pineapple

I once had a female student who got hit in the chest in a tournament and she experienced a lot of pain for days. I definitely avoid hitting females in the chest during sparring. The funny thing about it is that I suggest to the females to get a chest protector but they all declined.

Occasionally I wear one of my older gis to class (because I did not wash my newer ones) and people tell me to get a new gi. Is it wrong to wear a tattered gi?

I did manage to win a kata competition with Bassai Dai.......hmmmm...sounds familiar?

Hi baronbvp! and thank you for bonding with the forum!

Good luck on your venture. My advice is be the kind of instructor that you would want as yours. If you have any negative thoughts of anyone that taught you, remember not to make the same mistakes. Remember all the traits of the instructors that you looked up to and provide those same traits so your students can look up to you.

The most philosophical school that I attended was a WadoRyu school that was taught by a master from Japan.

Continuously receiving strikes in the same area will normally make you able to feel less pain in time, however be aware that all the pounding that you receive may affect you as you get older. Numbing of certain areas of your body many times go hand in hand with damage to your nerves in that area, therefore less pain, however this also means that it has a negative effect on your circulatory system.

I recommend that you continuously search for a school that you can dedicate yourself to. There are tons of schools out there so don't give up trying to find a teacher that you WANT to learn from. In the mean time, you are doing the right thing, boxing, training with friends, and reading will all help you to improve, however, if you want to master an art, you need a Sensei.

I don't fear HIGHLY TRAINED martial artists because I always felt that anyone that is HIGHLY TRAINED will not start any trouble or physical confrontation. If a martial artist is looking for trouble, he is normally a beginner or at most at an intermediate level. Of course, there are always exceptions and being a beginner does not mean that he is not potentially dangerous. If you MUST fight another martial artist, don't play their game, fight them in a style that they are not used to.

Hi Ted! and welcome!

I paid $35 a month for a Kempo class $40 a month for a Kempo, kickboxing, jujitsu class $50 a month for a Kajukenbo class $105 a month for a Brazilian Jujitsu class I charge my students $100 for 3 months of training

There are 2 major reasons why martial artists get beaten up in street fights. #1 Many students are taught to block and counter, then they stop or pause. In a real fight, the action is quick and continuous (normally). When a person is trained in this fashion, he goes into mental shock when he hits his opponent and his opponent is still attacking him. #2 Many students have never taken a full force hit so once again, they go into a mental shock when they actually feel themselves rocked by such a hit. Once you lose the fight mentally, you will lose the fight physically. Another thing to remember is no matter how much you train, there is always someone out there who can kick your behind.

Hi Monkeytastic! and welcome!

Welcome Kenpo-Sloth! and have lots of FUN!

Hi Dan! and welcome!

Hi wu_shu_girl! and welcome!

Hi Mitch1234! and welcome!

Hi Juniper! and welcome!

Hi Dogdefense! and welcome!

Your Sensei has a reason for asking you to teach so just do what he tells you to do and do your best. Be open to criticism but don't let it get you down because critism will always be present no matter how long that you train or what rank you acquire.

Yes. the style does make a difference but does this mean that every judo practitioner will beat every boxer or visa versa?...and an Olympic Judoka is a special individual!

I think that the answer to this is the same answer that has been given before....it depends on the individual!

I am right handed and for the longest time, I sparred only one way, with my left foot forward. I realized that it would be advantageous to be able to fight from both stances. I began woking on a heavy bag with my right foot forward concentrating on throwing a power punch with my left hand in order to make me more comfortable in a southpaw stance. Whenever I sparred someone with less skill, I would spar in a southpaw stance. Today I am still more comfortable with my left foot forward but I am able to switch stances during sparring. I feel very comfortable offensively in a southpaw stance, however I lack the defensive skills in this stance. Maybe someone out there can help me with this??

Hi Danielle! and welcome!

For a child of 4 or 5 years of age, I would look for a school that teaches them discipline and respect. Technical training can come when they are older. From my personal experience, I have found it difficult to get too technical about techniques with anyone younger than 10. There are exceptions as always. They are not too young to learn character development.