MatsuShinshii

I’m with Sensei8 on this. Nice thought but not possible.

I might agree but my dream has be to move to Alaska to retire and I actually like the cold, so all things considered it would be a tad warmer and close enough to drive to visit family. Win win.

I'll keep that in mind when I retire.

I do not own any Shureido weapons so I can not comment on their quality or how they perform. I do however own a small armory of Kobudo weapons and would highly recommend Crane Mountain and Shushin. They sell hand made custom pieces and are of good quality. Two others that I can not vouch for but my students seem to love are Premierdan (not sure this is spelled correctly) and Murasaki. Also hand made. Some of my older weapons were given to me or sold to me by my instructors and since no one stamps their weapons (or at least none of my weapons are stamped) I have no idea who made them. I will say they have been abused for 30+ years and I still have them. If your displeased with the commercially made weapons I would recommend looking into custom hand made weapons manufacturers. You'll pay more and have to wait for them to be made but they are well worth the money and the time. Another option is to make them yourself. You can customize them for yourself so you know you'll be happy with length, weight and feel. Just my 2 cents.

It sounds like you have a made a good decision for yourself. One thing puzzles me though... what were the circumstances under which this instructor gave your friend this ultimatum of train on weekends or be expelled? I can't wrap my head around why an instructor would give such an ultimatum. On the one hand I immediately went to the greed aspect of trying to force this student to pay for more classes but the instructor had to know that the possibility of him quitting was there so this makes no sense. Then there is the possibility that maybe this student did not come to class consistently and maybe had missed many classes and the instructor felt like he was wasting his time so he decided to push him. But you failed to mention this and made it seem like he was a good student so I am perplexed why any instructor would give this ultimatum knowing as an instructor myself that we have no power to compel out students to do anything they do not wish to do. But then I don't understand the logic of "or be expelled". There has to be more to the story. I know that some instructors can be jerks but expelling on the grounds that a student will not train on the weekends????? Can you give a little more history here? As far as for yourself and making the decision you did, I agree with you 100%. You have to do what is best for you. Quitting because the instructor is tough is a terrible reason. But this is not the reason you are quitting. If an instructor can not give you a few seconds out of his day to answer one of his students questions then you know he doesn't hold his students very highly on his list of priorities. I think you made the right decision. I would of encouraged you to speak directly with this instructor to get reasons for ignoring you and thoughts but confronting someone and coming up with the same conclusion, which it sounds like you would, serves no purpose. Bravo for making a tough decision for yourself. Keep training and making good decisions.

You could always take the scrap 2x4's left from the build and use it for a Makiwara.

I'd love to live in a place where there are more acres of trees than buildings. UP is wilderness. It would be a paradise for a hunter/outdoors guy like me. I live in the country but over the years the country has been modernized and taken over by residential neighborhoods and businesses. Even private land is not private. People ignore the posted signs and just set up for their hunt. You're really lucky if you get somewhat responsible hunters invading your land that don't shoot at you because you just might be a deer. I wouldn't know what to do with that much land to hunt. Paradise, pure paradise. Not so lucky finding a close Iaido school but man, you are lucky to live in UP.

A time and a place for everything.

Precisely! Exactly right.

Actually the first day was learning the customs and traditions and a bit of how to hold the sword. Hand placement, etc. How to sit and kneel and how to get up from that position. Sounds like You got a bit extra on your first day. Once a week is a joke. Our classes were held twice a week two hours each and we were encouraged to fit in a third day if possible. Obviously like with anything study outside of class was a must. Too bad you couldn't find another instructor in your town or the next over. I loved the art and it actually helped me with my training over all. The concepts are easily integrated into other arts.

I guess it depends on the teacher and the individual student. It's been more than a decade since I studied this art. I am happy that I took the art as it was fascinating and I loved how difficult something that looks so simplistic was. The little nuances of how the techniques are done correctly, the timing, angles, and maintaining a level plane was a bit of a challenge at times. But I loved the art and if I was still within a reasonable distance to a school I would probably continue to learn it. I will try to recap as well as possible the curriculum that I remember. Kata learned; Shodan Waza Mae, Migi, Ushiro, Yaegaki (not sure if the spelling is right), Hidari, Tsukekomi, Oikaze, Kaishaku, Uke Nagashi, Tsukikage, Nukiuchi. Chuden Tatehiza Waza Yoko Guma, Tora-no issoku, Uki Gumo, Yama Oroshi, Iwa Nami, Nami Gaeshi, Taki Otoshi, Makko, and I can't for the life of me remember the remaining Kata but there are 10. Okuden Suwariwaza Kasumi, Sune Gakoi, To Zume, To Waki, Shiho Giri, Tana Shita, Tora Bashiri, and I can't recall the name of the 8th. Okuden Iaia Tachiwaza Yuki Zure, Tsure Dachi, Somakuri, Sodome, Shinobu, Sode Suri Gaeshi, Kabe Zoe, Uke Nagashi, and again I can't remember the remaining but there are 10 in total. We also learned Tachi Uchi No Kurai and others but again it's been years so the memory is not exactly tight when it comes to the names but I can still perform them. I want to say there was somewhere around 100 + that were taught. I didn't even scratch the surface and did not learn that many as I only studied the art for three years.

