Harkon72

Thank you for posting, this video goes to prove that martial arts are more of a mental and spiritual endeavour than they are physical.

Happy Birthday! Penblwydd Hapus Bob! Enjoy your Day!

Wow, it's a great achievement, 50 years in martial arts. One thing that strikes me is the speed of progression through the Dan grades, Nidan to Sandan in a year, that's very impressive. The grading system is obviously different to our system of Aikido. My Sensei has studied Aikido for 40 years, ten of these in Japan, with Judo and Shotokan Karate but he only holds a 3rd Dan.

Do you want a real story of real Zombies? This is a film that tells the true story of how a young medical researcher recovered the secret of Zombiefication. The drug that was discovered and synthesized from his findings is used in most modern anesthetics today. If you have been under at the dentist or for surgery, you've had a derivative of the Zombie drug. It is called Tetraflourazine. The film of the story is called "The Serpent and the Rainbow." Enjoy.

I'll be honest, in my last Karate school, nothing. One step sparring is a false representation of self defense skills, we know that. Free sparring has nothing to do with a real situation either, no-one will stand off you and bounce now will they? Even so called self defense courses have a pattern of attacks and responses that depend on choreography and compliance. What I have found useful is the principals taught by my Aikido class, expect nothing, take nothing for granted, react to each opponent on their own merits, each encounter is different, everyone has a different speed, stance and power and a different point of balance. There are no rules, you apply the principals of Aikido differently each time against one or multiple attackers. You have no time to think of a plan, you must move yourself and not interfere with the attacker, just direct him until he is no longer a threat. I thought that Aikido was a total waste of time and had no practical use until I was taught it in the proper way and by real martial artists. "We let you think that, Aikido is a simple secret hidden in plain view; its manner is a total illusion, and that's how we like it." (Sensei John, Cork, Eire.)

Well, you've proved one thing - your punch works. This is a very important lesson. Martial Arts are not a sport. The techniques are designed to injure or even kill. Many people don't realize that. At their root, martial arts were a system for survival. They are nothing to be played with. The fact that we can practice them safely with each other is testament to our skill as martial artists. When training, even Roman Gladiators did not kill each other. But I can guarantee that a few times they got a nasty smack in the ribs or a bloody nose. Kumite is not real fighting, but accidents happen. If you miss time a strike, or your opponent walks into your kick, then they or you can get hurt. That's what happens in martial arts. If you draw blood in kumite competition, you can lose points or if you do it more than once you can lose the bout. Controlling your technique against a moving opponent takes practice and it is a sign of an advanced karateka when they can perform powerful techniques without hurting the opponent. Don't be discouraged, persist, I'm sure your Sensei understands the situation very well; he has seen it many times I'm sure and possibly has done it himself. All you can do is try and learn from your experience. I was training Aikido last night, in stepping into my opponent, I broke two of my toes. I just carried on carefully, my friend doesn't even know about it. Injuries happen all the time, karate and the like are contact practices; if a punch was not to land heavily every now and again, I would question your commitment. Good luck and good sparring.

It sounds obvious, but it's not the kata you do; it's how you do it. Good Luck.

8 - 15 to 1.

My present club charges £10 a year membership that includes comprehensive insurance. £5 for each 2 hour session, which you pay at the time, so only each time you attend, and £10 for each grading which happen once a year. I think it's a good deal. Our Sensei does not believe that you should attempt to make a living from your martial art, he says that you lose the ethic of what you started and it takes away any spiritual aspect. I tend to agree with him.

As I have said in other posts, our club does not give out coloured belts. Our members are graded but it is not apparent what grades they have, we all wear white belts. The Dan grades wear hakama and you cannot see their belts. As Sensei Halsall said; "Gareth, I don't need to see your belt, I can tell by looking at your movement what level you are at." I thanked a visiting senior Aikidoka for his instruction after a course I attended, I called him "Sensei", he smiled as he showed me the white belt that he wore, "I'm not your Sensei, I'm a beginner in life as you are; we all help each other here."

Oh yes, the style based argument of ball vs instep. Or, what I call the Shotokan vs Muay Thai round kick debate. With a front kick, the foot position is more forgiving than presenting the ball of your foot to the target in a round house kick. I always was taught that the choice between ball or instep depended on the target and also the footwear you were wearing. There is nothing better than a roundhouse kick with a steel toe magnum boot on your foot. In the dojo, hitting something with the ball of the foot can be a challenge. The only way to improve your foot weapon is to condition the shape of the foot and stretch the Achilles tendon. It takes time and it can be frustrating. But you will make steady progress if you persist, just don't force it as pain is not what you want; your body will fight back even harder. I started to study traditional Aikido this year, what we condition is our wrists and the key is to relax; with karate, it is much the same.

I'm not really into martial arts books, but I read "The Book of Five Rings" and thought it was subtle and very profound. As a general martial arts book, you can't beat "The Way of the Warrior - the paradox of the martial arts." It's the most interesting book on the subject that I have read.

Yes, my previous Sensei's daughter. She was born into it. She was awarded Shodan at 10 years old. I think it was token at best, she's a child. I don't think that all the Dan grades in her father's association deserve their grades; but that's another story.

What I mean is a Dan grade referres to an adult. To be an effective martial artist in my view, you must have the maturity to know what you are doing. You can look at a martial artist as a warrior, male or female, but sorry, not as a child. Are you telling me that that little girl knows the Bunkai to that Kata? She might as well be doing ballet, it's a series of movements to her, nothing more.

Oh Wow! "The Holy Grail of Self Defense." C'mon guys, so they really have cracked the nut of being the ultimate self defense system? Tell them to join the Que.

