karate_woman

Well, when I look at people they turn to stone.....er, maybe that's someone else

Here the Good Samaritan Laws are basically just designed so that Good Samaritans that offer first aid assistance aren't sued by the victim (unless they acted unreasonably). After a quick search on the internet, I found that yes, there are a few States in the U.S. that have laws like monkeygirl is describing (Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Vermont), and a couple others that have introduced similar bills. They don't force the person to put themselves into danger (ie intervene in a violent attack), but make it so they have to report it. As for whether a blackbelt should intervene or not, I don't think that just because I have a blackbelt I'm suddenly a superhero or anything. I think my obligation would be similar to anyone else's. In some situations, you might think it is time to intervene, when the people involved don't agree...my Sensei has had situations where he tried to intervene and ended up being attacked by both the "victim" and the "attacker".

It is definitely not "hitting a woman". You're in a controlled situation where the woman is supposed to be fighting back and it isn't the same thing at all. I enjoy sparring both men and women myself; they actually fight rather differently, especially at first, where I've found women rather appologetic

The Butokukai is one such organization; I used to be a member, and the logic was explained that "dan" meant "man", and the Japanese felt that you were a man at 16 therefore the rank was withheld until that point. It is one way to prevent seeing a 7 year old with a black belt, that's for sure! The one negative thing I found was my Sensei's own son, who'd started training at about 3 years of age and while he didn't advance quickly, since there was really no point, was a very competent brown belt by the age of 12. The organization didn't believe in junior black belt ranks (at least we were told it didn't at our school, anyway), and so at 13, he started getting penalized at tournaments and was told he was in fact a junior black belt when he couldn't by rights wear the rank of black belt for another 3 years . I think he eventually quit.

In my Sensei's black belt grading one of the candidates had to do a "bo" kata with a FILING CABINET. The idea was both adaptability, and to expect the unexpected

Right back at ya....little late in the day for my reply but the thought is there

Welcome

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Welcome

What city are you in...perhaps we can help that way?

Maybe this will help: http://www.negia.net/~pdarden/kyudo/ Also, kyudo is recognized by the Butokukai as a martial art. Here is a quote from the above noted web site:

I got mine today (an early Mother's Day present from hubby) It is an "original" wavemaster (weighs 270 lbs when filled). One thing about it is it doesn't take much for me to get it rocking/moving. I was kind of surprised at how much it moved when I hit it, and I wasn't hitting full force by any means. Now I know what SaifightsMS meant when she mentioned chasing the thing around her living room! It is still lots of fun, though.

Oh it is a freestanding punching/kicking bag.

I would think that would depend on who is teaching the style, and their approach.

Well, perhaps things have finally come to a head. Hopefully they do as your Mother suggests. It is too bad your club is being hard on you too (by asking all these questions and laying on a guilt trip). Perhaps your instructor can talk to the group? The more they remind you of your brother's departure, the less pleasant your training will be, and less productive too. There is only one person whose actions you can control, and that is you - you haven't gone anywhere, and if they want it to stay that way they should just be quiet about it - training with your guts in a knot and on the verge of tears is no good for anyone.

This AIMA? http://www.aima-usa.com/aima-index.html The girl in the picture doesn't have a belt... I really think that if you're concerned about this you should ask questions. It is best to understand what you're being certified in and what you're being tested on before you fork over money for one thing. As SaifightsMS advised in the other thread...Cardio Kickboxing is a fitness class...not a martial arts class. Now it is true you can be certified as an aerobics instructor, or in this case a Cardio Kickboxing instructor but this sounds somehow different to me...

Perhaps you should ask your master a few questions. The types of things I'd want to know are: How many levels are there, and what are the requirements for each level? Why are we using belts to signify levels - isn't a certificate enough? Is this just a club certificate or is it internationally/nationally recognized? Do I have to be tested in order to keep training? If I don't test, can I learn the skills at the next level? etc.

How did they get invited to grade then, or does your club not have that sort of policy where you're invited to grade for the next level after your Sensei/instructor feels you're ready? The only people that ever fail at our dojo are those that basically invited themselves to be graded, or rather - insisted upon being graded when they weren't ready. There have also been a few probationary passes (belt given but no certificate until a few things are improved).

The direction you take will also be determined by whether you mean the person is actively thinking about a math related area (eg, angles, weight distribution, timing, distancing), or whether you mean the person is using a skill that can just be broken down using math.

It was in the Age thread, where he stated he started martial arts at 12, and is now 13.

The balanced approach. (Goju)

Excerpt from an interview with Royce Gracie. Apparently people ARE crazy enough to challenge him In the dojo, anyway. http://www.sherdog.com/interviews/roycegracie/gracieinterview_04.shtm Brett Herman: Do a lot of fighters and wrestlers come to the Academy in Torrance and make challenge matches? Royce Gracie: That comes in waves. Sometimes, they come in and show up, maybe 3 or 4 in a month but then they disappear for 8 months until somebody wants to come in and try out whether it's one way or the other, I haven't had any for the last 6 months or so.

Never thought about it, but here's something that supports your theory.... As the founder of physical exercise was an Indian Prince on a journey following the spread of Buddhism into the orient, it is not surprising that many aspects of Yoga are also part of Shaolin Kung Fu. Many believe that the harder aspects of Yoga merged with hard Chi Kung. http://www.shaolin.com.au/kungfu.html