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If a student ages out, they keep said rank. Nothing should change, imho. In our style, the difference is that said student will only reach the junior BB level, and will stay at that level until they turn 18 years old, which is when they'll test for Shodan.

That was Funakoshi's philosophy! A noble intent, and a worthy intent as well, imho. Having said that, I will do unto my attacker before my attacker does it unto me. If my attacker forces me to attack first, I will do just that without any reservation, and in that, so will my attacker if the opportunity presents itself. I'll try not to attack first, but if I do, I'll not worry about it.

My first grading was so long ago, however, I'm approaching my 50th year, so it must've went well. Relax, and if you mess up, and you will, put that behind you asap because the test will take care of itself. Train hard; you'll be just fine!! Good luck and let us know how it went. Edits: Spelling, sorry.

The answers will vary from MAist to MAist as well as from style to style, and so on and so forth. A general answer, imho, will not suffice, we can only speak for ourselves.

Went to Chiropractor this morning; things went fine. While I'm still not 100% yet, I'll be attempting to teach two classes: Intermediate children's class and a black belt class. I'll gauge myself during both classes to determine if I'm ready. I'll conduct the opening warm-ups, as I always do, and then go from there. That should give me an indication if my backs up to teaching. I don't and can't teach from a chair!! I'll have plenty of BB's to take over if my back acts up.

Resistance and the heavy bag are separately good things to strengthen your kicks. When you're ankle's ready to beat the tar out of a bag, it'll be there, waiting for your return.

Rekindling ones passion fueled fire is never a waste of time. Your story touched my heart in many different ways. I thank you for it!!

Solid post!!

Totally agree, It relies mainly on why do you train ? for example, if you are training just for fun and fitness so go for semi- or no- contact sparring but if you are doing it for self defense, I guess you have to go for full contact as any street situation will be a full contact anyway Solid post!!

I don't have one!!

7 years old, huh?!! Impressive, imho. Thank you for sharing it!!

From time to time, one can read promises from well meant governing bodies. Usually, they will write something like this... Our XYZ Association was formed from the desire to eliminate the politics from martial arts, therefore the association's politics are, that we have no politics! It's, imho, a nice attempt to speak in these non-alarming tones. Tones that cause one to drop their sensible guards. However, when one supposes that the association that they're apart of is politic free, they're setting themselves up for a rude awakening. Let's look at the italicized phrase above. Some key words pop. "Desire" isn't a guarantee of separation from a wanted factor. I can want to desire something wholeheartedly, but that doesn't mean that it will be a consistent aspiration of self. Actions require them to be fruitful! Actions speak louder than words, and in that, words with no actions are empty. "Eliminate" is a act of totality. The "desired" act to "eliminate" any said action(s) requires placing safeguards in motion that will guarantee its success to do just that: Eliminate! If there's even the slightest provocation to do what one's seeking to eliminate, but just the mere notion alone isn't enough, then that which one seeks to eliminate, is indeed, not eliminated. Another phrase is profound, but empty. That is this..."the association's politics are, that we have no politics!" It's interesting. Whom decides that? If there's any type of chain of command, then that means that there's one at the ultimate top of said chain of command. If there's a individual that's at the top of the chain of command, then there must be a link from the top to the most bottom of said chain of command. I've never meet a structured association that's self sufficient! I suspect that said association is the governing body, therefore, others follow said governing body; someone is in charge. Meetings are conducted for whatever reason(s) they might or might not be; the entity must survive, somehow and someway. This is the core of the politics. When people are involved, disagreements must happen from time to time, hence the beginning of politics, therefore, hence the birth of an hierarchy. An association must have some type of rules and regulations to govern the few and/or the many. There's the politics, and if there is even the slightest amount of politics, then said association/governing body isn't free of politics. As noble as it might appear to be, for how long it might last, politics are waiting to rear up its ugly head to be shown that there's a governing body, hence someone is in charge, if even for now. Whom decides said syllabus? Whom decides rank structure, if one exists? Whom decides the By-Laws? Whom promotes? Just whom decides? How are the actions of others decide with said association? Politics free is a noble notion, but I doubt it'll last and/or endure for long! Aren't MA politics just a sense of entitlement? Imho!! Your thoughts, please!!

You want your kicks to be stronger? Find a heavy bag and kick the tar out of it until the bag breaks, then when it does, get another bag and kick the tar out of it, and so on and so forth. Find a swimming pool and kick over and over and over and over and so on and so forth. Swimming pools hold a lot of water, hard to move all of that water without any resistance, but resistance is a good thing here. As always, proper execution must be paramount!! Good luck in your training!

Gyaku Zuki and Kizami Zuki are two of the most effective techniques in a tournament. They're fast and economically. The more you spar, the easier you'll decipher. The Kumite must be as often as Kihon and Kata!! If your dojo isn't as active in Jiyu, then find some like minded training partners to Kumite as often as you can. Good luck in your training!!

