ps1

I guess if I had to fight him in the ring my strategy would be to take him down and attempt to submit...DO NOT LET HIM GET ON TOP!!! In the street, I run as though my life depends on it...because it probably does.

btw...good analogy patusai

I really enjoyed reading this Bleedinglion. Attempting to explain it would be overly ambitious of you. Sorry Cheeks. You just won't understand until you get there. Then you'll see how naive you seem.

Thanks Sohan

Does it need a name? I'd probably just call it Jones Family Martial Arts. If it was my system...that only makes sence. I am a Jones, and it would be the MA my family line created. What would you calls yours Sohan?

congratulations...good luck in training

Very good. Congratulations both on your rank and your hard earned wisdom. I would be very interested in reading your thesis on testing. I don't think I'd be the only one. Is it available somewhere, or can you post it here?

Sohan...you took the words out out of my mouth. Extremely well put. Thank you for such a great post.

My wife says I look alot like Elijah Wood...but I don't think he knows anything about martial arts.

huh...and i thought the TKD commercial with the dragon was bad. I just...I don't...I...I... I'm gonna go now.

Yes, it can be done. One of my instructors can puncture a full can of soda with his finger. I don't think you'll be busting bricks with it... but a 1 inch pine board... easily.

Karate Kid -1984, started training 1 week later.

could happen

I'll play devil's advocate: Her balance was superb, her techniques were crisp, she was very focused, pace seemed point on, and she demonstrated good zanshin. I'm willing to bet she knows many classical kata and can perform them better than most of us. She's in a contemporary division, can you fault her for doing what is necessary to win? Are we to assume she doesn't know how to fight based only on watching this?

Sounds like the metal detectors aren't foolproof.

Wow!! Great site. Thanks.

There are many different terms. The three you use actually refer to completely different things. Sensei: teacher, one who came before, pointer of the way Shido-in is a level of classical instructor certification that is seperate from rank level. For example, a person can be a 7th degree black belt but not have earned shido-in. It's fairly rare to see this. Hanshi: This is an honorary term. It is usually bestowed upon someone who has contributed significantly to the art. It should never be used to describe ones self. You'll also see terms like renshi, shihan, kyoshi...in many cases they are just fancy titles. Sensei is the acceptable title to refer to any instructor of any rank. It is a title of great honor.

benyx, Taikyoku nidan is in Shotokan. Many instructors choose not to teach it though. The same goes for Taikyoku Sandan. The pattern is the same as Taikyoku Shodan, but with the changes that Sohan mentioned above. Ten no Kata is completely different. I suggest buying "Karate Do Kyohan." It is the "master's text" for Shotokan and was written by the system founder... Gichin Funakoshi. You can get it just about anywhere books are sold. Good luck on the test and let us know how it goes.

Bones grow stronger from being stressed. Give the sore areas of your body a chance to rest (24 -48 hours) and they will become stronger. I wish you all the best in your training. What branch of the military are you in? Where are you stationed?

I hope you are able to enjoy training for the rest of your life. Thank you for the link.

Today we mourn the loss of Robert Magnusun who died tragically in a parachuting accident. Bob was a 7th degree black belt within the Kwanmukan Society. He had over 600 jumps and was a master jumper. He was the head of the Mahoning County Drug Task Force, a police officer for over 25 years. He dedicated his life to protecting our streets, and our children. He leaves behind a wife and 4 children. He will be missed.

I understand where you're coming from here. But it is a clip that is taken out of context. We aren't given the opportunity to see the rest of the context, so it is the context. I think that is what makes people upset. The whole goal of it is to discredit "traditional and sport comptetitive" martial arts. While Geoff Thompson is a well known and very skilled individual (two of my instructors have trained with him at times), he's still being a jerk with the clip. The fact is that ANYONE can get mugged at any point. At least if there's a chance to throw a punch, the trained person knows how to throw it. The fundamental proplem with the clip is awarness, not fighting style. Afterall, the guy's fighting style seemed to be duck and cover. This video clip is just an attack at traditional martial arts. And I don't know anyone who likes being attacked. That's why people are responding the way they are.

That's nuts.

I agree with KM about the rythm. arrrg. But it will give you a general guideline to follow. As far as key factors go: it's a relatively new kata. There's nothing to point out as far as bunkai goes. You know..."secretive" or "hidden" things. It's straight forward. But the Master Text explains all that. The pace should be as you would actually utilize the technique. Because this is precisely what the kata was designed for. Enjoy.

My response here may get a little lengthy. I apologize in advance for this. I just have trouble with certian concepts of what is traditional and those that say competitions are not traditional. So I ask for your patients while I climb onto my soapbox momentarily. I have seen many posts (along with having many live discussions) about how traditional their system is because they study kata "A through X" from Sensei, Guru, Sifu, Hanshi so and so. They often continue to point out how they have not changed anything they were taught, do not allow "fancy" uniforms and have very few ranks (if any). They do not practice point sparring or enter competitions because these things lead to skewed ideas of what the purpose of martial arts is and diminished lethality of the techniques. Usually among my first question of these people is how does competition erode technique? Further, how does it deminish the liklihood of utilizing a lethal technique when the time is necessary? Of course the answer is, and it is correct, that you will fight as you train. That established...when is the last time anyone here had the unfortunate experience of practicing a "lethal" technique in full force application? By its very definition of being lethal, you can't practice it. Not at the level you practice the rest of your "non-lethal" techniques. If you practice good technique, you will compete and utilize good technique when it's needed. I find that any technique that can not practiced at full speed and force will always be less useful than those that can. Your body just dosen't execute them as quickly. I tell these people to choose their competitions more wisely, or even hold their own competitions within their school and by their own rules. If the technique is sloppy then, you can only blame yourself. Competition is a fundamental truth of human existance. People constantly compare themselves to others. The desire to be "the best" subsides only with experience, understanding, and wisdom. It is the rare student who will not compare him/ herself with others. An instructor telling them not to do so does not change their desire. This lesson is usually gained only after years of attempting to be the best. It was common place even in ancient times for warriors to go to other schools in order to test their skills against others. Note that many of the great texts of the ancient masters boast of their ability to defeat others. As long as the instructor constantly points out that competition and points are not the aim of martial art training, there is no harm in it. It's a difficult thing to get in front of an audience and perform kata or spar (fight) someone who may wipe the floor with you or execute a pre-arranged self defense demonstration. I believe it to be character building. Someone already pointed out how recent the gi and belt system are. Wearing a gi (white, black, or rainbow color) does not make a system traditional, nor does wearing street clothes make it contemporary (the same goes for rank and titles). It just demonstrates the preference of an instructor and sets a system of determining skill level in your school. I think we can all agree that a black belt in one school may not have the same skill set as a black belt in another. Same style or not. What I have found to be common in "truly (my opinion)" traditional schools is a value of hard work, dedication, disipline, focus, patients, empathy, and self respect. Traditional schools are those that seem to be able to bestow upon a person the ability to critically evaluate their situation and attempt to take the course of action that is best for their well-being. They give people a warrior's mindset. So that "even when seated quietly, not even the roughest roughian dare set harm upon them. (excerpted from Soul of the Samauri) " As I climb back down from my high horse and prepare for the retribution of those I may have offended I will say this, "tradition is what you make of it." Just because others do not share your tradition, does not make them non traditional. Just not your tradition. To answer the question though...I am a traditionalist. But I do like to compete. I am just sure to compete in tourneys that have the rules I feel are important. Those are the competitions I suggest to my students if they voice interest. I certianly do not force competition on anyone though. People do enough of that themselves.