darksoul

I love being the demo dummy. It's a privilege! I don't think you can even get to black belt in Kempo without being the punching bag once or... ok... many times

That's one of the main things that kept Kempo out of WKF tournaments. I'm happy for this. This is good

It could be good. I couldn't find any reviews on it though. Have you gone in for a sit-in? Have you talked to any of the students? I would say go check it out. Don't pay anything yet, ask to watch or even participate in a class or two. Talk to senior AND new students. Get perspective. If you love it, join it. $45/month is pretty good.

Hmmm... kids classes. When I taught kids classes, I was pretty demanding in terms of respect and focus. I made kids stand in corners, do push-ups, whatever I needed to if they didn't pay attention. Honestly, seems like your instructor is not reigning his class properly. You're 14, have you thought of asking your instructor if you can join in the adult classes? If you show proper focus and respect, they may allow you to do so. As for rolling up the gi's, I have my gi rolled up about half-way up my forearms. It's a comfort thing for me.

Yes, definitely look for your own gi if possible. I was able to get a $200 gi for $100 on ebay. Obviously this is an advanced/instructor gi, but I sent one of my student there to look for his and he got one for about $40, shipping included. As for sparring gear, same thing.

Good point.

Thank you for finding the words I couldn't

I must say I'm a bit confused by this... the hips, at least in Kempo are often used to generate power, to move an opponent, and to balance. Am I missing something?

BEST OF THE BEST! OMG! I had forgotten about that movie!

Yep... and as Wastelander posted, some McDojo's teach effective martial arts as well. Just be careful, be educated, check out the dojo before jumping in.

Welcome!

Happy happy birthday! From all of us to you! Happy happy birthday! Now let's all do kung fu!

Myth - Shaolin Kempo has nothing to do with Shaolin Truth - USSD style Shaolin Kempo has LITTLE to do with Shaolin until higher ranks. Other, non-franchised, Shaolin Kempo schools teach the Shaolin aspects earlier on. Myth - Shaolin Kempo is kung fu in a karate gi Truth - While Shaolin Kempo pulls a lot of techniques from kung fu, especially when you have an instructor with a strong kung fu background, Shaolin Kempo is a combination of Japanese Shotokan Karate and Chinese Kung Fu. The gi and Pinans comes from the Shotokan side, while our many hand-strikes, use of the 5 animals, and katas tend to be more Kung fu. If I think of more, I'll edit

In reply to JusticeZero - Japanese martial arts pretty much always trained barefoot as it was expected to remove your shoes when entering a home/dojo/place of worship. We train both ways. Outside with shoes. Inside barefoot. That was my only reply, the rest I'll leave to you guys to discuss

Well thanks for reading! The 8 and 10 point blocks are very much taken from Japanese karate. The plum tree is more kung fu. The way I'm being told to re-work Plum tree makes me feel like I'm doing kung fu in a karate gi Edit: Learned a new technique yesterday - drunken kung fu kempo. Surprisingly effective.

8/05 15 mins stretching 1 hour forms workout 1 hour kempo/DM workout Last hour got rained out...

I wonder if they teach Ameri-do-te?

I teach to get better. Giving the techniques to new students makes me remember my early belt techniques, forces me to work on them, and, in turn, makes me a better martial artist. I don't think I've ever mat an instructor who did it for the money... I mean... what money? lol

All my forms are tangible. Master Paquette actually explains everything in great detail now that I have to adjust every form I've learned from white to black to match his dojo. His versions make way more sense

1) I'm an atheist, so no. 2) Totally! 3) You bet 4) No, most of my employers never knew I was a martial artist 5) Absolutely! 6) Obviously 7) Kind of... Definitely will agree that everything we do is influenced by others in some way.

I'm with JusticeZero... it's just not important. It's like asking "do you prefer an Asian sensei over a white/black/purple/gradient/polka-dotted sensei?" Who cares? Doesn't hurt you or affect you in the least. Edit: I would kill for a polka-dotted sensei LOL

We do both in Kempo, depends on the situation, technique used, etc... Spear hands will obviously penetrate (I like throat, right below the ribs, other soft tissue...) Thrust punches will push Immortal man will penetrate Front ball kick will push Side blade kick will penetrate etc.. etc.. etc...

Wow! Thank you all so much! Totally unexpected but I'll take it! Thanks again!

Thanks for the info, but I actually ordered from a local guy in town my Master recommended. I came close to ordering form Black Belt Shop too... boy am I glad I didn't!

It has happened to me, however it wasn't in a positive environment like yours. I was attacked after a show, and I defended myself. Funny thing is, this was 8 years after I had stopped due to a knee injury. It's also what sent me back into the dojo.