Hawkmoon

hehehe always a pleasure!

Good topic! I'm also right handed, when I was younger I worked on the my 'other' side to be a versatile as possible when in competition. Not so much now! To echo Spartacus Maximus it is worth putting in the effort to be able to fight both sides, or at least have a hand full of things you can do real well to give the impression you can fight from both sides!

hmm... my first '1st Kyu' grading was done nearly 20 years ago!At that time I was required to demonstrate all kihon from 10th kyu to the grade I was attempting. It tool about 5 hrs, I was the only student taking 1st kyu on that day! When I came back to karate I re-took my 1st kyu grading, out of respect for teh other guys in the dojo. Like before was required to demonstrate all kihon to the grade I was attempting. This time there were four of us involved, but it took about 6 hrs this time. As an aside ... I've failed a grading absolutely ages ago, 6th kyu! I was far from ready and deserved to fail! When I retook it I was tested for about 2 hrs'ish! Same rules applied to this as all my grading's. Past that grading with authority to over come the shame and dishonor I felt. Now I've also sat in on my sons dojo for all his grading's and so far, the longest one was maybe 30 mins. (They test the student for that rank only on the day!) All the BBs in that club call each other Black belts, none refer to the other as sho or San dan. The few that are aware of me and what I do have asked how they compare to what I do I struggle as they grade so differently from how I grade. So I asked one time what my son will go through when he grades for Black belt. When he undertakes his 'black belt' I'm told he'll be tested for about 3hrs, the guys all looked at me in horror when they asked after my grading and were told it was a three day test! So let me close off with a cautionary word, each club, system ryu will train, test and rank students in accordance to what they and only they require. What others do does not necessarily map to what you are doing so be careful o not place to much interest in them they are after all working to a different framework and desire.

A 'deep' massage! ... had three knots in my back that I didn't detect, just had a freeze/lock issue with my left shoulder from time to time when it was cold and damp or I over worked it ... had a 'sport' (deep) massage and the lady worked out the two knots on my left side in my back and the shoulder has been as good as gold ever since!

Sounds pretty amazing, some of the gyms I've come across look at me odd and ask me to stop or a few rules about 'proper use of equipment", sadly I gave up on them in the end and started to mess with DIY kit! Been thinking about this type of training setup. I can't make my mind up with doing some type of pulley setup with a weight or two at one end, or simply getting some kinetic bands and anchoring them to a wall or floor as I kick!

...waves on the beach ...waves on the beach! ...waves on the beach! One of my all time favorite comments! (In fact maybe I should list it in the pet hates thread!) My view , not picking a fight or looking to call the fire brigade! "Boards don't hit back!" From the film "Enter the dragon", the line is spoken by out hero Mr. (Bruce) Lee to Oharra before the big fight! A board in itself does not hit back, 100%, but the line and the meaning associated with it in the film context and since it was uttered on screen is a profound meaning one I get but do not agree with, sorry! Many of us break boards in the dojo, at demonstrations, never once has a board got up dusted itself down and offered to hit us back! We watch other Martial Artist's break boards in another demo and even at tournaments! We fight these guys in tournaments ... Sorry Boards do hit back, and I'd have to say when they do they tend to do so with both hands and feet as a rule!

To me its a persons want to control or have power over something or someone, something that stems form a flaw in that person! So to quote and use Spartacus Maximus list: A poor or bad education would go some if not a long way to explaining that list. (Hell maybe all the way...!) You don't become a CEO of a corporation with an education in finger painting! We fear what we don't understand, and when we try to control it things happen that only add to the confusion and fear of it...whatever it is! We crave control of things we don't understand our ego/pride in many cases simply will not allow us to admit we don't have a idea its seen as a sign of weakness , that's a problem only education can fix!

The perfectionist! That person that holds up a session whilst they go over and repeat and replicate a 'thing' because the angle of the hand or the width of a stance is off a degree or a finger width!!

