From Russia with Love 3

My third trip to Russia. I love this country.
I got to Rostov after a connection flight I took from Kaliningrad. The flight was bad, and we arrived in Rostov on Don at 0300 AM, but I wont dwell on it.
We went to Vadim's apartment to sleep it off and woke up to a beautiful and warm day.
We went to eat in my favorite place in Rostov. The Azerbaijanian market. There is a small workers resturant, all dirty and rough, and I love the simplicity and taste of their foods. They served us with a lamb stew, fresh cut veggies and some delicious lamb chops. The meat was to die for. In the end of the meal they served us with a spicy black tea, I liked it a lot. Tea should be drank bitter, in its natural form, no sugar or additives.
In the market here you can buy blueberries in a very cheap price. I couldnt believe it.
This box of 6 Kg of blueberries costs here 10$.... In Israel we pay 8$ for 350 Grams... And frozen, not fresh! People here dont value their berries. Antioxidants for free...

After the Azarbaijanian market we had to use a couple of hours of the day to register my passport as required by the Russian Federation. You think Israel has a lot red tape? Russia is much worse. Many forms to fill out, all for foreigners and not even one of them in English.... Amazing.

After completing the registeration process we went ahead to the country side to a 'Dacha' (Spring house or Villa in the countryside/seashore) of Vadim's friend on the bank of the Don river. It is a beautiful place, very quiet and I started to wonder how will life be living in a natural place like this. I got to the conclusion that you either choose to live in the city and vacation in the village or vice versa, but for a city born person, the combination essential if he wants to maintain sanity.
We went into the river for a short dip and went back to the house's garden to pick up fresh, organic berries of all shapes and colors right there from the bushes. I was like a kid in a toy store. Those berries were delicious and full of taste and I enjoyed it very much. We drank some tea made from mint and berry leafs and it was heaven.
We went home to rest a bit and we are just now going out to drink some tea. Stay tuned for more, I only leave for the seashore Monday morning, more to come...

Optimal Eating / Vilhjalmur Stefansson, November 1935

In 1906 I went to the Arctic with the food tastes and beliefs of the average American. By 1918, after eleven years as an Eskimo among Eskimos, I had learned things which caused me to shed most of those beliefs. Ten years later I began to realize that what I had learned was going to influence materially the sciences of medicine and dietetics. However, what finally impressed the scientists and converted many during the last two or three years, was a series of confirmatory experiments upon myself and a colleague performed at Bellevue Hospital, New York City, under the supervision of a committee representing several universities and other organizations.

A belief I was destined to find crucial in my Arctic work, making the difference between success and failure, life and death, was the view that man cannot live on meat alone. The few doctors and dietitians who thought you could were considered unorthodox if not charlatans. The arguments ranged from metaphysics to chemistry: Man was not intended to be carnivorous - you knew that from examining his teeth, his stomach, and the account of him in the Bible. As mentioned, he would get scurvy if he had no vegetables in meat. The kidneys would be ruined by overwork. There would be protein poisoning and, in general hell to pay.

I was in a measure adopted into an Eskimo family the head of which knew English. He had grown up as a cabin boy on a whaling ship and was called Roxy, though his name was Memoranna. It was early September, we were living in tents, the days were hot but it had begun to freeze during the nights, which were now dark for six to eight hours.The community of three or four families, fifteen or twenty individuals, was engaged in fishing. With long poles, three or four nets were shoved out from the beach about one hundred yards apart. When the last net was out the first would be pulled in, with anything from dozens to hundreds of fish, mostly ranging in weight from one to three pounds, and including some beautiful salmon trout. From knowledge of other white men the Eskimos consider these to be most suitable for me and would cook them specially, roasting them against the fire. They themselves ate boiled fish.

Trying to develop an appetite, my habit was to get up soon after daylight, say four o'clock, shoulder my rifle, and go off after breakfasts on a hunt south across the rolling prairie, though I scarcely expected to find any game. About the middle of the afternoon I would return to camp. Children at play usually saw me coming and reported to Roxy's wife, who would then put a fresh salmon trout to roast. When I got home I would nibble at it and write in my diary what a terrible time I was having.Against my expectation, and almost against my will, I was beginning to like the baked salmon trout when one day of perhaps the second week I arrived home without the children having seen me coming. There was no baked fish ready but the camp was sitting round troughs of boiled fish. I joined them and, to my surprise, liked it better than the baked. There after the special cooking ceased, and I ate boiled fish with the Eskimos.

