Hawkmoon

..huh! in another thread I talk about the 'extra focus and attention' I receive, at the moment and that the guys do point out when they see I am looking down or low that it is due to the ability and potential I show when I train, especially after such a long period of absence. I take it as a positive, a compliment, as to speaking out, once I did this and that was once to many for me. There are members of the dojo that feel they should respond to things, some do so in a manner I feel is right, they show humility, yet a few do so as an argument, which to me is wrong, it shows no respect! What you talk about here suggest a particular mind set, as in this is the way he was taught so it is the way he teaches you. Maybe a step back to see if you teach this way is in order? Maybe the student body your Ryu attracts fit that mind set and so it has been since the beginning. (Another item to add to the list of why we have so many different ryu...the teachings suit this or that person, as the art suits this or that body shape)

Core work! completely and utterly forgot about core work! Planks, Superman, leg lifts around an object, and so on... Medicine ball work Hold in a half sit up hold a medicine ball at arms length turn left and right and so on.... That sort of thing build many of the muscle and muscle groups the body uses to hold its balance! BUT.... the mind (the inner ear) is the one thing you have to work! The muscle memory of standing on one leg doing a kick or punch is great, but close your eyes and the effort required its tripled, why? You have no visual 'q' to guide your body, so the mind has to compensate and to do that is relies on the inner ear. Jump into a swimming pool, your eyes follow the bubbles and so you can 'see' which way is up. Gravity and the bodies natural buoyancy lets you 'feel' which is the right way up. Change the game, close your eyes, note that you actually 'know' which is the right way up, why? The inner ear!

100% yes, and as that is so (Which to me it is) as I mentioned 5 or 505 demonstrations should all finish after about the same time a master takes to complete the same kata. To me to finish faster than the master, or a long time after the master is to show a lack of commitment and understanding of the kata and what is teaching 'you'.

I agree it is as important, and in a dojo where honor and respect are practiced something that for a time is all always heard and in time is no longer stated as it is no longer needed!! For me being away for so long with a 1kyu grade the pressure directed to me to do more to press to endure is massive, for the most part I do all that is required of me. I have received praise as I have received correction, but one thing has always been clear to me, odd as this sounds, the extra attention I already receive is because there is a trust and respect in me and my ability. On the occasions when I am seen to be down or less than happy with myself the guys regardless of grade take the time to remind me that the extra attention the extra focus is because I am that much better than expected. This is to me 'encouragement'! I am shouted at and I do more or I do better, a friendly voice focuses me on the good 'thing' I just completed and I feel happier and/or more confident and again I do more, I do better. Yet here the insults I had heard and the drop in the other person attension/focus (clear as the nose on your face), really made no sense to me. We learn new things everyday, so the situation as it was makes me take stock and makes me dig a bit more into what is or is not acceptable. (This I'd say is a more difficult and complex subject that the discipline threads going on just now, less clear cut I think!)

...well with the children's age in mind I'd say an increase in the numbers over time! So the first 'correction' would be 10, the next one for the same thing should be 20 and so on. The important point here (so far not mentioned I think sorry if I repeat someone else here) is once the 'correction' is completed a no name or aggressive explanation given to all saying why it just happen. The explanation has to logically guide the children to one decision they have to make (there is term for this , it escapes me now sorry) so the have a choice they have to make, be good or do more.! As to the black belts, there is no reason at all that a 'Shodan' (First grade) should ever receive 'correction' if one should then its a single not a group response...and one that is clearly stated as; "Do ....I'll say when to stop!" Now if there are two persons involved, then more reliance on each other (team work) comes into play. Here the second person counts out loud how many are being done, you as the head instructor get to gauge when 'enough' has been done. (Maybe there is no total maybe you are watching the clock so after 2mins or etc (you get the idea) you call stop and they swap position.) Again you are now in a position to gauge what the second person does be this equal number or equal time or do more or do less....you get the idea. What you have is an opportunity to single out the pair or the individual as you need to, so the second may have simply been involved because they were a part of the group, you noted were not focused on the given training at that moment. So this person maybe gets a pass and only does 30 (for example), you call stop. Here is where you offer them both a repeat of the 'punishment' but here you clearly point out that a second infringement will not favor anyone! Isolation! The idea being you are engaging peer pressure and the 'shodan' is now presented to the club over all as the one who should now set the bar with regards to respect etc etc. My logic here is simple ..... When Shodan messes up (rare to never happen type of mind set) then that is crushed..simple as a that crushed.

