sensei8

What drives me batty is whenever someone says to me while I'm teaching kumite..."Ease up", and I'm going as easy as I can; any easier I'd be barely moving...Sheech. And don't be a Godan or above and say that to me over and over because I'm just going to bulldoze right over you then, then, you can say that to me.

I think that trapping as a "range" certainly does exist as the "in-fighting" range. This is the range were elbows, knees and headbutts come in handy. It is tough to headbutt somebody from kicking range.(unless you are E. Honda) Yes, you may have to use other tools to get the fight to this range, but once there, the combatant who is the aggressor wants to keep it here. Headbutts, knees and elbows are better "fight enders" than punches and kicks IMHO, therefore i believe that if a combatant is proficient in establishing the fight in this range, he or she has a distinct advantage. Solid post!!

Interesting math computations and all involved in tameshiwara. The story about your dad Danielle...

Happy Birthday Clay!!

My Shindokan Karate-do Hachidan came 15 years before my Shindokan Kobudo Hachidan did.

I concur with wastelander and Danielle!!

Any Shindokan karateka testing for Godan-Hachidan must go to the Hombu no matter their Sensei. In that, until their deaths, Soke AND Dai-Soke were always in attendance at the annual testing cycle and AT the table. Therefore, those had to pass the muster in front of them both!! Shindokan dojo's are required to submit their testing results from 6th kyu to Yondan to the Hombu, fail or pass, and then, the different departments at the Hombu would sign off before submitting final approval for all testing candidates who've passed to Soke AND Dai-Soke. Those who didn't pass, their paperwork would be inserted into the master file held at the Hombu. This was to grant or deny candidate applications. Yes, the Hombu had to give permission for any and all testing candidates, even if the testing cycle was conducted at any Shindokan dojo, and not at the Hombu. Then Soke and Dai-Soke would approve them, and then the Administrative Department would bring their signature Inkans and certificates to Soke and Dai-Soke. These Inkans are kept in lock and key, and only 3 people have access to these Inkans: Hugh, our Legal Lead Counsel, Greg, and I, and all three have to sign them out/in with the Hombu Executive Secretary. Who's affixing Soke and Dai-Soke Inkans since their death? The Hombu!! When I say the Hombu, I mean Greg and I are.

Solid post!!

Scohen-san, that is really good advice, I second/agree in what Scohen said, OSU!!! I concur!!

There you go!! Btw, I'd like to welcome you both to KF!!

Solid post!!

If I drop a hammer on my foot, wisdom tells me that I shouldn't do that and that's because I've the knowledge that when I did that before...it hurt a lot. Without wisdom being a part of my knowledge, my poor foot is in a heap of trouble. I don't think the two can be separated without one suffering the consequences.

Proper use of ones hips along with proper execution of any said technique, that equals power, not chi...imho. In the Uraken Uchi, the striking hand is kept open until just before contacting said target. If the striking hand is closed throughout, then the effectiveness is arrested. A tensed weapon doesn't flow to any said target like an open weapon does; being relaxed is beneficial. Your instructor left the hand open and then closed it before contacting said target because that's the proper methodology of all te techniques. Try doing any te technique with a closed/tensed weapon, one would see that it's quite ineffective. However, do any te technique with the weapon relaxed/open, one would see it's quite effective over the former alternative.

Clay, thanks for the video links...great stuff. I'm of the opinion that something which I practice for as long as I've been practicing it, 'it' surely is something that I'll use outside of the dojo. It's natural with me, and it's natural, or will be in time, with every Shindokan practitioner. Trapping is crucially important to our Tuite. It opens/closes so many things before us.

Great advice from everyone here. Both, Greg and I appreciate them so much. I've emailed all of your suggestions to each of the Department heads for their consideration. All of the Department heads are still chewing on this situation. However, this is now an official amendment to both the certificates as well as to our By-Laws. We've tabled it to May 31st to come up with the most advantages alternative.

I concur!! Also, be mindful of your opponents shoulders...telegraphing give aways, imho. Are your opponents usually blitzing in on you when you get tagged with the ridge hand? If so, the motions of the blitzing might be consuming/overloading your senses and this is allowing your opponent to slip the ridge hand in. Please let us know how things are going.

You can enter any local tournament without any training. Will you win? Maybe, maybe not. Tournaments have white belt/beginner divisions. Good luck, and please keep us informed how things go.

Solid article across the board Heidi!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!! With your permission, I'd love to present this to our entire student body in and out of the Hombu at our upcoming annual testing cycle this June/July held at the Hombu. It is said..."If one acts like a victim, then they'll appear as a victim to any attacker." It's disturbing when I see/hear my students act before they think about the "WHAT IF" factor. For example, not one of our students are allowed to wait for their parents outside....NO! Parents are required to COME INSIDE and sign their kid(s) out with the proper ID that matches our "Kid Aware" cards on file. Also, parents have to bring them inside as well, and be signed in for class...or no class!! Thanks for the article Heidi.

Acts, like what Stann did, might draw me back more as a fan and wanting to watch UFC and the like again.

MLB season has started, and by now, I would've made my usual shout out for my NY Yankees, but I will, but first of all... Everyone wore #42 today, and I mean everyone on the field.... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-bc-bbo--jackierobinsonday,0,5497376.story?track=rss GO YANKEES!!

Please check out this video and see what Stann does... http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/brian-stann-knocks-alessio-sakara-then-stops-fight-124227139.html

Thanks. Regarding the bold print: I post BJJ videos on youtube. I get a ton of comments. The vast majority of the comments are about how the move won't work in multiple attacker scenarios! That would be a valid point if my video was at all geared toward self defense or multiple attackers. But they are clearly videos geared toward defeating/countering other BJJ techniques. Yet these guys want to tell me that karate or boxing or martial art x will beat this. All I can think is how foolish these people are. I've never seen a BJJ practitioner demonstrate a ground move and say it's great for multiple attackers. Heck, Royler Gracie himself told a guy "jiu-jitsu doesn't work magic" in response to a ridiculous situational question. Further, Rickson Gracie is quoted as saying, "Competition in jiu-jitsu is only about 30% of the art. Without learning defensive striking, self defense, and a combat guard, you have not learned jiu-jitsu!" So, just like other arts, what is seen in competition is not the entire art. So for people to draw judgement based on competition is quite unfair. As i said before, the arrogance is on both sides. Quite frankly, any great proponent of an art will tell you what the art's weaknesses are and how to fill in those gaps. Then they will do that to the best of their ability. Solid post!! Again... To me, when people say that "theirs" is amazing and mine isn't because their only argument is venues like UFC, it's like a pro-wrestler saying that he/she is all that because of all of the championships they've won, yet, that pro-wrestler forgets that the promoter determines who wins and who loses.

Solid post!! I apologize if I'm failing to make any solid points. I just hate it when some style of the MA is touted as solid and others weak because of ANY rule laced venue.