sensei8

You might not understand this bit of advice, but, I believe it might help you. So, here it goes... Step completely away from the roundhouse kick, but only for now!! Train some other area, but step away from training your roundhouse kick. Then, when the time is right, come back with a FRESH eye and mind, and then, and only then, train the roundhouse kick as it was meant to be.

I placed this topic here because, imho, the topic is about as general as it can be...Armchair Instructors!! All of us, no matter how long one's been on the floor, have witnessed their own fair share of good intentional people that seem to think that they know much more than your own Instructor(s)!! One doesn't really have to look that far and hard to find some of these Armchair Instructors. I've ran into them myself over my past 50 years in the MA, and whenever I encounter them, all I can really do is smile and walk away...but not before I've invited them to visit my school. FAMILIES: Sometimes, it's not that easy to avoid said Armchair Instructors because they're in YOUR OWN FAMILY!! Sometimes, it's sweet! Sometimes, it's belittling! Sometimes, it's frustrating! Sometimes, it's enough to make you want to disown them right there on the spot! But, I begrudgingly listened because I was raised to respect those older than me. OK!! Older, yes! More knowledgeable than my Sensei?...I don't think so!! In my ENTIRE family tree, on both sides of the family, I'm the ONLY ONE who's ever trained in the MA. Yes, I had every uncle offer me their unsolicited advice as how I should be doing it. And whenever they'd "show" me, it would be directly against what was being taught to us by our Sensei. The only good news about this type of Armchair Instructor is two-fold, after time, and I wish it had been sooner, for my sake, the advice from any of my uncles would stop because they were seeing that what they tried to impart upon me, while it was filled with great intentions, was nonsense. And, thank God for mom!! She stepped in, and told all of my uncles to..."Please mind your own business, and if you don't...I'll have his teacher TELL YOU!! So, Please...SHUT UP!!" Better later than never!! YOUR OWN BACKYARD: This one gets me each and every time I witness it. One student will tell another student something the total opposite of what I've taught them; not even in the same vicinity. This is usually done when one student will either whisper their ill begotten advice or they'll confidently expound it proudly; not realizing that I hear everything, one way or another. My advice is over ALL!! My advice came from Soke, then to Dai-Soke, then to those who've been with them for quite a long time. We didn't make it up as something that sounds great, but we got it from the Lion's mouths!! One of my duties as Kaicho is to un-teach that which has been taught by one of the instructors of a Shindokan dojo's CI. I do it each and every year. Somewhere and somehow and someone will inform the Hombu with a question that's about as far fetched as one can ever imagine. We quickly squash these via Video Conferences with that said CI in the hopes of getting ALL of them on the same page as the Hombu. Our brand of Tuite is NOT the brand of EVERYONE ELSE'S Tuite. We move differently, and if you've ever seen Master Toma of the Seido Karate, you get a general idea of our brand, but Soke peppered it his brand up. No, the Hombu NEVER interferes with creativity of the individual practitioner of Shindokan. What the Hombu approves of is a wide berth, but what the Homub doesn't tolerate is changing the syllabus/curriculum as it was created by Soke, and refined by Dai-Soke. That's the un-teaching that I encounter each and every year, and it shouldn't be so because Soke said so!! Neither, our Teaching Department, Instructor Department, and Curriculum Department hasn't, as of yet, amended not one dot or dash or word or anything from what Soke approved back in 1950. We just don't want, nor do we need Armchair Instructors; thank you!! EVERY ONE WANTS TO BE THE BOSS: From time to time, MAists and non-MAists alike decide, on their own, to be YOUR Armchair Instructor, for some reason or another, as though your journey is their journey; that's impossible across the board. I can't wear the pants if someone else is trying to wear the very same pair of pants that I am; we both can't fit into the same pants. Not going to happen! Again, as well intended as they might be, it can be quite damaging to many fronts. The Instructor front! The Family front! The loved one front! The friend front! This front and that front; they usually don't play nice together. Only one can be right, however, everyone wants to the one that's right...all of the time!! You can please some of the people some times, but you can't please some of the people all of the time!! Your instructor ISN'T the Armchair Instructor; he/she IS the Instructor ALL OF THE TIME!! Telling Family and loved ones and friends that you have one Instructor, and their not that one instructor seems to land of deaf ears more often than not. Why? Intentions...again!! Your Instructor has assistant Instructors, but, she/he have chosen them, and for all time, your Family, your loved one, your friends, and whomever else it might be, wasn't selected by your CI. So... Please, support is always wanted and needed, but, stop trying to be the Armchair Instructor!! If you've any Armchair Instructor stories, please, by all means, express them!! Remember, you're not alone in this fight!!

