sensei8

Solid post!! I've used them for as long as I can remember. Do your kicks completely...up...out...back...down, however, at the out part, hold the kick before going back. After you use them, take them off and do those same kicks; in time, you'll notice the difference.

I've no comment, as I haven't seen/read anything about the incident. Inasmuch, it's Nike's call, and they've that right!!

Solid post!!

Solid post!!

After 50 years, I'm still a beginner; my journey's not ended!!

This might be just me, but I've always considered grappling, and after all, MA in general, as a catch-as-catch-can experiment; either it will or it won't. Still, another great tutorial, Alex!! Solid!! Thank you for sharing it!!

The one thing I refuse to do, is.... Babysit my students, both kids and adults alike!! If they decide to not practice, then that's on them. If they decide to not condition themselves, then that's on them. If they decide to not exercise, then that's on them. I'm also not going to lose any sleep over it either. This, which I'm speaking towards is if they're not going to do anything to increase their own MA betterment on their own!! Well, that's on them!! However, when a student steps upon my floor, well, that's a different thing all together; I will challenge my students, thusly, myself as a side note, without reservation and/or ambiguity whatsoever...kids and adults alike!! A typical class will consist of: 5 minutes of limbering up 10 minutes of wind and reaction-time exercises 1 - 2 and 1/2 hours of Shindokan techniques 10 minutes of strengthening exercises 5 minutes of limbering up Limbering up is getting lose; we typically do about 14 different limbering up techniques, i.e., neck twisting, arm swings, leg lifts, and leg stretching. Wind and reaction-time is a well known tactic...skipping jump rope. We'll usually do about 3 other tactics. Strengthening exercises will comprise usually of rabbit-hopping and push-ups, to name just a few. Students will go into our weight room, usually the adults, before and/or after their classes. So, if my students have the mind to improve their MA betterment on their own, my hats off to them, and for those students who don't care to, well, that's fine too. My duty ends at the door; once they leave, they're on their own.

Not losing rank? Do you mean, that if, you, being a JKA/WF ranked, will lose your JKA ranking because you want to learn Kendo? If so, I'd say...NO!! Rank is forever, imho!! This might mean that you will be a White belt in Kendo, but still maintain your JKA ranking. This also means that when you're on the Kendo floor, you'll wear a white belt, and wear it proudly!! The two, Kendo and JKA aren't the same, nor are they under the same governing body!!

Journeying into Kumite (sparring) will generate a very wide opinion as well as concerns, especially when we speak about children engaged in the MA. The JKA, makes no exceptions from it's rules, and they state... "NOTE: Other karate organizations often allow children as young as six or seven years old start kumite (sparring). But at the JKA, so as to avoid the possibility of injury, no sparring is allowed until the child is ten years old and in the fifth grade." For the sake of our discussion here, I would like us to focus on the bold type above. Let it be known that the bold type was added by myself, and isn't how this note can be found on the JKA website. In Shindokan, our children participate and train in Kumite practically from day one. I was training in Kumite shortly after my third month, as a 10th Kyu. Many different Kumite training aspects were brought to me when I was only 7 years old: 1-steps were first, but we graduated early into Jiyu-Ippon under the guidance of Soke and/or Dai-Soke shortly thereafter. Soke was adamant about application! "Movements should never be wasted. Students must understand that application, and without understanding its core, all movements are wasted." What's YOUR opinion about the bold type above?

As it's been previously mentioned, dojo criteria might differ per that dojo's CI. This link might give you a JKA snapshot, even though it covers 10th Kyu to Judan... http://jka.or.jp/en/karate/dan_rank.html

Nice tutorial/explanation!! Thank you for sharing!!

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

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

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

Solid post!!

Auto-Grading? Now, I've heard it all!! Grading because you show up to class? Forget it!! Whomever thought this up should be ashamed!! And rightfully so!! Achieving grade by just showing up is a slap in the face of any serious minded practitioner. Can't perform up to expectations...don't worry about it...you'll pass because you've not missed any classes. We'll worry about your MA betterment much later. Better yet, just award the black belt at their first class! That will eliminate having to keep track of their class attendance, just as long as they're paid up and current on their dues!! This ever comes to Shindokan...I QUIT!! Come to class...train hard...test....and if you don't pass...repeat the first two before you can be allowed to number three...if you're lucky enough!!

Solid post!!

Where does a 1000 pound gorilla want to sit? Wherever he/she wants to!! Beat his legs to death by angling in and out, and let him commit to his attacks. Want to fell a tall tree? Then, chop away until it's toppled!! 10" difference isn't nothing to sneeze at, but, relax and don't allow the initial shock overwhelm you. Keep you guards up, and kick his legs at every chance you have. Then work on combo's out of the leg kicks! When that gorilla starts to force his/her sitting place, it's best to not be there!! Good luck, let us know how it went! If nothing else, this will be a learning experience for you, and hopefully, for him as well!!

