cathal

Congratulations.

Much time has passed since then, and I agree wholeheartedly. I am experiencing this when doing techniques slowly or fast. I find that practicing with a bag or makiwara is also a good method to use.

My girlfriend is interested in learning Kickboxing or Muay Thai. I have checked into several schools so far and this latest one is a Muay Thai school. It is close by and many of our friends hear good things from this school. The instructor is named Manny Bueno. I can't find information about this instructor despite me hearing he is an accomplished individual. Have any of you heard of this person? We'll be stopping by the fitness centre he teaches in to check them out. Does anyone have any particular questions I might ask?

Your reference to the profit of organizations is going to lead someone to believe the wrong thing. When you say profit, that is true, however it isn't the profit you think it is. The profit the organizations receive is a gross profit. Many deductions are included. For example business expenses like taxes and all the travel the masters perform. I don't pretend to know all of the expenses as I don't run an organization, but we must at least keep that in mind. Moreover I don't know all of the fees involved but I'm certain that there will be a few organizations which charge too much. That is where we martial artists come in, though. Just like consumers we have to make sure that we do not train where the classes aren't worth the price. On the training of martial arts in Japan and Okinawa during World War II (and afterward) I can't believe it was primarily American servicemen. Martial artists were training in and around Okinawa and Japan long before, during, and after the world war. I agree wholeheartedly on your statement regarding the cross-organization & dojo respect. A seasoned martial artist in one dojo may not receive the proper respect from another organization because that person just doesn't do it the same way. I also agree with your outlook on senior belts the learning from the experiences of black belts. Out of curiosity what experience did you have in your trip which discouraged you from the martial arts organizations?

My sensei used to be very...slow to accept other concepts. But now that there is an understanding in place there are no troubles. Mainly I think the concern was that we'd begin to have difficulty maintaining our normal consistency in performing our standard curriculum's techniques.

Sorry guys. It's the International Shotokan Karate Federation. I should have said that to begin with.

My sensei is open-minded enough to allow me to discuss & apply my other style information to my techniques. However during gradings & examinations the techniques must conform to our ISKF guidelines.

Ditto minus the knee issues.

Someone told me the other day that the ISKF is riddled with politicing and bickering. I just don't see that, and my dojo is affiliated with them. Has anyone seen this for themselves?

It's unfortunate that this particular person never bothered to check your posts to determine if this was actually occuring.

Which of your styles? Also, what is expected of you in this exam?

Your second paragraph covers a great deal of ground. You may want to separate it into at least three smaller paragraphs. Flesh out your ideas that you're estblishing in those statements, as this will provide a more coherent essay. I suggest first paragraph just introduce the main topics. The middle topics explain what you're talking about, and the last pargraph just summrize your main point(s). The middle pargraphs are the meat of the essay, have one topic sentence per paragraph and then flesh it out, support it with your own knowledge. Try to avoid making additional statements about other topics, unless your using it to seque into the next paragraph.

Mean definitely isn't the word, I agree. You can be agressive, that's OK when defending yourself. We learn this by practicing bunkai, and visualising opponents as we perform our techniques. You should picture an opponent every time you punch, or block, and picture that opponent attacking you etc. If you just put your arm out and call that a punch, it's not going to work.

My thoughts on this article do not go with everyone else here, I'm afraid. The author does make a few good points peppered through the article. But this feels to me as though the author is taking it way to personally. I do agree that a reward system is something which is natural to us because we prefer positive reinforcement over negative (or none at all). I do also agree that many instructors go way overboard on that area. In my own training I have found positive reinforcement through the proper execution of my techniques. I get further satisfaction from the fact I'm performing the technique consistently properly. Everything else is us "gravy" as they say. For example a peer comes up and says that my backstance looks great, or that I can do that roundhouse kick quite well. Those memories stick with me, and make me feel great. As for kids, especially the young ones, they can't derive that kind of satisfaction.. So what does one do? How do you positive reinforce a child? You make it fun, that's what. You make the classes shorter than for adults, you include more games and exercise. Anyway I could go on and on...that's my two cents for now.

