euphoria47

you're never too old...banish that from your mind. when i started one school, i saw a 70ish lady walk in...i incorrectly assumed that she was there to wait on a grandchild. she dressed up and walked out...in a black belt. i thought that she had perhaps done this her entire life, but then i was told she had only taken for about 5 years. i thought that it might be a joke...until i saw her beat the crap out of some 20 year old guy...and then a 30 year old guy...and then pretty much everyone else there...it was one of the highlights of my training...loved her.

what do you exactly want? self defense application? grappling? street fighting? beautiful acrobatic arts? but honestly, i'd focus on the instructor almost as much as i'd focus on the art when selecting something? i'd narrow it down to 2 or 3 arts you'd be interested in taking, then i'd meet the instructor and fellow students and make my decision based on that. oh, and if there's a particular reason you're quitting your current style, make sure you find something that fills in the gaps of all the things you've been missing.

i think that it's best if students do not assocaite something that they do as part of their training as part of a punishment. the worst thing that a math teacher can do to discipline an unruly student is to assign more math homework. i think it goes both ways. having done martial arts for years, i think the instructors i've seen who have had the best control are those who don't treat their students like little soldiers. if they're unruly on a steady basis, i think this hurts your school. i'd rather have smaller classes, serious students, and less money than big classes with chaos and a bit more income.

i wouldn't worry about the no belt thing unless your instructor is trying to sucker money out of you. my first school - you got your white belt with your uniform. tested every two months - high test fee - high monthly fee - yearly contract - lots of required equipment with...fees - and 6 year-olds walking around with black belts. i grew frustrated and switched after far too long. next school - i paid about a tenth of the money i paid at the first school and got 100 times the education and training. no little children walking around with any belt...no little children at all - minimal teens. no belt at all (technically you're considered a white belt, but no visible belt) until a gold sash...that you get after about 6 months - tiny monthly fees - no yearly contract - no required equipment unless you want it personally - it's provided by the school. most green sashes at this school were the equivalents of blacks in the first in regards to talent. the main difference of the two? school 1 - the instructor was a business man who thought martial arts would be a good outlet. school 2 - the instructor was an incredible martial artist at heart who was forced to do some business so that he could sustain life.

i switched styles after being a 1st dan. i had some random guy in class who had been taking for about 6 months or so lecture me for 10 minutes on how to make an appropriate fist. i was calm and listened. the instructor, knowing my background, laughed at the guy. i needed to work on patience. this was an appropriate task. once or twice, let it pass, but ultimately, you have to do what is best for you.

When I took Tae Kwon Do, we were taught to fight only exposing one side of the body. After switching styles, it was difficult for me to not use this so much because I took for so long. However, it sometimes works well depending on the opponent. In general, I don't think it's the best or most realistic approach.

this is a very difficult one to answer, but almost every open tournament i've seen, the kung fu guy completely dominated the karate guy. however, this could be completely random or regional as we have extremely strong kung fu programs.

we have several local karate schools where a student can attain a black belt without even sparring once...on the other hand, we have a tae kwon do school that produces a few guys who participate in a really rough underground fighting club. personally, i wouldn't recommend either karate or tae kwon do as a whole if you're looking for self-defense. however, it's all about the individual school.