Yeah...beer doesn't hydrate the body, if I remember, beer will work opposite for the body compared to what water can do. If there's a lesson to be learned here, then possible that might be it...maybe.

Good report, Karate_John. I'm thinking that if ground grappling, for the moment, is unfamiliar territory for you, then I see really no reason to not join their school. Another way to increase your MA betterment.

Solid post!!

Good advice...as a reminder, don't forget to pay attention to proper mechanics and the like at all time. To flail or not to flail, that's the question. Imho!!

Did you have a big meal right before training?? Ingredients can trigger an upset stomach while training. Some things to ponder. I hope you'll be ok!!

Fantastic tutorial, Alex; as always!! I'm an proponent of choking, both standing and on the ground; it's my bread and butter. And what you're teaching in this video is simple and direct, yet effective. I use to fear anything having to do with choking because it can be debilitating, and therefore, loss through the fear of being choked. The beauty of any choke, imho, is the control one can have over their opponent, and many are surprised at just how fast a choke transition can happen. EXCELLENT tutorial, Alex...EXCELLENT!!

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

Having a disclaimer on your registration forms MIGHT be an effective way to protect yourself, and/or the tournament in general. Possibly having a Lawyer prepare the disclaimer the only way a Lawyer can. Does this take care of the insurance issue? I'm no Lawyer, but, it might, but then again, it might not. That answer is for a Lawyer!!

Congrats; well done!!

I think you're answer my question about what Dai-Soke taught us...I think...the underlined above, has me confused... "Each time you move, you open up other possibilities to your opponent to capitalize upon; don't be moving just to be moving: have consciousness while moving" ~Dai-Soke What Dai-Soke IS telling us is to move with a purpose, per the bold type above!!

Very nice!!

ozm8, do you actually enjoy the classes? Do you value your sensei's instruction? If so then just keep training. Could just be a lull due to holiday season... Also first few months of the year you do see a drop off; lots of people make it their new years resolution to get fit, maybe learn a martial art, by the time Easter comes around they're bored of it and move on to the next thing. If class being small is an issue, why don't you offer to help promote it for your sensei? Bring a few friends for a trial session or ask if you can distribute leaflets of help in some other way. Solid post!!

I wouldn't react or reply!! Why? Those who don't truly understand the MA, imho, just say the darnest things, from time to time.

Was Dai-Soke correct in what he's told us, iyho? What Royce did to Kimo at 6:12 from this link describes how to work while in the turtle....

I don't think that your dojo is broken. One the contrary, it could be just the evolution of the dojo; change is inevitable and this is just a needed change that is needed.

This is me looking from the outside, and forgive me for that. But, I'd like to see the application of each movement within the 5th Dan form...ATA 5th dan Poomsae, Chung Hae. Some of the combinations seemed to have no correlation to one another, and I admit, that with me looking in from the outside, I was confused. I suppose that's the beauty of the MA being made up of different styles of the MA. What I'm use to DOESN'T have to be the same in another. I also suppose that I've been down the Shindokan path so long that I demand some effective applications. Please set me straight because I need to be set straight, especially if I'm wearing Shindokan blinders where I can only see that and not the beauty of Chung Hae.