In the morning, about seven o'clock, winter-caught fish, frozen so hard that they would break like glass, were brought in to lie on the floor till they began to soften a little. One of the women would pinch them every now and then until, when she found her finger indented them slightly, she would begin preparations for breakfast. First she cut off the head and put them aside to be boiled for the children in the afternoon (Eskimos are fond of children, and heads are considered the best part of the fish). Next best are the tails, which are cut off and saved for the children also. The woman would then slit the skin along the back and also along the belly and getting hold with her teeth, would strip the fish somewhat as we peel a banana, only sideways where we peel bananas, endways.Thus prepared, the fish were put on dishes and passed around. Each of us took one and gnawed it about as an American does corn on the cob. An American leaves the cob; similarly we ate the flesh from the outside of the fish, not touching the entrails. When we had eaten as much as we chose, we put the rest on a tray for dog feed.

After some three months as a guest of the Eskimos I had acquired most of their food tastes. I had to agree that fish is better boiled than cooked any other way, and that the heads (which we occasionally shared with the children) were the best part of the fish. I no longer desired variety in the cooking, such as occasional baking - I preferred it always boils if it was cooked. I had become as fond of raw fish as if I had been a Japanese. I like fermented (therefore slightly acid) whale oil with my fish as well as ever I liked mixed vinegar and olive oil with a salad. But I still had two reservations against Eskimo practice; I did not eat rotten fish and I longed for salt with my meals.

About the fourth month of my first Eskimo winter I was looking forward to every meal (rotten or fresh), enjoying them, and feeling comfortable when they were over. Still I kept thinking the boiled fish would taste better if only I had salt. From the beginning of my Eskimo residence I had suffered from this lack. On one of the first few days, with the resourcefulness of a Boy Scout, I had decided to make myself some salt, and had boiled sea water till there was left only a scum of brown powder. If I had remembered as vividly my freshman chemistry as I did the books about shipwrecked adventurers, I should have know in advance that the sea contains a great many chemicals besides sodium chloride, among them iodine. The brown scum tasted bitter rather than salty. A better chemist could no doubt have refined the product. I gave it up, partly through the persuasion of my host, the English speaking Roxy.

Through this philosophizing I was somewhat reconciled to going without salt, but I was nevertheless, overjoyed when one day Ovayuak, my new host in the eastern delta, came indoors to say that a dog team was approaching which he believed to be that of Ilavinirk, a man who had worked with whalers and who possessed a can of salt. Sure enough, it was Ilavinirk, and he was delighted to give me the salt, a half-pound baking-powder can about half full, which he said he had been carrying around for two or three years, hoping sometime to meet someone who would like it for a present. He seemed almost as pleased to find that I wanted the salt as I was to get it. I sprinkled some on my boiled fish, enjoyed it tremendously, and wrote in my diary that it was the best meal I had had all winter. Then I put the can under my pillow, in the Eskimo way of keeping small and treasured things. But at the next meal I had almost finished eating before I remembered the salt. Apparently then my longing for it had been what you might call imaginary. I finished without salt, tried it at one or two meals during the next few days and thereafter left it untouched. When we moved camp the salt remained behind.After the return of the sun I made a journey of several hundred miles to the ship Narwhal which, contrary to our expectations of the late summer, had really come in and wintered at Herschel Island. The captain was George P. Leavitt, of Portland, Maine. For the few days of my visit I enjoyed the excellent New England cooking, but when I left Herschel Island I returned without reluctance to the Eskimo meals of fish and cold water. It seemed to me that, mentally and physically, I had never been in better health in my life.

Old Clips

Here are a couple of old clips I found on my desktop from rodas and trainings at my center - Hacasa. Enjoy:

The Grand Canyon, Coach Sommer and misc clips...

The Grand Canyon. I'll go right down to it, I wasnt impressed. I tried, I realy did, but it just didnt make it for me. The Grand Canyon is nice and all, but it just wasnt my type of nature.
Have a look at some photos:






After Flagstaff, Avi and I took a drive to my last destination for this trip, Anthem-Arizona, to visit one of the best gymnastics coaches in the world, coach Christopher Sommer.

