tommarker

I assume from your message that you are teaching in someone else's school (you wouldn't pay yourself tuition afterall.) Did you recently get promoted to black belt? Now that you are teaching, are you still being taught as often? (And I don't mean that "teaching is learning in itself" stuff) How old are you? All of these could play into why you're feeling burnt out. If you take a break, you may come back refreshed, but these problems will still be there and eventually make you want to quit again.

Great point. Although There are still one or two more forms that I can't wait to learn.. Like Jindo/Chinto just because I've always thought it was a pretty cool looking form. And then when I learn it, I'll probably just look forward to Rohai, Kong Sang Koon, etc.

I don't think it neccessarily has to be such a binary choice: either do a million kata, or learn just one. Wouldn't it be fair to say that most people who study and learn several kata eventually settle on one that suits them best and study it intently?

Um... If you're in a situation severe enough to call for bluffing with an unloaded firearm, you really should have a loaded firearm. I don't think I'd ever advocate pretending you have a loaded gun. Should you be called on it, you will be in what the French call "le deep Doo-doo."

I know a couple of the ones TangSooGuy posted, minus about 6... Also picked up bassai sho and another staff form along the way. I should note there are also secret Tang Soo Do drinking forms whose names I won't even mention for fear of being forced to perform them

take the blue pill.

my bad Bong = Staff Dangum = Knife Jamggum = Sword Jipangi = Cane Haedong Kumdo is clearly a sword art. Hapkido, Hwarangdo and (I think) Kuk Sool Won also use the Cane. Many other schools use flexible weapons of various lengths as well. Other schools even teach weapons that are traditionally considered part of the RyuKyu Kobudo: Sai, Nunchaku, Tonfa, etc. I think this varies more in terms of the instructor and their experiences than the curriculum of any particular art.

That's an odd question. Is there a weapon that could be found in any style dojo or kwoon? We practice the bong, dangum, jangum, and jipangi primarily in our Association. Other styles of Tang Soo Do practice no weapons.

I think more people need to focus more on their own progress and less on what others are doing.

nevermind.

This may be a simple question, but I hope it will be one that is also thought-provoking. In your style, what is the major philosophy on how power behind a technique is generated? In Tang Soo Do (I don't think I'm giving away any secrets here ) We say that the key to power lies within the hips. When we execute a technique, the hips really swing in time with the strike, to the extent that one's belt ends are flying from one side of the body to the other. There is more to it than the hips of course, but this is the main emphasis in addition to thrusting forward with the legs. Obviously, a beginner's use of the hips will look a lot more obvious to the observer than someone who has learned to use it efficiently. The Korean styles in general tend to have an almost whipping motion, with large circular motions. From what I've seen of Shotokan practitioners, and others, this doesn't appear to be the case. It would seem fair to say that the techniques are kept much closer to the body, are very tight motions that almost seem to retract a bit on contact. Keep in mind I have no experience in other arts, and can only speak from my own observations.. I have no intent of disputing or insulting anyone else's method. I'm just curious

Pure jealousy!!! (joking!) I am a more-or-less self-taught nunchaku person. However, I was extremely fortunate to have some excellent guidance at first in terms of the traditional ways of their use. However, I have a soft spot for the flashy stuff, too. It's still a very interesting physical expression. However, it does have it's place. That place usually isn't the dojo. Although the flashy stuff is great for building dexterity and confidence. I think it's a matter of whether or not the student has the humility and common sense to know what is martial and what is not. I've been practicing the nunchaku for about 10 years on and off (my father got me into them before i even started training) and I've spent the last 3-4 years seriously exploring them. Part of that process was understanding and learning how to do some of the "flippy-dippy" (As I call it) techniques. After all, it seems only fair to be able to do it before I criticize it, and I'll admit, some of the techniques have a great way of keeping the momentum alive. The junior students in our class ask me for help, and I usually tell them to practice figure-eights. I don't teach the flippy-dippy stuff.

it sounds like he is saying "shut up and train" to me

we refer to dan bong as a very small stick: 6-12" but i've heard other people refer to longer sticks (24-28") as danbong as well, which i thought was a little odd, only because it can result in some confusion when talking about dan bong

Those 3 section staffs that $crew (i can't believe i had to edit this to make it work!) together to make a staff are often made of metal. and they hurt like a SOB.

Ask you instructor for a few basic skills to work on, and then drill them repeatedly at home on your own. You can never go wrong with lots of figure eights.

we have anywhere from 10-25 people in class at a time. our instructor is a 3rd dan.

At my Dan test, we were required to do finish a written exam covering various aspects of history, vocabulary, etc. In our club, we require everyone testing for brown belt and higher to write a 1-2 page paper on a topic relating to the martial arts before their next test. They tend mostly to be very introspective, and interesting.

Please tell us of your superior system. I am curious to see if you have a better idea, or if you just like to poison the discussion with your clever comments.

i think they specialize in mostly open tournament cane kata. not the way I would use the cane for SD. however, they do make an EXCELLENT cane.

... from the pic of Sempai it looks as though their taste in curtains leaves much to be desired.

Hey, I hope I didn't keep all of you in suspense! I wanted to make sure I got all my thoughts together before I posted. As you can see, I did live through the event. The test was held friday night in Linden, MI in a local middle school gymnasium. There were 13 of us in all testing: 2 for Sam Dan, 4 for E Dan, and 7 for Cho Dan all from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. From the very beginning, the attitude of the group was very different than what I've seen at other tests. Usually when you have a number of students all testing together from different schools you see a lot of individuals standing out either in good ways or bad ways. What was nice about this test was that everyone was extremely supportive of each other, no one came in with any chips on their shoulders politically, and no one felt that they had to "prove" anything. The attitude was serious, but not tense. The kids testing for Cho Dan obviously had a few jitters, but you could see them fade away and be replaced with confidence by the end of warmups. I was honored to be surrounded by such a group of brilliant technicians and spirited performers. How did I do? I guess you'd have to ask my instructor But I felt pretty good about test. I muffed one of the breaks, but I moved on and nailed the next one immediately afterwards. All of my injuries seemed to disappear upon bow-in. As for my sprained finger, I just sucked it up and taped it to my other finger. Luckily, no one put me in a finger lock All in all, it was a great experience and went a lot better than I'd thought. On the way up, I just wanted it to be over. By the end of the test, I was wanting to show more TangSooGuy, I'm sure you'll have no problem breaking in your new belt. I'll bet your students are very jazzed for your promotion!

bladelee, What you are describing is a very common thing, and the only real way to overcome it is to get used to working through it. Training can only do so much, you know? There is a difference between realistic training and reality. I think a good first start is to understand what is physiologically happening to you during the "adrenaline dump." A little exposure to stressful events is good for you and teaches you how to acknowledge that your body is going nuts, and still remain collected. When you do panic, you can learn from it and move on. I once read a great quote online from someone along these lines: "There are 3 times in a man's life when he is afraid of a lion: 1) when he first sees its tracks, 2) when he first hears its roar, and 3) when he first looks it in the eye."

http://www.swordforum.com/

that is such a bizarre thing to fake... KSW is so rare, it seems like if you were going to be a fake you'd pick something generic like "karate" or "freestyle" sorry it turned out that way...