Sasori_Te

You should already have your curriculum laid out if you don't then you're not ready to open. As far as the business side goes You need good insurance and as was mentioned earlier a budget that you can absolutely stick to because things tend to pop up. Also, you may want to look into becoming a Limited Liability Corporation. I did. It gives you a little extra protection in our law-suit happy society. Try not to have to change too much in mid stream. I know from experience that you will lose students this way. If you're teaching kids make sure that it's fun for them as well as you. Good luck.

It doesn't seem to me that Beer Monster is the one who is brainwashed Tote, since he came to these conclusions on his own. It seems to me that maybe you are the brainwashed one here. Perhaps some fan of UFC sportfighting or maybe K-1. Wake-up call junior. It's not real! A real fight has no rules. Kata was meant to be broken down and analyzed by practitioners with some amount of skill and knowledge. If you've not gotten anything out of them thus far maybe you're lacking in one of the above mentioned areas. I'm an endorser of pressure point methods and joint locks and breaking. If you'd bother to look a little closer, kata is full of these techniques. The stances aren't unrealistic in kata because all karate stances are meant to be transitory. Constant movement until the opponent is immobile. Maybe you should look a little deeper.

I'm just using the answers on this post to formulate my next post. Thanks for the input

My point being that your knowledge of another style doesn't have anything to do with stepping into a brand new style. It's not the same philosophy at the very least and probably not the same exact techniques. I'm not saying that you can't get promoted along a little quicker (MAYBE) because of your prior training, but upon initial entry you ARE a white belt in that new style knowledge wise. It doesn't matter if you're a yellow belt or a 10th degree black belt in your old style. Except maybe that a 10th degree black belt would care less about the belt than the knowledge. Perhaps some emotional growth is needed here. Here's yet another way to look at it. If you were a doctor specializing in heart surgery and you decided that you wanted to be a brain surgeon would you just expect that they should let you start doing brain surgery just because you spent the same amount of time in school as a brain surgeon?

I've been reading various posts about different belt issues. "If I change styles can I keep my rank?" "Can I ask my instructor if I think I'm ready to test for my next belt?" A belt is nothing more than a piece of cloth, a decoration if you will, that let's our instructor know the progress that we've made as well as what we need to be working on next. It's not there to make you feel better about yourself. You shouldn't need a belt for that. It's especially not there to show that you're better than someone else. A belt in the martial arts is only as good as the knowledge and skill of the person wearing it. This is where we as martial artists should put our emphasis, gaining more knowledge and skill so that at a later time we can pass it on to honor and repay in some small way the martial arts practitioners that came before us. There is no place for ego or arrogance in true martial arts. They get in the way of learning how to keep yourself alive which is the basic purpose of a true martial art.

What is wrong with a white belt? Some of you guys act as if you're an outcast if you wear a white belt. It's just a piece of cloth. The knowledge is what matters and if it's a new style then that's what you need to gain, not a colored piece of cloth. Your new instructor will respect you a great deal more if you are willing to wear a white belt. After Shodan, most of the new instructors that I've had have all insisted that I wear my Black Belt. If I had a choice I wouldn't. In a new style wearing a black belt or a high ranking belt puts more pressure on you that you don't need. You're there to learn just like everyone else.

Karate is as effective as the person performing the techniques. There are many other factors to a street fight than how many techniques you know or how well you can perform them. Perhaps a better way to put it is knowing karate does not neccessarily mean you know how to fight. With a little luck and if you're careful you'll never have to find out.

I use the Goju Ryu verson that Master Chinen teaches. I start my students out on the basic Sanchin stances and arm movements within their first month of class. The ibuki breathing also called compression breathing by Chinese Tai Chi Chuan masters is really emphasized at 5th kyu. The testing begins at 3rd kyu. Sanchin is the last test requirement for grade from 3rd kyu up. I don't really see this kata as dangerous if the testing is done in a responsible manner.

I don't think you should concern yourself with what's around your waist one bit. I'm not coming down on you but you sound a little presumptuous and a bit arrogant to compare yourself physically to a higher rank. Physical technique is just one aspect of the martial arts. Be patient and concern yourself with perfecting your own technique the best you can. By the way, I would never consider testing a student who came to me and asked for it. That is for the reasons mentioned above. The attitude is more important than the technique.

This is fine tuning a punch and there are many other points that should be taken care of first. Good fist, proper motion of the arms , breathing....etc. Usually if these things are taught first then the hip will take care of itself

I don't want to get traditional confused with classical. What I mean is...What would you think the past masters would consider traditions of Karate and other martial arts? Also, using this line of thinking, please explain to me why a martial art made up within the last 10 years can't be traditional. I agree it isn't classical but what about traditional?

I would like to pose the question, What is "traditional" martial arts? Is it wearing a gi and bowing to one another before we go up and down the floor melting with sweat? Is it practicing swordsmanship, bo, kama, tonfa, nunchaku etc....? I already have my personal view on this matter. I just want to know what everyone else thinks.

