Today we received our jiu-jitsu robes which are called gi. Gi means uniform in Japanese and is the word used to describe the uniforms in most forms of martial arts. The gi are white and made of a thick material which allows for better grip when performing jiu-jitsu holds and takedowns. However, our uniforms would not be complete without a belt. The very first belt awarded in jiu-jitsu is the white belt. We all received our white belt today after completing three acts of kindness outside of our training that showed selflessness. Typically, the yellow belt is the next rank after the white belt but for our purposes, we will be adding stripes to our white belt as we progress.
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| Receiving our White Belts |
We also learned our first chokehold. This was the rear naked choke which can be used to prevent blood from flowing to an attacker's head causing them to pass out. To ensure nobody accidentally took a choke-induced slumber, each person and their partner made sure that they could tap out of the choke. This chokehold can be performed from the ground or standing position and is quite easy to learn.
-Ren Shimada
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| Practicing the rear naked choke in our new gi |
Today we also learned a more complex combination on kali sticks. This combination was built on one that we learned previously, but it added one more strike and a kick. The sequence that we worked on today was this:
Position your kali sticks in a “seatbelt” position
Strike with the stick that is on the bottom and move it up to your shoulder
Strike with the stick that was on the top and move it back to your shoulder
Strike with the stick that was initially on the bottom again and move it back to your shoulder
Turn your front foot so you’re facing the opposite direction, look over your shoulder, and strike with the stick in front
We learned the first four steps of this combination previously in the course, and it was really fun to be able to add onto them. After we learned the new steps to the combination, we were challenged to come up with an ending move. This was really fun because we got to do whatever we wanted for this move, which means that we were able to get super creative. After a few minutes of practicing our ending move, the instructors at Bam Bam chose their favorites, and the people they chose got to show what they came up with in front of everyone. This ended up being really funny, and people got pretty creative with their moves. All in all, learning more about how to use kali sticks was a really fun experience.
-Sarah Seeliger
Kung Fu Hustle- Following our intense morning workout and lunch, we watched a classic Martial Arts movie, Kung Fu Hustle. It not only had a captivating plotline and many comedic elements, but the cast was a collection of some of the greatest Hong Kong martial arts actors and actresses of the past decades. Once the movie concluded, we had a wide-ranging discussion about it. We first discussed how the style of the movie was different than what most of us were accustomed to, and so it initially kind of caught many students off-guard (myself included). the movie's director, Stephen Chow, as Mr. Zhou explained that Chow revolutionized the whole genre of martial arts movies throughout his storied career, as well as the extent to which Chow impacted and influenced culture in China and Hong Kong as a whole. We also discussed how Chow intentionally included an abundance of pop culture references within the movie, and it was interesting to see how so many students were able to pick up on some of these fairly subtle references. Overall, it was a great movie that was enjoyable and light-hearted but also gave incredible insight into the culture surrounding martial arts and film-making in Asia.
-Gabriel Avritscher
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