Not all styles of the MA train in the same methodologies and/or ideologies! Where the hand starts and ends varies. Some at the hip, some others at varying levels up to just below ones chest. Sometimes it's a personal choice, no matter what one's been taught. It's your fight, not your instructors, nor is it the governing bodies...it's YOUR fight. Whenever I sign something, my signature isn't always the same. It's close, it's similar, but it's not exact each and every time; it serves the means and purpose that I've set out to accomplish. So is and so shall be my hands in a MA situation. I no longer care about that which is minimal to my MA betterment. Wherever your hand ends up, imho, is not that important. What is important is that your technique(s) are done economically. By that I mean, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. However, no matter how economically ones technique(s) might be, they first must be effective. A push is not as effective as a penetration is!! All things working together to the technique(s) end!! Good luck in your training!!

Not all succeed in close range tactics. Why? It takes nerves of steel and ice to live inside of the uncomfortable zone! Nobody likes to get hit, and being up close and personal, especially at first, increases the possibility that one will get hit often. I thrive up close, but it wasn't easy at first to do so. The more one trains at close range tactics, imho, the easier it becomes. Being hit will still occur but those hits won't be decisive to ones well being. Find YOUR comfort zone, define it, and desire it, being if it's close range or from a distance. To get use to the heat from a fire, one must not be afraid to stand close to the fire. Don't flinch when the heat rises. No. Embrace it; it's your friend. Distance training and expertise doesn't happen overnight, but the rewards outweigh the efforts. Good luck in your training!

To achieve anything takes hard work. Be it material, spiritual, or whatever, it will require one being proactive with a purpose. To earn Sandan, if that's one's goal, dedicated training is going to have to push everything aside; excuses only get in the way of positive training. Being honest with oneself isn't always that easy, neither is any MA training. That's good; MA isn't suppose to be easy. Besides being proactive, one will need that unrelenting drive and desire to want to achieve varying goals. How bad does one want "it"? Find that love, desire, and drive because if the MA is the bane of ones existence, than the MA is nothing more than a lonely and short lived journey. It doesn't have to be. Burnout's happen along any MA journey. I've experienced my share along the way, I'm in my 50th year this October of my MA journey, and whenever it was darn hard, I pushed through and eventually conquered that which was trying to rob me of my MA joy. Don't allow ANYBODY to take what's not theirs. No family, no friends, no associates, and no MA instructor. If the learning environment isn't enjoyable, then the learning curve is stagnant is such a way that goals aren't capable, no matter how small or large. Leave said instructor and seek out that instructor that increases the enjoyable learning atmosphere. Ones MA betterment is ones responsibility; therefore, be proactive at all times and don't allow others dictate your MA journey. Not all black belts can teach and not all black belts should teach!! My happiest times are when I'm on the floor, and my saddest times is when I'm not on the floor. Good luck! Taste and see that the MA is STILL good!!

I suppose that no company or organization has ever RECEIVED an honorary BB. There are so many notable companies/organizations that would classify. Can any of you think of a company/organization that would qualify to receive an honorary BB??

Wait until your Godan! You'll wish you were a Shodan, again!! I did, wish, that is. The only reason I didn't say my Sandan is because my two instructors (CI & Ti) graded me in secret over several weeks. So, I didn't perform an excruciating performance test for Sandan in the "traditional" sense of a test. I think my Yondan test in a couple of years will make up for it, though. I don't even want to think of my Godan test... The beauty about any testing cycle, not just Godan, is that no test is the same, and not all styles of the MA test in the same manner. Some are very hard, while others are easier; that, the level of said test, also varies on the individual as well. Greg said his Nanadan was his hardest, but for me, it was a walk in the park. Different impressions; same test! I've learned this along time ago, and I've mentioned it here many times...don't worry about any testing cycle because the test will take care of itself. Either you'll pass or you'll fail; do your best, and what happens, happens. It's natural to worry, but once you learn the trick of letting the cycle take care of itself, well, it'll be one less thing to worry about. Beside, you can't control the outcome of said test because you're Sensei/instructor is in charge of that. Do your best!!

"You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." Imho, this is the MA, especially rank!!

R.I.C.E. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. This has lessened my sore lower back. Plus, some Ibuprofen. However, advice of a medical profession is above my advice. Good luck, and I hope you begin feeling better.

In short...He's going to be alright; both as a MAist and as a person. Be proud of him, and from what I saw, I too, am proud of him!! Time is on his side!! His spirit can be seen, and I can say without any ambiguity whatsoever, he's not just toying with his MA journey. He's serious with his MA, and not just a passing thing for the moment!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!! May the conversations begin!!

The MA, in and of itself, is sometimes a maze of contradictions and incongruities. Rank isn't without its defectors and supporters. However, MA politics choke the life from both the caring proponents as well as those who doubt. Imho!!

Solid post!! The use of "karate" for every MA, imho, falls into allowing, thus satisfying the masses. Karate is Karate. TKD is TKD. Boxing is boxing. Wrestling is wrestling. BJJ is BJJ. Judo is judo. And so on and so forth, imho!!