sensei8

I think anyone who wants to be at the top and with the best, has definitely put the work in. There's no other way, imho!! You have to have the work ethic! You have to be willing to push yourself; not being satisfied with where you are. A lot of times, people get caught up in... "Well, I'll do it tomorrow...ah...I'll do it tomorrow...ah...I'll do it tomorrow!" No! You got to do it now! You got to work now! So that tomorrow is much better!! I'd like to think that my work ethics are quite high. If they weren't, I'd not be where I am presently at in Shindokan. Dai-Soke was a taskmaster, and I thank him for being that way, instilling an admirable work ethic in me, both on and off the floor. This mindset isn't just for the MA, but it's in anything one's involved in!! Any thoughts?! Edit: At times, I just can't spell!!

I once saw a cane that had a baseball bat integrated into the cane. Not only did this cane help the gentleman walk, but if attacked, he had that part covered.

I can agree with you here. I sat on a board not too long ago and I found that 80% of the students would not have passed if I had been making the call. As I recall the worst of the bunch was the highest ranking! He was going for 2nd dan and in my opinion was not a brown belt equivalent. What really got me was going behind the scenes when the time came to vote on who passed and failed and I was the ONLY one to say he should not pass! The senior members commented to each other that if a student wasn't up to par it was their fault as instructors and no fault of the student! With that they passed everyone who tested and said that "some of them will need to train harder from now on" but they got their black belts? What in the world? I decided then that I would no longer fit in that school and I decided to not sit on a board anymore! The lack of integrity, imho, was lost here!! At what cost? Whatever the cost, it wasn't worth the selling of their integrity!! I believe you were right to decide to no longer sit on their board.

Here's how it is the world of Shindokan!! In-House/Dojo: A Shodan can test a student up to Nikyu!! A Nidan can test a student up to Ikkyu!! A Sandan can test a student up to Shodan!! A Yondan can test a student up to Nidan!! A Godan can test a student up to Sandan!! A Rokudan can test a student up to Yondan!! Testing Cycles up to Nidan can be tested with or without a Testing Panel!! For Sandan and Yondan, a Testing Panel is required, AND a Rokudan MUST be on the Testing Panel!! These above are for In-House/Dojo Testing Cycles, and this includes the Hombu, for students that training at the Hombu IS a regular basis! Hombu: Any and all ranks from Godan - Hachidan are conducted at the HOMBU with no exceptions, and there must be no less than 5 on the Testing Panel. The higher the Dan rank Testing Cycle, the more Testing Officers must be seated on the Testing Panel. This is to include, either the Kancho and/or the Kaicho being the Administrator of the Testing Panel, and often times, both are Administrating the Testing Cycle. All of Testing Cycle Candidates must be approved by the Hombu; NO ONE TESTS WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE HOMBU...no matter the rank!!

Have two conversations asap!! First have one with the recreation center management, but only with those that have the authority to make any changes long lasting. To discuss the possible ramifications of playing both ends against one another at the same time. Can't eat the cake if theirs no milk to wash it down...Can't eat the cake and have the cake at the same time. Second conversation with the other school. It's not about who was here first, but it's about minimizing indifferences so that there can be a cooperation between the two, and that the students are provided a solid foundation of quality instructions. Bottom line, be better than the competition across the board, and if not, yield the ground! Both conversations must be held professionally if either are to reach a amicable solution to the problem(s) at hand. Attack the problem, and NOT ONE ANOTHER!! BE THAT CONSUMATE PROFESSIONAL...even if it's going to kill you to do so!!

Overtraining!?! That's a pretty big word, and not just in the MA. Is that determined by...whom? Self? Spouse? Doctor? Instructor? Just whom? What are the parameters to overtraining, and do these parameters change, and what's behind those changes?? Your body will send you signals subtly or immediately that you are or that you might be overtraining. Pay close attention to those signals, and seek out a doctor for advice/treatment. Ignoring signals will just introduce a possible long term sufferings, and chronic. You can be the best judge if you're overtraining! But often times, one will ignore what the bodies trying to tell you for whatever the reason(s) are or aren't. Pushing oneself is important, but that too, must be toned. Your spouse will send signals, both directly or indirectly to you. Both for sane reasons, as well as insanely jealous reasons. Spouse's want to spend more time with you, no matter what you're involved in. Their support can be interpreted incorrectly; a thin lined balance act, if there ever was! Either you train, or your spouse dictates the training. I've told my wife that while I love her more than words could ever express, MA is my first, and last love before and after her! Spouses come and go; that's the fact, but the MA is here 24/7/365/4 Life. My wife's a strong women and she'd never get between my MA training, unless she felt that my life was in jeopardy. I believe that an instructor wouldn't ever minimize training intentionally because qualified instructors know that one must, from time to time, over train. If there's a such thing as "over training", and most instructors don't have those words in their vocabulary, but the opposite instead. However, qualified instructors will intervene only if they saw signals that their student was over training. Doctors could care less about the MA journey. Their concern is their patients well being. Not the next testing cycle, not the next tournament, not the next class!! NOTHING but the patients well being, and if they see the tale tell signals that their patient is suffering from their over training, they'll strongly suggest that the patient ease from training or stop all together, if just for a short time or long term. I love the MA, and as hard as it would be for me to stop for any duration, I'd trade the MA in for a long healthy life! Still, the final decision is that of the practitioner, and no one else!

Interesting topic; glad that you started it, Melau!! Two of Karate's most profound principles are similar to what you're speaking about. Mizu No Kokoro [Mind Like the Water] and Tsuki No Kororo [Mind Like the Moon].

