aefibird

For Karate: 8 kata to brown belt (1st kyu). Shodan students have a choice of 4 kata, plus having to repeat previous forms for their 1st dan testing. For TKD: 8 poomsae to high red (1st kup), then Chodan students have to perform Koryo, plus previous forms for the testing. In Wing Chun we don't have belt testing as such, although we do have 'levels'. Sifu can call students out to one side at any time and ask them to show him certain techniques. If they do well enough they're moved to the next level of training. When I trained in Aikido we didn't have kata as such, although there were 2-person sets for 3rd kyu and above.

For fist-based/hand-based styles then Western or Chinese Boxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Tai Chi. Shotokan Karate (depends on the school, though) also does a lot of hand work, but it usually incorporates kicking too.

Not famous: all the great instructors I've had the privelage to work with and learn from, especially my current TKD instructor and my original Karate Sensei. Famous in MA circles: Iain Abernethy. "Hollywood" Famous: Jackie Chan.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. My condolances to his family, friends and all his students.

Well good luck to you and your students! I hope you all do well.

Just because someone has a black belt doesn't automatically mean they're gonna be a great instructor. I remember that when I was coming up through the kyu ranks as a karateka Sensei left a brownbelt guy in charge while he went on holiday. Although the bloke was "only" a brownbelt he was a fantastic teacher and really helped us. There were a few blackbelts in the club that were miffed that Sensei had left a kyu grade in charge for the week, but I think that Sensei really knew what he was doing. The brownbelt was a fantastic teacher, probably much better at instructing that the dan grades in the club. A black belt doesn't mean that you automatically turn into this all-knowing, all-doing, all-powerful person. Grades are arbitrary anyway and what I test my beginners on will be a lot different to what others test their students on. My grades are only viable in the organisations I took them with, not outside that org, so it is unfair to expect ATA or any other organisation to have the same standards and the same ways of doing things. If I transferred to another karate club I couldn't take my dan grade with me and expect to be able to be exactly the same at that club (even if it was same style) than I was at my old club. Personally, I feel that grade and instructor status should be separate anyway. Having a dan grade isn't an automatic sign that the person is a good instructor. I'd rather learn from a good kyu/kup grade than a bad dan grade anyway. As for the thing about kids and blackbelts, it's probably best left to anothe thread as this is supposed to be about ATA (even though I've helped to drag it off topic too... ) However, seen as I've already contibuted to the thread being off topic, I shall say this: kids grades are for kids. Most people on here are sensible enough to realise that a 10 year old isn;t the same as a 20, 30, 40 year old. Adults train differently and have different needs to children, which is why many clubs host adult and kids classes separately. However, plenty of people seem to be alright with this notion that kids train separately yet seem to expect that a childs dan grade is automatically the same as an adults. If I see a 12 year old with a 3rd Dan (a higher grade than my own) then I'm not gonna kick up a fuss and get all shirty. Good luck to the kid, at least he's not hanging about on the street corner and is actually doing something worthwhile. My grade with my organisation is different to his, so why should I let it upset me? It's a little like a pro soccer player getting upset at a kid who has won more tournament medals than he has - a different area of the sport altogether. Now, whilst I'm loath to class MA as "sport" the principles are the same. The soccer kid with 10 medals is obviously more 'materially' sucessful than the pro player with 5 but surely no one is going to say that a kid who plays for a local school team is a far better player than the professional? Surely it should be the same with MA? Just because a kid has a high Dan grade doesn't automatically mean that he is more skilled or stronger or faster or whatever than an adult with a lower grade. The context is different for adult and child. Hope that made sense, I seem to have gone off on a tangent a little!

Good luck with your chosen path.

