ps1

congratulations

On your Battle of Atlanta information there is contact info. Contact the promoter and ask him about other tourneys in the area. These events are generally fairly small (a few hundred people) so you'll be hard pressed to find them on the internet. Don't be afraid to contact them. Just make the call.

Doubt tempered by perseverance! "I don't know if I can do it...but I'm sure gonna give it my best!"

I was VERY pleasantly surprised. The original movie is what got me started in martial arts. I love it and believe it to be a masterpiece not only for martial artists, but also a great coming of age movie in its own right. I felt that Chan and Smith did a phenomenal job with the movie. Much of it was directly taken from the original. There's a very funny line in the movie that makes reference to the Karate/Kung Fu thing. As another point of note: Lupin1 made reference to Chan beating up a few 12 year olds. I think it's more pertinent to state that he DID NOT beat them up, rather halted their advances. He did not strike the children.

Thanks for answering my questions. I hope everything works out in the favor of all the students and instructors they have left behind. What's the overall mood of the current student base, in the wake of all the events. Do they know the whole situation? Is there any animosity? Is anyone threatening to leave the organization? When i say "student base," I'm primarily referring to any yudansha left behind.

So do a different martial art. There are many from which to choose. Let us know how the search goes.

I agree with you here. In general, we focus on transitions between half, butterfly, x, and de la riva. I'm just starting to play with spider guard. I actually like it more than I thought I would. But I think my understanding of guards like de la riva and x are what leads to my comfortability in playing with spider.

Two basic questions, which my not be easily answered due to your by laws. 1. With the speed of communication our civilization now enjoys, why is it necessary for everyone to relocate? It seems to me that votes, testing, and other matters can easily be dealt with via conference calls and skype style meetings. 2. Since the Hombu has been in the US for a long time, why on Earth would the head of your system NOT want to have a branch remain here? It seems like he'd be losing tons of money by doing that. Afterall, you can take the school away, but you can't unteach all that information. Instructors will continue to teach with or without the permission of your Hombu. I can assure you that much.

You beat me to it. Once you go to BOA, you'll be able to find flyers to other tourneys. You could also just call the promoters of the Battle and ask about other area tourneys.

In the Gracie family, Dan ranks are awarded every three years up to 8th degree. From Black to 8th degree black takes about 24 years of continuous training after earning your black belt. It should be noted that any break in training for even a short time, restarts your time. If I were to earn black belt and train for a year after that, then a month off, I would start my training time over again. So, three years from the time I come back from my month off. He is exceptional. How much so? Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQWBBVadUIc Disregard the content and just take notice that you'll see Bryan Mossey teaching Pedro Kali. That's right, Pedro takes Kali in his own school. That's the commitment he has to the arts. An 8TH DEGREE BLACK BELT who has trained with the gracie family all of his life, trains in a class as a beginner. Kali is something Dan Inosanto got him interested in. Dan, on the other hand, tells Pedro all the time about how much he loves BJJ now. This is what you get when true masters get together. They like anything that works. And for JJN: Pedro Vs. Mr Utah. Warning: this is a fight vid. If you don't like that kind of thing, you may not want to watch. There's not alot of blood in it or anything. Backstory according to Pedro: Pedro had recently opened a school in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Utah had a weekly radio program. On his radio program he said how he's to strong for anyone like the Gracies to beat him in a fight. He called Pedro while live on the air and challenged him to a fight. Pedro accepted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY7DtmeBmjc Actual Fight:

Did you see the video of Professor Sauer vs. the bodybuilder? Yeah...that one is classic.

This is very much the case. As a white belt (0 to 2 years of training), the guard is usually used simply to keep a person from getting around you. They fight hard to keep the feet locked and rarely attack efficiently from the position. Blue belts (1 to 3 years of training) usually do a better job of attacking from the closed guard, but get lost once the guard is open and lose focus. They tend to see different guards as separate. Purple belts (3 to 6 years of training) begin to start seeing the bigger picture. They realize that they can open up, get the grip they need and go back to guard. This understanding causes them to become much more efficient at attacking from the position. Brown Belts (6 to 10 years of training) start to apply the bigger picture. The various guard positions flow into one another, setting up techniques and applying defenses with good timing. Black Belts (9 + years of training) are even more smooth in their transitions and finish their submissions/sweeps/escape attempts at a higher percentage. In addition, they begin to solve more problems on their own, without the need of someone to guide them through every technique variation.

