tommarker

I think that is perfectly natural. We would probably make little progress if we didn't do so.

figure eights, reverse figure eights -- one and two handed. figure eights while walking figure eights while spinning the body 720 degrees

Bo skills are the building block for other weapons. For most people (raw beginners) it would be suicidal to take up three-section-staff or chain whip without learning first how to manipulate the bo. Learning to do something as easy with figure eights with the staff, how your hips turn, your body alignment, focus, and weapon accuracy will go a long way when you go on to learn nunchaku or sword work. I think the sai are great weapons because they are immediately adaptable to karate technique, but also have a level of complexity to them that grows with the students knowledge. Changing the grips, deflecting attacks, changing them into locks, stripping weapons, etc. Just make sure those tines are vertical when holding the sai in reverse grip and punching. Your sides will thank you. As far as heavy weapons, as I understand it you should always practice the techniques much slower when using them or you risk major tendon and ligament damage. Is that more or less true?

Back to the original subject... I think everyone is always anxious to learn the next form, and when you ask a person what their favorite form is, they will tend to tell you their highest ranking form. Sometimes I wonder if that is because the person is soooooo focused on the current form, or because picking the highest form they know itgives people an idea of their rank. i.e. if my favorite form was Rohai, you might think I was a 2nd or 3rd Dan. turns out my favorite form lately has been Pyung Ahn Sam Dan. My next form will probably be Naihanchi Sam Dan or Jindo, but I've got enough problems with the last Naihanchi to worry about getting anything new yet. I've been trying to work really hard on the rhythm behind the form and try to make more sense of the whole thing than anything else. I've noticed when I do that, it changes the tempo in my other forms as well. Even though my forms are TSD, I hope this applies to it's sister art as well.

I think there will probably be an explosion of Wushu as a popular art, and an increase in the number of Silat schools as the "new wave of self-defense"

If you are concerned with the appearance of your uniform at tournaments, then I would suggest buying a uniform solely for tournaments and keeping it absolutely pristine.

Hey, they really can do that... it's just that the blade doesn't stop till it goes through their hands and into their skull. Who are you to question an unbroken chain of 19 generations of teachers?

Before we get too immersed in "high rank = good teacher"... I've met 5th gups who have more to teach than some 5th dans ever will. Rank is one of many indicators of skill, but by itself leads to a lot of false positives. After 4th Dan (and some would say after 3rd) a lot of rank advancement is more a result of politics and contributions to one's association than a quantifiable increase in skill. This obviously isn't always true, as there are many many many excellent 5th Dans who have earned there rank. Lots of them just walk the walk though, too. But this is also just an example, and is growing beyond my control Back to the topic at hand... "There is always someone out there who is bigger, stronger, and faster than you. And they may be training to kill you."

Concealed carry is still illegal in my state, but I will be amongst the first in line when it is passed. For now, it is situation dependant, but usually is a small pocket stick (chizukenbo/koppo stick) and a can of good OC. ... And a Spyderco When I am heavily restricted by what I can carry, I go with either a 2AA Maglite (if I had a surefire, that would be better) a sturdy pen, heavy belt, and a good pair of shoes. If I had a CCW permit, I would still carry the light and OC in addition. Prolly the Spyderco too.

??? The only person you are "embarressing" is your grammar teacher.

I think we're more or less on the same page. In some of our testings, we give the students the breaks we want to see. Sometimes it's harder than what they're expecting, and we wouldn't be so hard on the grading in that case. We're probably looking more for attitude and spirit than anything else. But sometimes we let them choose whatever the heck they want. A lot of times, ego gets in the way and we choose stupid breaks, or breaks we haven't practiced in an attempt to impress the panel. Too bad the panel has probably seen it all, and has definetely seen enough misses Perhaps failing the breaking portion of the exam would be more fair, but for an advanced Dan level test, I think it would be fair to expect to fail if I hurt someone due to my lack of control.

Laurie, Do you dare suggest that there is a better way than what I suggested???

http://www.gutterfighting.org/Main.html If I was just learning to fight, and I wanted to do it fast and effectively, I'd do this.

