joesteph

Absolutely!

So a "duty to retreat" had been in effect, and is now repealed. I think you mean legally justified to use force. I imagine the law is clearer that the force has to have some proportion to the threat at hand, but that stands to reason. I follow you about the threatening, pushing, and "any hostile act," Crazylegs, but the part that I italicized, I believe, doesn't properly conclude what you may be wanting to say. Why shouldn't you be able to defend yourself? may be a better conclusion to the three instances you offer. When this argument is brought up, I've found that it's too emotional to be useful. We live in a nation of laws, and those laws are to protect all in our society; even the aggressor/accused has rights by law. However, we have laws that permit the aggressor to be punished in direct proportion to the crime (in this case aggression) committed. That can mean jail time. Agreed.

Good luck, Quinteros. Enjoy!

I appears to me that Panamaican is very interested in applications that he's identified, and has found a way to practice or semi-practice them in the absence of a partner--through modification of kata. As long as both the official and the modified are known, especially if presenting the official to your teacher, I find this to be a creative approach.

No matter what, always observe a class, maybe even two. Contracts? See what might be offered to you to try out first, such as that the first two weeks are free, and then you can make a decision. If there's no contract, even better.

Go for it!

Hi Sebastien! Welcome to Karate Forums!

Welcome to the forums!

Congratulations, Conrad! You worlked for it and now have the right to wear it!

When my Soo Bahk Do teacher had us perform joint locks, she was interested in uke feeling the pressure and tapping, not necessarily the pain. She even brought out that registering pain takes a bit of a second, a "lag time," meaning that tori is still exerting pressure during uke's brain registering and hand-tapping phase. Sure, there are differences between people in terms of natural bending and even pain tolerance, but wrenching uke's wrist, elbow, etc. is just a lack of control.

I have videos of my sons on Facebook ("Joseph Gironda" and you don't have to be a Facebook Friend to view them). They're short and I've shown them to my boys to encourage them that they're doing well. When they don't do so well, I've found the part that their teacher will emphasize has to be worked on, and show them in the camera window. So if David keeps dropping his hands when he kicks, I'll show him afterwards in McDonald's, not the dojang. When Patrick kicks (it doesn't happen when he punches), he has a tendency to turn around to avoid the counter. I've shown him a clip on the camera where his brother tagged him on the seat of his pants when he turned around. I think videos don't always have to be long ones; they can prove valuable focusing on something that might be only a few minutes long.

This was my impression, too, Blade. When it comes to outright bullying, not "spats," I think it's most people, for emotional as well as physical well-being.

I still believe that input from a higher belt at the dojo, particularly a dan member, would shed light on the subject. Surely by black belt practitioners know--or should know--why they're doing something. You have to ask your teacher or a higher belt. If it's uncomfortable to ask your teacher, that you feel it might give a false impression of disrespect, ask a dan member.

When the dojang I had trained in had a wooden floor, it was perfect for traction. Then a series of thin interconnected mats, placed wall-to-wall, covered the wood, cushioning any falls, even being more comfortable in the winter, but having a traction that made spinning a labor for me. Not others, I noticed, but for me. In the new dojo I train in, there's that same matting. But when we spar, the gear I wear includes "kicks" (so I'm told the foot protectors are called) that have plastic at the bottom, including covering the ball of the foot. There's no traction problem for me when I wear them. Danielle, does the talc/talcum powder leave a residue on the floor where you walk, or is it that it's rubbed in enough so that residue isn't a concern? It's so simple a solution!

It sounds like an extreme in non-contact. I can understand that you might not want to ask your teacher without appearing disrespectful. Is there a higher belt you can speak with to ask what this is all about? It's almost like you're shadow boxing and are being observed doing it by your teacher.

MAY I ASK A FAVOR? Peggy Baber is the founder of the Simpson-Baber Foundation for the Autistic, a valuable support for people with autism, and a charity that has been especially good to my sons, David and Patrick. People magazine chose her as one of three finalists to represent the Mets in the "All Stars Among Us" promotion. The benefits to the Foundation and the Busy Bee Program (Early Childhood Intervention classroom) from the national attention this would draw would be immeasurible. All it takes is your vote: http://www.mlb.com/peopleallstarsamongus Thanks from Patrick, David, and Daddy

When I studied Soo Bahk Do, a table was set up in the dojang for the examining judge. My teacher and her assistant instructor took care of what we had to be instructed to do, so the judge mostly did paperwork, except for questions about Soo Bahk Do that were asked of gup members. (Dan tests are held at the regional headquarters.) At a certain point, when I went for 5th and 4th gup, my teacher had a table set up to do the evaluating herself. I saw that she had the same examination sheet that the examining judge had had. She didn't leave the table, but called out what we should do, and the assistant instructor helped her. The examining judge has three states to cover, and she has her own school. I feel that since she'd known my SBD teacher for years, and had conducted testing in the dojang before, there was trust that the test would be up to standards. My children are special needs, and their promotions have been based on their teacher since the beginning. They were white belts with electrical tape stripes for the first year. The concentration has been on improvement, and once they reach 4th gup, I've been told that they're likely to stay there (green belt) for a full year.

