Archimoto

That's cool. I can appreciate that. Have you found schools open to visitors whilst on vacay?

Hello and welcome ! And I really like your intro. It's nice to put a personality to a name !!!

Thank you guys all good comments. I completely agree that there are many accomplished competitors that simply can't teach. Ring experience would simply be in my opinion, one of the many factors to consider when evaluating an instructor. Also I've heard many say that focusing on sport or competition devalues a style's efficacy as a self defense. I agree to some extent but not entirely. Many use sport as a part of their overall MA curriculum and in this capacity competing can be a terrific way to test your mettle. Would love to hear more !

Scohen.mma I agree with you except I can't overlook the sentence above - it seems to me like someone was misled. I could be wrong of course, but if not, the sempai should be dropped yesterday.

Hi everyone, I've noticed many posts recently asking for help with selecting a style, an instructor, or more often a school. The advice is always good and tends to hinge on the same key elements. Quality of instruction, location, etc. So what is my point? Well, during a long run today - working on my cardio - I thought about the two most influential instructors that I've ever had. I'll mention that while I've studied a variety of arts to appease my curiosity, I'm fortunate to have spent my time thus far under two instructors. Now, in addition to lineage and certifications both of these instructors had a tremendous amount of ring experience. In my opinion the ring experience made them both better teachers. As a result, following in their footsteps I made sure to compete and I must say it had an effect on everything, my understanding of my art, my interpretation of drills, and generally on how I trained. In this regard, I'm curious to hear your views on "ring experience" as a possible requirement when selecting an instructor and/or a school. By the way, I'm not saying that you can't be a good martial artist without competing - I'm not saying that at all. I'm just curious if it factors in to your collective or individual selection process when evaluating a possible school for instruction.

Great article! Thank you and congrats on your 8 yr anniversary !!!

I agree with Harkon however add the following question: was the sempai honest about his background? Personally I don't think that he needs to be a black belt per se to be a good teacher, but to be a good influence he needs to be honest.

So true. That's why visiting the schools and taking a few samples classes is paramount in my opinion.

Thanks Sensei8 She sounds like a smart lady! Funny, I totally know "the look" and have learned to never, under any circumstances whatsoever, ignore the look!!! Great being back thank you !!

Funny !!

Great post DD! I also recommend taking free introductory or sample classes if they are offered by the schools in your area. It's a great way to get a good feel for the school, meet the students, and after class you'll be in position to ask more questions. FYI, most good schools will offer, if not allow when asked, a free sample class. Good luck and thank you for your service !!! Please do report back would be great to hear how it goes.

A flu while on vacation - bad luck !!! Hope you're feeling better. Interesting about practicing your kata. I thought about practicing forms but get uneasy about training in 'public'. Failed to mention that I do stretches each evening since flexibility, and cardio for that matter, are hard to gain and ridiculously easy to lose.

Hey guys Getting back from our vacation and realize that I worked cardio everyday - in truth running is a great way to see the sights - but took the week off from pure MA exercises to give the mind and body a break. Curious as to what others do while on vacation...

I agree with the comments and understand why you feel concerned that you may have misread your student. However, I suspect it was less about misreading and more about your focus being elsewhere...but in the end you got it right. Well done !!!

Interesting will check it out and report back Thanks!

It is one thing to know 130 kata, but another to understand them well Spot on and very well put! It's such a good point that I couldn't help but to tweak it as follows: It is one thing to know 130 kata and another to understand one kata well

Interesting question I would say unequivocally YES! Although, another fair question might be what are reasonable or permissible expectations? In fact it's the answer to this question that led me, in part, to leave my JKD school of many many years. To make a long story short I had a philosophical "falling out" with my instructor. This was painful for me because I had a good relationship with him and I was a high level practitioner/instructor in the school buuuuuuut, as I matured intellectually and philosophically I came to the realization that he and I had vastly different "expectations". He's an amazing martial artist but in the end, to make a long story less long, and he would disagree with my characterization but I feel that he thinks of JKD as a style whereas I think of it as a philosophy or approach to the martial arts. It was this difference of opinion, which factored in to the framework of our expectations, that eventually put a strain on our relationship. Does any of this make sense?

Very helpful thank you !!! In Muay Thai we would normally go (in competition) for 3 5-minute rounds and all sparring was geared toward that. The goal was to wear down your opponent in hope of winning by decision at least but better by KO or TKO. I've read about point sparring and was concerned about how different it would be from what I'm used to. Since reading your post I looked up Olympic Style sparring and learned that it's completely different from point sparring. Is that right? Stylistic differences aside it seems similar to the structure I'm used to. Does that sound right?

By the way, I'm using it on an iPhone Don't know if it's available for other phones.

THIS IS NOT SPAM Hey guys, I've been using this app called Map My Run It's free but for $2.99 you get it ad free It's amazing that's why I'm sharing it here. First, it has a gps tracker and offers if while you run announcing distance, pace, and split times. It's keeps track of the calories that you which feeds into a nutrition log, also on the app. There you can register what you eat and drink and it keeps track of it all. And if all of that isn't enough, you can log MA work outs so that it registers in the log - that's where I was really hooked. Of course it's not for everybody but I really like it and thought I'd share.

Rock solid ! Nice job !

Excellent post !!! So true !!!

These are common concerns but the pursuit of martial art is so subjective that it's paramount in my opinion to focus on yourself and only yourself. Your journey is yours alone, it's narrative is unique to you and it's significance can only be appreciated fully by you. Of course you'll meet people along the way, instructors, classmates, and perhaps students, and narratives will intertwine and co-mingle but ultimately the real meaning of your narrative, or even the value of your belt for instance, will only be known by you. I think you've arrived at a wonderful conclusion !

Circuit training in my opinion is invaluable. It really helps with cardio and good cardio goes a looooong way. I've seen too many fighters lose a fight due to poor conditioning. I do two types of circuit training. One in the gym on the weights with no more than 10 seconds of rest between reps on each loop. And the second in the studio on equipment bouncing between shadow boxing, each of the bags, jump rope, etc. for 3 minute rounds with one minute of rest in between rounds.

First of all, welcome to KF!! Glad you're here!! >Do you do any sparring at all? If you do, then don't ever stop. If you don't, then start sparring more often. >Having said that, spar different practitioners because they don't attack/counter/defend the same. >By yourself, hit the heavy bag often until it breaks, then buy another one, and beat it until it breaks, and then..... >Work on different weighted bags. I'd encourage you to get a Thai bag because they're long and dense, and this will translate into powerful kicks. Of course, do the techniques correct, to begin with!! >Work with a two-ended bag for timing, it'll pay for itself in the long run. Timing is crucial in all MA, but I suppose even more so in kickboxing. >Run or swim a lot to build up your stamina. Change up the topography while running; up hill and things like that. >Use a speed bag; speaks for itself, imho!! >Mount a rope from one wall to another and walk its length while throwing upper-cuts, but stay tight to the rope while bobbing and weaving. >Skip rope; a cheap yet valuable tool. Timing/rhythm can be garnered from this. Hopefully what I've posted helps you with your solo training. Amazing post !!! *** standing ovation ***