Excoastie

Well dealing with adults, a calm discussion, or demonstration is usually enough to end any arguments. When dealing with kids (especially those around 10-12) there often isn't much that can be done, other than stopping them, and trying to get them to realize that there is a time and place to argue the finer points of a technique. I've told the kids that we could discuss things after class if they still had issues, and I've also gotten either the Kyo Sa Nim or Sah Buh Nim. I'm yet to see a quick conversation with Sah Buh Nim to not end an argument. Exco

I trained in TKD for almost 2 years before life and work interfered with my training. I was able to obtain a green belt, after learning the basics, several forms, and an introduction to sparring. After almost a year absence, I joined a new dojang that was TSD, and I've never been happier. The TKD school was good and the instructors excellent, it just didn't have the "family atmosphere" that the new school has. I know this has nothing to do with the style, but it was a prime motivator in staying with the school. I recently (in April 2012) obtained my 1st Dan in TSD, and I haven't noticed very much difference in the techniques between TSD and TKD. There are a few, such as the chambering for a knife hand, and the position of the foot (vertical vs horizontal) while doing a back pivot/ spinning side kick. The forms/ patters are different, but I think that is probably true for most organizations, as each organization has it's own set of forms/ patterns. I don't think that you and your friend will have any difficulty training together, so long as you both respect the differences in each of your styles. Exco

I would say at least 3-4 years, if you're committed and attend class regularly AND don't miss any scheduled testings. I doubt that you're current skills will provide you any leg up in rank, unless you've been previously ranked in another martial arts style AND you're instructor recognizes it. I do think that the skills that you have will be an asset to what you'll learn. good luck Exco

thanks for the replies. I'm looking to use them mainly while running laps and such during class. I don't foresee a need to wear them while training. We have a well padded mat system in the dojang, so that is not an issue. I've been looking around online this morning, and I've come up with several different possibilities. At this point I'm looking at the Adidas martial arts shoe SM II, the Adidas adi storm shoe, or even the Discipline martial arts shoe, they've all got good reviews. I was just hoping someone had some personal experience with them. I will continue my research. Exco

Does anyone have any experience with martial arts shoes? I've been considering trying a pair, and my master instructor has given his go ahead to use them during class, provided I'm not sparring or kicking the wave masters and such. I've been having a recurring issues with my left ankle/ heel that I believe is a result of an impact injury from running barefoot. I've been to several doctors, including an orthopedic specialist who basically tell me if it hurts, then don't do it. The short answer is that my "injury" is an inflammation of the soft tissue in my ankle joint. I've found that if I run with a shoes on, then the pain isn't there, even when I run the the 2 miles twice a month with my school, or even what ever running I do on my own. It's only when I run barefoot that I begin to have issues. When running in class (barefoot) after a short distance (2 or 3 laps around the school... 24 laps = 1 mile) the ankle begins to ache and hurt. Would a pair of martial arts shoes be worth the investment? Or is this just something that I've got to deal with, and accept the fact that I will not be able to run during class, etc Exco

OK thanks for the responses. I asked mainly because I was curious. I'm fully prepared to do what ever is needed to fulfill the requirements of our organization to earn my black belt. I've also accepted that due to my work schedule that I may not be able to do so during the current testing cycle. I have been training since May of '06 so it's been a long journey so another few months won't hurt me, it'll just give me a little more time to be truly ready. Exco

I have thought of this myself. I haven't actually done it though. I'm scheduled to test for the 1st Dan in March. I have been planning on purchasing a belt display for after I earned my black belt. I have spoken with one of my master instructors, and her response was a sort of chuckle saying that I could purchase any belt that I wanted to, provided I was prepared to defend it when doing so. I had pretty come to the conclusion that I would purchase an additional black belt for display purposes AFTER I had earned a black belt. I had one of our senior instructors tell me that he felt that I would have no trouble defending the belt, I still didn't feel right about buying one. So I'm waiting for my black belt test before I purchase a black belt. At that point I can feel good about the fact that I'm not displaying anything that I didn't earn. just my opinion Exco

