username13768

One last post. I do not value my rank at all. I value the knowledge that I gain. At my last big school that I taught at I turned down my 3rd dan promotion and requested to teach as a white belt. My instructor granted this, so I taught the remainder of my time there as a white belt to show my students that rank doesn't mean anything. It's the skills not the rank that matters. I still will not wear rank if I can get away with it. Even after all that I feel that my skills don't make me any better than anyone else. Different maybe, but not better.

Perhaps your version of nobility is actually related to the person and not the color of the belt? As you saw yourself, a piece of cloth and a title doesn't make someone noble. Have you ever considered that noble might not be the right word for what you're talking about? Or maybe, that it's too strong a word for what you're talking about?

Well, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief because not only are there billions of Chinese people that subscribe to the theory of chi but there is a system of medicine based on it that has survived for over 4000 years. I have trouble believing that that many people can be wrong for that long. Also, even though there are not that many instances of research into chi here in the West there are quite a few scientific studies that have been done in the East. There were even a couple done here carried out by Harvard researchers. Granted these case studies were all on the medicinal uses of chi. Nonetheless they happened. So there is some evidence there of an energy force in the body that can directly affect the body. Just no scientific evidence of being able to use it beyond one's own body for martial purposes.

I think we basically agree except that I never say that something absolutely cannot exist because I don't believe it.

GeoGiant said: Necessity has nothing to do with it. No-touch ko’s can’t be explained by physics. As someone else said, we know how ko’s occur – head trauma. If someone is proposing a different cause n’ effect explanation for a ko I’m listening. Let's see, you can effect a ko by cutting blood and/ or oxygen to the brain, you can lower the blood pressure to a point where a ko occurs, you can overload the nervous system with pain simulus and effect a ko. These are all medically proven methods. IndoSilat said: “However, that doesn't mean that it's not a reality regardless of what science can prove. Just because I ... or any of you don't believe in something does that make it any less real if it happens to be true?” GeoGiant said: If its true then you should be able to provide proof or at least a theory for why, aside from magic powers. If someone claims to be able to cause a knockout by using chi then the onus is on them to prove their claim. Just because you believe its true, doesn’t mean that it is. As I said before, I don't believe in no touch ko's so I find it a bit odd to defend them but here goes. There are many scientific theories that are not proven .... yet. i.e. super string theory or quantum black holes. The math may have been proven but the physical manifestation of these objects is still beyond our scientific ability to prove. Science uses biofeedback to alter body systems that shouldn't be able to be altered. They know it works because the results are measurable but the mechanism still isn't well understood. As for theories, there are many concerning chi, ki, prana or whatever you want to call it. However, as far as I know there are no mathematical models that back up any of these theories. GeoGiant said: Huh??? The human body is evolving as is sickness and disease…. this is the reason why the doctor doesn’t give antibiotics unless its necessary. I have an open mind and the scientific theory is the best method for analysis. If you are going to present a topic like chi or anything else and you assume "x" is real, what are you basing that belief on? For starters scientific theory is not the best method for analysis, the scientific method is. Next, I don't understand what you are getting at about the whole human body and antibiotics analogy. Lastly, I never said I believed. I simply have an open mind about it. There are many things still waiting to be discovered by science. Remember that science is just a tool to help us understand things more completely. It doesn't have all the answers yet. There have been too many cases of scientists saying that's impossible only later to be proven wrong for me to put too much faith in science alone.

Nobility has lots of definitions. At least one aspect of it is to be of a superior class to others. Perhaps that may be one definition, but it shouldn't be a definition used by a martial artist. Martial artists should strive to get rid of the ego not inflate it. Wouldn't the black belt "club" be the modern-day Samuri? They were a noble class. And I realize some black belts don't shine with a lot of nobility, but look at some of the older martial artists, the ones who have given their life to it. Don't you think they have a noble quality? LMAO, a BB Club the modern day samurai? Hardly! Most Black Belt Clubs that I've seen are people that pay extra money to a McDojo instructor so that they can be taught the exact same thing learned in a regular class. For your information Samurai means "To Serve", as in to serve someone besides yourself. This service is what made the Samurai noble, not whatever training they had. People in BB Clubs are only serving themselves and inflating their own egos with thoughts of the all mighty black belt. In a competent school a black belt makes you a serious student, not nobility. I don't know, perhaps one has to first believe in the idea of nobility before they will see nobility. Or maybe we have to define it, but I always thought it meant "a superior class" of person, for whatever reason. I believe in nobility alright. You can see it on the news occasionally. A firefighter runs into a burning house to save someone, that's noble to me. A Doctor who toils through 8 years of expensive medical school to so that they can practice medicine in under developed areas of the world, that's noble to me. As for it meaning a superior class of person, only in the mind of a poor martial artist that missed the entire point of earning a black belt.

