hammer

If the sparring rules allow full contact to the head and you were wearing protective gear, then I'd say that this was no more than an accident. If this is still a concern then it should be addressed in the sparring rules at your dojo. Doesn't sound like you did anything inappropriate, however. I was sparring on Monday (Kyokushin rules, no hand techniques to the head) and a new student who appears to have had more of a Shotokan background accidentally tried to punch me in the face. Contact was very light and he apologized...my response was that I should have blocked it. I ended up doing the same later to someone else (old TKD sparring habit)...stuff happens.

Congrats!

Here's a set of drills I've seen on YouTube. While it's TKD I'm sure you could adapt the technique to the way that kicks are done in Kyokushin:

I like belt promotions as much as anyone else, but I pay the dojo to be able to train, not to earn a belt. If any dojo asked for payment for a belt rank (not for a belt test, that's different!), that would be the last day I trained there...

Been getting back into running now that the neighborhood roads are finally dry...mixed it up today with alternating 1/2 mile slow jog and 1/2 mile hard run for 3 miles total. Best times on the hard runs are about what I was able to do for a 10K last September so I have some catching up to do. Been doing weekly fighter's training at the dojo on Saturday mornings since early January. It's usually a combination of warmups, burpee pyramid, moving drills, bag or pad work, light kumite and a little bit of conditioning. A lot of this training has been humbling to say the least...

After 14 years in a different style, I've been in a small school for almost a year now...just had a family sign up so it's not as small anymore when they show up, but it's all good. I think I've adapted to most of the differences between styles, but the differences with the "individual" attention have been significant. Down side of getting to a higher rank at a larger school was that over time my technique didn't really get any better and I didn't realize it. Enjoy the individual attention while you can get it.

Thanks for posting these. Takes a lot to put forms up on YouTube for all to see... One quick observation and question I have right away is that your stance transitions are direct...in TKD I was taught to make stance transitions by always coming to center, but in the Kyokushin kata I have learned so far, the stance transitions are more direct. Is what I was taught in TKD unique to the school I went to?

Given his rank I'm guessing it's appropriate...if he's a high enough rank in karate he would be called "Shihan" which according to Wikipedia can be interchanged with the English term "master instructor". Guess when I was in TKD it was a way to distinguish the people who were 5th Dan or higher. Didn't really think anything else of it. Honorary rank is another matter entirely...

This is coming from a person who switched schools...sometimes that has to happen, and thinking of the dojo as anything beyond a place to train makes those transitions difficult. It doesn't mean that one can't be dedicated to the school or the instructors...being more detached has actually made being a dedicated student easier because it doesn't feel like an obligation.

I have a question for some of the more senior folks here... Is it reasonable for a school that develops something to have the rights to it? Companies have proprietary information that they guard, can or should an instructor who puts his/her time into developing something have the rights to that information? Note that I'm mainly playing devil's advocate here...personally I tend to be of the opinion that the MA community needs to be willing to share information. We all have similar goals and that sharing will make each school better for its students. Students will ultimately choose one school or another based on a variety of factors, content being only one of them...and the best way to stand above other schools in the area is to have quality instruction in whatever style at a fair price.

It's a place to train until it isn't...but I like where I'm at now and I hope the dojo will be around for some time.

What costs do your school/club have? Do you require some other club membership to join? What about insurance? Just wondering how places that don't charge anything at all manage to still have classes. Even clubs where the instructors don't get any pay still have other operating expenses.

When I did TKD this was the highest form...once 2nd Dan we did Gae Bek, Choong Jang, and Se Jong. I'd put it at or near the top for difficulty in the ITF forms set.

I thought about it growing up but never pushed anything with my parents. Decades later, I decided to have my son try it out and the instructor encouraged me to sign up as well (was only another $10/month). My son kept it up for a few years and then decided to do other things...by that time I was hooked.

I guess I'm more of the opinion that there should be some kind of fitness requirements...in my own experience, it's not as easy to get as much out of an MA workout if you are in not in decent physical condition. That said, fitness is not just about cardio, and also, adjusting requirements for age seems appropriate. If running's not your thing then there are plenty of other ways to get in cardio conditioning, and not all of them have to take as much time as it does to run several miles.

$75/month with 2 regular classes/week. Just started up special classes on Saturday mornings this month so it's been 3 classes/week. Test fees are $10 when getting a new belt. Not complaining.

Where can I start... Actually I'm not sure what to add to other posts. Overall my issue is when a school is run like a business (it's fine to be run as a business). Running a school like a business results in the things that we all dislike...lax standards, coddling of students, "our school is the only school" mentality, too many attempts at one-size-fits-all MA, nickle and dime (or just plain high) fees, etc.

I started up a few years ago (in my late 40s). Overdid it the first season and was out with a stress fracture. Came back this past year and built up to a Half Marathon and a few 10Ks but I'm taking the opportunity to give my knees a rest over the winter. My Sempai has added a fitness workout to the class schedule which also helps to balance the lack of running. I do plan to get going on a running routine again once the weather gets a bit warmer. I think to build up a cardio base for MA, all you would need or want to do is be able to run at least 30 minutes 3 to 4 times a week. If you really want to better duplicate MA types of cardio, I'd add sprint intervals into your running routine. I feel pretty good about my base cardio, but I still get challenged when I need to bump the intensity for MA workouts.

Excellent suggestion. Have only tried something similar a few times...these drills can be tough. Do you have any video of roundhouse kicks done in your style? I can understand being light on the heel during the pivot, but having the heel of the base foot off of the floor for the whole kick would make it hard to maintain balance and it would also prevent you from doing the kick with sufficient power.

Best wishes and hope you can return soon. In the meantime I look forward to your continued participation here.

Thanks everyone.

Just had a test, was hoping to get a blue stripe but went right from 10 Kyu to 8 Kyu (Orange to Blue belt). Was quite surprised, felt pretty good about many areas of the test but I had a lot of confusion on some of the forms being called out and I know I messed up on a few of them. Feel funny about getting a double promotion but I'm going on the assumption that my Sempai knows best. Nice part is that I can get started on learning a new kata (Pinan Ni). Already seeing similarities between the new form and Won Hyo but I know that the differences in techniques will cause some confusion for a while. All good.

At the Kyokushin school I now attend there are written testing requirements for belt levels from 8th Gup. Just took the 8th Gup test which consisted of a few history questions and a lot of terminology. According to the syllabus the tests and academic requirements go up with rank, and at the senior Kyu and Dan grades there are also essay requirements thrown in. At the TKD school where I previously went there were tests for Black Belts, but the question was more about goals, etc and had no questions on TKD techniques or concepts. We were never even really quizzed on the meaning of the forms even though we were provided that information. I actually think having some kind of academic requirements is a good idea, I always felt like my knowledge was lacking in TKD and regular testing would have helped to mentally reinforce what we learned.

In my limited kyokushin experience I've used the upper instep/lower shin for low kicks and the ball for mid kicks. The instep is OK for high kicks where the target is the neck and one doesn't strike as hard. In TKD I learned the kicks with the instep and ball. Knew someone who tried board breaking with the instep but from what I remember that didn't go too well...

Keeping it simple... 1. Make it to as many workouts as I can. 2. Learn at least 1 new kata (which will take a few promotions). 3. Improve on strength/fitness. 4. Enjoy the experience (if it isn't fun it isn't worth doing).