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Here is a past link about the same thing. http://www.karateforums.com/embroidered-black-belts-vt29391.html?highlight=belt+embroidered

Yes. Royler Gracie- Needs no intro Mario Sperry- Several Time world Champion in Brazilian Jiujitsu/MMA Saulo Ribeiro- Many time world champion in Brazilian Jiujitsu Chris Canale- Collegiate All-American Wrestler; Represented the US in Greco Roman wrestling John Fleet- Collegiate All-American Wrestler from Iowa under Gable.

This still happens at BJJ schools. First it happened because no one believed BJJ was effective. Most people no longer believe this. However, many "MMA" and "Grappling" schools seem to have popped up out of nowhere. Their instructors have no credentials and claim to be experts. It's nothing to head down to one and defeat the instructor. I believe this is good, however. It's done to ensure BJJ doesn't get to the point that many other arts have. With fake masters spewing nothing but nonsense out of their mouths. I'll also point out that it's a different story when you walk into a school and the instructor readily admits that they are just learning; in contrast to when they claim to be an expert and really aren't. In the later scenario you destroy them and walk away. In the former...you destroy them...but then teach them how you did it. That adds to the substance of the art. I, for one, believe it's been too long since the traditional martial arts school has done this. For that reason, many have begun to lose touch with what is important when it comes to the physical side of the art.

My favorite to perform is the sleeping monkey form Poekoelan Chuan Fa. Mainly because it's unique to that system. I also love to perform and watch Unsu from Karate.

Yes.

Daito Ryu Aiki Jujitsu and Yagu Ryu Bujitsu. Great link, by the way.

I could be wrong but I don't remember reading anything in the US Constitution about rocks in the pocket. Because anything not covered in the constitution is delegated to the state, this law and the legality of carrying rocks will differ from state to state, county to county and so on. It may be illegal where you're from, but it's fine in Ohio. The use of any instrument in the manner of a weapon will make it a weapon in the eyes of the court. Therefore, when you use a roll of coins as a way to enhance your fist...that's just like using brass knuckles. I'm not saying it's a bad idea or that you will go to jail for it. Just that you must be able to defend your actions in court.

That's the way BJJ was meant to be practiced. It's kinda like Ippon Kumite for Karate. That's how it should be done most of the time. That way the habits are built in well. Free Rolling is important too...again, it should rarely be full go. Pedro Sauer stresses this too.

I don't get into the whole "I've added this style to that style and came up with a new style" thing. There is nothing new. It's all been done before. To me, putting a new name to such a thing is nothing more than a gimmick that people use to give themselves fancy titles and high ranks. "Well I'm a 3rd degree in this, a second degree in that, and a 5th degree in the other. If I add those styles together I'm now a 10th degree in the new style." That's just crap. And that's what many people do. In my opinion, the most honorable thing to do is say, "You'll learn the full curriculum for styles A, X, and Y. The rank structure is like this" and so on. Or, if you've altered the curriculum, just say you teach what you feel is most effective from styles A, X, and Y and be able to explain why. Then just name the place (Your Name) Martial Arts. Because that's what it is...the system that works best for you. I feel that changing the name and taking it for your own downplays the process those who came before you underwent. Their pain, their strife, and their suffering is all for naught.

It did in so much as Koma had rank in Kodokan Judo. However, you have to realize that the Kodokan Judo of that time was far different from what we see now. It still taught strikes and more ground play involved. In addition, because he was Japanese, when Koma changed the focus from being a Do system (Do=referring to a way or path to self enlightenment) to one of combat; he changed the name to Ju (Jiu) Jitsu (Jitsu= referring to an art or a complete method; in this case of combat). The reason for the spelling is that Japanese is phonetic. That is, because their language is spelled with Kanji (symbols) it doesn't matter how you spell it with letters as long as you pronounce it correctly.

I tend to agree with this as well. However, if this is how the kata is taught, it's not the fault of the student. As long as it's done with control, balance, focus, and spirit, you can't really fault him for it.

Most of us know that martial arts is about creating new habits. Reinforcing the good habits and replacing undesired ones. As long as a new habit was created...and not replaced by another one, it will remain indefinitely. What will change, however, are the physiological responses. The most specific one will be reaction time. That's the ability to identify a problem, sort through your options to handle the problem, pick the option you want, and execute that task. Let's look at each part of this one by one. First is the ability to identify the problem. We'll use the example of a punch. Without the continual input of having to identify a punch velocity and trajectory, it will take you longer to do the longer you've been out of training. Furthermore, a connection exists between how long you trained and how long you have been without training. That is...a person who only trained for 5 years may notice problems in this area in a relatively short period of time (just a few weeks or months). Whereas a person who trained for 20 years is usually able to go much longer (perhaps a few years). Part 2 and 3: The ability to sort through and choose the options. This is also a problem area when training is ceased. However, this is a difficult one to track because it is directly to both the number of options learned, and the amount of time training those options. In short, a person will fall back on what they trained the most. We all know about information overload. The idea that having too many options can slow reaction time. Again, there is a correlation between how much time was spent in training and how much time has passed. This is because a person who spent 20 years training had time to learn several options, then to figure out what worked best for them and train that option over and over. The person who spent only 4 or 5 years training may have learned several options, but never learned what works best for them. Thereby making them more susceptible to information overload. Lastly is the ability to execute the defense. Physiologically, you lose cardiovascular training more quickly than you lose flexibility, and flexibility quicker than you lose muscular strength. Assuming you stayed healthy and in shape. Your ability to execute the movements should not change. It's the timing related to the first three steps that will hold you up. However, if you stopped training completely, there will be obvious decreases in your cardiovascular endurance within 3 or 4 weeks, changes in flexibility within 1 to 2 months and changes in your strength within 2 to 5 months. Yeah... it can happen that quickly. There are, however, genetic traits that are not accounted for in these basic guidelines. That is, some people just stay in shape longer because they have some good genetics. Good topic. I can't wait to see some other responses.

