ninjanurse

A caution about weight lifting and martial arts... May sure that you have a good stretching program and do it consistantly or you will find that you will lose flexibility as you gain strength and muscle.

Shudokan, in my experience, is heavy on street self defense techniques. A good choice for someone interested in traditional martial arts too! You might also check around for a school that teaches the LYNX system of self defense.

Muay thai would be an excellent choice!!!

What about finding a style that teaches cane? Also find a school that is willing to modify techniques in an effective way for you. IMO if they can't (or won't) then they don't get what self-defense is about and are too narrow minded to waste your time with!

Do LOTS OF STRETCHING!

aes, That sounds really complicated-no wonder your nervous !!!!!! My experience has been similar to monkeygirls. But the bottom line is presentation. If you are going to mess it up, do it with style!!!!! Good luck!!!

No offense taken Ken , thanks for the support Pacificshore . There are many style differences even among schools in the same associations, i.e. WTF, ITF,etc. I am finding geographical differences also!

KickChick, We had "Tips" for Shodans for a while but it didn't last. You got one for each 2nd degree pretest you passed (usually one every 3 months) and when you collected them all you were eligible to test. It helped break the class down for curriculum work but didn't light anybody's fire.

A wheel kick is simply a hook kick delivered from behind like a back kick. When teaching students I have them turn and look as if they are throwing a back kick; chamber their back kick (so they are now almost in a side position); and then throw a hook kick. Many repetitions delvelop muscle memory and then it can be sped up for power. A hook kick is basically a side kick with a hook on the end, i.e. the leg is extended to the side of the target and then "hooked" into the target. Finish with your kicking knee inline with the target kinda like the recoil on a roundhouse kick. Hope this helps.

Palgwes 1-8 Kicking combinations: basic and sparring style Jump kicks: front, side, round, back All basic techniques and kicks -in Korean! One-step sparring sets 1-9 Wrist releases Knife defenses Self defense 1-4 Arnis blocks and counters, sinwale and double sinwale BJJ techniques-basic escapes and counters Free sparring Board breaking: 4 basic kicks Conditioning Written examination

Yeah you're right Haven't been to a BB class yet-I'm not big on secrets...I'll have to see about that . I understand your frustration with the self defense issue...they do seem to delay the more complex techniques until higher belt levels. One school of thought being K.I.S.S. !!! I think you should go were you want or you'll never be satisfied-eventhough I'll never get to train with you . Martial Arts is a personal journey...your man should understand that. If not...????

At my old school when you reached brown belt you could be "invited" to attend Special Training which was held every Saturday morning starting 2 months before each BlackBelt Test (we had 2 a year). At red belt you were expected to attend and if you were eligible for the BB test it was required. Special Training consisted of 2-3 mile run up a mountain road, wind sprints, kicking drills, mega sets of pushups and situps, firemans carry, stepups, basics, forms, and whatever else they could think of. By the time the test came around you should be in shape for testing-and if you attended every special training from brown belt up you definetly had an advantage at the test. Our BB tests were 2-3 days (depending on what dan), the 3rd day was intense physical conditioning for 2-3 hours. During lower belt level classes conditioning consisted of pushups, sit ups, plyometrics, and an occasional "boot camp" week.

