Spartacus Maximus

The type of students sought is also something to decide when planning an advertisement campaign or publicity stunts. My first instructor purposely planned his advertising to coincide with the beginning of the academic year. With the agreement of the school, he rented a time slot at the campus athletic complex and held a regular training session there for a limited time. During that time he put up posters. Flyers were also included with each campus map given to new students. This probably work more than anything else he did.

The actually are books and audio materials available cheaply online and in large bookstores that are specifically for learning "dojo japanese". A quick search revealed at least half a dozen items focused on learning to function in a Japanese dojo where only martial arts terms are covered and very little else. A good start would be getting s good list of phrases and words online and slowly memorize that. Finding this for free is very quick and easy if you take the time to do it.

All advertising techniques can be effective. They only require a focus and a target audience otherwise it is all chance and dumb luck. Word of mouth is good but only effective if the dojo already has a well established reputation. A simple flyer or poster is great but it depends on where, when and how it is distributed. The same can be said of promotional demonstrations. Some dojos come up with very creative and original ideas but why try to reinvent the wheel?

Unfortunately, there are people who engage in high-risk physical activities while refusing to accept that they may be injured and refusing to take responsibility and seek to blame others. Not making any kind of provisions to prevent problems is very unwise. In my youth and teens I have personally endured being knocked out twice, a very nasty black eye and countless sprains or bruise of varying seriousness. I was also witness to a broken nose. Despite nobody very sought to hold anyone else accountable because the instructor had a strict set of rules and a detailed policy explained to each student or their parents. In this day and age there is no such thing as being too cautious. Martial arts training is by nature a risky and dangerous activity. It should not ever be considered a hobby and must always be approached with the most serious commitment. Treating it as anything any less serious is the surest way to get hurt and results invariably in failure one way or another. That is what training karate in its native culture for years has taught me.

A search of known kata from shitoryu showed over 50 kata names but none even remotely similar to the name neuro. Myojo is a high level form and only practised by some branches and schools. Does the OP remember a dojo or instructor name?

According to the video link from YouTube it is Shito-ryu. This is a Japanese style known among other things by its very high number of kata practised. This might also make it difficult to determine which one the OP is looking for. A person who trains in shitoryu would be the right one to ask.

It would be most helpful to anyone inclined to help you if you could provide the name of the system teaching the kata you are referring to. Without this or other key details it is very difficult to give a possible name.

Despite TKD's notoriously bad reputation for being nothing more than daycare in an exotic Asian background, it can be possible for children to train. However, if serious training is the goal, the starting age should be based on the average child's mental and physical development stages. Following this, 3 or 4 years old is too early for a regular training session. To adapt training it may be a good idea to test the child's ability to concentrate to see how long it will be possible to focus on one thing. Once this is clear, it can be used to slowly introduce training before allowing the child to join training session.

This is a very unfortunate accident but it was entirely preventable. Kumite is supposed to be a training exercise, not a competition to see who is better than whom. Especially when the participants have a wide gap in skills, power or age. Insufficient control and unclear regulation of the exercise can also result in accidents with injuries and trouble for everyone involved, especially the instructor. The OP was very, very lucky that the opponent and everyone else did not find fault. In most cases like this, somebody will seek some kind of legal recourse. It is pricisely for this reason that kumite must be strictly regulated and supervised. Perhaps the instructor might take this incident as a good reason to make some changes for safety and to protect himself from potentially unpleasant legal consequences. In my mid-teens I remember being asked to do kumite with an adult. I was sixteen and she was a 3rd Dan. I was sure that she had the level to take anything I might throw but even when she blocked it made her wince. After one or two lucky shots hit she was crying. After that, I always refused to do any kind of kumite or drill with a girl or anyone younger. I felt terrible to say the least.

Luckily for you the man was not as daft or drunk as he might have seemed. I know many cases where saying something like that would actually be taken as a threat or challenge. There are some fools out there who look for trouble and insist on finding it. These are the types who will attack you even if what you said was not about their momma. As for me, in such as situation I prefer to back off without dropping my guard and keeping an eye on the fellow. It is very rare that the aggressor follows. Usually they are satisfied because they think they scared me away.

