Kieran-Lilith

Shomen, in aikido at least, is a reference to the level of the attacker's forehead. I think it would make sense to reference the attacker and not yourself, because you're beating the stuffing out of him and knowing where the attacker's body is while you're trying to hit it that's usually important. Basically, anyway.

The sword sheath carrying thing... Tie your karate belt tight. Put the sword (still sheated), blade side facing up, right next to your body with the belt keeping in there. There should be a cord on the sheath coming from a raised bump with a hole in it. Take the cord, loop it under the sword, tie it to your obi. If you had a hakama, you'd tie it to that. When you pull on the sheath, the sheath should not be able to leave your belt. The cord should keep it in place.

As an iaido person myself, I can say definitely full tang. It keeps the blade weighted right, and it makes it much more secure to use. My friend has a half-tang, and hisjust doesn't feel the same. For techniques later, when everything is closer to you and you're in more danger of getting cut, a full tang just feels better. It allows you to use the sword differently just by the nature of it. You'll want some sort of a steel blade so it can be sharpened later. Also, look for a sword with an extra long handle, at least five of your fists stacked on each other. Most handles are shorter these days for decoration, and that won't do you any good in iaido. Honestly, if you're just starting out, I wouldn't go and get a really really expensive blade. I have yet to get a really expensive blade. If you go on Ebay, ignore all the WWII relics. They're no good for iaido. There are a few good sword places, though, and I got mine for around $50. When I get higher in the ranks, and when I can afford it, I'll get a better blade. But Ebay is the way to go.

I carry a blade. It's convenient, easy to conceal, and I use it at work all the time. I see no point in carrying something I'm not relatively proficient with and that I wouldn't use everyday. Now, there might come a time when that changes for all I know, but right now, I'll stick with my knife.

Kyushojustsu is sometimes found in kempo with all their light, tapping hand strikes. That's where I'd look.

There aren't a ton of musicians in my school, but those of us who are musicians find the martial arts and music inseperable. Music gives us words to describe things in the martial arts that we don't know how to otherwise. Besides just finding the rhythm of a fight, when we watch our top people spar and train, it's like hearing music, but visual. It's amazing. When I meditate, I hear music. It's not anything I've played, but I hear it. Also, as someone pointed out, it's good to keep dexterity in your hands and fingers. Another thing I'd point out is that performers do experience a certain level of stress when they perform. I know when I play my flute and have some of those awful sixteenth/thirtysecond note runs, the only way I can do it is if my mind is clear, my breath is controlled, and I shifty my awareness to my hands. Maybe just me, but it's how I work. So, in a way, musicians also can experience some of the chemical dump the body gets from being under pressure.

Lol. Yeah. For one, I'm nearly 18. For another, I'm what's called a post-secondary option student in OH, so I go to both college and high school. College is the next town over. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been allowed to buy my own car and actually drive it.

I drive a '91 Dodge Shadow....it's old, but I bought it myself, and it goes from home, to school, to the dojo. Yay!

This is my last question for my research paper. Remember, the topic is women and the martial arts. Compared to 5 years ago, would you say that there are more female students in your martial arts school or fewer? As always, feel free to post explanations, comments, questions, I'm am certainly happy to answer and am most probably quite desperate for ideas and advice. Please post on the other research polls. To everyone who's helping me out on this, I'm very, very grateful. This forum tends to be one of my favorite sources for information on the martial arts. Thanks again!

I'm doing a research paper for my Eng 102 class, and the topic I've decided on is women and the martial arts. 3rd question: Of the people in your school, what is the average time period that male students leave the school after? Again, if answer is unlisted, please provide a typed in text answer. If you cast a vote in this poll, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cast your vote in any other poll I post! It'll help me keep a more valid research group! Also, you can feel free to post where you're from, what your school is or practices, etc. All thoughts and ideas are wonderful, and credit will be given where credit is due. Thanks for your assistance!

I'm doing a research paper for my Eng 102 class, and the topic I've decided on is women and the martial arts. My next question: Of the people in your school, what is the average time period that female students leave the school after? If your answer is unlisted in the poll, go ahead and submit something anyways in text. If you cast a vote in this poll, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cast your vote in any other poll I post! It'll help me keep a more valid research group! Also, you can feel free to post where you're from, what your school is or practices, etc. All thoughts and ideas are wonderful, and credit will be given where credit is due. Thanks for your assistance!