I got into email contact with Coach Sommer more than 5 years ago, after a release of one of his first articles on gymnastics strength and conditioning. Coach Sommer is a genius in his field of expertise and he was just the man I was searching for, as his methodological approach to gymnastics training is the equivalent of my own work in Capoeira. Coach Sommer is in the business of creating champions, and he has done so successfully in the last 30 years. He has a huge knowledge base and a clear understanding of what it takes to achieve those amazing feats demonstrated in modern gymnastics.
What I didn't know about him (Since I've never met him in person) was the person that he is.
Coach Sommer received me in his beautiful home. He introduced me to his lovely wife and two daughters. I was given a comfortable room to rest in, and we went to eat something at a local Asian restaurant. I could never spend a dime when I was with the coach. He wouldn't hear of it. When we got back home, and after hearing it was my birthday, he insisted on buying me a present. Since I was so impressed with his new digital camera, he decided to buy me one. He went online and ordered me a new camera. The memory card that comes with the camera wasn't good enough in his eyes, so he went on and bought me the best 4 Gb memory card available. My objection was firmly denied and he just wouldn't hear of it. I was getting this present.
We went on to talk shop before going to his gym. Coach was unbelievably generous with his knowledge, going through many details of gymnastics training and preparations, quoting known figures in the gymnastics coaching world and giving credit to each one of them from whom he borrowed something. His understanding of the gymnastics strength, conditioning, flexibility and technical aspects is amazing and unparalleled. Coach Sommer brings his knowledge from speaking with Chinese, Russian, Romanian and other countries coaches and gymnasts. He never refused to answer a question or share a detail.
I was given a copy of Coach Sommer's book. Let me tell you, this thing is amazing. This book will change the BW training world. It is so detailed and full of knowledge, everyone is up for a treat. And I don't mean everyone - common people. Head gymnastics coaches of countries like Russia, Romania, USA, Belarus and others should buy this book. It incorporates knowledge from many sources and with a special detail you cannot find elsewhere.
We went on to visit coach's facility. When we entered, his athletes, from far away noticed us entering the gym. They ran quickly towards us, standing in a line, receiving us with honor. I could see right away, this was a man who knows his job. His athletes have nothing but the highest respect towards him.
The boys were amazingly buffed and strong. Even though not even one of them was above the age of 15, they looked strong and muscular, able to support the heavy duty training of high end gymnastics. Injuries are very rare here. Coach's physical preparation creates bullet proof athletes, and he places high importance on this aspect in the training process.
I was then taken through the complete warm up the coach uses with his athletes. It is amazing, and full of thinking and detail. The warm up alone is priceless, and will be detailed in one of coach's future books.
They went through a couple of stages: shoulders, wrists, ankles, legs and hips, elbows, knees and back. Everything is covered and active flexibility is emphasized where possible, and it is possible in every joint.
We went on to some floor work. His athletes are impressive, working through the progression. I also saw some high bar and pommel work.
We went into the rings. His athletes are amazingly gifted in this area, as expected. I saw some impressive feats of strength, and not by one or two exceptional athletes, but by all of them.
I then got a taste of the 'power levers', Coach Sommer's invention that allows you to work any rings straight arm work gradually and safely. Let me tell you, this thing is amazing. You do not feel any stress on the elbow; there is no skin tears like when working with the straps and you are able to concentrate on the prime movers and do quality work. I can't wait to get a hold of my own pair of the 'power levers'. They are an amazing invention.
After finishing the workout, we went to eat, and again, the best food on the menu was ordered for me, and paying was not an option. I ate a good Salmon on the grill with some broccoli and we went on to 'Trader Joes', since Adela insisted I should take some snacks for my trip. They spoiled me with a full jar of good organic coffee, beef jerky and organic almonds. Back home we got into another training related conversation. The knowledge shared by coach was priceless. Coach Sommer and his wife Adela were staying up late because of me, since I was waiting for my flight really early the next day. I was willing to let them sleep and go by myself to the airport, but they wouldn't hear of it. Coach made sure a shuttle came and took me to the airport. He did not let me pay the fee for the shuttle, and even tipped the driver in advance. I gave Coach Sommer a hug and said to good bye, this is the first time I've met coach in person, but after only one day together, he made me feel part of his family.
Thank you coach. It was an honor to be received in your home.

