sensei8

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.

Solid post ps1!! UFC in its infancy...those were the good ole' days. The attitudes who've supported the theirs-is-all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips hadn't been from just the few. No, I've been reading/hearing/watching this attitude for many years. I try to just shake my head in dismay...and I'm dong so much better in shrugging it off.

Solid advice!!

The AHA moment defined!!

What you said is predominantly correct. Most work pick the Kumite Champ, but what type of Kumite is it? If it was a Knock-down or Daido Juku champ then yes I would look to him for instruction, but I would pick the Kata and Weapons Champ as far as I could say is that he has understood the ethos of "Shu Ha Ri" unless it is that silly Musical Kata which is just glorified Gymnastics! Solid post!!

Thank you GeoGiant!!

Solid post!! Again, rules and the like are there for the safety sake of the fighters and I know that they can't go all out because it is, after all, a competition and it's not a life and death situation, and yes, that would be silly to think otherwise. Again, that's why I've maintained that if any MAist isn't effective on the ground, then stay standing or run away fast. You're dead on when you say that digging into ones eye socket isn't a consideration if you're on the ground and you know that you shouldn't be prostrated. Many styles of the MA succumb to attacks/clinch/tackle because they've not even a minimum of an idea of what they need to do when they get there. Thank the lord that Shindokan teaches a lot, and I mean tons of ground work/grappling. I love standing, but I love rolling much much more.

Solid post!! Rules favor everyone to a point. Rules have there share of loop-holes no matter the venue. I respect every MMA fighter and every BJJ fighter because of their static liveliness. I hate the methodology that a lot of karate schools train/teach their students when kumite is concerned. And you're absolutely correct...many karatekas when they find themselves in a clinch/tackle, they don't fight back. No, they succumb and accept the attack, thus they're in a survival mode, and in that, they hang on for the ride to the ground. Many karateka's need to stay on their feet or they're in a world of trouble right from the clinch/tackle. I don't have a problem with karateka's being introduced as MMA fighters because in that venue...THEY ARE JUST THAT, imho. Some, like Lyoto Machida try to stay true to their core style, but, again imho, they are MMA fighters, and labels don't really do anything for me; its the essence of their abilities and what they do with them that does something for me. Lyoto mixes up well in the octagon as a fighter, and it's not important to me that his core is Shotokan. Lyoto strikes more than he uses submissions and more than he utilizes takedowns. Look at Lyoto's background...he's described as a MMAist, and I'm fine with that. Improving ones betterment in their MA techniques is vitally important, otherwise, motions are wasted, imho. It's the way karatekas, in general, are lumped in together in any of the various media's, as inferior because of the limited success inside any octagon, and when one says "...all karate is inferior because...", I'm a karateka who feels solid across the board; that's how Shindokan trains us and it's how my Dai-Soke taught us/me. Greg, within the Shindokan circles, is the only karateka that I can mix it up with because Shindokan teaches in that static liveliness that allows Greg and I to try to kill each other, and then after, we lick our wounds. That's the only kumite I love....try to kill me...but I'm going to get a turn!

Thank you yamesu, Dobbersky, and JusticeZero!!

While MMA is a mainstay, and has become the rage-of-the-page all over the world. MMA came to its popular as it basks in the limelight of venues such as the UFC and Strikeforce. Those vehicle types have made many martial artists boast out loud and proud that the other styles of the martial arts are inferior to BJJ and the like based on what's been seen in the many mma venues. As a karateka, I am grouped with being an inferior martial artist because, according to the experts of MMA, karate, for the most, is inferior to MMA/BJJ. I'm aware that MMA has many karatekas that have done quite well for themselves in the octagon, but that, for the most part, doesn't change the minds of those MMA practitioners. Let's look at UFC rules/regulations... The following acts constitute fouls in a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts and may result in penalties, at the discretion of the referee, if committed: >Butting with the head >Eye gouging of any kind >Biting >Spitting at an opponent >Hair pulling >Fish hooking >Groin attacks of any kind >Putting a finger into any orifice or any cut or laceration of an opponent >Small joint manipulation >Striking downward using the point of the elbow >Striking to the spine or the back of the head >Kicking to the kidney with a heel >Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea >Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh >Grabbing the clavicle >Kicking the head of a grounded opponent >Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent >Stomping a grounded opponent Rules are in place for the protection of the fighters. This is don't dispute. What I do dispute is when the masses say that the MMA/BJJ and the like are superior to all other styles of the martial arts. That's unfair. It's unfair because the masses are basing their assumption(s) away from the fact that there are rules. Each of those listed above, are weapons of any Shindokan karateka, and with many other styles of the MA.

I'd say that we can imagine the prospective students wants in order to assist one to select one or the other. How? By weighing in your wants/needs. I would say that most would pick the 5 time Kumite champion. Which takes a lot away from the instructor who's an 11 time Kata and Weapons champion. I suppose it's a personal choice.

I've seen this documentary before and it was one of my most favorite. Thank you for sharing it with us. I enjoyed it

ps1, Thank you for sharing the 10 things that you need to work on. Each and everything you've listed is impressive, and I've no doubt at all that you will increase your BJJ betterment across the board, and in that, it'll make you both a better fighter and instructor. Being honest with oneself is important, and you're absolutely honest with yourself and this started by recognizing the faults, and in that, these faults are only a temporary thing.

I do them all, and that depends on the moment of what Greg and I want to work on, and for the most part, we'll start out our Kumite sessions on the bottom of your list and work our way up to the top of your list. In that, Greg and I will work each one in a build up and then our pace reaches a crescendo. Greg is truly the only one I can do this with because the other high ranks don't want to go all out as Greg and I always want to. Greg and I have a saying..."Go ahead, do your best, but remember this one thing...I will get a turn!" I love your poll and its a good one.

Sorry that I hadn't wished you luck earlier, but I'd not be so hard on yourself, after all, you learned 10 things to work on. And while you didn't fair as well as you had hoped, I hope that you still had some fun. Btw...what were the 10 things, if you don't mind sharing them with us, if not, I fully respect that.

If ones not up on ones hygiene, then one can't train anywhere near my students and/or me. Cleanliness is high on the dojo kun. That's why my students clean a lot from morning to close. I'm very OCD when it comes to cleanliness, and I freak out whenever I witness any disregards to what's expected of them...ESPECIALLY ON THE FLOOR...that area is my sanctuary. Students have plenty of cleaning and sanitizing supplies to address any and all situations across the board. A dirty gi...better go home and clean your gi before you come back tomorrow, but for today, you're not welcomed.

Would a prospective student that has very little or no MA experience want to be instructed by an 11 time Kata and Weapons champion OR a 5 time Kumite champion? I know that it'll depend on what the student is looking for, but let's pretend that the above question is that prospective students final and deciding question.

Try this... http://karatetournaments.com/index.asp Seeing that Newport News, VA is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, tournaments in NC might be doable. Check out the link and you'll find something to your liking!! Please let us know if you find some tournaments, and good luck.