.....please don't misunderstand me the comments came from students, not the instructors!! The students were not even ones that I expected more from, one I'm sorry to say met no exceeded my expectations of him perfectly so to have him say and act as he did was not a shock in any way at all. (Hence in the session I had all but ignored him and his comments to the others....yes I had also made sure I didn't work with him that session to keep away from that atmosphere) The other guy, now this person does have an extremely well rehearsed poker face. I'm possibly 1 of maybe 2 or 3 others that can read him and I have to say it was not clear to me at the start of the chat where he stood on the subject or if he was just messing with the other guy.... Like I say I was intrigued. His views were cleared up when he stated clearly that some people should just pack up and go home, as there low standards were bringing him down! I was truly shocked to here this form him, I had expected more as we had weeks earlier been watching some of the very guys he was now attacking, pointing out and in full agreement with each other and sensei that with more practice and continued effort this or that guy could go on and have a good fighting career. Yet here he was giving them a hard time, when they had missed no sessions and he was only just back after an absence of leave. they had been working that night form the earliest the dojo opened where he had arrive 30 mins earlier than normal. Sorry I see one group with commitment, another group with experience, I get (I do not understand the nature) the desire to encourage the fighters.........but no continuity on the middle ground between the two groups.

..so a kata has an elapse time to be performed in. So a kata when performed by 5 or 505 students will be completed in about the same time as the master took to do the same kata perfectly? So time to perform is a valid measure of a kata? Where as the desire to be faster or the fastest is a modern and potentially bad thing that is being introduced in the MA these days?

Now I get the idea that excessive use of pushups etc to get a 'problem' to back-down or away form a particular behavior could be taken as a negative! I get that I really do! Peer pressure can do more good then the 'punishment' does harm, hence it is used but only if the incident warrants that as a response. However, not all incidents warrant such a response, it could be a over used if its trying to address giggles or completely worthless if its to address a full on fight because 'he said that i said and they said that we said....' As I say I do get the potential for a negative view of such punishment here, isolation even 'banishment' will at this point be the only tools/options left to you......however...... Devils advocate time..... What then should the 'pupil' do if they only understand that (whatever that is) is the only response they have? I am looking at the parent who we have seen in the hall or outside and can see/tell etc they are ...um....less than an ideal role model. The pupil does ..whatever it is they do...because that is the example set to them said grown up. They have no other moral compass to guide them, your not a surrogate parent but you are a teacher...so what now, how do you deal with that? Do you deal with that? I've a story in my head I read the other day where a parent was pulled to one side by a head teacher at a school for shouting at here child that it was better to be a bully than a victim. For as much as I could understand the thought process that drove that statement, the mind set was wrong and only (IMHO) served to promote the idea of being a bully!

A few threads about punishment, and a few post on my part removed had me recall an odd and unexpected chat the other day with some of the guys, there had been a lot of exchanges... ...exchanges said to be encouragement. This chat came about after a particularly long, hot, hard session, about 4 hrs, of which most of the 4 hrs was dedicated to full power kihon, full power bag work, combinations and knockdown bouts. A few, and so the odd chat, of the exchanges were IMO less than helpful or even polite, so to hear a couple of the guys talking after the session, laughing about some of the reactions to theses comments had received, was intriguing to me. Not just because the 'laughing buddies' were the source of the comments I recalled hearing through the session, but because these comments were clearly thought to be encouraging! We all train hard, but we all train differently. Now the mind set of you or this person or that dojo is going to be different, wildly so, in most if not all cases. So please keep that in mind and remember this was a Kyokushin dojo and body of students. 1. The act of encouraging. 2. The state of being encouraged. 3. One that encourages. I see this as a way of seeing the positive in an action or person and building on it and pushing them by 'uplifting' the mind set the persons feelings to do more, to push to endure. This could be form simply saying that was great , do it again like that to things like 'screaming' that's it keep it go on more more!" Not, as the discussion tried to validate, insults about the lack of ability or to run the person down pointing out the weakness or the fact the person is rubbish and should take up origami. These comments directed at individuals who were just stating out in there knockdown career, as most had to this point only working in clicker or kata contests. So ..... encouragement ..... what is it about what is it for, what do you do, how do you do it? When does it become incitement or maybe provocation?

