vantheman

Definitely! People dismiss the arts used in MMA as "sport arts" far too often. The reason they have become sport arts is BECAUSE they are effective, practical, arts (NOT the other way around). The only difference between sport situations and self defense situations is that you are in a larger disadvantage and fewer rules in the latter. This brings up an important issue: while you can now bite, gouge, hit below the belt, ect, now there is nothing against your opponent pulling out a club, knife, or gun. That is where the non-sport aspects of the art come out. That being said, I am sure most, if not all, MMA fighters are capable of kicking you in the groin or defending against a knife/gun. So what does all of this have to do with practicality? What I am trying to say is if an art is designed/taught/trained in a way mainly geared to one venue, it doesn't mean that it is ineffective in another. Just because an art is known for its highly traditionally methods or for its use in the UFC, does not mean that it is not practical (meaning it is applicable in real-world self defense situations). On the other side of the argument, just because an art isn't used in MMA doesn't automatically mean it's ineffective (although the converse of that is almost always true). A good example of this is Krav Maga: it contains some basic Muay Thai along with various weapon defenses/disarms. Then again, all of this depends on your definition of practical. Literally speaking, the definition is "likely to succeed or be effective in real circumstances." This is what I based my philosophy off of, but as long as you are getting what you want out of your training (and the training is legit, but that is an entirely different topic), you do not have to worry if your Karate is "practical".

Karate has much practicality in it. While some more Modern-style artists criticize things such as kata and other traditional aspects, Karate has applications in both Self defense and Sport situations (many MMA fighters do incorporate some form of karate into their cross-training regimen). That being said, cross training with a different art will only make you more versatile in both the street and in the competition.

My instructor would treat me like we were both people. He did not let his rank give him the grounds to make himself superior to everyone else. He showed he cared for me as a person, not just as an instructor.

While there is something to be said for the fading spiritual aspects of Martial Arts, many traditional arts are evolving, not dying. While incorporating other arts may compromise the purity of the original art, it also serves to increase the effectiveness and compatibility of the art in both sport and street situations. While part of the MMA movement may be a fad, it is also a part of the evolving culture of the world.

Name on one side (in English) Tiger, Leopard, Snake, Dragon, Crane on the other (In Kanji)

I think it is Purple or blue (3rd or 4th rank) for kids, and yellow (second rank) for adults in my dojo.

Hour long classes for me as well. However, I also go to two classes most days, the adult class, then the black belt session. The adult class is a review of more basic techniques and a good workout, while the black belts work on more advanced techniques, strikes, ect. On Tuesdays, there is BJJ instead of the Black belt class, which also works into the schedule pretty well.

I have been thinking about getting a pair of karate shoes lately. I figured asking around here would be a good idea. Do you guys use indoor martial arts shoes at your dojos? What brands would you recommend? Any input is appreciated!

From what I can tell Kobudo means something along the lines of "Ancient Martial Way" or "Way of the Ancient Warrior". In my style of Kempo, we focus primarily on stick fighting (Escrima), knives, and guns as far as weapons are concerned. As far as traditional weapons go, we focus on mainly forms. Not a ton of Kobudo as taught is other schools.

As far as disciplinary actions go, I think the offense would need to be either extremely disrespectful/distasteful or a bad misuse of status for a school to say they no longer want that student representing them as a black belt (or otherwise). As far as physical ability goes, I think that there is no reason to demote someone because they are not as fit as they were when they received the rank. Does anyone go around demoting their 10th DAN founding Grandmaster because they are 80 and may not perform as well in a sparring match a professional MMA fighter as they did when they founded the art? Like I said, for a student to get demoted, the offense has to be extreme.

Well I talked to the closest person to Musashi I know (he owns an MMA gym nearby, but is great with the katana) and will be getting lessons.

The more I researched this topic, the more I found this to be the case. An MMA coach that used to teach in our dojo has had lots of sword training, I will talk to him about taking some lessons. Thanks for the advice,

Hello all, I have never really ventured into much sword territory thus far through my Martial Arts career, and have been thinking about purchasing a katana (nothing special, probably just something off of Century) and was wondering if anyone could give any insight to what I should get or look for. I was thinking of something that could be used to chop up targets in my yard and practice Kata with. So far I have found wooden bokken, foam swords, a bunch of "For Display only" swords, Some really high end cutting swords, and a couple of expensive XMA swords. Like I said earlier, I don't need anything crazy, just something I can swing around and cut stuff up with. UPDATE: I did some research myself, and realized unless I want this happening, I need to get something higher quality than Century to be cutting stuff up (the "wall hangers" won't do). However, before I need to take a trip to the ER by accidentally cutting myself up with a katana, I think I will may train with something more safe before I start swinging around a sharpened carbon steel sword.Thanks,

Sorry for calling it a "Judo Roll" could not think of anything better to call it. (except a somersault of course) I know a few guys who can pull off the first roll a bit better than a somersault, but this was the best video I could find.

