NewEnglands_KyoSa

Hey! Thanks guys! That means a lot! I'm fairly new here, by like a month and im loving it. Compared to all the other forums out there, this is the best by far! Everyone here is very helpful, and just fun to talk to! Looking forward to being here for a good long time.

you're right, the other things aren't so bad at all until you get to the price of your new 'leadership club'. but i would speak to your instructor about it and tell him(respectfully) that you think it would scare people away at 130 a pop. maybe he'll agree.

well if you don't mind me asking...exactly how much was it raised the both times, and what did it start at? and the belt thing, is understandable for children, but i certainly hope they did not apply that to adults.

you know what though, i love push ups, like crazy but, you see i'd punish em with like a good fifty of them for this and its not worth it because they half you know what them, and it turns out to not even be a punishment. i like that trading belts idea though, good call on your sensei's part. and thanks for the luck!

i also forgot to mention the system. its the same belt system with the same requirements for children as we do adults.

Excellent points, especially the first one. I always tell the younger black belts who get frustrated with teaching some of the orientations that it is always easy to teach the talented students. Teaching everyone else takes someone special. my master instructor always says that to the new instructors, its not the good kids you have to worry about, and pay the most attention to, its the weakest kid you should be working more with. and he's right!

so it is a uechi ryu thing! thanks for clearing that up, i appreciate it!

i like the round kick as well, i want to work on my instep though, did you do any conditioning on it first before you began?

that is certainly a unique break. i've never heard of such a thing, that's cool. but i don't think my neighbors would appreciate me busting down our fence with my hands and feet

Although I don’t study an Okinawan art, I think I am right in saying that traditionally, there was no belt system, (it was introduced by Judo's Kano sensei in the early twentieth century in mainland Japan). So therefore they probably just wore an "obi" to keep their trousers up. I think that the stripes on the belt are more of a western thing. "My amps better than yours cause it goes up to 11" really. It doesn't mean anything. Have a look at the person wearing the belt to see how good they are. None of the top “JKF” (Japan Karate Federation) instructors I train with wear anything else but plain black belts up to and including 10th dan. The “whitened” belts you refer to are supposed to be “symbolic”. They are a sign that a student at black belt has trained for so long, that that they have come full circle and their understanding of the art is so great that it can be done without conscious thought, a state of “Mushin” or mind of no mind. The white belt implies a return to purity. An easier way to do this is to buy a silk black belt, wear it for six months until it goes white and bingo – instant master. yes, i understand this, and the history. and iam a full believe in the coming full circle with the whitening of the belt theory, and upset at the same time that, that seems to be the new fad is to fade your belts, but anyway, thats another rant. i just want to know if someone actually told me this theory or i dreamed it up, cuz im sure that somebody told me something like this, so im hoping its existent somewhere and im not just crazy.

i understand. this is exactly why i started this conversation with all of you, i'd like to see what you guys would do, how your systems go, just in case ours was different or seemed more extreme,etc. i have gotten more than decent feedback from you guys and i have made my decision: im going to wear a white belt, and go from there. i think they'll get the point. they see rank as power so when i show them that hey, im wearing a white belt, but im still teaching you the same, that rank doesnt matter...not doesnt matter but it doesnt matter as much as they think it does. i think im going to explain napoleon's complex to them(small person sydrome) and see if they think that could potentially be them. i got it handled, i just like feedback, im a fairly cautious person, and with a forum like this at my fingertips, i can get feedback from all ranks, shapes, sizes, styles, on any topic. thank you for your concern and confidence in me, i appreciate it

Wow! That is kinda sad. I could see two same-ranked belts maybe trying to figure out who goes first or whatever... but never arguing over it. Are these "adults" (meaning people over at least 15 or so) or little kids? When I was a white belt there was another white belt girl there that started before I started... at that point neither of us knew much so it often ended up being whoever ended up there first kinda thing but still usually it was her first. We both tested for our yellow belt at the same time and by that time I realised that the person who had been there longer went first so she was always first. But for a little while befor the test for orange belt she had missed *a lot* of classes but not really knowing how it worked I still had her go before me but after a few classes she started insisting that I went before her just cus she knew that she wasnt going to be testing at the upcoming test date... I looked a lil puzzled at first, but went where she said just to get on with class. Didnt really matter to me where I went, dont think it really mattered to her either. Kinda weird that such high ranking people in your school could get quite so nitpicky. I could halfway understand a "discussion" between say a 1st dan and a 2nd dan because those ranks are not obvious by ones belt... but not an actual argument. yea it is sad, and to see some of my own students who i brought up makes me deeply distressed. but i'd have to say its 70 percent kids between 8 and 15 and then the other 30 percent is everyone above. its just more startling with black belts because maturity and humility are suppose to be virtues by which you live by, but obviously virtues don't come with the belt

so, just curious what does everyone like to break with the most. how many boards? do you use something other than boards? what do you break it with? spaced or unspaced? for board size is it a foot by a foot, one inch thick or different? any body have an particularly creative breaks they do for demos? i love breaking so, im just curious. also, anyone into iron palm?

my apologies, i should probably explain my own too. ours is between 4 and 5. they must know their left from right, and we usually run test classes for young kids to see if they can handle it. our kids classes are only an hour long, so if they can hold attention we will let anyone above four do it. but we usually recommen five years of age before enrolling.

