sensei8

I'm the only one who's ever trained in the MA within my immediate family, and this is also true with my other relatives; I'm the only one!! It's been a lonely journey on the floor!!

Prices, usually dictate to a student if they're willing to spend extra money on private lessons. Even then, prices aside, some prefer private lessons, while others prefer group lessons; a personal preference of students. Private lessons gives the undivided attention of one instructor to only 1 student, while semi-private lessons to 2-3 students, while still being private, they're not group lessons. No matter the size of the dangling carrot before them, they'll still want to do group lessons. Not all mistakes are caught by the instructor, no matter who they are. The instructors attentive stare is spread out in all directions. Students love to "hide" in that anonymity. You're "sells pitch" will have to quite inviting to a student. I'd emphasize that they get "YOU" to themselves alone on the floor, where you can generate much more personal time towards them because you're attentive stare will not be divided, as it would be in a group setting. I'd not try to sell them on the myth that private lessons get one promoted faster. Not true!! Promotions are based on how well one does at any given testing cycle!! My private lesson ratio is 35/65%, with the lower number being private/semi-private lessons. Good luck, and let us know how everything's going for you in this area!!

Sounds like you're doing fine overall!! Your learning curve is right on target, imho. Yeah, leaning disrupts ones posture. Not a good thing! Leaning invites someone like me to get behind you faster, and to upset your balance, with leads into you being thrown somehow and someway. Switching stances often keep your opponent guessing. More importantly, switching is needed for transitions, any transitions. Transitions need an understanding in footwork and the like. Not switching while on any tournament circuit will get around, and when this happens, everyone knows you don't switch stances, and they'll develop a way to benefit themselves from that little info. As already mentioned, use the angles against him/her. Get inside and jam the tar out of him and reactive angles, for me, work the best. Reactive angles to us means that as I deflect, I'm counter-attacking simultaneously BUT just a split second AFTER I've deflected; a domino effect, so to speak. Allow your taller opponent to commit to the attack and then, with proper footwork, get inside your opponent by angling directional to target. But for that to work, imho, my opponent MUST totally commit to their attack so that their momentum carries them into MY space, yet them, out of their space. Proper breathing!! Don't hold your breath UNTIL it's proper to do so!! When students hold their breath while sparring, they're winded, and because your sensei isn't, that's why he's not winded at all. The more you spar, the more you'll understand the do's and don'ts that your sensei is trying to teach you!!

Read it before, still, it's a very nice read; solid!! Thank you for sharing it.

Cool!! Congrats on receiving your purple belt!!

We start at 6th Kyu!!

Well said, and I wholeheartedly concur here!!

