scottnshelly

Although i never recieved any gifts during my short two year period of Instructing, i always bought my Instructor a small, inexpensive gift on his birthday and/or Christmas. I don't see a problem with it.

"The Karate Dojo" by Peter Urban The first half is a brief history and introductory into Karate, the second is stories with morals.

I've no input of any real value to this topic, but i found the discussion interesting and wanted to speak on this last post. I do think that you are wrong with saying "The most powerful and damaging movements I can do, is Flying sidekick and Tornado kick." Now, i may be thinking in different context as you. You may actually be saying something like "On my Nintendo game, The most powerful and damaging movements..." That may be true, but i guarentee that any kick with one foot on the ground is more effective than a kick with neither foot on the ground - unless the component only trains in jumping kicks without ever practicing ground kicks. And as far as Menthe's simple response, I agree. enough said. he didn't go into a lenghty discussion about why "no", but i got it. i think he meant it to be left open.

I've never been above the Mason-Dixon Line inside the states, however, here in Oklahoma the law is, you can carry a weapon (not a gun) to or from a competition and/or training. You can not carry a weapon with intend to harm someone or for self-defense. in other words, if you get stopped and you have an escrima in your car, just say you are on your way to practice, then so you're not lying, go somewhere and practice hitting with an escrima!

Similar thing happened to me. Less than two weeks before my brown belt test, went in and there was a sign on the door. I attended - and passed - the test as it was at another dojo. It was one of those large joint tests with a couple other schools in the area. Only seen that instructor once since then, he didn't recognize me because it was about 4 years later and i had grown up a lot since. In my case, it worked out better for me. I found a much better school that i went very far with. Hope the same is true with you.

Point to secluded training is getting away from your everday responsibilties so that you can train like that. Some of us have a full time job, family, etc that doesn't allow us to be "in class several hours 5 days a week" and "in the gym hitting the weights and doing cardio every day." being away from everything for a year would allow one to train like that. "There's not one power building exercise you can do in the mountains that I can't do in the gym." same works the other way. And yes, i do believe that someone secluded for a year would have more power than someone who trains everyday. Someone who is secluded wouldn't have the benefit of an obsessed training coach, but would have the mentality to beat someone who works out when he is not doing dishes, paying bills, mowing the yard...

I have studied taegeuks, palgueys (sp?) and chun gi patterns. I can see how they are beneficial for muscle memory, stamina, flow, etc. Most of the moves in taegeuks and palgueys are appicable, however, there are some moves in the chun gi patterns that seem like total crap. i've asked several Instructors in the area thier use and have come up empty-handed. I have also learned some Kenpo forms like Long form 6. i can see how these are applicable. Seems like the Chinese forms are more useable than some of the Korean forms. Anyone else notice this?

Why is everyone so tied up with the sparring aspect of the Martial Arts? Sure that's one major aspect, but not the only one. I have to side with Hudson a little and say that one's power would increase dramatically, as well as one's attention to detail. So what if you don't spar as well when you get back, think of everything else that would be better. "what does training by yourself accomplish? what does it offer? why do you want to do this?" As stated above, physical ability, mental ability, meditation, the list goes on. I think it would be a nice change of scenery for a while. I don't have the opportunity right now - job, family, bills. but if the opportunity ever arose - like if i lost all of the above - i would do it. thanks again for the responses.

Well, that was rude. just kidding.

I appreciate all of the responses. I can see how training secluded would leave you coming up short on your sparing techniques. However, I think it would provide an excellent training mentally. Mas Oyama's skills obviously didn't suffer any from training secluded for so long. so, aside from the lack of interaction with a sparing partner, do you see any advantages to secluded training?

...If you spend all your time on this forum ...If you can't take your current book to work - or school - because everyone will harass you and ask you questions about it because it's a martial arts book. (i have about two hours of downtime at work a day, but can't bring my Ninja books because of this) ...If you think about the functionality of every item that you pick up, carry or hold as a weapon - spatula, fork, shoe, ink pen, shovel, knife, escrima, keys, etc.

