singularity6

Quit the makiwara for now and talk to your physician. My experience says "weird pain" is a bad sign in general. What you're describing makes me think you could have chipped some bone.

Excellent point! I've actually felt this in effect. We were doing "first response" training at work, and a planted individual faked a seizure during the session. Most people froze, but one of our nursing instructors sprung into action - she was calm and methodical in her approach. Training pays off!

I have no intentions on arguing whether one side was justified or not. The whole point me bringing this up was simply to emphasize that my training has changed the way I think about situations. I started TKD about 2 years ago. Before then, I only had small encounters with the martial arts, and my instincts were different.

This is an interesting thought! Unfortunately, I don't think this as a whole will work with martial arts. As an educator, I've seen these practices. We're frequently looking for a "one size fits all" approach in most everything we do. Ultimately, it comes down to working with individuals. Those who excel will become bored and could become a distraction for the class. They might also resent those who need more time. A student who's struggling could also take away from the class, as s/he could potentially monopolize the instructor's time. Some components could certainly be easily adapted to a martial arts (or any) class! And with great potential!

Hi Trailer_Ape, and welcome to the forum! You response resonated very well with me. I agree - it's hard to put a specific age limit on things. Starting out young has some serious advantages, but conditioning young can be quite dangerous. Thank you for the post!

OMG that Video I just want to facepalm because of the comments. But some of the techniques could do some damage, but some are indeed unrealistic. We have some Pre-Arranged Sparring + Bunkai that feel unrealistic or wouldn't happen in a Self-Defense Situation. Albeit our Gyakusoku Kumite is teaching us various different skills that would be benefiting us for a self-defense situation. Be it Distance + Timing, Angles, Open + Close Hand Techniques etc. Every one of our 1st Kyu's and Black Belts are required to create our own Self-Defense Routines that are dubbed Kyogi (I've posted previously about it). So our 1st Kyu Seniors are required to come up with 25 Separate Routines from Seeiunchin Kata, and each one can be as short or as long as they want just with the one rule of at least 1 technique (or part thereof) has to be from the kata itself. Yea, the video made me (for a second) forget what the thread was about. I did not realize Ashida Kim was a GM, now. I had assumed he was a "Master" but had no idea. Then again, haven't paid much attention since I read "Secrets of the Ninja" at 12 yr old As silly as it was, I gotta say I like the whole adding a stomp to the simultaneous block/strike, in the beginning. He mentioned ripping off the genitals. Even with super ninja strength, kinda seems like this would be next to impossible, if your opponent was wearing pants lol As far as silly techniques, I wouldn't say silly so much as techniques that just didn't take real fight dynamics into consideration. Like using both hands to set a lock, when the opponent still has a hand in play, and not turning to distance yourself from his free hand. I believe traditional "one steps" are a good tool but rarely do I see folks pause and examine their vulnerabilities in the process. When I do, it is normally from instructors that have been in real scraps (normally L.E.) and I latch on to them like a knowledge sucking leach Honestly, (gulp) on an individual technique level, the Ashida Kim stuff COULD work. But the extent he brings it to is just asinine at best. Sorry, but those techniques aren't going to rip off genitals, ears, faces, and throats (did I miss one ). A shuto/knife hand to the shoulder blade or back of the arm isn't going to break it. Those stomps while the guy is on the ground (then rolled over for more) won't all land if you put any power into a single one of them. If he demonstrated them individually or a few at a time in combination without making them sound like Mortal Kombat "fatality" moves, he'd be onto something. Where his absurdity shows is his long sequence and idiotic alleged damage that'll be done. Then he shows it at full speed, and it's just Gong Show. It's hilarious and scary how serious some people take themselves. Almost seems to be "tin foil hat" in nature.

Our training is only $25 per month, which is insanely cheap. There's no permanent MA gear installed, but we do have a wonderful view of Lake Michigan through the windows! For now, actually training simply costs me the tuition and what I paid for the uniforms and equipment I currently own (PPE and a couple pads for striking.) Eventually, when we move into a house, I want an exercise room dedicated to fitness and martial arts training. Hell, if we buy some property, I'd even like to build my own dojo/dojang! That could be pricey.

But... BJJ is just people trying to wrestle in a karate gi!

My instructors thought I'd quit between all the issues I have with my shoulders and hip. Instead I've been using a combination of physical therapy, chiropractic visits and lots of hard work to get things in proper working order so I can continue. I love this stuff, and I'm committed to continue training for as long as I can!

This came up in conversation just the other day. I recall watching the video of the Airport Security person removing the gentleman from his seat and thinking how I might react (I might have gotten one of the officers, but would probably be removed from the plane in much worse shape than the gentleman in the video.) Did anyone else have a similar reaction?

I don't think they'd let those who practice TKD join. =/

For some (myself included,) practicing martial arts is personal. We compete with ourselves, and aim to perfect our bodies and mind. This is more of a lifestyle than a hobby. Not everyone is satisfied with self-competition, however. They need others to compete against. In my opinion, this does not change the purity of martial arts - it's merely a different approach. When you say professional, that means something different to me. Anyone who's teaching martial arts could be considered a professional martial artist, in my book. They are doing it as a profession, after all. Someone who trains to fight for money is a professional fighter, and this is different to me.

