scottnshelly

I don't think that a good Instructor will ever injure a student. Everything that they do is for a good reason. For demonstrations they might use a little pressure or force to actually show you what it feels like. In sparring, they teach you to keep your guard up. At my Jr. Black Belt test, i got roughed up by my Instructor's Instructor. At first i really thought that he was just taking his anger out on me. All of the parents and kids in the audience were appalled. I've since come to realize that he was just pushing me to my limit. Although he might have busted my lips, blackened my eyes, possibly slightly broken my nose and tore my gi off, i don't think he injured me; he taught me that i can persevere. anytime your Instructor chooses you to demonstrate a technique or spars with you, charish it and be honored.

I'd be interested in knowing the Instructor that each of these ranks came from. Instead of just listing the ranks, he should put who promoted him to each of these alleged ranks and how long he trained with him/her. I'm more interested in knowing the amount of time he has studied rather than the ranks. and just because he says 25 years doesn't mean anything. I could eat a jar of baby food today and say that i've been eating baby food for x number of years because i ate it when i was a baby, then i ate some today... see what i mean?

Thanks, I guess i'm kinda nervous. The one that left so long ago...i kinda feel like he left on bad terms with the organization. he came back for my test, but not for anything else (none of my other tests, or anyone else's Black Belt tests). i'm not sure how he'd react. The other sends me e-mails bout once every year, and i know where his new school is, so i don't have a problem calling/visiting him. Anyone else in this situation with an Instructor who may or may not have left on bad terms?

Also, i forgot to ask this on the original post: Do you have a tree drawn out, or just written down or memorized? I think a 'family' tree would make a good framed piece on a wall somewhere that shows all the way up with all the branches and stuff.

Thanks everyone. I haven't seen one of my Instructor's since my Jr. Black Belt test almost seven years ago. He left the organization to persue other interests (long story, but i will post if you're actually interested...). I don't know where he moved to or how to get ahold of him. I know how to get ahold of his Instructor, i actually spoke with him today. My other Instructor left for the same reason about three or four years ago. I know where he went to, but it's still hard to get ahold of him. My point is, even though i haven't spoken with them in four to seven years, it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary if i tracked them down to ask about their lineage? Would a phone call be rude, or should i come in person? I feel silly asking these simple questions about my own Instructors, but i guess i don't know the proper etiquette here. thanks.

I like the idea of speaking with the Instructor. Maybe he is pairing you two up for a reason though, putting a productive student with an unproductive one so that you can help encourage him. If this is the case then you should speak with the lazy bum, tell him to step it up a notch. Maybe a punch square to the face is incorrect, but he's on the right track; just step it up a little, come harder and faster. Throw him off rhythm and catch him not paying attention. If you are a higher belt or more senior, sometimes a stern look and/or a 'come on now, let's pay attention' will work - at least temporarily. good luck, let us know the outcome.

I wouldn't recommend trying to copy kicks and such off the internet, as different systems have different methods of doing the same kicks. Just because you missed a couple of classes shouldn't put you behind. Be patient and ask yoru sensei the next time you're in class to show you what you missed. I agree with Shorinryu Sensei completely here. One one hand, a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, however, your Instructor may want these kicks and punches done a specific way.

How many of you know your lineage? How far back does it go? How important is it to you? How did you get it? I count two Instructors as there was a transition half way through my stint at my last dojo. They were both present at my Jr. Black Belt test. They both count at least two Instructors (different styles). How do i go about getting their lineage? I have since lost contact with both. Would it be rude or weird for me to look them up just to ask that? Thanks.

Hapkido is also a Korean Art, so it should be very similar to TKD. I've never studied Hapkido, but from what i've seen, a lot of the kicks and punches are similar - not as many high kicks as TKD. The biggest difference is that Hapkido uses more throws and take downs where as TKD usually does not. i think Hapkido could compliment TKD very well.

It depends on your definition of ‘style’. If you use style in the most common way of classifying martial arts (Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, Judo, etc.) then no you can not create another style of this caliber. I define ‘style’ as a way of fighting. In this case, everyone has their own individual personal style. For instance, the Arts that I have studied, the experiences that I have, my build, speed, skill, etc will make my way of fighting different than someone who went to all of the same classes that I went to. We both studied the same ‘style’ but have a different ‘style’ of fighting. If you are referring to the former, then forget it, just learn what information is offered to you. If you are referring to the latter, then learn everything that you can about everything that you can from anyone you can. Take the techniques that work for you and utilize them, modify the ones that don’t work well for you. What do you mean ‘101 on MA sects?’

http://www.behmdesign.com/ like this you mean?

try laying down on your back with your legs and bottom pushed all the way up against a wall. let your legs fall apart to the sides, like doing the splits but with your feet up in the air against a wall. the gravity will help pull them down and stretch them, but the weight isn't as bad as when you do the same standing up. other sitting stretches are very good also.