I think it's silly that you want to learn "yellow belt stuff" and think that the "same old boring white belt stuff " is completely irrelevant and old hat now. The white belt stuff is the same as the yellow belt stuff except there's more for the yellow belt stuff. You shouldn't have a noticeable change the day after testing for a new rank. You shouldn't have the attitude of 'well, i'm glad i'm past that belt, it was boring. now it's all new stuff'. I've never been to a large dojo, all of the classes that i've attended (and i've attended a lot!) have been small enough that everyone participates in every class. It sounds to me like what you're describing is the Instructor only teaches one belt rank at a time. Sounds like time management problems, but maybe i just read it wrong and come from way to small of an area - Southern Oklahoma. point is, things don't change that dramatically. just attend everyclass, you're learning everyday whether you realize it or not.

Well, i'm not even going to try to post anything near the intelligence of some of the other posters on here - Shorin Ryuu, delta1 and others - but, something sticks out in my mind if someone is running toward me. Correct me if i'm mistaken, but the main objective in fighting (or one of them) is to get behind the opponent. Sidestep, or get out of the way, then get behind him. It may not be as easy as that, but that's what i would attempt to do. The sidekick or thrust kick might work if the opponent was lunging in, but in the original post, i believe it said assuming the opponent was running, from a distance, building speed and momemtum. your base leg wouldn't be able to handle the force. if you just wanted to kick, i think a more appropriate kick would be a round house to the gut after stepping to the side. diclaimer: i am in no way condoning this as a counter to a rush. anyone that attempts this assumes all liability. i am not to blame for any injuries that result in using this counter.

I've been doing a little reading on invisibilty, moving steathily and the likes in a book called Shadowhand by Dr. Haha Lung (highly recommended by me). In listing some accounts of invisibility and the way to obtain it, he mentioned that O-Sensei Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido, was known to be able to go invisible in front of an audience at will. I've never heard much about this guy, but if this is true, i would really like to read more about him. has anyone heard of people becoming invisible at will or other super powers of O-Sensei Ueshiba Morihei? thanks.

I have worked at a couple different MA schools. None of them had websites, and we were able to pull in quite a crowd. We live in a very small rural area though. I can see how a simple website would attract some attention, but if i was looking at a potential school and they had a very intricate website, i would assume the school was run by a kid who plays on the computer too much. If the website wasn't userfiendly at all, i would assume the Instructor would be the same. If the website was very simple and only had one page, i would assume the lesson plan for the class would be the same. Catch my point. I know that you can't base the quality of a school soley on their website, but subconsciously, i would have a predetermined opinion before i ever bowed into the door.

I have been thinking a lot about those that go into seclusion for an extended period of time to train. Although this isn't a very real possibility for me right now, i would like to eventually. I have a couple questions about it. 1) How plausible is it to stay secluded for a year these days? Think about the growing population and decreasing unexplored land in America, bills that everyone has... 2) if you had the opportunity, would you do it? 3) what would you take?

I think manuelito meant https://www.centuryma.com i could be wrong though. I asked the local cleaners who does embordery in town and went to a local place to have my Gi done. i was very impressed. maybe also ask your Instructor or another local Instructor.

Actually, i think it happens fairly frequently. I don't think that Instructors advertise for this, but you have to know your Instructor well first. My cousin and uncle had their Instructor stay with them for about a year. He would teach them 6 days a week and in return they fed him and let him live with them. I did see an advertisement in a Black Belt magazine once for a Ninja camp somewhere in California that cost like $2000 and you lived with the Instructor. I've never done it, but if i didn't have a family, i would jump on the opportunity.

Thanks Hudson, i've seen that before. Guess i didn't recognize the name of it.

