NewEnglands_KyoSa

Contrary to the popular belief, the move movement you have in your ab workouts the better is not the case. cruches are better for your abs, more of a workout than "sit ups" with this being said, google ab exercises, or ab exercises with mininmal movement or range of motion and see what you get because if i state them here, i'd be typing forever. but see what you get online, and try some of them out, pick the ones that don't hurt your lower back and start doing those in sets to build up that muscle. best of luck.

I would do that, but we don't sell equipment from our school. So parents have to buy it else where, but from an Instructor standpoint, i do make suggestions and make sure i put my two cents in before they buy.

that's a good idea, i think im gonna swipe that one from yah

i'll see if i can dig some more up for yah...

Heh, I hear that. It's usually the "keeners" that skip ahead. exactly, and even then...i usually don't mind all that much. just as they don't parade it around the dojang

thanks for the suggestions. we've had a training manual for over 10 years i think. and believe it or not the kids don't skip ahead, they hardly practice their own material, and it's a struggle to even get them to do that. it's actually the black belts who we have trouble with on trying to learn ahead. it's not as much of a problem as many people think, so if that's ever holding anybody here back from making a manual, don't let it. like it said, it's usually the black belts because they have more time and less material to physically memorize. thank you for the suggestions concerning content, i never considered those before, we were just considering history and content...etc.

well i really don't have any suggestions, but im big into motivational music and workout music because i run everyday and i couldnt do it without my music. one song that just sticks in my mind and keeps me pushing forward has alway been Stronger by kanye west(don't worry there's a clean version of it). but it's based off of the techno/dance hit harder,better, faster, stronger by daft punk. so either one of those and any of their remixes would work i think. i just love that song, that's why im sticking it out there.

Im looking for a how to tie your belt diagram myself, a) to put on my school's website b) to give to new students and c) to go in my school's manual. i have seen a million of them but because of copyright laws and what not, im not going to steal a diagram from a website and call it my own. so how did you guys make your diagrams and what not? i'd use the Paint program but, it would just be ridiculously difficult and maybe impossible, any ideas?

Now, i wouldn't attribute this to the Dojo. I don't think the Sensei would allow such behavior. It sounds like you have a twisted individual on your hands. Every now and then we get those creeps in martial arts who like to only partner up with the women, or who get pleasure out of going 100% all the time, the one's who always have to the the first, the best, the hardest, the toughest, the fastest, etc. It just sounds like you have a poor martial artist on your hands, i wouldnt go as far as to say it's the fault of the dojo. I know a fellow in my own school who thinks he needs to beat the living crap out of people to impress people. and it's dead set in his mind that life really is that way. and i think you were right in not hitting back, that's typically of that type to want to be hit back , just as they like hitting hard, they like to get hit hard. I think this is just a case of the individual person being the problem, not the Dojo.

Here's my disclaimer: I am absolutely not a doctor, but i do know a bit. Im pretty sure(like 95%) that you just pulled your trapezius. It's a muscle in your upper back that controls some arm movements and controls your ability to nod, etc. Anyways, it is a HUGE muscle, because it controls alot. as you hear from the name, it's a large trapezoid that stretches from the back of your neck across your whole upper back, the tops of your shoulders, all the way down to your mid back. So you just pulled that muscle while you were lifting because we all the curls don't just affect your biceps. But anyways, it's just a strain of a pull, the best thing for sleep is to sleep face down. As for pain ibuprofen, it will reduce the swelling and scar tissue buildup and make your recovery quicker. I wouldnt lift again for atleast a full week because even though three days from now you personally may feel fine, it may be inches away from healing completely and any lifting will bring you back to square one. Warm showers and of course epsom salts can't hurt. The only other thing i'd do for it is LIGHT stretches, reach down touch your toes, lay on the floor bring your knees to your chest, etc. Hope this helps, and good luck. I wouldn't go to the doctor, i'd do some of those things and get some rest, give it a week and then go to the doctor. but this sounds very very standard and i wouldnt want you to have to pay uneccessary doctors fees, because they're ridiculous.

Yea, i think i was thinking along the right lines when i made the website. we have: instructor bio/pictures all 4 locations listed a virtual picture tour of our studios we have a picture page history page affiliations page links page students page ranking system page FAQ page terminology page a news page, for updates/events, etc a rules page and a rank requirements page. missing anything anyone? something others have that i dont?

Gas is going to be the death of me.

I don't care what kind of embroidery i have, because years ago i promised myself when i got my masters rank, i'd splurge on a eosin panther master's black belt...that's probably what i look forward to most about my master's. i heard that that guys belts are amazing. anyone ever actually purchase one here?

5 seconds would be too much for me, that's atleast five knocks to the head by atleast one shady character. It's just very dangerous to have all your resources tied up like that. I personally wouldn't risk it with more than one other person around.

i really don't know too much about him at all but he's the founder of systema, right?

The only problem i see with that is, you better be strong as heck to be able to move that person around as a shield. Also, usually while your choking your head is exposed...i wouldnt wanna run that risk.