This is just a general question, im wondering because i have had my share of talks with parents about how young is too young to start. so instructors, school owners....what's the age requirement to begin training at your school? (And Why)

now, i thought i heard this somewhere and was curious. is it true that some okinawan arts and maybe i've heard of this in uechi ryu, is it true that up to 5th dan they wear a plain black belt and when they put stripes on it it means they are a fifth plus however many stripes they have? because i have been many places and seen older people with very whitened black belts that have no stripes, and then i have seen other with stripes on them, i just want to get my ranks right when i see these people so i dont look stupid!

thats great! welcome, i have not heard of too many people into the healing arts here, so hopefully you can be our go to!

I agree 100%. At this point, I would tell students to not wear their belt to class. They obviously view it from the wrong perspective.well guys this is the problem we have. it's like a plague, that has striken our studio. you won't believe that i have almost witnessed fist fights in front of my eyes over who gets the higher place.(its usually red belts and first dans, sometimes seconds) it needs to end but but not in a way that i am kicking and screaming, even though i want to at this point. you know what im thinking of doing though, is finding a white belt that fits me and put it on, and walking in to teach my class, and ask them if anybody has a problem with me teaching with a white belt on, and if they do, i'll ask them why they think it matters, and i just might keep teaching like that for a while.

that's very interesting but, is the person who is given their belt first given it for a reason(like the instructor intentionally chooses so) or is it just randomly given, whoevers first is higher? In this situation, I would not use that as a chance to pull rank. If you two people receive the same rank on the same day, at the same promotion ceremony, then they are the same rank. If you need something to distinguish between the two, then you go by age. If it is that big of a deal, then those two really need to get a life. well that's what im wondering, because if they are given on the same day at the same ceremony,then i would call them the same rank, because judging on 'who gets it first' kinda sounds like a childrens game to me.

oh God lets not talk about high blood pressure, cuz i already got that! . as iam apart of the testing panel, im going to make it a point to bring up my thoughts because it might spur others on to speak up. i think others feel the same, but may fear to say it, so hopefully things roll my way.

well i do not have too much experience with the makiwara but i do know that before you start makiwara training you should do some basic strengthening first. for example put a few lbs of frozen peas in a bucket filled about an inch from the top and try to spear hand strike to the bottom of the bucket, repeat multiple times and until you can successfully, consistently, and painlessly. also you can do finger tip push ups and as you get good at those subtract fingers until you are on only your middle, pointer and pinky fingers only. then you can start doing basic strikes on the makiwara, thumb strike, spear hand, two-finger strike, etc. good luck, hope this helps.

that's very interesting but, is the person who is given their belt first given it for a reason(like the instructor intentionally chooses so) or is it just randomly given, whoevers first is higher?

Why did this happen? If you don't mind me asking. nahh i don't mind at all. what happened was he was an Instructor at one school but because of a shift, i took over his school and he took over another. well, the school i took over started flourishing and doing exceptionally well meanwhile the school we had him take over went from 35 students to 17 almost overnight! most of the students he had lost were special need or special attention cases. we had a woman(a very respected red belt) come up to me and our chief and talk about how he has scared people away, made people upset, and almost caused a few fights. well after we heard this we were very upset, a few days later the payments for the school came into my chief and it was 200$ which is ridiculously low, and just enough to cover the instructors pay check for the month. so he was losing money, losing students, he had lost hte heart to teach, and at that month's tests his students looked poor. so we told him that his instructor duties were over and he could still keep his 3rd degree and train. and he's currently trying to train for his masters but if i get my way, that won't be this year, im still quite upset. That is an interesting story. Why do you want to prevent him from testing as a master? well first, it is stated that the time requirement for masters is four years of active participation. and he has not been to any of the training classes whatsoever, when i, and many others are there MORE than required and i do not believe that someone testing for a masters rank should be missing out on training classes. secondly, he has a poor attitude and his athletic skills are marvelous but his history, philosophy, and theory arent great at all. his attitude and the way he's handled his class that he let go, and kept letting go without saying anything is not what i view as a master. a title and a rank as prestigious as master is not exemplified by him, and it makes me upset for those who have, because it is almost making fun of their rank. he is not what i view as a master, not in character, heart, desire, practice, humility, etc.

that's very sad and im sorry for your loss. but that is a great story, about a great man, and i wish you luck with your school.

that's very unfortunate and im sorry for your loss. i know i would be hit very hard if anyone of my instructors passed.