"Well what Im doing is a set of celtic wings, one on each shoulder blade. A maple leaf on my left pectoral, and something on my right arm, near the top." Thanks Beiner! " Anyways go for it tats are pretty cool, I have placed all of mine so I can hide them if needed for some events, shoulder blades, shoulder and bicept area. " My concern isn't the tattoo part, but the Martial Arts aspect of the tattoo. And i do plan to put it in a concealable place, because only certain jobs (rockstar for instance) allow one to have visible tattoos. "a know a guy who has got a bruce lee tatoo covering his whole back.It looks great,but i would'nt have one personally" i've thought about getting a tattoo of myself all over my entire body, but two inches taller. "I have several tattoos, but I don't know if I would ever get a martial arts related tattoo. Something in me feels it would be verging on inappropriate, depending on what I got." Thanks Beka, this is what i was looking for. "No, but I think that size and location play into the "Tacky" factor. For example, the back of your head may not be a good place if you decide to go into banking, but if you are a outlaw biker you could get away with it." i was planning just a small tattoo about 8" across and tall, kinda round. under the sleeve. i definately understand the tacky factor. "Depending on your style, I think the Okinawa symbol would look good anywhere." if i studied an Okinawan style, i might consider it, but i don't think i've ever seen a symbol for Okinawa. "Personally, I think it's cheesy and cliche... but that's just me. I see it as defacing my body and my goal is to tune my body and mind. I also think it's showing off and shows poor humility." Thanks, i can see your point, however the tattoo that i'm having drawn up isn't a bragging type. it isn't 'hey i'm a skilled fighter and i'll kill you' but 'this is a part of my life' "Putting the kanji on your knuckles (ala Jake and Elwood) would probably not be the greatest idea." what? wow, sorry, didn't realize this was so long!

My Instructor sent out an e-mail about a year back just to say high to all of his friends, students, collegues, etc. Soon after, we all got a very insulting response from some guy that I had never heard of. This guy insulted my Instructor and every one of his students. He claimed that he was the only Native American Grandmaster. It got me mad! I did a search of his name on Google and came up with his website: https://www.adrianroman.com I browsed it for a little while and came across a page that was about the Black Belt Factoryest thing that I've seen since Grandmaster Won's Tae Kwon Do in Oklahoma City: http://www.adrianroman.com/Distant_learning.htm Does this seem weird to anyone else? I mean, my Instructor has moved to another town to far to commute, and I still want to learn from him. But i'm already ranked under him, i just need some more stuff to practice. This seems absurd to me! My questions are: Have you ever heard of this guy? Is this legit? Was he right or wrong in sending a large insulting e-mail to all of my Instructor's students? Would you pay $1000 for a Black Belt? How would you react if someone told you that they bought a Black Belt off of the internet? PS, wasn't sure which category this belonged under, Karate, Chinese, Humor, that's why i put it in General.

The point was that if an opponent grabs you (say on the wrist) he is tense. Your instict is to tense up also to try to get away. If you can suddenly go really limp, his hand will loosen, abling you to jerk your wrist from his hand. Same goes with a bear hug, choke hold, etc. The theory is that the opponent's reaction to the exponents body will resemble that of the exponent's. Hope this makes more sense. If not, i'll try to elaborate even more. I'm not good with words.

I attended a MA seminar a few years back. There was a Kung Fu Sifu from the area that gave a small demonstration. I had known him quite well from tournaments (his top student was my biggest competition at every local tournament) but had never attended his school. He showed everyone a few cool tricks and i can't think of what this one was called. I was wondering if this is something common, that other's have heard of, completely made up, etc. He said that if an opponent grabs you, just to go limp and as a reaction, the opponent will also go limp - though only momentarily. This is your chance to break free. Any thoughts?

I've recently commisioned the design of a Martial Art tattoo. I just wanted to get everyone's take on this. Do you consider this tacky, immoral, inappropriate, etc? I already know my answer, i'm not trying to decide on anything, i just wanted to hear the opnion of the Martial community. I've seen drafts of it. It's features the Martial Art Kanji in the middle, and includes the Tae Kwon Do and Karate characters. When i reach Black Belt level in Kenpo, i'll have that added. when i get the finished result, i'll post a picture

My Instructor used to do some drills with us that helped our reflexes. He would have the student in question stand in the middle of a grappling pad. Then one or more other students would be given a specific attack - always from the rear. the first student would be given two seconds to defend him/herself. you should mention this to your Instructor, or just have a friend, a brave one at that, throw random attacks at you. this will increase your reaction time.