ninjanurse

Congratulations!

I think it is specific to the school...you may want to ask some one at the school or your sensei. It has been a few years but we always turned with gedan barai at my dojo unless specified otherwise at the time.

No scrap....just a discussion on linguistics, which by the way, seems to interest us both. It is a tad off subject though !

Backfist and back kick for me.

The average at our school is 3-5 years, however, any one under 16 is not allowed to hold a full dan grade . They are considered a "junior grade" until 16 and then re-test for full dan status. Children under the age of 9 do not receive any gup ranking either until they turn 9 and then are considered a "junior" student. SO, conceivably it would take a 6 year old a minimum of 6 years to reach Junior Black Belt, and another 4 to full dan status.

It comes down to which translation one uses and since both are recognized it does not make one any less correct-maybe more common, but even that can be debated as "hombu" is widely used in Japan (and the US) and I doubt it will change.

Pronunciation of a non-english word does not depend on how it is spelled (in roman letters)-the rules differ from language to language. For example the german word wurst , as in brat wurst, is commonly mis-pronounced by english speakers as "worst" when it should be pronounced as "vurst". The v's and w's switch their sound, just as the m's and n's in translations of Japanese. Since there are two accepted "written" Japanese translations, one making it easier to avoid mis-pronunciation....neither is incorrect. As far as sempai goes, it is the romanization of senpai and falls into this same category-neither is incorrect.

Neither is incorrect. The Hepburn Romanization (honbu) of the Japanese language makes it easier for non-Japanese speaking people to pronounce translated words more clearly. The Kunrei-shiki Romanization (hombu) of the Japanese language more closely resembles the original latin to english translation. The Japanese government recognizes both.

Sweet Patrick! Lookin' forward to some great vids!!!

It's like a cancer in some cases...needs to be cut out before it spreads!

In our sparring style, punches must cause "trembling shock" to the body to score so we do train to punch hard. Otherwise, all kicks-punches-blocks-elbows, etc., are trained in numerous ways on equipment to develop speed, power, and accuracy for self-defense purposes. Generally this is an area where most TKD stylists are lacking so we train it more.

I have mixed feelings here. Went several years month to month and then discovered I was somehow losing money-in an attempt to sort things out I enlisted a billing company. All students were put on a "contract" for billing purposes only and I stopped accepting payments at the school. Lo and behold-I soon discovered that I had money again. Turns out an employee was skimming money from the tuition payments....they soon left when there was no more "cash flow"!! Employee gone, money safe, students happy that school remains open, no obligation cancellation policy, life is good!

We train to use "stomp kick", which we call "push kick", to keep people from advancing or to kick them back and off balance to set up another technique. Most of the time it is used to intercept one of their techniques and if it lands properly they usually fall to the ground.

Soo Bahk Do and Tang Soo Do have a red belt in place of brown, symbolizing that you're in training for dan membership. Perhaps Tae Kwon Do uses red for that purpose also? Yes, in TKD, red is the highest gup(kyu)-just before Black.

I charge $85/month at my location in NY...20 years ago I paid $118/month at a school on the West Coast. I think the cost is economy driven in a lot of cases but you have to look at other factors too. What it ultimately comes down to is value-are you getting your money's worth? If not, seek else where-if you are, support the school by referring more training partners to share the experience with. BTW-the $118/month was well worth it and that school is what gave me the skills and tools to be where I am today.

All good advice. From an instructors point of view-I will often limit my students to those techniques/strategies they are having difficulty with for a few matches in class and/or pair them up with a partner that presents a particular problem for them. This helps facilitate the learning process....maybe you can communicate with your sparring partners on occasion that you would like to work on something in particular for that match.

Tell us were you are and maybe one of our members can help you find a local dojo. Lupin's advice is important-you must continue to train (IMO working out on your own is not the same).

Welcome!

Welcome!

I wouldn't mind giving private lessons...just can't find the time to fit it in with class schedules, training, etc. Sometimes students are the recipient of a private when they are the only one who shows up for class!

Welcome back krunchyfrogg!!! I looked through the site-did you read the "consumer" page? If the interview is oriented towards explaining the style and how you would fit in if you chose them...I would be OK with that. We interview our JuJitsu students-not to tell them how great we are and what a bad decision they would be making if they did not study with us-but to give them a reality check as to what our training entails and making sure that they understand the physical and mental commitments required. Let us know how it goes.

I offer a free class to everyone-sometimes two. In rare cases I give a Private introduction (about 15-20 minutes) followed by a group class but most jump right in. I do offer a 4 week package (with uniform) for those who are still testing the waters, and a 6 month trial for those who remain tentative.

Good question. I definitely mix it up in my classes and teach my students to adapt to differences in size and weight-after all you do not choose your attacker on the street. If people have a legitimate acute injury I will allow them to bow out of the exercise or help them adapt if it is an ongoing issue. Students are required to declare any infirmities prior to class or they are fair game.

Good advice here!

Agreed sensei!