sensei8

My question is...Do zombies feel pain? If not, possibly the martial arts isn't the preferred weapon. Maybe...a gun, like a shotgun...or...maybe....a very large gun, like one that's connected to, say a, TANK?! Anyhow, zombies are very methodologically slow, but driven. Knock them down; they keep getting up!! And where there's one, there's more than likely more....more than one could shake a stick at. So, if your ready for a very lllllloooooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg night, then hone up your skills. Btw, I'll be right behind you...in MY TANK, possibly going in the other direction because bullets and the big bang bang stuff only lasts so long, after that, I'll run out of diesel, but in the end....I'll look really good hiding inside of my tank!!

Congrats!!

I'll be honest--I've NEVER seen that happen. When my instructors have asked students to attack them they have always blocked it, even if the student attacked with a left haymaker instead of a straight right punch. That said, I definitely agree with you that you need to train yourself to identify and utilize the correct "tools", as you put it, for the job. You will in good time. I've had the misfortune of seeing this more than I care to remember.

There's no doubt of his boxing skills, but not perfect. Imho, perfection is nothing more than an illusion because we are fallable beings, and in that, we're the farthest thing from perfection. Therefore, an imperfect being can't produce anything perfect, again, it's an illusion, imho .

I believe in fighting because my attacker(s) believe in fighting!! I just hope and pray that my belief is much more stronger than my attacker(s) belief!!

Whether ones vision is peripheral and/or direct, to me, the key is just as long as your looking at your opponent. Many instructors have their students look directly at their opponents eyes at first in order to train said students to at least PAY ATTENTION TO THE OPPONENT THAT'S STANDING RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF THEM. As a practitioner gains more knowledge, where the practitioner focuses their eyes is up to them. I've no set-in-stone way that I look at my opponent, just as long as I'm looking at them. In that, I use both the peripheral and direct vision. For me, the situation helps me determine my line of sight. Basketball players are taught to watch the belly area of their opponent because where the lower torso goes, so does the opponent. In the martial arts, whatever still works for you, keep doing it, by all means!!

How many times while on your martial arts journey have you come across this? Instructor: "Punch me!" Student: "Yes sir/maam!" Student gets into an assumed stance....and fires out the punch as instructed. Instructor, from an assumed stance....MISSES to block the punch from the student. A slight low murmur of judgement can be heard from those observing this class/demo. The instructor tries to backpedal with an ineffective excuse; an excuse that's birthed from being totally embarrassed. Instructor: [To the crowd] He/She didn't punch right! Crowd: HAHAHAHA [An unbelieveable laugh emits from the crowd] Imho, it wasn't that the student punched wrong, it's that the instructor's choose of tool to block said attack was wrong. It's usually at seeing this, I'm looking for the nearest exit to seperate myself from these types of instructors. Choosing the proper tool is just as important in the defense as it is on the offense. Choosing the wrong tool can only compound an already dangerious situation. In defense, the tool must "deflect" said attack, as well as, said tool must be executed strongly enough so that the said attack doesn't penetrate to its target. In offense, the tool must "penetrate" through the target. Still, the decided tool for the task at hand must be the proper tool. How does one come to know the proper tool? Imho, having the experience/knowledge are essential across the board. Experience/knowledge is getting out there and mixing it up with realistic goals at hand. Finally, KISS, isn't a rock band, well it is, but in this context it's Keep It Simple Stupid. The simplest the better. Exotic techniques are for hollywood type demo's and the like, not on the streets. JUST TRAIN AND TRAIN HARD, but...TRAIN THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB!! Your thoughts/ideas?

