sensei8

If you live in the USA, you won't be allowed to compete because the USA isn't one of the participating countries in the SEA. If you are in one of the participating countries, then you'll enjoy both Kata and Kumite, individual and team. The SEA Games Karate do Competition is conducted in accordance with the New Rules of the World Karate Federation, adopted in 2004. Here's a link to the WKF rules, kumite and kata! http://www.wkf.net/images/stories/downloads/version_6_january_2009_eng.pdf

Find a qualified JKD instructor! Not just an instructor that thinks he/she can teach JKD because they've read and studied every JKD book. Finding a qualified JKD instructor should be easy, but, I'd still caution you because while a JKD instructor might be certified, is the certification from a reputable organization. Contact Dan Inosanto or Tim Tackett or Jerry Poteet for their recommendations for a JKD instructor in your area, if there are any.

I train for the preperation of the possibilities! I train because I love the martial arts. The martial arts will forever be in my life…always! I can no more remove the martial arts from my life, than I can remove the air that I breathe; they both sustain me! To deny me of either, denies me of life.

Congrats! Very well deserved!

Congrats to her and you! You should be a proud father!

As bad an example this might be...Bruce Lee proved OR showed that it was possible to defeat a larger person. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, 7 ft 2 in, went against Bruce Lee, 5 ft 7.5 in, in "Game Of Death". Anyway, it was just an example!

To the two of you, I'd just say...keep training and have fun! Good luck!

Of the other advise that's been offered, this is by far the best advice for you in addressing your fears.

The following is an exert from the book "Unante, The Secrets of Karate" writtten by Sensei John Sells... "To summarize, a kata is both performed and experienced. It is not good enough simply to have a "pretty" kata. Karate is, above all, a martial art. The "martial" must be maifested in kata. Power should be exuded, focused and unleashed in burst of quick, yet manifestly potent characteristics that make karate work. Kata is not a separate form of karate, but an integrated traiing drill, as well as an expression of skill" That statement stresses not only my thoughts on kata, the the thoughts of numerous other martial artist who train specifically for real life encounters as opposed to the performance of "pretty" kata. I have no doubt in my mind that changing the rhythm/timing of the kata is done on purpose, and it is totally acceptable and even encouraged in advanced ranks. For advanced students, rhythm/timing should always be dependant on the specific attacks and applications being envisioned by the senior student.

mmm, the words mission impossible come to mind. I have had cats since i was 8 and winston churchill wasnt kidding when he said cats look down on you. LOL!!!!!! Exactly!!!!!!

*claps for Bob-sensei* Good on you for wanting to preserve Shindokan and everything that goes with it, instead of comprimising its intgrity and the brilliance of the MA. Your Da Soki should be very proud of you. Thank you Blade96, and my Dai-Soke is proud of all of his students! Just as I'm sure your instructor is proud of you!

Yeah, I see what you're saying, and I believe that we're on the same page. I've no known significance for the twist other than it's for proper alignment, support, and/or comfort. Maybe it's a psychological thing for those who do that. For me, the twist doesn't really do anything special for me.

Well, that all sounds very good. My guess is you don't run a dojo for profit. If you aren't trying to make a living at running a dojo, then you can call the shots. If you are, the customers call the shots--or at least they do to a very large degree. On the contrary. I've been teaching just over 45 years, and every dojo that I've ever owned, and that's a total of 2, I taught full time, and the dojo was my only source of income, and I've always made profit per Quarter and Annual. It's been tougher as of late to meet the Q and A because of the economic downturn, but, it happens. I've always called the shots and my customers have never called the shots...because it's my dojo! I'm the Sensei, and I know my role. My students/parents, aka the customers, know their role, and if they forget their role, I remind them. I don't need a partner, and that's why I'm the sole proprietor, and this means that I'm there to teach and their there to learn. The day that I allow my students/parents, aka the customers, to run my dojo. That's the day that I'll padlock the front door and find something else to do. I've asked students/parents to leave in the past and I'll continue to do so, because they assumed a role that wasn't theirs to assume from the beginning. There are no ambiquities whatsoever whenever a student joins my dojo, and I make it perfectly clear to the parents and the like as well...right from the start. The same goes for at the Shindokan Hombu where I'm the Chief Instructor and I've the support from the Hombu and our Dai-Soke. How can I in current times? It's easy! It's called consistency across the board in all things. I listen to complaints, then I make the decision. Yet, when it comes to ranking and the like, I don't listen to anybody but myself...period! I've never ever believed in the "Customer Is Always Right!" That's a fine catch phrase for some, but for me, I don't buy into that business philosophy; past, present, or in the future.

A picture is worth a thousand words...and I'm still laughing at what I watched. I saw more counters against this shred thing than carter has liver pills. See for yourself.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTjO5ZC6Uog AND....

Relaxed doesn't mean asleep. Danielle and Brian are solid in that one can have gaps in their fingers and still have a tight hand. Now, gaps to me don't mean having ones fingers as wide open as possible, but, slight gaps aren't no big deal. Methodologies and how they differ is the beauty of the martial arts. Don't you just love it?!

You know you're a martial artist when you break-up the bagged ice with your head at the family picnic. AND... You know you're a martial artist you spend three years *trying* to teach your cats to bow when you walk into the room.

As per my post, "said elbow strike" speaks about any and all known elbow strikes, i.e., those mentioned above and thensome!

Martial artist ALREADY turn the other cheek! How? Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru koto a wasaru na Translated...Karate-do begins and ends with rei [bow] What, imho, this scripture ISN'T saying. This passage is not about a life threatening attack; it is about being insulted. A martial artist uses his/her skills as a last resort. An insult isn't even close to the last resort. Each martial artist will have own different doctrines and beliefs, and in that, we may or might not agree, thus we'll just remain at an impasse. For me, I'll continue to turn the cheek until the circumstances dictate differently. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”(2 Tim 1:7). The same is true of the martial arts. As practitioners became increasingly capable of destruction, some form of control becomes necessary.

None that I'm aware of, except to properly align the hand with said elbow strike, and in that, it provides a stable foundation/support to the said elbow strike.

You know your a martial artist when you leave the bathroom at work, and BOW!!

Yes...and how!

I'd rather deny the promotion and/or have the student quit, then promote them when they've [the student] not passed the test. Parents and the like can get upset all they want because I RUN THE DOJO...PERIOD! We've no testing fees at our Hombu, and if we did, money won't buy a belt, no matter how much they've paid or how much of a temper-tantrum they [parents/students] want to throw. I'll close the doors to my dojo before I compromise my integrity, my art, and myself. Quit...I really don't care one way or another, I'll even hold the door open for them.

Me done too.

Any Louis L'Amour book!

True! True! True! Yet, isn't it their ego, the naysayers, that's the thing that they are having difficulty in letting go themselves? After all, the martial artist that's considering to retire has already let go, and in that, their ego has never been an issue.