cathal

Subject line says it all, doesn't it? I was sparring with a fellow last night and we were standing mirror image (for those that don't know this is when both you and your opponent have opposite legs forward; e.g. his right, myleft) as we were free sparring. We both moved in for a kick with our rear legs. He was executing a jodan level roundhouse kick...and for me a forward snap kick. So I had my knee up, and was about to snap out when I saw his leg come up, much faster than me. So I tightened my leg and raised it up a bit to do a leg block, and made contact with his leg just above his knee. This had the effect of deflecting the roundhouse. However when that happened my leg kicked out, and the top of my foot struck his shin! So I hit the floor and I fell of course. I got the spent the next 10 minutes with ice on my foot, enjoying endorphines and adrenaline. I'm told this would not have happend if I had remaind "on target" and not been scared of being bowled over by our mutual charge. Because,in the end, we were both able to stop ourselves from doing just that. I'm just a bit store today. But I have learned a few things: 1. RELAX 2. Stay on target, even if you're nervous. 3. First Aid Kits are surprisingly useful.

That's interesting, in our system Tekki is a quick power kata, and Bassai-Dai is a speed kata. Are you sure??? The common enterpretation for Bassai Dai is "Storming a Fortress". I've never seen this done as a speed Kata and Tekki as a power kata. Oh yes, definitely certain. We train Bassai-Dai as a speed kata in the interpretation of "Storming a Fortress" as well. It is a powerful kata to be sure; However for us the focus is on the speed, power is secondary for us in this kata.

I'd say so

As I recall (and it has been some time) it all has to do with how you're doing it. Soft: You relax your stomach muscles, fill up your abdomen & lower back, and finally your lungs. This is part of a normal breathing pattern, or an 'at rest' breathing pattern. This is the preferred method in most aikido systems. Hard: You tense your abdomen & stomach muscles, and breathe only in with your lungs. This is most common in high emotional states such as anger & frustration. This is NOT the prferred method in most systems, let alone aikido. BTW A good exercise any experienced instructor will have you do is stand straight, relaxed, and breahe in and out. Then, without breathing in, ask you to simply relax your stomach/abs. This will help you determine how tense your breathing is. Hope this helps.

Maybe post it as an article so the entire community can check it out.

Welcome to the forum. I had a long break myself, it's great to get back into it.

Welcome to the forum

In a manner of speaking yes. The Kyu grades like myself are not given as much choice, but anyone with Shodan is permitted to use any kata in the system. We have 15 core kata, plus 5 others which are acceptable in certain conditions.

That's well put. I agree.

That's interesting, in our system Tekki is a quick power kata, and Bassai-Dai is a speed kata.

Yes, all the participants are in the same Shotokan aystem as myself. We're affiliated with the JKA-WS/ISKF.

Welcome to the forum Daniel. I primarily practice Shotokan as well, but in our system junior black belts don't progress to 2nd Dan, etc. When they become adults they re-grade for an adult Shodan and move on afterward.

The nationals for our org are coming up over Thanksgiving (October 6-9), and I just received a copy of the tournament guidelines, forms etc. I've done my paperwork, paid my fees, and am preparing. I'm competing in Adult Brown belt categories for sparring & kata. The Kata I'm allowed to do are: Heian/Pinan 1-5 Tekki 1-3 Bassai-Dai Empi; and Jion If I progress to the finals, these kata are added: Kanku-Dai Hangetsu Gankaku Jitte; and Ji'in In the first round I am told which Kata to perform and in the second round & afterward I can select my own kata to perform. The bulk of the competitors stick to Bassai-Dai, Jion & Empi since they are core grading requirements. So I've decided to deviate from that track and go with concentrating on two kata which are not as common. Namely Hangsetu and Gankaku. I've been practicing with those two kata extensively recently so I feel I'll compete well with them. As for the sparring it has classically been my strongest point and I've done well in the past. I'm not as concerned there but I am practicing a lot with my fellow students, three of which have competed at this level before (two of them are national champions themselves). My older brother's new girlfriend turns out to be a nidan from Okinawan Shorei-Ryu and she' apparently a North American champion from a few years ago in full-contact tournaments. So I'll be practicing with her a bit, we'll see where that takes me. What do you think of my choice in kata?

Yes definitely practice as much as possible. Also I suggest getting a copy of the tournament guidelines as they are your best source for techniques & kata which are permitted, which are not permitted for your level, etc.

That comes as a surprise I think. But a happy one. I'm glad your head instructor has stuck up for both himself, his decisions, and in your & your colleague. Good luck in future training.

That is very disrespectful, I'm surprised it was allowed even once. To your knowledge has anyone spoken to him about this at all?

It is a good summary, something you can put up on a flyer or pamphlet for prospective students.

Good luck with your training.

I've hurt myself with the Tonfa & bo, same places as everyone else. But I did manage to trip myself with my bo once. Very embarassing. :/

I found this place: Hwang's School of Tae Kwon-Do 182 Kelsey St # C Newington, CT 06111, United States (860) 666-6300 Not sure if it is WTF or not.

What are you going to be competing in?

It's informative, but they focus too much on the story line of XMA, Mike Chat & Matt Mullins. Then again, they have to balance interest & entertainment along with all the information.

We have a ten year old in the dojo and one of the guys tried to sneak up on him. He turned around and they "wrestled" a little bit, but when asked how he could tell he was coming, the kid said "I could smell him coming. No one else in the world smells like that." We all had a good laugh after that comment.

In coming back the old head may have been trying to revive some of the old training or social interactions. Think of it though, this is something he's probably trained in for most of his life, or at least a good chunk of it. It's natural to feel possessive of something like that. What really bothers me is the lack of respect and loyalty your current head has for you. It seems like he's put all of the blame onto you and your colleague. Instead of defending the decisions he's allowed to occur, and moving on in that fashion, he's simply laid blame so that he wouldn't get yelled at. It is a complete lack of regard for you and your friend. That's my two pennies on that. So, as for advice? Well, I'd suggest having a sit down with the current head, this old head, and your friend. As well as with any others who hold responsibility for the policy of the system. Figure it all out in one meeting, and if you are all even tempered enough, and are willing t hear one another out...then it should work out. EDIT: So why was it no one saw fit to inform your old head of the changes? Maybe it's root of all the anger.

One of the reasons they are similar is that most sellers/resellers get the product from one of a few manufacturers. They just get it branded with their logos.