taebot

Most of our black belts are parents who watched their kids grow and improve and then decided they wanted to make changes in thier lives. We even get grandkids coming in now. You are really going to benefit from not just the workout, but by socially being around people who are always going to be upbeat and positive (as a group). Enjoy the ride!

What do you like about your style? How great is your command of English? Do I need to avoid slang?

Is purple low or high? I've seen both. Hola!

Well, the saga begins. Edited on my fourth day. Took two years for it to happen in the last place ! Starting to get to know some of you guys, and that's the important thing in an introduction now, isn't it?

I would have expected more vets. I work out with a lot of cops and vets, at least the black belts. I didn't do anything glamorous or noteworthy, just served my country at a time when THAT sort of thing wasn't very popular.

You are fortunate. Many Americans do not value that which is free. I hope no one disillusions him.

On another note. I spent some time training with Sifu JH, a student of Ark Won Yuey and I know for a fact each student of his designs their form based on the animal they are studying and the base form he teaches them. How you judge that for right or wrong? I once had a little kid, an orange belt come up to me in a tournament in Oklahoma (I had been watching him for some time and he was somewhat short of something...) and proudly said, "My name is X, my school is Y, and I'm going to make some stuff up." Man, he was honest and upfront, so I just judged it (one see SO many things in open tournaments anyway!). He made up some really good stuff. He placed. Go figure.

But mixed tournaments are not a forum for the technical dissertations of a single system. They are a performance, a display, a popularity contest, a subjective judgement. That's why a sport like ice skating has a technical and then a freestyle aspect to the competition. So for the former, you are absoutely correct. For the latter, it's more like Star Search...

John, you got one smart master there! At the risk of taunting (for KickChick ), bet I beat you to Dan Gun! I'm all motivated to go practice chongi now just thinking about it! We are such COMPETITIVE devils aren't we?

... and I am rarely satisfied with my performance. But one day! one day...

I see that you are very smart, but I want to challenge you on the idea of simplicity. That's the genious of it. You dismiss the lesson as too simple until you are ready for it. The white belt DOES see block punch, block punch, block punch... The black belt instructor sees "the basis of grading and instruction criteria." The martial artists sees a mantra, a moving mandela, a transmission not of block punch, but self actualization. Once a month, I go to a weapons class where I train with a pair of Professors. We were in a discussion of bunkai and they presented the standard explanation. I, being the wall-flower that I am, stated that I had problems with that and that I saw the move in such and such a manner... Professor asks me, "What rank are you?" I suspected, as usual, that I was going to be told to shut up (without words). I answered that I held xyz rank with our mutual head instructor for the system. "Well, if you're not coming up with some of this stuff on your own by now, then you're doing something wrong." So, I stand, ready, my valise, we, REAL men, don't call them purses, clutched in both hands in front of me as I await the bus. From the left corner of my eye comes movement and my right hand goes to my groin, my left to my head as my elbows come together protecting my centerline as I turn to meet my attacker, my left foot half-moon stepping in, my knee striking the inner thigh of my attacker disrupting his balance as my left hand arcs downward grabbing into the soft flesh of the inner thigh in a death grip as I step, again, thigh-to-thigh as Santiago would call it, and stepping behind the other foot of my attacker, I have the choice of pushing my opponent for distance or slamming him to the ground. I choose the latter. Now did I once mention block-punch? I practice chongi everyday. For REAL.

Forgive me for flagellating a deceased equine but... ALL soldiers kinda green first time they see battle. SOME turn and run. One or two gonna win the medal of honor. Everyone else is going to die or survive based on their own nature and sheer luck or fate as one would have it. I'll try to shut up now...

You do. Locked inside of you. Turn off the thought processes, do the class, no matter what it is, full out, and eventually that instructor will speak up. It may tell you to get out. It may tell you that despite what you feel now, you selected the right path.

I came up with that same philosophy from my second wrestling coach. The first one was all weights and strength training, the second coach felt if you were going to wrestle, that the only way was to get into wrestling shape. Hence, we spar a lot. [Our juniors ARE familiar with pushups however !]

Legend has it that the samuri killed by the then 13-year old Musashi was patiently trying to demonstrate why the little one should not start his own ryu ! Have a great day! Day five and I'm having fun now!

