sensei8

Solid post!! In my competition days yesteryear, whenever I was the Arbitrator of said tournament, I never saw an Eku or a Timbe/Rochin, and most of that was due to the specifics of said tournament as regarding what Kobudo was and wasn't allowed. Me, being an practitioner of an Okinawan MA style, I would've completely enjoyed and appreciated to see a competitor wielding either of them. I believe that those judges on said judging panels would still award appropriate points to said competitor who wielded one of them without never have seen one and/or practiced with one and/or having never judged either because, as we all know, there's wide parameters to judge accordingly. For example, the very first time I judged a Musical Kata, I was awed at what I saw, however, I had to put that aside and judge accordingly to what that tournaments judging parameters laid out, and nothing else, for that division.

The violence that I speak about concerning the MA is not what's reported on the news in print and video. No. However... What we do, and can do to another human being is a violent act in itself. What I have within myself, at the point and the moment of my being attacked, has the very high percentage of causing my attacker(s) quite a lot of misery through my intentional resolve to defend myself; this, sad to say, will require of me to be violent to some degree. I'm no walk in the park! And if need be in order to defend my family, loved ones, friends, and myself, I will act violently. And yes, my defending my family, loved ones, friends, and myself, even if it's a simple push, that too, is a violent act. There's nothing simple about whatever I feel that I must do to protect those most important to me, including myself, because that quick block and punch/kick to my attacker is a violent act of some unknown degree.

I have had a Wing Chun instructor, show me a knife defence technique, while he was holding the (wooden) knife.He told me to grab his wrist, on the same side that he was holding the knife. I held his wrist, he turned his wrist out of my grip and slashed my wrist, the knife was wooden but sharp enough to draw blood. I quit his class after the incident. He felt that he didn't do anything wrong. Life is full of matters of opinion. With my TKD instructor, no one explained anything to me about how to behave when assisting with a demonstration. Previously in the same TKD school, I was helping with demonstrations in a self defense class for the public. Where I was the attacker and the CI demonstrated on me the moves to defend with. I never questioned or disobeyed anything that was asked of me during the self defence seminar. I let the attending self defense students beat me up, to build their confidence; had no problem with this aspect either. Communication when doing demonstrations should be agreed upon before hand and not to expect the assistant or the CI to be left in a situation that can be either embarrassing or in a position of uncertainty or vulnerability. Solid post!! I agree...communication is the key across the board. The CI needs to make it understood as to what's expected for both/all. Assumption is where trouble is birthed, and where it remains if no one questions. I always make it understood as to what my expectations are for both/all while we're on the floor...no matter what...NO EXCEPTIONS!! As the CI, the responsibility as well as accountability falls onto me alone...if I've not communicated exactly what it is that we're going to do...EACH AND EVERY TIME!! If I've made it understood as to what my expectations are to whomever, and they decide to rear-up their own agenda's, then the responsibility and accountability falls to that student. Clear and concise communications always, and if at anytime that anyone doesn't fully understand, questions must be made and addressed. As the CI..EVERYONE'S SAFETY is mine alone to be responsible AND accountable at all times while on the floor, wherever that floor might be. Bring your agenda of your own free will...1 warning...continue in that...you're banned from my floor forever!! Not risking my student body, or myself...for no one!!

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

Where? Do you mean towards the very end of the video? To me, that/those weren't what I consider a suplex. To me, a suplex is a belly to back suplex, and never the WWE version.

By all means!! I get a kick out of just how far they are from when they ended the kata, to where they started the kata; not even close.

The bald guy and the bearded guy and Alan, all affected the learning by serving their own agenda, in which, nothing served to value anyone. Not the student body...not the CI...not either of them...no one. Appropriate learning must be paramount, and at all the time. Go along...don't go along...these are under the guidelines of the CI, and no one else. If the CI is teaching no-resistance...then that's what's meant; nothing else!! If the CI is teaching resistance...then that's what's meant; nothing else!! Students, guests, and whomever else are on the floor at the invite of the CI, better know their role, and their role is to learn...just learn...and not to serve up their own agenda's. Imho!! OK...going back to my corner!!

That right there...is why we do kata with our eyes closed as often as we do kata with our eyes open. It's that awareness that we take for granted. Especially when one of the senses, in this case, sight, are taken away. It's true, things get tougher, but the other senses make up for it. Your movements are much more to the point, and wasted movements become things of the past. Adapt and conquer, I say!!

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

Century MA has this... https://www.centurymartialarts.com/apparel/century-kicking-jeans-blue

The suplex, imho, isn't all that and a bag-of-chips. My counter to it, and it's not let me down yet, is to make my back as wide as I can. The more surface to ground available, the more can be absorbed.

