Spartacus Maximus

How long and what time a school is open is up to the instructor. The one's who are full time and do nothing else tend to keep their school open year-round for longer than instructors who run a school in addition to a full time job. For both types though, it is unusual to close completely for more than a day or two. What usually happens is that training hours are shortened as activity slows down during holiday/vacation periods. Then, of course there are exceptions such as the type of instructor who trains every single day whose school is open as long as they are present.

The more numerous students are the more challenging it can be for an instructor to keep track of each individual's progress. Set standards for minimum time in grade are a valuable teaching strategy.

What about the Krav Maga schools? Anyhow there is nothing wrong or unethical with taking adavantage of a fad for staying in business. The important thing is to stay focussed on what one is trained and qualified to teach. Karate instructors ought to concentrate on teaching Karate only. Adding boxercise or anything else should be left to somebody trained and qualified to do that.

Restraining orders are difficult to serve, process or enforce when all parties involved are foreign nationals. The victim in this case had the advantage of holding a proper work visa whereas the stalker only had a tourist visa, which limited his time before being required by law to leave after a short time. The stalking stopped because the stalker was arrested for visa related infractions. It is also highly likely that their mutual embassy had a role to play in his arrest as the victim reported him.

Age would make sense as a the source of issues with joints, but this only applies to much older people. Perhaps the fact that it is not both sides has something to do with how people naturally have a slightly weaker side. Left dominant versus right dominant.

The fact that both the victim and stalker were foreigners further complicated things and not much can be expected from the police in cases like this because it simply is not seen as a priority. It is still a good idea to notify them and give them as much to work with as possible. What seemed to have worked was getting their embassy involved by lodging a complaint and passing on the stalkers photo. Eventually somebody got him as he was arrested, but strangely it was on something unrelated to his stalking/harassing behaviour. Embassies of certain countries might have some means of pursuing their nationals on foreign soil if there is a complaint and evidence

In Okinawa and in all other dojos elsewhere either run by Okinawans or their direct students, many had titles next to their names but were just called by their names and the word corresponding to "mr" or "ms". Only the instructor was called "sensei". It was relaxed, casual but still polite and everybody was well aware of where they stood. This is probably the reason why titles are not mentioned other than for formalities.

Larger dojo often have specific time in grade as requirements. In most cases it is more of a guideline than a rule. A student will not automatically advance to the next level when the time in grade has been reached. It just means that the time is the minimum. Progress is unique to each person and some people might not be up to a level's standard after the minimum time. There are many more variables as well as evaluation from the instructor.

Has anybody ever had a knee make a crackling or popping noise for no apparent reason? There is no pain or soreness, nor has there been any significant recent injury; yet it makes an audible crackling noise as it bends. It sounds a little like when someone cracks their knuckles.

These type of aerobics/kickboxing exercise programmes are a fad and many martial arts schools started to add them to increase their business and attract more people. When tae-bo came out, the martial arts-flavoured aerobics boom was at its peak and a lot of martial arts schools started doing that as well. Eventually, like other fads and gimmicks it lost most of its appeal and not as many schools still have it.

One of the most important things for a victim of stalking to keep in mind is that stalkers absolutely hate attention. They cannot stand being in the spotlight as this means that everybody is looking at them, knows their face and what they are doing. Hundreds of eyes are better than the victim's two. A photo or video of the stalker is a very effective weapon. After giving it to the police, it can keep the victim safe by sharing it with family, neighbours, at the workplace and even posted online for maximum exposure. In this particular case, the police did nothing more than interview the culprit, but they very unlikely to do anything else. A sad fact is that the police have other priorities and are even less likely to take on anything involving foreign nationals.

Yes, the literal meaning of "sensei" is "one who has gone before". However, the word is used for teachers in all sorts of fields. As for the title 'shihan' , it is usually given to somebody who has been given approval to teach. Often this is the chief instructor of a branch dojo. Renshi is more common though, and all titles appear on most dojo member name boards.

As it is the case with many Okinawan dojo, titles are used but only for formal recognition such as on a person's grade certificate next to their name or on the presence board where everyone hangs their wooden name tag on the dojo wall. 5th and 6th dan get the title of shihan 7th and 8th get the title of kyoushi 9th and 10th have the title of hanshi None of these are ever addressed by their titles. They are called sensei if teaching in a dojo of their own and sempai by everyone lower than they are when training with everyone under their own instructor. One has to be teaching to be called sensei. It it not awarded with any specific grade and it is used with its original Japanese meaning. It means teacher, and only teachers are called sensei by their own students. It is very simple for everyone because there are only three ways to address others. Peers and below are called by their names. Those who have been at it longer are called sempai, which means senior and whoever is teaching is called sensei. A sensei can be anywhere between 3 and 10th dan. Sempai is anybody who has been training longer and /or is older than that person when they train together under the same instructor who they call sensei.

