sensei8

Absolutely! Powerful point! I stand corrected!

Yes, one could, but, it's just a push, this still leaves an avenue of escape by just walking/running away from the situation. If one's not allowed to leave, well, that's for another conversation, imho. As an instructor of the Martial Arts I'm obligated to teach my students how to properly/effectively defend themselves, INCLUDING, walking away. A push by itself doesn't warrant a Martial Artist to escalate the situation to where the Martial Artist finds themself in jail, and then the court/judge is going to have no choice but to levy proportional fines/jail times when the Martial Artist "chooses" by one's own actions to not walk away. Especially when the court/judge asks..."When the opportunity presented itself; why didn't you just walk/run away?" A minority of jurisdictions require a victim to "retreat to the wall" if it's safe to do so, before using any force. "Retreat to the wall" is generally construed to mean taking any reasonable and apparent avenue of exit. However, even minority jurisdictions don't require retreat under three circumstances. There's no duty to retreat from one’s own home, if one is being or has been robbed or raped, or if the victim is a police-officer making a lawful arrest. Or, how about this. Your student doesn't just walk away because you as the instructor didn't teach this type of methodology in self-defense, your student defends him/herself based on what you taught him/her. Now, you're defending yourself in a court of law because of what/how you taught. Why? In addition to it being necessary for a Martial Arts student to be aware of how the law works, it is necessary for the instructor/sensei to be aware of his/her role as well. In the law there is a theory known as respondeat superior. This is a term meaning "let the employer be liable." It allows a person who takes legal action against another to sue the defendant's master/employer. The theory behind this is that the individual who caused the harm would not likely have caused it had he not been fulfilling some duty for or performing some skill learned from the master/employer. Under the Theory of Agency, the principal is liable for unlawful acts which he causes to be done through an agent. There are three possible ways in which a martial arts instructor might be held liable as the principal for the unlawful acts of his students, as agents. First, if the instructor appears to ratify or approve of unlawful conduct, he may be held liable for the commission of such acts. Thus, a dojo which encourages the use of excessive force, or lethal force in inappropriate situations may be seen to ratify and approve of unlawful conduct. Similarly, an instructor who continues to teach a student who has abused his knowledge may be held responsible, if not liable, for subsequent torts. An instructor may be held liable for having entrusted a student with ‘an extremely dangerous instrumentality’. "[W]hen an instrumentality passes from the control of a person, his responsibility for injuries inflicted by it ceases. However, when an injury is caused by an exceptionally dangerous instrumentality, or one which may be dangerous if improperly used, a former owner or possessor may ... be charged with responsibility for [its] use...." The implications for instructors who teach potentially lethal techniques is clear. An instructor may be liable for harm to the student or other parties as a result of negligent instruction. Anyone who holds himself out as an expert capable of giving instruction is expected to conform to the standards of his professional community. Thus, any instructor who, by his own negligence, fails to provide, teach and require adequate safe-guards and supervision, may be liable for any resulting injury. No matter what you're answer might be, courts uphold the law, therefore, imho, Martial Artists are held accountable for our actions moreso than a laymen when these actions speak against a reasonable response in the eyes of the court. We can laugh at the tenets/maxims of the Martial Arts all that we want and excuse our actions all we want, but, Funakoshi Sensei had it right when he said..."There is no first strike in Karate." I'd bet my money that the court would rule, although the Martial Artist was pushed first, and being pushed can be viewed as an assult, the Martial Artist "choose" to assult the victim first with greater bodily harm. Yes, your attacker will now be the victim instead of you. While the principles of self-defense at tort law are similar to those at criminal law, the mode of analysis, and areas of emphasis differ. In general, self-defense is valid when a person has reasonable grounds to believe that he is about to be attacked. Under these circumstances, he may only use such force as is reasonably necessary to protect against the potential injury. Since only reasonable ground are required, a genuine mistake with respect to the attack will still support the right to self-defense. Once the attack or tort has ended, so does the right to self-defense. Yes, you were pushed, but, that's all that is was, just a push. Retaliation is never permitted.

Isn't it interesting to see just how many different ways there is to do a side kick? It's kind of cool! After all, imho, it's just a side kick and there's no reason to make a mountain out of a mole-hill...Up, Out, Back, and Down...that's a side kick...or...any kick for that matter.