WOW!! An amazing article that bears to be read by any reader that's interested in exactly what is and what isn't on the subject you three are covering. Or for a reader who is facing that very same thing in their life or in someone else's life that their close to. In this, imho, I hope that any LEO would do what they've been sworn to do...Protect and Serve. And that means to go to every call with the professionalism required as though it's the first time to the call. It's not a waste of time to arrive to the call as soon as possible, and to not assume anything of the RP's call history. Imho, it's not the waste of time to Protect and Serve. I would, again, like to thank you, Patrick, Brian, and Alex for taking the time to do a top notch article that is very educational, and therefore, helpful. Thank you...thank you...thank you!!

Curiosity killed the cat. And in this case, imho, the cat here is the readers that have to know why this book is how Walmart decided across the board. Like sex and violence sells this and that, so does the need to know the "why" of a book, in this case.

I wholeheartedly concur!! In BJJ, is it a good thing or a bad thing to be always moving? I ask that because we're taught that it's a bad thing to always be moving for the simple reason that... "Each time you move, you open up other possibilities to your opponent to capitalize upon; don't be moving just to be moving: have consciousness while moving" ~Dai-Soke I'd say its always good to be moving, but you have to move with purposes. Like fighting on your feet, if you stop moving, you become a statue for someone to spool up on. Especially if you are trying to improve position, which is paramount. Once you obtain a position of dominance, the other person will likely try to move out of it, so you have to move to keep position.I agree! After all, move this way or that way with no rhyme or reason, you might work right into a rear naked choke hold, or one of the other fun submissions...fun for your opponent, but not for yourself.

True, you may not hit the point, but striking the arm in that manner will surely remove it as an obstruction, opening the path to send your strike home. Getting pain off the strike is just bonus coverage.That's absolutely correct. After all, you only need to open up enough space in order to reach the target with whichever hand/foot/etc. that you desire.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! Interesting topic/question. I took my Panther videos, I didn't have many, and had a company transfer them to DVD. Because as old as the Panther stuff was, I was afraid that the tape would break, and after you splice tape back together, after awhile, content is lost. I've not purchased any Panther from Century because I don't want a VHS of anything; to fragile to survive age, imho.

Solid post!! As confusing as this might appear to be, I'd enjoy the semi-private lessons atmosphere!! Train on, and train hard!!

While I appreciate your support, I made this topic to speak towards how to deescalate a situation similar to mine. What, if you were in my shoes that day, what would you have done differently to deescalate him/the situation?? Deescalate skills are, imho, an overlooked portion of the MA. We learn how to defend ourselves and others, but we don't adequately address how to deescalate. The answer isn't always found in our hands and feet, if you get my drift. I deescalated him by not being that MA force. Yes, I stood between him and his wife, but, I stayed calm while he was loud and threatening. At every threat spewed from his mouth, I simply said..."No!"..."Relax!"..."Please calm down!"..."I understand!"..."Please, lets, you and I sit down for a minute, first!"...things like that, but my voice remained calm and low and reassuring. Yeah, I made myself as big as I could. Which wasn't a stretch, but I believe you understand what I'm saying. My stance, however it was, was ready! My hands, however I held them, were unthreatening! My demeanor, however it was construed, was calm! Was I ready to unleash hell on him, if need be? Yes! But, in reality, he wasn't a threat to me, and I always side to deescalate the situation at all measures before physicality is necessary. He was a threat to others at the party, but what also helped to deescalate the matter was it was him versus 9 determined men set to protect whomever; 9 vs 1 speaks in volumes. The other men said nothing to disturb what I was slowly deescalating. Any other added voice to mine might've undermined any advantage or any reasoning from reaching him. But until the other men got beside me, it was me and him, alone, one on one, and I chose to deescalate him, and would've have continued to do so until physicality was necessary. Back to the bold type above...I await your answer, and allow us to discuss de-escalation ideas together!!