If a person is completely new to karate or martial arts in general, the style is irrelevant. What matters is what exactly that person wishes to achieve through training and wether or not the instructor is competent. Forget the specific martial art and focus on the intructor(s). Then answer these questions: Does the instructor teach in a way you would enjoy? Does the instructor have a likable personality? Does the dojo/school have a good atmosphere? If you can answer yes to these, then regardless of style go for it and enjoy training.

Being followed incessantly is annoying and can be quite disturbing because it can easily spiral into a very threatening or violent situation. The scariest thing about them is that there is no way to know exactly what their true intentions are, nor how mentally or emotionally disturbed they might be. Some might be satisfied with invading their victims' privacy or terrifying them. Others might be seek to actually physically harm. What can one suggest to a friend who is being stalked by someone who actually went as far as following his victim across from international borders?

People who have little to no interest in martial arts will never understand. It is a waste of time trying to explain it to them. The only reply that makes sense is to laugh off their question. This very question is precisely one of the reasons one would be better off keeping martial arts training as private as possible. The less people know about it the better it is.

If one has time and resources to spare, it would do much good for a martial arts instructor to read and study some literature on the subject of physical/mental development. Better yet, register for an undergraduate level course on human development. This will give valuable insight on what is reasonable to expect from different age groups. 12-14 year olds have very different levels of concentration and motor skills from younger children. At ages below that, it is just not reasonable to expect them to grasp technical concepts that might be obvious to adults. The savvy sensei teaches and evaluates young students according to their level of development.

It is unfair to deny another person's right to earn a profit. There is also nothing wrong with teaching martial arts as a business. If one is getting money or anything else of tangible value in exchange, it is commercial and it is a business. Just like any other business, there are honest and reputable ones as well as unscrupulous dishonest ones with questionable practices.

The media is full of articles from a variety of sources claiming that doing high intensity power movements can result in injuries to the joints. Supposedly, the elbows and knees are especially prone to damage from repeated movements such as found in forms/kata. Does anyone have any experiences with this type of injuries? Has anyone been taught about them and the ways they can be prevented or treated? It would seem most instructors rarely cover this in any detail explicitly. The only exceptions are those who have some kind of knowledge or training in human anatomy in addition to martial arts skills.

Inflated egos and entitlement are nothing new in the martial arts. People with these unpleasant and irritating character flaws are just as common in martial arts as any other group. Respect and the ways to get it is exactly the same as anywhere else. Genuine respect cannot be demanded in any way. It comes from the way one behaves around others and how one treats people. A fair person gets respect An honest and ethical person gets respect A humble and modest person gets respect A kind and helpful person gets respect A person who listens gets respect If such a person is one's sensei, a bow or a good handshake is probably appropriate.

Another good point of the "predator mind" role play is that anyone can do it and get really good at it, even young school age children. It is perfect for teaching how to look out for potentially dangerous places or people. This is far from a novel idea as this type of training is given in police academies. It is also very easily found in books and online references explaining how to spot signs of aggression in a person's body language. Most if not all attacks are 100% avoidable if one is aware and observant. The problem is that unlike other animals, people have a stupid knack for ignoring their own senses. In this modern society, the only ones who take advantage of natural human senses are those whose life and livelihood depend on it. This is very unfortunate because training is not hard to do and takes only a few minutes I the entire day.

"Warrior Spirit" is nothing more than an idealized concept to glamourize violence and chaos to those who have never had the misfortune of finding themselves facing them and the painful consequences they bring. Only a fool can be fearless. The truly brave are afraid, but they still make decisions and act on them knowing the risks or dangers. It might be more realistic and accessible to consider "determination" "survival instinct" instead. Both of these qualities can and are trainable because they exist in everyone. All it takes to bring them out and sharpen them to a fine point is the right motivation and encouragement.

There are way too many self-defense courses, classes and seminars perpetuating the misconception that self-defense is confined to physical techniques. The best and probably the hardest to find will be a course where the instructor will help students increase their awareness and learn to spot and effectively avoid dangerous places and potential attackers before physical defense is necessary. A very effective exercise is to organize a walk around the neighbourhood. Students practise thinking like a predator. They must watch the people going by and look for those that look light easy prey. Role playing is a very effective way to train for this and this kind of training should take up most of the content. The very last part can cover a few simple and quick techniques such as breaking common holds.

Perhaps it is an old fashioned custom, but there are still a few dojo where everyone is expected to learn from those who are more experienced and help teach those who are new. Not everyone has what it takes to become an instructor, but everyone should be able to contribute in some way to the improvement of others.

The best and quickest way to get a satisfactory answer is to directly contact whoever the authority may be. For parks and other similar public places it should be fairly easy to find a name and contact information for inquiring what is or is not allowed.