Master Pedro Sauer (8th degree Black Belt under Rickson Gracie): http://www.pedrosauer.com/page.asp?id=4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Sauer

It's interesting how different practitioners use the same positions differently. For me, almost all of my open guard is designed to get a grip and either sweep or get a good grip and move back to closed guard. I'm very offensively minded in closed guard and try to never be on my back in it. That said, opponents who are as good as or better than me always try to work me to my back again. But my goal is never to be there and as long as I have an angle, I would say the closed guard is offensive. So, as I use the positions, I would rate them as follows: Full Closed = Basic- Defensive, Advanced-offensive Full Open= Intermediate/advanced-offensive Half = Basic-Defensive, Intermediate/Advanced-Offensive Butterfly = Advanced, Offensive X = Advanced, Strictly Offensive Spider = Intermediate, offensive Really my only changes had to do with who is using the position. I feel that beginners tend to use closed and half guard as a crutch. They just hold on and are very defensive in the positions. Now you have a few more years on me and some experience in high level comps as well. So you've certainly seen and dealt with things I haven't. Let me know if you think I'm looking at it incorrectly.

At a seminar: student: How do I stop the guillotine? David Adiv: Stop starring at the ground bro! Another Seminar: student: How do I get out of the rear naked choke? Pedro Sauer: My friend, have you tried tapping? You're question is like asking me how to defend a punch...when the fist is already hitting you in the nose. You need to react sooner! Best answers ever.

Wow...that guy has issues!

I talk about groin shots like this: If we were sparring hard and you realize I knowingly struck you in the groin; would you stop? No. You'd get angry and attack harder. The same goes for a real fight. So when people tell me they'll hit me in the groin, I tell them to go ahead. Because reaching down there is usually a very bad idea. It leaves the head wide open for chokes, extends the arms for armbars, and usually sets up a triangle choke as well. As tallgeese mentioned, while in top position, a good grappler would be too tight to get to the position. In this fight, you'll see the guy try to get to the groin of Rorion Gracie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RawPYGzYOQ

I feel the timing, power, and spirit in the performance were spot on. However, I think some of the moves were very unrealistic, with reactions that were hokey (fake) at best. That said...it's competition, there's always some element of showboating that will go on. How did you fare at the competition? Did you place high?

Congratulations!

You bring up a very valid point here. All my training in zombie killing (which mainly consists of video games and movies...which is not too dissimilar from most of the world's martial arts training) suggests that projectile weapons are the best way to go.

Quite true. Not to mention that they eat brains, therefore taking away the ability to formulate a strategy. This, however, brings forth another query...once you, too, become a zombie; are you able to then use jiu-jitsu on zombies again? Since their bite won't hurt you anymore. Please...I need to know...can a zombie jiu-jitsu another zombie?

Very nicely done!

Hi and welcome to our forums!! Your best course of action is to ask your son's instructor what type of gear your son is allowed to have and what he must have. Most places require head gear, mouthpiece and groin protection at a minimum. There's alot of different types of hand and foot protection out there. Once you know that information, here's a few websites that can help you out. http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Sparring_Gear.aspx http://www.sakuramartialarts.com/Martial_Arts_ProtectiveGear_s/8.htm http://www.awma.com/index.cfm/action/shop/level/8.htm Hope this is helpful! Thanks

In Shotokan, they are not performed slowly.

I don't really remember the tests in TKD from when I was very small. The first rank I remember really testing for was my Green Sash in Chuan Fa. I had trained hard and was in really good condition. There were no pre-testing jitters and I did really well during the test. It lasted for about 5 hours and was very intense. The problem was after the test. I didn't sleep well all night. I kept waking up to dreams of people attacking me. My muscles kept firing like crazy. It was absolutely nuts.