Saturday, October 23, 2010

Full mat!

The mat's looking pretty full nowadays. With a large class it's starting to get cramped during warm-ups:

Warming up with some breakfalls
And it's really full when everyone stretches out:

The class at rest

9 comments:

Andi said...

You need more mats!!

Sue C said...

A victim of your own success! It looks a lot of fun in your class but how do you not crash into each other when throwing? It looks like you have room for a few more mats

Dan Prager said...

Hi Sue

Thanks!

"[H]ow do you not crash into each other when throwing?"

By training on a crowded mat, we improve awareness and learn to judge distances precisely when we throw.

Also, for techniques that require more room, like sacrifice throws, and for stand-up randori, we can't have everyone on the mat at the same time.

When we have a larger class, like the one pictured, I often split the class in two: one half of the class practices restraint & control techniques off the mat, while the other half gets more room on the mat for throwing - and then we swap over.

Sue C said...

Funnily enough I went on a jujitsu/kobudo seminar on Saturday at which there were about 140 people attending. Initially I thought, 'no-way!'However we were divided into groups of about 16-20 and rotated around about 8 matted areas. It was still a little crowded on the mats but it worked fine. You're right, you just learn to have more awareness and be more careful. It was a great course - have you heard of Bartitsu by the way? Very interesting that one!

Dan Prager said...

Yep: I've heard of bartitsu. Not the sort of name one usually associates with the late Victorian era! Don't know much about it though.

Journeyman said...

Nice to have you back posting. My Sensei always stresses controlling you opponent and planting him/her where you plan to. Look where you throw.

Nice to see you experiencing success.

Benn said...

I think you need a mat shopping!

Chase said...

Full mat, indeed! I think you needed even a bigger place. It's nice how the martial world is booming.

Anonymous said...

So what's the secret to such a big turnout?