I've said it in other threads, but do kata with eyes closed! Seriously it works well, and builds confidence at that same time. To that do kata in Ura. (Turning) This is to say a kata has you step from one stance to another, and so on, well when you do kata in Ura you spin between each stance. the movement from once stance to another is done as a spin into the next stance. Balance comes on leaps and bounds!

There is a bit of a debat about an incident and what was done here: http://www.karateforums.com/instructor-kicked-my-son-as-punishment-now-what-vt45563.html?highlight= The main view in this thread and 'this' thread is no assault, no physical contact kick slap punch etc. Now here in the UK there is a legal need to have been CRB checked; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disclosure_and_Barring_Service No idea for other parts of the world, sorry. To hit a child is also wrong under EU (European Union) law; http://hub.coe.int/what-we-do/society/corporal-punishment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishment ... so to punish if there is a need is done in other ways, extra push ups, or sit ups, the idea is to trigger a cycle of 'peer pressure' form within the group. If trust and and respect can be gained it should be protected and promoted at every opportunity, it will always be difficult, always hard and stressful. Be dedicated and it will be a rewarding. Sorry to say, nothing in life is easy!

Kids! They have no preconceptions or advanced understanding of what the body can or cannot do. The result is there enthusiasm, there confidence carries them way past 'that' point an adults mind says, "ok that's enough, the physics says no!" They will always look to the grown up for guidance, ad in a dojo that adult is black belt, which to a child is the best there is. If the black belt can do and says they can do it the black belt must be right! An adult will understand the instructions and even have trust/faith in the instructor, but in the adults mind is a range of stuff, some rubbish and experience that will have, may have could have a negative effect on the commitment and drive. Pain memory for example, will have an adult hold back on the committing to a movement.... Adults need more time to gain trust to see proof to break the pain memory for example. Example. Break boards or roof tiles in front of Kids - your are amazing! - that's the result that's the effect that demonstration has. so when they are asked to do the same one day: result: sure let me do it! Adult - Wow! that must have taken time to practice to get it right so when they are asked to do the same one day: result: ok...um...sure...lets have a go. Both will learn, both will 'do' the task, just one adopts the 'amazing' as easy to do (even normal), where the other sees the amazing and considers it possible.

7/10 (Another early start to the session.) 90 situps (30 knuckle, 30 normal, 30 kanku) 90 pushups 90 squats 2x10 one arm pushups 2x10 finger tip push ups 30 switch thrusts (A squat thrust done one leg at a time) 5 mins Russian twists with Medicine ball 5 mins sit ups passing medicine ball between three people. 30 Medicine ball drop to stomach full situp. 40 mins bag work (arms) 20 mins bag work (legs) 30 mins combination work 30 min conditioning (body & legs) 9 knockdown bouts (1 min to 3 min bouts)

Chin ups! / Pull ups! / Ankle hangs (....maybe) (I got lucky, I've a two and a half meter scaffold pole coming, its wide enough to fit across my garage.....) 2x Fence posts 6ft total length 8ft.(4x4 inch.) 1x scaffold pole 4x nails or 2x brackets 1. Place the two posts into the ground. 2. Brick or cement them into place. 3. Place and fix pole to the top of the posts. Nail each side of the pole, or a bracket over the pole. You may want to cut a 'v' into the top of the post to help hold the post in place. When placing the posts into the ground, keep in mind the need to do a pull up (a reverse chin up) so at least twice your shoulder width apart. The ankle hang, cant offer a safe alternative other than to buy them. Better safe than sorry!

...bugs! Gotta love 'em! Get well first, then return to training, you'll miss ...what two sessions, maybe a week? lots Vitamin C and so on for now!