Thanks, that was interesting. I was thinking about a "Hook" like you were talking about, but can't quite figure out what my hook should be. I know i want it to be cool but credible and i don't want it to take up years upon years of my life. I was thinking maybe something to do with forms, but thats still an avenue im unsure of.

hi, well i'll tell you what i've heard. i've heard that it's a bit of a mcdojo of sorts. they teach a set curriculum. and alot of what they do is based on their businesss success. you may want to speak to the use ottoman because in this post http://www.karateforums.com/mile-high-karate-vt33668.html he expressed his concern because his instructor was considering become a franchise. i hope this helps.

I was thinking about my cross training today. I study full time in the Art of Tang Soo Do and in the Art of Chinese Kempo. I feel like i successfully balance these two but i feel like i could never balance another. You go to websites and see peoples credentials and they have numerous dans in numerous styles over the course of only 20 years. Now obviously i think some of these are honorary, but not ALL of them can be honorary, one can only be so honorable So this just brings me to wonder, honestly how many martial arts styles do you think someone can balance effectively and at the same time? Personally for me, i'd say two. Because i've done it, and am doing it, and it has been successful, it has helped me so greatly i couldnt even express it in a post. But like i said previously i could NOT even imagine trying another.

Hey guys, i've brought my school into the 21st century and we've invested in a website. it is built, beautiful, up and running. iam very proud of it. but here's where my problem lies, i still feel like im forgetting things, important things that other associations have on their websites. so just to clear my mind, and rid my self of this obsessive compulsive feeling, what do you think every school MUST have on their website. crucial things, necessary things, and even things you yourself would put on if you were the designer. thanks in advanced for the input!

Depending upon how many student I have, from ages 8 - 12 and then from 13 on up....I'm all open for suggestions on this. My past instructor's pretty much had the same philosophy that has been drilled into me as far as ranking goes...you don't get rank until you are proficient in the techniques assigned for going to the next rank. If they can't perform all of the techniques (especially the basics) then they don't move forward in rank. This will be especially true for the Aikido-type techniques, as they are pretty much all building blocks...you have to learn the footwork and body-mechanics before you can learn other aspects of techniques in order to understand how to correctly perform said techniques and make them work. I don't want to frustrate the students in them not gaining rank for a long time, especially at first, so I have broken down the colored ranks into striped or degree ranks within ranks. This way they are still a "yellow belt" but the differring degrees gives them the feel of advancement, and therefore accomplishment. Again, I'm all open for suggestions. This all sounds very very good, and very well planned out. Breaking the ranks into stripes for kids is a great idea. We use it at one of my schools and it serves its purpose. It's just enough of a pat on the back for a kid to be satisfied, but at the same time you haven't loaded them with a learning load that will crush them. I hope that system works for you as it worked for us. Now im assuming that you are not taking students under the age of 8 by the way that you're speaking, no?(just curious) In my opinion 13 is a typical but appropriate age split. It sounds like your 8-12 will be kind of like your "Tots" class and your 13-? will be your "Youth" class and then your adults and advanced ranks will be your "Advanced" class, am i correct by this?

I think wrist locks are great and effective. With the proper set strike and general set up i find that they work effectively against those of many strengths and sizes. And as far as the whole breaking the bone thing, i never expect to break a bone with ANY of my techniques, even if that is their intent. I want to be prepared for the worst and maintain my humility, but if the bone breaks in the process, i am certainly not against that! The more broken the merry-er. And a broken bone is a broken bone, end of story, no matter who you are it WILL hinder your fighting. If it isnt a finger, toe, or nose or anything of insignificant value it will hinder your fighting in some way shape or form.

I think that the choke is simply one of those very complex things. Firstly, when considering the practicality of a choke you must think of how you get there. It takes a great deal of skill to get in for a choke because your opponent must be distracted or hurting or busy long enough for one, but usually better if it's both hands to get around the neck. Also when considering chokes you must remember that they are a double edged sword in that they usually(not all the time) contain a strike within them, right before you wrap around or bear down on the neck, in some cases that strike is meant to to devastating damage whether to the circulatory or respiratory stystem and even the brain. In my opinion chokes are just one of those tough things, because they do need a certain amount of time to be performed, and because everyone's different you have to be careful. You can't use a choke when you have multiple opponent's, and i personally would only use a choke as a finishing movement. Just a few thoughts though.

I agree with the general concensus here. Once you actually start teaching those classes with the multiple new 8 year olds in them i think you'll find that you have just enough to fill class with and still not get everything in so you can break the monotany. That sounds like a well rounded program. Now, just a curious question, what age do you plan on running this program til and how long in between each rank?

Again, as ps1 said, it does sound like an isolated incident and i wouldn't let that scare you away from the school. It sounded like your typical macho man higher belt trying to prove something to a newbie. That happens every where. I'd keep going and change partners and see if it happens again. If it does maybe you should talk to the sensei and ask if it is protocol to go full force or not, which is perfectly fine and respectful to ask IMO. But it truly just sounds like a blue belt who thinks he's a Black Belt and can do whatever he wants. And as for tapping out on the leg, i've never heard that you have to be THAT specific, it's usually said by the instructor tap the mat, the wall, the floor, yourself, your partner, say "out out out" or "break break break". thats usually acceptable, but again, he thought he was in charge so obviously he was looking to correct you on something so miniscule.