Like many have posted I've a couple of pet hates, but to be honest the one pet hate that annoys me the most is .. ... karate feet! You take your socks off and something that was once you drops out of your sock on to the floor ... it just looks like leprosy or something! That hard skin your feet develop as you train .... gggrrrrrr!! It turns my stomach really does! But worse is still to come, you get a 'ped egg' and scrape the skin off, and now your feet burn when you goto teh dojo, or you have a good long soak and again your feet burn when you go training!

Your 'pet' hate, that thing that makes you grind your teeth! We enjoy, we love, we live, we eat , sleep , breath MA no matter what the system/style. We thrive on the combat, the challenge to complete and win, we love the history the research in to why this is done that way,what we can do if a three legged purple spotted monster was to attack from behind!... I suspect we all have at least that one thing (maybe more) whatever it is its a pet dislike/hate, something that just annoys us,makes us bite our tongue, or shy away 'hoping', waiting for it to end soon! So what peeves you, whats that little thing that just annoys you more than it should?

To the bold type above... I fit that category, and by that I mean, I'm of the "OLDER HIGHER RANKS", yet, I sincerely believe that I've not done more damage or any damage to the MA. I've not made any excuses and/or any short cuts during my 51 years in Shindokan; I believe that my integrity remains untainted, and that my students, as well as those that I've had the pleasure of sharing any given floor, can attest to that. Being clumped in with those that have made you feel the way you do feel about older higher ranks, makes me feel ashamed. Ashamed because I can only speak for myself, and in that, I can't speak towards those who've done the injustice that can be found in any given MA. Just a "GENERALIZED" statement. into comparison to "Kid" black belts . Kids just train and could care less about "politics". I have seen a lot of really bad,sad and outright "UN-MARTIAL ART" behavior by higher ranking BB's which really makes me sad and disappointed. PS: Hate to say this, but the Higher rank demographics end up having a higher percentage of bad behavior ..... ouch. You have to admit, just by reading posts, you kind of get the feeling of which members are students, instructors and experienced instructors. I guess becoming a higher ranking instructor a person will have to deal with all the politics and less than fun part of Martial Arts. enough gloom and doom. Martial Arts is great. The positives far outweigh the negatives. This ... this is really interesting, to turn a few things around .... & Yes I know I've pulled two points out of a much more meaningful even deeper conversation they are however the crux of the position of BB v Shodan v child v adult. quote 1, very true even very accurate for some, maybe most, but not all. quote 2, there is a couple of instructors that come to mind who do exactly this. Bad habits yours are a huge focus and discussion point (not there own bad habits, just yours) and a love of politics to the extent they are used as some aloof sense of power over others have been granted and .. bin'go ban'go your rubbish and get out of the dojo and don't come back! (This behavior I find to be more in line with character from 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies', the slimy one who 'serves' the master and calls the hero Bard the Bowman 'king!') Its that 'world' that built that thinking and that world is not here today, today the world is different! Then to live until you were 30 or 40 years old made you by that milestone the village elder, romantic'a'notion or not the world then was extremely violent and personal in its violence, all sharp edges and bare hands ... ! I passed my Shodan a little ago this year, to do this I worked hard and 'fit' in with quote 1, pure learning & effort. Now I'm sitting back and just working at 'stuff', not pushing hard for anything, not working up to a tournament or another grading, just ticking over. The belt around my waste I'm coming to realize is not allowing me to do this! Does that mean I fit the second part of quote 1? Am I in my 'switched' off frame of mind more like quote 2? I think to a degree I do fit quote 2, the rank I hold carries a certain expectation with it! Whilst I'm 'switched off' I'm not anywhere near that expectation ... but near what exactly? I have no desire or plan to be an instructor, I have no plan or desire to further my fight career, why can't I just be a student for now and just enjoy what I do? It seems to me that others and what they expect of the belt and the person it is wrapped around is 'switched' on permanently! If that is so, then that's an age thing isn't it? With age comes more understanding and a more measured expectation ... or is the black belt in some unconscious universe still some kind of extra special <..insert phrase of choice..>?