For Karate: Blitz Red Label heavyweight gi (which I'm borrowing as I've had a disaster with my others!!) Accent by Karate-kid.co.uk kumite gi (on which one sleeve has torn almost off - not a good gi for grappling in, eh?) Gold Label heavyweight gi by Playwell (on which the ties have come off) Tokaido Heavyweight (which I keep only for competitions and special events) Hand mitts by Meijin (red pair) and Blitz (blue pair) Cloth shin pads by Blitz. Gum shield by my dentist. Embroidered belt by Shureido. For TKD: Plain-back dobok by Playwell. Embroidered-back dobok by Hanbok (Martial Force.com own make) Head guard by Dae Do. Forearm Potectors & Shin Guards by Mooto. Gum shield as before. Body Armour by Dae Do. Training shoes by PineTree, Blitz and Dae Do. For Wing Chun: Black gi trousers by Playwell. Black or white school t-shirt. Mouth guard as before. Other equipment I own/use: Dipped foam foot protectors by Blitz. Dipped foam hand protectors by Blitz. Dipped foam shin protectors by Blitz. Dipped foam headguard by Macho. Leather semi-contact (closed finger) gloves by Masuta. Leather 10oz gloves by Blitz. Leather 12oz gloves by CrackedFinger.com

Dylan, I'd say that you need to try out a few arts to find YOUR "best". What's best for me isn't necessarily best for you. Plus, as I said on your thread in the Korean section, it depends on your reasons for training. If you're looking for thows, sweeps, locks and arm bars then Muay Thai, TKD or Escrima aren't going to be any good for you. If you want stand-up-trade-punches type MA then JuJutsu, Judo and Aikido aren't going to be your thing. Similarly if you're not looking for weapons training then don't go with Iaido, Kendo or Arnis. Decide what you want to get out of martial arts then visit the clubs in your area based on that. Good luck!

Subtracting 5 would make him an equivalent of a 9th Dan, which still sounds dodgy to me. Genuine 9th Dans are rare and don't tend to place flash ads in the Yellow Pages....

The world is mental. *shakes head* You can also get "karate training kits" from Wal-Mart (ASDA to those of us in the UK!) with a blow-up punch bag and a mat showing you where to put your feet... Absolutely flippin' mental. No wonder martial arts are losing the respect of everyday people, when you can buy garbage like that off the internet and everyone seems to know a kid with a 6th Dan.

I do kata because I think it makes me a better martial artist. Plus, I like it! I love training in forms; I feel I really get to grips with my arts when I train in the patterns of them. It gives me a good sense of achievement too to be able to do a form well, and to know that I would be able to use it if necessary.

Good luck to all those who are entering! Scad, are you entering or just watching?

I thought it was cool because it was impressive and I couldn't do it!! lol Even though it did look more like XMA than TKD... ho hum...

I've stopped caring about what others might say about my styles or the schools I train at. As long as what said wasn't downright slanderous I'm not bothered. Comments are usually along the lines of "You train in TKD? It's rubbish, I've seen it on the telly at the Olympics" are just water off a ducks back. I'm happy with my training, they're obviously the ones who have a problem!!

Bushido, did you get to 5th kyu/kup in CKD with 5 years of continuous training or did you have time off in between? It just seems to me to be a slightly long time period to get to 5th kup/kyu. I'm guessing that CKD starts beginners (white belts?) off as 10th kup/kyu? Or are there more than 10 kup/kyu grades?

Ouch! Get well soon Laurie!

dylan, just go along and give it a try! You'll never know if you like it or not unless you try it. Find out what other martial arts are available in your area as well then you could test them all. I'd recommend going to watching a couple of classes AND trying out a couple as well (not just one, as you may go one the one night of the year the instructor decides to do something different!!) As for TKD, it's a great art despite what you might hear. It helps with fitness, flexibility, strength, suppleness, stamina and a host of other things, as well as the mental benefits that are brought by studying a martial art. TKD is primarily a martial art that focuses on kicking. It also incorporates hand techniques, such as punches as well as blocking techniques. Throws, sweeps and other grappling aspects are not usually included, although more and more TKD schools have started to do this. Weapons are usually an "optional extra" too. Make sure that you look carefully at all the TKD schools in your area before choosing one. Some TKD clubs are more focused on competitions whilst some go for more traditional ways of training. However, which ever sort of club you choose it is a great way to learn self defence and it will certainly help you with fitness and a whole host of other things. Martial arts are amazing and bring great benefits, as I'm sure you know with your previous boxing training.