I can't really say. Never heard of it before.

Good answer Martial Girl. When you take a martial arts class you accept that classes doctrine or you move on and find a different school. Bowing is a way of showing respect pure and simple. I have never come across anyone until now that took exception to it. I guarantee that you would do it to show resprect at any tournament that I run or work or you would find yourself out the door. Yes we are in America, but we owe a great debt to our Asian predecessors that can only be repaid by honoring them in small ways such as bowing to show the respect that a martial art should instill in you. I'll climb down from my soap box now.

I want to discuss all of the rave for full contact sport fighting. I've seen many of these fighters on television and in magazines touting their amazing fighting ability against anyone. This is presumtion and arrogance on a cosmic scale. I've fought in 4 full contact matches. I won 3 and lost 1. It didn't matter to me either way because guess what? It's not real. It's not a life and death situation and there are still rules for conduct and etiquette. I don't recall ever having been in a street fight that had any rules. And I'm ashamed to say I've had several of those in my younger days. I would also like to make note that most full contact sport fights will not include any pressure point stylists on the card. All martial arts and sports have some merits but I think we need a little perspective here.

I am a kata convert, and as we all know there's nothing worse than listening to someone who's been reformed. My early dislike of kata was due more to my first instructors weakness in teaching. He didn't know the kata bunkai or oyo so he made up very simple bunkai that would make himself look good. Unfortunately he's not alone in his deception. The only fault I can find with your article is that it doesn't give kata enough credit. Kata is the living history of the martial arts as it evolved from China to Okinawa, Japan and Korea. I do happen to disagree that you need to be a combat expert to break down kata. I do believe that you have to have an extremely firm grasp on the basic movements, the ability to visualize an opponent for proper focus and enough knowledge through proper study to have insight into what the the kata could mean (oyo). That's the beauty of kata. It can be everything, nothing or something in between. Kata is what makes karate yours. No two people do a kata the exact same way and that's as it was meant to be. I do believe that I'm rambling ..... Sorry.

If your support foot is still pointing straight forward during the execution of the kick, you are losing power from the hip movement of the support or "pushing" leg. Also the kick will tend to be weaker with a straight foot because of a partial cross body lock due to the hips being closed. I can explain this more if you need it.

Along the same line ..... I had a police investigator at a big demo and tournament tell me (before he knew I was an instructor) that he could teach me everything I needed to know about self defense in a 3 HOUR COURSE!!! Well normally I'd laugh and walk away, but I just couldn't resist. I asked him to demonstrate on me. Needless to say, he had a more difficult time of it than I did. He then proceeded to pack up his display and go home. It's laughable to consider someone on the same level as someone that has been training a multitude of techniques for 10 years or more. I think these programs set people up to get themselves in a world of trouble on the street.

I'm curious as to how this person became an instructor without this problem being known from jump. The head instructor should already know his personality if he's teaching students in his school. He should handle this situation. I'm still not quite sure how it came to this pass.

I am interested in viewing some more information about the other BB members. What style(s) do you study and how long have you been studying? I have Dan ranks in two styles ( Shin Keichu Ryu and Sasori Te) a 1st kyu in another (Torite Jitsu) and an Orange belt in another (Goju Shorei).

It's my view that you should enjoy the ride during the trip and not worry so much about the destination. You'll get there eventually. The belt isn't nearly as important as the learning that earned it.

Go to Black Belt Magazine's web site. They have Master Fumio Demura's 5 tape collection for Shito Ryu. It is an excellent set. The website is https://www.blackbeltmag.com ..... I think, but I'm not totally certain.

I am of the firm belief that you don't have karate without kata. After 14 years, I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of my kata practice. I wrote this question to better see the varying views that I have observed in dojos all over the United States. Just as I had hoped, I'm having my observations confirmed by the answers to this post.

Point sparring is a good tool if it is used correctly. In my experience however, it is hardly ever used correctly. Most of the time style goes completely out the window and it becomes a complicated game of who can tag who first. I also believe that too much point sparring promotes bad habits such as not following through on techniques, pulling punches and depending on the type of point sparring the tendency to pull back after contact is made. It has also been my experience that you will fight the way that you were trained. If all you do in your dojo is point spar or "tournament" spar you need to find a better instructor.

I've learned that there is no wrong interpretation of a kata as long as the interpretation works in "the real world". Kata was never meant to be rigidly interpreted in only one way. Katas were thought up by the old masters as a way to pass on the techniques of their respective systems. The techniques weren't always very clear and this was for several reasons. 1) Techniques were vague to keep them "hidden" from lower ranking karatekas before they were ready. 2) The kata movements were done in such a way that they could represent several different techniques that could be effective in several different situations. Classical kata are meant to be studied and deciphered for a lifetime.