A long time ago when I was around ten years old, a very funny but embarrassing thing happened. My self and 10 others were standing in rows ready to start. As soon as we started doing jumping-jacks I had a fart attack and kept farting loudly with each count. The sensei and a few others had laughing fit requiring them to sit down and relax to try to stop laughing. From that time there was always one of the kids who made fart noises instead of counting when their turn came. It was a good 6 weeks before hilarity died down, but that's what I was known and remembered for long afterwards.

When compared to karate on the Japanese mainland, the okinawan karate schools generally have comparatively higher and shorter stances. Kicking techniques are usually aimed low, no higher than the lower ribs area. Techniques are short and compact, close to the body. This is the shortest and most concise explanation I can give. Another thing to consider is that many differences came about as karate was introduced to Japan and adapted for competition as well as the Japanese mentality of that era.

In tournaments it is considered a point deduction if the person rattles the weapons excessively or on purpose; fumbles or drops the weapon or allows it to touch the floor. In general, weapons should be wielded smoothly without any sort of entangling or rattling. Basically it is anything that might be a flaw or an opening which a real enemy would exploit. The same principle applies to empty hand kata. Weapons are no different because they are meant as extensions of limbs, not just accessories

Passing a student to avoid the risk of losing a student is not a very good idea or an effective strategy. There is absolutely nothing an instructor can do to prevent a student from quitting, not even a promotion and new coloured belt. Sooner or later some students will stop showing up. Even after being given(not earning) a promotion that was meant to motivate or retain them. Free or automatic promotions actually devalue them and make it more likely for people to quit. When someone has worked hard for something they know what it cost to obtain it and are far less likely to give it up and quit.

I use an old treatment used by fishermen and bare-fist boxers. Vinegar, salt and hot water. Soaking my hands in this for a few minutes and rubbing it in makes the skin tougher and more resistant. After drying off, I get rid of the smell by gently washing with a good liquid hand soap.

Unless there is pain or sensitivity or reduced mobility there is nothing wrong. Mine are now permanently discoloured and even on the best of days they are noticeably red where the skin has thickened into a callous. Sometimes they appear purplish usually for a few hours after I finish hitting the board. This is due to bruising just like anywhere else on the body. You can and will get bruising on your knuckles if you hit hard objects. This is especially common when starting makiwara training because the skin is still soft.

The fixation on titles such as "master" or "grand master" is the result of Western culture's distortion an misinterpretation of foreign concepts that have no exact equivalent. One might refer to a highly skilled and notable martial artist as Master, but it is out of respect for achievements. Usually this person has passed on long ago. In their native culture the titles are never used as a form of address. I have never ever heard an Okinawan or a Japanese call his martial arts instructor anything other than "sensei". I certainly never called mine "Hanshi" or " Kyoshi". Everywhere else as far as I have heard and observed, students call their instructor by the local term for "teacher". In European systems, terms such as "master-at-arms" exist but students never called their instructors anything other than "Sir". With this in mind, insisting on titles they way some Western(mostly) dojos/clubs and groups do is very strange to me and seems very pompous.

As one someone who lived and trained in Okinawa, I can second what you say. Okinawan people are known for being culturally very easy going, friendly and hospitable towards strangers. While this is true it is unfortunately the reason why okinawans can get very embarrassed or vexed if it seems to them that someone is taking advantage or abusing of their hospitable nature. Experience living among cultures different from my own taught me that it is always a good idea to inform oneself about the formalities and protocol first. An outsider who does this will be appreciated for showing genuine interest. Better still is to ask for explanation on what is expected and confirmation when one is unsure. An outsider who does this shows the will to fit in and will usually be accepted and respected for it. This shows the outsider is genuinely concerned about what is acceptable in the host group and it is the best way to pay back the host for all the hospitality and efforts to bring in the outsider It is never a bad idea to learn about the protocol/formalities when one is new somewhere. It is better still to ask about it when one is unsure what to do. Nobody can reasonably expect an outsider to know what took an insider years or a lifetime to learn. It is far worse to insult because one does not care than to embarrass because one does not know.