I can go on and on and on...on this topic. (Well any really but that's just me and a story for a nother thread. ) There are four major factors to consider, "The four C's". That's Colour, Clarity, Carat Weight, and Cut. Carat Weight: 1 carat = .007 oz. The more carats the more expensive the diamond will be. Though diamonds with the same carat weight may have their prices differ based on the other Cs. Color: The colored diamonds, known as fancy diamonds, are even more valuable than traditional white diamonds and can be red, pink, blue, green, orange, and brilliant yellow (not to be confused with slightly yellow, which is considered to be a poor quality white diamond). Fancy diamonds aside, white diamonds are graded on a chart and colorless diamonds are considered the highest quality. The quality ranges from colorless (letters D, E and F), to almost colorless/brown/gray (letters G, H, I and J), to faint yellow (letters K, L and M) all the way to the letter Z, which signifies a light yellow diamond. Because colorless diamonds are considered the most prized, diamond quality in the higher letters (D, E, F) are the better choice. Cut: This is something which you can control. The cut is what will make the diamond appear more or less brilliant depending on what you plan on doing with it. (For an engagement a brilliant ring is usually preferred.) Though the exact calculation and geometric design are much too complicated to explain, it is important to know that a round cut diamond has 57 or 58 facets (flat planes or surfaces on a diamond that must be cut in exact relation to the others to create the most fire and brilliance). Each facet must be cut and polished to the exact specifications in relation to the other facets on the stone. If facets do not match exactly, the stone is considered to be cut poorly & the quality decreases. Clarity: The clarity of a diamond is a measurement of the blemishes inside and/or on the outside of a diamond, under a 10x microscope. The rating system is subjective to the master diamond cutter though. The basic guideline is F for Flawless (The most expensive), IF for Internally Flawless (only masters can see the blemishes), VVS1 & VVS2 (Very very slight inclusions) This is where experienced graders will see some of the blemishes, but us untrained people still wouldn't see any problems. Next is SI1 ans SI2, and Inclusions. These levels are where even us with our naked eye might be able to see some of the blemishes. In the case where you are either purchasing or having a ring made up specially for you I suggest having it officially appriased. This is usually performed at a national centre. The jewellry store no doubt has it's own methods for doing this for you. It will help you greatly in the areas of insurance and making a claim. It's a huge database so if it's ever stolen & recovered, the cops just punch in the serial number lasered onto the inside of the band...voila it comes up as yours and you get it back. Good luck.

At our last training session with Master Woon-A-Tai we had the opportunity to practice with music. We paired off and on every fourth beat of the song, one of us would attack, another four beats later the other would attack. This really helped you to learn the rythm of a fight. Now when I hear music I try to find the rythm of combat in the song. It seems to have enhanced my listening to the music as I pay more attention to the song, the music, and the words. Just another way the martial arts have improved my life.

Do you know any bo kata already?

Basic common sense article.

Basically we go by the person's contribution to the community. Upholding the values and guidelines of KarateForums.com is a major factor as well. Being helpful, kind, etc is the second major factor. You could be nominated in your first month as well, so tenure doesn't matter. BTW Congrats Alsey.

I've heard it is a technically challenging kata. One of the nidans in our dojo selected it as "her" kata, and boy she's absolutely amazing.

That is my understanding as well.

Oh OK I get it. I honeslty didn't know that religion had such a strict rule, but you've got the nail on the head there. Assuming a thing like martial arts leads to somethinig else is silly. If they are willing to hear you out then by all means do what you can to tell them what a martial art is. On the other side of the coin, though, many martial artists will tell you the same as your family has. In certain cases martial artists are peacemakers. Even Master Gichin Funakoshi encountered violence in his life and refused to fight even when it was evident he should. He allowed muggers to take his tobacco and his pipe, because it was the most peaceful resolution...even though he could have fought his muggers. This is a very important midset to have, and something you can relate to your parents/family when chatting/debating about martial arts. You may even want to pick up Funakoshi's book. I bought my copy for about $10 and if your family reads it perhaps they'll even understand you a little better.

Your ex-religion does not allow you participate in a martial art?

The jump is watered down by some, and I say watered down because they can't do it the way it's intended too. Not that I'm saying your dojo is watering it down but the way it's done in both of these videos is the original way it was intended to be done. BTW, there is a kick...or two intended in this jump, if you look closely. Actually I'm not in that particular dojo. Just wanted to clear that up in case anyone thought I was.

Welcome to the forum.