I attended the Arakan Sydney Night Club Seminar in June.
In one word for the experience, wow, unbelievable. That’s two words!
The most amazing thing about the nightclub seminar was the level of energy - with all of us students as well as the instructors from the beginning to the end, it just multiplied exponentially....
Writing this, feels like a lot of Arakan lessons I teach. I always think to myself, "I have an hour to share as much as possible in an art that could easily go for a few lifetimes, yet I don't want to dilute anything". I guess that is one of the reasons why we are taught to always have urgency with what we do; there is so much to learn, so don't stuff around and make the most of the time that you have....
Both seminars started fast, we lined up uneasily awaiting what was ahead. You could feel the tension crackling. Not hesitating, the instructors lived their roles as prisoners, guards or night-clubbers looking for a good time. At Casablanca night club, in Sydney, the bouncers had us line up and show IDs. Once in, I was bumped into and confronted by drunkards looking for a drink…or a fight. Brawls erupted all around me as I tried to smooth talk my way out of buying an instructor a drink. It felt so eerily similar to what I’d seen when out clubbing, I was confronted. Bad Top 40s blaring, it felt like a sweaty night out in Sydney. Over the 2 hours we endured typical party situations, from standing up to sitting down from light presses to lightning fast cupping palms to groin shots, we learnt the ins and outs of martial nightclubbing. That night I could not help but be twitchy and hyper aware as I did actually navigate Sydney’s nightlife. Having dusted myself of from the Sydney seminar it was time for round two....