Spartacus Maximus

The most widespread way of determining who is senior between equal ranks is whoever was promoted first. If two shodans were awarded the same month or year, then age is used. Every school uses this or a slight variation of it

Other people's opinions about grades should not be of any concern. What matters is skills and nothing else. Switching from one instructor to another cannot be accomplished without first accepting and trusting the new instructor's evaluation of one's skill level.

Training and practising martial arts as and improves physical skills. The mental part, is much harder to work on and fear can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Learning to use it as an advantage requires specific training, which is often neglected. The most common things everyone is afraid of, regardless of skill or experience is getting hurt in training or skills failing when they are most needed. Beginners are usually more inclined to freely admit being afraid, but what about instructors or more experienced people? Can you admit to being afraid? How do you deal with it knowing that you might never know for sure unless you have the misfortune of being forced to defend yourself with what you have been training?

It depends on the seriousness of the problems, but in some cases youth should be given a chance. This is not to say that infractions or breaches of confidence should be without consequence, but the age and maturity of the individual should be considered when deciding what to do. Fighting is prohibited by civil and criminal laws. Either he learns to control himself and realizes that being a violent hot-head is dangerous; or he will keep following that path until he is crippled or killed be people more violent than him or until he is in prison because of his stupid impulsive aggressive behaviours. The most important thing this hoodlum ought to be taught is that there is a world of difference between respect and fear. People who cannot control themselves do not belong in martial arts and should not be taught. Beating people up at the drop of a hat because of a look or words do not get respect or power. What they get is a reputation for being a thug. Thugs can only ever get along with others thugs whose only motivation is fear and selfish personal gains and cheap, fleeting insignificant glory or status. Who cares if highschool peers think one is weak or coward? Does it really matter what they say about one's mother and will it all matter in six months? Or six years? The answer is No, no without hesitation and second thought.

First hand experience confirms what Kusotare said. Serious instructors are always suspicious and wary of foreigners who come seeking training for a short time. Overall, Japanese and Okinawan sensei expect very little from "martial tourists". Worst case scenario, drifters are turned away at the dojo door. Most however, are at least willing to allow a training as a guest. One is a guest until one has proved to be able to make a real commitment and worth teaching. This takes time, endurance and patience and simply cannot be done in a few weeks or months. This difficulty is increased by other factors such as language barriers and cultural differences.

Why would anyone approve of a false, innacurate or negative portrayal of one's parent? If Lee's daughter disapproves of the way her father is being portrayed, she must have a good reason.

Historically, there never existed any sort of temple for Samurai. Samurai was just a social class that, among other privileges had the right to wear swords and the luxury of time to spend on training to use them. They were members of the warrior caste which, meant they were nobility and also bound to their superiors and lords following the rules and usages of the Japanese feudal system. A samurai was always born as opposed to a monk, which is as an accessible status for almost anyone. There are no similarities at all between monks and samurai, except perhaps the fact that both followed or was influenced by one of the many currents of Buddhist Thought. The warrior class of Japan, seemed to have favoured Zen or Nichiren. In actuality however, there were very few samurai who followed the Buddhist philosophy like a monk would, never mind the bushido code.

Forget the style or the origin. It should not be an important factor in the decision. Who has the best teaching method for your learning style and what you want to learn? Keep in mind that any system is only as good as the way it is taught and most of all, the effort put into training the lessons learned.

Teaching martial arts should be adapted to the students age group and their particular level of physical and mental development. Teenagers naturally much more impulsive than adults. Their mental capacities for judgment and reasoning are not yet fully developed. What will appear trivial or unreasonable to an adult mind often is interpreted very differently by a teenage one. This is why teaching them requires strict discipline with rules clearly defined and often repeated. Consequences must be immediate and final whenever applying them is required. However, individual characters and personalities should be considered, as well as the details of each side of a situation. With all this in mind, the use of martial arts skills outside training for reasons other than defense of self or others from a direct and unavoidable imminent violence is a very serious matter. The only suitable consequence is immediate expulsion

The shortest and simplest definition of a healthy lifestyle is one that is free of excesses. Anything in excess will cause a whole mess of problems and negatively affect one's physical and mental health one way or another.

A good quality cotton canvas dogi lasts quite a long time if properly cleaned and maintained. When no longer decent enough to wear, they can be shredded into strips and used as filler for striking bags and such.

Maybe it is not any coincidence that more than a few experts comparable to those named by the OP would prefer not to be reknowned. They are few and far between, but in most cases they are quite happy with continuing teaching and training without wanting or seeking to be known. Of those whose memory subsists in collective memory today, most of them became known through their students long after their time had passed. In their lifetime most of them were not so well known

Avoiding unnecessary costs is one of the most important things a new dojo would have to do. Third party management of the student fees is one of those things. The more an instructor has others handle administrative duties, the less resources are leftover for essential things such as dojo rent, utilities or basic training tools and equipment; never-mind any profit.