However, said MA should be effective before it becomes different, imho. Otherwise, it's just different the wrong way. Ahh, but the question is... Effective for what?some people take martial arts purely for fun, or health, or to say "I DID IT"! I totally agree, but what makes I effective? An example if I may, First I take haidong gumdo, Korean sword (not sure if you saw the video I posted in Korean section, but you should check it out if not) it is useless without a sword, making it not effective at all to me BECAUSE it's extremely unlikely I'll ever pull out a sword for any reason! I already practice a martial art for self defense, focus, and many other benefits, BUT, sword adds an element of more focus, beauty, and strength training that builds strength in a different way then karate thus making it effective for what I want to get out go it! Therefore, the effectiveness is in the eye of the practitioner IMHO To the bold type above... Effective for ones sake!! Being a proponent of the MA because it's fun or healthy or "I did it", imho, is a waste of valuable time that could've been used for something else, other than the MA. Interesting, I generally agree wholeheartedly with your posts, I am taken back that you feel that for an individual to train in a martial art for fun or health, is a waist of time. You know it is the number one reason people enroll their kids, actual self defense is not the reason. Martial arts to me offer different things, as do the different martial arts I practice. Some are what I consider to be less effective, but very good for strength building, or focus, or fun... Are you suggesting that the only reason to take martial arts is self defense? Are you saying that it's the mental approach that must be one of a serious manner and strict discipline? Help me out buddy, I really am interested in this. No! The SD aspect is just a small portion of the MA; a small slice of the MA pie, so to speak. Reasons for taking the MA varies across the board from practitioner to practitioner. What a practitioner is a proponent of is entirely up to said practitioner alone. Not all the time!! There should be a comfortable mixture of both serious and strict discipline with lots of relaxed and fun times on the floor. I can never be that serious, nor can I ever be that strict in discipline, and that's because a dojo is a place of learning and laughing; I'm accused my some of my peers by having too much fun and the like, but I am who I am. I take my MA training very serious, and that allows me to relax at the most impromptu times, according to some of my peers. Just how fun would the MA be if everyone was serious and strict? It wouldn't be, imho!! I suppose what got me, at the time of reading it, was the "I DID IT" part. Not everyone makes the MA their life time for whatever reasons, and I sometime think that that mindset doesn't think much about the MA, and that it's a slap in my face because I've dedicated my life to the MA. Having said that, I'm not always right and I sometimes am quite stupid in my own thinking; I was wrong in my post and in my thinking for that moment. A thought for just that moment; an emotional outburst, so to speak. In that, I totally and wholeheartedly agree that the MA are taken for various reasons, and none of them have to be in concert with mine. I'm nothing and in that, I'm ashamed. Whether the reason is for fun or for health or to just say that they did it at one time, is purely their choice and I support them wholeheartedly. Forgive my ignorance; I was wrong!! My own student body at my dojo, as well as the Hombu's, is a mixture of reasons for training in the MA, and if I lived what I ignorantly posted previously, well, the student body wouldn't be as large as it has been and is now; our/my eclectic mindset allows us/me to continue to grow our/mine respective student bodies. If a prospective student says that they only want to train in the MA because they think it would be fun, because they want to improve their health through the MA, and/or to say that I just want to say one day that I did the MA, then who am I to prohibit them!?! The MA journey IS THEIRS, and it's not mine, and in that, I want to share along with them in their MA journey if they allow me too. YES!! I wholeheartedly concur!! ::Right now, I wish I had a "Bag-over-my-big-fat-head" emoticon to place here::

Are there Stewardships for the MA? Do they exist? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "Steward" as... "One actively concerned with the directions of the affairs of an organization." From said definition, do we, the practitioners of said style of the MA, have the right to be "concerned with the directions of the affairs" of the Hombu and the like? Can't the governing body take care of it's own affairs? Our Hombu conducts more open-door meetings than closed. Private affairs, often don't concern with the student body, hence, private, in closed door meetings!! Our open-door policy covers a wide plethora of topics, and we've a network of means to keep our student body highly informed as to the Hombu's daily concerns. No one is left in the dark, so to speak. Our Hombu is accountable to it's student body at all times!! As a MA, I'm accountable to myself, first, then to the governing body afterwards. My own MA betterment is of my concern, therefore, I'm a steward in the directions of my MA betterment. In that, I must conduct myself accordingly so that I'm an honorable representative of my Hombu as well as Shindokan. Your thoughts, please!!

