sensei8

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!!

I can understand, and I repect his decision!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!!

Yes...Congrats; well done!!

First of all...Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! I'm not quite familiar with that area, sorry! Hopefully, you might Google what you're looking for, and then, prehaps you can let us know some choices, and in that, someone here can help you that's more familiar with that area. Good luck with your search!!

The definition of "Ultimate" will vary from MAist to MAist, therefore, to stive for that ultimate in ones MA journey is without consideration and appreciation. Imho.

Solid post!!

Why has your Sensei stopped practicing Kobudo??

Well... He's not penetrating the board; he's only striking the board. Grabbing another board, as though the board he's trying to break is the problem, and saying that the board "is new", isn't the problem. Imho, it's his entire approach to the task at hand. Striking the board faster than it can react is important, but he's not taking that into consideration; the board will bend before it breaks, if done correctly. Hitting his assistant(s) should NEVER happen and even moreso, hitting a bystander with pieces of said material should NEVER happen. Therefore, he didn't take the precautions before hand to protect those in attendance. His assistants aren't standing directly behind the material, and in that, they're not bracing for the technique at hand. Standing beside the material only provides much more give to the material. The assistants should stand behind the material at hand, and brace themselves and making sure that there holding said materials correctly. I'm sure that the grain of the boards are correct. If not, that will not help his mission either. Imagine trying to break plywood, well, it's almost impossible because striking against the grain of even one board is akin to trying to break plywood. Plywood has many layers of wood materials that criss-cross one another until the desired thickness is achieved. He's NOT focused!! In this demo, he's only proven what I posted earlier...boards DO HIT BACK!! Now, try speed breaking said boards and one will find a bunch of new problems to contend with, but first, understand and obey the laws of breaking before ever trying speed breaking.

I like it that rank isn't critical to you, and that training is even moreso; sounds great to me!!

I do appreciate the pro's about said toe kick; a kick that certainly has merits. Nor can I dispute that the conditioning of said kick is enough to give the most staunchest proponent of the MA to grimace at the mere thought of it. I'd not want to get hit by a karateka that is a master of this technique; that, too, doesn't appeal to me either!!

First of all, Welcome to KF; glad to have you here!! Congrats on you being graded to Green...feels good, huh?!

It's not often that I can say this but I am humbled by your post. I happen to agree with you but had a moment of "aha!" while reading. You're training along with your lifelong pursuit of being a martial artist is preparing you to fight all of life's battles. You live your life, as do many of us, becoming strong in mind and strong in spirit. And while there may be a day that your unable to perform, or even teach, a spinning back kick for instance, you will face all of life's challenges head on and be better for it because of your training! I understand that this may not be your point exactly, but it's my humble take on reading your post. Thank you ! You're welcome...and I thank you for your posts, as well. Many things in my life will fall under the category of "Used to be", but, imho, being a BB will never be one of them.

No, I do not believe in the ultimate style because we are fallable, and in that, something fallable can't achieve anything ultimate!! Imho!!

Nice article...thanks for sharing it. Tempo IS the punctuation to any kata/form. One can watch a kata/form being performed, and notice that, while said performers are doing the same named form/kata, there's a noted difference. That's the tempo. Speed it up or slow it down or mix it up at some certain points, there's the punctuation. Some MA styles punctuate on purpose because that's their stamp on said form/kata, while others do it only on purpose while performing on a competition mat. If said form/kata is boring, then tempo will bring it to life!! Own the form/kata; not vise versa. TEMPO!! RHYTHM!! These are the notes that punctuate the music!! While one may play the classical piano masterpieces flawlessly, it's those performers that play that same masterpiece differently, therefore, making said masterpiece their own. Ok...I'm going back to my karate corner, now!

...the difference between these two quotes is why I believe the sport side of karate should always take a back-seat, why I ultimately hope that karate is never in the olympics. For me it's not the technique differences, nor is it the politics, nor the awareness it raises about the art. For me it is the difference of mindset. Solid post...I whole heartedly concur!!