Some random clips from the beach in Israel, and in the LA, training:

The Anasazy

The Anasazy were a bunch of ancient Indian tribes that had permanent housing, made out of stone and sometimes inside the ground. 'Anasazy' means 'Ancient Enemy', and there are some archaeologists that think this culture disappeared in a strange and sudden way of the face of the earth. This theory is supported by evidence from various findings in ancient Anasazy dig sites. Me, Avi and Ophek went to one of the Anasazy ruins near Flagstaff to have a look.
On our way to the dig site we stopped at a place where a big volcanic eruption happened. The place is beautiful, full of black, volcanic stones and black dust covering the whole area.
Take a look at the San Francisco mountain peaks behind me, it is amazing how it is hot where I stand and how the tops are covered with ice at the same time:

Next, take a look at some photos of me at the middle of a lava stream:


Next, a couple of photos from the ruins of Wupatki:


Here is a picture of a 'Kiva', a place where physical and sports games were conducted by the Anasazy, incredible to be here:


This is a blow-hole in the ground, a very interesting phenomenon. It is basically a hole in the ground, leading to a closed system of tunnels and caves. The difference between the outside and inside air pressures makes air blow into or out of the hole. The air is blowing out in the photo below, and it is cold air with the smell of the ground:

Next, take a look at a plant I found out the local Indians use for preparing tea. Take a close look at its scientific name... The Indians knew how to pump up for a hunt alright:


At night, even though we were tired, we decided to go take the local gymnastics facility training. Even though we were training with obnoxious 14 year old cheerleaders it was a nice session, felt good to be in the air again. Take a look at the action:



I'm just leaving for the Grand Canyon, stay tuned for more...

Flagstaff, Arizona...

My time in Flagstaff is once again a completely different experience. This place is all about nature, and whenever you look up, you can see the iced tops of the nearby mountains. It is also different because the people here represent another breed of Americans. A lot less bullshit and much more 'take it as it is' approach, although not quite as in Israel.
Avi and moran and their daughter Ophek are having me in their cozy (but dirty) home. It is great to be among friends like that. They are also very 'green' and naturalistic in their approach to life, and eating good food here is easy. And I dont just mean paleo food, but the real deal. Since arriving here i've had deer meat, buffalo (Jerky), organic veggies, blackberries and drinking good black Turkish Coffee. (Rare in the US to find a good coffee and not that cocksy stuff they drink in Starbucks)
I've also enjoyed my workshops here and introducing my Capoeira to people who know little about my world.
We have been doing some indoor and outdoor climbing and are planning to do more in the next couple of days. Have a look at some bouldering I've done with Avi's guidance, it is V2 level. (not that high, but a challenge to me...)


We have also explored some of the local nature, around Sedona, here are some pictures of a hike we took the first day I arrived here:

Las Vegas

My time in Vegas was one of the highlights of this trip. (So Far)
On my way to the San Francisco airport I discovered my flight to Vegas was scheduled a day before... How stupid can you be?!
I had to purchase a new ticket, and I arrived at the airport and started inquiring about the added cost after a refund of the original ticket. I had to pay 190$.
I got the money out of my wallet, and just before handing it over, I thought for myself: "wait a second, what is the cost of a NEW ticket alltogether?"
Turns out it is just 140$. Fuck. The girl at the desk didnt even think of letting me know that.
I purchased a new ticket and she asked me to check in my bag. I put it on the scales and it was 18 pounds over weight. I took it off and transfered some of the stuff into my carry on bag. I put it on the scales and noticed it was still 10 pounds over weight. Before the girl at the desk noticed I slipped my foot under the bag and lifted it a bit so it passed the allowed weight limit. I checked in and went to security check.
When the security guy saw that I was from Israel, he sketched a small doodle on my ticket and sent me to the x-ray area. When I got there I was pulled into this transparent fiberglass room and they started to take my things apart and check everything. Because I had to transfer my things from the big bag to my carry on bag, it was full of liquid, powder and pill supplements (nutritional) and they started to smell and check everything. This wasnt really my day.
Eventually I got on board and was on my way to Vegas.
My friend and 'Le Reve' performer Yuval Ayalon picked my up from the airport.
We went right away to a small get together in a local hotel of the cast of the show. Everyone was really nice, dressed up, drinking and talking. I got to know some interesting characters - clowns, acrobats, synchronized swimmers and other talented people.
In the next couple of days I got to see 3 Cirque du Soleil shows (well, one is a Dragone show, but its in the same spirit) - 'Le Reve' (my second time seeing it), 'Ka' and the show 'O'.
Each show was different and interesting.
Le Reve was my favorite. It is a very emotional show, and you get involved to a much more intimate level in it as a spectator. Also, because I already knew many performers in it, and I was sitting in the 3rd row, It was a great experience.
Ka was an amazing technological show. The physical abilities are not the center of this show, but the stage and techno stuff are something out of a hollywood movie set. Also, It had a Capoeira practitioner in it, so it was interesting to me on a professional level also. (I got to meet him and talk to him a bit after the show. We scheduled to train together but it didnt turn out at the end)
'O' was amazing in its acrobatics and the stage is also amazing. It is the most successful show in Vegas and one of the first shows here. The high diving pieces were amazing. The clowning I didnt like so much.
Over my time in Vegas I also trained daily with Yuval on the art of handbalancing, something I've been playing with for the last months. Yuval is an amazing equilibrist and he realy helped me alot with his guidance. I think I've made a small improvement in my work, but only after returning home and implementing all of this new knowledge will I know for sure.
Besides training and seeing shows, we went everyday to a cirque du soleil party or get together, and I met some more amazing people, with whom I have a lot in common. I was again deeply impressed with their abilities, but also amazed at how little do their training, nutritional and life style habits contribute to their success. People here are really talented, they can use a bit of a more professional approach to their lifestyle, eating and supplemental training. They do know how to work hard and are very technical and artistic, I'll give that to them.
I'm now in Flagstaff Arizona in my student and good friend house - Avi. Will update the next couple of days with photos and clips.
If you read this, comment please!