I think there are just some people that can teach children well...and some that can not. In addition, not all kids respond well to the same things. Tony Rinaldi, the owner of the school where I currently train, may be the best children's instructor I've ever seen. That's in 23 years of training. But I never understand how. Here's an example of what I mean: He teaches 3 and 4 year olds as well. In that class, a little kid was kinda making some noise while someone was performing their kata. I think the kid was sitting beside the mat and was slapping it. Anyway, Tony looked over at this little four year old and says, "If you slap that mat again I'm going to cut off your arm and keep it." Most kids would probably cry about that. The kid just smiled and stopped. He wasn't upset...he just did what Tony said to do. Young children aren't usually able to understand sarcasm. But Tony says things like this all the time. He just understands them. If he wants them to line up properly and two kids are standing too close together, he'll look at the offending party and ask if he's trying to hold her hand. The kid moves away much better than if you told them to move over a little. Anyhow, people like Tony are very rare. I think many people can work with kids. Very few people have the ability to work with any child that walks through the door.

The reason I don't like weapons kata very much is because they are so very inconsistent. In general, if I see Bassai Dai in three or four different styles it's mostly the same. Some changes in stance or the way a strike is thrown usually exist. But you can still tell it's Bassai Dai. Weapons kata just are not this way. The Bo Shodan I learned was completely different. That's just so annoying. Now that I've vented...I liked your kata. I think you could have slowed down a little in some parts though. That's more a note for competition than the true meaning of the kata. Some examples are the cat stances, you need to lock those in. You seem to just go to the stance and then rush into the next section. Near the beginning you perform a series that ends with a crossing strike, you then turn and stab toward the ground. A small but dramatic pause between the two movements would make it look more crisp. Or...considering those movements are usually a throw followed by a finishing strike. In between the two stabbing movements you could slow down the rise into the crane stance and then exagerate the second stab. Again, these are just things that would improve your competition performance. They have absolutely nothing to do with proper performance of the kata. But when you're competing remember that the places you aren't moving are just as important as the places where you are. Kind of like music. Overall, I thought the kata was good. You appear to be in control of the movements. The part where you have to grab it behind your back is a little sloppy though...or it could just be from the video quality. Either way I want to congratulate you for your second place. I want to commend you for having the guts to get into the ring in front of so many people. And then I want to give you some major Kudos for having the intestinal fortitude to post it on a Karate forum and You Tube where not only the 100 people that were at the tournament would see. But, instead, thousands (maybe millions) of experts from all over the globe would watch, many for the sole reason of picking it apart and criticizing you. Thanks for sharing. Never stop doing what you do.

I think you'll find these are consistent time frames for any BJJ school that is under the Gracie Academy umbrella. I'm at a Pedro Sauer school and it's the same type of time system.

In Aiki Jujitsu and Chuan Fa we learned several methods of using the belt to control the opponent. The sash we wore in chuan fa was tied specifically to make it easily accessable for a weapon and it was encouraged we do so in training sessions. I have also trained with nunchaku. There are some painful manipulations that can be performed with them. In the military we were required to learn how to utilize parachute cord to tie up POWs.

Ha!! http://www.wulfrunjiujitsu.com/headshot_David2.jpg Here's the picture...in case anyone doesn't know what we're talking about.

When I was actively competing I spent hours of extra time refining every small detail of my kata and practicing my sparring combos. It took alot of commitment. But it paid off as well. I usually did very well. It's like the saying goes..."You get out what you put in."

I was at an RGDA seminar a few years ago. They (Royler Gracie and David Adiv) are great guys. They have a plethora of experience and expertise. I haven't met anyone out of the AG that isn't like that though. Everyone seems to be so genuinely interested in making you a better student.

This is pretty much the same as Shotokan. However...I believe stances are just fixed replications or snapshots utilized during dynamic moves. That is...standing in a particular stance is very rare if ever used. They are simply positions you may find yourself in during confrontation. Some of those positions are good to use in off-balancing the opponent, others are good for evasion and so on. The key is learning to transition from one to the other seamlessly.

As difficult as it is to admit. I did something very similar to this once. I was just going to break a board with a palm strike. Somehow I missed but clipped the board with my wrist instead. It tore open the skin and cut up my wrist pretty bad. I still have a scar from it. I promptly broke the board and cleaned up my wrist. It was really embarrassing though. That's what I get for trying to impress my friends.

My point exactly!

Work harder to find it. Failing that, you can do something like demonstrating the integrity and courage to tell him what happened. That doesn't, by the way, mean he won't be upset. Just that you will have done the right thing. Remember, when you have chosen to be an honest person...dilemmas like this won't be an issue...you'll just do the honest thing.

Actually he did. Some of it isn't appropriate for the forum. Other stuff is ok. He was talking about getting the opponent to reach for you. He made the husband and wife analogy. You know...if you want your wife to do something...tell her not to do it He was talking about making it look like you don't want the opponent to grab the collar...then they will try to grab it. Boom...they just extended themselves.

Depending on whose history you read...Count Koma actually changed the name back to Jiujitsu whe he began taking on challenge matches thoughout the world. So, while he was a high ranking Judo practitioner...he changed the focus of the art first...the Gracies took the reigns from there and continued the tradition. That's why it's spelled Jiujitsu. They kept the spelling Koma had provided.