The Gathering of the Tribes

So, the annual “Gathering of the Tribes” seminar was this past weekend. What a great time.

I have been sort of changing my perspective and availability for teaching these past few months. I’m getting just a touch much sick of organizations, political jive, backstabbing and overall kung-fool bullshit, so I have severely limited access to me for other people looking for instruction.

And I was difficult to find to begin with.

After a really BAD experience in Canada recently, I have also decided to stop doing seminars. Chuck Pippin’s Gathering has really changed that for me.

Grand Rapids Michigan is a little off the beaten path for most people. The plane ride was perfectly hellish, and the pilot clearly thought that “crash” was Latin for “safe landing”. After straightening my spine and uncorking my neck vertebrae, I poked my head into the cockpit and said “Han, Chewie, nice landing! This was an interesting flight, I’ve never almost fucking DIED before.” No kidding, I really did that. I staggered off the Delta Airlines deathtrap my loving wife had so thoughtfully booked me on, and met Terry Trahan at the gate, soon joined by Chuck and his partner Don, who agreed to escort us to the hotel. My luck was in and the car I had reserved wasn’t, so we got a free upgrade to a MAZDA M3 BABY!!!! Oh yeah, omen of good things to come. Let me just tell you, this little gem corners like its on magnets & goes from zero to FAAAWWK! In about 4 seconds. Unfortunately, Chuck drives about as fast as snow falling on a summer day, so we had no chance to test for acceleration or check to make sure that Lando’s people had fixed the hyperdrive. Soon, soon…

Chuck Pippin has a beautiful setup, his school is spacious and sits on the edge of a lawn large enough to land a space shuttle on. Being from Seattle, anything more than six or seven feet of lawn is considered wilderness to me. Chuck and his wife Jeannie opened their home to us, and there were people camped out on the yard as well. “Gathering of the Tribes” was really the right title for this, it truly felt like we were having an old style family reunion than a martial arts seminar.

Really wide selection of instructors this time out, and the vibe was relaxed since most of us knew each other personally or from the web. I had never attended a gathering before, and from all accounts this was the one to beat.

The first morning (Saturday) started off right, with a warm up from CST instructor Cody Fielding and then Mushtaq Ali gave us a good dose of Pencak Silat Zulfikari. Buzz Smith taught his amazing Maharlika Kuntaw, and I was fascinated at how close it was to the Kuntao Po I trained as well. This only went further in proving in my mind we are really training the same thing at a different level.

Chuck and Don went through some of the Knife Fighting Congress curriculum, as well as the San Yun Do Cane system. The walking cane was great fun, and after a session on the basics we got to play with padded canes. For some reason, the highlight seemed to be ganging up on me, three to one.

Chuck tested for his 4^th degree black belt, and his partner Don unknowingly did as well. Chuck is a great teacher with a big heart, and Don is extremely skilled and mongoose-quick. Both guys braced up to some pretty intense questions with a knife sparring session afterward. I thought they acquitted themselves very well.

Cody Fielding went through some of Scott Sonnen’s Flowfit workout, and if you are looking for a great workout routine that can be tailor-fit to your specifications, this is it. Cody is recognized as one of the best in the game, and he’s the kind of teacher you can always learn from no matter what level you are.

Jay Carstensen wore a funny looking shirt.

Terry Trahan covered the principles of WeaselCraft, his eclectic street system. I could tell some people found it a bit more violent than they normally cared for, but that’s the essence of self defense in the first place. I saw several practitioners nod in agreement as Terry went through the principles of his system.

Grandmaster Bobby Taboada of Balintawak Eskrima came by unexpectedly, and I have to admit he stole the show. What a treat, he taught all three days for no other reason than he was “in the neighborhood”. Who does that kind of thing these days? Taboada brought a good blend of stick and empty hand to the game, and everybody walked away with something they could apply in their own art.

I may have rambled on about various crap for a couple of hours as well. Memory fails.

I had heard of the gathering seminar before, but never attended. The approach that Chuck has taken has been attempted by many others, but achieved by very few. So many high ranking martial artists from such a varied background is usually a recipe for an ego-fed disaster, but I walked away with some new friends and an open heart. There’s nothing like some solid training to put your mind back on track, and the Gathering was perfect for me. Chuck and the boys have made the Gathering a twice-yearly event, and I have decided to try to attend the annual spring seminar. If you’re tired of spending hundreds of dollars to travel to L.A. for a weekend of convoluted martial crap and hocus pocus, or supporting an organization that does nothing to support you, come on out to Grand Rapids. You won’t regret it.