Diets do not have to be complicated or detailed with a precise calorie count. Simple is always best and it is the easiest to maintain consistently without having to think too much or plan meals. Here are a few very simple principles to follow that work surprisingly well: 1. Avoid eating seconds 2. Eat as slowly as manageable 3 Avoid or eliminate sugary food,sweets or deserts. 4. Never eat less than four hours before going to sleep 5. Drink lots of water, even when not feeling thirsty 6. Train or have some sort of physical activity everyday for at least 30minutes 7. Never eat so much that you feel heavy or too full.

What is important to keep in mind is that in martial arts, as in everything else, what one does is much more important than any given name or association. The only difference between an independent dojo and an affiliated one is that the affiliated one has much more at stake if someone representing it does something dishonest, unethical or illegal.

Leadership programmes are usually intended to teach candidates how to lead others by example. In a martial arts context it is probably a way to teach aspiring instructors effective ways of teaching and managing a group of students as well as other useful ideas of how to help others learn.

Yes there are 'obscure" and family styles of karate or martial arts in Okinawa, Japan and China. That is a fact that anyone who has trained there would have heard of. This does not mean that somewhere out there Himokiri karate exists. Everything shown and described in works of fiction is a mix of several well known aspects of existing martial arts. Things like body hardening and finger or open hand techniques are not at all special and are common to many Okinawan and Chinese martial arts. Uechi ryu, for example is most noted for this practice. In the recent past, though, this type of training was a staple of training for all karate styles on Okinawa.

Maybe it is a bit of both, but somehow for the last couple of months the little aches and pains from training seemed to hit all at once. Stiffness is terrible and soreness stubbornly lingers on for days at a time. Slowed down from nearly 14h/wk to about 2 or 3. Lost over half of former flexibility and fluidity compared to earlier in the year. Feels like aging 10years in 4 months. Even others have noticed it, including the instructor. Worst condition ever felt since starting over karate almost 4 years ago. Next dojo training is going to hurt....[/code]

It is very, very rare that an instructor is able to teach both sport and another aspect of martial arts without compromising either one. Great instructors are great precisely because they do not attempt to teach anything but the path they have chosen. They are true to their skills and believe fully in whatever aspect they work to pass on. Students are also most likely to uphold all or most of what they were taught if and when they become instructors. Whether one teaches mostly a competitive sporting style or a system strictly made for defense depends largely on what one was taught and one's most influential teachers. A good clue to answer that question for oneself is to identify the purpose and focus of what is being learned. If competition of any kind or 'winning' is; encouraged or participation in tournaments is expected, there is a strong possibility that the focus maybe more sport than anything else. Some dojo or Instructors may try to combine several aspects, but there is always one that is prevalent. Any honest teacher will be able to give a straight answer if asked respectfully and politely enough at the right time.

It is as real as the cartoons mentioned. Works of fiction and especially stories meant for entertainment is probably the least reliable source of information about anything approaching reality. Unless the one making the claims can readily produce undeniable proof. Just saying that some schools are not represented outside Japan is not enough. This person is either intentionally lying or has an immature and overactive imagination.

The martial arts, at least if seriously practised, are not nor should ever be some sort of sideshow. A knockout, by its very nature is very dangerous and there is always the risk of serious injury. It is not something to be taken lightly or played with. Only the most experienced and controlled instructors should ever attempt to demonstrate these types of techniques. Even so, it is very inadvisble to do on a regular basis because of possible cumulative damage. Without intimate knowledge of the student's health and physical conditions and an instructor who has complete master of technique to be able to control it throughout, it is a very stupid thing to do.

Indeed. Loyalty to an instructor is not something easily understood by the average martial arts student, but it is something that many who learned from old fashioned teachers might be more familiar with. Politics aside, it is of very little merit to accept the judgment of one's skill level by anyone who has not had enough time to observe and evaluate it. This is the most logical reason not to accept any rank or level from someone who is not one's instructor

Trust and integrity are of the utmost importance of one truly values what one has been taught and if one really cares about the time, dedication and effort it took for someone to pass on skills. If an instructor spend 10, 15 or 20 years teaching someone and then the student does something dishonourable or fails to acknowledge the instructor's dedication, it is a very disrespectful and unethical thing to do.

Regardless of martial arts, the man did what is recommended to ward off an attack by a black bear in case one is unable to escape or scare away the bear. Practically every piece of bear safety advice out there states that if one has to fight an attacking bear without weapons, one should strike at the animal's snout or eyes.

After years of practising, learning and training, one ought to be able to see beyond affiliations or lack of it. If somebody has good practical skills and is willing and able to teach these to other people, who cares what lineage it comes from or what governing body they are affiliated with? How foolish must one be to look down on something for the sake of lineage or affiliation?