I started off in TKD, and achieved my green belt. T switched over to Tang Soo Do about 2 yrs ago,(There are numerous reason why, but here is not the forum for it). I'm scheduled to test for my 1st Dan in March. In our school we do a combination of practical self defense and sport style training. I think the best description would be that it's a mix of both hard and light contact during sparring. The beginner ranks have very light/ no contact up to yellow belt, then dependent upon the student will move on to a little harder contact up through green belt. Once the student has achieved blue belt the level of contact is usually up the individual students (up to a point). Control is stressed at all levels. The realization that some students (usually the teenagers) won't a little harder contact is allowed, provided control is used at all times. When the student moves toward the advanced levels then the focus is more on techniques along with control. Being able to put everything together so that it works for each individual student We realize that one student can successfully pull off a spinning kicks while maintaining control where another is better off with a side kick or back pivot side kick. I have obviously over simplified things, but I believe that you get the general idea. My master instructor is Charles Chapman III, in Bossier City, LA at Pak's Karate (part of the national franchise and United Tang Soo Do Federation) Exco

Hello everyone: I've recently received my "black belt handbook" which has included in it all the requirements for testing for 1st Dan, as well as all of the additional requirements for testing up through 4th Dan. The plan is to test for 1st Dan during the middle of March, provided my work schedule allows me to complete the many requirements. I've been told by my senior instructor that even though the handbook says that certain parts can not be waived (assisting with a color belt testing at another federation school), it may be possible in my case due to my schedule One of the requirements for 1st Dan is the writing of a 5 page thesis. This is to be autobiographical in nature, and detail what you've received through taking martial arts, how martial arts have changed your life, future goals, etc. I had never heard of this requirement before, and I was stressing about it until I actually sat down to write it. With a little bit of thought, and a couple of hours effort I was able to knock out my first draft with very little trouble. I still need to "tweak" it to improve on what I'm trying to say, and of course fix my many spelling and grammatical errors. Did anyone else have this requirement? Do you currently have a similar requirement? What's your take on the reasoning behind this requirement? Thanks. I'm just curious Exco

first off I plan on earning my 1st Dan... scheduled to test for it in March. There are some requirements that I'm not sure I'll be able to satisfy this testing cycle, so I may have to push it off until June. I need to get off of my butt and start some sort of routine where I regularly do some sit ups. I've always struggled with sit ups, and I know I need to put forth a lot more effort in order to get to a point where I can pump out 75+ like I want to be. I also want to continue my training, so that I'm not feeling quite as lost as I have been of late. My forms I know can stand some real improvement, as well as many of my basic techniques Exco

I agree with everyone else. It's time to find a new place to train. It's unfortunate that you were treated that way, especially when you had some trying times at home. I got a phone call from my school the other day. I hadn't been to class in the better part of two weeks. They were calling to make sure every thing was OK, even though they're aware of my wacky schedule AND my son had told 'em that I was at work a lot. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a new "home" good luck Exco

I agree with most everyone else. I don't think there is a "set in stone" age for these techniques. Perhaps a general guideline age requirement would work, but then again perhaps not. I believe that as part of any training, there is a discussion that goes along with it. What is appropriate for a given situation. That being said, I feel that regardless of the age, a child should learn what ever techniques are required for their skill level/ rank. If lil Joey decides to pick a fight with one of your students, then you're student should know what steps he must use to try and avoid the fight, if that doesn't work, then your student should know what level of force is acceptable to defend himself. I had an instructor tell me once that once you've reached the rank of around green belt (though it does vary a little with different students) you've achieved a skill level in martial arts where it is possible for you to truly hurt someone quite badly. He said that if you ever find yourself in a fight, you must be able to instantly ask yourself two questions, and be able to answer "yes" to both. If you can't, then you've gone too far, and could end up paying the consequences for your actions, regardless of who started the fight. "Am I legally right?" "Am I morally right?" If lil Joey comes up and tries to punch lil Billy in the face, but lil Billy blocks the punch, and instead punches lil Joey in the stomach, but then walks away, then lil Billy did the right thing. Now if lil Joey comes up and tries to punch lil Billy in the face, but lil Billy blocks the punch, then punches lil Joey in the nose (breaking said nose) then kicks in the side of head to knock him down. Then once il Joey is down on the ground lil Billy proceed to punch and pound on lil Joey until someone pulls him off. Lil Billy started off correctly, but he went too far, and will most likely have consequences to face. I myself would most likely have "blocked and countered" then tried to walk away. If that didn't work, then I'd have "reevaluate" and see how things went. just my opinion Exco

thanks for all the responses. Lots of good info here, and even more stuff to think about, much of which never even entered my mind. This is the benefit of experience that I myself lack, and there often isn't the time to get one on one time with the instructor for a long discussion. thanks again Exco