Hey! Congratulations, GeoGiant! With the contributions you've made so far, I'm not at all surprised you made Member of the Month for June. Enjoy!

My boys really want to see The Karate Kid as well. Going as a family is really nice, especially if you feel the children will be comfortable. Sure, there'll be fighting, but I feel it'll also include a lesson on dealing with life. BTW, I understand how you feel about video games. It's true that you can control what's shown/played in your own home, but what happens when your child is over a friend's house? But I don't buy video games for the boys, at least not now.

At some point in the 1970's, there were complaints that TV shows were becoming too violent. One of the highest-rated shows, "Starsky and Hutch," also had the most shooting incidents. It was complained about, even though it was a police show, because people compared it with police shows on TV in the past. This is what I'm asking about, Jeffrey, something as a specific example. I don't know if you'd seen the first Transformers in the theater and then let him watch it at home, or if you just rented it yourself and monitored him watching it with you. As for pre-screening, I watched Percy Jackson and decided against it for my sons. My main concern was Uma Thurman's Medusa role. You pre-screened Transformers 2 and decided against it for him. I'm assuming your son was age five for both Transformer movies? For my boys, I think age eight was just right for them for both. The last segment in Avatar that I described in the OP is of special interest to me, since it didn't register a fearful reaction, but I don't know that it actually "registered" with them due to bloodless portrayal; i.e., it didn't look terribly real. If there were blood, however, and therefore more realistic is what I was thinking of in my OP, when I asked about watching a movie that wasn't gory, but wasn't cosmetic, either. I'm not thinking of the child re-creating the scenes as much as being shocked by them due to age.

A unique quote posted by a Facebook Friend: "When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today." It's British in origin, but can apply to all who fought and gave their lives in the service of their country. One site about it is at: http://www.burmastar.org.uk/epitaph.htm

Thanks, Lupin, but I'm think it's a "given" that it depends on the child; I'm looking for a rule of thumb. Even if the child understands that what is viewed is fantasy, it's the very viewing itself that I'm thinking of. When Patrick and David were six, the first Transformers movie came out. I didn't take them to see it, but I did rent the DVD and another movie, one I was sure they'd like. I asked them to watch Transformers and tell me if it were okay. Within the first five minutes, they objected to it, even though it was on the "small screen" of TV. I thanked them and immediately changed the DVD from Transformers to the other movie. When Transformers 2: The Rise of the Fallen came out, that's in the OP, when they were eight.

Hi Tim! Welcome to the forums!

When Transformers 2: The Rise of the Fallen was coming out (age eight; the boys are 8 & 1/2 now), I rented the first Transformers, asked them to watch it to tell me what they thought of it, and they watched it all the way through. There were no human deaths depicted. I then bought a copy, which they kept re-watching. When Transformers 2 was in theaters, I brought them to see it, and they enjoyed it. They didn't get any of the sexual innuendoes, and the violence they saw was, to them, robot v. robot. There were no human deaths shown. Then Avatar came out. They told me they didn't want to see it, that they liked the cartoon they watched at their mother's house, and I just went along with their feelings. This weekend, I rented Avatar to see it again, but since the boys were with me, I kept the last section, the ongoing action sequence, available for them. They said they'd watch it and let me know if it were okay with them. They were excited by the sci-fi warfare, and displayed no reaction when the "bad men" were hit with arrows. It was bloodless violence, much like I used to watch when I was a kid, but it was still violence. I'm not buying the DVD; we watched that one segment together and that's it. I'm not sure if the "bad men" who were killed by arrows actually registered with the boys that these men were dead. Perhaps the "cosmetic violence" (as I call what was the way violence was bloodlessly portrayed in the movies and on TV when I was a kid) cushioned the blow. At what age do you think the average child can watch a movie that has not actually gory, but not cosmetic either, violence in it? If you're a parent, do you have any experiences you can share?

There seems to be a mixed message in the article, Bob, that the experience makes some stronger (more mature), and that it causes others to become weaker (depressed, anxious). Bullying has to be treated as socially unacceptable by everyone in order to rein it in. A book by Rachel Simmons, Odd Girl Out, is about middle school female bullying, and its content is absolutely wicked. There was a movie with the same title, and it's terrible what the girl had to endure--even though no one laid a finger on her.