DarthPenguin

Sounds good, and i bet you were extremely pleased when you earned/regained your second dan. Feeling like you deserve a grade always feels a lot better, in previous styles i always liked waiting until i knew i should be a higher grade to go for a grading

Can't understate how important this is. Too many people can have a macho view of i won't tap to that / to that person and then they get hurt. As someone in their early 40s myself who does bjj (and recently took up judo too) you do need to understand that you have to take certain things more easily and should watch out for the ufc wannabees but they get weeded out pretty fast (at my club meatheads who came in trying to punish people usually had a fun sparring session with a brown belt who would make it rather uncomfortable..) Also get used to "losing" to someone smaller/weaker than yourself. i'm reasonably large (6'4" and about 225-230lbs roughly) and was used to being able to hold my own reasonably well whenever i tried a striking style but when i first tried grappling i got utterly destroyed by a guy who must have been 5'5" and 140lbs! It just demonstrated the importance of skills and training, plus how different a world it is. Personally i liked the fact that someone who had trained longer is usually better etc, there are no shortcuts to time on the mats Have fun though - grappling is a lot of fun, though get ready for some interesting aches the next day!

if money isn't an issue and it is solely storage then you can also get rollaway mats that could be brought too and from training. That would allow for some ground work/throws/takedowns to be practiced. Would agree with the other comments on focus pads, gloves etc. I've also trained in similar places before and we were able to get access to a locked cupboard or add a lock box and leave mats etc in there. Decent padlocks and a sturdy storage box did the trick.

I think you are probably right thinking about people going through the ranks for the first time and finding it tough to understand. I think over time i have just gotten used to thinking of people's length of time spent training as being more important than their belt level (obviously there are exceptions) Pleased to hear that it isn't as unusual as i thought though!

I've recently returned to karate after many years and have decided that since i was away for so long it was inappropriate for me to just start again at my old rank. I was given the option of doing so or restarting and i chose to start from scratch at white belt. I thought that it would take a substantial period of time to get used to the karate way of moving and regain some (limited) competency in the katas and that it would probably take the same time to just start again and make sure i was learning it correctly. I have noticed though that people have been looking at me like i was mad for voluntarily doing this. I've always thought that it was more important to be at the skill level you are representing with your belt rather than display a skill level higher than yours (obviously allowing for age/injury related skill atrophy). To paraphrase "i'd rather be a black belt in skill wearing a white belt than a white belt in skill wearing a black belt". I think it is the safer option and i always let people know i have trained before for safety reasons (when i started judo i let them know i had several years bjj experience so they paired me up for newaza accordingly etc) I'm curious what other people think on this. Am i just really old fashioned?

Thanks Once again apologies for the tardy response / acknowledgement - i'm not usually so ill mannered! (i think!)

Thanks (and as above apologies for the tardy response!)

Thanks (and apologies for the tardy reply!)

One reservation i would have is with the concept of a 'testing video' . I've always been told that one of the important parts of a typical grading is how you deal with the pressure of the grading itself. A testing video allows the student the possibility to edit the file if needed or reperform and only send the good segment to the examiner. If it is to be done remotely then i can't see anything other than how a live video chat could be used. This then would allow the examiner to view it in real time. There would be issues with the angle potentially, but there will always be issues with the view even in person. Another approach would be to use a more 'bjj' style assessment for junior grades whereby the coach/instructor decides that the student is of sufficient standard and promotes them on that basis. (i recall my bjj blue belt promotion being a tap on the shoulder followed by a 'wear a blue belt to class next time'). Your coach sees you every day and knows your abilities and when they promote you you are representing them. Can see how this could be an issue for senior grades but should be fine for the first few belts i think

Thanks

in the real world definitely this. I went onto youtube and let my son watch some of almost every sport i could think of and asked him what he liked. Football and Rugby got a no, basketball a quite fun; boxing, judo, karate, kickboxing and mma all got a "that looks lots of fun. I'll throw you daddy" So onto Judo and Karate he went! Established kids programmes at both and as long as he keeps enjoying them he can keep doing them. If he stops enjoying them then at least he will have learnt breakfalls which i think are an essential skill for everyone

Combat sambo allows kicks. That and the footwork of boxing comes handy when you are trying to evade and counter punch. They are good combination. This would be my thought too : As a kid start in Sambo to learn throws, some submissions and leg locks early plus start boxing so they have a long time to build natural good boxing technique. Once an adult move to bjj to refine/add submissions to their sambo and muay thai to add kicking, knees and elbows (plus toughness). Should then have a fighter who has good throws/takedowns, good submissions and good striking. Then you find out they are chinny and it all goes out the window!!

Thanks One of the benefits to being reasonably well rounded is i know how much i am lacking in plenty of areas! I've always tried to use that as a prompt in my prior training and actively sought out areas i believed i was weak in and tried to study them (going from totally incompetent to mildly so is an improvement!) . Everyone has arts they are more naturally suited to so i thought it made sense to learn the weaker ones (i always thought my kicks were a weekpoint so i spent several years training in a tkd offshoot style etc)

Hi everyone, new to forum here but it looks like an interesting place. Discovered it when looking up some info on karate. Myself i am in my early 40s and recently started back at Shotokan with my young son and at Judo. I had originally trained in Shotokan when i was a junior (only got to 3rd Kyu) but have started again to take my son. Have decided to start the grades again from the beginning as i wanted to learn properly. Also train in bjj, and have done for several years, though not had enough time for quite a while to give it proper attention (hopefully will manage to get back to it in a couple of years when the kids are older). Nice to (virtually) meet everyone

I've always thought that one of the most useful parts of a belt is when sparring with someone knew it gives a general indication on the level of your opponent. Obviously you then adjust based on what you observe once you start but it can help