39 saves is pretty good, yet, I wish that his win/loss stats had more wins to make the saves look even more impressive. Anyway...Go Yankee's!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that this will answer many, if not all, of your questions. Check out this link... http://shotokai.jp/index.html Get it from the horses mouth! OR... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dt%C5%8Dkai

Every Martial Artist should practice against a car-jacking. Will they work all of the time? Maybe/maybe not! My shortest answer to this would be...I'd drive away as fast as I could, if I'm not blocked in or jump out and let the carjacker have the dumb car. I'd say the odds are stacked against the driver because of the confined space and we're sitting down with our seatbelts on. Whatever one does in this situation...do it fast!

This thread asks the question...How many strikes is lethal? One! Which one, is another question. Which one, is dependent on massive situations as well as countless parameters, some can be controlled, while others are beyond our ability to control. I'd dare to answer the question...How many strikes is lethal?...with a question of my own...How many strikes make one's action(s) legal/illlegal? This is depends on the laws of the state/federal as well as a plethoria of parameters. Am I missing the point? I don't think so...I'm just asking a counter-question of my own.

I'd say that MMA is a Martial Art, although it's mixed per it's name..."Mixed" Martial Arts. Call it a rage, call it a fad, call it "15 minutes of fame", and/or call it whatever one might, imho, the MMA is a Martial Art. I struggled with calling MMA a Martial Arts for quite awhile, but, I see that it is just that...a viable Martial Arts, imho!

I will concur that these individuals in the WWE, for the most part, are in great shape, and yes, it wouldn't take much to turn the entertainment to reality in a split second. BTW, this happens more often than not. How so? Pro-Wrestlers give one another "receipts" all of the time. A "receipt" is when one wrestler hits another wrestler hard/"stiff" and then the one wrestler that was "stiffed" then, sometime during the match, will hit the other back just as hard/harder. In the squared circle...stuff happens. Both of their responsibilities are to protect each other. Why? 300 shows a year is why. Do what they do for real and they'd need a extremely large roster on all 3 of their brands.

Good questions/excellent OP! No! No! I'm neutral! Truth be, I've never entertained a thought and/or an conclusion as to any of these questions. To me, an opponent is just that...an opponent! What the parameters are before me with any said opponent is of no consequence/concern, although, I'll "size-up" my opponent, which is to say...I'll study my opponent, I'll study myself, I'll make a plan, and I'll carry my plan out.

Very good question Brian! For me, at this stage of my life, I want to protect my right knee as much as I can, although, situation warranted, I'll use my right leg if need be.

This might help you out... http://www.wuweidao.com/karate_gekisai.htm

Before my right knee reached the state it's in now, I didn't favor anyside. For me, one side was as good as another. Now that my right knee is old and worn and has become a weather barometer, I favor my left side forward. Shhhhhhh...don't tell everyone, sheech!

Depends on the rank/experience that I'm sparring with. When I spar my Sensei/Dai-Soke, I spar as though my life depends on it because he goes hard/fast with his senior students. When I spar beginners, I don't hit at all. I end my techniques just before target, ending as close as I can without them walking into it, but, it's still techniques with NO hip/follow. Intermediate students, I lightly tap, just to let them know that I'm there, while all the time, still no hip/follow. Advanced students, I make medium contact with very little hip/follow. Godan to Shichidan....I hit with 3/4 hip/follow...but with my fellow Hachidan's...I hit with full hip/follow...and not trying to toot my own horn, but, I hit extremely hard, the harder the better for me...I love the contact...besides, with my fellow Hachidan's I will get a turn...trust me. With my fellow Hachidan's; sparring is more like a tennis game, going back and forth, sometimes it's a draw and sometimes one has to deliver an Ace on the serve. All in all...working on solid, effective techniques is paramount over who won and who lost, knowledge is what I want my students to learn.

