Tiger1962

congratulations !!

same here

Me too. You should not change who you are and you'll be happy to know there are still people out there who still like m.a. the way you teach it.

Ok, point noted, and anyone who owns a school is entitled to run it the way they see fit whether or not its traditional. However, if one is discussing traditional martial arts upbringing - back in the days, discipline, protocol and respect were definitely part of the curriculum, no matter the style - and I think some people still feel or expect that's how m.a. should be. Is there anyone here who is very familiar with and / or studied the history of the old school style m.a. - - - they can verify if I'm on the right track or not.

My theory is you should make yourself know what you are getting into when you join m.a. and if you don't or have doubts, then speak to the head instructor before joining. Part of martial arts = discipline training. I knew that before I even joined. When you sign up for martial arts, you have to be willing to accept the protocol and discipline that comes with it. I knew that different styles of martial arts had different degrees of strictness, but I just knew that if I wanted to learn it, I'd have to be willing to go through what I considered to be a normal part of m.a. training. So I began training and decided that if I didn't like all the formalities, I'd simply quit. You aren't drafted into martial arts, you join it. Obviously, the discipline and protocol part didn't bother me because I stuck with it. Now over the years, it seems that the meaning of martial arts is changing with the less stricter rules...some may like that but I hope my school doesn't change because I think that (and I know I am repeating myself) discipline and protocol has always been a part of martial arts and in my opinion, should continue to be.

I agree. You don't hear of many schools (at least I don't) anymore that teach the old school way. By old school, I mean, using the sir or ma'am to address your teacher or by their title. Wolfgirl17 - my spouse & I both train and sometimes we are there at the same time but in class we call each other "sir" or "ma'am" or Mr So&So or Ms So&So and neither of us are Masters or teachers. This has nothing to do with ego or not being humble either; we feel that in a martial arts school, one should behave accordingly. I think certain protocol distinguishes one school from another. I never, ever call my instructor by first name - heck - not even outside the school - not even if I address a Christmas card! But that's me - I know of other adults who use the first name of our instructor when not in the school. I suppose if I was "after-school" personal friends with my instructor and we hung out regularly after hours, I would use the first name, but then when we are in class, it's back to formalities. Some people have a hard time turning it on and off; but I don't. Even if both me and my spouse owned a school together, we'd make sure that we would behave in protocol with each other while in the school because for starters: that's the way it should be and secondly, students are watching. If they (especially the young ones) see the instructors or school owners acting casual with each other, they WILL imitate. I've seen this happen at other schools where two relatives or a couple own a school and they're casual with each other in the dojo and you can see the "trickle down" theory if you just quietly observe their students behavior. In my opinion, I think it's a disgrace - martial arts should be run like martial arts, not like an aerobics class. And what the other posters above mentioned is true. Unfortunately, I don't know how you can "get it back" unless you took over again full time. Perhaps a "talk" to the students about this might help, but it seems now that they are so used to the casual manner since you left, it would be difficult to change.

Here's another one that sounds crazy but I believe it worked for me on one occasion. If you're traveling alone somewhere (let's say on a train) and there is someone that looks suspicious to you, you can always start acting a little "weird" yourself - i.e. talking to yourself, making little hand gestures while staring at the floor. My thinking is that the other person will think you're a complete nut-case and leave you alone. (better than thinking you're a timid, cowering individual.)

What a coincidence ! I have heard my instructor say this many times. That being able to kick HIGH doesn't mean you are a great kicker. It just means you can kick high. There are people who can kick high, but it's not a "great kick" if you know what I mean. Then there are people who can only kick low, yet their kicks are beautifully executed and effective against their opponent. Quality not height (or something to that effect)

For starters, I would incorporate a lot more weapon defense and using a variety of weapons also: knife, bat, gun, pipe, etc. If someone has a gun pointed at your face, I don't know if there's much you can do no matter how trained you are, HOWEVER, I'd still train students ways to try and get control of it, nonetheless. (My theory being: better to know it, than to not know it at all). I'd also probably get someone who would be willing to put on one of those padded suits and practice real life attack situations with the students. This is what I would ADD; I wouldn't necessarily REMOVE what we do so far.

