Spartacus Maximus

Considering the attention spans of average 5 to 7 year olds, a full hour of anything is pushing too hard. Group size is also a factor and my experience is that young children work best in groups of under 8 if the instructor has no other adults assisting. A general rule when teaching children under 12 is that everything must be made into some sort of game. How this can be done is entirely up to the imagination of the instructor. Another principle is to break down each technique into their most basic steps or components and teach those slowly one at a time until the child students can effectively put them together.

The kind of situation described here is not unique to karate because it happens anywhere and everywhere men and women find themselves interacting in a social group where the man has a role of authority or influence. No good can come of this even if the woman accepts the advances because the social relationship is changed to the point of no return to what was existing before. The man in question and the woman can no longer continue their roles without emotions interfering. The best advice and solution where there is this type of break with ethics is to part ways and start over elsewhere. Go find another instructor or dojo. One should never try to seek intimate emotional relationships with a person directly above or below oneself in a social group. Especially if the social relationship is one of authority or influence!

My reasons are many and common to many who start martial arts as children. The majority of my heroes and role models were martial artists. To deal with bullying Because I had no interest in any of the popular team sports

Often what is meant by a lack of aggression is that the mind and senses are not following the actions. To do this requires focus and a very high level of concentration. This is the driving force without which all techniques would be meaningless and unusable. The purpose of mental training in martial arts is to develop, cultivate and control the natural sense of danger. By using the mind to visualize it is possible to produce the response to danger without actually being in any danger. The aim is to mentally create a danger that is real enough to provoke the same actions and reactions. Doing this provides an object on which to concentrate and focus. This is the first step to becoming able to use aggressivity as an advantage. Aggressivity alone is very dangerous and it will always fail sooner or later. Only when it is controlled, measured and used with good judgement does it turn into an advantage. This idea can be explained in many ways, but I like to call it the "one chance total commitment principle" When training one must perform each and every move as if one had only one chance and without a second of hesitation. Defense and attack are the same single move and the outcome depends entirely on that one single move. When one moves, it must always be forward, always advancing with focussed determination.

Unless one is training in Japan or under a Japanese sensei, I would think Japanese terminolgy is a matter of choice on the part of whomever is in charge. With very few exceptions what one hears is a very distorted rendering of Japanese tinted with the accents of the main language spoken. This sounds even stranger to me since I have learned to speak the language but I cannot blame anyone for not knowing correct Japanese. Correct karate is the focus of training, not learning a complicated and exotic foreign language. Anything beyond familiarizing with Japanese terms is not necessary for the average karate student. Counting to 10, names of blocks, kicks and punches is quite enough.

My aspirations to one day teach what I am now learning have not yet been reached, but I can answer the question from a student's perspective. In the very beginning I chose my dojo and instructor because they had a very convenient location between my school and home. Much later as my interests for martial arts took me to East Asia I chose my instructor because he taught the karate I had been learning and had an almost ledgendary reputation. I chose my present instructor after buying and watching several times the DVDs he made. After years of trying to make sense of kata I had finally found a sensei who knew and taught all the details I had been missing. I knew nothing else about this sensei except that he taught what I wanted to learn. It was well worth the hour and half commute.

I know what that's like Sensei8. I still struggle to make sense of what my instructor says even though I have learned all the terminology in Japanese as well as a functional fluency in that language. There is always the need to compensate with more practical demonstration.

Strangely I have never come across this debate since I first set foot in a karate dojo. It may have sounded odd and somewhat exotic to use Japanese terms in the beginning but it was always quickly accepted without a second thought. Japanese terms were heard and repeated often enough that anyone would eventually know them. Most Dojos use Japanese terms in this way and it is a good idea to expose students to the original terminology but I cannot agree with the idea of making it mandatory requirement. Knowing Japanese may be helpful but it is irrelevant to learning skills. If a student knows how to block does it really matter if said student forgets what the block is called in Japanese?

Years ago when I trained in Okinawa there were different names for the Passai kata and every dojo used either SHO and DAI or Itosu and Matsumura. I found it very confusing because I originally learned them as SHO and DAI. It took me a while to figure out and remember which as which. I also remember losing several points at a tournament because I mixed up the names. To add to my disenchantment with tournaments in Okinawa and in general, it was later explained to me by several of the big cheeses that there was an unspoken bias against Shorin ryu styles. So much so that finishing in the top three with a Shorin ryu kata was considered an exploit and was only possible with a spectacular and flawless presentation. Nevertheless I reluctantly entered and stubbornly presented my favourite Passai kata because my teacher was happy with it and thought I should do it. He didn't care if I won and neither did I. All that mattered was that he was satisfied that I had learned it from him well.