I don't know, i guess it's human nature to categorize. I didn't set out with the purpose of doing this, i just got to thinking about the different methods of fighting and figured that they could all fit into these. The other question i have is, should weapons fit into a whole nother category, or would it still fit within these four except holding a weapon?

Thanks to everyone for thier input thus far. Ovine King: i'm not sure exactley how to respond. I don't know if i didn't make myself clear enough in the original post. I didn't say that everyone should restrict themselves to just one of these categories. I was saying that these are the four major basic general vague categories. I wasn't trying to say that every style can fit into only one of these, either. If you can come up with a different category of fighting that i left out, please feel free to add. SevenStar: Thanks for the information. I hope i didn't sound like i was claiming that i was the first one to ever try categorizing - it's human nature. "knowing the fighters fighting style helps you to determine the types of tactics you will use against them." this is exactly what i was trying to say, if you know the categories and know what the opponent is used to, you can have a better idea of how to defend. "You haven't trained at all over the past four years? What all did you come up with?" yea, i got on the evening shift four years ago and wasn't able to make it to any classes. until i can get on the day time i probably won't be able to. i still work out, i haven't gone completely to pot; i just don't go to any dojos. i've been doing a lot of reading on styles that i was never previously exposed to when i spent all my time learning about Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo. i'm currently reading a book called "Ultimate Dim Mak: how to fight a grappler and win" By Erle Montaigue. Thanks again, i look forward to more input.

There was this little boy that attended the same dojo that i did a long time ago. He legitimately made it to blue belt. he attended a class at a different school one day and came back a Black Belt. That caused a lot of contraversy, as you can imagine. He competed in Black Belt competitions for a while, but of course never won, becuase we was less than 8, maybe 6 - point is, he was young. After he got the Black Belt, he didn't want to be called 'little Joey' anymore, it was 'Joe' for him. ...kids...

When I used to give private lessons, I always made sure to bring along a pair of cinder blocks; our dojo also always had a bunch. I love to train with them. These are my two favorite exercises with them: Put two blocks on their side about shoulder width apart. Stand on them, one foot on each block. The blocks should be at the right distance so that standing on them you are in a comfortable fighting stance. From here, we would practice kicking with the front and rear legs. This helps one to return the kicking leg to the proper place, as well as improving balance. As you advance, you can stand the blocks upright; this is more difficult to balance and gives a smaller foot space. The other was using the cinder blocks like weights. We would often stand in horse stance, while holding a block – the stronger adults would hold two. You can slide one arm through each of the two holes in the block and hold your arms out in front of you. This works the legs and arms. Anyone else try any of these, or any others using cinder blocks?

As I’ve stated on another post or two on this forum, I’ve taken the last four years off of physical training and attending a dojo to contemplate what I had been learning and ways of improving it. I want to post some ideas that I’ve come up with to see if anyone else agrees, disagrees or can add or change something. From what I’ve gathered from 14 yrs 11 months of training and reading you can pretty much summarize all hand-to-hand combat into four general categories: boxing, aggressive fighting, defensive fighting and ground fighting. Allow me elaborate on these. By boxing, I don’t mean the boxing that you see on tv, but something close – standing toe-to-toe throwing jabs and short low kicks. By aggressive fighting I mean like you might see in a tournament where the exponent is constantly moving forward. For every step the opponent takes back, you take two forward. By defensive fighting I mean working your way backwards – at angles and all of course. This is usually characterized by retreats and kicking while retreating. By ground fighting I mean…well, I’m sure you all know what I mean. Am I completely off base trying to categorize like this, or are there more categories that I’ve missed? Also, I think that the best defense to someone fighting in ‘boxing’ method would be ground fighting and the best defense against a ground fighter would be ‘boxing’. The same goes for the aggressive type and defense type. Thanks in advance for your support and help.

I swear by Century. In fact i made a trip to their retail store this past weekend for some more books and what-nots. Their products are very durable. I've fought with Century equipment older than me before. You can usually get an Instructor's discount if you can prove that you own a school. I'm sure i'm the only one on here within driving distance, but everything is cheaper in the retail outlet in Midwest City, OK; plus they have a continuously updating clearance rack. Anyway, Century.

