sensei8

As life has this nasty habit of getting in ones way on a personal basis, life also, being not a respecter of persons, gets in the way on a MA basis, as well. What, if anything, has ever restored your faith in anything MA related??

If I am willing, as well as not shy, in defending strangers, imagine just how much more I am willing to do anything and everything when it comes to protecting my wife and/or kids with unmitigated resolve!! Fatality outcomes are always a possibility, and that's not what I want to happen, however, when it comes to my wife and/or kids, then let it me so with cause!!

Yes, I've answered such a question, and here's my general explanation. In reality, ones technique(s), if it's never used by oneself, is nothing more than an educated assumption, and nothing much more. Assumptions are the mother of all failures if they're never applied with cause and with an unmitigated resolve. Sparring isn't the all of all things as to if said technique(s) work or not because it's a controlled and safe environment, and isn't for cause, for the aforementioned description(s). When one trains within the world of cooperative training where resisting doesn't exist much, if at all, then again, assumptions can only be quite unclear understandings. As far as how my answer was taken, and was it understood, well, as well as a deer takes to staring at oncoming headlights, depending on their level of knowledge and experiences. Opinions are like belly-buttons; we all have one!!

Coming to the aide of a stranger HAS TO BE in that person somehow and someway. If that individual has that inside of them, then that person will intervene to the best of their abilities. Just because a MAist might have the necessary skill set to intervene, not many MAist will!! Ever seen that tv series, What Would You Do?, hosted by John Quinones?? The majority will NOT intervene, if they can avoid it for whatever their reasons might or might not be. I've seen black belt's turn away because they've not that type of knowledge and experience within themselves to intervene. They want to, but then they don't!! Wanting is one thing, but actually doing something is a worlds apart. I was raised to intervene...I was trained to intervene...I once worked as a bouncer in my early 20's at a strip club, therefore, it's within me to intervene to help those that I believe aren't able to. Self esteem, imho, and the lack of it will therefore choke the will to intervene out of a person quite immediately. Being attacked is one thing, but intervening for someone else, brings a whole bunch of concerns, mostly unnervingly to deal with at the wrong time.

Yes, I wholeheartedly concur!!

Because it's not formalised as one. It's quite literally close combat. There is no lineage of former masters that dictated what it means. It's literally just the Israeli army close combat. Every army has its way of training for the eventuality that a soldier mat fund himself unable to fire a gun to neutralise an enemy. They all call that part of training various things like unarmed combat, combatives, hand to hand combat etc. The Israelis call there's krav maga, which just means something like close combat in their language. Everything that I've every read about Krav Maga has all of the trappings of a MA style: *A belt ranking system *A plethora of techniques *A lineage that dates back to the 1930's *A founder To name just a few of a styles trappings. No, it doesn't have the formalities that many styles of the MA do have, but imho, those trappings take away its effectiveness, and therefore, concentration is not on it's effectiveness, but in the decorations that belong to a style.

How's everything going, Danielle?? Just wanted to check in on you to see how you're doing!!

Uechi ryu, huh, you mustn't like your big toes anymore!!

To the bold type above... Be careful what you ask for...and yes, I'd be careful...hehehehehehehehehe

I've mixed feeling towards Senior Dan Ranks being branded/labeled political!! To a point, I do agree, but to the other point, I don't agree. In Shindokan EVERYONE has to earn rank UP TO, AND INCLUDING, HACHIDAN without any exceptions!! The rigorousness that surrounds any Testing Cycle and the like, are quite serious and unforgivable. That's the part that I don't agree with. Our Kudan and Judan are political, and based on and through our By-Laws in the regard of how one might "earn" them. There's just one important basis of entitlement, and that is having been elected to Kaicho, for Kudan, and being elected to Soke, which has been eliminated all together, therefore, Judan is unattainable whatsoever!! That's the part that I agree with. My Kudan was earned because I forced the SKKA/Hombu to bring me before a Testing Cycle panel for the sole reason of testing me for the rank of Kudan. Not just any test, to fulfill their selfish needs, but a test that I most assuredly should fail. However, I passed, in which I earned my Kudan. I wasn't interested in the slightest of ever earning Kudan because I'm not my Sensei/Dai-Soke, and his Kudan when he was Kaicho was between him and Soke. I never ever wanted to equal my rank with him because that, to me, was a sign of disrespect to him, even though he insisted that I do so whenever his Dai-Soke and Judan was bestowed upon him by Soke!! Politics leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth, except those who seek out Senior Dan Ranks. Their's shall, in time, be the bane of themselves, and the innocent student body!!

Ranks mean something to someone somehow somewhere; being honest, especially with others and themselves, well, that means everything!!

