This weekend was Guru Plinck's second annual Sera weekend. It's primarily for his students although others are sometimes invited and generally welcome. This year was a little bit smaller than last time. It was still an excellent event. A couple people from out of town showed up, notably Bobbe Edmonds from Seattle.
The large floors of our old venue in St. John's have mostly been walled in, and the Capoeira school which had offered to host the event evaporated. The people at The Place to Shoot and Portland Thai Boxing & Martial Arts were kind enough to rent us their facility on very short notice. A local barbecue joint, known as Honey B's or Loiusiana Ed's depending on how long you've been in Portland, provided dinner Saturday at a very reasonable price.
It was sort of like Guru Plinck's regular classes, except that it lasted fifteen hours. Sensitivity drills, fundamentals, footwork, handwork, body mechanics, distance, timing, juru-juru and ground fighting. There was more emphasis this year on strong limber legs and working low to the ground. As the Guru says "Your martial arts are only as good as your base". What was almost completely missing in the stand-up portion of the program was technique. Most of us were his students. The rest all had strong martial arts backgrounds. We already have more technique than we'll ever use. The emphasis was on developing skill and understanding so that we can make what we have work.
Everyone seemed to have a great time and learned a lot. We're looking forward to next year, maybe on a more convenient date.
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