Let your movements, no matter what they might or might not be, compliment one another, but do not waste movements/energy!!

Ditto!!

Great discussion...great Q&A session with Nik and Alex...top notch!! Thank you, both!! This is what I've been speaking about ever since I've been here at KF...Mizu No Kokoro and Tsuki No Kokoro...Mind like water and mind like the moon...RELAX. Not only in your physical stature but in your mind as well. If the mind is overwhelmed, then you begin to try to meet that force with force and that's the path to avoid. Relax...then work!! Capitalize on their overcoming mistakes thinking that there brute force is all that they need...and they do need more than that, imho!! Brute force on its own is akin to combating with oneself all day long; tiring overall, and that tiny little moment, is when you begin to overcome.

I agree with this. Thanks for the video, once again. I think this one is way above my pay grade! But I do like how you talk through to the spider guard and the transitions. There seems to be so much there, but I imagine with time it isn't quite so overwhelming. I thought I saw where the scissors sweep would get worked in there. Bob, don't you have the autonomy to introduce grappling into your classes whenever you see fit? After all, you are the senior rank of the style at this point. Don't you have some input into these things, at least when it comes to the classes you teach? To the bold type above... Sure, I've the autonomy to introduce grappling into my classes whenever I see fit. And I do it all of the time! However, that's within my own dojo!! Outside of my own dojo, and I don't expect anyone outside of the Shindokan circle to understand and appreciate this, I am the senior rank of Shindokan, but, I'm one person, one practitioner, and one instructor. Any changes to the syllabus/curriculum have to be voted on, and it requires a 100% vote of approval, and not a majority of votes, for this to happen. Being senior rank doesn't mean that I can pass whatever policy and rule and regulation I want to just because I want to; no matter the supportive argument that I might have! My input is just that, an input, an advice, a thought, and a suggestion, but it's not a rule!! Again, Rule #1 is TEACH!! Rule #2; see Rule #1!! I don't need approval for what occurs in my dojo, however, I do need approval to teach something that's going to be formally tested upon before, in this case, 6th Kyu!! Look, Dai-Soke taught all of his JBB things "above our ranks" because he was the Chief Instructor/Kaicho, without Soke's approval. Why? The Hombu was Soke's, and not Dai-Soke's, but, Soke allowed because he was the CI!! Therefore, while we were being taught Shodan...then Nidan...then Sandan things from the syllabus/curriculum, we were never tested until we achieved those tenures. What I do in my own dojo is MY business, however, students aren't tested officially until they've reached 6th Kyu!! This has nothing to do with loyalty to Soke/Dai-Soke, this has something to do with honoring our sworn duties and responsibilities, to the oaths that we've taken. Our student body deserves that!! I don't believe in hidden techniques and I don't believe in waiting for policies to teach...no...I TEACH, and be darned to any policy and regulation that stifles the betterment of my students.

A very definitive topic through and through! And as always, your explanations are right across the spectrum of the topic at hand. The Q&A of these videos are what all MAist need, and not just the mat work, with, both are critical elements in developing their MA betterment. Gi...no gi...those elements have to be appreciated and understood, because while one might not like to train in a gi, one better understand it's possibilities because they might encounter an assailant who's well trained in the gi, and therefore, use it to their advantages and to your disadvantages. Nice Q&A, as always. I look forward to many more. LEO's are handcuffed by rules and regulations for obvious reasons, but... Are there ever any scenario's that allow LEO's to react outside of the rules and regulations concerning MA training and abilities?? On a side note, I notice, while watching that Alex isn't very still while sitting...I suppose that he'd rather be rolling than speaking, but he does both quite well. It's the lion within him that can't wait to pounce upon his prey!! Btw, it's a good thing that I'm noting!!

Let us not forget that the MA isn't at fault! By that I mean, the gun isn't at fault when it's used in unmoral and unethical acts; the gun doesn't kill, the wielder of said gun kills. Same thing: the MA doesn't commit unmoral and unethical acts; the MA doesn't decide; the practitioner decides. That moral compass must be held tightly in the hand of the instructor; first sign of abuse and the like, the instructor must act accordingly and immediately without ambiguity and/or reservation. Otherwise, continued abuse then becomes the fault of the instructor for allowing it to continue. Imho!!

For curriculum 6kyu and 5kyu do basic 1 step. Step back once, block, and reverse punch. At 4kyu, students are expected to use more advanced blocking techniques and more than 1 strike in the counter attack. During advance class we normally do more self defense based 1 step for all levels, but not all students stay for that class sadly. Mostly adults who are serious about training. It's sad to see some students skate by with just the bare minimum, but if they stick with it they'll eventually have to learn. Truer words have never been more spoken; SOLID!!