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When I give a long winded explanation I often look for the people who are paying attention. I almost talk directly to them because they seem to care. If this were happening in my class, it would be because you give the impression that you care about what I'm saying. I think him looking at you while talking is a good thing.

I think, and hope I'm not the only one, I'm a little confused about what you mean. They use the forward stance for what? I have never studied RyuKyu but find it hard to understand how they could achieve any good movement only utilizing a forward stance. Can you give more detail on what you mean by that? Sorry for the confusion.

Eh? Why is it a problem? Why should they adopt the traditions of east Asia for their sport? I've seen guys shake hands of hug each other after a fight to show mutual support. I really don't see why they should have to bow.I agree with Elky here. The bowing aspect is an Eastern cultural adaptation that we have continued to use in the West. Do you think the Greeks bowed to each other before entering the Pankration? Or their Boxing matches? Or their Wrestling matches? I don't think that they did. Fighting and the Martial Arts are not unique to the East. Just about every civilazation that ever existed had some form of fighting that they used to train their armies, warriors, etc. Wow!! You guys beat me to this response. I couldn't agree more. It's kinda silly to expect them to bow. As mentioned before my post, they touch gloves, hug and so on. How is this disrespectful? My question to you is this...If every MMA bout suddenly began with a bow, would you like it any better? I am going to guess not. Additionally, lets look at many TMA events that go on. I've traveled the US and seen many of them. Some were traditional Karate, others were open events. Most of the sparring events started with a referee telling the opponents to bow to him (which they usually did well) then to each other. The bow to each other was often just more of a quick nod or bob of the body. How is that anymore respectful than not bowing at all? They treat it as though a good bow takes just too much time! IMO... that's just a mockery of the traditional bow and the culture from which it comes. Once the ref says "go" they usually touch gloves anyway! Just an observation.

Good Job! I think you'll find your height to be a definite advantage. Sounds like you're already learning to change things up and keep your opponent guessing. Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing.

One particular stance is not going to counter any grapple. Grappling is, by definition, very dynamic. Therefore, the counters are also dynamic. Countering a good "grapple" requires proper body mechanics. This includes shifting through several stances, not just using one. It's more than possible, however, that you're being taught just the very basics at this time. Only your isntructor can answer that. As far as the "chi" thing goes, I think your sensei was joking. The word "volt" wasn't even in use when the idea of chi was formed. The best forum to ask this question would probably be the chinese martial arts forum.

I'm pretty sure there have been several threads on this topic. However, I'll put in my 2 cents. You're right. Nobody wears a gi outside in the "street." However, during winter months it's not uncommon to see coats and jackets that are just as usable for "gi techniques." In grappling, the gi slows down the movement and forces the opponents to be far more technical. Training without the gi has many benefits as well. That is what you'll see in the summer months. I don't, however, agree with training in just grappling shorts and no shirt. Not only is it likely to spread disease (ring worm and warts to name a few), but is also very unrealistic. In the end, the most realistic "uniform" would probably be pants and a t-shirt. That's my opinion.

I've been in a school like that before. It's how my kung fu school was. You'd do your push-ups or leg raises or whatever else... and then Master McGinnis would show you what you did wrong and have you practice it again. Later, after earning my black sash and having taken some college psych courses, I privately pointed out that the push-ups have nothing to do with the learning of the techniques. All that should really be necessary is to explain what was done wrong and to have the student fix it. *You see... i did this because I was young and thought I knew something. Like most young people, I was wrong.* Master McGinnis chuckled a little and pointed out that the push-ups were not a punishment. In fact, they had nothing to do with the technique. It was just a good way of adding extra conditioning. In a small way it helps to re-enforce what your mistake was also. This method is used in basic training as well. When the privates (new-soldiers) make mistakes the drill sergeants make them do calisthenics of some sort. This is to build up the body and get them combat ready. The same goes for the very traditional martial arts schools. The instructor usually knows very well that push-ups will not improve the messed up double round house or whatever technique. It's to help build the body. As the body improves, the students mind will follow. It builds intestinal fortitude. That is something that can not be taught. To answer your question, I would train at that school again in a heartbeat. It built me into a strong person. I handled basic training with no problems, was a good soldier and have always been mentally tough. Come to think of it, I'll have to thank Master McGinnis for his part in that the next time I see him.

