Tiger1962

Hmmm...good observation. But, I doubt it. I have always loved chocolate even before I started training many moons ago. Chocolate just makes ya happy I guess !

Hi U78LK9 - It depends on what style you decide to follow. Each martial arts style has something different to offer. If it's strictly self defense you are interested in then researching the martial arts styles that focus on self defense is the first step. Of course, some styles focus on self defense more-so than others. Doing the research first and then visiting a few schools is a great place to start. Good luck.

That does work. I know whenever I'm in a horse stance for a long period of time or if I'm doing a lot of them, jeez do my thighs ache.

From start to finish mine began in the early morning and ended in early afternoon. No breaks for water, bathroom or snacks. We were tested on advanced forms than what we did for first, advanced self defense techniques, sparring one on one and then sparring two on one; one steps and knife defense was also included, a board breaking section that had to incorporate 3 different techniques...and a few other things. All in all it was an exhausting day but at the end of it all, you definitely felt "accomplished".

I'm just curious - how long have you been training? Because I'm having some joint problems too and my doc says its probably all these years of my training barefoot & all that jumping around was bound to take its toll on my ankles, feet & legs. That's his opinion of it anyway. (I wonder what happens to other martial artists after so many years of training - do they all suffer from these things too?) In any case, yes, I'd wrap it for support - but not too tightly (that's what I was told) and ice it when you get home after class. If the pain is really bad, you might want to get an MRI just to check out in detail what's going on inside. That's what my doc told me to do.

Like any business when you first open up, you should be there to watch over it and get it off the ground. A lot depends on whether or not it will be successful. Location, tuition cost, can you afford the rent, the number of students you are able to recruit, skill level of the instructor, what customer base is it geared toward: adults, children or both? Would this be your primary job or secondary (meaning the school is only open in the evenings). You'll need equipment too - that's another expense. Unless you can afford to hire people, remember that in your own school, you'll be the teacher, do the administrative work, clean up, order supplies, etc. Can you trust someone else to handle some of that for you in a voluntary mode? If so, great. It's to be expected that the beginning of most businesses struggle. I know a couple people that started their own school and have mentioned the struggle it is. When you start, I believe that you have to be there full time unless you have a 100% totally reliable and trustworthy partner to work with you and dedicate and commit to the times there that you are not. You might even have to start off by sharing your space with another renter (example: dance studio, yoga school) just to share the rent and make ends meet. Opening up a brand new school and then going on vacation for a couple months isn't going to help the business. So you should be prepared to be "married to it" until it's running successfully. It all depends on a lot - I believe - but if you want it to succeed, you have to know in advance, how much time and effort you are physically able to put into it. I would say until you are prepared to put a lot of your personal time into it and have the money to start it, I'd hold off until you're ready. In the meantime, you could always talk to other school owners, pick their brains about the in's and out's of operating a small business, get some advice and mentoring from those who have done it for several years. At least this way, you're more "in the know" about what to expect when you DO decide to do it. And it's best to be going into it knowing what to expect.

Before tournaments I decide which kata/form/hyung I'm going to demonstrate and then I pick it apart. My instructor also picks it apart and we try to improve the sections that need more defining to make it look better - more "crisp". As far as sparring goes, I just try to work on mixing up combo's, improving endurance and some "surprise techniques" that aren't normally used too often instead of the predictable techniques.

Another suggestion which might sound crazy and be quite a challenge is to try and think like an attacker would. There are plenty books out there on the "criminal mind" and anticipating how they would approach / attack may enable one to be more prepared or at the least, have a broader view on possibilities.

I like this! It's giving me some really good ideas!

Congratulations unknownstyle - have a great month!

Hi Johnlogic There are three areas of development that I/we focus on in my/our training and two of them are internal energy and external energy. (the third is spiritual, but that's another topic). Internal energy can be considered our breath during our technique, and external energy is our body’s action (use of hip).

For starters, I don't believe in all that jumping around that some people advise you to do while sparring - it tires you out and uses up good energy. For defense purposes, I generally keep my ribs & face covered. Covering the face but leaving the side of your ribs open is setting yourself up for a real bad hit. Trying to "read" the other person's body language and switching sides of the body between open and closed stances are also good defense techniques that seem to work for me. On the other end of it, I avoid swinging a punch in a circular motion but rather straight out ahead in a quick snap out and snap back motion. Mixing it up by pretending you're going to use one technique and quickly switching to the opposite usually tricks the opponent nicely.

Try Century Martial Arts .com or AWMA.com They both sell equipment and have been recommended to me by instructors.

I'm not against contact as long as it's made clear up front and if its concerning young kids, the parents should be made to sign a waiver to allow it & the kids must not be forced to do it. That being said, any kind of contact in the dojang should be done with protection. You want to be able to walk out of there while you're learning how to defend yourself. The kids this age in the video are too young to be going at it full force. I'm not against kids sparring but this particular kind of sparring is not for kids this age.

kyokushin_coe - true, mental preparation is half of it all. Chalk it up as a learning experience - it happens to all of us. Next time you'll breeze on right through.

