delli04

They are a killer exercise for your triceps, lats, and lower chest. Lats??????? sorry....

Who don't you have to fight? I had to fight so many people that i thought for a second that my shihan might go and start pullin in people from the street.

This might sound kind of lame but I think my biggest achievement in the martial arts was finding martial arts. I strongly feel that martial arts played a significant role in making me the person I am today, as do all experiences in life, but more then that I can't imagine being happy without being active, in some kind of way, in the martial arts... Again lame, but true...

I lease space from a local fitness center so i can teach... Not your typical dojo but nonetheless its a place to teach.. My classes are very laid back, I am not strict at all, but I don't have to be really. I very fortunate to have students who are there to learn and not goof off. I invite my students to think for themselves and ask me as many questions as they can possibly think of. As far as conditioning is concerned, everyone comes in at a different level of shape. We do 30 pushups a night, a walk in the park for some, not so much for others. I tell my students if you can't do 30 I don't care. If you can only do two, do two... but next time try 3... I push my students and i am a stickler for proper form and technique, but everything I demand is in a way positive way... I know that I have things to work on as a teacher but I am very good at getting people to want to work hard and push themselves.... Thats all I ask... My whole theory is: I am going to be at class working out. If anyone wants to work out with me thats great... If anyone wants to leave, thats cool too...

Actually, yes it is...

I have a 126 pound Rott who is the best dog in the world. We play fight all the time and he is very well trained. I'll throw on an old sweatshirt and he loves to attack the sleevees, pulling me, tearing at me. With that said, If i say break he lets go until I say ok and if I say out he just goes and lays down or comes into me for some good belly rubbin. When were fighting though he comes at me pretty hard and we go at it. Granted I know that he's not trying to hurt me at all, if he even skims my arm when going for my sleeves he puts his head into my face and licks me. But its cool becuase he lets me take his legs out and flip him onto his back then i rush on top of him sprawl and fake choke him. then i roll off and we start again...... My point is every thing I do to him he lets me.. I've caught him pretty good in the nose a couple of times with jabs when he's rushing me and I'm running backwards and it doesn't phase him. It doesn't phase him and he's in a great mood. If he was really ticked and attacking... OH MY..... I could have said this in a lot shorter of a post but I agree with Shorinryu Sensei, it's not as cut and dry as a lot of you think.. My advice is if a big vicious dog attacks you make peace with your god, if you walk away your going to be tore up... Arm, leg, something..

Man, what can you say when you see quality innovation such as that? Sign me up... Now

Wow!!!! what a website... I just emailed him and said; "As kindly as I can say this you are a disgrace to the martial arts".

gheinisch... excellent analogy your hanshi uses. I also use a car analogy, however a little different. I always talk about when your first learning to drive a car everything you have to think about; brakes, gas, looking in all your mirrors, stickshift etc etc. I tell my students to think back when they first started driving, if they are old enough, thinking about all of these things... How would you react if a car pulled out in front of you??? Oh gosh, so many things to think about; brakes clutch, down shifting etc etc. mass panic. Now, however many years later, you would probably handle the situation without even thinking, probably talking on the phone. You just might be a little mad....

Ok... Quickly, Tai ji and Ba gua are not equivalent but they do share some major underlying principles such as relaxation and proper body mechanics to achieve whole body power. Although Tai ji is done slower, when practicing Tai ji, Ba gua or Xing yi you're focusing on the same elements. Proper body alignment, emptying the center, releasing unneeded tension etc etc..... hard to get into everything on a quick reply, but you get the idea. So with all that said they are much more similar to each other then the average person thinks...but not equivalent... Bart Dellisanti Sun style Ba gua and Xing yi Yang style Tai ji

Absoulutely it exists. I also study Ba gua Xing yi and Tai ji

Matt in my dojo and that of my teacher's the adults only wear hand gear, the karate type. With that said if anyone felt uncomfortable or unsafe then not one of us would have had any problems with a person wearing head gear. So i find myself agreeing with everyone else, better safe then sorry.

I have two tats that are martial arts based. The first one is going down the middle of my back starting in between my shoulder blades and say inner strength in kanji. The other is on the inside of my right forearm and says shorin ryu in kanji. I got the second after i received my bb.

Streetfighter, my response did seem a little to politically correct didn't it? Your point was well taken .

Absoultely. Yang, by the way... I also do Ba gua and xing yi, both as taught by sun lutang. I only teach karate although the other 3 take up most of my time..

congrats keep it up

Also maybe try Tiger Claw I like their uniforms better then Century and they seem to be a little more reasonably priced.

doing techniques first but then extracting and improving the principles at a higher level. Dan Good point Dan. Thats how I've been taught and that is how I teach. Drilling the techniques in your body is a must. Obviously the more you do something the better you become at it, and more efficent I might add. I am always throwing small pieces of Information out as I teach, like, "when you do this try thinking about doing it this way. now I don't want you to stress about it, but just think about it because this is were we are taking it". Also, I am always encouraging the students to think for themselves, make up their own block/counter drills with the techniques they already know. All of my students are of low rank so they don't know alot yet, but they are starting to become effective at what they do know.

I am all about staying low with my kicks. I hardly through anything above the waist although I can if I needed to. I happened to witness a street fight about 5 years ago where one of the guys started off with a kick to the head. The recipent of the kick bulled right through the kicker taking him straight to the ground and began smashing his head in until witnesses were able to pull him off. It was vicious...

First I would have to assess the level of danger this guy brings. why is he trying to hit me? Is there a chance I can talk him out of it once he stops? Is there anyone around that can get him under control? If it is a serious situation where i have no choice but to defend my self then I am a firm believer in side stepping, body shifting, off setting him. All things lead to ending it quick.

anch'io

I charge $60 a month in a market where the average is $100. I guess I could charge more but then there is the possibility of some one not doing it , who really wants to, because of the money. All i care about is covering my expenses if I don't make any profit thats cool.

Health clubs for sure.. That is what i'm doing now and although they charge me to lease the space it is very inexpensive... GOOD LUCK

Personally, I train with shoes and leave it up to my students to decide whether or not they want to. I always say if it comes down to actually having to defend yourself you'll probably be wearing shoes. So why not train in them? Keep in mind i'm not wearing air jordans when I train....