jarrettmeyer

I don't do MT, but timidity seems to be a common issue regardless of style. We have a drill called go-drill. You're paired up with a partner. When the instructor yells "go", that's exactly what you do. No matter where you are, no matter what the position, you go. You throw anywhere between 6-10 consecutive techniques*. Your opponent is doing everything he can to keep you from hitting - cutting angles, blocks, trap, etc, he just won't hit back. But you just keep going until someone tells you to stop. Work for about 4 minutes, then switch sides. Now your opponent gets to go. You can do anything you want, you just can't hit back. When in a competition, just imagine your instructor out there constantly yelling, "Go, go, go!" *Depeding on level, of course. White belts start at 2 techniques. Never throw just one. Some blackbelts will chain a dozen techniques together.

I have had problems with piano velocity and sore wrists from hitting bags. That was a technique problem, not a karate problem. Once I fixed that, and gave my wrists some time to heal, my technique came back. -jm

You're new. (So am I.) If the school makes you feel like an idiot because of your lack of experience, don't train there. You will be beaten, but you should be learning from this experience. That's okay, because then you'll start beating them. If you aren't learning, and they're using you like a rag doll, then get out of there.

I don't know. 6 months. None. All of the above comments were my opinion, and I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time. Personally, I think that kata is great. I love the practice. Anyone who says kata is boring isn't working at it. I'm dripping with sweat after the second pinan. As an instructional tool, there is nothing superior to really learning kata. I just very much agree with the idea placed in an earlier post. He used writers, but I understand music better, so I'll adapt. The best musicians are very thoroughly educated on the works of their predecessors. Mozart learned by listening to all of his musical predecessors, like Bach, Handel, and Hayden. Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler wrote many works in homage to Mozart, expanding on Mozart's accomplishments. I think kata are like that, too. Yes, we want to learn and perfect the works of others. We want to understand the meaning in their movements. Eventually, we want to create. Most of the time, we're not prepared to create. We are still too immature for what we create to become really meaningful. Once in a while, an Aaron Copeland emerges, and a whole new genre can be defined by his work. But people like that are few and far between. -jm[/url]

I agree with this completely. There is a difference between kata and competition kata, even if it is supposed to be the same form. Right or wrong, there are things that are changed and embellished for competition.

I really think that this is key here. I think that kata can and will do all those good things for self defense if you practice rigorously, have a great Sensai, practice bunkai, develop new bunkai, and the legion of other conditionals that have placed in this post. If you're missing out on these conditionals, then you're done. Kata probably won't be the way for you. That takes a lot of time and a lot of effort during that time. I think that there are other ideologies that can get you to a good, or even great, level of self-defense skill much faster than that. Studying Bruce Lee's concepts is one of them. Studying some of the ideas in Muay Thai is one of them. Kata was never intended to be the quick way. Who was it who had his students work and develop Sanchin for a year? One kata? Countless times a day? For a year? The student who has learned good kata and good application has a better base on which to grow. I didn't say that this student is better than a student who doesn't learn kata, but that he has the potential of being better. There's still lots that this student needs to do. Kata is not the end-all-be-all of self-defense. If you do not augment kata with supplemental self-defense training, then what good is that foundation? -jm

Balance. This is the most important thing. In Goju, be both tense and relaxed. Be quick and powerful. Be rooted and mobile. In life, strive for balance between family, work, church, and school.

I think that with kata, like so many other things in life, you'll get out of them what you put into them. If you strive to learn as many as possible, compete, and win tourneys, then you will. If you learn only what is asked of you, then you will. At my school, that also includes a scripted bunkai. Although better than the kata by itself, now it is two people following a set of movements. It's nice because you do need to learn to change the kata for when your opponent is taller or shorter than you. But it is still not self-exploratory. I've tried to develop kata myself, wondering where to look for application. I was working on pinan nidan, because it is the only one that I really know all the techniques. There is an augmental middle block followed by a turn. We do learn the kata and a scripted bunkai. I thought that the turn would be a great place to introduce a hip throw or shoulder throw, especially since you already have control over your opponent's arm. But that's not in the script. I won't include the throw at school, but I will always remember that I came up with something beyond what we do in class. And I'm positive that as I grow as a martial artist, more ideas will come to me. But, I will only ever get what I put in. I must become the martial artist that I want to be. No one else can do it for me. jm

Ditto to dtstiachi. We all love MA and we tend to work very hard. But we also must remember to listen to our bodies. Some pain is good. It means that you're doing what you set out to do. Too much pain is bad. It means you are over-stressing you body beyond the acceptable limits. Where the line between "some" and "too much" lies entirely with you. The good news is that you can do things to control pain, and most of it has to do with your diet, not Aleve. High fiber carbs, good quality protein, and the right amount of Omega-3 fats will really help out. Sugar will make the pain worse and lead to longer recovery times.

