KarateGeorge

Some, but not significant. I've trained about 6 years in karate, but as I'm sure you're well aware, karate doesn't have much ground work. One of the other black belts at my karate school had a background in wrestling and BJJ as well, and taught a once a week grappling and ground fighting class for about a year at the school as a supplement for any of the students who wanted to expand their training outside of the primarily striking techniques of karate. He didn't rank us or anything, as it was considered a supplementary class, but we did practice against fully resistant opponents. Unfortunately, he stopped training a couple of years ago though. When I was taking Wing Chun, the instructor had some BJJ training in his background as well, so we would occasionally do some ground work just to change things up a little, but he didn't do it very often since it was a Wing Chun class and not a BJJ class.

Well, it was an unexpected and bittersweet day at my karate school the other day. Due to some personal/family issues the instructor has going on, of which I won't go into detail about, we were informed that the school is cancelling classes for the next month or two, possibly longer. So...I've been wanting to cross-train in Aikido for quite some time, as I've always found it rather interesting, but just haven't found the time to start. With my karate school putting classes on hiatus, I decided this will be the perfect opportunity for me to look into it. There's a local Aikido school that has added a 2nd "location" at a local YMCA on Saturday mornings. You pay the YMCA on a per class basis, so there's no real commitment. It works out perfect, so that I can try out something I've been interested in looking into for a long time. If I don't like it or if my karate school opens its doors back up, I haven't put out a significant sum of money. If I do like it, then whether or not my karate school opens its doors back up, I can still always continue cross-training in it and start going to their regular dojo which has classes all throughout the week. I'll be attending my first class this coming Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes!

Welcome to KF!

Yeah, that makes me very sad, but not entirely unsurprising.

A "stomp" style kick is how you kick down a door as well. Basically bringing your leg up kind of like a front snap kick, but higher, then rather than snapping the foot out and striking with the ball of your foot, you crash your heel through the target. It's not one I would likely use in a fight against a person, but if I ever needed to bust down a door, that's immediately what I would use. As far as stomp kicks in general go. With a stomp to the ground, if you're stomping someone on the feet, unless you're in a dojo, they're likely going to have shoes, boots or some sort of other protection on their feet, so the effectiveness is definitely lessened. You probably won't be able to do any severe damage with it, but it might be something to buy you an opening. If you're doing a stomp kick to someone who you've knocked to the ground but you're still standing, I would be very careful of what you're doing, as you're putting yourself in a precarious position. You could do some serious damage to someone and even if you're the defender, unless there was just reason for doing so, you might just as easily land your own self in trouble for using excessive force. So, they have their uses, but I think the effectiveness is limited and may not always be the best option. However, if your options are limited, it is something at your disposal to use.

Each type of business structure has benefits and disadvantages, ie, C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC, sole proprietorship, etc. It is possible to change from one type to another. It basically requires you to submit a new filing with your state's Secretary of State or Department of Corporations office (different states call them different names, but they perform essentially the same function). The corporate name does not need to be the name on the door either, you can operate as a dba, so if you filed under John Doe, Inc. for example, you could still operate as John Doe's Karate. Some states will require a fictitious entity filing for a dba and some don't, it really depends on the laws of the state you are in. Also, if you incorporate in a state other than where you're operating out of you'll need to make sure you register in the both states, one as the "home" state, ie, where you filed, and then you register in the state you're located within as a "foreign" corporation. Since each state's laws vary, and in many cases fairly significantly, so ultimately, if you're thinking of incorporating in some form or another, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the laws in your state and decide what type of corporate structure is best for you. Anyway, there's a lot of legal things surrounding each type of business entity and as I mentioned above, each state's laws on the subject differ, so I'm not going to tell you which type of company structure is best for you, but hopefully that helps you with the basic mechanics of corporate filings. As to which one is best for you, that's probably something you should discuss with an attorney or CPA who specializes in these matters, weigh the pros and cons and how they relate to your situation and then make a decision that you feel comfortable with. They would also be able to go into more depth about the process of registering your business, add more to what I've talked about above and answer any questions you may have as you make the decision of how to structure the business.