Ah-Ha that's what you look like! You do raise your head but you do so as in response to an attacker (the practice dummy) that is taller than you! Lower the dummy about 6-8 inches. Check yourself, stance and head position with the new height!

yeah you also probably didn't get out of line like some kids do , I seen a kid get nailed in the chest hard with a tennis ball for horsing around , from there on he started horsing around only after class , that's a life lesson you play when your not supposed to and will get checked " your gonna have to mine someone someday " its better to learn that at a young age then when older. ...'kids' do get of line, what happens next is up to the parent not a stranger! A person in a position of 'apparent authority'. Witnessing something like this and doing nothing about it does not make it 'ok' either. Sure correction is needed, but a physical attack...nah! This was abuse, this was bullying, this is not a discussion, but fact! In most of the dojos I have attended or watched 'punishment' given when things go wrong is given to all, in the form of pushups, situps squats, even isolation......etc. This then brings in a much better correction cycle Peer pressure! The problem either stops attending, or the problem learns, and all through none contact. MA is about self discipline, balance, confidence mental attitude and self control it is not a means to make abetter bully.

...and so the dilemma! Me, I'll go personal choice! The Video I linked to shows various breaks (tameshiwari) being done with different body parts. (Open hand, foot etc) The point being we hit wood, bricks etc with parts of our bodies that we hit our opponents with, we use the same power (in knockdown/full contact) to do this, now add in the simple fact we do this 'stuff' for fun! We enjoy the combat, the challenge to fight! I'd rather not be on the end of such a punch, or kick, but it happens and will happen and when it does I want to be able to stand there smile and return the favor! (I do not mean we go out looking for it on the street, I mean we compete we train in this stuff with all the pain and pressure that comes with it and we look back and smile and keep going back for more!) When I exercise, I try to keep the sets in groups of 30, then rest or do some other part of the body fora set of 30. I am of the opinion to do more in one go or for extended periods of time regular is great for stamina but in time will risk greater injury if it is not already doing that! We do need stamina, 100% yes, but we must rest that is a biological law, it cannot change will not change in our life time...evolution has taken a few years to get here, were not about to change that in a few weeks in a gym or dojo.

Then things like this should be a great help to you! The body has a good memory, wishing hard this was not a cliché to post here, but; Do clear you mind. The more you practice the more the movement becomes natural, more 'second nature'. When that happens things will fall into place much much easier. If you have a busy head, then mental discipline will develop you and your mind....like I say "things like this should be a great help to you!"

Cool! Thanks guys!

good questions and good points... Another view/direction to consider I think comes form the term martial Arts, and its meaning! Sure there is a long 'artist' collection of words that cover this, but the following I feel covers it as well as we need it to here? "The term is ultimately derived from Latin, and means "arts of Mars," where Mars is the Roman god of war." "....fighting arts or fighting systems would be more appropriate on the basis that many martial arts were never martial in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors." One quote I have that really stands out in my mind is: "Chinese martial arts originated during the Xia Dynasty more than 4000 years ago. It is said the Yellow Emperor Huangdi (legendary date of ascension 2698 BC) introduced the earliest fighting systems to China." (A history thing...) and so on and so on... The main drive here, karate, Fung-fu TKD etc ...you're learn to fight (historically a war) so to tap an enemy will ...... Where as to strike your enemy would end that specific battle! Is one better than the other? No, not a fair question to ask. MA today is a much different animal to what it was years ago.Today there is sport contest done for technical excellence , speed, fun a sport like football [ both forms American as well as the real stuff the rest of the world play ...... you know the one where the foot and ball actually make contact more than once!] We have Full contact, MMA, Semi contests....... I guess the question should really be about tradition v modern?