[**I struggled to decide which forum this topic would best fit, but, I finally decided to post this topic inside this forum because this topic might translate into several different forums found here at KF, depending on the practitioner/reader.**] Do you know which rank is the most difficult to spar with? No, it's not the black belt. Yes, it's the white belt. Why? Imho, because of their natural awkwardness; their two-left-footed approach to the martial arts can make them dangerous to the black belts. It's their [white belts] unawareness that they possess a type of broken rhythm. This is a good thing for the white belt and a bad thing for a black belt. Sure, the coordination of a black belt versus a white belt is, for the most part, like the differences from night and day. Nonetheless, if a black belt treats the white belt as an easy prey, that's when the white belt slips in a technique or two before the black belt can defend against it. Oh yes, a white belt CAN defeat a black belt. A white belt shouldn't be able to beat a black belt, but it can happen and it does happen; stranger things in the martial arts have occured. The black belt has a guarded impression of themselves, whereas the white belt doesn't have that guarded impression of themselves. They know their limits but the black belt FORGETS their limits in the presence of a white belt. Again, it's to their unplanned tpe of a broken rhythm that allows the white belt to momentarily confuse the black belt. The black belt doesn't THINK that the white belt can score on them, and that's the full-of-themselves attitude that they have mistakenly assumed about the white belt. The white belt goes this way and that way, while the black belt THINKS that the white belt is going to go that way and then this way and then all of a sudden...WHAM! White belt--- 1 point….black belt--- 0 points. Any type of a broken rhythm is a wonderful thing, and it's teachable to the student, the sooner the better for the student, The white belt student, by happenstance, possess a type of broken rhythm, not because of their experience, but because of their inexperience. You could call it beginners luck, but if its works, even if only for that one moment, it's an unplanned and unintentional hit of a target. STUDY YOUR OPPONENT STUDY YOURSELF MAKE A PLAN CARRY THE PLAN OUT Study your opponent speaks to this first rule in that the practitioner must study their opponent for that crinkle in their armor. How is your opponents’ posture, stance, guard, and feet(s), knee(s), which weapon is where as to the lead/back, eyes, and the lack thereof? This study is quick and ever changing. The faster you can access and process, the better across the board. Study yourself FOR THE SAME FLAWS as you would access and process about your opponent. You've got to ensure yourself that there are NO CRINKLES in your armor...none whatsoever. When you discover your flaws, eliminate them immediately before its way to late. In studying yourself, this must be done quickly and it too is also ever changing. Will you self-correct yourself before your opponent capitalizes in their favor, and not yours? Making a plan that will decide victory over your opponent is just a matter of calculating everything that you've just accessed and processed in your opponent as well as in yourself. Imho, there are no small or foolish actions on your part if it assists in you reaching your absolute totality. If your plan is to kick at the lead hand, for example, and it sets up your next attack, then that action is warranted, and it's a needed must. MAKE A PLAN THAT WILL FLY TRUE!! Believe in yourself, yet at the same time, don't ever over estimate and/or take your opponent for granted. Carrying out the plan isn't that easy. Fear is; future events appearing real. Doubt as well as second guessing oneself for one reason or another cab cause one to hesitate. That hesitation can and will kill you! If your plan is to kick the lead hand...then kick it without hesitation. If your plan is to control the lead hand....then control it without hesitation. Albeit, everything happens in a twinkle of an eye, and everything is constantly changing, therefore, nothing is guaranteed. Still, just because plan #1 didn't work this time, it doesn't mean that it won't work in plan #11. Nothing ventured, does mean for real...nothing gained! Now, nothing will just come overnight, sometimes it takes time. Therefore, spar until the wheels fall off. Spar those in and out of your dojo and out of your style, whenever time and the like allows it to come to fruition. If situations only allow you to spar only your dojo mates, then spar them until cows can fly over the moon. Learn from your mistakes because your mistakes will never lie to you. Listen to those who have more experience than you, no matter what's wrapped around their waists. And in time, your arsenal, both offense and defense will surface in such a way that not only will you see, but so will those who spar with you. Ones arsenal must always be fine tuned and changed because everyone takes mental notes about one thing or another concerning yourself. If you become stagnate in changing your arsenal for newer tools/methods, your opponent will have a field day with you. But, just as soon as you introduce something new in your arsenal that they've never seen from you before, then WHAM...1 for you and 0 for your opponent....or better yet...you win and they lose! The world of sparring has no limits, only the practitioner has limits. Explore, try, discard, commit to muscle memory, evaluate, re-evaluate; this and more, but do it over and over. Never be satisfied with this and that because, again, things change, including your opponent, and hopefully you as well. In closing, Mizu No Kokoro [Mind Like Water] AND Tsuki No Kokoro [Mind Like Moon]. Learn about them, study them, practice them, and don't ever discard them because, imho, without these two philosophies, you won't come alive, and in that, your techniques won't come alive; they'll be nothing more than like a dry desert; a void. In short, your opponent won’t have to defeat you because without these two philosophies, you’ll have defeated yourself. Your thoughts/ideas?

Kumite until the wheels fall off and then some leading up to the tournament, but not with the same dojo mates, add some spice to that Kumite life. Also, don't run away. One of the most common point makers for your opponent(s) is to blitz you and have you turn your back to them for an easy point, or they'll run you out of the ring enough that you'll lose points or your opponent will earn a point. So, stand your ground or slip by them, just don't run away. Have fun!!

Hehe, I guess in this case, your sig says it all... "The proof is on the floor" Sojobo Oh yeah, I puddled all of my proof in one sopt on the floor as it followed me right out the front door, and that's for sure....LOL!!

But once you got back onto that horse, so to speak, everything came back....huh? Aren't you glad that you did despite the pain?

I've noticed that students today strive and push and drive and train and whatever else that's necessary to reach THEIR own personal goals. In the martial arts, the ending goal is for the laymen is the black belt. Once that is attained, they move on to something else!! Their black belt was their goal, and now that it's been attained....mission accomplished!! Students of today, imho, seem to have it in their minds that multiple Dan rankings are for only the career minded martial artist, not for the laymen black belt.

