iolair

I concentrate on having newcomers get confident with front kick and roundhouse before adding anything else, next would be side and back.

That's why I described myself as "Brown Belt Standard" instead of "a Brown Belt"... ... however, although the kickboxing I've done did not have grades, a quick web search will find you plenty of american kickboxing schools that do use belt grades. I've never seen any Muay Thai practitioners with a belt though.

When I used to do Karate, all the grades from beginner through instructor had our names on our gi tops. No-one had anything additional apart from the standard style badges on either their gi or their belt. This was quite a traditional style. Hope this helps.

Kickboxing - I've got a copy of "Kick Boxing - A Framework for Success" by Pat O'Keefe here on my desk which is an excellent introductory book. See the links below (especially the UK one) for reviews of the book. Amazon US link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1840240938/iolairwebroma-20 Amazon UK link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1840240938/iolairwebroma-21

I used to do Judo when I was younger, and was similar height and weight to yourself. I struggled with throwing somewhat, but relying on sacrifice throws helped me overcome that to an extent. In groundwork, I don't think my extra height gave me any disadvantage however. I've now filled out a bit (195lb) and do Ju Jitsu, where I've not found any problem because of my height. So a groundwork/takedown art would probably be fine - BJJ, Vale Tudo, traditional Ju Jitsu etc.

A long time now since I actually did any Kata (as I'm now training Kick Boxing and Ju Jitsu), but when I did, my favourite was Gekisai Dai.

I used to get shaky legs and abs when I used to do 3 - 4 km flat out on the treadmill - never noticed it any other time.

IMHO, drilling your basics until they become as second nature as walking is worth more than all the "advanced techniques" in the world!

At the school where I teach - it went pretty well. I had eight pupils turn up, which is apparently pretty good for a new club. I wrote a "lesson plan" with all the exercises, drills, stretches etc I was going to use, and had to refer to that a few times as I was going along. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. One of the pupils was actually a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Karate, which was kinda weird - especially as I had to correct him slightly on his kicking (I'm brown-belt standard in kickboxing...) I guess I'll know how well it really went when I see how many people I get next week!!!

There are 3 weapons in fencing - epée. foil and sabre. Epée is not "too controlled", basically the rules are that you have to hit the other person anywhere on their body before they hit you.... (The other two weapons have more in depth rules, but I've avoided those). Epée is really good fun - I can't compare it fairly to Kendo or Iaido as I've not studied them.

What's your club's format for gradings? I just took my first ever Ju Jitsu grading... it went liket this: The examining board sat at a table at one side of the mats, the candidates sat on the adjacent side waiting their turn (after we had all warmed up together). As I was newest and therefore going for the lowest grade there, I was up first! We went up in pairs, so that we could Uke for the other candidate. The other candidate and I then were then asked to go through the following... - Breakfalls - Punching Basics (we use Western Boxing punches) - Kicks (a senior grade came up to hold the kicking shield) - Disengagements (which for me was two defences against a rear strangle, three against a front collar grab). - Locks (my weak point - haven't been in the club enough time to learn many of these fluently yet!) - Throws - Blocks They then take a few minutes to make their decisions - although we didn't find out what they were until they'd graded the final candidates. You get a mark out of ten for each section, based on the range of knowledge and the quality of techniques... (I got 4 out of 10 for locks, 8 or 9 for everything else). A 70% overall mark means you've passed the grade you're going for. Although our instructor's a black belt (don't know what Dan), our heads of style come down for the gradings (once a year) - they are 8th Dan and 6th Dan. (P.S. Got the Yellow Belt I was going for )

Kicks are best when your opponent is still at a distance, before he comes in close enough for you to use your hands. (most "real" fights start when you're already too close to get a good kick though). Knees are good in a clinch. Otherwise, hands are usually better.

Kickboxing is a blanket term for several combat sports: American Kickboxing: a mix of Karate kicks and Boxing punches, in most rules the target area is only the front torso and head. Several sets of rules: Full contact (to knockout), Light contact, Semi contact (point sparring). Punches and kicks with the feet are allowed. Muay Thai: full contact only. Smaller variety of kicks than in American Kickboxing. Target area is the whole body. Strikes can be made with hands, elbows, feet, knees (head?). Savate - Boxe Francaise: french kickboxing - done wearing shoes (can someone more knowledgeable fill in more details?)

Yes, they are very strong on application. Kata aren't introduced until Brown belt.

I'm confident it's not a McDojo - they don't charge that much, and my instructor has a fantastic attitude. And by the time people reach Blue Belt (White, Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown), they have certainly reached a strong standard. I was just concerned that grades up to Orange/Green have maybe a little too much leniency on quality of techniques. Maybe I'm just underestimating my abilities - I've come a long way in the 15 years since I took my first Karate grading. BTW, my examiner was Trevor Roberts (also team coach of the UK Sambo team): http://www.favershamgym.freeserve.co.uk/jujitsu.htm http://sfuk.tripod.com/events/applied_jj.html

I've recently taken up Ju Jitsu and took my first grading today - a bit scary, as I'd been training far less time than anyone else grading up from white belt! Anyway, I still managed to skip Red and go straight to Yellow (the white belts that had been there six months rather than my one mostly went one further to Orange). Feeling very pleased with myself.... However, I can't help feeling that the grading felt a lot easier than the one's I'd done in Karate... The Ju Jitsu seems to expect quite a lot of techniques, but not a very high standard at low grades. The standard expected increases as you go up the grades. When I graded in Karate, there were fewer techniques for each grade, but we were expected to get them really fluent and powerful before going up to the next grade... Which approach do you think is better?

