pineapple

Hi Decollet! I have trained children as young as four. At this age, they can learn a few basic moves. I find the age where they can really get into the art starts at about 10 years old.

Hi Allen

You should know MORE kung fu after your first lesson. You should have learned a good AMOUNT of techniques after a few months. Quality of the techniques is a different question. The quality of your techniques should always improve and the quest to improve your techniques should never end no matter how many years that you train. If you have selected the art that is right for you, make a decision to dedicate a lifetime to it and continually seek to improve it. Proficency in a technique is not a matter of years. If I practiced hours, everyday on a technique would it be the same as a person who practiced it 1 hour, twice a week? If you find a particular technique that you like, you must do 3 things. #1 practice #2 practice and #3 practice.

People who grew up in rough neighborhoods can generally handle tougher training and therefore become better martial artists as far as physical capabilities. (There are always exceptions) Some people grew up in nice communities but suffered emotional hardships and they normally become tough too. Here in Hawaii, I noticed that the dojos in the lower income areas teach more rough and tumble style arts while the higher income areas concentrate a lot on character development so if your goal is to learn practical self defense, someone from the rough side might be a better instructor for you. I would rather listen to someone from the bad part of town teaching me on what to do on the streets than to someone who only had dojo experience, however Grenadier made a good point also. I once knew a world class jujitsu player who no one wanted to train with because he would lose his temper and belittle people.

I would never join a school that I watched and was not impressed with because your effort in the school will probably be less than 100%. Don't wait years, just keep looking, when you see the school that you like, join and give it 110%. The type of school that you are seeking is really dependent on what your primary goal in training in martial arts is. Perhaps you can tell us more of what your primary reason for wanting to train is.

How much effort should be spent on attempting to retain students who are having difficulties grasping the techniques and feel like quitting?

HI RABBIT! Looking forward to your participation in the forum!

Ninjanurse, thanks for your reply. I like your answer and now I understand that competition to your teacher is an insult to traditional ways and I respect his feelings.

Mixedfighter, you obviously feel that there are areas that need improvement. Can you tell us in what specific areas that YOU feel needs improvement?

Good guide The best guide to what works on the street is a fight on the street! However MMA fights are the most realistic type of combat and the closest thing to a real fight in a controlled environment! Many of my friends compete in MMA competition and they are most certainly capable on the street.

I understand that competition is not the main purpose of martial arts but I don't understand why it would be an insult. Can you explain further??

I once got sucker punched from behind. Witnesses later told me that the guy came running from behind, hit me and ran away. It was a noisy area so I couldn't hear him coming. In this situation, I practiced the art of getting knocked out!

I once trained a 10 year old boy who went to a tournament in Las Vegas. He returned with a 2nd place trophy. His grandfather who I had never met, walked into my dojo and he said that he came just to meet me and thank me as he shook my hand. Once just as I was closing class, An adult female said, "Stop, I want to say something. Clinging to my arm with tears in her eyes, she told my students, "you are so lucky to have such a good instructor. I would never have done so well in the tournament if it wasn't for him teaching me." I told my friends, these things are worth more than money. The small number of people that I teach barely covers my expenses. What is my return on teaching? PRICELESS!!!!

There are a few students who are not interested in participating in tournaments at all. Should students be compelled to compete even if they do not desire to?

I would guess that Bruce Lee was faster because he appears to be lighter than Ed parker and normally a lighter fighter is faster than a heavier one. (Example:lightweight boxers are normally faster than heavyweight boxers) Lighter fighters normally have the speed and heavier fighters have the power. There are always exceptions to the rule and this is just a guess and I could be wrong so don't get offended if you think differently.

I've never heard of Jukado and I tried to research it but all I could find was what the art consisted of. I'm biased towards mixed arts because I train in a mixed art style myself. I'm sure that it is a good style to learn provided that the founder(s) of the system was(were) truely experienced in these arts and this was the info that I was searching for and was unable to find. Research the founder(s) and if they have the background in the combined arts, I'm sure the style will be good in practical applications.

My experiences with the "mount" has been It is easy to prevent and escape the mount of an inexperienced person however, I found it near impossible to do with my "seasoned" BJJ friends with many years under their belts I guess it comes back to "it all depends on the individual".

Which do I prefer? Grappling or striking in a street fight? I prefer to be a grappler if I'm fighting a good striker. I prefer to be a striker if I'm fighting a good grappler. Forget which is better and train in both!

Perhaps your dislike of a group is because you'll be in a group of strangers, however after attending class for a while, the group will change into a group of friends and your friends may take you under their wings and you'll be an apprentice of many. Remember that the instructor is not the only one that can teach you, fellow students can be a great aide in your development. A great benefit to group training is that you get to spar with a varied amount of styles. Even if everyone there trains under the same system, each individual will spar a little differently.

Let's try again There were 5 masters, not 4, that created Kajukenbo 1) P.Y. Choo (Karate) 2) Frank Ordanez (Jujitsu) 3)Joe Holke (Judo) 4)Adriano Emperado (Kenpo) 5)Clarence Chang (Chinese Boxing)

Topdawg uses 2 of my favorite points (behind the ear and under the nose) I also favor the point under the jawbone. By the way, I don't make arrests, I deal with uncooperative people. I am a 20 year correctional officer.

I don't want to be part of the which art is better debate. As far as how many styles you can learn. You can learn as many different styles as you have the time for, however you should pick one art as your favorite and make a lifetime commitment to it so you can become highly proficient in that art and use the other styles to supplement yours.

Many of the pressure points are where the nerve(s) can be pressed or struck against a bone causing pain in a specific area.

BO stands for Chinese Boxing and JU also stands for Jujitsu

Any martial art has something good to offer however each school emphasizes different things (sport, self defense, mental training, grappling, etc.) Some schools will cover all aspects but they will still emphasize one area more than others. You must decide what is your main reason for taking martial arts. Take the time to go see the different schools in you area and by watching, you will know which one is for you.