sensei8

Great choice, Hussaria!! From what I know about Goju-ryu is an effective art through and through. Higaonna Sensei, Judan Hanshi is it's leading proponent world wide!! Enjoy the journey!!

Welcome to KF, lukas; glad that you're here!! WC is amongst the most preferable of Kung-fu styles, and of course, it's popularity increased with Bruce Lee, and the like.

Welcome to KF, Pagaran; glad that you're here!! Imho, there's no 'best' MA, just favorites. Why? We're fallible to a fault, therefore, not perfect, thusly, prone to many mistakes.

Solid post!!

They only have one form for colored belts-each belt adds on a few moves at a time... Omg...just ONE FORM?!?!? Well, that should be easy to remember.

Solid post!!

Muscle memory needs to be guarded at all times. Otherwise, the bad muscle memory is difficult to retrain, and even then, some of the bad trickles in from time to time. chrisw08, does your instructor know that you're teaching/showing nunchaku? If any of my students were teaching/showing nunchaku and that student wasn't qualified to do so, especially if that student is still learning the nunchaku, I'd be having a very direct conversation with that student. We don't start teaching Kobudo until Green belt, and that's with the Bo...nunchaku is much, much later.

Excellent tutorial, Alex...great details in the sweep!! The center line, as we're taught, is everything. Driving, manipulating, balance, power, penetration, give and takes, transitions, and so on and so forth derive from the center line. Great points you made about that centerline. And as you know, Shindokan is both, stand-up and ground. I can appreciate your points made in this tutorial. Gi...no gi...to me, either way, this particular movement can still be effective because of the centerline applications. Like you showed, easier to attack the torso than the hip, in which, the lower gravity at the hips is more grounded, while the higher gravity at the torso is more susceptible, and as you've shown, in this sweep type. Of course, the counter to this bump sweep that I don't understand is when my opponent tries to lay down with his weight upon me. BAD IDEA because I'm really not being pressed down, and in fact, I can still move my hips to the outside and execute the sweep, however, I have to move immediate to him lying down on me in his attempt to counter me. This is what I've noticed, experienced, and have been taught.

Yep...the adage says... "There's no such thing as a dumb question."

Speak to your CI [Chief Instructor] to ask for MORE kumite time, starting with the most basics of kumite within your style. Imho, a style that steers away from kumite is so out to touch to any reality. Spar...spar...spar...spar...spar...spar...ALL OF THE TIME!!

That's great news, that's for sure!!

That combo is STILL a good one for EVERY rank!!

It took me 6 years and 8 months to earn my JBB! I'm one of those students who just don't get it; struggling over the simplest things. Whether my aha moments were few in between, it was the loving patience from my Sensei that made all of the differences; he never gave up on me, nor anyone from his student body.

Solid post!!

To the bold type above... How? What? By not ever giving up on a student...ever!! If the student decides, by their own volition, then let that be their choice, and their choice alone! To teach the student body to the best of their abilities, and then some. By then some, I simply mean that the instructor amends, adapts, redirect, supplement, and whatever else will help the student to understand, to succeed, and to be the best student that they can be. And if need be, get out a crayon and a piece of paper so that the instructor can draw out stick figures in the hopes that that'll help that student find those AHA moments. Those AHA moments are ALREADY inside of each student, and it's UP TO THE INSTRUCTOR to help them find those important, and yes, those special moments for not just one student, but for EVERY student everyday...every time...every moment...AND every student while on that floor! Would I, as a dad, ever give up on my children? No...never! Why? Because I love them, and in my eyes they can do no wrong, and for arguments sake, they depend on me to teach them the difference between right and wrong...TO TEACH THEM!! While my students aren't my children, that's of no conciliate concern because my responsibility is to teach them without any prejudice and/or reservation and/or ambiguity. To do less, imho, is an act of abandonment on my part, and this, imho, is unacceptable no matter how I might want to slice it. No...my job is to teach...and if I've a student(s) that can't find the door with their own two hands while being lead to the door while taking baby steps in a well light room without any obstructions whatsoever, then so be it! I'll teach that student until that student decides for themselves that enough is enough...no sooner. Teaching is an honor! And with that honor comes responsibilities, and I've sworn to uphold that honor as well as those responsibilities until my last breath. An instructor can't always have superstar students who are gifted beyond all expectations, and in that, instructors are dealt what they're dealt, and they can't choose who comes to the door, but they can choose who they'd like to teach. And once an instructor decides to teach a student, then by the powers that be, they've an obligation and responsibility to that student to teach to the best of their abilities. I can either teach or I can't teach! By all that's in me...I CAN TEACH, and I'll never give up on my students...EVER. No matter how thick headed a struggling student might be, I've go to find what will help that student. If I quit on a student, then I dishonor my student, my Sensei, and my entire student body...this is not in my makeup to do so!! By the stars, if I'm the Sensei, then I better know how to teach, and that includes the even most difficult and struggling student for whatever the reason(s) might or might not be. If not, then I've no business to be the CI/Sensei/etc, and that includes, gracing the dignity and integrity of the floor. The floor that I've sworn to teach with honor and dedication...no matter what might cause me any unmanageable inconveniences, no matter how often or how fewer. No...my job's to teach!! That's exactly what I'm going to do, and in that, I've no favorite student...no student gets more than any other student, especially those students who might appear to be more gifted than others. So, I MUST teach EVERY member of the student body with my every being, and that's because that's what my students expect, and that's what my students deserve each and everyday from me. Anything less, is unacceptable, and quite unfair to my students!! There is no turning back, and there's no turning my back on my students...NEVER!!

