for some reason. Soheil caught on quickly, and brought things down a few notches, and we did some lat. shoulder rolls, spinal rocks, and other BMEs on the grass. From there he brought it back up to joint articulation study, shockability (using hand, forearm, and shoulders to deliver the strike), and hook and flow.

At one point he noticed I was striking but not driving through with my strikes, so we began an exercise where I was to lock out my arm and pack my shoulders, and deliver force with a wave from my spine. This was challenging. At first I had difficulty locking my elbows. i got that, but then I would inevitably unpack and piston my shoulder just before striking. I have some homework to do figuring that one out. It was interesting to see, as a result of that discussion, that there was some martial application of all the 'standing like a tree' qigong practice I used to do.

I also have some Prasara homework, working on a KC from plank, arm screw down, then leg thread over to bridge, and reversing that all back to plank. Although, I can't remember why he showed that to me originally. All I can remember at the moment is that it was a progression to a threaded bridge.

At one point Soheil made a remark about a strike I'd delivered with my shoulder during hook and flow practice. I wasn't aware that I'd done it, but he pointed out that I delivered that waving through the energy from his initial push.

It is intense to see concepts that start all the way back in Intu-Flow showing up in this practice.

It's also interesting to see, yet again, just how much I get in my own way. I was particularly puzzled at my initial befuddlement in the first 10-15 minutes. I thought I might be stiff from the prior days training or something. It wasn't until I started the drive back to Seattle that it struck me that I had been angry, stressed, and preoccupied with those moods this morning, and hadn't really shaken that off. I have to consider my mood was creating some of the density I felt early in practice, because everything got a lot easier once I started laughing and playing.

Once again, Soheil was great! I especially enjoy that he can scale himself back to deliver an appropriate level of force that I can learn from and not right out squish me (and watching him with the bruiser, I know he could!) Thank you again!

[Adam Steer]

Brian,

Thanks for posting your explorations man! They are very interesting. That hook and flow drill sounds neat! Any chance you can get a vid camera up there one of these days and treat us all to a few clips?

Cheers,
Adam

[Coach Bentz]

I ordered a tripod which should arrive by the next session, so hopefully, yeah.

You may have to figure out that putfile issue though.

[Soheil John Ward]

At one point Soheil made a remark about a strike I'd delivered with my shoulder during hook and flow practice. I wasn't aware that I'd done it, but he pointed out that I delivered that waving through the energy from his initial push.

That was a great moment. Brian absorbed the force of my blow and retranslated it into a shoulder strike. The best part is he didn't even realize he did it. He was definitely on autopilot

I especially enjoy that he can scale himself back to deliver an appropriate level of force that I can learn from and not right out squish me (and watching him with the bruiser, I know he could!) Thank you again!

Err yeah… that's exactly what I was thinking when you put me in that cradle hold when we went to the ground, so...uh... consider yourself lucky!

I don’t know if you noticed Brian, but the aggressiveness of this session was definitely ramped up, but the comfort level seemed to be about the same. It was good to see the grappler come out of you!