Through my martial arts experience, I have done many different kinds of rolls, but there seem to be two major ways to perform a front roll. (Both can be seen in this video ) The judo roll (roll 1 in the video): A modified somersault, the hands remain in the center and stay on the ground throughout the roll. The Shoulder roll (roll 2): Also know as a Parkour roll, this goes from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Which one does your art use more? Which one do you prefer? My school tends to do the shoulder roll style more, and we sometimes do a dive variant of it. (There is a third, Ninja-esque, roll at the end, but I haven't seen that as much as the other two)

Definitely. I also find that having a foundation in several different arts may help you find some of these things. What may just seem like some obscure strikes to a karate instructor can have a much deeper application to a Kung-Fu practitioner.

I guess the moves aren't "hidden" per say, rather they are just waiting to be found and interpreted. The main point for all of this (in my opinion, at least) is to not overlook kata and assume they are just an old tradition from ancient arts. I just get a little irritated when people think of (and sometimes perform) katas like they are just some organized flailing of the arms. Some people may just not have interest in performing katas, but this does not take away from their importance to many arts, and how they incorporate important techniques into the kata's movements.

I had a discussion with another martial artist about this a couple days ago, and figured here would be a good place to expand upon this. When you do katas, you run through a series of blocks, strikes, and other combos, often along with predetermined footwork. Every once in a while, you may see a technique that you have done outside of the form before (this often happens in Kempo with the numbered combinations). But have you ever looked deeper into what techniques were "hidden" in the form? Even in forms such as Pinan 1, you can modify the moves slightly to turn blocking a kick and punching into a wrist lock and toss. In other forms, what looks like some strange Crane movements can be turned into a double-arm-breaking toss of sort, and simple waves of the hands are really grabbing your attacker and flipping him. Hiding techniques seemed to be a useful practice for disguising techniques from beginners first learning the katas, as well as hiding moves from other schools that may "steal" the kata. My instructors are always hesitant to modify katas because of this. It is also explains why forms are so much more than just going thru the movements. What about your forms? Have any of you guys dissected a strange series of moves from you katas?

From that I would either conclude: a) It fits the definition of a McDojo, but has some significant business/marketing issues -or- b) The instructor is just bad in general and has little idea to what he is doing It could also be a combination of the two, and it isn't uncommon for the two to go hand-in-hand. In my opinion, the school helps fulfill the goals you have, (self defense, fitness, sport, demonstration, etc.) and does so without ripping you off, you are in a good situation. Also, having a knowledgable, good-charactered instructor is just as important.

Maybe I am oversimplifying a bit, but if your school has a very good instructor, than I think it is reasonable for him to charge a higher premium and having a higher-class lifestyle. People will pay more for a good instructor, and if an instructor is really dedicated to teaching martial arts (and is good at it), I think he deserves some profit.

There was always an old Hindu saying about character: "For the first 30 years of your life, you make your habits. For the last 30 years of your life, your habits make you." While I would say martial arts does have some effect on character (self confidence/esteem), it is usually not enough to turn someone 180 degrees (by itself anyways).

MMA has not made any big impacts (as far as I can see) in my dojo. The higher level classes begin to integrate elements from other martial arts, (including the kickboxing/muay thai that is used often in MMA) and BJJ and submission grappling classes are offered on the side, though I wouldn't consider my school an MMA gym by any means. My art/instructor focuses more on self defense than competitive aspects, but the overlap between the mindsets brings out some MMA ideologies during class.

1st Degree Black Belt in Chinese Kempo Karate Yellow belt in Submission Grappling A bit of dabbling (white belt) in Brazilian jiujitsu and Danzan ryu

Some styles use Japanese names, some use english names, Shaolin Kempo uses numbers... nothing but numbers: Kempo 3, kempo 5, 1st Tiger, 3rd crane, combination 85, 6 kata... Makes a very Martial Arts notebook considerably easy to organize Vallari left the names to the Kung Fu Masters and Shaolin Monks. Who knows? Maybe they were laughed at for creating names like "7 (or is it 8 ) deadly roses" (Hansuki). Nowadays, they sound pretty epic.

I haven't really used heavyweight gis enough to give a good opinion. As far as rank goes, I used a lightweight for my first 4 or so ranks, and then switched to middleweight for black belt up. I have recently started some Hawaiian jujitsu (Danzan ryu), and purchased a BJJ Uniform, and I wear that when my other uniforms are MIA or dirty. I was awarded my black belt about a month into my fifth year.