I'm unsure where to put these, and it'll be a succession of polls... I'm doing a research paper for my Eng 102 class, and the topic I've decided on is women and the martial arts. So, my first question to you is this: What is the male to female percentage (approx.) in your martial art school? If you cast a vote in this poll, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cast your vote in any other poll I post! It'll help me keep a more valid research group! Also, you can feel free to post where you're from, what your school is or practices, etc. All thoughts and ideas are wonderful, and credit will be given where credit is due. Thanks!

If there's kata at this tournament, have them practice the format for tournament kata: bowing into the ring, bowing the the judges, announcing name-style-kata I would like to perform is..., bowing, adjusting distance for kata that move a lot, etc.... We also find that it helps people a lot when they practice judging (both kata and sparring), so they know what the judges are looking for instead of trying to guess.

I'm responding without reading first... Rather than let them keep superior leverage over me, I'd pull them down on top of me and keep my face and chest tucked into them. Then, once I had them against me, I could roll over, punch them, and stomp on their ankle when I got up. I might be a girl, but I'm no lightweight, and I guarantee that would hurt.

In some schools, older students will pick on the newer ones until they've "proved" or "earned" a place. If that's true, it might just be a case of showing them that you're not to be picked on, even if they're higher. If it's not, there are probably serious problems here. I agree, though, that I would like to hear more about the situation. How long have you trained? Where is green belt in Shotokan ranks? Has it always gone on or started recently? In and out of dojo? Details do help.

I think maybe body type plays more of an issue than male or female. I think a scrawny guy would have just as bad a time as a stick-thin female.

That would make more sense. Age tends to play a bigger part in stuff like that, I think. Younger people have a harder time focusing and tensing their muscles correctly.

I have heard of the walking on stomachs thing, and it was done to my instructor, but he doesn't do it to us. As for the punching the stomach...yeah, I know that one. Guys and girls at our dojo get it. I wonder why your instructor wouldn't allow the women to do it, though?

It's debated how many chakras a person has, most people say seven, and there's a variety of ways to open them and connect them. One is through trauma, and I somehow doubt that's the road we're looking for. Another is through meditation. Your best bet would probably be to find some basic meditation exercises first, and look for some books that tell you more. I'd suspect there's a wealth of knowledge in a lot of Eastern books, so that's where I'd start.

I am a poor student working at Kmart. I would really like to be a musician/martial arts instructor. I'm thinking it's probably most practical to stick to psychology, though.

Well, the part about it not being much good to you in self defense is true, but I think it really depends on what your school focuses on. Sport intensive schools probably have little need of original languages except for formality at tournaments and things like that. Schools that are more focused on the "do", or the spiritual and peaceful self-development (to put it vaguely), probably find more use in the original languages for the concepts they hold. Sure, most cultures have comparable ideas in some arenas, but it seems a lot easier to just learn about the other culture. If that's the kind of school they're in, they've probably chosen it for a reason, after all. Personally, I can't imagine karate without the Japanese. It explains things a lot faster once you learn the meanings, and learning really isn't that hard, nor that big a deal.

I've heard of Hakutsuru in general. White crane stuff. From what little I know of it, the material is valid. I don't know about the site everyone's looking at, haven't checked. It may or may not be valid. I am fairly certain that hakutsuru is a system in part or in whole.

Unless I'm mistaken, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is part of a larger school based in Japan. Or, at least, shares a lot of similar traits. There's a large focus on proper body movement (hence the taijutsu "science of body movement") and doing things in the most efficient manner possible. Of course, you know what you're looking for in a school, be it sport or self-defense or somewhere in between. I know I don't shed a ton of light on the situation, but what I know I've read out of Glenn Morris's books. If the school has stayed with the way he says it was, I think it would be worthwhile.

Family: Also is used frequently in reference to the general "martial arts family". As warriors, we've generally got each other's backs. Usually school specific, too. Branch: A smaller school that's part of a bigger school. Doesn't usually have the very head of the system involved in the branch. Also, a martial art that was created, or "branched off of" another. Style: A way of doing things, or a specific art. Like I practice Eugue Ryu. It's a style. Iaido is also a style, as are Aikido, Tae Kwon Do, Kuk Sool Won, etc. There are varying degrees of this, more vague is like "karate", more specific is "Gojo-Ryu". Form: Usually a kata, or a set of prearranged movements set in stone and passed down through the generations.

On an off note, if you're looking for the live-in kind of thing, that's referred to as uchi-deshi. That might be feasible if you can find a place, but many instructors are very picky about their uchi-deshi, especially if it's in the traditional sense.