Spartacus Maximus

A one hundred percent clear open and shut case for self defense is rarely seen. In most cases the process will be long and any trial is quite costly. The only way to keep the law on one's side is to make escape the ultimate aim of any self-defense situation. Running away should be one's first defensive move and wherever this is impossible, it must be a close second. No matter who "started it", authorities and witnesses tend to see the "winner" as the aggressor. However, if one defends oneself after attempting to escape an attack and being pursued it is very difficult to argue against self defense. It is also difficult if the defender defended himself in the process of escaping the attacker. Even a casual witness can tell the difference between someone attempting to escape and one fighting. If there is no attempt to break away and escape, it is a fight and fighting is a criminally sanctionned offense.

6 grandmasters in a single organization sounds like a lot of nonsense to me as well. I have a feeling that the title of grandmaster seems to be a more common and loose notion in taekwondo, but this sounds ridiculous. I have never ever heard of any martial arts associations having more that one "Grand Master". Even obvious Mc dojo schools. In legitimate serious organization usually the "Grand Master" is the inheritor of the organization and at least 75years old. Furthermore Grand Master is an honrific title, not a rank or a term by which students would address said Grand Master. How many companies or businesses have more than one person as President/CEO?

Goals for this year is to make my legs and feet stronger, more flexible and more controllable. Also, I hope to improve my stamina and endurance so that I can train for longer before my breathing changes.

In my case, like most posters I have my share of movie martial arts heroes. I have no specific move from movies that inspired my interest to start training. rather than specific techniques, I admired and hope to become as quick and powerful as Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. It was always the slighter, slimmer and wiry types that I idenfied with instead of the heroes who were more obviously tough guys built like iceboxes. The smaller fellows somehow seemed more real because they looked ordinary until the scene called for them to explode into a fury of fists and feet blasting the bad guys with unexpected power. I enjoyed the idea of an ordinary unassuming hero whose appearance hides his ability because I always believed that is how the really great martial arts experts are in real life. Just like in the movies, in real life it can also be a very bad mistake for a bad guy to assume that a frail looking little guy is an easy target.

Control freaks would be on the more extreme side of the spectrum of negative personality instructors. These types are common in the martial arts but the other type often encountered is somewhat more difficult to deal with. Instructors who have nearly no interpersonal skills and by their unfriendly demenor make themselves unapproachable to students. It is desirable and beneficial for an instructor to train students strictly because it is necessary. However, after training or before training it is most beneficial for anyone to be able to get feedback and additional advice from their instructor. I hope I will be forgiven for referring to movies but I believe that is where I can find the best pop culture references. Namely the "Karate Kid" series. The Kobra Kai sensei is an ex-military man whose teaching style is very militaristic and harsh. His students are just like him and they fear him so much they are afraid to even ask a question. They just do you whatever he says. Mr Miyagi is also strict in the way he teaches, but he shows a real sense of humour and is also very pleasant company. Throughout the trilogy it becomes obvious which teacher truly cares for the skill progress and wellbeing of his student. That is the best kind of instructor one can hope for in my opinion. After all, the true mark of a great instructor is the number of great students and successors trained.

I believe it is "the carrot AND the stick" rather than "the carrot OR the stick". There is a slight difference and instructors who know how to manage both are usually more successful in transmitting skills to their students. All stick or all carrot is no good because there is no balance.

That is the truth I also believe. If martial arts could not be trained safely, then anyone practising would be crippled from cumulative injuries after just a few years. The risks of injuries should reasonably decrease in proportion to skill level.

It was indeed the right thing to do to exercise control and minimize damage. Dealing with a drunken family member or relative is definitely not the same as a situation where one is facing violent aggression from an enemy. The response must be in proportion to the attack AND the type of violence. A drunken family member attack is not of the type of criminal or predatory violence. It does not justify anything more than the strict minimum such as a controlling technique. After all, the attacker is your family and you will have to deal with him after he sobers up. Seriously injuring him may very well compromise your relationship in the future. In my experience, situations involving aggressive drunks are among the easiest to avoid without ever having to resort to physical defense.

The safe way to train martial arts is to use ones head. Train hard but train smart. Knowing one's limits when to slow down or stop goes a long way in avoiding injuries. There is more to training than endless full power repetition of the same thing over and over again.

Wow! 5th Dan is just an advanced student in any serious system. An inflated sense of self due to rank often goes together with the negative personality and attitude types.

Yes, it is really hard to install mats in a space that is public or shared by several different training groups. The most a student can do is suggest the idea to the instructor. As an instructor and for personal use one must make due with whatever type of floor one can find or build. As a student one must train on whatever floor the instructor has.