Children need and crave examples and role models on whom to base their own behaviours. Any parent worthy of that responsibility knows that children are constantly observing and listening. Especially when adults think they are not doing it! The very best thing for them is for somebody to show them that their behaviours are acceptable or approved. The best and only sure method to get children to behave properly and follow instructions is to show them. If children see adult students training seriously, following instructions and acting cooperatively in a respectful manner, that is what they will do. There is very little need to tell them explicitly if children are put directly next to or between adults who are doing what is expected, right and acceptable. Before applying this, it is most important to ensure that the adults you solicit for a presence among the children are fully cooperative with whoever is leading AND each other. Once the children start to improve, reinforce every and any positive change. At the end of their time, praise each one for something such as: Little A practised very hard today Little B was very helpful Little C listened very well etc... Add an honest smile and a good handshake or bow. Small things such as this go a long way and tell the children what is expected.

Cases like these are a reminder that unfortunately a high rank, skills and a title does not confer a good sense of ethics and a moral character. If a person has little of either to begin with, and is impulsive; then that person will inevitably end up in some sort of unpleasant situation. Being involved in any way with such a person is always a risk because such a person behaves without thinking or evaluating the consequences for others in their inner and outer social circles.

The very term of 'stance' is misleading at best. There are no such things as stances in martial arts. What came to be referred to as 'stances' are all transitions from one movement to another. The various stances are the result of a shift at the point where the transition is complete and the feet are in the best possible position to deliver a strike with power. This not unlike a still photograph as opposed to a video. For stance practise to be beneficial it is a better idea to do it in motion instead of just the beginning and end because the transition and weight shift are the main point. Without correct transitions there is no balance and without balance it is impossible to put power into strikes. With this in mind, it is not really necessary to train stances in separate exercises or drills. Kata or forms are ideal for this precisely because even the most basic ones will contain parts with a series of stances or changing from one stance to another. Simply perform the kata while focussing attention on how, where and when the weight shift should be done for each transition. To increase the emphasis further, one might perform a kata without the hand techniques.

Training has been a part of my life for a very long time. I do it at home as part of my daily routine so separating it from the home environment is not something I am willing to change. I go to a dojo to train with my own sensei, but my home is my personal dojo. Maybe it is easier to teach one's own children before teaching anyone else in a separate place away from home. I reckon if one can successfully teach one's own children, it would give valuable insight when teaching other people.

Spitting on somebody is a universal insult and one of the most serious acts of aggression short of actually striking. It is such a primitive expression that the behaviour is also very common among animals. It is one of those rare gestures that is considered an insult and provokation to fight by every existing human culture group. The reasoning behind considering it battery or assault is that spitting, especially in another person's face, is usually followed by a physical attack. Therefore it is reasonable to expect being attacked if one is spit at and respond accordingly. Spitting in someone's face and hitting while the victim is wiping it off is one of the oldest tricks ever used to attack or provoke a fight. If someone is close enough to spit in my face, he is close enough to hit me and has aleady invaded my personal space. This is never a good sign and letting any stranger get that close is a very dangerous mistake.

Fortunately for me, I still have a few years to ponder this question because my children are still too young. I have certainly no intention of pushing or forcing my interest onto them. However I am determined to do everything I possibly can to get them interested and encourage them to try it. What I wonder about the most are the cases that were successful because I know that those are not the norm. When I think about people like those mentioned by Sensei8, I cannot help wondering how they taught their children and how that affected the way they got along as family. How are so-called family systems started or maintained over generations? Is that still possible in this day and age?

Everyone has heard stories about those who were taught martial arts by their father, grandfather or other close family member. I often wonder how teaching my own child would work out and how it would or should be different from teaching someone who is not my family. I would really like to know if anyone has been taught by a close relative and also if anyone is teaching their own child. How is it different from teaching regular students? What works and what doesn't ?