I see the use of Japanese language terms as a choice by the main instructor. It should be based in the context of training and dojo environment. As long as techniques are taught correctly and effectively, the language used to identify them is irrelevant. What matters is that the students understand the instructor and that the instructor can communicate and demonstrate. Having said this, the best argument for keeping Japanese is that it facilitates exchanges and discussion by having a basic common terminology. Re-naming everything in another language would certainly be confusing and quite difficult because even within the same language there would be variations. Knowledge of Japanese terminology should be on a need to know basis. Instructors, prospective instructors and anyone who expects to have any kind of exchange with other karate people from outside their circle should know enough to facilitate communication. Personally, I have had numerous exchanges through karate with people from different nations with whom I shared my interest. In my case the environment made it necessary and practical to know Japanese terminology. Later my interest in karate brought me to source, where again by vital necessity I had to learn the language itself. It remains useful even now because it is the only one my instructor speaks. Not everyone is inclined to learn foreign terminology. It can even make the physical movements more confusing for some people especially those who learn best by listening(auditory learners). Encouraging students to learn Japanese terms is fine but making it mandatory may be counter-productive.

After a while boredom outweighs any outside motivation to continue. At a certain point the motivation to continue training must come from within and not be attached to superficial things. People forget or dont understand that repetitiveness and tedium are inherent parts of martial arts. Out of all the Dan level student active when I reached shodan, I am one of 3 out of 25 still training. Nobody but the most dedicated, nay, obsessively determined people are willing to continue long after there are no new belts to gain or new kata to learn. How many would never start if they were told that they were expected to learn and practise only basic techniques for an entire year? Nothing but the basics. Every day. For hours.

Going by the only information given , it is obvious that the instructor values the student and has good reasons to be concerned. An instructor who only sees students as a source of income would try everything to motivate them to stay and keep paying. One who truly cares about a student's skill progress would be more concerned about the student's losing heart to learn and giving up after so much effort. For an instructor there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that a student is still training and progressing after parting ways. There is no better proof that teaching was not wasted effort, no better token of thanks. The average person who takes up martial arts quit. Quitting is the norm but quitters are soon forgot, soon replaced and never remembered. Instructors know this well which is why they are twice happy and proud when the see one or two out of ten who are still there to show that alll the effort to pass on hard earned skills will not have been in vain.

People like tangible symbols because they are convienient to show and easy to recognize within a group. By nature we constantly seek to know where we and others around us are in relation to one another. Martial arts ranks are just another system of symbols created at a time when teaching large groups made it necessary. What was originally intended as a rough progress marker has been turned into a status symbol of power or a commodity to be bought and sold in a neat package. Those who use rank to promote and advertise themselves and their business are just exploiting a status symbol to their advantage. These types of individuals give the ranking system so much importance and attention because it is the basis of their entire status. Their position among others as welll as their personal wealth and prestige is dependant on it. From this, it is a short and easy step away from fraud, misrepresentation and other rather dishonest practices. However it is not fair to deny another man the pursuit of comfort or even wealth. Life is short and time is better spent forging one's own character and improving one self rather than in the futile attempt of changing others. Modesty is often the mark of true skill and someone who is confident in these will not need to put any emphasis on rank because such a person understands that skills developed over years of diligent training and practise speak louder than any belt.

People who can or choose to dedicate all their free time to training are indeed very rare. The sacrifices and determination is admirable but it is important to know that the average student is, for one reason or another, unable or unwilling to make certain compromises. Balancing work, socializing and family time is not a simple task and requires good organization skills. Everyone must deal with this including the instructor. That is why the best way to cope is to train and practise as much as you can, whenever you can.

One trend that seems to be universal is a drop of attendance on Friday and Saturday nights. This is especially common if the student group are teenagers or of undergraduate age. At that age socializing takes up a large part of free time available. Only a small minority of students will be there at every single training session. This is usually the most dedicated students and the most serious.

It is always harder to see changes in ourselves than for others to notice it. Self evaluations are always biased in one way or another; and at various stages of learning one can start to have doubts or become discouraged with training. Training and practising longer usually brings more questions than it answers, but questions are good because they are the seeds from which knowledge, improvement and mastery grow.