Okinawan shorin ryu has been my chosen martial art since I was a youth but my interest in the subject has led me to try and visit many different places where other systems were taught. I have done this for comparison and personal research and in doing this I have met many kinds of instructors with different attitudes and personalities. In my experience, the instructors attitude and personality is the most important trait because it is what new students notice first when they step into the dojo. It is also of capital significance to effectively teach. It is much easier and agreeable to learn from an instructor who welcomes you in a friendly manner and teaches patiently and tirelessly. Hardly anyone can suffer trying to learn from an instructor who is unapproachable, gruff or and unsociable. Only the worst and the best stuck in my mind as which model I will one day hope to emulate. The best example is my present sensei who is the toughest I have ever met. Despite his fearsome skills and strength, and strict teaching style he is always in a friendly and pleasant mood. He never has to shout or order anyone about. He is always approachable to explain anything or demonstrate for any of us. Off the floor he enjoys relaxing with students and shows true concern for each student's progress, growth and general well being. To many of us younger students he is like a wise grandfather figure. In stark contrast to this, the very worst I can still remember is a Japanese JKA Shotokan instructor. This man was the instructor at a small city dojo I visited many years ago. He was certainly very skilled at what he did as he was in the top 10-20 instructors in the country. A retired undefeated champion in his weight class. Despite this he treated his students very roughly and hardly said a word to them except when he barked or shouted orders at them. Students were absolutely terrified to approach him for anything at alll! He even shouted at me for breaking some protocol detail I had no way of knowing as both a guest quietly observing and a foreigner. Needless to say I did not stand this treatment very long. I left as soon as I could.

This is the year I realized how much progress I made and how much more I have to learn and improve just in the year to come.

I would suggest to keep in mind that zero risk is impossible when engaging in any contact activity. Judo is a martial art at its core and in martial arts the training involves learning and practising various types of power. It is normal and expected to experience soreness or aching after training, but it is also unavoidable in the process of skill improvement. The best advice I have heard is common knowledge to any instructor or sport coach: beware of overtraining, know yourself and then challenge yourself but do it gradually. Injuries come from lack of concentration and thinking too much instead of doing.

Truly nothing beats the feel of hardwood flooring. The older the better in my opinion. The very best floors I have had the pleasure to train on where very old buildings and laid down almost a hundred years before. One was a small training room used to train combatives at a military school dating back to the late 1800s. They sure made things to last a lifetime back then! Other great floors were not quite as old but the wood itself was quite old and treated with a kind of hardening polish. Beautiful and comfortable with good traction to prevent slipping or having to mop the floor constantly.

Laminate floors are the worst to repair when they come unstuck. They require a special type of heavy duty industrial adhesive which is very unpleasant to work with. The good thing about them is that they are easily covered with the puzzle mats. In fact, I would use said mats on any floor that is not hardwood because they can be set down quickly by few people and are reasonably portable if they should be removed afterwards.

Hardwood floors are the best for conditioning the feet and toes but thin foam mats also work very well as a training surface. My dojo is on the third floor of a large building and we have the original floor covered with a half-inch thick play mats that fit together like puzzle pieces. The original flooring is thin office type carpeting. I used the same type of mats in my living room to convert it into my personal dojo.

For me the ideal training ground/floor is nothing but hardwood boards. Thin carpet is not too bad but it is difficult to clean. Any type of surface that would become slippery with humidity and sweat would be something I would avoid if possible.

Well, modern karateka may never know how or where the three naihanchi fit together or whether they are just a collection of chosen techniques from an older "extinct" form. However they can be practised as a single kata by joining the three together where each stops, flowing into the next. I do it that way but it remains awkward because the transitions have been lost to time. It just ends up like a chain instead of looking like a single kata. Either way I believe naihanchi is the essence of Okinawan shorin ryu and each has valuable content.

Probably naihanchi but I can't make up my mind as to which of the three. This series of three very short kata is often emphasized as the core of Shorin ryu styles. Each one is deceptively short and simple but mastering all the priciples and techniques requires an in depth study that can easily take years. None of the other kata can be fully understood without them.

Quite true, there ought to be more options to make a more accurate poll of the types of martial arts enjoyed by the members of this board. Martial arts is a very broad topic and even if one limits the discussion to systems of empty-handed defense/fighting, there are several examples originating from every corner of the world.

Solid post!! Finding such a person is up to the prospective student to do by research. Nobody here can do that in his place.

Okinawan Karate, Shorin ryu for me.

From someone who knows karate and how to teach it.

A word of caution for those considering any symbols or writing from a foreign culture: make sure you get it right by consulting a native of said culture whom you trust to give you accurate information! Preferably one who also is involved in the martial art you practise. This is the only way to prevent possible future embarrassment. As a person with a good knowledge of East Asian culture and language I have read quite a few cool looking tattoos that have quite embarrassing meanings and could not help but laugh. Many times I did not have the heart to explain it to the poor chap sporting them.