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I went to a seminar today, which means outreach met outreach. Let me attempt to share what I got out of the three hours.
1. A nugget of wisdom: “A turtle doesn’t get anywhere without sticking out its neck.”
2. A nifty warmup: In which three people form a human chain and the person at the front tries to sprint as fast as they can while the folks latched on try to hold them back.
3. A cool tag game: Where in a circle of students surrounds two players – “it” and “runner”. If “runner” can get in front of another student, then that student becomes “runner” BUT if “it” tags “runner” before they stand in front of a new student then “runner” becomes “it” and the old “it” stands in front of another student – who becomes “runner”.
4. To keep the torso upright: when throwing folks this is key otherwise they just pull you down to the ground, removing the most satisfying aspect of a throw, which is to remain standing while your opponent hits the dirt.
5. To hit with both hands: where one is good two is better, particularly if the strikes are going in opposite directions, creating the famed “malachi crunch” effect.
There was lots more, of course, but that’s all I managed to scratch down in my notebook. Thanks to Grandmaster Eric Lee who led the seminar and all those familiar and new faces who attended – especially the four year old who sat on top of the heavy bag and made animal noises for three hours.
