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Michigan Summer Camp 2009

Detroit, MI

June 11th to June 14th, 2009

Camp Host: Master of Tapi Tapi Chuck Gauss

June is traditionally a very busy month for most people, with the school year coming to an end and summer beginning. People are busily planning their vacations and summer activities. This year was no different except for a group of Modern Arnis Practitioners who started the summer fun early by attending the annual Michigan Modern Arnis Camp hosted by Master of Tapi-Tapi Chuck Gauss.

The four-day camp began on Thursday afternoon with everyone receiving a personal greeting from Master Gauss and Master Schea. As more people arrived you could feel the excitement in the room growing. Everyone was looking forward to learning something new and refining the skills they have been practicing.

Master Gauss had the camp very well organized. He had a curriculum planned for each scheduled session. This was a fantastic way to keep camp flowing and to let people know what to expect at the next session. If the lesson was going to be groundwork or throws it gave you the opportunity to plan your meals accordingly. The schedule also made it very easy to know when you had to be on the training floor and when you had free time.

Camp began in a circle with Master Gauss asking everyone to introduce him or herself and give a little information about where they were from and how long they had been training. This was a great opportunity to get to know new people and it helped to remember everyone’s name and level of arnis training.

Master Gauss asked many of the senior black belts to teach a segment of the first session. This was a great way to warm up and get to know the skill level of the people in the room. Following the warm up the group jumped right into stick work leading to arm bars and control of your opponent. Master Gauss was very careful to be sure that each student was given the proper amount of attention so that they could learn to his or her full potential. There was a great attention to detail in every session.

Master Gauss broke up most of the sessions into focus groups. This was a new idea he was trying for this camp. The beginners were in one group, the intermediates were in another group and the advanced people were in a third group. Each group was assigned at least one instructor who made sure that everyone understood the technique. Each group was given a variation of the beginner’s technique. This teaching style was fantastic. All the groups were on the same theme but each group was challenged at their level.

For one session Master Gauss brought in a fantastic guest instructor, his Brazilian Ju Jitsu Instructor, Tyrone Gooden. Within minutes it became obvious that Ju-Jitsu and Modern Arnis groundwork were very similar. It was amazing to watch how quickly Master Gooden could have an opponent trapped with no other option but to tap out. He was an energetic, positive and knowledgeable instructor whose teaching was a treat for all who attended the Modern Arnis Camp.

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