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I went to a martial arts seminar up north this weekend, conducted by Combat Hapkido Grandmaster John Pellegrini. There were quite a few people there from seminars I'd been to in the past, or from the ones I've taught, and it was good to see them again.
But I must admit, I got a BIG surprise.
During one of the breaks, I'm standing there talking to a fellow I'd met that day. I was wearing one of my pressure-points t-shirts, and he and I were talking about that and various things like forms, proper training methods, etc, when I noticed a group of about 8 people (all of whom I recognized from the seminars I'd taught) moving up to the two of us and circling us.
I did a deliberately-dramatic look around at the ring of people now surrounding us, grinned at Ray (the fellow I'd been talking to) and said, "I do believe we're surrounded."
One of the "attackers" ::S:: apologized for interrupting our conversation, but he had come to inform me that they had reached a decision -- that I was required to come back and teach another seminar. If necessary, they were prepared to kidnap me by force (apparently they figured 8 of them was the correct number to overpower me LOL). I told them that this approach wasn't necessary, just find someone with a school who wanted to host me for a seminar. They informed me that they'd be happy to host a seminar, but I pointed out that it wasn't their school, and that the invitation needs to come from their instructor. Failing that, they needed to find a suitable facility, and then we could talk about it.
During this exchange, Ray had gotten quiet, as people will often do when suddenly immersed into a group of folks they don't know but who obviously know each other. After a few minutes, he "rejoined" the discussion by means of catching my eye and saying one word:
"Okay."
And he just stopped there, as if that was all he needed to say. I looked at him, puzzled, because "Okay" really did not fit with where our conversation had been interrupted, nor with where it had diverted.
"I have a school up near Queensbury, NY. Let me get your email address, and I'll give you mine, and we'll work out the details -- we'll make this happen."
Pellegrini prefers to keep his seminars informal -- nobody is "in uniform" (although lots of people do still wear their workout pants), so there are no indications of rank, style, affiliation, or anything else. Pellegrini himself typically wears dress slacks and a golf shirt or t-shirt. This explains why I had no idea that "Ray" was also known as "Master Lipani." From our conversation, I'd known that he was an instructor, although he'd never made reference to having his own school, etc.
Once he and I have worked out details (dates/times, location, topics to be covered) I'll be sure to post it here, in case anyone wants to attend. I'll also probably be taping it again, so if anyone would like a copy of the DVD (or one for the last seminar I did), please let me know!
I'm rather amused by another thing as well. Apparently I'm known as "The Pressure Points Guy" in upstate New York (never mind that I live in west Tennessee ::G::). I found this out after being introduced to someone, and finding out later that they had asked to be introduced to "the pressure points guy."
Okay, maybe it was the t-shirt, but the other interpretation is more fun. ::G::
But I must admit, I got a BIG surprise.
During one of the breaks, I'm standing there talking to a fellow I'd met that day. I was wearing one of my pressure-points t-shirts, and he and I were talking about that and various things like forms, proper training methods, etc, when I noticed a group of about 8 people (all of whom I recognized from the seminars I'd taught) moving up to the two of us and circling us.
I did a deliberately-dramatic look around at the ring of people now surrounding us, grinned at Ray (the fellow I'd been talking to) and said, "I do believe we're surrounded."
One of the "attackers" ::S:: apologized for interrupting our conversation, but he had come to inform me that they had reached a decision -- that I was required to come back and teach another seminar. If necessary, they were prepared to kidnap me by force (apparently they figured 8 of them was the correct number to overpower me LOL). I told them that this approach wasn't necessary, just find someone with a school who wanted to host me for a seminar. They informed me that they'd be happy to host a seminar, but I pointed out that it wasn't their school, and that the invitation needs to come from their instructor. Failing that, they needed to find a suitable facility, and then we could talk about it.
During this exchange, Ray had gotten quiet, as people will often do when suddenly immersed into a group of folks they don't know but who obviously know each other. After a few minutes, he "rejoined" the discussion by means of catching my eye and saying one word:
"Okay."
And he just stopped there, as if that was all he needed to say. I looked at him, puzzled, because "Okay" really did not fit with where our conversation had been interrupted, nor with where it had diverted.
"I have a school up near Queensbury, NY. Let me get your email address, and I'll give you mine, and we'll work out the details -- we'll make this happen."
Pellegrini prefers to keep his seminars informal -- nobody is "in uniform" (although lots of people do still wear their workout pants), so there are no indications of rank, style, affiliation, or anything else. Pellegrini himself typically wears dress slacks and a golf shirt or t-shirt. This explains why I had no idea that "Ray" was also known as "Master Lipani." From our conversation, I'd known that he was an instructor, although he'd never made reference to having his own school, etc.
Once he and I have worked out details (dates/times, location, topics to be covered) I'll be sure to post it here, in case anyone wants to attend. I'll also probably be taping it again, so if anyone would like a copy of the DVD (or one for the last seminar I did), please let me know!
I'm rather amused by another thing as well. Apparently I'm known as "The Pressure Points Guy" in upstate New York (never mind that I live in west Tennessee ::G::). I found this out after being introduced to someone, and finding out later that they had asked to be introduced to "the pressure points guy."
Okay, maybe it was the t-shirt, but the other interpretation is more fun. ::G::
