SaiFightsMS

Raymensa most disabled martial artists do not really want a lot of recognition for what they do. It really makes you feel funny when someone puts you on a pedestal because you did something inspite of your limitiations. We really just want to have the same chances to learn and to practice that everyone else has. We do what we do for the same reasons that able bodied people do. Most of the time we train to improve ourselves.

There are many different reasons why people train. The amount of contact permitted in sparring should weigh in on a decision as to if this is the right thing for me. If you want to improve yourself the amount of contact is not as important as it is for someone who wants to learn how to really protect themself in a dangerous situation.

Learning control is one of the reasons there are one, three and fice step sparring drills. And yes it is better when you first start sparring to spar an upper belt. It is also good training for them to perform "sempai" duty and help you learn.

Sometimes there are multiple spellings of a martial art. Translating form hangul, kanji, pinyin etc do not always produce a single translation set in stone. And remember that when an easter instuctor makes a sign in english it may not always be spelled the same way we would spell it. And talk about trying to prounounce things. One day some of my friends had been to Seoul and they went to the bus station to come back. They told the ticket seller they wanted a ticket to Anjong-ni. They ended up in a place at the other end of the country from where they were trying to go. The solution - ask for a ticket to Pyong Taek or Osan. There were fewer places that had similar sounding names. Then after arriving in Pyong Taek get on the bus with the K-5 on the sign next to the korean. Not sure what relevance that has to this discussion. But when you see terms spelled differently don't worry too much about it. Foreign languages aren't easy to work with or understand translations from.

No offense intended SoulAssasin If you feel like what you learned in your first school had value you should have no regrets. Start over with another school and see how much of what you know helps you out as you begin another journey. It is not easy to change schools or to change styles.

Paneling? Actually there is really no good excuse for a hole in the wall. Best remedy is to learn to fix them.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum.

Hey Happy Birthday.

Actually third place against blue and brown belts if an outstanding performance. You have my serious congratulations. If you are doing such an awesome job now you will be really great when you are an advanced belt.

You need to take anything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. There is good information and there is some pure horse hockey out there to find.

They do a nice job in their book of making sure we can tell what direction they are facing and what side the pivots and turns are on. I have a book on bo katas done by that group.

I find that when I download a kata video from a web site that sound is really not necessary. If you have a knowledge of the kata or the way the kata is done in another style what could sound give you except for the kiai. If you want to learn a kata from a video you would want more than what you can download from a web site. You would want a tape with the kata shown form various angles at slow speed for learning and at actually speed to show how the application looks. And you would want to learn the kata in pieces. Just my opinion anyway. My interest in downloading kata videos is to compare them with what I allready know from the styles I have studied.

Upon reflection I think now that there is more than have you used your training in a real street fight than first appears. Traditional training offers us more than just the ability to beat someone to a pulp. I also helps us learn restraint and self control. Traditional training should include teaching us how to avoid the need to beat someone to a pulp. Although I have never used what I have learned in a down and dirty street fight I have used the self control and self awareness I have gained in my training to avoid beating someone to a pulp in an inappropriate situation.

I think you will find when you resume training you katas will come back to you. In the meantime here is a site that may interest you. http://www.shorinryu.dk/html/

Everyone should be suspicious of someone who claims that doing a technique a few times will make you proficient with it. It takes a high number of repitions to groove a move. And also it takes a high number of repitions to add speed and power to the move. Not to mention strengthening the muscles and balance specific to that move.

And the majority of the time even with paper certification when you switch arts or style you start over as a white belt anyway. Which should not be a problem if you train for any reason other than just to inflate your ego.

Was the instructor oriental or western? Actually there are many similarities between Tae kwon do and Japanese karate. There is a lot of debate among those who seek to chronical the developement of Tae kwon do and other korean martial arts as to when they did develope and how they developed. Believe it or not I did see Tong so do labeled as Korean karate in Korea in 1976 in a village about 15 minutes from Pyong Taek. I can't tell you if it was called that because they were teaching American GI's or what the reason was.

To throw something out it seems to me there were some challenges on the first game that did run four days. And there was another factor that made things more difficult. The site went down a few times in the midst of the game. As someone who played the first game and went a good ways in it to be successful requires a level of commitment. This is a game that takes time and persistence. It will require checking in and putting forth some effort multiple times a day for some challanges. But the biggest factor of all it that it is a game. And for different people the level of challange will be far different than it is for others. And with each different type of challange it will be different competitors who are challanged in different ways. To be a finalist requires a commitment and a lot of time and effort.

Haven't seen any links for shudokan katas yet.

Theirs.

Sounds like a case of sour grapes to me.