I'll play Devil's advocate here; if your practice has no fighting or defense in mind, then is it a martial art at all? I thought that combat effectiveness was what martial arts were for, by definition. I know of a so called Wado Ryu Karate master who doesn't believe in teaching the applications of kata at all. His students are taught the moves and that's it. I asked him about this and he said "Bunkai is for Gangsters." So what he teaches is not karate at all in my opinion. Many people train for stylized competition or braking things for the sake of it, but at the end of the day, if your art has no martial application; it isn't a martial art, it's a simple as that. My present training is in Aikido, the philosophy is not to interfere with your opponent and not to directly oppose their attack. But in free randori; the attacker can make any attack they want. You are trained to apply the principals of Aikido to defend against and neutralize the threat. We train to respond to any attack and most of the time, from multiple attackers. That's why it's a martial art, we don't take the form or type of attack for granted. If there is no application that can be applied in combat, then I'm sorry you are practicing stylized aerobics, nothing more.

This little girl's form is almost perfect, she's a good karateka. That said, she is a child. This video reminds me of Japanese musical child prodigies that came to the world's view back in the 80's. They are children, they are brilliant, but their art is all they seem to know. China is a country that is producing large numbers of very gifted athletes, and they are again very talented. But at what cost? There have been reports that these children, as young as 3 or 4 are taught that failure in form is not an option. While this child has a Dan grade; please remember that the word "Dan" is Japanese for "Man". She may be brilliant, but in many senses of the concept, she is not a martial artist.

What makes a Martial Artist? I like this quote; "Don't fear a man that has practiced a thousand techniques, fear the man who has practiced one technique a thousand times."

I may be a little biased against these quick fix systems because of my work. I have worked in the mental health community for over 10 years. We as an advocacy charity for example have to train our staff to be safe in potentially dangerous situations. Finding a system of self defence for them is very difficult. We have had various trainers and so called masters offer us courses that sound fantastic on paper. They promise to provide sufficient training to make our advocates confident in three two hour sessions for example. That's rubbish, utter delusion. Not only do these courses offer no real scenario for defence, the techniques they teach give a false sense of security that is positively dangerous. The government endorsed system called "Breakaway Training" is hilarious, they should take it on the comedy circuit. The other system offered was based on Krav Maga. Now, I don't profess to being an expert, but if you think for a second that an attacker is going to show you the weapon before they strike you with it, then you are quite deluded. It may be that the individuals that teach this stuff are not up to scratch, maybe the system its self is fine, but I wasn't impressed. The problem with the health board advisers on this matter is that they think that mentally ill or disadvantaged people are idiots, and that they can be appeased by any old rubbish, but make no mistake, some of the most capable martial artists I have met have needed mental health care. Giving professional people Mickey Mouse self defence training is unacceptable and something I don't want on my conscience.

I train in Western Tomahawk and Bowi Knife. I've also tried Gurkha Kukri training. Also some Viking weapons and some renaissance Rapier and Dagger work with the Sealed Knot English Civil War society. That's it as far as Western Historical work for me.

I was watching David Caradine's Kung Fu series as a child. My father said; "See him, I taught him!" I was hooked, and only recently after my father's death did I realize how ironic his words were.

I work as an advocate at our local University, and as I have a student card; I can join as many sports or pass time clubs as I like. It was at freshers week last week, and I joined the meet and greet session at the collage Ju Jitsu club. I walked into the Dojo and began to talk to some of the international students . I began a conversation with an American, he told me he was a veteran of the US Marine Corps. Ok, I thought he looked a little young, but there you go. He then told me that he was a black belt in Krav Maga. Now I know that in Krav Maga they don't award belts. He then told me that he had practiced Karate for ten years. I asked him what style of karate it was. "Karate you Dork, what other style is there?" Now this was rude and he was getting a little aggressive in his manner. Listening quietly to this conversation were two foreign looking karateka. I'd met them that afternoon, they were both Kaiokoshin Dan grades from Iran. I felt my heart start to beat faster, for the next five seconds these 3 guys stared at eachother. It was obvious that these two Arabs wanted a piece of the American. Thankfully, I could call over the Ju Jitsu Sempai and she led the Marine away. I spoke to the Iranians, I directed them to the Shotokan Sensei; I'll go and see how they will get along there next week. I wasn't expecting to be party to the start of WWIII in Bangor; I find it funny now, but I didn't at the time. I suppose it pays to keep your mouth shut in foreign Dojos.

Unfortunately tallgeeze, I live and work in Rural Wales. I love the people and the views but it can be very tribal here. The cities are not large, some communities are sparsely populated but as they say "The Police avoid our area, there are Beasts in them there Hills." I'm only from the Island that lies to the north of the coast, a few miles away. But it was a few months before I could walk into a bar in the village. This valley is the Welshest part of Wales. You would be very brave to wear an England sports shirt around here.

Yes, I didn't mention clothing; if you wear your club hoodie or tapout shirt in certain parts of town; you're signaling that you are looking for trouble. It just isn't done.

I think that being able to recognize another martial artist by the way they look or move is a myth. Maybe your body type or gait can give you away but from my experience, it is unlikely. One of my teachers, Arthur Lock, looks like an aging hippie, relatively small and wiry with piercing eyes. You would just about expect him to start singing an Irish folk tune or a lewd sea shanty after a few glasses of stout. But don't be fooled, his hands are lightening quick and his footwork is efficient and clever. Give him a knife or a stick and he could leave a trail of destruction. Mr Lock is just an example of a guy where your underestimation is something he knows very well.