ps1

Yes. Patrick Hickey. Sorry bout that.

The site has alot of information on him. He's the founder of the Kwanmuzendokai (kwanmukan or KMK for short) international. It has many off shoots and orgs under it such as the United States Jujitsu Federation, the Kobudokan, Central TKD assn. and so on. Links to these are also on the site. I'm not one to get into lineage but I can tell you that he trained under Robert Trias of the famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk to) Trias Society. He was also primarily trained in TKD first. He's been around for a very long time and is a wealth of information on TKD, various karate systems, and Aiki Jujitsu (Daito Ryu) along with Kobudo. He's made numerous trips abroad for training. Since my instructor died, I no longer train under the KMK. But it does produce very strong and well rounded martial artists. They have a symposium every year (http://www.hickeykaratecenter.com/kwanmukan/index.htm) The hickey karate center site may have even more information. He is the unofficial heir to the KMK.

Don't sweat it Fish. I've been a black belt for a while. I still wear it plain.

I guess my question is actually, "what is the test's purpose?" After years and years of training surely you know the capabilities of your students. Surely they know their capabilities. It sounds like you're being brutal simply to be brutal. Just my opinion.

I am certified in both Kwanmukan Karate and Jujitsu. Were there any specific questions you had about the org? I think you'll find the website very outdated.

You bring up the point that so many other martial artists try to bring up. But the fact is you will fight as you train. Ask anyone who is in real life struggles day in and day out. Police and military are the best examples. You can't train to shoot short of your target every time and just assume you'll be able to aim accurately when the time comes. You train to shoot accurately and, even then most people shoot awful under the stress of combat. The same goes for punches and kicks. I'm not saying you need to be taking your partner's head off. But you should train with some moderate contact at least once a week. This way you actually get to see how your strikes affect the person. You'll be surprised! If you worry about conspicuous bruises, wear large 16 oz boxing gloves and boxing head gear. This will greatly prevent such things.

I will preface my statements by first admitting that I have only entered three ATA schools ever. Once to inquire about classes and the other two were to give BJJ self defense demonstrations. They were all different schools. When I went in to inquire about learning TKD, the first words out of the instructor's mouth were, "The most important reason for learning martial arts is physical fitness." That immediately turned me off. I was still in the military at the time and in peak shape! In hindsite, at least the guy knew his strengths, but it's not what I wanted out of TKD. During both Self Defense demonstrations, we put the students into basic holds (bear hugs, headlocks, chokes). They didn't have the first clue how to defend themselves when these things were actually being applied. Three of the students were adult black belts and two others jr. black belts. It's my understanding that ATA has a national standard curriculum. So I'm not that impressed with their self defense. Most disturbing, however, during the demonstration was how the jr. black belts seemed to fool around while we demonstrated our techniques. Their instructor tried, with little success, to correct their behavior but they just ignored him. While I'm sure this doesn't represent all ATA schools, it just gave me a bad taste for them. Oh yeah...the camoflauge belt doesn't help things either. That's just wierd!

If you feel his name should be on it...then so be it. Afterall, he is the person who has most directly influenced your way.

He's awesome. I just wish he was closer. Being an affiliate is nice because we see him two or three times a year. But I wish I could be in his school training with him all the time. Maybe one day.

What's the good reason?

I think that boxing, Thai boxing, etc, will produce a set of beliefs and philosophies in each of its individuals, it is just a different set than those that are laid out previously by the Eastern martial arts/fighting styles. Watch The Contender. Listen to how they talk about "respect for the sport," and "bringing the best they can to the sport," and other such statements. It is there; you just have to look deeper for it. I think that talking about respect for the sport is a selfish type of thing. They respect it because they are part of it. Many martial art schools teach about respect for things and people simply because respect is the proper thing to do. I'm not saying that teaching about respect is something that is required. Afterall, both boxing and martial arts have their fair share of jerks. I think being respectful is something that is developed personally and can only be talked about otherwise. Long story short, it's a process of life that no sport/ martial art alone can develop.

Any high ranking student that Rickson produced is amazing. I'm affiliated with Pedro Sauer (6th Degree under Rickson). The detail he puts into stuff is amazing. I was talking to Royler about him at a seminar. Royler said that in Brazil when Pedro rolls, everyone stops to watch. Pedro says he still can't come close to tapping or gaining much advantage on Rickson though.

