KnifeHand

I got a wavemaster for Christmas, so I plan to work that at least a half hour a day. Speed, combinations, timing...anything just so I'm doing something. I also plan to get to my Saturday morning class every week, which will get me in class 3 times a week. I've been in martial arts for 6 months, and I know now that I want and need to get serious about it. Oh yeah, it would be nice to actually be able to stretch and touch my toes.

Of course I can kill a bowl with one strike. Sometimes my cereal makes me so angry in the morning...

Wait... what's wrong with my nickname? Or were you saying his nickname being knifehand was lame because he said he was stabbed with a knife in the hand? I'm confused... I think my nickname is kinda cool.

First of all, next time please type in complete sentences with puncuation. That will make more people willing to read your post and answer you. Now about your situation - keep walking away. Unless they actually touch you or hurt you, don't do anything but walk away. Sooner or later they may get frustrated and realize you won't fight. If they touch you in any way that you don't want to be touched, then use your skills to subdue them, and not necessarily tear them apart or maim them. Control them and show them you are boss, but only if they touch you. Main point - always walk away if you can.

I say whatever is open, but I personally like the nose or the knees. If I am attacked (I never really have been) I would want to surprise my attacker by actually getting in close to him/her and landing high-percentage shots, like elbows or scraping his knees and shins. Then I would prefer to get the heck out of there, sprinting for safety.

A new dojo has just opened in my town, just two blocks away from my dorm. I haven't checked it out yet at all, and know nothing about it. Here is my question: would it be out of the question or disrespectful to change schools if this one is better than my current school? I feel like I am getting a lot out of my current instructor, but if this new guy seems to be better suited for me, I may want to switch. The new dojo is much closer, but that's about the only advantage I know of so far, I will keep you posted when I find out more about it. Some say it is best to stay with the same teacher for a lifetime. This is just a preliminary question before I find out more info. Thanks.

Thank you for all of the posts. Sevenstar, what I meant by the "my art isn't for pins or points" thing was that in a real situation, I would be using anything I could to defend myself, such as chokes, joint locks, biting, grabbing of the testicles, strikes, or finding something to use as a weapon. It's fine and dandy if he can pin me on the ground, but that won't kill me. I am not trying to be egocentric, just saying that he doesn't understand, and I was wondering if anyone knew how to help him understand. Anyway - I really like the "learn from him" advice. Next time he messes with me I will probably just ask how he did whatever he did to me and maybe get some free lessons.

My room mate here in college wrestled in high school. I started martial arts about 6 months ago, i'm an 8th kyu orange belt studying kempo and jujitsu. Anyway, he thinks it's pretty funny to poke at me and sometimes pick me up because I am small (I hate that). He's also put me in a few wrestling locks and says he pins me, which is great. He's not understanding that my arts aren't for pins or points. I don't want to hurt the kid with strikes or horrible joint locks. Any ideas?

Kempo

Hello, does anyone have any info on BOLD LOOK uniforms? I have one because that is what my school uses. I can't find a website or anything. Also, I think these uniforms are awesome. Thanks!

jarrettmayer, that was an amazing post. Thanks for the insight, if you ever want to know how a little guy thinks,let me know. I appreciate it, and good luck with all you do.

I have a couple of suggestions, but it really does depend on the specifics of the situation. 1) The attacker is thrusting his arms toward you. Side step (we'll say to the left) and grab the attacker's right wrist with your right hand. Put your left hand just above the attacker's elbow, flip his arm over and push down on that elbow and tendon area. With your right hand, you can twist his hand so his palm faces his shoulder. Push down with left hand on elbow, up with right hand on wrist. From here you can do a number of things, a pushing leg sweep (jujitsu), strikes to the face with your left hand or knees, or continue pushing him until he is on the ground on his stomach. Then you can put your knee on his arm where your left hand is and control him. His left arm won't be able to reach you to do anything, but watch for flailing legs. It won't hurt him very much, but you will have control, and possibly talk him out of pushing you anymore. 2) Block and palmheel to the face, knee to groin. 3) Slam your forearms into his elbow-pit (the inside of his elbows) when his arms are extended. This locks him up close to you, allowing you to throw knees and elbows galore.

Longarm25, thanks for all the help, you're amazing. Can I take lessons from you? Anyway - thanks for all the help everyone else, I really appreciate it. I do realize that on the street I will use techniques I am not allowed to use in point sparring, trust me. By saying that I still won the match, I was merely pointing out that it is frustrating that this dude doesn't have the control not to bust my face up. If I wanted to, I could have landed all my kicks and punches hard, and in areas that would count for points. The other thing is that this guy has the wrong attitude, and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this, and how they handled it. Anyway, this topic is about dead, thanks for everything.

Yes, the weapon is a 6'' skinny metal rod with a ring attached to it that rotates, so you can hold the weapon with several grips. I have also heard it called the two names you suggested. I think it is a great self-defense tool, especially for women and smaller males. Anyone else ever use one?

I've recently started training with suntetsu. It seems to be a pretty obscure weapon, which is surprising when you consider its effectiveness. Anybody out there acquainted with this little powerhouse of a weapon?

Tanbo - basically a 28" stick, like an escrima. If I was in a self-defense situation it is very likely that I will find a stick, rolled up magazine, stapler, etc. to use like a tanbo. Also, being trained on tanbo is a great stepping stone to bo, sai, etc. I am currently learning the suntetsu, which is a 6'' metal rod attached to a ring that rotates. It's great because it can be hidden in your hand, but still do an insane amount of damage. Overall though, tanbo is best for me.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I guess I will just have to be more aggressive. I also talked to my instructor about it, and he said he left me in there to fight against someone who couldn't control their punches, it was good for me to get beat up a little bit. In that light, I have turned this frustrating sparring situation into a great learning experience. Next time I spar with this dude, I will be more alert, more aggressive, and use my small size to my advantage. I know he can't kick, so I'll just block or sidestep his punches, break his flow, and sneak in little kicks for points. The funny thing is that I did win as far as points go, we don't get any points for face contact. It just sucks that I got more of a pounding, haha. Any more advice like this would be great, I really appreciate this forum.

So you're in class, getting padding up to do some sparring. Generally this is a fun activity and you look forward to it, as it lets you really try out your techniques. Then your instructor matches you up with a newbie white belt who is 6'5'' and weighs twice as much as your 5'6'' 130 pound frame. What do you do? This happened to me tonight. Normally this is not a problem, as it is more realistic for me to spar with someone twice my size, because that is who will generally pick a fight or try to mug me in the street. But this guy has a few problems. For one, he is there to become a pounding machine and usually disregards foot and kicking techniques, ignores kata emphasis, and begs Sensei to spar. Number two problem is that he has little control. Tonight I was backfisted and reverse punched in the face 5 times, one in the nose that had me all teary-eyed. I realize this is probably good for me, but do you have any tips as to how to effectively spar with someone like this? I know, I know... "don't get hit." But really, any tricks I could use?