sensei8

Any rank!! To be taken seriously, well, then Sandan is the preferred rank to possess when planning to open a school of the MA. In the USA, anyone of any rank can open a school of the MA, and seeing that there's no governing body to oversee things like this, then hang out the shingle at ones discretion.

Wait until your Sensei tells you! I don't completely follow you on your 2nd question, sorry!!

Solid post!!

The MA is just a thing...family is before the MA...IMHO!!

Karate: The Art of Empty-Hand Fighting by Hidetaka Nishiyama This is an excellent reference book for Shotokan; published in 1960...same year Nishiyama Sensei earned his Godan in Shotokan. Can still be found!!

Great posts,all!! How else can we end fakery and all? I'm not for Government interaction,nonetheless, only laws and regulations might be the way! After all, we're no longer in 1600 Japan and the like! Just call them to the carpet...proof is on the floor, but with Government, proof will be required beyond a catch-phrase! Having to "prove" themselves to Government regulations hopefully will begin the weeding out!

I'm not TKD, however, both links provide a treasure of material!!

Try to look up that Pro TKD, Bob. I think you will like and appreciate what you see. Its essentially Olympic TKD without the chest protectors and pads, like IcemanSK mentioned. Really was good stuff; lots of contact, not so much of the tip-tap look. It was a full-contact venue that allowed the counter-kicking and jump-spinning kicking to be showcased, along with the power they really put forth.Cool...thanks...I'll look it up!! You're right, Brian, I do like it, more than I thought I would Thank you for the heads-up!

Reminds me of the concept... "When he contracts, I expand, and when he expands, I contract!" Nice video...has many possibilities! Thanks for sharing.

By all means...report him/them to the proper authorities immediately!! Then, as to the best of your/their abilities, stay away from him/them for the rest of your/their life's!! Good luck...be safe!!

Locks aren't easy to apply; one must work for them. One must work for any lock to be applied effectively because my opponent isn't just going to let me lock it in. No! My opponent's going to fight me for control, and here's where experience can win-out in said battle. My knowledge of how to recognize any transitional opening that presents itself to me through one guarded avenue to an unguarded avenue just might be enough for me. However, stepping away from the technical discussion for just a moment, I see how a referee might be the factor that's caused the decline; excitement and the like are what sells said tickets. Who wants to watch a boring fight? Not many! The more exciting, the more of the unknown, the more of the toe-to-toe makes the anticipation of the battle so exciting for the fans. Fan base isn't just us MAist...no...the layperson loves a good fight just as much as a MAist does. What they look for across the board might be like day and night, but the excitement factor surely can't be denied. Tallgeese and bushido_man96 make great points and they both ask/answer some vitally important questions that address the OP. In short, I do think that it's a mixture of factors that might've caused the decline of locks, and not just the practitioners.

I love the complexity of it, albeit, it's simplicity isn't overlooked. This is one aspect that must be trained with a WC Dummy, and then transition to a live partner to test and fine tune said techniques. Nice video, thank you for it!!

First of all, welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! Self-defense can be taught, and is taught throughout the world, and in that, learning the basics and then some can be enough to sustain the methodologies of self-defense. Then, learning how to put all of the individual techniques to use when called upon during defending oneself, that's the experience...that's the journey of a MAist.

