This comes to us from our TEAM BAD friend, Rolando Garcia; World
Traveling JKD man!
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Hey Guys!
I had the pleasure of finally training with Tuhon Dan Inosanto this
past weekend here in Honolulu. It was hosted by none other than
Burton Richardson.

When my friend, Jarlo Ilano, invited me to the seminar, I simply
couldn't say no. Aside from having the opportunity to visit Hawaii
(my old hometown), to train with Tuhon Dan AND Burton in one
location...I simply couldn't pass it up!!

Some highlights:

- Tuhon covered Villabrille/Illustrisimo stick/knife-double knife
material. He proceeded to show how each drill (which were tricky to
get at first) blended into the style of boxing that most filipinos
are known for.

- He also covered some history of filipino martial arts,
particularly of the Filipino constabulary, and we were lucky enough
to view some footage of vintage training with bolos. Wow. Always fun
to think that we are SO progressive and up to date. Nothing more
humbling than to see old-school pinoys go to ground and pound to a
submission back in the day.

- He also covered some ground work...which was brilliant. Tuhon is
NO SLOUCH on the ground!! He flowed from one position to another,
showing strikes (legal and illegal) AND submissions. Takedowns to
position to counter to strikes/submissions...at 72 he was AMAZINGLY
fluid. A true BJJ black belt and athlete. That being said, he
himself said that the groundwork we were being exposed to was his
understanding of the ground, which comes from many sources.

- The last 5 minutes of the seminar...the panantukan/dirty boxing:
WOW. Took 2 seconds to apply, and opened up a WORLD of
possibilities. He showed so many combos, tricks that refs couldn't
see, combos that looked like "accidents" that resulted in
knockdowns...amazing in their simplicity! Just when I thought he had
shown us everything, he busts out an inside game so simple and
brilliant, I can't wait to glove up and try it live!

- Tuhon's wisdom, knowledge, and humility truly amazes me. I wrote
down so many things that he said that I'll be thinking about a lot.

- BURTON was so helpful, knowledgeable, and just plain fun to hang
around with! ANYTIME I had a question, he was always willing to
demonstrate. When I mentioned to him that I had a question about the
bil jee, he proceeded to ask Tuhon about it, so that it was covered
in-depth at the workshop. He embodies so much of what Tuhon Dan is
famous for: friendly, humble...and extremely skilled! He is a real
deal JKD man in every sense of the word.

- On an interesting sidenote: the attendee list, initially, was
short by 50%, to make it Tuhon Dan's while to come out. We were told
that Burton didn't think it'd look like it would work. He told Simo
Paula about the potential for not having enough attendees...and Simo
apparently said to go ahead, and that she'd absorb the risk. She was
willing to take the loss, so that the seminar would go through. SUCH
A RARE THING, in this day and age where seminars tend to be
cancelled last minute, often due to lack of attendance. Much props
to her and Tuhon for going ahead (thankfully, more than enough
showed up).

Rolando
www.badfactory.net