ps1

Absolutely! YES! GO TRAIN BJJ! It's a great experience. It's very physical and will compliment your shotokan well.

This sounds really general but anything you can do to create an environment of inclusivism. That is, make the school a family of sorts. Martial arts schools can seem incredibly formal, making it easy not to come back. However, when you see the other students and instructor as close friends, you're more likely to stay. The programs you mention are nice, but ultimately something a school should have anyway. The next thing you should do is keep an eye on who is and is not attending class. Be sure to always thank everyone who comes and call people who miss a class or two. Most of all, WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING A HARD TIME!!!! Even if that means offering to forgo a student's dues for a month. If it keeps them coming, it's good for you. Not only that, but your willingness to work with and help your students will result in increased loyalty. You can guarantee they will pass the word that you are a great instructor. Good luck. Bill

When I occasionally get the hooks under him i never feel like he is off balance. If get the hooks and I try to put my leg behind his for a trip but I don't seem to be able to get the momentum to drive him back. Same situation, I tried turn to the side for a hip toss and ended up pulling most of the muscles in my lower back. Same situation, I tried to pull him forward with the idea of a chest to chest body slam (I know, I know) and he ended up landing on top of me. Any suggestions? Yeah sure. When you get the double unders, this is just the beginning. That goes for any grip really. The next step is to get your hips into the action. Start with your underhooks high and your hands clasped, then you need to drop your center (leaving the underhooks high) and drive you hips toward and under your opponent. While you do this, the opponent is going to move (otherwise you'll just lift him up and slam him down easily). The key is to use his movement to get momentum, don't try to create it yourself. If you have the unders and start to lower and he steps back a little, trying to pull away, it's time to trip the leg that remains (or drop on the single leg takedown), When he pulls it away, time to hip throw. If he drives into you, you can lift turn and trip for a suplex type throw. Obviously, there are a number of possibilities. The key is to learn and master at least one option for each possible reaction. Once you've drilled them all alot, your body will begin to react more easily. Good luck. edit: Rickson Gracie talks alot about making a connection with your opponent and keeping a connection at all times. That's an excellent way to think of it.

Congratulations John

The sprawl is your friend. Don't let him get the underhooks. If/ when he gets the double under, drive his chin away from you and attempt to get one or both on him. Also, learn to lower your level. Don't expect to stand straight up and be able to beat him.

The brain does not regulate heart rate. The SA (Sinoatrial) node of the heart regulates the heart rate. The human brain can completely shut down and the heart will continue to beat until the muscle's supply of oxygen is depleted (breating is regulated by the brain). The heart rate will speed up and slow down as blood pressure and vessel dialation changes. However, this is an indirect relationship to brain activity. Basically, the show is wrong and what it said was not completely based in medical science.

That just seems weird. Are you sure he has no ranking in Goju? I don't understand why someone with 3rd degree in one style would suddenly want to switch and teach another style in which he/she isn't trained.

It's usually best to stick with a partner of a similar size because it allows you to do all of your throws. If you train with someone taller than you, most of your reaping throws are going to be crappy. If you train with someone shorter than you, your hip loading throws are going to suffer. A partner of the same size allows for all of the throws. That said, your partner needs to either participate or not participate. She's more likely to get hurt and hurt someone else if she only wants to go really slowly through the techniques. When falling, the momentum of the throw is what often allows you to land safely. Imagine an ippon seionage (shoulder throw) if you just allow them to drop straight down off your shoulder! They could land on their head and hurt their neck. All that said, you're right! Talk to your instructor about making sure you have a good partner during this part of class.

They're still very big in BJJ. To answer the post; if it's a good instructor, a private lesson is worth 10 or 15 hours of regular class instruction. You can get so many questions out of the way and get so many things fixed.

Yeah... you're going to find that the area in which you live is the most likely indicator of what a school will cost. We charge $100/month. However, we offer Brazilian Jiujitsu 6 days and 2 days of MMA. In addition, the way the mma school is organized makes a difference too. Often there are different paid instructors for each art. Usually a brown or black belt Bjj instructor, boxing or muay thai coach, strength and conditioning coach, judo or wrestling coach, ect... To avoid each coach having to charge a separate rate for each class it's all lumped into one monthly charge and the student is allowed to attend any classes on all days they are offered. In addition to our main school, we also teach out of an MMA gym about 35 miles away. That gym costs $150 per month. Several of their students who travel far have started coming to our academy instead. They usually site the cost difference and the fact that they would rather get the info right from the source instead of second hand through the mma owner. A second factor in the cost of the gym is the overhead they have. Many have a very large and clean training area that includes mats, strength and conditioning equipment, and a cage. This is all costly stuff. Before shelling out that kind of money, however, I would look at several things: 1. Quality of the instructors and their level of instruction. 2. Do you really need all this stuff to accomplish your martial arts goal? 3. How often are the facilities cleaned? (Anything less than 3 to 5 times per week is dangerous) Good luck in finding a school and enjoy your training!!!