I would love to train in Indonesia and Okinawa. Not necessarily in that order.

You know ... I completely missed that part of the original post. Hmmm .... getting older lol.

No I teach jiyu kumite or free sparring too. However there better be techniques being used and not some flailing tournament junk. I have to stop now before I go on a rant about tournaments ... lol

I have to say that I'm not big into magical chi applications or no-touch ko's or anything along that vein, mainly because I don't think it's necessary for martial arts. However, that doesn't mean that it's not a reality regardless of what science can prove. Just because I ... or any of you don't believe in something does that make it any less real if it happens to be true? Of course the same can be said for false belief in something that is in fact not real. (Did I say that correctly ) Anyway, just because science can't prove something doesn't make it less factual. It makes it an unknown in our present. Modern science is still pretty much in it's toddler years if not it's infancy. If we knew everything about the human body we wouldn't have sickness and disease. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can refuse to buy into something and still keep an open mind to the possibilities. Science doesn't work without the belief in possibilities.

Prince Higashikuni was never the Emporer of Japan. He was a Prince and Prime Minister of Japan for a little less than 2 months. In 1957 he was the honorary chairman of IMAF. I'm assuming that it was during this period when Susuki's promotion took place. All that said unless the promoting body is a recognized high ranking exponent of the art in question, why would anyone be impressed by this rank? It's akin to being and honorary Doctor. An honor to be sure, but it isn't an actual rank unless it was backed by the rest of the IMAF. Being a Nanadan is impressive enough on it's on though I suppose. That said, as an answer to the entire article, I have to say that I think rank is meaningless outside of ones own style regardless of who granted it. I personally think rank is meaningless within one's own style depending on the style and the knowledge, or lack thereof, that is represented by the rank. Just my 2/5 of a nickel.

... no ..... I think you get the technique fine.

I don't know if I'd go that far. Seems a bit much to me. The only people that tend to care about black belts are other martial artists. Otherwise there's a 33.3% chance that you'll get worshipped from the watched too many movies crowd, ignored completely or you paint a target on your back for the wrong people. I personally try not to discuss my training unless someone else brings it up. Just my opinion.

While I lived in Arizona I had the chance to attend several seminars. One from Taika Seiyu Oyata and 2 from Rick Moneymaker and Tom Muncy from the Dragon Society International. I have been demonstrated on in all 3 seminars because I'm an advanced belt and a pretty big guy so it looks better with me as an uke. I have to say as a skeptic going in, the pain they can inflict with vital point strikes and techniques is considerable. Rick Moneymaker threw me with a basic hip throw and laid his forearm across my face on 3 nerve points. It felt like I was being electrocuted. I thought that I was screaming but everyone says that I only made small choking sounds. Like I said, I'm a big guy and he wasn't pressing that hard so I was impressed. However, I never once witnessed any of these guy perform a no touch KO so I don't really buy into it. Also from what I've seen on videos it looks impractical to me even if it were real. You have to stand in front of the guy waving your hands around until they pass out. I don't know about you but I've never been in a fight where I had time to do anything like that. I prefer the vital points from Okinawan karate because every one that I have ever seen lies over either a nerve, a plexus of nerves or a sinus or some other physical structure. That way I don't have to wonder if my chi is strong enough or whatever because I'm striking something physical that I can do damage to. All I have to know to make it effective is the proper direction of entry and the most efficient technique for the job. However, whoever earlier said that nerve strikes don't work on everyone is correct. Only one point I know of that is almost garaunteed to give you a KO everytime. The carotid sinus in the neck, when struck with a knife hand especially, will cause the body to sense a dramatic rise in blood pressure and will respond by drastically and immediately lowering the blood pressure causing a lack of blood flow to the brain. As a caution to any of you eager beavers out there you can cause death by striking someone there by sending them into cardiac arrest, causing too drastic a drop in blood pressure or by physically rupturing the carotid artery. If you don't believe me look up carotid sinus or carotid sinus reflex. I do not suggest that you go out and try this on your buddy or in your training unless you have proper supervision by an experienced instructor. I am not responsible for any use of the above information. It is presented for educational purposes only.

Unfortunately, by Daito Ryu standards, your striking puts you off balance for a throw too ... lol I would agree with Toptomcat ... it does lack randori and therefor it takes longer to get a feel for timing. Kuzushi is taught in progressively more aggressive manners, at least in the classes that I've been to. It depends on your level as to how resistant your partner is and how quickly the attack comes. The funny part about it is that in Daito Ryu the faster the attacker comes in the easier the techniques are to perform. However if you don't learn the exact movements (and I do mean EXACT) the technique will fail at any speed. I understand why there isn't randori in the art but I think it would be beneficial after a decent level is achieved. Of course I'm just a beginner so what do I know?