Lupin1

Doubt can be a good thing. If we didn't doubt our abilities, there'd be no reason to work to make them better. Of course, it's only a good thing if we can eventually overcome it. Otherwise it'll get in the way and make us hold back.

That sounds dangerous. A white belt doing techniques at full power while working with another white belt could have some very scary results. You should ask your instructor if maybe he could partner you up with someone with more control and put that guy with a more advanced student until he learns to reign himself in.

I don't know about that. If you read the introduction boards, many people have very reasonable reasons for choosing to start martial arts besides "because it's there".

If it was that significant, I'd probably get a tattoo. Otherwise, depending on the design, I'd get it on a necklace or bracelet so that I could wear it all the time.

I like this.

cafepress.com?

I just learned the basics of Isshinryu Chinto in two days from an awesome video series. It's incredibly expensive ($50 for a video with two or three kata on it) but it has front view and side view and then both in slow motion and then a step by step explaination and then the bunkai. I've got four years of training in Isshinryu, so I'm different from someone who's never had that, but I think my Chinto looks pretty decent for only having done it for a week and the kids who teach in the video are so incredibly sharp I've found my movements getting harder and sharper just from watching them. If you're interested-- http://chnproduction.com/Isshin_Ryu_DVD_Series.html

Congrats everyone!

Ok. I've been thinking about it and about how my instructor talks and I think I've got it figured out for my dojo, anyway. Pretty much white, purple and orange belts are beginner and then yellow belt is the intermediate kyu rank. Blue belt is more intermediate at the beginning but gets more advanced toward the end of the curriculum. Green and brown belts are advance kyu ranks. Then once you get to shodan, you go back to being a beginner. It's like you're being judged on a completely different scale. You can be a beginner, intermediate and advanced kyu rank, but once you hit black belt, the expectations and the point of reference changes and all of a sudden you're considered a beginner again. Kinda like how you can be a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior in high school and as a senior you're considered the highest and the most learned. And then you get to college and all of a sudden you're a freshman who knows nothing again, only now not only are there sophomores, juniors and seniors, but there are grad students and those with multiple PhDs and there's always more to learn-- always another degree to obtain so that you're never at the end the way you were as a high school senior, you're just moving to a different level of study. At least that what it seems like from the way my instructor talks about the different ranks.

My instructor teaches us the same thing only in Isshinryu, which is why his (and my) favorite defense is to shift away sideways to the punch before blocking, so even if your block is no good, you're not there for the punch to hit. I thought he got it from The Karate Kid II.

Keep working at it Blade! You'll get it! You've already gone so much farther than people were expecting! You're going to make it far. Just give it some time. If it makes you feel any better, I was a yellow belt for 12 years.

The gym teacher at my school thinks they should have more boxing in MMA. Of course, he also thinks we should start teaching boxing in school and when kids have problems we should have them fight it out in the ring. Actually, I kinda like the idea...

I think we had another topic like this right when the movie came out. They do talk in the movie about how what they're doing is Kung Fu and not Karate. I like the originals better, though. The sheer simplicity of what Mr. Miyagi taught is, to me, a million times cooler than any standing-back-flip-over-your-opponent's-head kick. And no offense to Jackie Chan, but to prove himself Mr. Miyagi beat up half a dozen 17 to 18-year-olds twice his size. Mr. Han beat up half a dozen short little 12-year-olds. Not exactly as impressive... But I will say I still like the movie in it's own regard. Compared to the original, though, it's no contest.

Or sign up for a class so you're expected to be there at a specific time and you have structure to your workout (which is really good for most people since most people how no idea how to work out effectively).

Lately I've been training like a man possessed (or rather, gunning for a promotion ). I've been running through all the kata I know from the beginning and then taking my last two and doing one five times and one ten times and then switching the next day. Until Monday evening. The past three evenings I've been spending 2-3 hours a night trying to learn (and now perfect) a new kata.

Yeah. I just came up with that. I mean, I'm sure I'm the first one to come up with it. There are probably entire studies written about it. But I haven't read them.

I can't remember what I learned first and we haven't had any new adult students come into the class since I've been in it. I think we might have learn stances and the simple step and reverse punch and then maybe high blocks and low blocks. That's for the kids, though. Adults they would probably having them do whatever we were doing and just correct them as they go along. So it would probably depend on what the rest of the class was working on.

I seriously doubt that. We live in a McSociety. McDojos are the perfect fit. All the ones around where I lived are thriving while the school I go to, which is free, has maybe five or six adults who come on a regular basis and the kids, while there is a waiting list to get into the class, have a very high turnover rate. People like McDojos and I think they're here to stay.

huh?

I know this is a really old topic started by someone who's no long active, but if you want your friend to excercise more, wouldn't the obvious solution be to do it with them? The buddy system is the best motivation out there. If your friend's counting on you for a workout session, you're MUCH more likely to be there. Plus it's more fun, so there's more internal motivation to be there.

It depends. I would say defense is more important in most arts, but in a lot of them, especially grappling arts, you need to learn to attack before you can defend because you start out as the attacker having the more advanced ranks practicing against you. But I think if I were an instructor, I'd want my students to know how to defend asap just in case life gets hairy.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I find the idea of decades old belts all covered with dirt and sweat and grime disgusting and probably dangerous.

I filter my water (you have to out here in the desert) but no way am I giving up meat. I struggle even to avoid pork-- no way I could give up all meat. The sleep thing is really good, though.

I think the conclusion that I, at least, have come to is that it depends on your definition of the word "beginner".

Yeah. That's what I did to relearn all my kata after my 10 year break (I'm too impatient to wait for someone to teach them all to me) but this is my first time learning one for the first time on my own. It's not going all that bad. The main problem is that my instructor loves to make the kata his own and so I know he's going to change several things just to make it his Chinto. Plus I think I might be doing something wrong. I don't think Chinto is supposed to give you bruises on your arm. But then again, maybe it is....