Of course you need to practice it against a resisting opponent. Not to do so is to say you can hit a home run because you know how to swing a bat, but you've never tried to actually hit a ball.

I just found this funny because it describes so many people I know. It's a way to avoid a fight (which is perfectly ok and honorable) without having to damage your ego.

This is always interesting to me. To date, I have not been able to find ANY cases where someone was convicted for a crime solely because they were a black belt and defended themselves. It's usually combined with the fact that they continued to assault their attacker after subduing them and rendering them no longer a threat. This is true even in cases where the attacker dies. Your rights are often even more protected if you're in your own home. Many states have a "castle doctrine" that allows you to use deadly force on any threat that enters your home. A martial artist is not a lethal weapon in the eyes of the law. We don't register ourselves and we aren't' treated differently in court. But if you knock out your attacker, and decide to get on top of them and keep beating them...you're a criminal and deserve to go to jail! This is a myth that has been perpetuated by movies for a long time.

I agree with algernon that the clip has no context. However, from what I can see, it looks as though he's trying to completely overwhelm his opponent by just moving fast and random. While that works in theory, the problem is the opponent is more than capable of doing that to him also. What you would likely end up with is two people with alot of cuts (none of which are likely life threatening). Anytime you get in that scenario, the bigger/stronger/faster person is going to win. That's not good for self defense. There's just so much wasted energy. That said, the likelihood of being attacked by someone with an knife, while you're also wielding a knife and prepared for the attack is very small.

The association I was in permitted Black gi to be worn by black belt and above. However, at formal events a white gi was expected.

Keyhorns? Pretty sure he's referring to Kihon.

I like this answer alot. I think soldiers are often over looked as martial artists. You could also put the likes of Alexander the Great and Gengis Khan in this list as well.

Toptomcat is exactly right. I've trained in Yagu Ryu Bujutsu, a recognized koryu. It's my understanding that, for a martial art to "actually" be a koryu, it has to be recognized as such by the proper authority within the Japanese government. That authority basically verifies the lineage and origin of the art as having been from the time period to which Toptomcat is speaking. Much of the training focuses, not on punches and kicks, but on weapons training. We focused much on Bo, tanbo, and tanto and bokken (with bokken leading into kenjutsu). The purpose of this was to learn the skills and tactics of the warriors of feudal Japan. To that end, if you're learning lots of punches, kicks, and ground work...it's not likely a koryu. So yes, it sounds like the criticism is valid. Thanks, Bill

When I competed there was about 1 to two tournaments every month.

I think it just puts alot of distance between the opponent and his targets. It's harder to bridge the gap. I believe front hand (strikes using the palm) are illegal.

I train in Boardman Ohio and have been to the Poland Tourney many times. Am I remembering correctly to thin that Dave Buker puts it on? It usually a very fairly run tourney. Have fun.

Excellent questions!!!! Here's the basic jist of the thing. The first to strike to the body or head with a strong stance, power, and a kiai is scored. To my knowledge, straight strikes to the face are allowed. I'm not sure what you mean by "front of the hand". But if you mean knuckles (fist), that is certainly allowed and demonstrated several times in the vids. The stance you see must bode well to this type of rule system. Otherwise the athletes would have adopted a different stance. As far as point distribution, I can only say that it used to be a full point for strong strikes with proper spirit (stance, power, kiai ect...) to the head or body. Half points for a strike that lands on an open target, but did not have proper spirit (ie...backing up, no kiai ect...). I believe kicks may now be awarded more points however. Once you take an opponent down, you are allowed a brief moment to strike to an open area. Hope this helps a little.

The name is familiar to me. However, as I mentioned, I'm from Ohio and am more familiar with those instructors. Also, since starting in BJJ, I haven't competed in the PKC. It's a fun circuit though. Have fun.

I agree. I like Kankudai and Unsu in particular. Welcome to the forums.

Kyokushin has a great reputation. It's difficult, but will lead you to your goals. The Other website leads me to question the credibility of the school. Any time I see anything that says so and so was the "first to break away" ect... A red flag goes up. To me that just says, so and so wanted to be in charge so he decided to do his own thing. Don't get me wrong, it could be a good school. But Kyokushin is a sure thing.