"Let's look at it from another perspective. Look at it from inside your own organization. Say one person gets a black belt, goes out on his/her own and opens a school while you continue to train at the main school. After about two years the first person, who left to start a school, is sudenly no longer associated with the main school and is now say a 3rd or fourth degree. Myself, I don't care. But don't you think there is a slight loss of RESPECT for that person." Nidan Warrior On what grounds? That they took a risk and you didn't? That they had to prove themselves each and every single day to a MUCH higher standard than you were held? Think of it in terms of the workplace. Do those lacking in initiative get raises and promotions (outside of the US Government , of course)? Perhaps there should be a touch of admiration for that one person realizing they were special enough to advance the arts. One might even suggest shame on the head instructor of the school for not being able to retain an obviously valuable asset. In your previous comments you spoke of those ONLY a first degree. Since you know of whom we speak would it be somewhat safe to say that there is a wide range of capabilities of black belts, say in the range of from Bushidokan to TKD Even at your school ! Mine too! After all, good 'ol Bob Thurman is like an orange belt... Pacificshore, one can learn a lot from an idiot! They won't be around long, and yes, there will be some, small amount of damage done. It is the price one pays for a system elastic enough to allow for change and creativity. Unless of course you are a historical preservation society which I believe some styles have allowed themselves to become. And yes, the person who fails to do their homework is also negligent in this case. omnifinite - you make a basic assumption that is incorrect, inasmuch as these few incapables are going to cause a great harm, i.e., that there is going to be any real number of times this happens. Outside of school, the military, and work, I, and most credible martial artists never have call to defend themselves. Hence, a small fraction of a very small segment of less than 2% (in the US) of the population which practices martial arts would fall victim to this dual injustice. You guys should get together and patrol restaurants and weed out the ones who might accidently poison someone . It's the same thing... ! (And by ALL means, avoid McDonalds and ONLY support establishments that offer HOME-STYLE cooking! )

This is a Hobbit-style introduction. You get to read my threads and tell me who I am (or what you think of me !)

I have some advice. Don't compete if you're not prepared. Save yourself and your instructor the indignity of going out and looking like a boob. Stand up for yourself. Tell you leadership. I am not prepared, I cannot get prepared in time, please send someone else out in my place. Don't set yourself up for failure and negative self-image, especially in a public place. [Then again, you could need a good dose of backbone and your instructor has a real reason to send you out because he/she may feel you are prepared but have yet to admit that to yourself... You see, that's the problem with advice!]

"I suppose if it's an open tournament you've got to be open minded. But then you don't get all that many open minded martial artists." Bretty No. You get a lot of narrow-minded people in tournaments. But when you've been around long enough to be "A Martial Artist" your mind should be pretty open. Most tournament competitors are performers (and players) who may one day become martial artists... Right now, they're going through a phase of self-proof. (Except a handful of rare individuals who figure, what the heck, I'm here anyway, I might as well get some practice in while I'm here... Like Mr. SJ of Topeka, KS.)

As you see more you'll get an idea... I competed in the Open Forms and Weapons at a Chinese Tournament. I performed Gaebek and was on. You could here my technique all over the gym. Most people stopped to watch and I got a standing "O." I also got fourth place. The judges, one pretty famous, informed me that my form was fantastic, but it lacked flow... So, for forms, I performed Kama One with flow vs snap. I won. Every judge sees something different and looks for something different. It's a crap shoot. But, as a judge, after a few years, you know, you see it, you feel the chi, the power, the rythm and timing of the performer and you know. Until then, it's just best guess, so make a good one !

I was taken to the little teahouse to the North (East? the back gates) of Forbidden City and just dropped off. This was long before I was educated in the ways of tea, so I just kept sitting there drinking little cup after little cup of different teas until I got to the point that I needed a little space on the Palace Wall ! Who's Next? Everybody was so polite and just kept smiling...

All the tea in China is a great little book that covers all aspects of tea, history, culture, use, types, etc. I also have The Book of Tea by Okakura which is a great look into the Japanese Tea culture. I have a friend who runs a restaraunt who gives me a fantastic oolong from his home in the Fuzhou area. I never mix whiskey and cha. Now coffee and whisky...

I have to set aside a whole day because I tend to read him cover-to-cover once I get going. I've started one of his non-fiction works, but it wasn't as gripping, got put down, and was never picked up again. Oh well. We're not all perfect.

USMC

Excellent