Without a doubt, I'd say Shaolin style Kung Fu. There's a couple others I'm interested in also, but this one has always been tops on my list to learn. Hopefully I can make it happen.

I can't imagine sparring someone dressed that way. Maybe he figured he'd have better padding protection on his body if he wore it on the outside of his uniform instead of underneath?

Sure, it just takes a little creativity... Hmmm, let's see, warm-ups you can do without equipment are: jog in place, do jumping jacks, lunges, if you have a jug of water or sack of potatoes or similar, use that to do alternate arm lifts to warm up your muscles, run up and down the stairs....those are just a few ideas.

oh no, I meant iron it to just get the wrinkles out, not starch it to death.

If I saw this I'd be on the floor in stitches laughing so hard.

I hear rope jumping is good cardio and also good when you're cross training to lose fat quickly. I am probably not explaining this right but this is what I heard: let's say you ride the stationery bike for 10 minutes, get off, jump rope a few times, get back on the bike or another machine, get off, go back to jump rope, etc., that's the gist... Personally I can't work at that kind of frenetic pace, but I think people who box sometimes do that and other athletes.

1) when I hit a soft target, I noticed I tend to use my instep to strike rather than ball of foot. (afraid of getting my toes caught up in their uniform) and if that happens, --> broken toes even if you're using ball of foot technique. When hitting wood or a hard target, definitely use ball of foot. 2) when sparring, usually the same as above applies. 3) I don't normally strike to the head with my feet (fists yes). Plus I always have this feeling my opponent might scoop my leg as I'm trying to strike their head (at that height). I tend to stick to the rib area, legs, thighs, etc. 4) I never kick more than twice at the same time with the same leg. Opponent will see a pattern there. 5) Choosing to kick from the lead leg or back leg varies; it depends on the position my opponent is in and our set-up. (Open stance, closed stance, etc.) 6) I don't normally do a shin kick - those are usually too painful to execute (my shins are skinny & don't have enough "meat" on them - LOL)

I always thought the knot to look like a fortune cookie. That is how I teach new students to tie the belt. That's it !!! For the life of me, I could not remember the word or visual !!! Thanks for the memory jog !!

I can understand if something happened at the last minute & your hem fell down right there.....however, it really irks me when I see someone arrive for class or a tournament in a uniform that looks like it was slept in. I know it's not a fashion show, but to wash and iron your uniform and basically keep it clean shows a sign of respect and care, not only for yourself & your appearance but for the school you are representing. So, staples on a hem is tacky, and yes, as you said can scratch someone in a match. It also just looks plain bad. I have seen people with really messy uniforms and it makes me wonder about them. I take my uniform home every week to wash and iron. I will not wear a wrinkled uniform. I know it gets dirty and sweaty so at the end of each week, it comes home with me to get cleaned. If my patches or anything starts to come off, I fix that myself. If it stinks after one or two days it comes home earlier than planned and I keep a spare at home I can use until the other one is clean. It's just common sense and basic hygiene to me, that's all.

Anyone attend any martial arts seminars? If so, what were they teaching? Did you like it?

Have you tried it? Did it hurt? Did it help?

The only martial arts related magazine I read is BlackBelt Magazine, which I subscribe to, but oddly enough don't really have time to read it as thoroughly as I'd like.

I agree - black belts should control themselves and not get out of hand because you are setting an example & at that level are supposed to be controlled. In looking at it on another light, I can see how something like this can escalate or be provoked and for that I have to put partial blame on the judges. For example, if a tournament is a non-contact or light contact one, and that isn't enforced by the judges, then it's easy to see how things can get out of hand if violations aren't called and then - one thing leads to another. That doesn't mean it's justified, but I can see how it happens. They (the black belts) definitely should be penalized for this or on a tournament ban - - and an announcement made at the tournament so spectators and members alike will know that this sort of thing is not tolerated.

My school doesn't have a "junior" black belt level --- although I think it's a good idea to have this to separate the adult black belts from the much younger ones.

Dan stripes are on the left. Your name is on the right, along with Dan number and also Korean characters are on the right.

Stripes go to the left and yes the belt knot has to be a certain way but I don't have any idea how to verbalize that - - sorry !