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Sensei Blake is on the road in Las Vegas for tryouts for Wanderlei Sliva’s Fight Team. Blake told us to train extra hard in his absence, and I for one am making an effort by going to FighterBody training. In the mean time we have heard back at the gym and on his blog with posts dashed off on his iPhone that he has proven himself decisively on day one of the training camp. Like we knew he would. Lots guys at the gym have been on those punches and kicks, so we know how tough he is.

I let my guy have it…the poor guy – I landed the spinning hook kick that I wanted and more…spinning back kick, sweep, stiff jabs, RK to the head, until the bell…people were like wo!

Its a great boost around the gym to know how well he is doing in Vegas. Its easy to invest confidence in a trainer who has been world champion, but he also follows through as a great instructor. Along with his brother and fellow Sensei Dean Lirette, our classes are packed with skill, creativity, and technical insight.

The tryouts went really well. About 50 or so showed up -out of that they picked 20. They broke us up into groups and had us work with the coaches on different techniques to see how we picked things up and where about our skill level was. We rolled for a bit… When it came to sparring they paired us up by approximate weight. We had 2min. Go at it And show our stuff. I wasn’t taking any chances to not get picked so I let my guy have it…the poor guy – I landed the spinning hook kick that I wanted and more…spinning back kick, sweep, stiff jabs, RK to the head, until the bell…people were like wo! It was most satisfying after the UFC tryout a couple of weeks ago. Wand sets a totally different vibe. He’s very warm hearted and really loves training and fighting. He wants to give opportunity to anyone who wants it bad and willing to work hard.

Boxing coach Mike Smith with Blake Lirette

In Wandy's Gym, Las Vegas

We are all looking forward to more reports from the field from Sensei Blake.

Osu!

Sparring on Friday was tough. Our sensei came in and sparred with three of us. Sensei Blake is an extremely tough guy and we all took some heavy licks from him. It doesn’t look very nice at first glance, but this is a new year, and we students have been with Versus 21 since or almost since it opened, almost a year ago. So as we progress, the challenges are sure to only get greater. And as we learn more we can also expect to be coddled a bit less as well. If you get into marital arts, especially in the harder forms, you are probably going to get hit once in a while – and you need to learn now to take a hit so you don’t just crumble when it really happens. I feel neither malice nor humiliation from the experience. Nor should I ever. Sparring is a test; we take responsibility for ourselves and what we know and we act upon it. What would we be learning anyways if we were never exposed to real conflict once in a while. And it wouldn’t be such a great class if it weren’t so intense. Successes give us confidence; failures help us learn. So by Saturday morning, one corner of my eye was blackened and my left eye inside the socket felt like it has been scraping against sandpaper. Both eyes are totally bloodshot; an ice pack helps all of this. And I am thinking about what I did wrong – I let my guard down at some point and I am responsible for that. Something tells me this wont be the last time either. But by defending myself, and responding appropriately to my opponent it shouldn’t have to happen more often than necessary. Osu!

Friday is the day for sparring. That is when I go to Versus 21 and try and put together what I learned there. It involves facing off against another human being and trying to get a good kick or punch in, and of course I take a few myself.

When I started sparring, I discovered what a huge challenge it was to apply what I learned in class on a heavy bag against a real opponent. Everything is changing. You have to pay attention. You get tired, sloppy, you miss, your opponent frustrates you, you drop your gloves or he or gets through your block somehow. Or maybe, the level of conflict escalates and its up to you how you want to respond. Its about taking responsibility for what you have learned.

I have heard a general criticism of martial arts before, that it is too much about an instructor at the head of the class, telling you want to do and you dont think for yourself as a student. To even warrant such a comment, there must be examples out there where that behavior is taken to an extreme, even parody. But sparring is the remedy for all that. You are put in charge of your learning.

And what a Its a huge shift it is from simply blocking that kick because the sensei told you to, and taking responsibility for it yourself. Its up to you to block that kick now. You dont want to block that low kick? Fine. Dont block the low kick. Feel the consequences. Because having the best sensei in the world wont matter if you dont take responsibility for the lessons you have learned. And by the way, it turns out that you lose less energy by lifting that leg and blocking that kick rather than leaving it on the ground and taking it.