Me doing my set:


Now Yuval doing the real thing:


Me and Yuval at the 'Le Reve' theater:


Outside of the 'O' show, near a statue of Victor Key:


Pictures from the 'Red Rock' outside of Vegas:

San Francisco

San Francisco is great. An inspiration. I dont have a lot of time to write, but I'll just say that this city is a special place. I dont just mean the Golden Gate, and other famous and amazing sights around this place. I mean the people, the energy in the streets and the way you feel walking down the street here.

Below is a non related picture from The Universal Studios in LA and some flics from one of many trainings in the GO facility. Enjoy, I'm in Vegas right now having the time of my life, hanging with the local Cirque du Soleil and Le Reve cast memebers, but I'll write about this later.

Venice Beach, California

Venice beach is where you want to be. Especialy when a hot day hits you (there is a heat wave here in LA) and you have a bottle of freezing cold (non sweetened) green tea.

The beach is full of beautifull people. Colorful, athletic.

The open basketball courts has amazing players showing off their abilities, while everyone just seems to dunk a bball, even the whities hanging around,

The muscle beach gym always has one or two body builders moving some iron,

The beach has an assortment of bodyweight training equipment like high ropes, pbars, high bars, rings, and even overhead plates for speed bag boxing use.

What else can I ask for?

We went at it, warming up at the big grass with some floreio.

Pretty quick a small crowd gathered around us, asking questions, inquiring about those unexplained movements.

We pushed on and did some acrobatics.
We continued near the grass with some equilibre work on static positions:



We went to the bodyweight area and finished up with some strength work on the aparatus:

Finally, a picture of a man with his son, just explaining the basic facts of life...

After ripping it apart at the beach we went back to the valley to grab a bight to eat in a local resturant with israely food. I ate some delicious Lamb Shishlik with a good arebian (Dak Dak...) salad and drank some more ice tea...

My food was delayed in the kitchen, but in order for me not to hurt the americanized waitress gentle feelings I just hinted her with an inquiring face on the plate. Where is my food, dog?

Life is good. Live it hardcore. More to come....

LA 2008

Los An-hell-es. Once more... Here I am again in the plastic capital of the world.


After a very llllloooonnng and tiring flight, I was picked up by a friend (Parafina) and we went talking into the night. I was dead tired but you know how it goes with two capoeiristas talking shop, not much better than two old ladies.


I finally went to sleep around 02:00AM and woke up 4 hours later with my eyes wide open. The jetleg is here.


I went to a small jog around the neighborhood and got some stares from the local latino comunity... Apperantly a white guy jogging without a shirt at 0600AM in Van Nuys is not a common sight.


I did some dynamic stretching and worked the elastic band a bit and prepared a small breakfast of organic omega 3 eggs plus some greens tossed in. I ate this omlete with a horseradish mustard... mmmm.... spicy! (not as good as the russian one, though...)


Parafina woke up a few hours later and we went to a local stuntmen meet.


It was held in a huge house of an vetern stuntman from the old school. (used to do a lot of work in the 1960's and still does until today) He has a huge back yard with trampolines, landing mats, trapeze and high fall tower. All of the local Holywood stunt guys and gals meet up here twice a week and train for free, exchanging tips on falls, crashes, trampoline, fight choreography and other cool stuff.

