A refreshing night

Friday night for the first time in several years I taught a knife class! A man I work with, and his twenty something year old son, came to our dojo for their first lesson. It was great! I had not realized how much I miss teaching this stuff. I teach industrial compressor an engine maintenance and theory for a living but it is not very rewarding. The theory of edged weapons is much more esoteric than the theory of gas engines. Knife fighting dwells in the realms of the indefinable: time, space, deception, and rhythm. My two new students were expecting something far different than what we discussed and practiced. They expected something more Erroll Flynn with wild blades flashing. Even good silver-screen knife fighters like Steven Segal can mislead aspiring students because it is the flashy moves that the camera prefers. Big moves are easier for the viewer to pick-up. Indeed, in the beginning we do teach large moves to develop fluidity. As the student progresses we work to tighten up their flow patterns without tightening up their movements. Any body parts extended “outside the box” become targets of opportunity for your attacker. To enhance their learning I brought a range bag full of knives from small Pakal style daggers to a Keating Crossada and about everything in between. We discussed the merits and disadvantages of each style and how they affected your movements. We also discussed the impression that certain knives make on non-knife people, or jurors and judges. They were both like sponges and absorbed everything I threw at them. There is so much more to the Art than people realize but they went away with a good foundation. I am already looking forward to the next session in two weeks. Now if only I have one of these classes every week I might find life more rewarding.