Your cover is blown Dang, another of my secrets let out!! Cheers Patrick!! j/k!

The "all MA instructors should be poor" quote was in jest...I think you need to re-read MartialArthur's post again. The point was that there are a lot of generalisations abounding in Martial Arts. Some people automatically think a school owner is running a McDojo just because they're earning a bit of cash or actually 'daring' to charge people for instruction. The thing with "McDojo" is that while it might have once had a realistic meaning, it has basically lost that now. McDojo is far too often applied to schools that another person dislikes, or misunderstands or train in an art that other simply don't like. That's partly the reason why McDojo is a term often applied to Shotokan or TKD clubs, as they are often seen as "inferior" arts or as being "useless" for SD. As a term to describe another school McDojo is now basically worthless, as so many people bandy it about and apply it to whatever they see that they don't agree with. for example: A school that teaches kids and allowes them to get to blackbelt? OOh, that's gotta be a McDojo! A school that trains in traditional kata/patterns/forms? Definately a McDojo! A school that DOESN'T train in traditional kata/patterns/forms? Well, that mush be a McDojo! A school that charges for testing? McDojo all the way! You see what I mean? The slightest little thing that one school does can have it branded a McDojo by someone else, which is the point MartialArthur was making in an earlier post.

Is TKD any good? Depends what you mean by "good". If you're looking for an art that does a lot of ground work or grappling then the answer would be "no" and that you'd be better off in Judo or Hapkido or another grappling based art. If you mean "good" in the sense that it is great excercise, great for SD, great for striking and great for leg techniques then the answer is a resounding "yes!" TKD is great for all of those, although be aware that as it is one of the most popular arts in the world (some would even say THE most popular) then there are a lot of con-artists out there who will sell you a thing packaged as TKD that has about as much resemblance to TKD taught at a good school as a penny farthing has to a modern day bicycle. Shop around - there's plenty of TKD schools out there so try and look for the best. Generally TKD doesn't include sweeps or anything like that, although some schools offer Hapkido or HKD based techniques and have started to incorporate these into their TKD curriculum. It is definately worth learning and shouldn't take you long to pick it up as you already do a striking-based art (Kyokushin, although the arts listed under your name say Boxing and MT??).

Taekwondopia....oh dear.... I dunno who came up with that name but IMO they need shooting (or a serious talking to )! As for the Poomsae Championships, I'd LOVE to go - I entered a Poomsae championships yesterday and there were teams there from UK, Ireland, USA, France, Germany and Korea. It was an excellent event and really promoted the unification spirit of TKD. Plus, there was not a back-flip in sight. I know the WTF gets a lot of bad press but I think that even they frown on the spinning flips. As for the judging - I was speaking to the assistant instructor of my club on the way back from the competition who was telling me about a recent Poomsae course that she'd been on and about how the rule changes were supposed to make judging fairer, but really just served to make everyone more confused about the whole darn issue. I'd like to think that there was some consistency in judging and that Poomsae competitions (for whichever organisation) were always 100% and 100% accurate with results, but I think that pigs will fly first before that every happens, sadly enough. I've been involved with karate competitions long enough to know that there's never a thing as 100% perfect judging, so I can't expect the same from TKD competitions either. :-/

Thanks! Well, the next sheduled testing is the end of March, so I shall have to see if Sa Bom Nim will allow me to test... Anway, thanks all for your congratualtions!

Merci! I shall check out the other vids as well - always good to learn about other styles.

I'd try to get TKD out of the Olympics and I would encourage sparring to be more realistic and with better use of techniques. I like ITF sparring because of the punches to the head rule, but I dislike the lighter contact. I like the level of contact in WTF but think that more emphasis needs to be placed on hand techniques, rather than forcing players to just turn it into a kicking contest.