We jumped a bit on the double mini tramp and then I went to learn the basic free falling techniques. Here is the result:

And this is an ex-olympic gymnast jumping off one of the high tower lower drops:

This is a very cool guy that works a lot with freerunning and parkour doing the real deal of the small drop:



All in all, a great first morning in Hollywood. Met some interesting people and got to move my body a bit. Next we are off to Venice Beach to train and hang out. Stay tuned and comment for G's sake.

Physical Preparation and Nutrition for Capoeira Seminar

We will be hosting a seminar at Hacasa about 'Physical Preparation and Nutrition for Capoeira' at the 26/1/2007.
It will include many subjects:

Building a proper warm up

Creating a personal training program for the capoeira professional

Designing and implementing a group training program to support technical capoeira
work

Nutrition for the capoeirista


For more details (For the Hebrew readers) go to:
Hacasa.co.il/seminar
The spaces are limited, be quick and sign up.

Also, my good friend and colleague Robb Wolf from NorCal Strength & Conditioning (check them up at: NorcalSC) has just published a very interesting debate between two HUGE nutrition authorities - Dr. Loren Cordain (Paleo diet) and Dr. T. Colin Campbell. (China study)
The debate is about Protein. Requirements, sources, importance, and data around it. I gulped it down in one sip, I'm sure you will enjoy the piece just as much.
Protein Debate
Also, check out the monthly e-zine that the NorcalSC are issueing -
The Performance Menu
I've written some material for them - in the first issue which you can download as a free sample at their site, and another upcomming piece in the January 2007 issue. Check it out, its a goldmine of information for health and sports man.

Style...

Style in Capoeira is bit of a missing element in recent times. Recent? I'm talking about the last 10 years or so. There are so many amazing moves being done today by capoeiristas, great interaction and communication being performed in Rodas around the world, but very few stylish Capoeiristas. Actualy, one can count the capoeiras with style on his fingers and without taking his shoes off. Its realy a sad state of affairs. The original, authentic, expressive feel capoeira once had is lost, and people dont even look up to the ones who still dedicate time and effort to polish their moves.
From my view, and I've been traveling around quite a lot in the past 10 years going to capoeira events around the world, most people are looking to complete the moves techniquely, but when it is done, they move on. That is actualy just the begining stages of doing something in Capoeira. You still need to put emotion into it, polish it, look for the cleanest, smoothest, sharpest execution. Lets not lose sight of what makes Capoeira be Capoeira. Contemporary capoeiristas need to learn a lesson from the Angoleiros, almost the only ones left in the Capoeira world that are still after the 'feel' of things and are not stopping at the point of perfect technical execution. Maybe the reason is they kept their art simple and though maintained authenticity and originality. With all the diffrent new things going on nowdays in the Capoeira world, how can we stop for a moment, and improve upon some of the most basic elements? Take a step back and look around. This is what will make you special and diffrent. Stop being one of a crowd, look for your self in the perfection of your art. Lets get back to those amazingly creative Rodas of the early 90th... See you there.

Advanced group training

This was last night's capoeira training session for the advanced group in Hacasa:
A. Running around with joint mobility to diffrent body parts.
B. Strength routine as a pre-fatigue procedure. 3 sets of 10 chinups, 10 handstand push ups, 10 pistols per leg. All done continuesly with minimal rest. The intent is to create fatigue before the
capoeira training for the students to learn to deal with diveresed situations under fatigue.
C. Dynamic stretching 15 reps per legs, diffrent directions. holding a back bridge for 60 seconds.
D. Various Aus, and flowing in and out of bridges as a more specific warm up and control.
E. Ginga+Ginga variations 5 minutes total, no rest.
F. Individual work in front of the mirror of various combinations of kicks flowing into floreio on the floor. reps between 20-30, no stop.
G. Pairs work using the diffrent combinations worked in part F but in an interactive situation.
H. Pairs interaction work, using the diffrent combinations just like in part G, only in an unknown structure and organization, though working on your reaction and 'game's vision'.
I. Training roda using the material from the whole training. Small, 6-7 people rodas and emphesize on quantity of games.
J. Going out to the street near the training center for some hill sprints. We did 3 X 250 meter up the hill sprints, going off every 3 minutes. You basicly have to run up the hill as fast as you can, and come back walking, every 3 minutes you go for another set. This is for working on some anaerobic endurance after the technical part of the training is over.
K. Isometric stretching for front and side splits, 30 seconds each X 3 sets of each of the 3 positions.

