Last night I attended a Holiday party hosted by Apex Training Center. It was a great evening spent in the company of fellow martial artists. We joked and laughed, ate and drank, and enjoyed each others company. It is nice to see such camaraderie and brotherhood among people. The holidays are always a time for family and togetherness and I was happy to attend and be considered part of the family. To my surprise myself and Da Shi Xiong Kevin Sears were both presented with certificates of rank. He and I were both awarded a rank of Phase One – Level Two within the Inosanto system of Filipino Martial Arts. I was very honored to receive this rank. I spend time on occasion practicing and training with the students at Apex. It is a very relaxed atmosphere working with them and the arts that they teach are a refreshing change. The myriad of styles that they teach cause the body to move and react in a different manner than the Shaolin arts that I study. I enjoy the variety and difference, I feel that it makes me a better martial artist. It helps me to not get stuck in only one way of doing things and a perspective that allows me to not only understand how practitioners of their style will react to given techniques or situations but see where there are holes in my techniques as well. I respect the students and instructors of Apex and really enjoy the opprotunities that I get to train with them. In particular I would like to thank Guro Joe Craig and Guro Chris Hesse for their advice, teaching, and friendship.
