iolair

Depends how out of shape you are. If VERY is the answer, walking is a good start...

Did your uncle have pointy ears and come from the planet Vulcan by any chance?

The kickboxing I've done did not have belt gradings - though a quick internet search found several kickboxing schools which did use belts. I need some sort of visible sign of achievement to motivate the kids... I think that belts would be best because most kids have a vague idea what they mean already....

Starting next week, I'm going to be running a kickboxing club at the school where I teach... the style is basically American Kickboxing, aimed at competing Semi-Contact rules. I need to decide what to do about belt gradings... I am roughly brown-belt standard in kickboxing, but don't have a qualification (I'm quite happy that my level is sufficient to run the school club). I'm not currently member of any karate or kickboxing organisation. As far as I see it, I have three options... 1) Don't award belt grades. However, kids like this kind of reward and the idea of belts to aim for is likely to motivate them. 2) Get an outside black belt holder in to examine them. Not a bad idea, except that I don't know anyone suitable in the area (I haven't looked into it in too much detail yet though). 3) Award my own belts (only up to a level or two below brown belt), knowing that the belts will have no validity at all outside the school. What do you think? (BTW, the kids will be aged 11 - 16 years old)

Starting next week, I'm going to be running a kickboxing club at the school where I teach... the style is basically American Kickboxing, aimed at competing Semi-Contact rules. I need to decide what to do about belt gradings... I am roughly brown-belt standard in kickboxing, but don't have a qualification (I'm quite happy that my level is sufficient to run the school club). I'm not currently member of any karate or kickboxing organisation. As far as I see it, I have three options... 1) Don't award belt grades. However, kids like this kind of reward and the idea of belts to aim for is likely to motivate them. 2) Get an outside black belt holder in to examine them. Not a bad idea, except that I don't know anyone suitable in the area (I haven't looked into it in too much detail yet though). 3) Award my own belts (only up to a level or two below brown belt), knowing that the belts will have no validity at all outside the school. What do you think?

Is he after attention? By rewarding those who pay attention and follow instructions with more attention and verbal rewards, he may be more inclined to follow. If you get ANY good behaviour from him, even small things, make sure you reward it. Failing that, martial arts are too dangerous to have such a wild card in the club, so I agree with Valithor - if he still plays up ban him for a week, and then for good if he doesn't improve.

A female friend of mine said she thought men always looked stupid doing Aerobics... Personally, I prefer to do running or skipping (with some occasional swimming and cycling) for my aerobic work, and do a THOROUGH stretch after any aerobics or weight work. I also do dynamic stretching on my legs and core most days.

What are your proudest moments in your martial arts career? I've got a couple to start with: In my University Karate club we were working on the side thrust kick. This was a big club with plenty of Dan grades but I was a measly 4th Kyu. The instructor (Professor Stephen Chan, 6th Dan Seidokan) stopped the class, walked over and asked me to show my kicks again. After I did, he turned round to the watching class and said "Look, textbook kicks". I felt very chuffed to be singled out in the presence of so many higher grades. The second was last night - I've just started last week at a Ju Jitsu club, and was working in a pair with a kicking shield. The instructor knew I'd done some Karate & Kickboxing before, and wanted to see if my kicks were up to standard. I did a front thrust kick on the shield held by my partner - and sent him flying more than six feet back through the air. It was a very satisfying moment! The instructor looked a little gobsmacked but just said "um, good power!". (It's 17 years since I first started doing front kicks, so they should really be good now though)

It's not so bad. While I need to think a little to make sure I get enough protein, I have no problem making sure I get enough vitamins, minerals or fibre in my diet, and naturally tend to eat a much lower fat diet than the average meat eater.

Watching weight is pointless - it's better to watch body fat. You can get scales which measure body fat electronically, or some gyms will offer more accurate methods. Recommended healthy range for males is 8 to 20% - I'd say if it's less than 6% then you desperately need to build some bulk, if it's over 8% I wouldn't worry.

I can only (just!) do 3 pull ups ... I've always found it really hard to build upper body strength (strange - no problem building leg strength or endurance). I'm not convinced 3 is enough to get a training effect? What's the best way to get going on pull-ups? I have some free weights - and a large beam (my punch bag is hung on it), but no access to a gym.

I also understood that 5th Dan was the highest rank awarded for skill in Karate, and higher ranks were awarded for your "services to Karate". There's no implication that a 10th Dan is technically any better than a 5th Dan.

I agree - although a quick web search will easily find free information, the only way you can really learn these moves is with someone real & cooperative to practice on.

I became vegetarian at 13, and started martial arts at 14 (I'm now 30). Personally I find the vegetarian diet great - BUT I take protein supplements (protein milk shakes) when I'm strength training, otherwise I find it too hard to build muscle. Supplements aside, the following are good sources of protein: Eggs (especially egg whites - keep yolks in moderation because of fat content) Milk Soft Cheeses, Cottage Cheese, Yoghurt Beans, Lentils, Chick Peas Nuts (in moderation: also quite fatty. Walnuts are rich in brain-helping Omega 3 Fatty Acids) For the type of aerobic training you do in most martial arts, high-carb is more important than high-protein - especially if you work out more than 9-10 hours a week.

Do you know (roughly) what the grading requirements are for the different belts?

Stand a chance? Certainly... But given development in training methods etc., the odds would be stacked against him somewhat. In reality of course, there's no real way to know how he would have got on...

Most of my kicks are delivered from the lead leg, I particularly drill front, roundhouse, hook and side kicks. It may make a difference that I'm a right-hander who leads with my right side...

One run a week LSD (Long, Slow, Distance) for the Endurance. Then (once you can run 4 or 5 miles comfortably) interval runs once or twice a week to build up fitness for the ring/competition or whatever. For example, if you box 3 minute rounds with a 1 minute break, you might do: 1 minute moderate running 1.5 minutes fast running 30 seconds sprint - followed by 1 minute jog or walk recovery Then repeat.... Skipping can work as well as the intervals, if you vary the intensity.

Hip throw is an essential for me ... I've put it to very good use against the kind of slow, wide, hooking punch an untrained fighter will throw at you.

When I used to attend a Judo club, there'd often be a part of the training session where we had to do randori (practice-sparring) without our jackets on...

I agree - get a gi top to wear while you attend training sessions in this club, and wear their patch. Use your own gi with your own patch everywhere else. You should wear the club's patch while you are training in that club to show respect to the head instructor there.

I think there's some evidence that static stretching (where you hold the stretch for so many seconds) reduces power in your kicks for a time afterwards (maybe a couple hours I think). But in the long term, more flexible muscles allow your limbs to move faster, and that means more power.

I disagree on counts (1) and (3), and am undecided on count (2) from your original post. If he says the latest studies prove him right, ask him to write down for you the names of the studies - probably some of them are available on the internet and you can check out what he's talking about for yourself. I found the following article very interesting, you may do too: http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=256

I used to do Judo, I found the throws quite difficult because my height made it difficult to get in under my opponent's centre of gravity (I'm 6ft 2ins / 1.87m). I ended up using a lot of sacrifice throws in competition to compensate. Being tall doesn't seem to add any extra difficulty to groundwork though.

Seido (the style I started in: an offshoot of Kyokushinkai) - headquarters website http://www.seido.com Seidokan (no relation to Seido - and I'm afraid despite training in it for over a year I know little about it)