Continuing the evil mood... Two weeks? You think you can perform hyungs? You can't even do the friggin basics without tripping over your feet! Seriously bro, I can tell from your posts that you want very badly to learn everything about every martial art in the world. That's awesome! I wish that every student in my class had your drive and desire to soak up every little bit that I can teach. But if you try to rush things too much, you're never going to learn anything of substance. The whole "jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome. If your teacher thought you were ready for hyung, he probably would give you kicho hyungs and see how you do. What do I look for in students? While I love it when students want to learn more.... If one asked me to teach me the next form, I would flat out say NO, and then more likely hold the form back even longer. Now, when I'm asked to look at their form, technique, etc. it shows me that they want to LEARN, not just imitate. Does this make any sense? You can of course tell me to sod off.

Kick them in the gut so freakin hard that they bend over.

WWII Combatives and a bad attitude.

I'm certainly in an evil devil's advocate mood today. What's wrong with the form that you're supposed to be doing right now?

I personally think someone trying an advanced breaking technique who hurts their holders should fail the test. Kyuck Pa should be a demonstration of focused power and control. If you can't do a jumping spinning kick reliably, then testing is a very poor time to pull it out. I'd rather see a well placed 3 board stepping side kick on the first try than someone who whiffs a tornado kick 2-3 times first.

What's the difference? I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but I'm not sure what your goal here is exactly. Do you want to be an expert fighter? Do what I said above, and you will be. You will have created your own style. Heck, a new style which I'm sure once your reputation for knocking the crap out of people is known, will be very popular. Do you want to Learn a specific Martial Art? Then you're probably going to have to do it the hard way. Is my route the same as being a black belt in a legitimate ryu? Nope. You'd be consderably better than most black belts I've seen. But why would you care what it is then? You would essentially be a Master in your own right, and it really wouldn't matter if some sniveling dojo rat told you that your technique was an impure bastardized mix.

... nevermind.

Laurie, As TKD MDK, do you have to learn both traditional TSD hyung (pyung ahn, bassai) AND TKD forms (palgue, etc)??

It is my understnading that you hold them in the proper reverse grip, and it should extend an inch beyond your elbow. http://www.karate.org.yu/images/sai.jpg Why? Because you block with the sai in the manner, and not protecting your elbow could be a "Bad Thing."

Cho Dan, Tang Soo Do Also, a few years of Modified Yang Style Tai Chi.

Ok, you want to learn to do it without an instructor? Go get a book or several books. Study them. Take notes, think about it, carry them with you everywhere you go. Practice the techniques, learn the theory, understand the body mechanics. Practice on makiwara and heavy bags. Repeat the motions 1000s of times until it is perfect. Then practice that perfect technique 1000s more times. Then re-read all of the books and "start over." Do this everyday for hours for about 1 year. Then, find some random guy who could care less about not hurting you and FIGHT them. Maybe start at the bus station. Note, I said FIGHT, not SPAR. No refs, no gear, no rules. Just scrap with them and use what you've learned. If you win, keep practicing, and fight people bigger and stronger until you lose. When you lose, re-examine everything and refine it. Then go try to kick that guy's butt again until you win. Do this for about 10-20 years. If you can do this, consistently win, and then teach your method to someone else and have it work for them, then I would officially say that you've learned to fight. But you would not be a master of any particular style. If you want to learn Karate... "Proper Noun" Karate, and not generic "karate" then you're just going to have to get an instructor and learn it as they teach it to you. Doing what I've suggested above will probably make you an expert in lower-case "karate" but it will still NOT be a specific, identifiable form of "Karate." Unless of course your mastery of lower-case "karate" becomes so good, you can now consider yourself a Soke, and teach craknek-ryu karate. In which case, retreat to a cave for nine years, release your manifesto of strategy, and we will all worship your spirit for centuries to come.

I think it would only work if you bought and wore the hakama... Otherwise, people wouldn't believe you when they said you studied Kendo