ps1

Why are you letting it bother you? If you roll (grapple) just to avoid being tapped, you'll never learn anything. It happens. You said you're a little rusty. Imagine you found a 1967 Chevy Convertable. The engine is good, there's just a little rust on it. Would you leave it out in the rain and hope the rust disappears? Heck no!!! You buff that stuff out and repaint it. You've found that you're not as good as you thought...that's a bigger treat than you seem to understand. Figure out where your weaknesses are and begin to fix them. Switching styles or ignoring the gi section of the art would be like changing the apholstry in the car and hoping it fixes the rust. But you can't go into training and be afraid of being tapped. That will happen more often than you will like. Being afraid of being tapped demonstrates nothing but ego! Lose it. Don't expect to go into a knife fight and not get cut, don't go into a gun fight and expect not to be shot, and don't go into a grappling match and expect not to be tapped. If you concentrate just on what submissions the opponent is going to try, you might miss the openings and opportunities he is leaving for you to exploit. Remember that learning BJJ is a long and difficult road. That's why it takes an average of nine to twelve years to earn a black belt. “Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.” -Robert H. Schuller- “There is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see that now. Time will reveal it. Be patient." -Swami Sivanada- Be patient, I urge you not to quit so easily. Good luck, Bill

The same way you get to Carnegie Hall...Practice.

It seems like a pretty reputable school (based on the website). As a Jun Fan Jeet Kun Do school, you'll hear Bruce Lee's name alot. But it's expected in that environment. He's the founder of the system.

That's what it costs for a private with Pedro Sauer! However, he lets you split it up with up to 6 people at one time. That's how I've managed to afford it when he comes into town. Otherwise, there's no way I could manage it. My wife would kill me

A year off is a long time. All martial art skills are degradable. That is, if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Quitting will not make you better. Plus, wrestling will give you some bad habits when you translate back to BJJ. Keep working your BJJ as much as possible. That's the only way to get better, period. As far as what to do during school, is it possible for you to find a training partner and work on the skills yourself. There may not be an instructor there, but you can still drill your skills if you find a partner.

Again, the "tension" of the arms in any strike should be as minimal as possible. That goes for karate, bagua, boxing, and every other style I've seen. It is, however, impossible to have no tension, as muscles are what cause movement and stability and the ONLY thing a muscle can do is contract. The lenthening of a muscle is cause by the contraction of the antagonistic muscle. Contraction or "tension" of some sort is inevitable. As far as knowing what Chuan Fa is...that means you know the term is as generic as saying Karate, Silat, or Tae Kwon Do. Chuan Fa (aka: kung fu) just refers to that blanket of martial arts and there are literally hundreds of styles. I use that term because when I say "Poekoelan Tjimindie-Teii" no one knows what the heck I'm talking about. Your brief description of a chuan fa strike tells me you haven't had exposure to poekoelan. Perhaps your exposure has been in another system, but poekoelan is an extremely flowing system. Very soft style. Couldn't agree more:) In atheletics we call this progressive muscle relaxation. You're right, it's extremely effective and usually enhances performance. You literally focus on relaxing each muscle of the body, one at time. It's great!

That's excellent!!! Now you will have some good info on your weak areas! Plus you passed. It sounds like your Sensei's instructor/boss has helped you very much. Don't be sad about it, just fix the weak areas! Good luck and congratulations!

$35/month is an extremely reasonable price. I would go watch a class or two (he may even let you participate if you ask). If you like it, give it a try.

John Viol Shihan, Menkyokaiden Here's a website with info about him. http://www.seishinkan.com/seishin/sskstaff/johnviolshihan01.html

Chiropractors, while well versed in human anatomy, are NOT doctors of medicine. See a doctor, as suggested, an orthopedic specialist would be best.

No problem:) Good luck and welcome to the forums!

I think this is great advice AikiGuy! Too many times a person tries a new or difficult combo/technique on someone advanced. You'll just never pull it off that way. Practice the timing on the lower ranks first, then move to tougher opponents with it. Also, I wouldn't focus on too many combos. Then you get stuck trying to figure out which one to use and when. By the time you recognize the moment to use it, you've missed your opportunity. Come up with between two and four combos/moves that work in a variety of situations and stick with them. Keep the combos simple. Two or three techniques per combo. As a starter I would suggest two attacking combos and two counter attack combos. Also, when working them, remember to work at an angle to your opponent so as to limit the weapons your opponent can use against you. Hope that's helpful. Good luck.

I'm glad to hear it! Good work.

That's some respectable lineage there gzk! me<- Pedro Sauer <- Rickson Gracie <- Helio Gracie <- Mitsuo Meada That's another thing I love about BJJ as it currently exitsts. It's nice to be so close to the source in lineage.

Great work!!! Did you remember to have fun also?

I train BJJ at the Brazilian Jiujitsu and Self Defense Academy in Boardman Ohio. Our head instructor is Tony Rinaldi. We are affiliated with Pedro Sauer (6th degree under Rickson Gracie). We've also brought in Sydney "Tita" Batista (2nd degree under Royler), Saulo Ribeiro (3rd degree-I think- under Royler) and go up to a Cleveland school often to train in a RGDA school in the area. I'm scheduled to test for purple in November.

I really like the ring. I like the bowl shape to it. Very interesting.

Nope, do you have a website for any of the schools in the system? I'd love to read up on it a little.

Very nice, this looks like he knows his stuff. The reason i say this is because it flows and he is relaxed, also, something I noticed on all the other videos, is peoples head bobbing up an down. If i am not mistaken your not supposed to bob up and down when changing from one stance to another (at least we aren't in kung fu). To me this guy video is the only one that really impressed me. The other guys aren't bad just not super impressive. The last guy would have been better to me if he wasn't so stiff. But that could be the difference in Chinese and Japanese arts, we(Kung Fu) are taught to be relaxed. Let me start by saying I do NOT know this kata. So I can't say anything about sequence or the intricacies of the form. However, I agree with what you're saying here Justin Treadaway. He does seem to give one of the better overall presentations. But he does look a bit stiff as well. Again, I don't know the form, but I suspect he's a little too stiff between movements. There are some points where it looks as though things should be connected in combination but are not due to his stiffness. I may be wrong, but that's just how it looks. I do like the form overall though. If I had to learn it by video, this is the one I would pick.

You can't carry the weight of the dojo on your shoulders and expect to be able to keep good posture in the tournament. Unload the expectations of yourself, your sensei, and your fellow students. Go out there, fight like you always fight, and just do your best. If you win, great! If you don't win, that's even better! Because then it's a great new learning opportunity. As everyone else said, HAVE FUN!! That should be your number one priority.

That makes sense. Anyway, it took me a year to earn blue at two hours per class, three days per week. I did, however have alot of japanese jujitsu experience before starting. That really helped me out. I'm scheduled to test for purple in november, that will be about 3 years since earning blue. The way it works for us is you need 100 classes (very general guideline. it may take more, never less) to be elidgable for blue.

It's kinda like when you get the best toy in a happy meal! Are there any interesting articles?

Hey! That's me! Thanks. I really appreciate it.

You're too young to pin youself down to just one thing. I say go for it! If you're lucky/ blessed enough that you have the opportunity to go pro in both, make that decision when the time comes. For now, have fun and enjoy your youth. You're only young once!

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Congratulations on your success. May it continue for a long time to come!