Sad to hear things like that about your instructor, but, imho, that concern pales drastically compared to what Angela is facing day in and day out. Sensei's come and go...students come and go...these things can be replaced with ease. However, children aren't replaceable. Let your instructor go his way, and you go your way; other things are much more important, imho!

To Angela...to wayneshin's daughter...and to those that suffer, or have suffered from cancer, and to their families...I want to submit these... ...

Your daughter fought that good fight, and she's in remission, once again; victories are won...one victory at a time! Shugyo is a term that speaks about "sucking it up"...toughing it out, with not ever giving up by walking through that fire...one step at a time. What your daughter, Angela, and the countless cancer patients have gone through, or are going through, is that Shugyo...that giving up is not in their vocabulary, not even close. You and your daughter still train, this is what MAists do, no matter the trials as well as the tribulations; they strive forward, in spite of what the world throws at them...one day...one hour...one second...day after day...month after month...year after year...they fight with one goal...defeat cancer!! I bow to your daughter with defined purpose, for she's travelled a road that few can understand and/or appreciate, yet they travel that road with an unyielding determination..."I will not give up...now or forever...I will fight with a determination that can't be denied!!"

The sleep emoticon is directed towards myself, and not the topic, nor any KF member...I was picking on myself for being, well, dorky me! Sorry!! Why Red? I suppose the Red choice because, if I remember, the color Red is held in high regards with the Korean culture. I notice that the Red belt is just before black belt, and I've not seen any Korean styles that have a Brown belt. Japanese/Okinawa use the Brown belt right before black belt: Sankyu to Ikkyu. Another way that the Korean styles differ from the Japanese/Okinawa styles.

To the bold type above... Solid post!!

First, if I may, convey my sincerest thoughts and prayers for Angela, you and your family during this fight! As hard as this fight will be, the goal of remission is a fight that can be won, and I believe her fight will be short, but the remission will be long!! Angela, imho, deserves to be at the testing table; she's earned it, and it's your right as the CI to put whomever on the testing table you decide. What's Angela doing in that picture link? She's smiling!! She's beautiful!! Thanks, Luther, for sharing the picture link. All that she's enduring, she's still smiling. That, speaks in volume to me. Her courage is going to fight the good fight. When the times are right, she'll be back on the floor doing whatever needs to be done to assist you, and to continue in her training. During her fight, imho, I believe that this is the time when things need to be hassle free across the board. Being at the testing board, right beside you, is being hassle free to the Nth degree. Angela, you're a fellow MAist! Side by side, bow by bow, technique by technique...together...near or far...the fire still burns within you, and no one can extinguish it! Angela, I respect you...I honor you...I bow to you; now and forever!!

Another Million dollar question! What would I do? Who would I train under? What would I love to do if I had the opportunity? Whatever/whoever would increase my MA betterment, from time to time! I don't outwardly seek out these things; when I feel that that is right for me, then I earnestly seek it out because I believe that "it" will increase my MA betterment. Would I start a new Art? No!! That's not within me to do!

As I said, I left it deliberately ambiguous as your own interpretation of the term is part of the answer too. So, there's no right or wrong answer!?

Solid post!! I've not ever had the honor to teach a student that's an amputee. Had I, I would've went along the lines of what Nidan Melbourne posted.

I believe that kata is only lifeless if the practitioner only performs said kata, and not execute said kata with all of their heart, mind, and soul. Performances are not part of kata being the soul of Karate. Imho!