JKD in the Park

RSVP does not reflect actual attendance. The 11:30 am start time is for first-timers to meet and greet, and a basic orientation. The actual start time is 10:30, but I like to have things going a bit, so I can focus on the new folks.

The meetup is listed elsewhere and due to a price change in Meetup, I keep this group to below 50 members. I belong to whole bunch of meetup groups that I never go to and chances you are just as human as me. The way I cull the herd is when reach 49 members, I remove the 5 at the bottom of the last visited list.

My cell if you get lost -
415 465-0992

This is a Sunday on-going JKD/FMA/Martial Arts/Personal Defense workout Safety first is my primary rule.

What this means to you is, More people actually attend the meetup than the RSVP indicates. I appreciate it is somewhat off-putting to have only one or two RSVPs, as it appears to make the group smaller than it actually is.

Rain days are at the Chinese Pavilion (the gazebo on the Stowe Lake island just past the waterfall). It is a bit less muni friendly, but car parking should be available on the lake for those who travel that way.

In it's favor, the location has nearby bathrooms, it feels more martial artsy, it can handle eight, is covered, so no rained out. But more importantly, great acoustics. It's bothered me practicing Sonny's stuff without music, this place solves that.

I am going to start allowing folks to spar/play - a major gear-shift from the self-defense/combatives scenario approach I have used since I started organizing this group. It is strictly optional. I am going to require three classes before I let you play.

The distinction I am making here is spar = without weapons, play = with trainer-weapons - rattan is basically banned.

As always, no fight club, no dog brothers.

(Several of you have taken exception to my no dog brothers rule, implying, "we're not all idiots." After all, a guy trained by subject of a dog brother documentary, Sonny Umpad, and fracking punk-rock anarchist icon, Frank Discussion, should delight in training you to take out guys wearing riot gear. Sadly, this is not the case.

The problem isn't the TFM or the dog-brothers, per say, the problem is its devotees tend to develop an attitude that becomes a problem. The dog brother attitude/approach makes it difficult for some rare individuals within their ranks and on their periphery to know why they are training. Of the three people I've kicked to the curb/banned from this group, two fell into that category. The third was a mentally disturbed registered sex offender.

Highly recommend watching the original Japanese "Shall we dance," movie if you are still a bit confused about what I will and will not accept behavioral-wise.

People of all levels and different Martial Arts systems are welcome to attend. I emphasize, safety first, movement, flow, with broken rhythm, basic techniques and JKD terminology/language.

For those of you who don't know, http://www.nextbus.com is a useful resource for getting around on Muni, but kinda sucks unless you already know what bus routes you need.

Gavin