tommarker

Well, think about it from this perspective: People in their first year or so of karate probably have very little ability to control their strikes. Correct? Judge a ring with 6th and 5th kyus and see what I mean. Tell them "no contact" and they will probably still (especially if they are males, 16-25) whack each other from time to time. That's fine. We don't punish that.. it's a natural consequence that people are occasionally going to get whacked. Now tell them they are allowed to make contact, and watch the floodgates open. This is all well and good when your opponent has no problem with that, but it tends to get ugly when you have size mismatches. 1. This is when smaller and less experienced people can get hurt. 2. This is when smaller and less experienced people leave. 3. Smaller and less experienced people need more training than those who are naturally athletic and strong. If we can accept number 3, then numbers 1 and 2 are unacceptable. If you are sparring full contact, at FULL speed and making proper contact, then people ARE going to get hurt. If you're doing anything less, then it is not full contact. It's "contact" and possibly a little rougher than "brush and touch" but not FULL contact. Full contact means you try to knock the shit out of your opponent. And there are schools which do this too. For them "no contact" means "don't break anything." My basic point is that not everyone is going to be comfortable at first with hard contact, or even light contact. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be given the chance to overcome that. That's why starting a baseline of "no contact" is a good idea, IMHO.

Sparring without contact can be advantageous in many ways without a great deal of sacrifice. In our studio, the default level of sparring is "no contact." If you read my entire rant, maybe you'll at least respect why we do it. Sparring no contact allows everyone to participate. In our club, we don't have a rank restriction on sparring, and everyone spars everyone else, regardless of age, size, rank, etc. A full contact sparring match between a white belt and a third dan is going to end very poorly for the white belt. Especially if there is a significant size/strength disparity. If on your first night of sparring, you received a broken rib and were spitting blood, would you come back for another class? Most would not. The people who don't come back will never have the chance to grow and develop their skills because they basically fodder for the senior rank. You don't have to kick someone in the head full contact to teach them how to block. For most beginners, the sight of a foot flying at their head is usually enough to enage a response. If your assertion that sparring with no contact meant that we were training ourselves to "just miss" our target, then I would also imagine that we would have a pristine heavy bag, makiwara, and tons of unbroken wood in the corner. After all, we'd never be able to perform a break without learning how to hit something. It doesn't seem to be a problem. Another problem. How often can you spar full contact? Without equipment? Can you do it every class? I'll bet not. We can consistently practice without the problem of sustaining major injuries. While I will agree with you that it is important to learn what it is like to take a hit, I also find it to be a highly overrated experience. How many times do you need to get your ribs broken before you develop an aversion to it? Now, you'll remember that I said no contact was the "default" rule in our school. As the comfort level increases, the people sparring can agree on the level of contact. Some people may only be comfortable with a touch, some with a slightly harder tap. Others might be fine with heavier contact, but people rarely volunteer for "full contact" sparring. This allows a person who might have otherwise NOT JOINED a chance to learn skills, gain confidence, and eventually participate competently in an activity that others may have scared them away from. I don't find it a problem to throw a side kick with full force and stop an inch away from someone's head, and then turn around, and hit a target shield with that same kick and knock the holder over. You're still training your body to react to distances and judge them appropriately.

Journal of Asian Martial Arts

seems like a bigger problem with the green belts in some places...

It's a common problem in the junior ranks. You're just not used to how much range your limbs have. Practice with a spot on the wall, and throw your technique as hard as you can towards the wall. When you hit, back up a bit.

I prefer cord. Having said this, I realize that most of the corded nunchaku you can buy these days stink. However, with a little patience and dedication, you can make a $5.00 pair of nunchaku last as long as a $60.00 pair. The first thing I look for is the weight. The Red Oak type seem to be a bit spotty in terms of quality, and some sound almost hollow. I will go through the bin and look for the heaviest pair. Then I look for any cracks. The ones that are painted black seem to be more flawed (As if they are trying to cover it up) When I get home, I cut that horrible cord out, since it will fray and break within 2 weeks. Then I get the sandpaper block out and work that nasty slick red/orange coating off. Apply a few layers of tung oil and leave them to dry overnight. Lightly rub them with steel wool, and apply another coating if you want. Then, I re-string them with 550 paracord. http://www.geocities.com/hppycam/newparachutecord.html I have one pair that was re-strung 5 years ago and hasn't even started to fray. http://www.seishinkan.com/seishin/sskbuki/howto/nunstring01.htm As with any weapon, you should probably inspect them for weaknesses before using them... Especially at a testing, demonstration, etc. As for chain, I have broken a few chains in the past, but haven't learned the best way to re-chain them. Ball bearings should be kept lubricated and stored properly. WD-40 attracts gunk, so I use White Lightning.

guess this topic is too boring.

You're not the first person I've heard comment on this.

Demura's Sai: Karate Weapon of Self Defense book has some good basic postures in it, as does Sakagami's "nunchaku and sai" Just remember, the tines of the sai are perpendicular to the ground when you chamber the hand!!!!! Workout with the grip changes enough, and you will have the forearms of a 15 year old boy.

Build up your core muscles. Strong Abs make a big difference in being able to quickly chamber and re-chamber your kicking leg. Knee lifts are a good way of getting strong and faster. Basically, lift your knee to your chest, set it back down. As soon as your toe hits the ground, pull it back up. Repeat till you can't lift your leg, then switch legs

where?

You only need to hit Submit once, bro.

We had a green belt who adapted it to the.... are you ready? Three Section staff It was surprisingly good, and covered several elements of using three section staff.

Good luck. It doesn't even have a Library of Congress number. Keep an eye on ebay and alibris.com

Another Naihanchi 1 application (still staying very basic here) for moves 2-5. oppenent attacks with right side punch. your left hand intercepts the attack and pulls the opponent off balance whilst you continue forward with a right hand chop to the collarbone/carotid. A low line side kick or stomp with the right foot is a happy accident, depending on how you teach the form. The right hand sneakily slides behind your attacker's head and pulls them into a left elbow smash. Left hand grabs some hair or ear, and slams them face first into your hip bone. Continue the pulling motion with the left hand (your left side low block) and allow your right hand to slide under their arm, which sets up an interesting spiraling take down, not quite a puter kampala from silat, but close.

you know, sometimes two people can come up with the same idea

i always thought it was an interesting contradiction that people say that one of the reasons dogis are white is that it takes a certain amount of discipline to keep a white uniform looking white. Yet, the belt is allowed to accumulate years of dirt and sweat.

I'm sure Jerry isn't the only one who'd like to see a works cited page.

see? i love being right

I can't tell from Vash's post if English is his/her first language, so maybe the post came across as a "i want to be a scrapper" post. The hardest part about beating someone bigger than you, regardless of your art is going to be when they throw the rules out the window and just attack you with brute force and use their sheer size to just knock you over and pummel you. Do you remember your training, or do your eyes pop out of your head and stay that way? I've had it happen to me both ways. When your opponent is stronger than you, i don't care what you study, you have to work that much harder to win.

join a flag corps

Sounds like a question for your recruiter

Remy Presas' book "Modern Arnis" is a good start, IMHO. It helps to have a partner, but practicing the 12 lines, combinations, and dexterity drills will go along way towards improving your control and technique until you find someone like-minded to work with.

If it makes you feel better, the frustration you've noticed from your sensei may not be directed at you. Usually when I get frustrated teaching, it's more at myself wondering what I am doing wrong. What could I be doing to help this person magically get it? And of course, more often than not there is no quick fix and we just need to keep practicing over and over

unplug the power cord from your monitor, and fold it in half. let the games begin.