As far as specifics on the material you need to know, if you have any questions, I would bring up any questions with your instructor. They know what they're looking for and have seen you in class, so they'll know what areas you may need to improve upon and can give you appropriate guidance. Some general advice though about the test and after as you continue to progress, just make sure you know what you're supposed to know. Practice hard, learn everything you can, start looking to perfect your techniques, and start thinking of new ways to apply the technique. You've learned a lot of the individual puzzle pieces at this point, and you can start putting the pieces together to make a more cohesive whole. Pay careful attention to your basics. Make sure your techniques look clean. As someone going for blue belt, there's going to be less room for error than in the past. The instructor(s) won't be as likely to let the same things slide that they may have when you were a white belt. As for looking to the black belt test, I'd say put your major focus on the next belt. Continue to train towards that as a long term goal, but do it by training for that next step, and when you reach that, train for the next step. Keep doing that and when that next step is indeed the black belt test, you'll be ready for it. For my black belt test, I had to go through all the katas from white belt all the way to black belt. Perform a kata of my own creation. Demonstrate all techniques from white to black belt, along with combinations of multiple techniques as requested by the testing board. Go through an "anything goes" self defense section, where the members of the testing board would grab me with various chokes, locks, etc. and I had to escape the hold and return it with a takedown. Next was a series of board breaks, and ended by 10 fights. All in the same day. However, different school's tests will be different, so each person here will likely have a different story of what they had to do on the "big" day. If you're curious, my best suggestion would be to ask your instructor if you can sit in and watch the next black belt exam at your school so that you can see what will be expected of you at that time. Best of luck on the upcoming test! Give it your all, and I'm sure you'll do fine.

Welcome to KF

Welcome Pajarito21. Make yourself at home.

Agreed. Size does indeed matter. Any martial artist should understand their own personal strengths, weaknesses and physical attributes and be able to work within them. Size being one of them. In a real self-defense scenario, you can't choose how big your attacker is compared to you, so its good to train with people of different sizes and learn how to defend against someone bigger than you. But, especially when learning new techniques, I think its good to work against someone of a similar size when possible. If you can simplify the equation and remove extra factors, it helps you focus more on the technique and getting it down. As the student gets more comfortable with the technique, then new elements, such as a larger opponent, can be added to the mix to make things more challenging for them to successfully execute the technique. Depending on the student mix at the school this may not always be possible, as it depends on the number of students in the class, the physical attributes of those students, the skill level of those students, etc. But to the extent possible, I think its a good idea to start simple and work your way up to more challenging scenarios.

That's really awesome. Not many people are willing to dedicate a significant portion of their lives to such programs. I have several friends that are part of the Americorps VISTA program, and I must say, their willingness to make the sacrifices they make is commendable. If you feel joining the Americorps for a while is the right thing for you to do, then I say go for it. If that means putting your martial arts training on temporary hiatus, then that's a sacrifice you'll have to decide if you're willing to make. That being said, even if you have to set aside your formal training while serving in Americorps, it doesn't mean that you have to set aside your training altogether. Practice what you can on your own. Keep things fresh, and go over the things you've learned up the the point you leave for your time in Americorps. Your formal training will still be there waiting when you finish your commitment, and you can always pick it back up again. If you do decide to do an Americorps term, I wish you the best of luck. Don't think of it as just a job until the economy improves, but make the most of it, learn everything you can while you're doing it, and take advantage of the opportunities for personal growth presented to you...there will be plenty of doors that will be opened to you if you take the opportunities given to you.

Another idea, if you have access to a video camera, speak to your sensei after class and tell him you're wanting to work on your stances at home to get them better and ask he'll let you borrow him for 2 or 3 minutes so that you can tape him in each of the stances. Then when you're practicing at home, you can turn on the recording and try to mimic him. We just did that yesterday at my school for one of our white belts who's learning their first kata.