Brian, I concur wholehearedly with your opening post! Any Martial Artist, imho, that self-promotes themselves are dishonorable in every shape, way, and/or form! Honor and integrity go hand in hand. If one's last promotion was to 8th Dan, for example, then that practitioner should remain a 8th Dan, therefore, be proud of that. Imagine a Doctor having been an M.D. for a while and then this Doctor decides that it would be better if he self-promoted himself to a PhD. Well, both the self promoting Doctor as well as the self promoting Martail Artist can do that; but both would be meaningless. The Doctor would go to jail while the Martial Artist would just start his/her own style and make themself Grand Master. Something sucks about that! That Martial Artist should be sharing the same jail cell with that Doctor! Honor is something that must be taught, and it's a teachable thing, in the Martial Arts, but, imho, this must be taught first in the home; from dad/mom. IMHO!

No way Patrick...I'm a huge Yankee fan myself! GO YANKEE'S! What I'd like to see this year is us go to the playoffs, win, go back to the World Series...and WIN! Secondly, I'd like to see us get Mariano Rivera to close more than he did in 2008; but to get Mariano to the mound more often the Yankee's have got to be leading in the 7th inning but the 8th inning is excellent for Mariano! "Mo's" 2008 stats...(With your permission Patrick!)... 2008 Stats W-L 6-5 Saves 39 ERA 1.40 (WOW) K 77 GO YANKEE'S!!!!!!!!!!

It's still not worth it even if you have a GREAT job, imho. You got a great deal! Don't leave it!

Ooohhhhhhhhh...I don't like that idea! Red flags all over the place! I hope for your sake that it doesn't happen to you!

Yeah! That jump looks easy enough, but, once you attempt the jump for the first time, it's not that easy. Although, that jump in Enpi is much easier than the jump in Unsu. Shotokan Student, Please don't allow others to rob your love of the Martial Arts; those that try to tear you down are a dime a dozen. As bushido_man96 said...just don't give up on the jump in Unsu, it's one of, if not the most difficult jumps in any Kata/Form around. I never thought that I'd get that jump right, but when I did...sheech...I went..."Whoa! I did it!" Then I did it again...and again...then I feel hard because I was dead tired. But now, my right knees a basket case so I've got to do adaptations of that jump, with approval from my Hombu, when I do Unsu. Hang in there, pretty soon you'll be flying high with the other eagles!

Welcome Warren! That is quite a journey my friend...but what a wonderful rewarding journey it has been and will still be for the two of you. AWESOME! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

No, my dad didn't teach me how to fight!

Do we meet our attacker(s) blow for blow until we gain our escape from intended bodily harm? OR... Do we cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war upon our attacker(s) so as to assure our point is well understood? Therefore...What's the virtue of a proportional response?

Corrupt boards? That's tough especially if your rank only means something to your styles' organization! Man...that's rough! The testing board should never be the same people over and over...this is wrong and takes away from the validity of the test as well as the intergrity of the test. Our By-Laws work like this concerning the make-up of our Testing Boards... *Dai-Soke (Judan) *Kaicho (Hachidan) *Kancho (Hachidan) *Board Of Regents (12 appointed Dan ranks of Godan and higher) *Director(s) of Testing/Grading (4 Shichidan's) *Director(s) of Technical Review (4 Hachidan's) *Dojo Chief Instructor (Sandan and higher) (Sandan Chief Instructor must have a sponsoring Kyoshi until Sandan reaches Godan) So you can see the many possibilites of the different testing boards that we can assembly at any given time. Our testing fees are as follows: Kyu = $25 Dan = $50 (FREE at my Dojo because I'm trying to help my students off-set the economic downturn anyway that I can!) $100/$300 for testing is too high, imho. Why? Is just a test, not a down payment on a car/house. I've challenged my Hombu as to $50 being way to much for a Dan testing; all testings should be, imho, $25 period! A new belt is bought and a new cert is awarded. That's not worth $100/$300, imho! What about time for the testing board? Big deal, that's part of teaching the students. Our boards receive no monies for being on a testing board! It's a priviledge and an honor to be on a testing board, it's not a right.

Pro-Wrestling is FAKE and the Martial Arts isn't! By the way, many Pro-Wrestlers have admitted/said that Pro-Wrestling is fake. They've said it in both print/video media...Killer Kowalski was the very first Pro-Wrestler to say so.

Mike Stone/Joe Lewis earned their black belts in 6/7 months respective!