In short yes! I found Ju-Jitsu worked well with Kyokushin, as I consider Aikido to be equally complimentary! Some of the guys in the dojo mix arts as well, one guys dose Kyokushin, Kickboxing and MMA, another does Kyokushin and BJJ, me I'm to old to roll around on the floor its takes an age to get up of after a sweep now'a'days let along going to ground on purpose!

A bit you say? ... a bit !!... man that was pure 'Mills and Boon"!! ... and so true even today, of this I make no distinction between the guys that go for selection for World cup or that little competition in the youth club set for next week! I truly see no difference at all! A personal manager (Human resources) years ago got wind of my desire to leave the company I was working for at that time. One day in the canteen he came over and sat at the table I was on and started talking about things, his motive was clear he wanted to find out why I was leaving and if he could convince me to stay! In our discussion he said a few things that changed how I see and look at things, one thing he said I find is relevant to this conversation is: He was right it wasn't! We are all not warriors to stand on the battle field ready to fight(going Mills and Boon again!) we are not a legend, ...(and so the profound comments keep coming!) Anyone can be anything we want if we work at it, we cannot IMO take this or that moniker just because it sounds perfect or just because ... thats' ego and it will get you into trouble. To play devils advocate: Hell no,he should do what he wants because he loves it! Why shouldn't he? I see nothing better better than "To stand up and be be counted!" ... but if he loves it for what it is why does he need the extra gratification from a title, he loves what he does why is that not enough why the drive for recognition?

hmm.. I'm 'gonna step away from the 'what' of the discussion and going to look at the 'how' and 'why' in a simplest way I can,mainly to not trigger insults that is not my intention or slap this or that face, also not my position or point. I consider MA, mine your this that, a traditional system/art that has been taught and will be taught for hundreds of years with a certain mind set actively directing the lives of the people involved. The ones I'm referring to were called warriors by the world they live(d) in and in time and as a result of deeds and so on came to be called masters and all have stood up and proven there ability in combat. That was the way of the world that they existed in that was 'back in the day' the way things were. As such I'm of the opinion the change in title(rank) was because the experiences and ability generated a persona of respect, honor, trust and comradeship, even fear from though around them be they enemy or friend! That world no longer exists today, its legacy however does and is what we have today, that is something I call tradition! Yet still this 'grey' area seems to arise and for whatever reason some feel the need to question or explore it, why? I mean how hard is it to separate technical ability of a person from the same ability and obvious experience of another? At 16, 17, 18 years of age you can only have a small, limit wealth of experience to call upon and share with others. At 36, 37, 65 years of age you can only have a whole life time of experience to call upon and share with others. An instructor ... well to be honest can be anyone, everyone has some experience to share with others who have not had that 'thing' happen to them. In this age is not a critical factor is is merely a number little more. A teacher, is a person who has many past experiences to look upon and share with someone who has not had that experience, here age is important, it states clearly to all "Yes I have, take a look!" We all work in our respective discipline with people of different ages, just for a moment stop and consider that each interaction with the person gave you something, now ask yourself how older was that person? Then should it matter? (cat + bag of pigeons = discuss)!

hmm ...bit of mixed bag on this subject in our dojo. Some of the guys love 'em, others not so much! Speaking from my own experiences with them, yes they work, very good in general! A type I like are the ones that you 'ratchet' up no medical or sudo science reason, just that I like them, that type feel good to me. Then when I reach 'that' point in my stretch to hold and relax in that posture to get what I want. Example: Century Versaflex Stretch Machine (eBay or amazon) The three bar types that you pull in on yourself never felt right to me, to me the posture they created was wrong! The wind up type, like the ratchet type I rave about, are fine, and if I'm to honest are less dramatic when you release the stretch ... you wind up and wind down. The ratchet type work up and some ... well they just release! Choose carefully to get what you want!

Hey Lugh, Enjoy the reading and posting, new blood always welcome !

hmm... have a look here for a Kyokushin dojo near you. http://www.bkk-uk.com/Dojos.asp Not sure there is that close to be honest!

cool, good luck and get some pics up!