The training took us exactly 120 minutes. It was pushed to the limit, even one of the advanced students threw up a couple of times before the isometrics were over, just after the sprints. Good work from everyone, not a word of complaint and a lot of spirit and motivation to complete everything in the best way possible. We are going to do this for at least 3 weeks straight, at least 4 times a week. Pain is good.

Vegas...

The biggest slogan running around the media these days about Las Vegas is: 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'. I've learned it is with this exact mentality that people come to visit this Beautifull but frightening place.
It is everywhere. You can smell it in the air. Its in the gazed look on the faces of people staring at their money saying 'goodbye'. Its on the poor girls faces dancing in small tubs compeletly naked to the eyes of onlookers. This place is all about desires.
I was floating on top of it all, sometimes diving down, lightly or aggresivly touching it. I've never experienced such an energy in my life. This is the first time I've looked at people letting go completely and falling into their desires with such an intensity. It was an experience alright.
I think half of it is seeing those PC-polite-held back americans walking the dark side... You know what they say: 'The higher you go, the further you fall'.
Anyways, I'm not going to blab anymore about it. My thoughts still needs further digestion. I'll leave you with these words only. Love you all, and miss you, friends, wherever you are right now. Write me some comments, I know you are reading, but lets hear it. Ido.

Little supermen

I gave class last night at a local gymnastics facility. Its huge compared to Israely standarts, but I think that localy it is nothing to write home about. In the morning the main activities there are pure gymnastics, but from the afternoon and into the night lots of stuntmen, circus performers, acrobats, Free Runners (Parkour) and Capoeiristas come by. They all trade information and train together helping each other out and learning new skills. The stuntmen practice some falls and do some acrobatics, the freerunners build huge towers off of gymnastics cubes and flip or jump down in various ways, the Capoeiristas do their own thing and the gymnasts practice the events. To say this is heaven for me is an understatement. I didnt know where to look wanting to absorb so much info.
All of those diffrent diciplines are realy great and each has it own difficult and amazing stuff, but the true supermen in my opinion were the 10 year old gymnasts. They run around buffed with amazing bodies playing their sick game with mr. Newton. They laugh off in the face of danger and every challange is met immedietly with perfect execution. They go from an event to event (gymnastics events) criss-crossing the gym with various flips into and off stuff making it look like its the natural way to move. When they see a freerunner or an acrobat doing something new and of interest, they aproach him, stand still, watch and then humiliate the poor guy that was practicing this skill for years with an even better execution in their first try. Gymnastics is the mother of all those arts and of body control. People, we have supermen walking around us, lets start training.

International humility...

LA is where it all happens. Every mind in the western world is effected by what goes on here, and you feel like a little bug buzzing around the city waiting to be squashed by a random onlooker.
Last night, while sitting in Starbucks with my friend, sipping our ginger green teas a woman comes up to us. We were both deep in conversation talking shop (Capoeira and training) and we didnt notice her aproaching. She goes: 'Hi guys! Can I ask you some questions?'
We: 'Sure, whats on your mind?' (Puzzled..)
She: 'Are you guys actors?'
We: 'Thats right, we are!' (full of shit and ourselfs)
She: 'I'm a casting director for this new TV show, and I have to ask you first how old are you guys?'
We: '31 and 26'
etc..etc...
One day in LA and you get a job offer. And its not for my good looks or acting skills... Just goes to show you: things are happening here if you are in the lookout for such things. 26 years in Israel, and never someone aproached me on the street with such a job offer, one day in LA, though...
(To be fair I have to say, someone aproached me once on the street in Tel Aviv and offered me to buy some fresh avocados..)
Anyways, I wanted to say a couple of words about humility. Humility is an international concept, although I can now clearly see that it is not the same everywhere. The thing is, we judge each other by our own humility standarts, while the other person in front of us works by a completely diffrent set of rules and values. Humility in the US (or at least LA, and YES I'm generalizing) is talking about your self, showing how small you are. The funny thing is: its still talking about yourself... As an Israely, it looks completely fake to me, although, it comes from a very real and sencire place. Israelies look at humility in a diffrent way: just shut up. Dont talk about yourself, although you have a lot to say. The funny thing is: we still think highly of ourselfs, we just dont say it... Brazilian humility is also diffrent: its about posture (round shoulders, making yourself smaller than you realy are, look at Angoleiros), and thinking of yourself in simple terms. Although they are the most macho country in the world, I think their humility is misunderstood by many.
We have a lot to learn from each other. Judging has its drawbacks, but judging is what made me think of all that I'm writing here. Well, enough babble.. I'm off to my morning training.