Firstly http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9512 and so.... .... 15. We do not allow discussions debating what the best martial art is nor do we allow discussions debating what martial art has the best something. This includes discussions such as "What is the best martial art?", "What is the best martial art for street fighting?", "Does BJJ have the best kicks?", "What martial art has the best footwork?" and the like. The exception to this is for individuals who need help choosing a martial art. In these cases, the person who needs assistance must make it clear that they need help selecting a martial art and must list the martial arts that are available to them in their area. They cannot simply ask what the best martial art is for them - there must be a list of arts. They must offer some details (even if they are few and vague) about their needs and their situation (body type, environment, etc.). ... . The following is not what or who is best, but more what about...? It stems from this post ......oddly: http://www.karateforums.com/wing-chun-3rd-form-biu-gee-demonstration-vt45613.html As a karate student why or what was I doing in this portion of the forum? Actually, I was looking for precisely what i found! A video as that post offers! Great! I then wanted to see this art in action as it were,, nothing more just showing an interest and in doing that went to 'YouTube', as you do, and watched this that and then something else and eventually came across this: So why the extra sudden interest here? For me it was the kanji you can see on the katate suit(s). ...looked familiar, real familiar to me as Kyokushin student ..... http://depositphotos.com/2806691/stock-illustration-Martial-Arts.-Big-set-Symbols..html So I searched on more detail and manged to find this (as an example): http://www.kyokushinkan.ca/index.html An site that allowed to make a clear connection with what I thought I'd seen! Now at this point things got real for me, so I looked back to the video and found this, its actually really interesting. But now I finally get the clarity about the kanji I thought I spotted, ah! not Kyokushin, but Shotokan! Sorry i was ignorant about Shotkan doing such 'work' on the GI...(hence the interest from me as Kyokushin do do that work!) So with the guidelines in mind, no this is not who is better than who, but rather information to anyone who is not sure if there was any doubt about cross style contests or can Shotokan do 'full contact'? The answer is yes!

....could this be 're-quoted' to say its natural tempo perhaps? I get the desire for speed, I get the desire for power. I have in my life gone from lightweight to heavy weight fighter! (I sooo wish this was an exaggeration ..... sadly it is true! I went form being a 17 years old stick insect at about 63Kg to 40'odd year old and over 87kg!) BUT, this is the modern world, kata came form a time and truly a world long since past away into the history books, there was no preconceptions about body size and competitions, it was war live or die ..do your best and die with honor or win and fight another day! kata was the art in the true sence of that word, martial 'art'. ie: It is/was tradition to learn it to understand how to transition the body form one position/stance to another, why it was done 'that way' ... ...its here that I'm interested. To me the next part of that sentence is... to show the correct form, be this slow or fast. Which can only mean a kata when performed must finish in about the same amount of time as the last or next person! (Speaking generally, accepting that there are a few exceptions)

no worries ...no worries at all CredoTe! I enjoy history, in general, I'm no historian and openly accept I have more holes in my 'knowledge' than swiss cheese does. Sensei8, yes absolutely, sadly being on the receiving end of such ... 'spiteful' chats, as I moved form one dojo to another it something I came to realize quickly and turn into initially tolerance (not a good step) but moved to respectful understanding and so patience as I continued to train as best I could where I could. During my absence form main stream training, the discovery of that site and what I had experienced when I was in this or that dojo, like I say it just made me more appreciative (and as a result more respectful) of other systems and how they do 'stuff'. Even today in my dojo I feel I am ridiculed for working with other systems for as long as I did. Much of what I currently endure in my dojo stems from the Kyokushin mind set of fight serious focus, the serious approach to fighting Kyokushin has. Even when Kyokushin was all I had ever done and was only doing, I looked upon the karate I was doing as an art form not a religion or a new and better way of life, or a system that would trigger a cultural shift in me or my life. A hobby, a way of staying fit, keeping a strong body and even stronger mind to push to endure to be a better person. To learn how to defend my self or others (as I later learned and took to heart), not to make me a better fighter, a better bully or some superman of the security services, just a better person. This site https://www.karatetest.com and what it offers does remind me of the film 'The Karate kid' and the scene where Larusso is practicing in front of a TV. Even then I thought a nice idea to practice with a visual 'q', but bad idea to do so without real training. Hence this site and with me working out in a dojo again is something I feel is good, and wonder if there is some other 'like' sites that we can share and take a look at !

1/10 60 sit ups 60 push ups 2 min leg lifts 1hr plus - (sorry lost track) knockdown combinations 2/10 (Started much earlier than normal) 40 sit ups 60 push ups 1 hr kihon 40 min bag work (legs) 40 mins bad work (arms) 40 mins lag & arm combination (bag work) 40 mins knockdown bouts (20% power...apparently! )