sensei8

Nope! I know about him, and that is to only say that I've read about him, but, I've no personal experience with him.

Every kata/form has them: turns! Whether it's a 45 degree turn, or a 90 degree turn, or a 180 degree turn, or a 270 degree turn; kata/forms have them abundantly. It would be very difficult to get from one point in the kata/form to another without any turns. What seems to be missing is one crucial and vital element of any turn in any kata/form is...the head turning PRIOR to the actual turn. Having said that. I do admit, that the head turning before any turn is a methodology of Shindokan. Therefore, turning the head prior to any turn may not be a methodology of the style that you're teaching/learning. That's fine and I surrender to that! Nonetheless, is the head turn prior to any turn taught in your style? Here's why I ask. I suspect that the head turn prior to any turn is taught, but the practitioner CHOOSES to NOT turn. If this is true, then this practitoner is leaping before looking. Yes, our peripheral vision allows us the ability to see the direction in which one is planning to go without actually looking head directly that way. I seriously doubt that the kata/forms are teaching us to do exactly that: turn peripherally. Teaching students to fully turn their head prior to any turn is a good idea, especially if their beginners. Even then, I'd want my students, no matter the level of their experience, to look danger head-on directly. To not fully turn our heads prior to any turn is akin to not fully turning our head prior to a lane change when your driving. One has to be aware of the blindspots, and in that, turning our head fully before we do a lane change is not only smart; it's safe. Well, same thing when we are performing kata/forms. As great as our peripheral vision is, it's greater to stare directly in the direction that our opponent is attacking from. Peripherally blocking can change so quickly, and in that, what appears to be, actually turns out to not be after all. Point of the topic is this. Nobody turns their head prior to any turn in their kata/form, and this, imho, leads to one creating bad habits, and once bad habits become ingrained in ones muscle memory; habits can be hard to break. Go to You Tube or any other video source, and you'll see for yourself just how many practitioners independantly and/or collectively DON'T turn their head prior to any turn. If that is ones methodology to not turn their head prior to any turn, I may not agree with it, but it's their way, just as it is Shindokan's way to fully turn our head before any turn. I'd perfer to take my chances with turning my head completely prior to any turn, than to the alternative; imho, my odds might seem to favor turning my head completely prior to any and all turns. Your thoughts?

Don't forget....ISKA! What does it mean to be a world champion? I don't know! Personally, I've never aspired to be one! I'm sure it must be cool, but, as in everything else, I'm sure that there are downsides to deal with.

GO FOR IT! If the opportunity appears to be a viable one; then you'd be crazy to pass it up. When opportunity knocks; then answer it!

Very solid post Ev, very solid! Osu!

I'm very sorry to have read that you faced that yourself at all, and in that, I completely concur with you in every shape, way, and/or form.

May the force be with the squirrel!

Why would you assume that? I find it extremely interesting. It's always nice to read about a true renaissance man. I was hoping to read some comments from BJJ/MMA about Josh; that's all.

I'm on facebook, but right now, I'm hating it. Not because facebook is bad. No! It's because I'm the biggest computer idiot in the world! It's a wonder I can even turn the darn thing on.

My family and I are going to see Toy Story 3 in the next two weeks at one of the last surviving drive-ins. Prince of Persia is playing with Toy Story 3. It should be fun!

I enjoy watching all kinds of tricking; impressive entertainment. I've never tried one, and I'm not going to try one, but again, they'rer fun to watch, and I'll leave it at that. On the other hand, I love to do all kinds of weapons tricking. For one, I warm up with said weapon tricking before I teach or compete. For two, ITS FUN. For three, I try to out do my last weapons trick!

Well...obviously Josh isn't as interesting to BJJ/MMA practitioners after all.

Interesting, and it truly doesn't surprise me. See what I learn when I crawl out of the rock I've been under all these years.

Do you think this trend is common in martial arts schools? Yes I do! How common? More than we might be willing to admit to ourselves as well as others. Is it inappropriate to use english endings? Imho, not only is it inappropriate, but, it makes us look/appear pretty silly. But, I suppose it's no different than someone who speaks Spanglish. Possibly we're on the cusp of another new language; Japlish. Still, nobody outside the confined walls of our dojo will ever know! Should we learn the Japanese/Korean/Chinese ones? Only if one wants to for whatever the reason(s) may or may not be. However, if one is going to be conversing to them in their native tongue, then one must learn the rules involved in speaking to them in their native tongue. Even then, the Japanese have a name for non-Japanese who can speak and understand the language: hen gaijin , or "crazy foreigners." Just what ARE the correct endings? The answer to this question isn't that simple. Japanese, for example, is a language that's to itself and of itself. Furthermore, the japanese language to us can appear to be as far away as the east is from the west; worlds apart. Conjugated useages in the japanese language can be very difficult to learn and even more difficult to understand. In Japanese, conjugations can themselves be conjugated, and the results can be conjugated again, and so one irregularity can propagate into many obscure compound conjugations, but basically these verbs only have one irregular “base” conjugation each. Japlish might catch on one day, but then again, it might not. If it does, we of the dojo/dojang class might be the only ones who will ever understand it.

Welcome to KF!!!!!!! Many of us instructors here would love to have a student like yourself. I enjoyed your intro and I bow to you in respect! Keep training!!

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

Yes, this was a very good article. Covered a plethoria of concerns that many martial artists who are christians, as I am. For many, many years I've not concerned myself with what others may or may not say concerning me being a christian martial artist. Why? It only matters to me what Jesus says!

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I do think that sparring is part of learning good self-defense. Why? Sparring as often as one breathes is vitally important to learning good self-defense. How would one know how to react to attacks and the like if one never spars, or very little? They wouldn't! They'd be like a deer staring at headlights; frozen in fear from not knowing what to do and/or from not knowing what not to do. Spar until the wheels fall off...and after the wheels fall off...keep sparring! The more you spar, then the more aware you become when your attacker starts swinging everything, including the kitchen sink, at you with the intent to do you severe bodily harm. If you don't know what it's like to hit and what it's like to be hit; then my friend, SPAR and SPAR and SPAR and SPAR. Learning to spar is like learning the game of chess. In chess you have your opening moves, you have your mid-game moves, you have your end moves, you have your traps, you have your blind moves, you have your stratagies, you have your hidden moves, you have your checks, and hopefully, you have your checkmate. The winner will be the one who's more prepared across the board. Study your opponent Study yourself Make a plan Carry the plan out

That's rough when you only see her twice a month. Therefore, your previous post makes a ton of sense to me. Being just 1 student out of 100 or so, and you only see her occasionally, well it's like being a stranger in your own school...and to your instructor(s).

Yes, I can relate to that very thing. When a student misses a block and gets tagged in the face my accident, I'll say something like...."Wait, that face-blocking is saved for the upper Dan ranks, so stop doing that until we've taught it to you properly." Students will at first just look at me kind of puzzled, and by then, I can't hold my laughter back, and then they get to enjoy the joke with the rest of us....who've done that very same face-blocking...shoot...I've done the face-blocking more times than I care to remember.

Is the class so large that your own instructor isn't already aware of your strengths as well as your weaknesses? I'm keenly aware of my students across the board because I work with them on a nearly daily basis. So much so that I can tell if my students have practiced or not; and in that, I make my students accountable. I too would have to imagine that your current instructor is keenly aware of you more than you might think.

Hopefully, size ISN'T the issue at all for anybody. Size just isn't a general requirement for black belt because it has no bearing, imho.

Welcome to KF!

Welcome to KF!