Do they need to be evaluated based on combat effectiveness? It depends. Do they purport to be combat based arts? If so, then yes. However, if the answer is "it's a sport art" then no. Is fighting without violence possible? No. Solid post!! Violence, no matter how one views it, is the necessary evil. Without violence, of some degree, there's nothing that we can do as MAists.

Just a very quick story regarding bowing... In the west I think we have a tendency to consider bowing rather insignificant (apart from the intended display of respect and humility) and easy. I remember a course held by a senior Japanese instructor I used to train with where, after starting with a bow in he preceded to spend about 30 minutes explaining how to bow (tachi-rei, and za-rei) - as he was appalled by the fact that, as he said - 'no one knows how to bow properly'. The course was attended by many 6th,7th and 8th dans from all over Europe - many of whom hadn't a clue they weren't bowing properly and more importantly why! Disappointingly however - most didn't seem to care. K. Solid post!! To the bold type above... That is sad, but not surprising. They missed a great opportunity to increase their MA, as well as their personal, betterment. Whilst I say that kiai and bowing are about the easiest thing to learn for a beginner, there's more that meets the eye with either of them. Do both right sincerely, or just get off the floor!!

Perhaps you can fool most of the people, most of the time sensei8, but who can write 12566 comments on martial arts and not be considered anything but outstanding.I appreciate that; thank you, Alan!!

Nothing in the MA is absolute; therefore, proof is on the floor!!

That Shindokan has it's limits across the board!!

Congrats singularity6; well deserved.

I've been doing kata with my eyes closed since 1964. It's one of my Dai-Soke's favorite drills. It's weird the first dozen or so times at first, but, then, you start to see the advantages of doing kata with your eyes closed. That since of awareness is highlighted as never before. You "FEEL" the kata!!

I'm as normal as the day is long, who has aspersions, just like others. I put on my gi like everyone else. I train like everyone else. I tie my obi like everyone else. So on and so forth...like everyone else.

Well done sensei8.Why stop at toe touching, next stop one foot behind the neck; no rush, at your own pace. Thanks, Alan!! LOL...I think I'll skip that for awhile...don't want to, ahem, be a show off.

Yes, this is great news, tubby!!

No, I've never used a Tetsugeta, and I do agree that ankle weights usage if there are no Tetsugeta available.

There's a big difference between resisting during sparring and resisting while the teacher's teaching/demonstrating. A profound difference. And the teacher shouldn't be using much force while demonstrating. The point of demonstrating isn't to hurt the student nor is it to show the class the teacher's technique doesn't work. That's what sparring is for. It's like a science class (I'm a science teacher, so I have to go there)... The demonstration and practicing the taught material without resistance are the lecture portion. Sparring is the lab. You prove and disprove in the lab, not during the lecture. What if the person has been in many labs and lectures beforehand?Science is continually being updated, or is it not so when someone is wearing a white lab coat? The ego problem can be with the teacher just as much as it can be with the student. As one person will eat what is served to them while others will send it back, due to its low quality in one area or another. If I had one martial art teacher, then everything is cut and dry, with who is to blame; in my case, having many teachers, with not one incident with most, how is it that the younger the teacher is the more problems arise? Simply a lack of experience and social skills on the teacher's part. That should be teaching kids and not adults due to not knowing how to deal with people that have real life experiences "Under their belt" To the bold type above... Who's running the class? Student or the instructor? Student came to the instructor to learn, and in that, the instructor didn't look for the student. Imho, you were incorrect because you're the student who disrespected the instructor, for what? Because you felt like it. The bearded guy in that video was dead wrong because he's anger issues, for what? Because he's not the skill set required...that's his problem.

I really don't put much of an emphasis on the hows of kiai with my students, nor with those within the SKKA Student Body, nor whenever I'm conducting a seminar outside of the Shindokan circle. I simply tell them, whomever it might be...just open your mouth and sharply exhale loudly quickly. Once that's aside, then I'll teach them the finer points of kiai, which are quite minimum. For me, the kiai, and the teaching of it, is the simplest thing to learn on the floor, minus bowing. Humans have been vocally loud since birth; it, the kiai, is just that simple!!

Yes, they are; compasses to weigh upon. Honestly...I don't care one bent pin or not. It's the individual's betterment that I care more about. The style, if I may be as bold, is just a thing. Of my MA? No, not really. Individually, well, that's a complete other thing, and to that, yes, they are the foundation and/or keystone to my MA betterment. Without them, anarchy and havoc rear up their ugly heads unchecked.