For those who've seen, Enter The Dragon, I bring to you to the epic battle within the caverns on Han's Island between Lee and the untold number of guards. As the battle raged on, Lee found himself trapped behind doors. Lee's fight with the guards was exceptional, so much so that Han himself had to admit that Lee's fighting skills were "Extra-ordinary". Please pay close attention to the next paragraphs very first sentence!! Next scene we see Lee's hands are bound behind him. There, across from him stands Mr. Roper with Bolo standing close to Lee, gripping a knife. Han delivers his speech, then orders Bolo to cut Lee's bindings from him. However, Roper doesn't want to fight Lee, as Han had hoped in his test of Roper. Bolo steps forward to ready to fight. Lee steps forward as well, but Roper places his right hand against Lee's chest, as if to say, "I got this!" So, Han assigns Roper to fight against Lee. Roper dispatches Bolo handedly. Then, Roper and Lee kick some serious butt!! Here's my question, and thank you for enduring my long introduction. Whom were the unlucky guard(s) that had the unfavorable duty of entering Lee's make-shift cell, that he had been trapped in much earlier before, with the task of binding his hands behind him?? Who tied Lee's hands behind him?? Let's recap. Lee's taken care of dozens of Han's guards, especially that night in the caverns, including a very young Jackie Chan. Killed O'Hara one afternoon on the courtyards during Han's Tournament of Martial Arts in front of a small throng of spectators and competitors. I'm one of the guards. I'm being told to join my fellow guards to tie Lee's hands up. Forget tying Lee's hands up behind him, I've got to go into his make-shift cell. Big deal, right? I'll have my fellow guards to help me. Wait!! Lee still HAS a pair of Nunchaku's. In the hands of Han's guards, no big deal. However, in the hands of Lee, well, nunchaku's are deadly!! And Lee has those nunchaku's wrapped around his neck. Did Lee surrender? If so, why? To get close to Han? Lee didn't appear that he wanted to surrender earlier. If Lee did want to surrender, he has a funny way of doing so by beating up dozens of Hans guards. Was Lee rendered unconscious somehow from the perch above where Han had been standing just moments before? As one of Han's guards, I believe that I would've refused to obey Hans orders to enter into where Lee was being held just so I can bind Lee's hands behind him. No...I don't think so! Not in this lifetime!! Not today!! Not tomorrow. I'll face Han, with his arsenal of strange "hands", instead of Lee!! Thanks, but no thanks!! Your thoughts, please!! I mean, Who tied up Lee's hands? And would you have tried? I mean, we're MAists too!! Surely we have the abilities to carry out Han's order...BIND MR. LEE'S HANDS!!

Nunchaku's, California Law, for example... PENAL CODE SECTION 22010-22090 22010. Except as provided in Section 22015 and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, or possesses any nunchaku is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. 22015. Section 22010 does not apply to either of the following: (a) The possession of a nunchaku on the premises of a school that holds a regulatory or business license and teaches the arts of self-defense. (b) The manufacture of a nunchaku for sale to, or the sale of a nunchaku to, a school that holds a regulatory or business license and teaches the arts of self-defense. 22090. Except as provided in Section 22015 and in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, any nunchaku is a nuisance and is subject to Section 18010. Like MA weapons carry the same California Laws. Legality in the United States varies at the state level. New York, Arizona, California, and Massachusetts have made possession of MA weapons unlawful.

Both understanding said kata movements and it's applications are a life time endeavor; time that will not be wasted.

First of all, Welcome to KF!! Styles of the MA, imho, are preference orientated. Choosing a style of the MA that's best suited for one is akin to like trying on a shoe. Not one shoe is tailored to fit all wearers, and in that, there's the different sizes, colors, shapes, materials, and widths. Some shoes are chosen off the brand first. Finally, the wearer must wear the shoe to see if it's perfect for that wearer, and that same wearer will try on many before finally deciding.

You've matured quite well as a MAist!! I'm so very proud of you!!

It's funny, well, no it's not, but it is what it is. A black belt in one style is a green belt in another style for many reasons.

That awkward point when all of your rank progressions are political? I hate that as well. Huh? I don't quite understand the question.

Great to hear that!! Hopefully the new dojo is quite challenging on the floor across the board!!

I see this not as envy, but as a sign of respect and admiration for what they've accomplished.

Opps, my bad, I misunderstood the OP question... Overall, I hate that I've no superior to teach me anymore within Shindokan.

Yes, that's it!! Cruel device, but helpful!! Thanks wayneshin!!

EXPERIENCE the Kata, and in that, EXPERIENCE the Bunka/Oyo of said Kata. But, not as the teaching model through the syllabus would have one to think. No! Not to be complying, but to be restrictive and resistance to any and everything presented. Experience is the best teacher. So, experience the whole outside of any known box. Run known drills, then change them however to challenge them without any warning. That's why I love the tennis ball drill; it tests one's awareness.

I love them, if we're speaking about the same thing. At first, I meet my match in them, but in time, I learned to depend on them. Can't be without them!! You have a picture you can share? To see if we're talking about the same thing.

Wastelander's post is quite solid. I'd get a medium weight to begin with, and then up grade to a more heavier bo in time. Composite bo's, what I call airplane propellers, are fine for what they're designed for, sport, but I'd stay away from those if your Kobudo is to refine over the years. Imho!!

Yeah, that would've not been good for all. WHEW!!

I wholeheartedly concur!!