It depends on application. In sparring, we (Shorei Goju Ryu) use it all the time because under our rules, a front punch to the body will not point. A front punch to the head, face, or groin will point. You can still use a front punch to the body, as long as you follow it with something. It's a completely valid technique because most people do not want to get hit, so they will adjust to block the front punch, then the reverse will follow-up and score. Add this to the list of faults of sparring --- I have seen sparrers who are so good that they recognize that the front punch will not score, so they do not react to it. I'm sorry, but point or no, it still hurts. And I don't like the idea that sparring teaches you something that you don't want to do in a fight. As a technique, it something you have to learn in the beginning. Every structured karate class is probably learning this technique. A trademark? Not really. That would be no different than calling the Pinan/Heian kata trademarks. All traditional karate students are probably learning those kata. Not all traditional karateka learn bassai-dai.

The pauses will make more sense as you learn the Bunkai (or even better, multiple opponent Bunkai). You'll get an idea of who is attacking, and how they are attacking, and what you're really doing. Block - break - hammerfist becomes 1, (pause), 2, 3. Not 1, 2, 3. But that's okay. When I first learned it, you could set a metronome to my kata. This was the first kata that I learned. I didn't know any better. As I started learning Bunkai, the kata became more "real", more lifelike.

Ditto this. If you're wearing headgear, fists, and kicks anyway then find an MT/kickboxing school. Depending on your level, you can range from light/point contact to a full contract bludgeoning.

It's all electricity. And all of these techniques and methods work together with varying amount of success. For some people, the answer is drugs - a quick and easy way to alter or block synapse response. Other than taking them, no effort is required by the user. Yoga can do the same thing. The stretching causes muscles accept more blood. For general purposes, this makes your body a giant radiator. Flow = good. Acupunture works much the same way by manipulating physical entry points to the nervous system. A good workout releases chemicals that ease nerves. Anyway, all of these things work together. I totally believe in all of these healing methods.

On all kicks, make sure that you keep you base leg bent. You will be able to react to wobbles faster. If you lock out, you'll topple.

It is possible, but remember that they are two different activities. Bench press is high weight, low rep (i.e. 3x10 or even 2x8). Pushups are less weight with much higher rep (i.e. 1x100 or 4x25). Like AnonymousOne said, it is very possible that you can bench 2x your body weight but not be able to put together 10 pushups. That's because there is so much more going on during a pushup (core strength, tendons, stabilization, etc.) But, pushups will limit your max weight to a function of your body weight. If you want both a big bench press and 100 pushups, you will have to train both. One does not beget the other. Because I do not have access to a bench press, I don't do them. Also, if you work the bench hard, you MUST give your muscles time to rest (see SWDW's post above). Although this will be great for your max bench, it will slow your pushup progression. If your goal is to get to 100 pushups, then you need to be doing pushups.

After doing some pushups last night, I realized something else that I cannot believe I forgot!!! You MUST have a solid core to do pushups! While your arms don't have to be able to lift that much (like I said, about 60% of your body weight because of the fulcrum action), your core has to keep the rest of your body flat and stable. I've found that the best things for working your core are pilates and bicycling.

I'm usually not a fan of "maxing out" on anything. It is much too damaging and then you're down for 1 - 2 days. I am a fan of slow, steady progression. Start off with sets, with graded time. Let's start with 40 pushups (modified for your level, of course).... Do 10, wait 10 seconds; do 10, wait 20 seconds; do 10, wait 30 seconds; do 10, wait 40 seconds. Then, knock 2 seconds off... 10, wait 8; 10, wait 18; 10, wait 28; 10, wait 38; When the last 10 are as good as the first 10, knock off 2 seconds. When the first "wait interval" reaches 0, add another 10. 20, wait 10; 10, wait 20; 10, wait 30; 10, wait 40. Under this pattern, every 10 days you'll add 10 high quality pushups. The goal is to make the last set of 10 as good as the first set. If it's wobbly and weak, you're not ready to knock off time. I'm up to 30 (4s), 10 (14s), 10 (24s), 10. Those last 10 a little flimsy, so I know I'm not ready to take off 2s. It may sound weak, but slow is the way to go.