Surely you're joking?! Those are considered to be the same level technique? Gup & Dan Manual published by the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation, Copyright 2009, p. 96: - Breaking (Kyok Pa) - Tuel Oh Choong Dan Kong Kyuk or E Dan Dollyo Cha Gi It's a kicking art, and the finale of the 3rd gup test is the board break by E Dan Dollyo Cha Gi--jump roundhouse kick. The inclusion of Tuel Oh Choong Dan Kong Kyuk--reverse middle punch--makes sense to me if you're just interested in someone being able to break a board. It's likely claimed to be there to accommodate persons with health issues, but I still find no reason to have a jump roundhouse break as proof (fail it, you didn't pass the test; redo the break attempt within a month; what happens if you still can't do it?) that you're a 3rd gup. Me? I'd choose the reverse punch board break. I don't believe my promotion should be held up or denied based on acrobatics. Funny how it is...that the governing bodies are so often second-guessed when it comes to rank requirements by those who are close as well as by those who are afar!!

First of all, please allow me to congratulate you, no matter how premature, so...CONGRATS!! My very first grading almost became my last grading. Why? I literally wet myself!! Just as soon as my Dai-Soke barked at me...I wet myself. Wet gi pants and all, I ran home, totally embarrassed. I was only 7 years old. Even now, I'm embarrassed in sharing my first grading because it wasn't my most proudest moment. How did I feel? I wasn't scared at all, no, I was totally and utterlly PETRIFIED!! How did it go? It didn't...well...I did...all over the front of my gi pants. Did it turn out the way you expected it to? Ahhhh...no...it didn't. It's bad enough to have had a public wetting display, but it's even worse because just as soon as I had wet myself, I didn't even complete the grading, no, I ran home immediately, and I didn't even bow out. I didn't have to I guess because I left a trail behind me. Ok...now I've got to put a bag over my head!! Total shame!!

That's cool, but, what's easy for some, is difficult for others no matter the rank.

Patrick, Do you think that Moss could've "fit" into the Dolphin way across the board?

Shindokan does have tameshiwara in it's curriculums, and it's one of the requirements to advance in rank. Curriculum's are age/rank based. The younger the student the less is required in both technique and material. The older the student the more is required in both technique and material. Having said that, the "more" is dependant on two things: Experience and/or rank. No child students are premitted to train on the makawara!

No, I said that IT CAN limit mobility. Lack of experience in using this particular stance is how IT CAN limit mobility. The more one uses it, the easier the mobility is.

Impressive!! When you listen to her explanation it does all fit and fall into place. Thanks for sharing Joe!!

MLB fans, you might like this interesting regarding the upcoming FREE AGENT info... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgwXQQtclkdAlv8xA9yeIzc5nYcB?slug=jp-freeagenttracker110810 What do you think? See anything you like/dislike?

Well....the Bengals got more points than I had predicted, but, the Steelers still won, as I predicted. Final MNF score...27-21. TO had 2 TD's himself. Bengals used all they had, but, the steelers used Harrison's shoulders to save the win on the Bengals last play.

LOL...good point!!

If what you're saying is true, then I can only hypothesize that all styles of the martial arts shall never find that common and/or that neutral ground for the betterment of the martial arts.

Absolutely! Tuite is very big in Shindokan, so much so, that everything is built around it, and in that, everything leads up to and ends at Tuite. Enjoy this... http://www.ikigaiway.com/2009/tegumi-okinawan-grappling-and-wrestling/

While I still like to watch and judge the Creative/Freestyle Kata divisions, I do agree that most of the techniques used by the competitors in these divisions are for pure "entertainment" value, and in that, their acrobatics and the like have no valid effectiveness across the board when the martial arts are concerned. Irregardless, I enjoy these divisions because of the free expression of self in their movements. I'm judging on creativity and the likes akin to a judge of gymnastics and/or Ice skating, not on whether their "technique(s)" are valid and effective technique(s), because, most, not all, of their technique(s) are superficial, imho. I say not all because basic kihon can be seen. Like in a reverse punch or in a front snap kick or downward block. These are mixed in with the other acrobatics to, if for no other reason, fill in the blanks here and there. No, for me, it's the expresson of self that I enjoy, just as I would if I was watching some other form of entertainment; self expression in the Creative/Freestyle Kata divisions, to me, is just that, entertainment. Imho, entertainment isn't suppose to be taken so serious. After all, when I've spoken to competitors before and after these divisions, they all, in their own ways, tell me that they do it as a way to relax and to be not so rigid in thought and fixed and bounded in the methodologies and the like that is found in the traditional divisions. The olympic ice skater is bound and fixed in their performances for their run at the gold medal. Then, this same gold medalist olympiad is now skating, for example, with/for the Disney On Ice, now, this same skater uses her/his free expression for their, as well as our, entertainment purposes. That same Pro Tour skater wouldn't ever think of using those same "movements" that are used while on tour for their reclaiming another olympic gold medal. Freestyle/Creative divisions are meant to be fun for all; competitiors and spectators alike.