maisweh

apparently if you have that status, its like being super saiyin

i'm under the impression that if a school can trace its lineage in direct succession to the pre meiji era, it can be considered for koryu status.

ah the dreaded search feature...

anyone else keep a training log? i keep one for my weight training, as well as karate. lately we have started a fitness class and have a chart in the back with the people who want to participate on how much weight theyve lost, how much more weight they can lift, how much better their cardio has gotten. also, after they learn their first form, i video it, and then when they get to blue/green belt i video it again and show them just to show them the transition to how much better they've gotten. anyone else do anything like this?

well, knowing how 10-14 year olds are, but not knowing the situation, i would say either his parents aren't doing a good job disciplining them at home, or hes just being a typical teenager. most people i know understand that belt rank is just a color, and it can be taken away, but you cant take away skill and knowledge. stop focusing so much on what others are doing, and focus on what you're doing.

actually, i fail to believe that okinawin martial arts developed as civilian self defense. most of the notable practioners or instructors, were descended from well to do lineage. i dont think that the average citizen would want to practice martial arts by night in secret after working in the fields all day. as far as koryu goes, ive never heard of goju referred to as such. most schools that im aware of are of the classical arts, such as weapons arts, samrai, and some ninjitsu/taijitsu if they can trace their lineage.

You just hit the nail on the head... martial arts has indeed "evolved" from fighting - and that's the whole point. K. i asked it as a question, as in general do you feel that it has evolved, not as a statement. why do you feel it has evolved? because of some zenlike philosphy that was fed to the american public?

As in Hatsumi Masaaki sensei from Bujinkan? Ok, why is that then may I ask? No, fighting is about kicking and punching. Martial arts has many more layers imo. And that's probably the nub of it - when it comes to what people want / expect out of their training. Traditional arts suit some people but not others. Some are into the history and cultural roots but some are not. Thats all fine by me K. While I do have respect for hatsumi and find him impressive, the whole not bro able to verify lineage thing thows me off, but that's a different discussion. So, did martial arts evolve from fighting? And then if not, what is the point of it? Watch anime and take up dancing lessons then, or take a history class.

japanophile. thats what it comes down to. i can care less what japanese guy you trained under (unless its hatsumi, but thats a totally different discussion) martial arts is about kicking and punching, hence the "martial," not this deep understanding of life or anything philosophical. i would rather learn from someone in shape who can teach me something useful than an overweight couch potato sensei who thinks bloodsport is real, that he can throw ki balls at me, and thinks ashida kim is a god, regardless of who your japanese instructor is. seminars and tournaments are usually open to the public anyway, or anyone with cash.

and then, there's the people who like stripes on their belt, and feel like their system is t3h ultimate for t3h str33tz, if you get what i mean.

ive seen the tkd guard down and flutter kick thing, to block their ribs. they also dont really punch because unless its a "perfect" punch with perfect form, it doesnt count as a point. i had one of mine compete in one of their tournaments, clinch up and throw hook punches to the ribs and made the kid give up even with the chest pad on... but didnt get a single point

Following NBL this year. Thought about doing NASKA but I'm still not sold on their seeding system yet or the fact that "finals" is 3 hours of kids flipping around and 6 minutes of sparring.

Because I've been in fights. So have you ever seen a crescent kick to disarm a gun or knife wielding opponent? i havent. have you ever seen a forearm block taught to defend a baseball bat? this is some of the junk being taught as self defense. the argument here is sport karate. Your correlation between basketball and sport karate hold no value, also. Do I teach or do I even like the kids who do flips and scream and use toothpick weapons? No, but its their choice and not mine. Have I ever seen someone teach to turn their back so they won't get hit? No. Because in 90% of leagues you can hit to the back of the head unless they're on the ground. Know what most, if not all sport karate schools teach? Front leg side kicks, front leg round kicks, blitzing which is just a back first reverse punch combo, and defensive side kicks. Also spin kicks. I have never seen or even heard of a school teaching to turn their back to avoid fighting, much less drilling it. If you have seen that, I dread what they will do in a real altercation

its a game. play by the rules. if people want to devote their training to competition, then let them. most competitors i know never played any other sports in school or were the outcasts, so they finally found something they enjoy doing and can do it as a sport. i see plenty of invalid techniques practiced in regular "mainstream" arts. what i call invalid is stuff that probably wont work ever in a real event.