Here is another one. http://www.yinsonline.com/html/nldec2000.htm Nicholas’ Story When Nicholas attended his first martial arts class at age 11, he could barely walk. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age, Nicholas required the use of braces for mobility. And it was with those braces that he walked into his martial arts school for the very first time. With the encouragement of his parents, Nicholas was very motivated to give martial arts a try. Nicholas remembers feeling "a little weird and nervous" on his first day. He also recalls feeling a bit "out of place" as the school was "filled with lots of tall people." It is now five years later and Nicholas not only walks without braces, but he also runs and has achieved a high belt ranking in his school. When he started, he was recognized as mentally one of the strongest students in his school. He never gave up. His mom says that "the martial arts is physical therapy for him." Nicholas feels that the martial arts is responsible for his ability to walk and run as well as he does today. You will get no argument from his physical therapist, either, who wants Nicholas to continue his martial arts lessons for years to come. Martial arts teaches Nicholas to concentrate, which helps him earn superior marks on his school exams. Martial arts allows him to "meet new people" as it has built up his self-confidence.

I have multiple sclerosis. I have trained in shotokan, shorin ryu and shito ryu and Okinawan kobudo.

The Story About Kevin By Christopher Caile For years I taught karate at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Of all the students I have had, perhaps the one that has given me the greatest joy was the one I least expected. And he proved to be a great teacher as well. The story of Kevin goes right to the root of the concept of karate-do. While most people think students of karate are tough and well coordinated, it is not always so. If the practice of karate can develop and aid in personal and spiritual self-improvement, then shouldn't karate be able to benefit more people than just those who are already strong? I was stretching one evening just before the karate class I instructed in the University's athletic center when a young bearded man in a wheel chair wheeled over to me and said something. "Kaaan ah stuuuudeee Kaa raah ahhhh te?" he asked. Later I found out that his voice and body coordination had been distorted by the effects of cerebral palsy he had since birth. At the time I had to listen several times to understand that what he was asking was whether he could study karate with us in class. I had to think for a few seconds, for I had never worked with a handicapped student much less one in a wheelchair. When I replied I said, "sure you can study, but only if you help yourself and if you fall you will have to get up yourself." He seemed surprised. He later told me that he had tried to join many other activities but had always been turned down. He had been especially sure no one would teach him karate. But Kevin did study with us. At the beginning of every class he pulled himself out of the wheelchair and with his legs bent inward, arms waving for balance, he began. His movements were uncoordinated and often he fell, but he would get up and keep trying. Later he thanked me for not trying to help him. He explained that by treating him equally it made him feel he belonged. Day by day the changes were almost imperceptible, but over time the change was noticeable. His balance improved along with his coordination, strength and even his speech. He began to come to class early in order to practice walking up and down the stairs within the athletic arena. Not only did this help his coordination but it strengthened his legs. Kevin explained that exercise was especially important for those with cerebral palsy because without it, as people aged the body could quickly deteriorate. At Christmas time his second year I got a holiday card from Kevin. It was perhaps the most memorable one I have ever received. In large, uneven letters, across the inside was the message: "Thank you for letting me try." Although Kevin is still handicapped physically, his spirit is tremendous. He also has a sharp wit and sense of humor although his speech difficulties often hide it. Two years ago, after more than eight years of practice, he traveled to our organization's New York headquarters to test for shodan (first degree black belt). I was so proud. During the promotion he was asked to do a kata before all the other black belts in attendance, around 100. He did, and his movements although awkward and still hesitant were pretty good. Afterwards everyone got to their feet and applauded. What observers didn't realize is how Kevin measured his own success. He later asked me, "Do you know what I tried to do hardest in my kata?" "No," I replied. "Just not to fall down," he said. Kevin has taught me never to make quick judgments and never to underestimate someone. He has also taught me that each of us is very different and that each has his or her own strengths, weaknesses and goals. Karate helped him become stronger, better coordinated and helped him feel he could fit in and accomplish something he had set out to do. Now he doesn't always have to use his wheelchair either. Often when he came to class, he left the chair at home and walked to the bus that brought him to campus. Being mostly a solo activity, Karate thus proved to be an excellent form of physical therapy. And in Kevin's case it also helped him develop spirit and self-discipline. Perhaps it is something that more people with coordination and body control problems could benefit from. Lest you think Kevin didn't also learn self-defense, let me relay an incident that occurred on a downtown street in Buffalo. Someone had picked Kevin, a slight man in a wheelchair, as an easy target to rob. But when he tried to grab Kevin's waist bag, the attacker got the surprise of his life. The victim grabbed back. While pulling the robber forward and down with one hand, Kevin's other hand in a fist met the attacker in the face. By the time several people from a nearby store reached the pair, the attacker was on his back on the sidewalk with Kevin sitting over him, threatening to hit again. Last year Kevin demonstrated a bo (six foot wooden stick) kata at a tournament in Ithaca, New York. Afterwards I talked to the audience about Kevin. "If you are a student of karate perhaps you know the motto, 'If knocked down seven times, get up eight.' It's a motto about perseverance. But most of you don't realize that just to be able to do the simple things like walking and standing we all take for granted, Kevin literally has fallen down thousands of time and gotten up thousands of times -- something few of us here would ever be willing to try. He is an example of spirit, someone we can all learn from. So the next time you feel frustrated by something, feel the world is against you, think of Kevin and his spirit. It will make your challenge seem a lot easier." Right after me another instructor also got up to talk about Kevin and how his efforts inspired him. "When I saw Kevin perform his kata, I started to cry," the instructor began. But before he could continue Kevin lightened the moment. In a loud voice Kevin asked, "Was it that bad?"