ninjanurse

Exactly!

Being hard on yourself is not bad, but dwelling on your failures is.

I agree with pineapple. He'll get better if given the chance to succeed.

My first BB earned was in Shotokan and basically I was tested without my knowledge and promoted. Nedan was the same way. My second BB was earned in Tae Kwon Do and the experience was drastically different. It was a 3 day test commencing on a Friday night with a written test , meditation, and some technical exercises. The next day at 7 am we started with forms, kicks, sparring, arnis, and breaking. That evening we had to perform in front of hundreds of spectators-more forms and breaking which included bricks. I think we ended about 10 pm , then had to sleep inthe floor at a local dojo. The next morning we were up at 5am and driven to a site for physical conditioning. Pushups, firemens carry up the muddy hill (It was raining!), wheelbarrows in the sand pits, step ups, sit ups, harrassment by Black Belts...and lots of running! It was by far the hardest physical test I had ever been through (took 3 hours)! My second and third dan tests at that school were similar but each one was progressively harder with more pressure and responsibility. Two drastically different tests...two totally different mindsets. Neither means less than the other.

It is the ego that drives us to compete and be better than all the rest. It is humility that teaches us that we can always be better than we are.

I'd say it is very normal to feel this way when beginning to spar. It takes time, practice, and patience to learn. Just keep working on it...the more you do the better you will be. As far as protecting your head I don't think there is a big secret to it other than keep practicing what you have been taught and keep your hands up to block.

Visualization can be a very valuable tool. I mediate on kata all the time which is both relaxing and beneficial to performance.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

The Prom is a formal dance for either Juniors or Seniors in Highschool-usually a big deal with dinner first, etc. The Homecoming Dance is preceeded by a Football game where the alumni of the school are recognized and invited to the dance.

Without boring everyone with the tale of my life I'll just say that I am not even close to the person I was before martial arts became a part of my life!

And make the incidence of major head trauma increase I am sure! With a rule like that why would they NOT allow hands to the face?

Congratulations! I am sure you will find it to your liking. My only advice is practice, practice, practice!

I have met Joon Rhee more than once. He is an amazing man!

Welcome!!

I am getting ready to open my own school and I agree with you here...to an extent. I am not in it for the money, and I don't believe that a contract is the cure-all for retention but....I do believe that getting a committment from a student is important in teaching them responsibility and integrity. Likewise the committment you make to your students is just as (if not more) important.

You can try to use kicks in combination with footwork such as pop up kicks and use his own body against him by launching techiniques off his torso. It may stop him long enought for you to go on the offensive and charge yourself.

I'm with Laurie...the 1st degrees are numerous at two of the four schools! I'm going to guess between 15 and 20.

Welcome!

Welcome fellow New Yorker!

I have found that it is much easier to "add a new way to do things" rather than "change the old things" when studying another art. Good luck!

Being nervous is a good thing-it's part of our internal system of checks and balances....the challenge is learning to overcome and perform. Confidence and humility play and important part in this process. Just thinking you are good is not the same as confidence as ego can sometimes overshadow areas you need to focus on for improvement. You have to train with earnestness and earn trust in yourself. It is truly a mental game at some point in your training to overcome the I and not worry about what other people think. There is also a time to be hard on yourself and a time to just go for it! Train for yourself-not for a belt color or a trophy, test for yourself-set your standards higher that all the rest, help as many other people as possible get what they want-teach and grow. Lastly, keep watering that bamboo!!!!

Welcome!

One step closer Laurie!