Regarding conditioning .... When training 'conditioning' in our dojo its something we consciously decide to do that night, but to be clear we decide to do conditioning as in we decide to focus more on 'it' than we normally do! In the dojo we do fight heavy 50% and upwards all the time, hence when we decide to do 'conditioning' we focus on parts of the body and work them/that part, at what ever 'weight' the person being hit asks for! Its done in repetition terms, rather than a half dozen monster hits! Thigh kicks (Gedan Mawashi geri) done for 2-3 mins, same leg. Both parties get a work out, the target get used to pain and sustained impact and so on, the other builds muscle memory and strength executing the kick. Punches, are driven by the same logic, repetition! I personally kick walls (much the annoyance of the wife) doing Mai geri working from gedan to chudan. Look at it this way, conditioning is a way of teaching the mind as well as the body about pain and in doing that you/we overcome the fear that as a human we naturally have built into us. (Its in our genetic code!) We fear pain its normal, conditioning is a mental discipline to combat it, the more familiar/aware of it you are the less impact it has on you. Pain hurts, it will always hurt, it is meant to hurt, that's the point its how we work, but conditioning builds the mental strength to combat that human reaction and allows you to control your reaction to deal with it in a more controlled manner. Get a Makawari board, or even a towel on a fence post and punch over and over again, kick a wall over and over again, not 100% not monster power, just enough to 'hit' it,, keep in mind that you will repeat that action say 10 times, then work on that and one day goto 20 and so on and on. Have the wife the kicks kick your legs, punch your gut...its all the same, don't need a belt to get hit, and I'm sure the kids will love the idea...get board ... eventually and you'll need to work on that in the dojo, but you get the idea! Conditioning is a marathon not a sprint!

QQ: The cage, is what shape? I'm thinking its an octagon ... eight sides... Muay Thai is the "Art of Eight Limbs", it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes ... eight "points of contact"...like the chaos symbol. Chaos of Muay Thai ...

Do exactly that! Use the dojo (aka training area) to tweak your position and get some experience with the new setup. Consider Luther unleashed daughter, she has 'that' guard something that she has (possibly with out realizing it) developed over time, each fight subconsciously her mind making minor changes to what and how because it worked for her, 'that' guard may not be perfect for you but worth 'playing with to develop a position that works for you! Experiment in the dojo, have fun with it, anything you can do to make 'it' (what ever it is) feel relaxed will allow you to accept it more readily and rally get a feel for it in combat.

Sadly it was not Yoda that said it first... "There is no try. There is do or do not!" It was Bruce Lee!

Do love the story (maybe its true maybe its an urban myth) about the belt was never washed it became black over time! Hence it was not to be washed! for myslef no traditional reasons or 'laws/rules' to honest, just some half heard, half baked stories or comments about why this or that. The oldest one I can recall is it "being a waste of time, it'll only get dirty again!" Other talk about the same things DWx and Liger said, risk of damage to the belt. (even the guys whose cat scented on his belt!) I used to wash my kyu belts to soften them and with respect to my first brown belt to reduce the intense colour it had. My shodan belt, when it arrives might get a cold rinse to soften it but that'll be about it I suspect. (Don't have a cat ... have a dog, but no cat!)

jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous...jealous... I'd so love to have the space to have a private dojo/gym. I have day dreamed (really have which is the worrying thing) about having the room to build basically an over-sized garden shed. Big enough to have an area/ring about 6 meters square, and tall enough to hang a 6 foot bag. A 6 meter fighting area is smaller than a tournament arena so if/when someone else was working with me it forces us into each others range etc etc. I've a minds eye picture that having an central area about that size would mean a 'shed' about 8 to 10 meters square and about 2.5 to 3 meters high! It would have weights, and a practice dummy and so on, high windows to reduce distractions, the floor would be wood, maybe covered in a canvas tarpaulin (no mats) Did I say I'm jealous? If you do build it I for one would really love to see some pics. Good luck to you truly mean it!

Think of the scene when Mr. Miyagi meets 'Daniel san' for the first time when he enters the apartment .... now think of the scene when 'Daniel' had a face full of dirt.... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538/ "A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting." Its the last part of the last line for me: "... there is more to the martial art than fighting."