What a ride....

I've finally reached LA. It took me 36 hours to get here from Israel, and it was quite a ride.
Everything started at the Ben Gorion airport in Israel. I was aproaching the nice lady at the desk and handed her my passport for inspection. After a moment she asked me for the address I would be staying at during my visit to the US. I had no idea I needed to present such an address, nor was I asked to do so the last time I came here. Also, I had no address to give her, and couldnt think of a way to come up with Parafina's (the guy who brought me here) address in such a short time. After some self brain-storming I thought of another friend who lives in LA, and gave his mother a call. After 5 minutes she called me back with his address, and I passed it along. I thought everything was going to go smoothly from now on, was I mistaken... After another 10 min, my friend's mother called me again, saying I shouldnt give his address cause he has not finished his green card registration process and though, he is not completely legal in the states. Never mind, too late.
I went on board and we left for Canada. After a few hours in the air, some air turbulances started. Not a rare sight if you fly often. Only they didnt stop. They went on for a few hours, obviously making us use too much fuel to deal with them. After 14 hours straight in the plane (instead of 12 hours) the pilot informed us we will be landing in Montreal instead of in Toronto. This shortened the time I had to catch my conection flight from Toronto to LA to nearly ZIP. But I still had a chance. After a few minutes on the ground, we were informed the plane was ready to go, but then they discovered a problem in the tire.... Shit. They lifted us on a jack and changed tires, and we were off to Toronto. We reached there 40 minutes after my flight already left. A ground crew gave us special vouchers for transportation from the airport to the Hilton and back and a Hilton hotel voucher for one night. I went to the Hilton, ate a bad dinner and went to sleep for a few hours to wake up at 0500 and go back to the airport. My flight to LA was a bit late, (The Gods dont like me these days) and I finally reached the US. Thats it. I'm finally here. Last night we went to hang out around Holywood and near Parafina's house at Sherman Oaks. Its realy shiny over here. Good looking cars, woman, clothes. Good looking everything. I cant believe the industry connections Parafina has here, as he practicly knows everyone that is someone here. His friends cycle includes ex-bodybuilder star Kevin Levrone and Tae-Bo creator Billy Blanks. He has some very connected students who train with him and help him out. Some of them are stunt-men, music creators for the film industry, actors, producers and casting directors. The availability of knowledge (and good knowledge) here amazes me. You can go train with the stunt-men learning to fall from hights, and take a realistic beating, you can go over to the gymnastics gym and train with olympic calibar athletes, you can go take a boxing class from a world champion, etc... (I intend to go through all of these while I'm here)

Thats it for now, people. Let me know what you think through the comments section, also, you can email me at ido@hacasa.co.il

Axe.

Art and creativity...

Lately I have this new bug. Art. I mean, I've touched art my whole life one way or another, but always in a second place kind of way. Looking at capoeira was more through the philosophical, warrior, sports eyes than through artistic eyes for me, although my capoeira is very much aesthetics oriented.
Now in the past couple of weeks I've started to touch more the artistic side. It is simply what makes me tick now. I want to see beautiful capoeira with true self expression, and not only strong, quality and even communicative capoeira. Thats not enough any more.
In order to do that, and in a typical 'idoish' style, I've decided to get inspiration and knowledge in other places besides capoeira and to bring this into my own capoeira. I'm learning a lot of diffrent artistic manifestations and their special creative touch. I'm after creating something that is not present anywhere else - the most creative capoeira ever. The idea is to improve and touch every aspect of capoeira in that sense. The musical aspect, the movement and dance, Ginga, artistic interaction, Capoeira show, rythem, facial experssion, and more.
Of course there are many examples of very artistic capoeiristas over the years, (most are CDO or angoleiros, some are from old-school styles and groups) but I want to bring my own thing to the table, and this is another reason for me to cross train in other arts.
Keep tuned to future projects concerning this new craze, some photos and videos and other material...

BTW, a new workshop is being organized by us in Hacasa, a workshop of rythem and movement in an old-new context. It will be held in Hacasa during 4 subsequent Saturdays and will be instructed by Michael Feigenbaum from the Mayumana group. http://www.mayumana.com/
It will combine afro-brasilian rythems with some newer funk-hiphop feel into a dance and instrumental play. Should be a blast. Special prices for the Hacasa students and limited 15 spots for every cycle of the workshop. Keep tuned for more details, first meeting at the 14th of Oct. Registration at the office: 04-8373340. Leave a message and we'll get back to you. See you there.