I know very little about this art. Because of that I cannot comment from a personal perspective. If I were to comment based solely on watching the art and some of the videos posted, I would say there are some viable applications and some that I would not teach or use due to ineffectiveness based only on my perusal opinion. It really comes down to the individual student and what works for them. What works for me may not fit another. What I find ineffective might work for someone else. It’s hard to make an accurate assessment based off watching a few videos because you are judging an art based on the individual performing it rather than personal experience. As such this is all I can say about this art.

Based on your description I love your instructor! He's great! Unfortunately, he's probably going to retire in the next 5 years, or so. The students of his who're currently teaching at my location are keeping the spirit. I also like how they teach martial arts to be practical, and not for tournaments. We definitely share common traits.

Yes sir I would.

Welcome to KF!

Not sure about that particular brand but I have steel Sai (combat worthy) and then I have Sai that I bought years ago (not sure of manufacturer) that are made of a lighter material most likely aluminum or pot metal of some sort. Not really sure because I've not cut into them to see. But I would not use them in full contact drills. I know it doesn't necessarily answer your question but the material they are made from account for the weight.

Quite a noble goal. I hope you accomplish it.

Based on your description I love your instructor!

Why am I moved down a level when I dominate secondary level guys who apparently block with their head and can't parry a jab?? Why aren't they moved down? Isn't it more important if you can actually fight? I have seen their bag work, and some of them where quite good and fluid. It didn't matter one bit once we sparred. I hear your frustration. I would just say this... an instructor/teacher/coach see's what we can not because we are too close to the issue and often times, human nature (ego), clouds our judgement. I can not speak to your peer's abilities. However I can speak to what you wrote of your's. It seems to me that you are very proud of your skills in certain area's (which you should be) but are ignoring the area's where you are weak, even admittedly so in your post. Being proud of ourselves is something we earn after paying the price to be the best we can be. If you know you have a weakness and have done nothing to improve it then your pride is false. Sighting that you can beat this segment of your gym is nothing to be proud about if you have weakness that the rest of the gym can take advantage of. If your coach is holding you back but not the others then there must be a good reason for this (think about this for a moment, you know what the reason is). Often times when something happens that we feel is unjust we catch a little attitude instead of either talking to those we trust with our training or just accepting their judgement. It's obvious to me that your coach feels that you have missed an important aspect of training along the line and wants you to learn it. Maybe your skills in these other area's glossed over your weaknesses and it has just come to light or he is just noticing them for the first time. Either way most instructors have the students best interests at heart. In this case, upon seeing a chink in your armor, he is taking you back to improve upon it. You can look at this an opportunity to improve or as an insult. Either way you should never concern yourself with the progress or lack thereof of others. You should concern yourself with you and what your coach feels is best for you. It's a personal journey not a competition. Often times students are so concerned with pecking order that they don't see those that were below their skills and abilities fly past them while they were looking at everyone else. This is because they concerned themselves with their training rather than wasting energy on what others are doing. My point is, concern yourself with your training and stop worrying where everyone else is. Your coach has a reason for what he is doing. You can either listen to him and see this as an opportunity to improve or you can worry about what you feel is the level of others and learn nothing and stay where you are at. Or you could quit. I don't mean to be so matter of fact or give you the impression that I am coming down on you, but I have dealt with this same thing with students most of my life and I see the benefit and possible reasons why your coach is doing what he is doing. If he is anything like me he probably doesn't concern himself with lengthy explanations of why because he has your best interests at heart and knows what is needed for you to improve. That and if he senses the attitude of "why me but not them, I'm so much better", he probably takes this as you questioning his abilities and his integrity. The point is, so many are in a race these days and instead of concerning yourself with what they are doing right now and becoming proficient at it, they are always looking at the next level and wanting to be there. Yes skill and ability will get you up the ladder rungs but only so far before your weaknesses bring you back down. Skipping rungs or ignoring them will earn you a faster trip back to the ground. This seems like your situation. You picked up on many things and had natural ability or past training that helped you climb but you ignored your weakness and now your falling back. Comparing yourself to others does nothing but hold you back. You've admitted that you are deficient in an area already so you know what the problem is and you should know that a coach with much more experience than you would also have identified this issue as well. So what's the problem? He doesn't have it out for you. You have already explained why he is doing what he is doing. What if you were the sole student of this man? Would it still be a problem or would you look at it as another part of your training? Take the others out of the equation. You still have a weakness. So why are you so hesitant to do what your coach wants you to do to fix it. How do the others even come into play here? It's about you, not them. Believe me, when you get in the ring your opponent doesn't care that you dominate your peers. He'll try to knock your head off just the same. If you don't have the necessary tools to stop him he'll succeed. Your peers will will not make a difference at that moment. That man will give you no more respect than some thug on the streets. It doesn't matter that you can beat your peer's. At that moment all that you can rely on is you and your training. If you get into the ring with these guys your coach warned you about, understand this if you get destroyed, they didn't beat you. You beat yourself because you saw the deficiency and decided to ignore it and your coaches advice. We all need the tough coach/instructor to knock us down off of our self made perch sometimes to make us see us for who we really are. The tough thing is looking past our own egos and taking their advice. I hope you do. I'd love to read that you are destroying all of the competition in a few years. I wish you the best and hope even though you probably think I'm a jerk that you understand that the advice comes from a good place.