I appreciate your sentiment wholeheartedly!! After all, we take everything to our grave: knowledge...experience...determination...etc...!!

I agree!! When it comes to building things, I've a green thumb; those skill sets are beyond me!!

Solid post!!

After 53 years in Shindokan, I still don't know our Kata's!! Why?? I'm constantly learning more things about them...the more I train them, the more I learn; I don't know everything...I'm not expected to know everything!! Shu Ha Ri...over and over and over and over and over...until the day I die. I'm very well versed in Shindokan Kata's, as well as many other Kata's outside of the Shindokan circle, however, after 53 years, I believe that I've still barely scratched the surface. Yeah, I've scuffed the heck out of the surface, but, still, I don't know everything because I'm not perfect. I don't want to know everything about anything, especially MA related because if I know everything, then what's there to learn?? That would be a very lonely existence!!

Impression!! Whether the initial or the long lasting impression favors the good or the bad, it starts with the MAist. One chance to begin the building a wall of trust or a wall of discontent...one chance!! Impressions can be manipulated verbally and/or physically; the fine line becomes the proponent of concern as to what's effective and what's not effective. A MAist with a plethora of knowledge and experience can tear down those walls for a selfish agenda or strengthen the wall for the betterment of the MA. My mandate that "Proof Is On The Floor" far outreaches some cleaver, well thought out words that I started spouting out decades ago because it sounded and/or made me appear important. NO!! I started chiming "Proof Is On The Floor" because I ripped the blinders off my big fat head because I saw with my own eyes one MAist after another promote themselves as a brand of their own; far fetched self-importance at the expenses of others, MAist or not. A MAist doesn't have to try to impress me with a grocery list of accolades and the like...NO...the unseen witness...the floor...will do one of two things...acknowledge or deny!! Impressions not impress me at all!! HONESTY...now that impresses me!! Demo or not, the true MAist is spotted quickly within an ocean of MAist, and without all of the bells and whistles, and as the tides wash away the grime, all that remains will be that true MAist who just executed an effective demo!!

Get some elbow pads...trust me...to train the nunchaku for the time being!! One of the fewest kobudo that while learning it, you actually are beating the tar out of yourself all by yourself!! No pain, no gain!!

I had blinking training, which is to say, 2 weeks of Tang Soo Do, before I trained for a year in TKD, while I was a JBB in Shindokan. To be frank and honest, I couldn't tell the differences between the three. Only difference that stands out between the three is that TSD and TKD kicks were much higher than Shindokan kicks, which are waist down. All three had nearly the same techniques; I couldn't tell if I was in a TSD or a TKD or a Shindokan dojo/dojang from the surface.

Oh here I go again... Good = Resisting!! Bad = Non-resist!! You want to bore the tar out of me, then put on a demo where one always wins, and one always losses...guess who always wins, no matter what?!!?

While the word "hidden" raises many MA eyebrows, and to that extent, I can understand the raised eyebrow. It's true, there's NO such thing, well, there shouldn't be, anything "hidden". However, I've taught my students that while there's nothing "hidden", whatsoever, there's the assumptions that said movement in said Kata is a block, for example, and the raised eyebrow lifts up even more so when they learn the many things that a block isn't. To the inexperienced, that, whichever that might be, is "hidden", however, those with experience know that there's no such thing as "hidden", just unlearned, for the moment. Those are "hidden", I suppose, because to a beginner, to any student, learning that said block isn't a block like they had imagined it, that revealed technique wasn't "hidden", because it has been there for quite along time...and the truth shall set the student free...assumption is the mother of oops, and my bad!! How many kata's do I know?? More than I should and/or want to know!! It's not the quantity, but it's the quality!! Imho, any Karate school must teach Bunkai, if not, then that school isn't teaching anything of value.

Congrats, RW; very well deserved!!

Happy Birthday, Devin; and many, many more!!

Semantics are alive in the MA. The techniques of Tang Soo Do combine elements of shotokan karate, subak, taekkyon, and kung fu. But I believe that Hwang Kee, as with most founders of their "unique" style of the MA, did all that he could do to make sure that his newly found Korean Karate, Tang Soo Do, didn't look like anything else. But guess what, imho, the similarities are quite striking, after all, just how many different ways can one kick and punch?? Whether you switch to shotokan or not, will be up to you!! And if you don't care about the politics whatsoever, then cross training in either might be what you're looking for; nothing ventured, nothing gained. After a few layers are peeled away, they'll both look and feel the same. Good luck, and please let us know about your findings!!

Welcome to KF, OneKickWonder; glad that you're here!!

Yeah, I'd watch it!!