Horse dancing and speed walking is still a sport...

exactly. the part where he says if it were a real fight i wouldnt ax kick you in the head either, but if i can kick you in the head faster than you can kick me, i will win a race to the knees also. trophies blah blah glorification blah blah. i dont even take trophies home, unless its cool awards like jackets or rings or belts, i just like compeition. like you said, most people who dont like competition generally dont do well in them

http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2012/01/06/open-karate-tournament-success/ ^^^ this http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2008/03/09/facing-a-harsh-reality-sparring-measures-skill-you-just-arent-as-good-as-you-thought/ and this ^^^^^^

Personally, I don't see a point in the non NASKA divisions. You pay the same money, and you don't get points like NASKA. So when you do start in regular NASKA divisions, you have to start from the bottom seeding wise. I don't agree wth NASKA forms rules at all, or they're forms rules in general a way.

also, just because its a"traditional" division doesnt mean its a traditional form. most people on the NASKA circuit just create a flashy traidiotnal looking form to win

pretty big. he will be judged harshly as there is seeding in NASKA for forms and kids with team names on their back usually get better scores.

we dont have testings. pretty much if you know the material in class, and if you can hang with the people a grade higher than you, then you get the belt. most of my yellow belts have been with me about ayear and a half and they are head and shoulders above everyone elses, at least in competions. im not so much worried about form or the correct angle of the back or front foot. may just be the boxing or kickboxing that rubbed off the only "formal" grading we have is 1st kyu, and its mostly just to see how bad you want it. when i did mine, it was a 2 mile run, three 5 minute fights with different poeple, 2 minutes of burpees, 2 minutes of pull ups, 2 minutes of sit ups, 2 minutes of push ups, horse stance for 15 minutes with arms straight out, stomach punches and conditioning testing, random choke defense and grab defence against random resisting opponents at random times... THEN kata

Well, in y'all opinion, what can make one association more legitimate than others? Oh and I am leaning toward option 2. Since I'm not tryin to run a commercial school

all the soke boards and all that. A friend of mine joined a style, me also, with the goal of learning more to add to our style and possibly advance in rank. It soon became that I started getting letters and emails saying that I should be advanced due to time in grade, then I had to pay a large sum in my view to get a cert, making myself feel that without it, I was illigetimate. After meeting a few other people that were a part of it, most were overweight younger (40 something's) 10th dans which had less physical abilities than me, splurged on these pimped out belts, taught the same forms as me, yet demanded that we call them grandmaster because they started their own system. Some we found more and more online, basic karate with a little bit of judo or ground stuff or taekwondo, called their system the ultimate system in the world, and viola, new system. Bad taste in my mouth from it

Actually, I don't charge for certificates. I don't run a "commercial" school, just something out of an extra building a friend has. I have MAYBE 30 students. That's pushing it too. I looked into training at other places before I started with a small group of friends, but can't get over the $120 a month for 2 days a week and $50 a testing for a belt that only costs $3, all to go to an org. It is classes and I do get paid for teaching, but I'm not making a living off it. One of my guys does boxing so we incorporate that into our training regularly. It's actually a damn good workout and pretty practical. Anyway, my guys just want to know why I can't promote higher, and I just can't do the "self promote" thing. Option 2) (better in my opinion) is just delete all ranks after black. Keep our current system of white, green, purple, brown, black and delete Dan ranks. Which doesn't bother me in the slightest

Because anyone can make up a style and call it legitimate. Seems like that's the "cool fad" to do lately. Either way, style doesn't matter. Lets just say we practice pinan1-5, jion, seiechuin (spelling on that one,) anan, and chinto. Pretty basic lineup. Just seems like anyone and everyone can start a group, charge $400 for a certificate, and call it universal. I'm just looking for generally accepted and not money hungry orgs