I started out about 5 or so years ago. I had heard from my (then about 6) son that he "wanted to do karate". I kept putting him off, as I knew it to be quite expensive, and neither his mother or I really had the time to be taking him to classes several times a week. Fast forward a bit. One of the local TKD schools was on a recruiting drive. One of the instructors was friends with the owner of my son's day care. They did a demo, and we went to the school for a hands on "seminar" on the ABCs of TKD. Afterwards we signed up for classes. We attended classes 2 or 3 times a week for about a year or so, signed the contract for 3 yrs, the whole 9 yrds. I then started working even more than I had, my wife was having trouble getting my son to class, and add to the fact that he was quickly losing interest. About this time they started morning classes twice a week. These morning classes for ideal for me, as I am often at home during the days, where when I'm not working my evening are usually pretty full. My son decided he wanted to quit, though I was livid my wife and I allowed him to quit, as it was too much of a fight to get him to go to class, and when he was there, he wasn't putting in any effort. Talking with our instructor did very little good, though he tried his best. Fast forward about another year. I had received my green belt, and my son had been away from it for awhile. Our instructor sold out, and joined the army. I didn't much care for the new instructor, though I tried for several more months before I also lost interest. I had never realized just how important the instructor and his/ her style of teaching was until this point. Fast forward another year. This is about the time where my contract with the old school was about to expire. I had tried to get out of it, but there was no way. My son started showing interest in getting back into MA, though at a different school where several of his friends trained. I was highly resistive, and put him off for several months, as I didn't wish to go through what I had gone through at the other school again. My neighbor convinced me to stop by the school. Her son had been going for almost 9 yrs (he's currently almost 16 and a 2nd Dan), her husband for almost 3 yrs (he's now a 1st Dan), and she's been attending classes for about 2 yrs now. I immediately liked the instructors, and my son was showing a level of enthusiasm I'd never seen outside of video games. We've been attending that school for almost 2 yrs now. We've both just received our red/ white stripe and are about a year away from our 1 Dan. I completed the instructor certification course about this time last year. That has been our journey, full of it's many ups and downs. Exco

I think it's a natural inclination to drop the elbow to help protect the ribs. I think it would take years and years of consciously making yourself not do so to overcome this inclination. Exco

perhaps I mispoke when I said "control and technique or power and speed". I would agree that power and speed are all a part of control and technique, it's hard to have one without the other. What I was referring to was the propensity of some opponents of going all out, close to pull power/ full contact when sparring during training, versus those who will limit the themselves to (for the sake of a measurement) 40%-50% of the maximum they force they can produce through either a punch or kick. Everyone has made excellent points, and I thank you for your input. I'm sure each and every one of you has vastly more experience than I do, as comparatively I'm very new to MA, but I'm always trying to increase both my overall knowledge of MA, but my skill level as well. Let me ask another question. Do you think it's effective training if while sparring you're only using 40% of the force you're capable of, while still maintaining proper amounts of speed and technique? Or do you feel that what you practice is how you'll react if you ever find yourself in a real world fight? Exco

I know that this is a pretty hot topic at my school, and I'm sure that it's been discussed here before, but the closest thing I could find was several years old, and dealt with toddlers and other extremely young children supposedly earning a black belt. That is not what I'm talking about here. My question is should a 10 or 12 year old child be able to earn the same black belt that I earn at 38? Or should it be a conditional black belt until they reach a certain age, at which point they would again test to receive a senior (due to lack of a better word) black belt. I don't know what that age should be, that is an entirely different debate. I would agree that a 10 or 12 year old could probably (and many do) demonstrate the physical abilities required of a black belt. By this I mean that they're able to demonstrate each technique that is required, demonstrate each of their forms, make the required breaks, etc. I don't believe that most children of that age are emotionally mature enough to handle the responsibilities that goes with earning a black belt. What do you think? Exco