I think you have gotten a lot of good advice here , but everyone seems to be focusing on this McDojo idea and that paying money for something you don't like is stupid. While I basically agree with that (think alot of schools are in it for the money), consider this...YOU LOVE MARTIAL ARTS and it seems to me you are in a position to get the best of two worlds. First, train with your partner and enjoy growing in the martial arts together-maybe someday you can open your own school and run it the way you want (like Mr. Lafler... ); second learn the other art and grow in that to supplement YOUR own "style". Take the good things about each one and discard the bad. You will find things that you don't like about any dojo that you train in... it all comes down to what you want out of it. I guess you could say I trained in a McDojo but I never saw it that way at all, I wanted the training and I definetly got what I paid for because I WANTED it. Not all students in "mcDojo's" have this want-they are in it for other reasons. As far as changes in your dojo go, why not become part of those changes (I plan to try my hardest to ) and offer up your own ideas...your instructor should be open to you expressing yourself and welcome new ideas...and may even appreciate the help. I know that some of the changes he is thinking about will be a good thing-he seems passionate about TKD, but remember his interest is Olympic style and I see that reflected somewhat in the school now (durring my visit with him he talked alot about it). Now I am not trying to speak for him but I think he realizes that not all students want to go down that road and he wants to change to offer other things...and to make more rounded students (that is just my first impression...time will tell if this is a correct assessment ). Ultimately it is about what YOU want and given your dedication to both martial arts and your man, I think you have made the right decision for what you want now....however, as hard as change may be there is always room for it and you may want it someday. I hope this makes sense and I didn't ramble too much...

From what I've seen, they just spar. The gentleman teaching the class wasn't too specific about its origins.

Has anyone heard of a system called ibuki do? New guy in town opened a school...never heard of it before.

I whole heartedly agree with you on the ego thing!

Tang Soo Do (many years ago) Tae Kwon Do (currently)

When in Rome....

One of my sensei's used to say: We all get to black belt on a different path, i.e. a different set of forms, a change in the chamber of a technique, etc. Once we are there, the paths seem to come together and we all travel similar roads-learning each others techniques and forms-until we share a common "art". Just curious as to what your thoughts are on this. It has been true in my experience.

Everyone in my family does Martial Arts.We homeschooled so the kids spent most of their time at the dojang taking classes and/or teaching. We picked TKD for the kids because of the program and the difficulty we were having teaching our own kids karate. I decided to join in order to enhance my karate skills(especially sparring ). We were all hooked fairly quickly!! Three of the 4 kids are black belts (one is a 2nd degree), the youngest (11)is a brown belt. My hubby is a Shodan in Shotokan and a Professor of Jujitsu.

Check out any school affiliated with Ernie Reyes West Coast Martial Arts Association. They have an EXCELLENT childrens program-starting at age 3. There are schools all over the Bay area and if there isn't one around you-they may know an affliliated school that is. Martial arts has something to offer all ages!!! Good luck!

I have studied several styles of MA and TKD is definitely my favorite! When I first ventured into a TKD school, I was a Shotokan BB with a small school looking to enhance my sparring skills with speed and flexibility . I fell in love with the art and eventually began teaching TKD instead of Shotokan! Some of the things I like: Speed High kicks Incredible spirit and energy Keeps me flexible (in my old age ) Incorporation of other arts (in my TKD school anyway) and of course...Tradition! There's also something about TKD'ists...I can quite put my finger on it but they're just special people!!!! No disrespect to my former Sensei's intended-they were special too, but in a different way.

There should be a set of "boards"-one for each belt. These boards are a listing of the techniques learned at each level and one must pass each "board" in order to advance. There is no real sparring in traditional jujitsu styles because students are taught finishing techniques that would not be appropriate in sparring situations. In otherwords, in combat, techniques are done full out for self defense and to hold back in a sparring situation would be detramental to the technique (and hence lessen its effectiveness in real combat). "Sport" jujitsu on the otherhand encourages students to spar and attend tournaments-similar to judo. (This is my experience only, other systems of jujitsu may have another way or philosophy )

Weight bearing exercise actually helps to build stronger bones by making the calcium more readily available to the bone tissue. The key is making sure you are geting enough calcium in your diet-preferably from natural sources...and yes, you can get enough calcium in your diet without eating dairy products!!!!! "Brittle bones" are actually a result of osteoporosis and/or degenerative processes such as arthritis. Unfortunately once a bone has started to breakdown there is little that can be done....so prevention is really the key here! I can tell you from experience that repetative injury to a joint from joint locks, breaking bricks, etc. can cause arthritis and may result in breakdown of bone as you get older . Take care of your body now or pay later!

Repitition is the mother of skill.