Hawkmoon

Where to start!! Well much of what grinds on me has been mentioned to be honest! So to things that rate high on my 'dislike list' Poor standards; ...thousands of years of honour, respect and tradition destroyed in under an hour! Awesome well done ... have a house point! Money machines; ... the for profit set-ups, sadly there are more with money interests than art interests. Places that treat kids like a production like and gradings are just a machine to run the profits! (I accept some profit can be made, and be a good club as well) Arrogance: The ones where you walk in, beginner or graded, a sniff a quick look up and down and "...stand in the back rows see what you can pick up..." sorry did I miss something about student teacher relationship? 'Belt/Grade' hungry parents: If its that easy join in and show us how its done and show us how amazing you are .... please!! Exaggeration: Movement, speech and so on ... jeez you came to a dojo (or should that be dojang) to learn martial arts, not how to walk from the door to the edge of the mat! Walk already! HOLLYWOOD and its depiction of MA !!! ...and relax! soon be summer again!

21/1/15 1hr - free fighting. 40 mins - bag work kicks punches 20 mins Kata.

19/1 1hr - kata. 40 mins - bag work kicks punches 20 mins free sparring.

ah I see. There is no substitute basics is basics its boring however they are taught for a reason, better pay attention! Plenty of good and bad in every sports arena, not forgetting the same goes for the participants of the sport! Have you or anyone done any demos? Good or bad.

I've always found Fridays have universally for the very reasons above etc been a slow to dead occasion! Years ago when I first started karate, the dojo held classes on Monday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday mornings. When I was at collage studying Engineering I was for the first year very ... very serious about it and MA, both were a release from the other, not to mentioned the fact I went on holiday with the family one year knowing that a letter of acceptance for either a military or engineering career might/could be on the mat when we got back! So I decided to apply the same dedication to either. As turned out it was the engineering letter was on the mat .. so I kept my promise about dedication! ...meaning drinking was for Saturdays! Now I'm older, much older, a little wiser ... maybe ... less 'serious' for sure, and in this dojo unlike the other they offer a three night week. One of the nights/sessions offered is a none formal night and that is on Fridays! To this many of the guys are massive football (soccer) fans in this dojo, where in my last dojo were not, so sometimes international matches have attendance drop through the floor!.

Just spotted the connection! NM? GKR is big in your part of the world is it something you see lots of or was this demo just a right place right time thing? Demos are great as well as ... um ... not so great all over the world, we must have all seen one or been 'the one' to share? GKR tends to take a beating from time to time, but ... like Lupin says, and I do agree, there are some dedicated types, diamonds in the rough if you will that make this or that system more interesting. His desire to keep going would have convinced some of the audience,and even had a few consider the club in a more serious light then before he ... crashed!

Hello matt and welcome! Jiu-Jitsu, did me some of that years ago, added it to my training to try and make me a better close quarter fighter!

Short answer. No! Long answer ... I'd offer to you that he feels that you are not giving 100%, that you appear to him to be dropping off from the 100% focus etc student that he came to know when you first walked into his dojo! Take sometime to consider yourself, your focus and effort see if you can see where you are (apparently) less attentive and so on, and sharpen up! Look to enhance your kihon, make 'things sharp, less relaxed start to show (not say or state) truly show/demonstrate your wish to continue! We all go through these phases, different degrees of less interest/focus/effort/etc etc ... I actually stopped training for years ... then I got the itch again and walked back in to a dojo! Others miss a grading, or so it happens, only you can step up ....so step up!