Punch to the throat was the first thing that came to mind. I guess if you can't reach his throat, maybe a kick to the shin or groin. Of course these should be used as a last resort, first try to talk it out. Maybe he thinks that you are friends and he's playing with you. Explain to him that you don't appreciate the 'games' that he's playing. and contrary to popular belief, violence does solve some things.

You are right to a certian degree. I was asking what form is taught for the Black Belt test, or at 1st Dan level. In Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do, for instance, we learn a series of pal-gyes and tae-guks and then to pass the Black Belt test you must be able to perform Koryo. It was my understanding that most - or all - other styles also do this. I was hoping to compile a list of all of these 'Black Belt' katas for research.

Please list the Black Belt forms/katas of each major style below. I’m not too interested in all of the Black Belt forms of each style, but just one or two of each. For instance, the Black Belt form of Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do is Koryo.

I just got a medicine ball over the weekend. Can you give me some more ideas on ways to work out with it? it's been a while since i've worked out with one, so i remember some basic stuff. thanks.

Black Belt is an attitude, a frame of mind, a way of living and a series of other things - persistance, integrity, perserverance, self-esteem, discipline, control, etc. It is not simply a piece of fabric worn around the waist to hold up your pants. The amount of time that it takes you to reach Black Belt with depend on how much you study and how much you put in to your practice. If you attend class regularly and whole-heartedly, you should be promoted to the Black Belt rank after about 3-8 years, depending on the style/Instructor. You could become a Black Belt years before or after reaching the rank.

I've been postponing putting my info for a while, but what the heck. My dad is a Black Belt in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do, he went to class with his father-in-law (my grandpa). From what i've been told, i always mimicked his movements as a kid, so on my sixth birthday he started teaching me. By this time, we had moved away from the town in which his dojo was. We mailed in a video of my yellow belt test, then drove for a the next couple of belts. By the time i was a green belt, we moved here - Ardmore, OK. We started attending a Chang Hon Tae Kwon Do school ran by one of the greatest Instructors i ever trained under. Then he hired an Instructor to teach the children's class. One day we were told to start ajourning at a different locality. After that class shut down (blue belt) we went back to the first school. We were told to never return - appearently the Head Instructor and children's Instructor split after a dispute, since we 'sided' with the latter, we weren't welcome anymore. This started our journey to find a dojo that we could stick with which led us through about 8 different dojos (by we i mean my dad, brother and myself). At that first dojo i made a friend, albeit a much older friend, David. Seemed like every class that we attended that got shut down for whatever reason, we would see each other at the next one. The week before my brown belt test, we showed up to class to find a note on the door saying the dojo was closed. I attended the test without an Instructor anyway as it was a large group test. After that, we found the Chickasaw Nation Martial Arts. After attending for six months, the Instructor promoted me to 2nd Brown and had me start teaching classes sporadically - i was 13. After another six months, i was ready for my Shodan test, i recieved a concussion at a tournament and the test was postponed. After the short postponment, i passed, making me the first Jr. Black Belt in the four school organization. Shortly thereafter, we travelled back to my dad's school where i passed the 1st Poom (jr. Black) test in Moo Duk Kwan TKD. My parents opened a school and i taught the classes. I also had guest teachings at several other schools in the area and taught private lessons. Since then i have been promoted to 2nd Dan in Moo Duk Kwan TKD and Nidan in the Chickasaw Nation Martial Arts program (mostly American TKD with others). I begged my Instructor to stay an hour late with me everynight for private lessons in Kenpo. I reached Brown Belt before he moved. Since he moved, i have taken the last four years off of attending classes to reflect on my learnings. i have been reading as much as i can about other styles and refining what i have been taught. Someday soon, i hope to get off of the evening shift at work and find another decent dojo, or open my own. Thanks to everyone on here who has given me insight in one way or another. This is a great place for great Martial Artist to share their ideas and experiences.

Not to brag, but my parents opened up a small school in this town a long time ago, and i was the Head Instructor - the only Instructor. My dad is a Black Belt, but didn't have the time to teach the classes, so he managed the place and I taught. It did quite well and no adults had a problem learning from me. I had many years of experience by then. My point is: Just because he is young, doesn't disqualify him from being a good Instructor. Based on this website - without actually attending a class - I would say that he is all talk. Most people that brag that much on a website without any real information are usually full of themselves with no justification. I love how the style listed is 'TKD Tai Kwon Do'. Sure he is a 'world champion' in musical forms and creative weapons, but what does that have to do with teaching a class, unless that class is based soley on these things. this is just crazy. thanks for the good read.