Zaine, I agree with your stance on how younger ones should be taught. Tempest, very good points about the way we develop! I do recall playing soccer from age 8 or 9 to about 14 or 15. While I was never very coordinated or strong as a child, I didn't have much more difficulty during growth spurts, and neither did most of my team mates (unless they shot up a foot in 6 months.) There was definitely an adjustment period for us, but I wouldn't say we had to realearn everything.

I was just thinking: What's an appropriate minimum age to start training? Kids are able to learn things a lot faster than adults. Those who start training in martial arts as a child tend to do a lot better than those who start as adults, as their bodies are developing while training. As an adult, my body is already developed, and since I'm approaching 40, it's getting to that point where the development takes a dive. The concern I have, however, is if you start training too early, that could cause some pretty serious problems later in life if you quit training, or if you train too hard as a kid. (Two obvious examples would be head injuries in American football, or hyper-mobility in joints in gymnasts.) The other concern, which was brought up in another thread is advancement. If you start when you're 5, and train through age 15, you're already having a decade of training. As an adult, a decade of training in my style should land me somewhere around 2nd dahn. But black belts being awarded to children under the age of 16 is often chastised in most styles (again, in my style, the master instructor is extremely reluctant to give anyone anything higher than 1st dahn junior black belt if they're under 16. But this is in our small school.) How young is too young, in your opinion for a kid to start his/her journey in martial arts?

I don't think the Elvis or Michael Jackson comparisons are fair in this case. That'd be equivalent to saying anyone who's teaching martial arts is impersonating their instructor. We learn from our instructors so we can in turn pass this knowledge down to others, who will hopefully do the same. Martial arts styles do not die with their creators. They may evolve, but the spirit still lives on.

Dude, that video is ridiculous! I like how all the feedback features are disabled!

I'm not an expert, but it seems that MMA took sport martial art (boxing, wrestling, kick boxing) in a direction that Bruce Lee took "traditional" martial arts. MMA essentially combines a bunch of different styles in a "free style" form, set some rules, and made a product that a lot of people enjoy watching and participating in. I think this thread actually helped me find more respect for the sport!

This post made me really happy. I strongly agree! We do tend to abuse the word traditional. As another member pointed out somewhere else, traditional basically means "we've been around and doing it this way for over X years."

Thrust of Freedom! Oh wait... that is the most epic of techniques!

There seems to be a lot of talk about how "traditional martial arts" are threatened. MMA, McDojos, the mindset of the new generation, etc have all been named as culprits. I realize these things are frustrating, but I feel that martial arts is alive and well. Sure, you have your knuckle heads who only want to wear shorts and spar all day. I think that's always been the case, in some sense, and it won't go away. There are also those who simply want a black belt with minimal effort, just as there are those who want a degree with minimal effort. But there are also those who value tradition, hard work and a sense of belonging. I'd look at McDojos and MMA as a gateway to the traditional schools. People will get bit by the MA bug, and will thirst for more! The conversations pertaining to "who can beat who" are becoming a bit stale. It's all a matter of what one trains for. People who train for cage fights will likely get stomped when competing in an Olympic-style tournament, and vice versa. Sure, luck, talent and experience will factor in, but I'd say it's mostly training. When it comes to fights on the street, let's take some time to consider how many people actually train in combat sports. Based on my experience with people, I'd say maybe 1 in 10 or 1 in 5 might actually try something out at some point in their life. Many quit within the first few months. Most will be done after a year, or so. Maybe less than 1 percent of those who try it actually stick it out to for 5 years (roughly the time it'd take to earn a black belt in many styles.) Ultimately, I'd estimate that anyone who has more than a year of training (with sparring experience) will likely have an upper edge on the streets.

Seems to me that if you had them down at one point, you should be able to get them back with practice. I recommend that you work on some basic drills and exercises, and work your way up! No sense straining anything.

Welcome to the forum! We're glad to have ya!

To answer the things in bold: 1) I feel that the "we've always done it this way" mentality in martial arts can keep us from progressing too fast. How many of you out there still do static stretching BEFORE your class? Research indicates that a 10-15 minute warm up with some basic motions and dynamic stretching is far superior, and that static stretching can decrease performance or even lead to injury. 2) We need to be careful on determining which is useful. There are some great resources online, but overall, there's probably more out there that can be do more harm than good.

I'm not sure how I missed this bit. Yeah, I can see some people who're ranked 3rd-1st geup taking white belts in my class on occasion, or a 1st geup taking an entire class if there's an emergency, but not regular teaching. Something stinks about your situation!

I get pretty wound up when I have to perform in front of an audience (testings are emotionally brutal for me.) Repeated exposure seems to be helping some. I also try to breathe. When stressed, your heart rate will climb to be too high, and when stressed, people "forget" to breathe, then they lose control of their bodies (fine motor functions, then some less-fine motor functions, then biological functions, etc.) There are several sources online that will help you practice breathing techniques for relaxing, and I suggest you start working on them now, and every day before the tournament.