Love the whole post, the points that ring with me (in one paragraph are obvious) and on another are not as literal as the words that were spoken come across. I'll start with one of my MA heros, Bruce Lee and one of my all time favourite MA films; Enter the dragon. 'Boards don't hit back' Said in response to Ohara and his showing off breaking a board! The literal acceptance of the comment is what many accept as its meaning is to be sarcastic! "oh! wow you hit a bit of wood ... and it broke!" I see that, and I for an age accepted that as the point and insult and so the meaning of the line! I've come to see what I feel was the actual meaning of the line .. its an insult, yes, its a direct attack directed at Ohara himself, not the action. Our hero in the story 'Lee' sees Ohara for who he really is ...out of balance an ego driven show off ... we the viewer miss the one huge fact, the fight we are about to witness has already started and the hero, 'Lee', is already winning 1:0! Now to the next paragraph, the obvious one for me to like, its spot on...not much to add here, we all understand that hard work and rewards,but wonder if we truly understand MA as a way of life an acceptable normal way to lead your life like we might live ours lives as bankers, park keepers, mechanics, shop assistance and so on all acceptable and so normal, where to the western mind MA is a sport. Breaking a board does boost confidence, it will always give you a rush, that is the point the problem (the Ohara example) many get pumped ...ego pumped and that's when things go south! Positive mind set is great, tests of skill, power are required, mastery of you, your mind and your body the purpose and true value.

Good point, ... I sweat a great deal when training, that's a good call!

I was a 16 year old brown belt when that came out. It motivated me to train then....and it still does today. You're in really good company Top film love 'that' film (I do like the new one but that one is just the best!) FYI: My love of that film has nothing at all to do with being 16 years old and Elisabeth Shue!

15/1 Most of the 2hr session - kata. All the way to Shodan!

11/1/2015 Squad training 3 hr. Mixed exercise mostly legwork about an 40 mins. Body work (conditioning) and combinations, about an hour. Fighting about an hour. 12/1/15 strikes punches bag and body about 30 mins kicks bag and body about 30 mins rest of night mixed push-ups and fighting! My new measure is 'about' when I recover better I'll be a little more accurate!

7/1/15 Punch combos, bag and human! (aka - conditioning) 2 strike, 3 strike, 4 strike mixed attack Kick combos,bag and human! (aka - conditioning) 2 kick, 3 kick, 4 kick mixed attack counter attack combos, kick 7 Strike. .... all night!

5/1/15 30min warm up and stretching exercise! 30min bag work, punch combinations with mawashi, ushiro mawashi & mai geri finishers. 30min light combat - mixed throughout the night push-ups sit-ups squats in 10-20-30 sets. Welcome to 2015!

Very off topic, sorry. JCVD, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Power Rangers, Bruce Lee ... It never ceases to amaze me just how much stick JCVD gets! Yet nothing, nadda, zip big fat zero is said about the Power Rangers and the Zords and the 'monsters' ! I mean come on at least JCVD fought other 'humans', most of them famous fighters in there own right! maybe we need or there is a thread in here asking who your MA hero is and why! Anyone?

... hot baths!! Seriously being serious here, really I am! Stretch as you do , just change how you breathe through the stretch. As you relax into a stretch breathe out! The more relaxed you are the more 'extra' movement (stretch) you will get and see/feel as you stretch! Once you get used to breathing right ... time for a bath! Hot bath, 'go lobster' get out and have a stretch, as its your side kicks (yoko geri) you seem to describe and being your weakest these are what you need to work on most so do box splits, relax and breathe! 5 or so mins of stretching do some 4 in 1 exercises splits but focus more on the box split! Now get back into the bath, relax and 'go lobster' & repeat! The box split will open your hips up a great deal and in doing that your other kicks will benefit and come along by themselves without much extra effort! The secret to kicks is stretching, the secret to stretching is breathing! Now you are getting more and more supple, time to work on strength ... easy to say abut a real nightmare to do! Core and more core is the ONLY answer here! Leg lifts, sit ups crunches, lots and lots and lots of stiff leg kicking (Kearge mai, uchi, osoto yoko...all of them) lots and lots of them! Russian twists, superman, swan back arches, planks And of this and ...yup you guessed it repeat!

