ninjanurse

Welcome!

I have a personal facebook and one for my school.....since everyone uses it is is a quick and easy way to get information to students. You can find the school on facebook at "Four Dragons Kwok Wu Chuen" .

Regardless of the actual word/articulation of the kihap the trick is to release the tension of the abdominal muscles (relaxation phase)-hence the emphasis on a two syllable word as it forces you to do this. A short one syllable word stops the diaphragm resulting in breath holding which interrupts your ki. This skill develops over time so it is not unreasonable to start students out with "kia" or "kiai".

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I use a blend of teaching styles and adapt as needed to the group but a majority of my classes are centered around experiential learning and guided discovery....students are given parts of the puzzle and guided towards putting the pieces together through drill or discussion so that they internalize the concepts more readily. This also helps them to learn movement analysis skills that will help them when they transition into teaching others.

Every day is a test....that's how it was at my dojo-sensei would tell to wear a different belt when you came back for the next class. I liked it...kept you on your game all the time.

I have gymnastics flooring at my dojang...2" hard foam covered with carpet. Requires at bit more effort to balance as it gives but is nice for falling.

Think that brings up another problem I have with people not allowing younger people to have belts. Fair enough if you give a them a "junior" blackbelt because they've tested with reduced requirements but if they test on the same standards and are expected to know and do the same things as adults I don't think its fair to make them test again. Especially if they have to pay for it twice. And they should have the opportunity to test on the same level as adults and not be forced to test as a child just because they're not old enough. In my association you are not required to test "again", you just transition to adult rank at your next testing once you turn 16.

They were still hot on the "A" trail yesterday in class and their attitude and performance were at a much higher level than usual....maybe we are on to something here !

Excellent!!!

Repetition is the mother of skill.

What stance are you referring to? If you are only doing one stance one way then I suggest changing to the other side for a while....however, since there are many different stances to be practiced I find it hard to imagine that your body would become "unbalanced" in this way if you practiced all easily. I think we need more information to be able to help you.

Yesterday in class I asked the Junior class (9-12 yr olds) what it took to get good grades in school. They all seemed to agree that self-discipline to study was the key. I then asked them how to get good "grades" in martial arts to which they again agreed on self-discipline to practice as the key. I then proposed that I change our testing policy to letter grades and that no one would be promoted unless they got "straight A's". Surprisingly enough, they all thought that was a great idea. The thought then occurred to me that kids today (and even some adults) are so conditioned to a "grading system" as a measure of their success that it becomes their motivational trigger.

True indeed! The lineage of my style centers around the precept: "Revere your ancestors". It is truly a cultural thing-paying honor and respect to those before you...regardless of how the style evolves. Lineage does validate ones teacher but....as said, it is subjective-things that do not grow will eventually die.

Welcome-good luck on your quest!!

One studies an art and makes it his own by learning to apply it based on personal physical and mental characteristics.... therefore, techniques are adapted accordingly. However, through the process, students should learn to maintain the integrity of the techniques yet understand how to explain and teach adaptations through personal experience-thus maintaining the system.

The key word there is "should." Maybe there was a time when BB was a guarantee of ability. It was probably before my time I propose, that schools with heavy emphasis on a belt system, are encouraging the concept of "Belt Mania" (heh, I just coined a phrase). Our nation (USA) tends to turn everything into a competition; who has the fastest car, who makes more money.....who can get the highest rank in MA, etc. If the belt / rank concept disappears, what then? Maybe students efforts will become more focused on the real task at hand -- executing technique better than the next guy. As a student myself, I expect to see results for my efforts. Actual results, not some stupid belt. I'm surely an exception. I've used this analogy before: people don't spend time in a gym to get belts. They go to see improvements in cardio, strength, definition and ultimately, health. No belts handed out at any gym I've ever heard of. Yet people still go...... My primary dojo these days has three non-black-belts in its system: white, green, brown; and is 95% adults. Other than where in line we stand and which kata we're each practicing, there is no mention, emphasis or even much talk about belts. Belts are there as a nod to tradition, but that's it. We all show up to train. My alternate school has ten colored belts, and is ~93% kids, and as you can guess..... "When can I test? Huh, huh? When do I get my next belt?!?" is the central topic of discussion. So my theory here is: if a school emphasizes belts, then its students will prioritize accordingly. While unfortunate this is true in many schools. Children especially struggle with this but in my opinion it is because the parents do. They are so busy focusing on the next belt their child wears that they miss the real progress the child is making! When a new student asks me when they can test for a stripe or a belt I say "When you ask for something you will not get it....when you earn it you will know." and then I use it as an opportunity to reiterate some philosophy on the whole class.

Several of my students and myself saw it together after doing some small kicking and board breaking demos in front of the theater before each showing yesterday. We also greeted each patron with a respectful bow and open the doors for them (loved the surprised looks on many faces!) I liked the subtle philosophy cues through out the movie and in particular the ending "statement". The same general story, a little slow to evolve, but more meaningful in many respects. It was great to see the looks on my students faces when they got an "a ha!" moment! As far as the title goes-I don't think "Kung Fu Kid" would have brought out the emotional response from the parents who saw the original when they were young and wanted to share it with their own kids....besides, in today's world the word "karate" is synonymous with "martial arts" to much of society-a good marketing move.

Learning to a few self-defense moves can get you out of a jam (if you are lucky) but learning to defend yourself takes time. This is a common misconception held by many-largely due to the commercialization of tkd schools. There are ineffective teachers out there that produce ineffective students but they are not unique to TKD by any means! My theory is this: Everyone starts at the bottom of the mountain and each of us chooses our own path to the top. Each path is different, each journey unpredictable, and the rate of ascent changes frequently. Once we reach the top of the mountain, and we have a solid foundation beneath our feet, the paths converge to form one that we all travel-styles blend, techniques are shared, concepts become universal, the lines blur. The trouble we run into is watching the guy/gal on trail next to us and not paying attention to where we put our own feet along the path.

I agree here. To the beholder its meaning depends on their frame of reference which has no bearing on what it means to the holder.I feel that it is a measure of physical ability, based on ones attributes and limitations, and a measure of ones spirit based upon the internal struggles and challenges that a student overcomes during the process.

How you promote your school depends on the demographics of the community but I see no reason not to try any method and check the response. The best method, of course, is word-of-mouth based on the reputation of the school but even that will miss some potential students. I agree that it can be overdone though....don't like to see students and staff spending all their time promoting rather than training great martial artists to represent the school in the community. We did do a Karate Kid Premier this weekend where the kids did some kicking and breaking in front of the theater before each show and greeted each patron with a bow and a polite greeting as they entered the theater-no sign ups, no free drawings, no music. I think we got our message across...and we enjoyed the movie too!

In my experience KATA is exclusive to Karate styles and I have been practicing TKD for almost 20 years. Korean arts usually refer to forms as hyung or poomse...and the chon-ji forms are still taught by some TKD styles today. That being said...there is a lot of mixing of terms today due to public perception, i.e., many TKD schools advertise themselves as "karate" because people recognize it better as "martial arts"....I am sure that this causes some confusion and blurring of historical elements of the art.