Who's to say said school of the MA is or isn't a McDojo and/or the like? For the sake of this discussion, a McDojo is a school of the MA that's CI isn't an legitimate Black Belt; fake! Imho, there can never be one Governing body of the MA because more often than not, the most simplistic of concerns can't be agreed between them, no matter what the topic might be. In that, to properly define as to what's legitimate or not just can't be reached by the midnight hour because of differing opinions. And this is in the world of the MA. In the political arena, well, that's certainly a whole new world. Government officials can't seem to agree on anything, and to be honestly, neither can any MA Governing Body! To regulate the MA or not in the hopes of protecting the unaware consumer/student of the MA is washed down the sink with the dirty water. For Government involvement to exist, it will require Government interaction . One of the first things that all would need to agree on is how they can establish who's fake and who's not! However, Governments say the "Martial Art knowledge lies within the practitioner/individual". All one has to do in the USA to create a "style" of the MA is a letterhead and pay all required fees, and now, you're style is "official" according to the all levels of the Government. Furthermore, all one has to do is "establish a school by having only one student". For me, I'll never see the day when there will be one Governing Body for all MA. Sure, no one wants to see the Government involved, for their own reasons, in any aspect of the MA. Those CI's who are fake and the like will continue to harm innocent students one way or another. To bring integrity back into the MA, it might be quite possible for us to rely on Government control, in the form of passing laws and regulations that will rid the MA of such fakes. Nonetheless, those said fakes will continue to infest the MA, and in that, there'll be nothing that we can do within the MA that will provide that much needed peace of MA integrity, one that we're missing quite desperately. There will be no regulations, for now, if at all. Governments as well as MA Governing Body's won't ever see eye to eye, not within themselves or within one another. We'll continue to govern ourselves, and the Government will continue to let us be to ourselves. There are laws on the books in the USA that make it a crime to fraud another, but in this subject, the Government would rather be like the monkey who's happy to...hear no evil, speak no evil, and see no evil. Your thoughts, thank you!!

I've been entertaining the thought to try DDP Yoga. Seems down my aisle!! Did you try DDP yet? I love it-it is great for us over 50's! No, not yet. It's my next thing to do right after this years annual testing cycle!! Btw, could DDP be incorporated into normal class warm-ups and/or cool-downs??

I thank you for your kind words! At times, I feel really, really older than I truly am; as a MAist, I've been rode hard and put away wet, I'd have it no other way. I've not trained for belts or awards or self-aggrandizement; I've trained so that I can improve my MA betterment., therefore, I'll be able to help others improve their own MA betterment. You are only as old as you feel, and in that, I suppose there's quite a lot of value to that.

One thing about the battlefield, real battlefields, is that they're not fighting for trophies! Battlefield strategies read reveal keen decisions made, some tipped the scales that lead to either sure victory or sound defeat. There were no podiums to stand upon while raising hands with trophies raised high!!

Excellent mindset...excellent! I believe that for one to respect said art, one must FIRST respect the floor; this you've done admirably across the board. Being honest with yourself, and in that, your students will respect you the more, works hand in hand, however, it starts with you!! The old saying says, something like this..."You've got one chance to make that first impression; so make it a good one". After that, it's all downhill from there if you've only made that bad impression, and no matter which one you've made, it'll be a lasting one!!

I'm no proponent of modern European/Western MA, however, I found the article quite interesting as well as informative. The research was epic, imho! Thinking about the broad sword, cumbersome to weild, the collar bone area was 40%, and after that, the head was a feeble second, but an important striking area, which, to me, wasn't surprising. The data didn't seem to favor other areas, yet, the other striking areas weren't spared, in that, striking with a broadsword was going to cause some damage, and when you looked at the areas of the lower torso, a downed opponent is subjected to blows that would give the head/collar bone area an easy striking area. In a way, the striking data was similar to many modern MA methodologies by how a MAist can strike at the other areas so that one can strike other chosen targets, like the head, and such. In our brand of Tuite, we strike other less than desired areas so that we can eventually strike other vital areas from set-ups. I strike the lower leg, for example, so that a more desired target presents itself through the set-ups that I can manipulate and/or damage. We can, for example, attack the legs, as to cause the desired response, and then switch up to the upper torso or the head, in the famous change-up roundhouse kick. Or, attack the knee enough that your opponent drops guard to protect the leg, and then deliver the fatal blow. Ok, I've babbled enough...Loved the article and I loved the data. Thank for sharing it!

First of all...Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! You've already recieved some pretty good advice, so, I've nothing to add, at the moment!! Good luck on your search!!

Thank you!!

I've done it all...training, testing, teaching, etc...all while sick. However, if I was contagious, I stayed home so as to not infect anyone else. However, power naps helped me make through many days/nights. Being the CI does have it's advantages; other BB's can cover for me when necessary!! And yes, I've puked on the floor; once, on my Dai-Soke!!

First of all...Welcome to KF; Glad that you're here!! Solid post!!

Thanks for the info... Loss of revenue for NY; sad across the board!!

Thanks for the info...looks like it is worth the read!!