Sir! As one of the first guys to 'chat' with me, I do consider you a friend here so to read your post and sense the gravity in the meaning of the things you don't (and don't need to) explain saddens me a great deal! Health is important, its preservation is paramount to us all and more so to you at this time! You need to rest and overcome the situation you find yourself in, then rest my friend recover as best you can, do what you need to do and know we are here to 'chat' with poke fun at chill and relax with! Make a speedy recovery so that you can stand one day back in the place you love! Osu!

hmm good post/thread! Well for me It was Bruce Lee that got me interested in MA at all! (Enter the Dragon!) But as to a specific 'thing', well that would be JCVD and his box splits and his jumping kicks that made me focus. I found early on in the dojo I was good with my legs and after a few beatings I realised I could not generate any real punch power, so I focussed on kicking. Soon my kicking was way way better than my punching! I could 'almost' kick as well (well in my mind anyway) as him, so kept working on my kicking to be the best I could be!

Cool! please do OleOle, it would be nice to see how you grow and what you see in kata and so on! For me its "Tsuki no" kata. Its described to mean : "... its very name is a punching kata (there is only one kick and just a few blocks in the entire kata). The word Tsuki can also mean fortune and luck. Good fortune and luck does not come by waiting. For every punch in this kata, envision that a personal barrier is being broken down. Strong, persistent effort directed at problems will bring good fortune." its the inner fight concept that appeals to me!

Wow! :o Good luck in all your goals! Thank you sir! I should change winning the Muay Thai Classic, to just competing in it. I've dreamed of this tournament for the last 4 years, and never had a means to get there to fight. we all enter to win my friend, as such I'd support your first post as the 'correct' post! Follow your dreams, the simply fact that you use that 'language' shows you love what you do, you enjoy it, and as such every bit of it is its own rewards to you! Well done keep it up and good luck! Osu!

Simply put... Enjoy it!

As a South African friend of mine would say: "100%!" Its odd to me how the wearing of protection , any sort of protection seems to make a person/fighter more reckless! Don't get me wrong I get the 'it doesn't hurt as much' reality, no I mean the less guarded, less mobile full on 'march' into battle ..the hooligan mind set that comes into play; eg; "I'm big and hard I can take anything you throw at me!!" Call them Animals or rage monsters it is what it is, well that's not as profound as it is intended to be, it brings a real example of what is being discussed in another thread in the forum, teachers and mind set and so on. (This one: http://www.karateforums.com/a-sensei-s-personality-and-attitude-vt47744.html) The rage monster/tough guys are being promoted, fed on ego (and beginners I'd wager) and so on to perform, and do well, the ART it is, or is trying to be is clearly lost on them! (The art is IMHO being dropped from it if this is the best of the best .. as it were: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVOw7KvS1MI) It is still a acceptable alternative to MMA in my mind (but that the traditionalist in me), the web site and what is reports and offers is respectful, aggressive by definition, but still a combat system close to what its trying to replicate with an honour code! that makes it a worthy offering, but its interpretation (ie; the reset of the worlds adoption of it ) is, well, to be honest clearly being lost in translation! One of the guys here (at work) discussed this with me yesterday (he spotted what I watching and came over) he is from that part of the world was saying it was all the rage in the former eastern block countries back in 2000, but the aggressive approach and the sudden explosion of none far eastern DAN grades (masters and so on) spoilt it and its popularity has dropped a great deal. Maybe it needs time to mature, to grow and maybe a obvious focus on kihon, proper public demonstration etc more focus on basics to draw the warriors to it and not the berserker?

hmm ... we talking 'mind set' again ... As a traditionalist a true sense of honour, a humble de-meaner and a real understanding of humility is paramount to any instructor! Control nuts/freaks/??? are just that, control nuts! ... they will not allow you to grow beyond them, its there nature and so will not offer more to you to best them, and that defeats the point of the teacher student relationship!

I took and passed my 1st kyu grading. I collected my first knockdown trophy! Met and spoke with Hanshi! I started my journey to shodan. (in 2015) Broke boards in front of an audience (In the past when doing any demonstration that involved breaks I'd smashed roof tiles, on this occasion I was minding my own business watching the BBs break boards as part of a breaking demonstration when I was called up (jeans and all) to break some boards!) .... no pressure!