Of course there are exceptions to everything. I'm NOT generalizing and saying ALL kids that are dan members are not mature or capable or worthy of that rank. There are exceptions everywhere and in all ages. But being too lenient on kids and letting them slide when they don't know all their requirements is just wrong. What lesson does that teach them? Of course a 9 or 10 year old black belt is not the same as a 25 year old black belt and and yes there are some 25 yr old black belts that are not mature either (and older) but I am referring to the majority. How fair is it when FOR EXAMPLE you have two capable (let's say 10 yr old) students and one is serious about karate and knows all his stuff and the other is spoiled and lazy and slacks off yet expects the same promotion? Should the spoiled one's standards of testing be lowered? I don't think so. I don't believe a 10 year old black belt can physically defend himself against a 25 or 30 year old attacker. But definitely, it's still important to teach them! Now, give them a black belt? NO. And again, there are exceptions to every rule - but that still isn't the majority. That's why if kids were graded separately it would be better. Crazyferret made EXCELLENT points to explain WHY. And, at the very least, the age requirement to reach dan member should be 16 or 18. When black belts are given out to just anyone and so easily, it loses its value and is not appreciated and in my opinion, also makes it seem all the more McDojo-ish. I see kids who have no disability, no mental impairments, etc., and yet, do not know their basic white belt curriculum that they are required to know & yet are allowed to test. Is that fair to those other students that work their tail off and train hard? I don't think so. 9 out of 10 times when a young kid joins karate, one of the first questions he asks his instructor or parent is how long is it going to take for him to get his black belt. They need to be told and demonstrated through training that this is something you EARN and work HARD for - not that they are going to get it because well, they're just a kid so let's pass them. As far as becoming a dan member, it's not just the physical capabilities; its mental & emotional matureness and that's something that comes with age. And yes there are exceptions to every rule - but not a heck of a lot. How would we know if they are not forum members?

That's crazy! Imagine the look on a scuba diver if he ran into that ? LOL !

exactly !

I don't think instructors should be too lenient on the younger students. I also believe that one should be a certain age before achieving black belt level. Being stricter on curriculum and knowledge of the m.a. style makes it more valuable and worthwhile when the kids DO reach their rank level. I like crazyferret's idea of a separate belt system for kids because the idea of a 9 year old black black, to me, is ridiculous.

This is why I don't like to focus on the eyes or the head. You can fake someone out easily, I think. yep - you know that "triangle" area that includes the head, neck, and shoulders ? That's all in the peripheral vision.

Oh man, there are so many, but the first one that comes to mind is from "Ong Bak" or was it the sequel to "Ong Bak"? I'm having a blank right now, but it doesn't matter because the fight scenes in BOTH of those Tony Jaa movies were awesome. Reason I like it is "supposedly" it was all real and he did the stunts himself. No wires or fake stuff. At least, that is what I have read. Love both fight scenes! I tried to post one from You Tube. There's so many fight scenes in his movies you never get bored. Here's one he did with the capoeira guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta2fv0BcR-4

Don't know Tammy personally, but congratulations to you both !

That's basically more or less how we do it in class too. Of course when you go to a tournament, even though no contact is the rule, you do see some contact amongst black belt / "dan" levels (both genders) and mostly from the male adults at the lower rank levels.

Did you ever do drills in your school during practice time? If so, you can start with this idea, practice drills: whether its practicing a certain kick into a target or if you don't own any targets, you can stack up some pillows. Focus on accuracy rather than force (only to avoid injuries) if you don't have the proper training equipment at home. Do all your kicks. You could also work on improving your endurance. This is easily accomplished by jumping rope, jogging in place, jumping jacks, etc. Endurance is a big part of m.a. so that's second idea. These are two ideas you can practice that you don't need a partner for.

I would listen to your doctor and "listen" to your body. I too have had many injuries since I started training many, many years ago. I have also had several periods of time when I had to miss karate due to these injuries. Speaking of personal experience, it is much better to miss karate now to allow your body to heal, especially while you are young, then to aggravate the injury and continue to train. The karate school will still be there - it isn't going anywhere. Your health is the most important thing because if you damage your joints any further, then you will risk doing something perhaps permanent and won't be able to train AT ALL. Trust me on this one. You will eventually go back, but do whatever it takes to recover. I know how you feel, the very first time I had to take a break from karate, I was angry, sad and all that. But I ended up going back too soon and then hurt myself further. Now I'm a heck of a lot wiser. When I get injured, I'm out until I heal 100%. This is one reason why I have developed interests outside of karate. Don't get me wrong, I love martial arts and always will. But I see people I know who have nothing else going on in their life and when karate is closed or they can't train for some reason, they just don't know what to do with themselves because they have NO life outside karate. I mean, it's good to enjoy something to its fullest. But I don't believe in putting "all my eggs in one basket." Use this break time to do reading up on the style you train in (it's origin & history) or take up some other low impact interest that won't put pressure on your joints (how about learning the language of the style you train in, maybe?) and then when you can't practice one interest, you will have the other to fall back on and enjoy. Like I said and the other posters said, heal first, train later !