Thanks for the explanation Tempest. It's funny how different rules and traditions are from one art to another. That did clear up the mud. It's appreciated.

At least no one takes themselves serious on here. That's pretty funny. TJ-Jitsu, since your now a Judan could you promote me to Kudan in Jujitsu under you? It would look good on my resume. Just don't ask me questions or ask me to show/teach anything. I'm too high of a rank to be bothered with actually knowing anything. Oh and I want a cool belt and golden Gi that fits my status of a grand poo bah! And maybe a cool ring that others can kiss as they bow to me in all my greatness. Gotta feed the ego!

After reading your post a few times to make sure I understood your point in this I would say that your coach is not setting you up in the sense of getting your hurt and proving a point. It sounds like in your mind you are at a certain level and he doesn't feel that you are. IMHO he is allowing you to find out where you are for yourself. Sometimes we see ourselves differently than those that instruct and teach. Your coach is watching all aspects of the fight game and he see's a chink in your armor. If it were me I would step back and get the appropriate training and learn the lessons he is trying to teach before moving forward based on an assessment of beating your fellow beginners and shadow boxing. It really comes down to this... shadow boxing is against air. It's easy to look good when there is no resistance. If the bag is giving you a hard time and wearing you out, just think what a heavy bag that hits back will do to you. I see this a lot with students. They are naturally gifted at one aspect and want to jump ahead based on that alone. They may look better than a black belt when performing their Kata and automatically think they have an edge. That is until they step up and get knocked down. Striking in the air and looking good is different from stepping up to full contact. If you don't look good working the bag it means you are not as good as you feel and you need more work. This is not a bad thing. I think your coach is looking out for you in that he has identified a weakness and is concentrating on working with you to improve it. If it were me I'd listen to my coach and take a step back and learn the proper way so that when you do step up to the next level you can perform at the level that your feel you are. Jump too fast in a contact sport and you will find out quick just where you belong. There are levels to fighting. Speed and conditioning are good, couple it with stopping power and your then a force to be reckoned with. If you get in the ring with someone that has learned these lessons and you have not (meaning you only bring speed and conditioning), you will most definitely learn a new lesson. Just my 2 cents.

Teaching students to solve problems is a plus. However I fail to see how this incorporates into the martial arts. This might be something that the instructor could suggest to the student for their personal time but bring this into the instruction time? No.

I think the problem is the stopping. It's not realistic no matter the reason it is practiced. This will ingrain muscle memory and as such the student will respond this way in real life. As far as two punches and stop or kick to throw more. I'm not sure about this or why this would be practiced either. In real life there are no rules that state after so many of these techniques you must stop or throw a kick. Real life is unpredictable and as such the student must use the right responses for any given sequence of attacks. Stopping or needing to throw a kick at the wrong time and you're looking up at the ceiling wondering how you got there. "Self defense" applications are practiced at a beginner level at a slow pace so that the students can develop the proper body mechanics and learn the technique. The problem with some schools is that they never ramp this up and make it real. What good is found in practicing against a partner that allows you to do as you will? If the threat of a continued attack is not present we can all look like king Karate. This exercise is meant to be done with a compliant partner at first but the speed and power is increased and the compliance is eventually discarded to that there is realism. Full speed, full power, non-compliance and intent to connect. Without this the student is learning nothing and even worse building muscle memory so that when they are attacked this will be their response and they will be destroyed.

Forgive my ignorance and not to keep this conversation going but I have a question concerning "grading given at the individual instructor level". So if a purple belt is teaching per the Gracie Garage rules. How do they promote their students if they do not have access to senior grades? In my art only a Sandan can promote students directly, although in the 60's and 70's it wasn't uncommon for a brown belt or Shodan to promote their Mudansha students. I guess what I'm asking is, I assume that a blue belt to brown belt would have to have a black belt of some level promote their students. If there is not a black belt in the area how would their students be promoted if they are cut off from the organization?