The routine sounds good. You must be using free weights or bowflex or similar. No machines. Depending on what the weight ratio is, you may have to take it easy on the days after you workout. i.e. You weight 180, but are only benching 75. Once you're benching about 60% - 70% of your weight, you have developed the muscle mass to do plenty of pushups. You will get better at pushups by doing more pushups. For most people, it isn't the muscle that gives out, it's the support that comes from ligaments and tendons. (That's why you were using free weights.) That's my problem right now. I'm limited to about 50 good quality pushups not because of my bicep/tricep stregth, but because the tendons start to really burn. Bench press isn't going to help that because I will burn the muscle before I start working the tendons. (Or I would need to weigh down until I found at what weight I could do 60, 70, or 80 reps - something I've never done. Usually, I'm working at a weight where I can only do 3x10 and no more.) And this assumes all pushups on your fists, of course! Your palms absorb a lot of the "structure". I can do 50 on my fists, but over 80 on my palms.

I agree. Do you think that there is both a respectful way and a disrespectful way to present this challenge? Or should a younger belt simply not ask. I love the lessons that I get from sparring. My sempai is amazing. Do you, as an the instructor, respect the intent of the student? Are there times when intent is not clear?

Oh, and I wanted to clarify, that I don't do all of that. I wish I did, though. That would be sweet. But sometimes I have to spend time with my family. I go to class 3x/week. I stretch daily, then I try to get one of those listed activities in, whether it's kata, combos, or running. And to be even more honest, I still probably miss 2 days total in the week where I didn't do anything other than stretch.

I've seen kids do that, too. They're supposed to be doing light contact, but given enough time, they're going at eachother, tears streaming, fists flying. I just think to myself, how hard can a 7 year old in pads hit another 7 year old in pads? I can't tell if its funny or sad. ROFLMAO

It depends on what you're doing. Any time that you go all out, you need to take a day off. If weightlifting and you max out your bench press (i.e. lift your max weight until you're done) you need to take a day off, maybe two, for recovery. Your muscles need to rebuild themselves. But if you're running, you can train every day. If you're working on a bag or makiwara, you can train every day. If you're practicing kata, you can train every day. Even if you're working light weights, you can train every day! And even if you're a part-timer who trains 2 - 3 times per week, you SHOULD stretch every day. At the very least, give yourself that 15 - 20 minutes for a good stretching. So, for maximum advancement, train every day. I think a diverse regimen gains you much more. Stretching + running + kata + bag/makiwara + weights = great workout.

I am 26. I always ask to spar one of the senior black belts (he's 46), not as a challenge, but because he teaches me more in 3 minutes than a few hours of sparring some of the other colored belts. But there are also those in my dojo who don't like to spar against him, because if you do actually get a hit, you kinda know he let you get it. Asking someone who is older and more experienced to spar is not always a challenge. Sometimes it is. As one of the young guys the best I can do is remind you that we are all here (or at the dojo) to learn from each other. Sometimes that means learning our craft. Other times that may mean learning respect. Sometimes respect is taught by watching others. Other times it must be beaten into place.

I would work on that groin kick, if allowed in your rules. Trust me, as a recipient of this kick. I was sparring with this smaller female. My kicks effectively add a 1' range advantage. She got it down perfectly. While my leg was up near her head (missing), she side-stepped, and *BOOM*. My cup was displaced to the side of my hip. Through force of intimidation, I didn't kick the rest of the night. Her legs are longer than my arms, and she's a contender again. Anyway, her solution is exactly what has been proposed here. She moved side-to-side. She stayed out. Eventually, the bigger guy telegraphed something.

I might agree with you depending on how you practice kata. If you've read Morgan's "Living the Martial Way" or read many of Shorin-Ryuu's posts or blog, you'll realize that there are multiple understandings of kata. I think if you're serious about kata, you'll really learn what it's all about. I like to compare kata to an equestrian dressage test. Riders practice individual techniques for hours each week for years before they are good enough to perform a dressage test. You really have to be at a really high level just to keep impulsion in a training level test. It requires very high physical and mental symmetry. I just don't think that kata are taught that way. They are repeated and repeated and repeated and ... you get the picture. But repetition without meaning is just muscle memory without application.