Additionally, there are schools out there (one near me whose instructior has made millions teaching MA) that have a student sign a long term (3 yrs +) contract that guarntees a black belt. How does that encourage the student to do anything? It says if you pay this much, you get this rank. Period. There are other schools, that Bushido mentioned, where a student tests and receives rank at set intervals of time regardless of wether a clear increase in skill has been achieved. It's not people selling their service as a martial arts instructor that is worrisome. It's people selling things that are supposed to take hard work to achieve that is wrong. Imagine if the World Cup winner was decided by whichever team paid the most money, not who was the most skilled. There are people who make alot of money teaching and spreading martial arts. The Gracie's are a prime example. However, they never let the skill level of their students degrade. If you're in a BJJ school and are wearing a black belt, then you know without a doubt you are a pretty tough cookie. Not because the style is more effective (that's a different debate) but because the isntructor would not let someone test just to keep them in the school or to please a students parents.

Yeah. I know what you meant. It's not a neck crank though (although it can be used that way), it's a choke. It shouldn't hurt, just strangle.

Yup...looks pretty hard core. Lots of fun.

You never know...it may help. I find that the gi makes me much more technical. It slows the game down alot which forces you to really focus on proper technique. Then when I take it off and go no-gi, I tend to be even better. I'm sure they would grapple you no gi as well if you ask. Hope you find a good place.

TKD for 3 years as a child Poekoelan (Indonesian silat and chinese kungfu mix) since the age 9 (19 years) Shotokan for 9 years Aiki Jujitsu for 7 years Buki jutsu & Kenjutsu (Yagu Ryu) for 1 year BJJ for 3.5 years

http://www.maximpactma.com/ http://www.manta.com/comsite5/bin/pddnb_company.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=3550&id=cdhnn4 Here's a couple I found with a quick search on Yahoo. Another thing you can do is search the affiliates of famous Jiujitsu teachers.

Well, if it's hurting, then it's not being applied quite right. let the grip come around to the front of the shoulder. As far as applying it quickly, you need to be pretty smooth with your knee in the belly movement. I like to get the grip while I'm in mount. Then I switch to knee in belly as they attempt to escape (this takes good timing and being ready for the escape attempt). I use the my knee to kill the arm and then sweep around the opponent. I like them to sit up as I apply it. I'm not sure how much that helps. In the end, like every technique, it takes lots of practice to get the timing right.

If you go on you tube there are tons of videos. Saulo Ribeiro has some. The gracies have some. Then there's are several that are just miscelaneous. Just do a search for BJJ or Brazilian Jiujitsu.

Although I'm not a TKD student, I understand the question. Additionally I agree with some of what ninjajurse has said. In a closed style tourney for Karate, the kata allowed to be performed are set for each rank. So you wouldn't see a lower rank performing a black belt level form. However, in open tournaments, it's not uncommon for a lower rank to learn a higher level kata. Because these tournaments judge on focus, balance, apparent difficulty, and power, it does not matter what your rank is. If you perform a perfect Taeguek 1 and another competitor performs a really sloppy koryo, then the best performance will win (even though the kata is not as advanced). In the end, for closed tournaments you should perform the kata required by the tournament. In open tournaments, you should perform the higest kata you can perform very well. Hope that's helpful. Good luck.

Thanks for the article! Good read.

That's a wonderful feeling isn't it! Glad to hear you've experienced it.

Thanks, Marie! I was just looking for them.

Congrats!! It's always good to hear when someone finds a school they like.

The best advice I can give to anyone who has any questions or problems with a school is to speak with the owner/head instructor about it. Explain that you don't feel you're getting the level of instruction you used to get. It's possible that your instructor has some other issues that are keeping him/her from teaching as often. Also, maybe you'll be able to set something up where you get more instruction from your sensei directly. Good luck. I hope things turn out ok. Let us know. P.S. Welcome to the Forums!! Thanks for joining.

No problem! Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Of course I'm going to strongly discourage you from learning off a video. However, if it's all you have then there's lots of good videos out there. http://www.gracieacademy.com/media.html You can get the gracie videos here. Since you are just learning, start with the basics and stick to only them for about a year. Be very careful practicing the techniques though. The key to getting good is to drill the techniques alot. You should only grapple once you feel very comfortable with the techniques. Remember also, there's no shame in tapping out. It prevents injury and gives you the chance to figure out what you're not doing right. Good Luck!

Here's a good vid with lots of chokes. The very first one is the one I call the base ball choke. He starts from side, but you can get the initial grip from mount and then pop into knee in belly. The rest is very similar to how I do it. It can also be turned into a neck crank/cervical lock if you desire.

It's funny you mention this. I just used this tactic last night against a newer guy who's big and strong. I held him in closed guard for a while and just kept making him defend attacks. Then I did sit-over sweep to the mount. I held him there for a few minutes. He was struggling like a wild man. Once I saw he was tired it was all over. I went on the offensive and never looked back.