I am not quite sure if this fits with the topic of my original post and the subject of this thread. However if it can be of any usefulness I will offer my opinion. Without the context of the speech you are referring to it is very difficult to interpret what the sensei meant. Anything you read here is but speculation because the only persons who can know for sure are those involved in the conversation you mentioned. An instructor is always justified in refusing to teach someone who does not want to learn. These type usually leave without having to be told and only people with serious attitude and behaviour problems have to be expelled. Such people are usually confronted explicitly and clearly by the instructor and any sort of hint dropping, mind games or insinuations are a waste of time and counter-productive. If a student is a problem I very much doubt an instructor would waste any time dealing with that person. Anyway the only way to know what was meant is to ASK. There is absolutely no shame in asking an instructor to explain.

Luckily I there was none of the things you mentioned. After a little less than two days after the injury the swelling was gone. Aside from some redness until a week ago there was no other changes in the appearance of my thumb. Now it is mostly back to normal as the sensitivity is not as bad and I can bend it like before, although some stiffness remains.

Raising the heel of your support leg when kicking is a mistake that compromises balance and over extends the kicking leg. Stance must be firmly rooted for the entire action and knees should be slightly bent. Balance is kept by the action of the core muscles to maintain the centre of gravity and keep it from shifting. Explaining this in words is unfortunately much more difficult than showing how.

A dislocated joint is much more serious than a regular sprain. I expect it would take at least a couple of months to heal under the best circumstances. I have just looked at available medical information resources online and a regular finger sprain normally takes 2-6 months depending on how much trauma was caused to the nerves, muscle and ligaments. Anyway, now I have personal experience of the consequences of not keeping my fists closed tight enough.

The exercise I was referring to involves practising each type of kick one step at a time in slow motion and with ankle weights(these can be found quite cheap and only a little weight works very well, no need to have super easy ones). This but one kind of exercise aimed at making legs and core stronger.

When kicking you should try as much as possible to solicitate the muscles of your core. This is the area around your navel at the front and the area near your kidneys at the back. Stand as if you were gripping the ground with your feet and when you kick, keep the tension in your core. Without the stabilizing action of tightening the core, your balance will swing onto your supporting leg and the force of your kick will drag you up and forward resulting in an ineffective kick or a nasty fall when done at full speed and power. Reaching or overextending a kick beyond its effective range will also compromise balance. The difficulty of executing kicking techniques is underestimated by many. The leg and foot are just the weapons and obvious components, but the launching system and power source are the most important. Learning takes time, practise and patience. For beginners it is advisable to practise slowly each part step by step. It is also recommendable to perform extra exercises to build up strength and endurance in the legs and core such as weighted slow motion kicks, leg raises or crunches and sit-ups. Anything that works the lower body and legs is helpful.

Neither at the time nor since the injury occurred did I think getting an x-Ray was necessary. The reason being that I have had more serious injuries such as hairline and micro fractures and this was not nearly as painful. Whatever is causing the lingering discomfort and sensitivity is most likely nerves as I suspect a ligament injury would be more painful and would restrict my thumbs range of movement a lot more significantly.

Over a month ago I got hit while executing mild intensity kumite drill. The strike somehow landed directly on the last joint of my thumb where it is attached to the hand. The result was not quite immediate, but gradually increased a few minutes later. I realized I had sprained my thumb and when I returned home an hour later it had become noticeably swollen. I took care of it the usual way sprains are treated(ice, balm,etc...) and eventually the pain and swelling went away as expected. My thumb is still not back to normal after over a month and now I am beginning to wonder if it is worse than I thought. It still feels stiff and uncomfortable when I bend it or fold it to close my hand. There is some numbness and sensitivity to pressure. Does anyone have a similar experience with a mild injury such as a sprain taking a long time to heal?

Ideally I personally would avoid getting involved in trying to deal with someone who has PTSD if I knew for sure. People with any kind of problems related to emotional or psychological trauma and shock make me very ill at ease. I dislike to see a fellow suffer and even more so when I know there is nothing I could do right then and there to help them without making them feel worse. Just as anyone who is not trained in helping such people, the best and only thing to do is lend some ears to listen if they are inclined to talk and offer help in finding professionally qualified help. Other than that I would try to leave them alone and let them manage it, unless of course their behaviours resulting from PTSD was severely affecting other people in a very negative or dangerous way. That is usually only in extreme cases though. The only real experience I had with PTSD was as a young teenager when I was visiting the town museum for a school assignment. There was an old man walking back and forth in front of a section about the last world war and then he started to look as if he was about to fall over. He went out to the bench outside and sat there staring into nothing with tears rolling down. Curiosity got the best of me so I went out to see what happens to him. I found out he was the last soldier surviving soldier from our town. All I asked him was if he was alright and he started telling me everything he went through for over a hour. All I did to change his mood was say "thank you for fighting". That was all he needed and later explained that it reassured him to hear that.