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

You're taking on quite a task upon yourself, but I can see the value in it for all levels of experience. I wish you much success in this project!! What about styles that consider themselves to be traditional, but aren't on your list? The style I've been involved in for 51 years is a traditional Okinawan style, Shindokan Saitou-ryu, per it's founder! I also wonder what JR 137 is wondering... Good luck! I'm sure that this will take some time to complete, if complete is an acceptable term.

I wholeheartedly concur with Judodad_karateson; stick with it!!

Have you tried to Google it? Have you tried to visit the school? I'd visit the school to watch classes and to talk to the instructor, who can tell you quite a lot about the style, and I believe that should be more reliable than YouTube and Amazon!

Danielle, I'm a firm believer that mobility can be disrupted through angling transitions; cut them off at the pass, so to speak! What I do, is not let them complete movements within the range of the given attack. Someone that loves to dart in and out of range can be dealt with by pressing them just as the attack begins to unfold. But this is a dead end if timing is off for one reason or another. Btw, your link only directs me to a basic YouTube page, and to no specific video, that I can tell. Maybe my 'puter is acting up AGAIN!! Thanks for the input Bob. Maybe try this link. https://youtube.com/watch?v=v_8XHSnn1tU%5B%2Furl We had a tournament today actually. I've been trying to work my footwork a bit more to give me time to get the counter kicks out. Think it worked out quite well. https://youtu.be/yYKpiVXtpGQ https://youtu.be/CyioWgn885s Video with Max was nice! Thanks for it! In the two video's with you, Danielle, you were by far the most aggressive between you two; footwork was nice, as well. Your opponents timing was somewhere out there is left field; left a lot to be desired, and you took advantage of that, as you should've. Your footwork wasn't static, and that was nice to see for a change in todays tournaments, but I see, from the videos of yours that I've had the pleasure of watching for quite some time, have improved. NICE JOB!! Thank you, Danielle for sharing the three videos!!

Congrats, Kyonovice; well deserved!!

Thank you, CredoTe for your kind, and supportive words!!

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

To me, this appears to be a common brown belt testing cycle; a general test in todays MA school. Good luck, hang in there, have fun, relax, and practice!!

Fair enough!! I respect that!! I'm glad to know that you've reasons to stick it out for the long haul. Keep hanging in there!!

What about that element? Is the fault that of that "bad teacher"? Is the student EQUALLY responsible for that? Math was my worse subject because I'm not wired that way. Or was it because the teacher was bad at teaching math. Not all black belts can teach, nor should they try, and in that same light, not every math genius can teach. My brother, Donald, is a genius in many subjects, including math, he an ASE Certified Master Mechanic, and with that, he owns a very successful shop where he lives. After all, he does Calculus for fun because it relaxes him, but as a teacher, he's an very impatient individual. He gets angry at the person that he's teaching math, and will say..."Why can't you get this? It's easy!" Yeah, for him, but not for me. I struggle with basic math, always have and always will. I'm calculator dependent to the Nth degree!! My brothers mindset of teaching has made it where I can't learn math from him; there's no joy in figuring out the math solution. His angry makes me want to give him a free Karate lesson!!

Me neither!! To assuming...to restrictive...to binding...to demanding...to, well, to many "to" for me.

If there's no joy, of any type, and you don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, then, as sad as it may seem, it's time to seek that which is enjoyable, and that might include walking away from that dojo, but hopefully, not the MA!! I don't envy your situation. Joy must be there, and if it's not, then there's no sense in prolonging the agony any further. Especially if the style and the instructor isn't the issue.

If I can say this...isn't that the beauty of TKD...the ability to kick to the head; one of the staples of TKD!! Of course, being predominately a proponent of hand strikes and the like, I'm glad to see more punches than kicks. After all, TKD isn't ALL kicks and no Te Waza!! Besides, if one can kick faster than one can punch, then by all means, kick away. FWIW I lost that fight.... Regards to the amount of kicking, I'm a heavyweight so it's not that common and body type is a big factor in how you should spar. Though I thought myself and Brian are reasonable similar so a good comparison. The lower weight division do throw more headshots and are on the whole much more mobile. e.g. . Blue trains at my dojang, same instructor, same training sessions, but the sparring style is different due to body type. Danielle, I'm a firm believer that mobility can be disrupted through angling transitions; cut them off at the pass, so to speak! What I do, is not let them complete movements within the range of the given attack. Someone that loves to dart in and out of range can be dealt with by pressing them just as the attack begins to unfold. But this is a dead end if timing is off for one reason or another. Btw, your link only directs me to a basic YouTube page, and to no specific video, that I can tell. Maybe my 'puter is acting up AGAIN!!

This is an interesting point often made in MA study, and Bruce Lee is often cited as saying it, too. But, like many MA adages, sometimes, they are taken too literarily or taken too far. For example, I can look and look and look in TKD for some answers to grappling situations, but I'm going to find better answers in a BJJ school. Likewise, I can train one punch over and over and over again, but at some point, I reach the point of diminishing returns, and that time can be better spent working some different techniques and skills. Training certain techniques extensively can be very important. But one should be sure to not take it over the top. Whoa...that, right there, is one SOLID POST!!

Solid post!! OK...I just turned 58...maybe Ballet's out!! .

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Nidan Melbourne!!

I don't take your advice as a joke because ballet is learnt from a wide spectrum of people, including professional athletes. Ballet accentuates movements learnt in the MA; gives them that smooth polish. Good call, JR 137!!