singularity6

We need some forms that involve Super-Soakers and Nerf Guns!

The previous experience you had should also tell you the value of demonstration for those who are learning for the first time. Utilizing your previous knowledge on the street is a good thing. Utilizing it while the instructor is trying to demonstrate a technique can be disrespectful and counterproductive to the class as a whole. I try to arrive to class with an empty cup, and let the instructors fill it.

I do not recall anything regarding a bayonet. I saw him practicing earlier that day (over a year ago) and the form looked like a lot of shooting "spray and pray"style.

Oh interesting. The only reason I'm looking is because I was asked. The form is not mine so I hadn't researched the history. I did find some traditional Iron Tessen's on a site that are made in what they claim to be the old world traditional manner, and I sent those over, but I'll pass on this information as well. Time to do some reading on this subject. Please note: I am not an expert! I reserve the right to be wrong.

I don't think such a weapon ever existed outside of fiction. To my knowledge, Tessen had metal spokes, and were primarily used in more to block attacks, or as clubs (and for cooling oneself, of course.)

My wife participated in a tournament last year. For the weapons portion, someone from another school (from lower Michigan) whipped out an orange plastic thing shaped like an AR15 for his "weapons form." The kid was butthurt when a bunch of instructors said it wasn't appropriate for traditional martial arts. Keep in mind that most of the schools participating came from relatively conservative, gun-loving communities (It's probably safe to say that most households in rural Michigan and Michigan's Upper Peninsula have small arsenals.) What are your thoughts on guns in martial arts?

In my opinion, the only weapons that would still be relevant are knife, short stick and cane. For the most part, you'll find yourself unable to carry or regularly find an object that's similar to sai, tonfa, nunchucku, etc. A cane is pretty much the only thing you can carry legally (but probably not without suspicion if you're young and fit.) I was about to add a bit to this, but realized it should be in a different thread. Stay tuned! I'd love to know your opinions!

People relax in different ways, for me it is to do Karate or listen to music (Rarely do I combine them). Whereas for you it might be something completely different. Often people are tense for reasons that they may not be conscious about or they are fully aware of. But for some reason they can't seem to offload those reasons, or there is just a lot on their plate that makes it difficult to relax. When I see students who are tense, i like to make them relax by getting them to laugh and have fun. Which works like an absolute treat, because they realise that is what they were missing. For you i'd recommend taking time off (if possible) for yourself and do what you enjoy with the pressures of everything else in your life. Often this works for those who have multiple sources saying the same thing in regards to being tense (among other things). But obviously that only works if you are able to financially take some time off + also have the annual leave to do so. Thanks for the response and the advice! I teach for a living, so I'm "mostly off" from work until the end of August. Yes, that helps immensely. My issues may stem from what I went through growing up - I was never very coordinated, and typically failed miserably when attempting anything physical (outside of art.) I was also bullied quite a bit. While those issues aren't immediately prevalent in my life, I still have some mindset issues that I need to work on. Well we are here to support you if you need people to talk to! I have always had tremendous respect for the hard work Teachers put in day in day out. Especially how hard and stressful it is for you and others to get through to the next generation. Being Bullied when you were younger takes a long time to get through and work through everything that happened. I'm 25 and was bullied in Primary School and part of Middle School, in which i'm still working through things. Heh, I'm pushing 40. I'd say I'm mostly over it. But every now and then, symptoms show up in weird, unexpected ways.

People relax in different ways, for me it is to do Karate or listen to music (Rarely do I combine them). Whereas for you it might be something completely different. Often people are tense for reasons that they may not be conscious about or they are fully aware of. But for some reason they can't seem to offload those reasons, or there is just a lot on their plate that makes it difficult to relax. When I see students who are tense, i like to make them relax by getting them to laugh and have fun. Which works like an absolute treat, because they realise that is what they were missing. For you i'd recommend taking time off (if possible) for yourself and do what you enjoy with the pressures of everything else in your life. Often this works for those who have multiple sources saying the same thing in regards to being tense (among other things). But obviously that only works if you are able to financially take some time off + also have the annual leave to do so. Thanks for the response and the advice! I teach for a living, so I'm "mostly off" from work until the end of August. Yes, that helps immensely. My issues may stem from what I went through growing up - I was never very coordinated, and typically failed miserably when attempting anything physical (outside of art.) I was also bullied quite a bit. While those issues aren't immediately prevalent in my life, I still have some mindset issues that I need to work on.

