sensei8

Travel wherever you NEED to because your MA betterment is yours, and if you feel that you need to travel farther than your use to, then satisfy your need!!

Yes, by all means...Happy Birthday Mr. Arneil..and many more!!

For me, the meaning of rank is quite a simple thing. It's meaningless if it's not kept in its proper context/content!! I don't concentrate on the color, I concentrate on the student. Yes, they're wearing a colored belt, but that to me is just an OUTWARD identifier that serves only one purpose...lining-up protocol. It's part of the uniform!! If a student of mine is more concerned with rank than knowledge, I'd prefer that they'd just go somewhere else because I've not the time or the inclination to care about any rank. "Well, that's easy for someone like you to say that because you're a Senior Dan!" Yes, it is easy for me to say, but my rank doesn't mean a hill of beans in any shape, way, and/or form. Why? Rank is subjective, at best, imho! Knowledge over rank! Experience over rank! Practice over rank! EVERYTHING over rank!!

Practice more. You don't pull the tricep, you hold and allow your body to scoop it out. This is extremely easy after a few years of practice. If your opponent has the tricep against the ground, where you can't pull, you should switch tactic and kneel on the arm. I agree, after some time with much practice, this is extremely easy. I only made that comment for conversation/discussion.

I wholeheartedly agree!! And, no, it's never happened to me, although it's happened a few times with my students. Some were embarrassed, yet all kept on sparring. I've seen it many times, with different divisions at open tournaments; some kept sparring, but some ran off the floor!!

Congrats!!

Thanks Wastelander and tallgeese!! Still, great tutorial video, nonetheless!!

Contemplation is a good thing; discoveries are born!

Excellent tutorial video!! Said tricep pull isn't that easy against a resistive opponent. Your thoughts, please.

As I've said before, all answers to my opening post are correct because they're what one believes!! Imho... Practice can't exist without confidence!! Through confidence, one can practice what they've been taught, and in that, these two actions are in concert with one another. Without confidence, practice will suffer in its quality.