Best of luck! I wouldn't worry about it too much. Testing for yellow belt is a basic proficiency test really. Most schools aren't going to be overly tough on someone testing for yellow belt. Just make sure you know your techniques, katas, etc. and do your best! We joke at my school that the two hardest tests one takes in martial arts are the yellow belt test and the black belt test. The yellow belt because you have no idea what to expect. The black belt because you know EXACTLY what to expect.

Though price is no guaranty of quality instruction, it is often a good indicator. Though it may seem a bit pricey, that isn't out of line with the typical price for a good school.

Today: 6 mile run abs

I've always felt that there's no point in trying to do something else to "get in shape" so that you can do an activity you're wanting to do to "get in shape." If it's something you're interested in doing, I say get in there and give it a go. They'll understand you're new at it and work with you accordingly. Just remember to listen to your body and take it easy when necessary, especially in the beginning as you're getting used to the increased levels of physical activity. Best of luck in your new martial arts endeavors! Keep us posted.

Thanks!!! I was ready to collapse afterward, but it was a great feeling to have accomplished that. I've never tried to go that far, but wanted to see just how far I could make it. After yesterday, I probably should have taken today off, but I was still in the mood to do something so I took it easier than yesterday and did a 2 mile run earlier and am going to work on some katas at a relaxed pace this evening.

Welcome to KF! (Bird owner here: a white-faced cockatiel named Dusty)

Private lessons are great, but I think they're best used as a supplement to group classes. They give you the opportunity to work on specific areas that you either may be having trouble with, or areas you just want to dig deeper into and learn more about and practice more. However, group classes give you the opportunity to work with different people, and exposes you to how different people fight and react. So they both have their benefits.

Yesterday: Class - Advanced rank kicks Today: I pushed myself to the limit and accomplished a 9.25 mile run (Go me!!!!!!)

Interesting thoughts everybody! Keep them coming!

Agreed. When kept in context, stop-and-start point sparring can teach valuable concepts. If used, it definitely needs to be only a piece of the training, rather than the focus of the training, but it can serve a purpose.

This is something I started thinking about recently and is something I alluded to in a response on another thread, and it got me to thinking I'd start a thread on this topic. I, like many martial artists, am highly interested in the history of my style, and many of us talk about the lineage of our training, and the style's history. Many times people often discuss the history of the art to determine its viability. Anyway, though I love to learn about the history of martial arts, I got to thinking recently, that in many cases, it really shouldn't matter where the style came from, or the lineage of instructors one is learning from. If someone really just wants to learn to be a good fighter or learn self defense, then as long as what they're learning is actually effective in the ring or on the streets, then does the history really matter? It would seem that it really only matters if one's interests go beyond just learning how to fight, but when one has an interest in learning a specific style or one with roots from a specific era or place, or when there's an interest in learning about the history of the style. Granted, many of us begin martial arts just as a way to learn to defend ourselves or for a form of exercise, or some other reasons, and later become interested in the history and lineage of our styles, and so the importance may change over time as well. But I got to thinking, why do we martial artists make such a fuss over proving where our style came from or who our instructors learned from? Now, other than instances where someone is being misleading/deceptive about their lineage or where their art came from, in which case I agree that that's obviously a bad practice, for someone interested in learning a form of self-defense or wanting to get in shape, shouldn't the abilities of the teacher and the effectiveness of what's being taught in helping one reach those goals matter more than whether the style can truly trace its lineage to some feudal Japanese fighting art, or whether one can trace their training back to a particular person from 100 or more years ago? What are your thoughts?

I don't know much about this style so I can't comment one way or the other on it, but I will add a general thought that one's motivation for training can also play a role in the importance of lineage. If all you're looking for is an effective form of self defense, then if what he's teaching works and is something you enjoy, then does the lineage/history of it really matter? However, if you're looking for more than just an effective form of self defense, and want to learn something that has a rich past, then yes, the history and background of the art is important. Anyway, just something I was thinking about recently....

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run Wednesday: 3.5 mile run