Fight Jam 9
Winter Wonderland Lite! What a beautiful sight, we're ass kicking tonight....! Our first Jam of the new year was a recap of the 2010 Winter Wonderland Workshop, a "greatest hits", if you will. The
Winter Wonderland is
the largest stage combat workshop in the country offering over 90
different classes from world class instructors such as David Woolly,
Neil Massey, J. Allen Suddeth, David Boushey and many more. Some of the class subjects:
Winter Wonderland highlights at a 100% discount! Fight Jam 8  Super Hero Showdown! Pow! Zam! Kick Kris Kringles' Keester! Super Hero character work IN COSTUME! Okay, costumes were optional... but oh so fun. We took a look at classic heroes, and villains, as they (i.e. YOU!) went toe to toe with one another. Batman vs. Joker, Batman vs. Superman, Superman vs. Santa Claus...  That's right! Tell me Santa Claus ain't a superhero- dude travels around the entire world in one night, slips down chimneys all stealth-like. Right? How would he kick butt? What are his moves of choice? His handicaps? And why? We threw down as our favorite superheroes to discover the influences of characteristics and personality on their combat choices. And congrats on the encyclopedic knowledge of the Fight Jam community and beyond of superheroes and super powers that enriched this Jam with all things super! Fight Jam 7 Choreographers Gone Wild! Tell a Story, With Your Fist! Adam
Miller-Batteau headed up our choreography-based jam, inviting
choreographers and all levels of fighters to join us. We explored
how a
fight is put together and develops. How does it start? What moves are
they going
to do? Is it telling a story? After playing around for a bit on how we choreograph a fight we opened it up to the participants. Actors, artists, beginning and advanced fighters, and choreographers came together to give life to ideas they had, fights they were doing on elsewhere, and cool stuff they'd seen in movies or shows that they wanted to work out. Fight Jam 6
Fightin' Women! Presenter Stephanie Repin
from Babes With Blades
This Jam explored feminine strategies in stage combat, looking at how women fought historically, how contemporary female characters approach violence, and the ever changing gender 'standards' in today's industry. Stephanie covered how physiological differences effect attacker and respondent, bodily power shifts, and emotional tones. Are Boys Allowed?
Absolutely!
We need you! Fightin' Women
helped the men explore new ways to approach a female
opponent while gaining a
better understanding of her tools and resources
by gaining a new
perspective in the world of violence!
Fight Jam 5  Wushu Finish Him, Already? Numero Cinqo was an intro to Wushu with Dan Pesina from Chicago Wushu exploring double broadsword vs. spear choreography. The sport of Wushu is both and exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese Martial Arts. In contemporary times, Wushu has become a truly gl  Fight Jam 4 Dojo Wanna Shotokan? C'mon, It'll Be Funakoshi!   This time around we explored Shotokan Karate with Brian Plocharczyk. Brian has 15+ years of martial arts experience with a unique insight to the world of stage and film violence. He has trained with the Society of American Fight Directors, as well as the United Stuntman's Association's Internation Stunt School. Brian was the 2004 recipient of the SAFD Best Actor/Combatant Award and is also a two time national champion of Shotokan Karate, which he has been teaching since 1998. Check out a little of the history of Shotokan Karate and its founding in Japan in the early 1900's under Gichin Funakoshi, pictured here. Fight Jam 3 Guns and Knives, Oh My! We explored the physical and psychological personality of two contemporary weapons with very different operations. Kelvin Kakazu gave instruction on proper stage firearm handling and safety, as well as an overview of historical gun stance and physicality before everyone got hands on experience firing different makes of stage hand guns. Greg gave a session on knife fighting techniques and body targeting as well as some classic stage moves such as the "Juliet" suicide stab. Fight Jam 2 Aikido and Folk Style Wrestling Both techniques emerged in the early to mid 1900's, products of preceding disciplines, and focusing on control of the opponent . The contrast lies in core principles, employment, ideology and cultural origin. Dwight Sora and the Chicago Aikido Club gave demonstration and instruction in Aikido foundations such as falling, positioning, and using your opponent's motion and energy. In the Folk Style Wrestling portion, Greg gave us an overview of mat styles, with attention to beginning and hold techniques, leg work, and weight placement. Fight Jam 1 Apache Dance and Contemporary Violence... The Fight Jam Guide to Romance L'amour and jealousy lead to some interesting physical relationships. Carisa Barrecca of Matter Dance Company and Greg taught the first half on French Apache fight/dancing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stemming from the seedy underbelly of Paris. This violent dance often tells a story of a jealous lover, and contains distinct tempo variations with its slaps, punches, hair pulls, throws, and lifts. John MacFarland then gave a presentation on Contemporary Violence emphasizing the importance of a communicative relationship between actors to perform conflicts safely and honestly, and touching on the differences in the way men and woman approach violence in real life. |
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