Some solid posts, all!! The only true way to answer my question was to be perfectly honest with oneself; therefore, the answer will be a personal choice. Your thoughts are correct because they're your belief; warranted through and through!! I will not try to dissuade or persuade one way or another because I believe that that might muddle self-expression. No! I will, however, briefly defend, thereby, explain my reasons why I opted with "Confidence", and not "Practice". First off, without practice your ship will already be tattered and battered; it will sink at the sign of the first storm. A MAist that doesn't practice is against him/herself before the journey ever begins; a stalled car is of not much use. Without practice, the dullness of ones techniques will not reach its luster. Albeit, not one technique will be as effective, if at all, as a polished technique can provide. Practicing, for a MAist, is as crucial as air is to sustain life; without practice, the MAist technique would die, as assuredly as you and I would if we had no air to breath. No. To a MAist, practice is vitally important in the scope of effectiveness! Not all of the trees bend with the most gusty wind; its roots won't permit or allow it!! Why? You're afraid of your enemies!! Not difficult to imagine, or to realize because confidence comforts the practitioner who has practiced diligently day in and day out. To take a journey, I must first decide to take that first step, and in taking that first step, I must decide to walk that mile, and in that, I must make a conscientious effort to put one foot in front of another, so on and so forth. That, to me, speaks about confidence in an overall viewpoint. We will fail, we will fault, we will stumble, we will fall!! But, what we do directly after that, speaks about courage and integrity. Will we get up, dust ourselves off, raise our heads, and strive forward in our moment of despair? If not, then, by all of the forces of nature, don't ever try in anything. However, if your make-up is to bolt rightward immediately after one has stubbed their toe without a pause, that too, speaks about the confidence that one's needed as a MAist. If you've practiced day in and day out with the fever that's needed to excel in any given MA, but you've not the confidence to apply what you've learned and practiced on the floor, then by all the rain that has fallen and will fall, take up some other endeavor that's more befitting to ones stature. One learns and practices for the purpose of one to defend, yet, when the chips fall, one doesn't have the confidence to execute; possibly because that unknown fear is too much to shy away from. Draw the shoulder back and strive forward effectively with what ones learnt and practiced as though their live depended on it...it just might. It just might!! Having all of the confidence in the world must be guarded so that one can, and will, avoid the negativity of all of the traps that will try to rob the MAist at the moment of truth. Cockiness and arrogance, to name just a few, should never accompany one on their journey because they rob one of what's pure and true. Confidence is just that, and it should be just that. Anything else negates everything learnt and practiced on the floor!! Mizu No Kokoro, and Tsuki No Kokoro are maxims found in many MA's. They speak about fruitful results, and not about things that are unfruitful. Mizu No Kokoro, Mind Like the Water, speaks about one keeping their minds settled, albeit, calm so much so that water, when look upon, is as though the water was like glass. The mind, like the water, is calm and undisturbed, unbendable to the forces that surround them. Tsuki No Kokoro, Mind Like the Moon, speaks about one keeping their minds clear, albeit, uncluttered so much so that the moon can be perfectly reflected off the calm water. But, like a cloudy night, a clear reflection is disturbed and prevented from perceiving clearly as it should be. Lacking either creates that pause, as a pause, defeat is birthed!! These concepts are where, for that very moment, is where effective applied knowledge is born and experienced, yet, it was birthed on the floor during practice, and given that exclamation point of confidence to study your opponent, study yourself, make a plan, and carry that plan out...no matter the outcome might or might not be. Experience, imho, only provides support to confidence; they're in concert of one another!! Experience and knowledge are things that are acquired in good time, and they're not to be rushed or mocked. Nonetheless, not placed upon a mantle as though they're more important that anything else learnt and practiced through confidence. But, imho, having the confidence to fit every single piece into their MA puzzle is needed before anything else can be. Pieces laid out meticulously and neatly before one in an orderly fashion will now need the practice in putting these pieces in their respective places, but in order to do that, having the confidence in picking up the first piece in tantamount, if not paramount to the MAist. "You will not survive the night, if you don't first have the confidence to face the darkness" ~ Dai-Soke Yoshinobu Takahashi

Great article, Danielle!! Being part of a MA that utilizes 85% of its techniques with the hands, I found that this article spoke to my heart. This article delves just enough to educate as well as peak the curiosity of the many TKD hand techniques. Excellently thought out and presented for the reader to not be so overwhelmed with all of the strict technicalities of each hand technique described therein. While TKD introduces its hand techniques in a stretched out and patiently mannerism to their student body, there's the perfect balances of the who, what, where, when, why, and how that provides a non-rushed methodology that allows absorption of said hand techniques as to not muddle the exacting details so that their student body CAN see the forest, despite the trees. Thank you for it, Danielle!!

To me, that's the Million Dollar question. That answer will desperately vary from practitioner to another. And of course, I believe that any weight loss program should be supervised by a doctor so that it's done properly and won't cause any harm to oneself. Train hard, but be careful as to not harm yourself!!

In your opinion... What's more important? Practice or Confidence? I'd say...Confidence! Even if you practice a lot, if you lack confidence, all of that practice is pointless. Don't misunderstand me, practice is extremely important to any MAist who's serious about their MA training. I believe that one's confidence must be able to drive the practice effectively. Your thoughts!!??

Yes...Congrats; way to go!!

Imho, the bold type above is essential for the well being of the practitioner. Just letting someone hit you without taking the health properties into consideration is dangerous, to say the least.