I was reading another thread that talked about sparring. It got me to thinking, and wondering what everyone's philosophy was in regards to sparring. When sparring (for the sake of argument we'll assume that those sparring are of equal rank and skill) do you emphasize control and technique or power and speed? When I first started with MA taking TKD our instructor had the philosophy of control ALWAYS. You're training, you're not out to kill or even hurt your opponent. Contact should be made only hard enough where the person you're sparring against knows that he's been hit, and no harder. There is also always a clear back and forth to the sparring, ensuring that both sides have the chance to both attack and defend. In order to allow for those students who enjoy a little bit harder contact it could be agreed that more force would be used, though both would have to agree with it before any sparring began. As a general rule of thumb the lower rank (if mixed ranks are sparring) or the smaller of the two opponents would set the level of force used when sparring, (i.e. I'll only hit you as hard as you hit me). This always worked well, and I still tend to spar the same way, regardless of who I'm sparring. The other side of the coin is those who spar as though it's a real world fight, only with well defined rules. They always hit hard and fast. The name of the game is to win. I've experienced this mentality in the tournament setting, which can be intimidating if you're not prepared for it. I tend not to support the hard and fast approach, though I can see where it might have it's uses. I think much more can be learned in a give and take setting where no one is likely to get hurt. What do you think? Exco

a lil update.... I talked to both an instructor and a friend. The instructor is 1st Dan, the friend (who is also his wife) just received her full red belt. They both washed their red/ white (and solid red) belts. He had issues with the pink bleed through on the stripe, she did not. What he did was get a bleach pen, and very carefully bleach the white stripe back to white. He then rinsed the belt in cold water to remove the bleach, and hung it up to dry. He had no further issues with it. I just finished bleaching/ rinsing both my son's and my belt. The stripe looks white, but we will see how it looks when it dries. thanks for all the responses Exco

I totally agree with the OP. Student instructors should be very limited in what they're teaching (we're restricted to instructing ranks lower than our own, except under certain circumstances), and then it should only be a means of helping out your regular instructor. I took the instructor certification course that our school offers (the curriculum is from the Martial Arts Career Training). I involved 10 3 hrs classroom setting type classes, and numerous hands on exercises the build teaching techniques. I have not earned my black belt, though I do frequently help out in both the intermediate and beginner classes. I do this as a means of helping out both my instructor and my fellow students, and I'm NEVER on the floor by myself without at least 1 or 2 black belts (certified instructors). All the instructors at our school are required to complete the course in order to teach a class., and there are many black belts that have been asked to assist a non black belt when a certified instructor is leading a class. just my opinion Exco

We're with the United Tang Soo Do Federation.. we have a junior program for kids below 9/10 yrs old as determined by the master instructor that inserts a "colored tip" before the next belt to give 'em a little more time to master the skills for that rank white yellow green/ white stripe green blue/ white stripe blue brown/ white stripe brown red/ white stripe red red/ black stripe black/ white stripe 1st dan Exco

do you think it'll make a difference with the white stripe? The last thing I want is a pink stripe where it's supposed to be white LOL I've got an email in to our instructor. Our first class isn't until Tuesday, so I should get a response from Her before then. thanks for the responses Exco

Hello everyone: I've got what would normal be a non question, but perhaps isn't really. I've heard that red belts are the exception to never washing your belt. I've noticed on more than one occasion of the Red belts bleeding off on to the DoBok and leaving a pinkish ring (I've seen it with green belts too, but didn't experience it). I've heard some talk about it being necessary to wash a red belt to prevent this. I know washing it should prevent this, but what is the general opinion about doing so? I plan on talking to my instructor when I return to class, but thought I'd put it out there for the world, and see what the general consensus was. thanks everyone Exco

Hello everyone: I wasn't sure where to say hello, and/ or make my first post. My son (who will be 11 next week) and I tested yesterday for our Red/ White stripe belt in Tang Soo Do. We both passed the test, though as is typical of such things, everything didn't go as perfectly as either of us would have liked. We've been training on and off for almost 5 yrs now. We started with Tae Kwon Do. I received my green belt in TDK, he received his Advanced yellow. As all too often seems to be the case, life kept getting in the way. We didn't always have the time available to make it classes, then he lost interest for awhile. Then our instructor sold out to someone else, whom I didn't particularly care for, either his personality or his teaching style. (I never realized just how important instructor chemistry was before that). When the new instructor took over, he changed the schedule to a point where it was even more difficult to make it to class. Fast forward about 6 months we found a new school, based on the referral of a neighbor (neighbor's son is 2nd Dan, husband is 1st Dan, and she just received her Red). It's been about a year now, and we have been enjoying our training, and attending class as often as possible. I received my assistant instructor certification last year, and my son is hoping to get his soon as well. We're both looking forward to testing for our Black about this time next year! Exco