Sensei on the Road - Sensei on continuous study

( Wrote by Avi Nardia www.avinardia.com and edit by Sharon Friedman )

During last year, I was invited to Angola in Africa to establish a martial art
and combat system for a particular requirement, and while teaching I was con-
ducting a deep study of Africa.
 Meet Yosi a former commando officer that fall in love with Angola and the
dark continent. He traveled and worked on projects for the last 20 years all
over Africa, Yosi like most SF is funny and friendly and holds ton of knowledge
that each day stops on my Mat and helps teach from his memory of
Emergencies, Medical to Survival and cooking in the field to so much more on
plants and natural medicine using herbs , Yosi is not teaching any security and
works in Construction but I employed his skills and advice every day.
 First advice was Humble myself and talk in the Native langua-
ge in order to break the wall between me and the men. Start
each class with "Awallali " Good morning... Next was to teach
them by their way and not the Japanese way... and I found that
once I approach in the local way with dance songs and rhythm
and natural movement I can better explain what I want to teach
and share and pass it in a more effective and progressive way
The Project was teaching new recruiters by the first three days
what we call in Israel "Gibush" Monitoring and selecting while
using very simple missions to test basic understanding and follo-
wing basics orders and missions and divide into few groups that
will be selected into different missions in the coming days.
 During those three days, they run and carry weights and go through "Hell Week" very basic missions from filling sand
in bags and moving them about, while the order is to file the bags like 75 % and observe who actually follows directions
and who demonstrates leadership and Character while each student carries a number and instructors note marks on each
number student
Some mission is to carry big wood log and crossing the river while using it as a bridge and see again how they all act
and who takes the lead
 some missions come to reveal the Basic fitness and coordination of the troop, some to test Aggression and fighting spi-
rit and how they deal with violence.
Like " Sumo Circle as need fight take out your object out as he try take you out
In between we sing, dance, and have much fun even though training was really hard and was conducted under the scor-
ching sun in nature.
 The last test was based on SERE school Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape
(SERE) and my workshop " Only Knife " as students get ONLY a knife ( Made by Yosi
, origin they need make their own ) and are required to set shelter and fashion their
own ropes and build camp and study basics survival including field cookery.
The third day started at 3 am with a wake up muster in 7 minutes be ready to begin
an eight kilometer swift march run with wood logs and ending in setting up a fire place
and dance as we are at Angola where Capoeira was given birth.
Learning Survival Skills
 While I kept teaching the basic course after
the initial three days, I kept up my observa-
tions and teaching and traveling as I also
went into the "Pavela" slums and saw how
Capoeira is handed down and studied with
no real fancy Gym environment.
 When you love and keep in your heart what you do. At the same time
I kept studying on plants and survival and how to harness nature. How
to be mindful of snakes, spiders and how the locals use nature and
plants as food and treat different medical necessities including how to
use ants to suture cuts... to pick up an army or leaf-cutter ant - Suture
ants. When the skin is cut deeply, stitches are usually needed to close
the wound. In some cultures, ants were used to stitch wounds.
Learning Survival Skills
 They would hold the skin together, grab an ant with big jaws (like an army or leaf-
cutter ant), put its mouth to the wound and wait for it to bite down.
Surgical maggots (maggot therapy). A wound for an animal or person can lead to
complications including infection. If left untreated, these wounds can attract certain
types of blow flies that will lay their eggs in the wound. The maggots that hatch from
the eggs feed on the dead tissue in the wound and clean it.
The beneficial effects of maggots in the healing process of infected wounds has
been recognized since the time of the Mayans, and perhaps before that. With
humans, maggots found their way into wounds when left untreated for too long.
This happened frequently under battlefield conditions. But surgeons observed that
wounds infested with maggots healed more quickly and with fewer complications
than comparable wounds that had not become infested with them.
 I also learned who was the queen who fought slavery to regain
freedom - One of the great women rulers of Africa, Queen Anna
Nzinga (circa 1581-1663) of Angola fought against the slave trade
and European influence in the seventeenth century. Known for
being an astute diplomat and visionary military leader, she resisted
Portuguese invasion and slave raids for 30 years and I could not
confirm but some claim the basic Capoeira move Njinga is on her
name.
Now I am back home in Europe. I feel I've studied so much and
enjoyed being Sensei on the road as I keep learning on the road
Thank you Yosi Aviram and Feras Faur Emilio Sade and the awe-
some Instructors team of Gimini and Sedex.