A solid post!! Tegumi can be found in Shindokan, so much so, that this type of wrestling is essential to a Shindokanist because..."When the ground reaches up and drags you down, you'll wish that you learnt how to grapple", Soke Saitou was quite fond of saying to those who were hesitant with their ground training. Sad thing I've found is that when people learn that Tegumi is a form of Okinawan Sumo, is that they picture within their mind where two large men try to knock the other out of the ring. To me, Tegumi is a form of wrestling, and not the WWE type either, and that's vital to anyone's ground game. Should both end up on the ground, they had better know something once the ground drags you down, and if you've no ground work skills, then you best stay on your feet. However, some karate forefathers, like Itosu, figured that other karate aspects were much more important, and steered more towards the kihon part of karate. In that, Tegumi can be found in kata; shouldn't be overlooked. Tegumi...Karate...two aspects that compliment one another. As far as it comparing to Judo, imho, it's a minimal similarities between the two.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy these, and some, you might nod in appreciation... http://murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-martial-arts.html

I'm a big proponent for tossing around a Medicine Ball to build up ones core. Various stomach crunches can build up the solar plexus region; it's the core of nerves around and behind it that one wants to build up. Can't build up the nerves, it's the muscles in that region. Yoga, another method of building up the solar plexus region. For the liver region...same thing can be achieved in the liver region as you would in building up the solar plexus....crunches, yoga, and medicine ball. Then, there's the old school...spar!! Receiving blows to those areas will do two things. One, you'll build up tolerance. Two, you'll suffer from having been struck in such a way that that becomes fatal. I'd not recommend that you stand there and get hit repeatedly to build up those areas because fatal injuries HAVE occurred when that path is taken. Good luck, and please, be careful. Be mindful of what your body is telling you, and don't shrug off to see a doctor is something isn't quite right.

Solid post!! Rushing students to add to the senior grade numbers seems to me that quality will suffer for the sake of quantity!!

MA camps and the like are wonderful ways to learn in every shape, way, and/or form...aren't they just GREAT!! Borrowed ideas...that's the core of the MA!!

Only YOU can say when your MA training is over!! Yes, from what you've described, it's a nasty injury, but, in time, it'll heal. As others have already suggested, don't rush it. It's hard to not to want to rush the healing process to get back on the floor, but resist it, if at all possible. I've had a similar injury when I was 19 years old, I'm 57 this October, and I was incapacitated for some time, but just as soon as I was able to put some bearing weight on my right foot, sheesh, I was banging the heavy-bag with roundhouses, and increased the intensity as my ankle got better. No, it wasn't the smartest thing, it was foolish of me, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone; I could've done some permanent damage to myself. I didn't listen to my doctor's advice and R.I.C.E.[Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation], well I did at first, and then I went dumb. Good luck on your recovery...the floor will not be going anywhere!!

Both, Soke and Dai-Soke were born and raised in Okinawa...therefore, I'd say Shindokan is very Okinawan.

Well, it is said that the shortest path from one point to another point, is a straight line. However, that rule isn't always applied to the MA. No. Oftentimes it's more of the opposite that dictates with certain techniques as well as with the practitioner. Two elements that should be noticed when considering any MA technique in the complete totality of the goal. If you're able to use the hip in its fullest component, there will be power! Yes, its important to understand that the more the hip is utilized in its fullest range is optimal for reaching ones apex of their power curve. Speed does generate its own power through its own inertia. The law of motion says... "A body at rest remains at rest and a body in motion remains in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the applied force and is in the direction of the straight line in which the force acts. For every force there is an equal and opposite force or reaction." These laws, imho, can't be disputed because these given laws are laws of nature, and therefore laws of physics that are proven laws. Concerning between having one or the other, speed or power, I must admit, I prefer power. Does a MAist HAVE to have them both? Imho, no! Both have their limits, but those limits are solely the responsibility of the practitioner; either one can or one can't! In that, things must be present to generate either...speed...power. Nonetheless, power generated through the hips properly is far greater than speed alone can produce. Yes, both together is something that we all strive for, but if you can generate power and not sufficient speed, there will still be something for your opponent to be worried about. Your limitations are not debilitating, imho, when it comes to the MA. Why? You learn to adapt your MA into your limitations, and not vice versa. If there are techniques that you're not able to execute because of any physical limitation, then don't attempt them. If you can make necessary changes in any given techniques in order for them to be effective, then that course can't be ignored; nothing ventured, nothing gained. Hang in there, train hard, and don't let the training train you; you're the master of your journey, make your decisions that benefit YOU!!

Solid post...a quite moving solid post!!