When I started Karate (17 years ago...), the club I went to had adults classes starting at age 14... (I was a few months before my 14th birthday when I started and went straight into the adults classes. Didn't find it a problem).

The reason I described myself as "roughly brown belt standard" is that the kickboxing I've done did not have any grades... However comparing myself against styles of kickboxing on the web that do have grades, I fit in around brown belt level. For the record, I am 30 years old and have 17 years experience of striking martial arts (and also have Qualified Teacher Status). While for my own use I don't see much use for grades/belts, they're an important motivator for kids. I've worked out a Junior syllabus, and intend to award "Junior Belts" (distinguished from Senior/Full belts by using belts with a white strip down the middle). Due to my own level, I intend to award belts only up to Junior Blue level (on the scale White , Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown). Hopefully by the time kids exceed this level, I will have suitably raied the level of my own kickboxing to "Black Belt" level and maybe found a club that awards belts to test me appropriately.

114 in 2 minutes properly?? I always thought a proper push up was one where you spent 4 seconds on the down motion... Anyway, I have no idea about your problem... but if you're seriously concerned you should check with a doctor (preferably a sports specialist).

Here's the sequence I use with the Junior Kickboxing class I teach 1) Warm-up & Cardio 1) Jogging on the spot 2) Jogging – raised knees 3) Jogging – kick backs 4) Star jumps 5) Twist jumps 6) Calf jumps 7) Knees-to-chest jumps Dodging side-to-side 9) Dodging forward-backward 10) Ski jumps side-to-side 11) Ski jumps forward-backward 2) Dynamic stretching 1) Neck: roll, side-to-side, up-down, shoulder-to-shoulder 2) Shoulders: shrugs, circle forward, circle backward 3) Reaching side stretch 4) Twisting side stretch 5) Front kicks 6) Side kicks 7) Back kicks (see http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=256 for 5-7 above) 3) Strength training 1) Calf Raise 2) Squats 3) Lunges 4) Standard push-ups 5) Crunches 6) Back extension 7) Abdominal Obliques Leg Raise 9) Close-hand push-ups 10) Neck resistance

By the way, here's the Syllabus I've drawn up to start them off on ... any comments? Abbey School Kickboxing Grade Requirements Junior Yellow Belt Punching Techniques Jab Cross Kicking Techniques Front thrust kick Roundhouse kick Movements Basic stance Stepping Lunging Defences Rear inner parry Shoulder raise Leg block Combinations 1) Double Jab 2) Jab-Cross Other Requirements 15 pushups 15 crunches Junior Orange Belt Punching Techniques Jab Cross Hook Uppercut Backfist Kicking Techniques Front thrust kick Roundhouse kick Front push kick Side thrust kick Movements Basic stance Half guard Straddle stance Stepping Sidestepping Lunging Defences Rear inner parry Lead outer parry Lower parry Shoulder raise Leg block Combinations 1) Double Jab 2) Jab-Cross 3) Jab-Cross-Lead Hook 4) Lead Body Hook – Lead Head Hook – Cross 5) Jab – Lead Roundhouse Other Requirements 20 pushups 20 crunches 2 minutes pad work 3 months since Junior Yellow Belt Junior Green Belt Punching Techniques Jab Cross Hook Uppercut Backfist Spinning Backfist Kicking Techniques Front thrust kick Front snap kick Roundhouse kick Front push kick Side thrust kick Spinning back kick Hook kick Outward crescent kick Movements Basic stance Half guard Cross guard Straddle stance Stepping Sidestepping Lunging Defences Slipping Layback Ducking Rear inner parry Lead outer parry Lower parry Shoulder raise Forearm block High X-Block Leg block Combinations 1) Double Jab 2) Jab-Cross 3) Jab-Cross-Lead Hook 4) Lead Body Hook – Lead Head Hook – Cross 5) Jab – Lead Roundhouse 6) Jab – Cross – Rear Roundhouse 7) Jab – Spinning Backfist – Rear Roundhouse Jab – Jab – Spinning Back Kick Other Requirements 25 pushups 25 crunches 2 minutes pad work Kicks demonstrated against target 6 months since Junior Orange Belt

Well, I start teaching the new kickboxing club tomorrow afternoon ... any last minute tips?

You're behind the times ... Savate was like this, until a Savateur was trounced in (I think) the 18th Century by an English boxer. After that, Savate incorporated the moves from Western Boxing. (Strictly, It's now known as "Savate - Boxe Francaise"). One distinction from other forms of kickboxing is that it's done wearing hard shoes, which allows strikes to be made with the toes. This gives the Savateur a few inches useful extra reach against those who thought they were just out of kicking range!

Most people have OK abdominal muscles, but they are hidden behind a layer of flat. Most of the battle to show your abdominals is shifting that fat through overall fat loss, by a low fat, calorie controlled diet.

Thanks for your ideas... I'm going to go with awarding my own belts ... with the slight twist that I'll call them "Junior Yellow Belt", "Junior Orange Belt" etc - making it clear that if they go to an adult club they'll need to retest for an Adult grade. When they grade, I'll be using Coloured Belts with a White stripe down the middle to distinguish them from the full belt grades (will be buying them from here --> http://www.playwell.co.uk/store/acatalog/WebStore_Grading_Belts_2.html "Junior Grade Belt: Coloured with White Stripe"). My Ju-Jitsu Sensei, who's a very well rounded martial artist, has offered to come in occasionally as a guest instructor, so that should give me enough feedback to make sure I'm teaching my students at a high standard. Now I just need to wait and see how many actually turn up!!