NewEnglands_KyoSa

Jeez that's a good question, and a hard one too. I'd have to say superfoot and chuck norris. Superfoot because he was just an incredibal fighter and chuck norris because he has great technique and he has roots in Tang soo do but created his own style chun kuk do, so i want to see how he changed the tsd kicks, if he did at all, and why.

Good. Don't feel terrible but keep that feeling in the back of your mind everytime you get that devil on your shoulder telling you to be lazy or take a day off! I'm glad it went well. Too often good people get stuck at crappy schools and don't know how to make their way out. It sounds like you're in the right place now im glad everything worked out for you.

That sounds good. As far as you're concerned it seems like you could just focus on your training for a year or two then take some time to study the tournament atmosphere and the mind/ways of a fighter and do some tournaments and some competitive fighting. Motivation is all you need, your instructors should be able take care of the rest

hehehe

I said this on a previous post... yesterday my instructor said to a yound black belt..."so when are YOU gonna teach ME something huh?" and the kid looked at him and laughed that nervous laugh people do when they really don't get something. every now and then students should come to their instructors with revalations, thigns they've realized on their own or else you're just memorizing material. If you want to memorize material and not just think for yourself study the dictionary your whole life.

Hahaha. That's a classic. I think we've all done that!

We are not apart of world but i've always wanted to meet jae c. shin. He seems like a nice guy.

wow that really is tacky and cheap lookin'! looks like seat belt material... single wrap metal things hangin' all on it. wow. let's just hope nobody tries to wear something like this in the real MAs world!

It sounds like you may be experiencing burn out. But remember black belt is not the be all end all so i don't think you can put a tag of 8 years on it. Also people learn at vastly different rates. There should be some answers you figure out on your own but that only comes after years of training and doing things over and over again until...lightbulb My instructor and i were talking about it the other night when he asked one of the black belts..."when are you going to teach me something???" and the black belt looked at him like...uh...aren't you the teacher??? and him and i just laughed at the poor kid who didn't get it. And as for going through hoops...of course you have to go through hoops! that's what makes anything in life worth it. The money you save up as a kid to buy your first car, the schooling you go through to get your dream job, the things you do for the woman/man of your dreams...all these things are things that people crave and we go through hoops for them! If black belt is one of those things for you then you should feel like you're going through hoops but at the same time you should feel like ultimately, it was worth it. If you're not interested in learning a set style and learning it's secrets and theories and ins and outs then create your own style or mess around with training partners. But i find the mystery of knowing that you'll know these theories and secrets someday but you have no idea how you are going to figure them out is awesome. Martial Arts are like a HUGE puzzle. There should be no point of diminished return, but at this point, this supposed 8 years you should be learning and growing more than you ever did before with knowledge you have. Yes MAs can be pricey because after all, instructors must pay the rent, and for supplies and insurance and paperwork and pay instructors for their services etc. Unless you're paying hundreds of dollars a month i wouldn't worry about the monetical portion of it too much.

also, DWx's post reminded me. Each tournament is different, don't go to a NASKA "A" rated tournament because if you want to compete in forms it is the battle of the back flips. you can compete in 'traditional' forms but the definition of a traditional form is interpreted and enforced loosely. try fight mostly and try local tourneys first start small to end big ya know? good luck

wow DWx, now that IS scary! i would have been upset too. Yikes!

Because of your situation i'd wait awhile with your new school and work on their material first. but 19? by all means, use your youth and go compete! you are definately not too old to compete. try it out with your new school, see how it feels to you.

were they black belts??? because i've had my kids in my kids class do that. they don't think it looks right so they jsut throw another knot in there...

really, i've never seen different ways of tying but i've seen people wrap it so it looks like one and i've seen people wrap it so they over lap. i've been told both are right and it depends on the style. i've also been told if you tie it and move the knot to the right side instead of centered it symbolizes a death in the family or a death in the japanese culture. can anyone confirm?

Yea for the most part i haven't really seen belts i've had a problem with or have considered ugly. Now don't get me wrong i've seen like hot pink belts and camo belts online. But i haven't seen a black belt with a belt i thought was particularly gaudy or of bad taste. If you have a flashy, odd, or 'different' belt i think it's fine as long as there's a LOGICAL reasoning to go with it. Like the old tradition in tang soo do was to wear midnight blue belts(very close to black) as opposed to black ones. this was different but hwang kee wanted it that way because black was perfection, death, or an ending and he didn't want such and accomplishment to equal death and at the same time black belt wasn't an end and it certainly didn't mean perfection, so he chose midnight blue for his style. Logical reasons seem fine to me. Does anyone have an horror stories about what people have done to their belts, or have you seen any 'different' ones? I'd be interested to hear...

I'd have to add fitness to mine, i forgot becacause of my surgery taking me out of the game for a while but im quite a health&fitness nut.

yea mine looks like somebody took a bite out of it where i tie it. Mine is also no longer black, and its turning white from the outside in. it's only aging where it hangs. it comes with age...i guess it's the look now. kids want to look like they've had their bbs for more than a year so they take scissors and shave it like people do with brims of baseball caps, and i forget where i heard it but i someone told me they heard that one guy they knew dragged his off the bumper of his car! talk about disrespect we go from don't touch it to the floor from go ahead and drag it on route 18!

That's always a good one for everyone, especially if you have a little extra motivation...

Ed hasn't been thinking about this or any thing...

The key to gaining flexibility is slow but consistent. Start of slow do very low impact stretches but make sure you increase flexing and do it almost everyday.

If they are letting you keep your BB then they must think it's something. And keep in mind black belt isn't everything and will vary from school to school. As long as you are consciously interested in learning the best way possible through the most credible people, i think you're doing no wrong here. You have been through a rough string of bad dojangs and experiences and you deserve somethign that will be good for you as an artist and for your health. Don't feel like a traitor if anything the school has failed you, you have not failed them. A teacher should look for everything in your best interest.

I can't believe i missed this post and momentus moment! What an accomplishment. I hope i see many anniversaries of this site to come, congrats to you Pat, good work. There's a lot of people who couldn't even have the mind to do all this!

Do any of you guys have a favorite article on here you've read or a favorite post that you've made or someone else has made or even a favorite topic? I'm interested to see what those who have been on here longer than me have to say like Patrick...man's seen it all! It can be so old it's locked, it can be one you haven't even responded to but just watched. What's your favorite? Mine has to be the Wise Old Stories one in the Instructor's Central Section, i've pocketed a few new stories i've never heard of before, i have it favorited!

Okay, here you can post your favorite Martial arts moment, whether you met a celeb in the MAs world, fought a celeb, a certain promotion of you or a student, you or one of your students winning an award, being told what an influence you were on someone's life, a test, etc, etc. As of now, mine's a toss up between a few things but what's your favorite moment in your MAs career?

I saw an add in the paper the other day and in the headline of the add it said something like... "and a really cool uniform" or something like that and the style sounded made up, i've never heard of it before. this reminded me of it except the one i saw was very scary for a martial arts instructor and enthusiast.