I'm pretty new to actually sparring in martial arts. The closest thing to fighting "outside" my style was sparring my friend who declared normal tournament rules. We are allowed to do take-downs and to punch in the face. The new set of rules made me think a lot more!

In one of the videos I posted, he put a product on that bonded with the rust. It changed the color of the metal slightly, but since it bonded with the steel on a molecular level, it was far more durable.

Having structure and principles to work from is essential in so many parts of our lives. I'd say that these topics aren't only necessary in martial arts, but in everyday life. Sometimes it takes something like a martial art to realize this, however!

If your goal is to loose belly fat, you really need to create a caloric deficit through diet and exercise. Otherwise your body will continue to keep some reserves!

I think that depends on what you define as a martial art. Participating a couple times a week at a belt mill will grant you a black belt, and would only really require a bit of time and (probably a significant amount of) money. Does that make you a martial artist?

Would those who may be the most senior still be able to train under your master after he retires, or would they have to find someone else who is more senior to teach them? As it stands now, our master instructor/founder (5th dahn) wants to retire when he's 62 (3 years, or so.) He had one student make it to 5th dahn (recently got his 5th stripe by testing elsewhere, but I didn't ask where,) who recently split off to run his own school. He's still in the area, and will likely stay around, so yeah... training could continue. Our school has a lot of 1st and 2nd dahn students, most of which have stalled their training. The young ones are off to college, the older ones busy with life and/or injury. It looks like things will be drying up a bit. I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan, total population is 330,000 or so. Delta County (where I am) only has 40k, and most of the folks here are elderly and in bad shape. Not too many martial artists!

Has anyone watched Tenshin Nasukawa fight? He's 18, and primarily a striker. He's fought in a few MMA matches that included some groundwork. Look up his videos on YouTube. Quite talented!

I am not familiar with this, but I wish you luck in your search! I know how it goes, wanting to find something and being unable to.

We're trained to look at they eyes in my style. We don't do much tournament sparring... Most people on the street aren't trained in martial arts, so their eyes will likely telegraph what's coming next.

Good point. I suspect my satisfaction comes from being so "green." There's a whole world for me to explore. It'll probably be 4-5 years before I'm eligible to test for my black belt. I'm still young and impressionable! That being said, I am planning to get some 1-on-1 lessons for boxing soon. I'd also like to take up fencing (a friend of mine used to teach,) iaido and maybe uechi ryu karate. Just to keep learning!

I'm only a green belt (just shy of 5th geup) but I've been paying attention to what's going on around me in my school. One of our students tested for his black belt today. Topics inluded: All forms (palgwe il jang - koryo, and his weapons form) 6 board combination break, and breaking of boards taped together with a side kick The following list took well over an hour, and he had very little time for recovery (maybe 5 minutes total during the duration of all topics.) Nothing was scripted here Demonstrate all falls and rolls Demonstrate all arm bars, joint locks and take-downs Demonstrate Napa (redirecting the opponent as opposed to stopping an attack) Demonstrate gun, knife and bat defense Applications of all the above (this lasted a while... 1-3 attackers. Some armed, some unarmed) 2-on-1 sparring At any rate, once we got through the forms, breaking and demonstration, the student testing had to react, relying on his training and wit alone. Our master instructor is a retired cop/detective, and he's had to use this stuff many times on the streets (including 3 knife fights.) Teaching strategy and tactics are hugely important in our style, and I really appreciate that.

Every time I have participated in my martial arts class, the instructors (in each style) tell me I'm tense. My coworkers tell me I'm tense, as does my wife. My chiropractor recommended I go in for a deep-tissue massage. The masseuse beat the hell out of me and said I'm really tense! Any advice at how to learn how to learn to relax? I've tried breathing, meditation, etc.

I don't think I'd use vaseline... it's too heavy. Here are a series of helpful videos:

Interesting... I read through this and didn't see any mentions of a cane (apologies if I missed it!) It's unlikely a cane would be taken away from you anywhere you go. That is the one weapon I think would be most useful to train in, if you're the paranoid type who always wants to be armed. That being said, I really would like to learn how to use my sword. I picked up one of the Cheness Iaitos years back, along with the hakama, keikogi and obi. The iaido school near me sucked, and recently closed. I'd love to learn iaido or gumdo (I don't care which) before long.

Cleaning them off might be a pain in the butt, but once you get them clean, just apply a little oil from time to time. This should keep them shiny. I'd use some sword oil. You'll then have the added bonus of your sai smelling like clove!

Ameri Do Te.