I think a school that markets their art as something else isn't worth going to no mater the quality of instruction. If you've lied to me about the name of the art to simply get me in the door, what else are you going to lie about? I understand where you're coming from here. But to the layman...if you see a sign for daito ryu or goju it might seem a bit confusing. I'm not sticking up for those people...just trying to look at it from their perspective. Karate, as the layperson incorrectly views it, is synonymous for martial arts.

Hate to tell you that there's no Exact angle. It all depends on how your femur is sitting in your hip socket. Daizyblackbelt gave some good advice.

Those cells aren't really designed to work that way. The "gut" feeling you get is your brain "telling" your stomach to forget about things like digestion and hunger. It is quickly followed by increased blood flow to your long muscles and an increase in heart rate AKA: fight or flight. It is a neat translation though.

There's a thread about this exact topic in the Jujitsu forum. Check it out.

A collegue of mine made one a while back. His was designed more for strking. But he put legs and fingers and everything. It was made of PVC pipe covered in foam and tons of duct tape. That was about 11 years ago. It is still around today. It weighed about 100 to 105lbs. I wasn't grappling at the time though. I still think it would hold up fine.

Take 10 to 30 minutes to stretch each day. The best time is after a good workout when your muscles are warm. You're suffering from what's known as "growing pains." It happens. I hate to be the one to tell you that your body will feel more awkward and abnormal during the next 2 to 4 years. Your growth spurt won't stop until your around 21 or 22 years old. But you'll learn to adapt and the skills you'll be able to develop will blow your mind. Just stick with it and keep practicing. As far as the running goes...unless your on a team or something...just slow down or don't go as far. You'll be fine.

You might still! There is no time limit on greatness. Nothing worth doing should or can be rushed. You have not achieved your "victory" by now because you were not meant to do so. Accept that and you will be better off. Besides...when your 40, you don't want to have to be the guy who needs to bring up the past when he speaks of acomplishments. When your 15, 18, 22, 35, and older; you want to be able to say, "This is what I did today!" Martial Arts is a life long process. Every physical skill you learn between now and death is ultimately superfluous.

Congratulations!!

I am surprised you watched the whole 3:05! I just watched the first 30 seconds. I couldn't do much more after that. For the record...it's 3:08. Basically three seconds of laughing and 3:05 of crying at a less than standard performance. I don't mean to be so negative about it. But if I had never seen martial arts before...this would not make me want to do it. Most of the fancy techniques are poorly executed and are about two feet away from the opponent. The opponents seem to stop attacking for no reason. Many of the techniques she uses clearly don't work and just leave you wonering, "why did that guy stop hitting her?" As mentioned above. If you're going to have a fancy performance, it needs to be practiced until near perfect. Otherwise, it looks like that video! I find that many people are just as impressed with techniques that aren't fancy and are easy to perform.

good advice for anyone of any system

Wow!!! That was three seconds of terrible self defense followed by 3 minutes and 5 seconds of, "when will it stop?!" I think the fancy stuff tends to attract people. But I felt the demo was very weak. Many of the techniques were not believable at all! Not my thing in any way.

Jaert3, I know that your feelings are very real to you. I respect that very much. But I will ask you just one question. When you were in Japan and saw the amazing performances, were you only impressed by the children? I've always been more impressed to see a well aged master perform a phenominal kata. My point is this. It's not too late. In fact, it may just be too soon. Perhaps your fears (which are very normal) aren't that it's too late. Perhaps, as you are maturing, you've begun to realize that it will take much longer than you expected to become a true master. Or, more importantly, that such a thing doesn't really exist. Ultimately, what will make you special and stand out, will not be the number of back flips you can perform or the thickness of the board you break. It will be the blood, sweat, and tears you pour into your art. It will be the contributions you make and the people you touch becouse of it. Remain strong and keep your focus. We all acomplish great things in life. But few ever realize it or live long enough to see them come into fruition. That does not mean they were not worthwhile. Stay focused and great masters will one day call you a colleague. Good luck in your great journey.

You read my mind bushido_man96. Many traditional schools do not want to be big and well known. That would take the personal touch away. Give them a try. If you don't like the style of instruction then try somewhere else.