Kempohands

I began my martial arts training because my parents wanted me to get involved with an activity outside of school. It started out as something to keep me occupied and it has become something that I live for. I keep training because I was drawn to it, because I love learning more about the martial arts. I caught the disease and there is no cure...

I define a loss as getting involved in an unnecessary conflict. If the fight is absolutely necessary (it takes A LOT to convince me of this) then that usually means the winner is the one that walks away with the least physical damage done to her/him and the loser is the one that received the most damage from the fight (ie. getting knocked out).

Ah, there was my confusion, after you clarified things a bit I must say that I have a better understanding of where you're coming from now, thank you for that. Also, after reading your last post it seems that we really don't disagree much, if even at all. While I acknowledge that an untrained person would probably be preoccupied by their own weapon, I feel I should share something that is a policy of one of my instructors: Always assume you are either at a disadvantage in a fight or you are your opponent's equal. Never assume you have an advantage unless you create it for yourself. Now, I hope you can see where I'm coming from, after years of hearing that it's embedded in my mind. As for your last question I can breath a sigh of relief as I write that I've never been in a situation where I was facing someone with a knife. Granted I'm still a student in high school, so I haven't even had any real expirence in fights without weapons.

I'm gonna say neither one because you can't have them during a fight. Anybody walk around with nunchuckau or a chain whip with them? I appolgize if this post sounds rude, but I find it silly to think about defending yourself with something you are most likely never gonna get the the opprotunity to use in a self-defense situation. Take this for what it is, only my opinion and nothing more.

My classes are only an hour, here's how the time is usually split: 10 Minute warm-up 10 Minute Basics 40 Minutes of whatever the instructor thinks of (partner work, sparring, kata, ect.), usually broken down in to sections

I don't know specifically of TKD's policies on this, but to me polishing old techniques is just like learning new ones. You'd be surprised how much you can teach yourself. Granted I'm not a 3rd Dan on anything, but after i got my black-candidate I found myself teaching myself thing about my old techniques I never noticed before. We are required to stay at that rank for at least a year, so we are taught new techniques at a very slow rate because there aren't many, so we spend most of our time training our old techniques, it's surprising how much you can teach yourself. Two words: "what if?" Also, you'll begin to learn about about yourself as a martial artist and as a person. So remember: there's always something new to learn, you just may have to look a bit harded.

Waylander, although that was a very good post I have not changed my opinion. I must continue to respectfully disagree with you. You can't just assume that a person is that narrow-minded or has that little of an ability to adapt. If someone is a trained weapon(s) fighter then they have an understanding, like Shorin Ryuu said, that the weapon is simply an extension of themself. I could see how maybe an average, nervous person may have this mentality and preoccupy themselves with only one weapon, but someone who is trained with a weapon will probably not have this mentality in a confrontation. A knife is a deadly thing, it would be dangerously arrogent to just assume that you have an advantage because you believe that your opponent is that preoccupied by their own weapon. As always, nothing more than my opinion....

A horse stance can also be used to take away your opponent's balance with a leg check. For example: Your opponent steps forward w/their front leg and punches w/their front hand.... You could block, step forwardwith one leg and turn and sink into your horse stance. If you're close enough, you'll get a nice reaction from your opponent. This same principle can be apllied if your opponent grabs your wrist w/1 foot forward.... There are numerous other uses, especially as a transition stance (many have already been mentioned, so i won't go any further). One thing to remember about martial arts in general, THERE IS NO WASTED MOVEMENT, even bowing has combat application.....

The best way to comand respect is by carrying yourself with self-respect and confidence. If a student sees that you are a confident, self-respectful, and self-disciplined person, they will give you the respect you deserve. I used to resort to shouting at students and even gave out push-ups(I hate doing that, it just makes students hate them more during warm-ups), but now I've matured and simply command respect with my body language and tone of voice. Stern words, not shouting. Also, the right glance can put a student in there place, trust me, a person's eyes tell more than words ever can. Good luck with your teaching...

Wow, I feel out of place. My school calls all the katas/forms by english names (well, most of them at least). RANK/Kata(s)-Form(s) learned at that rank WHITE/"White Tiger 1" YELLOW/"White Tiger 2" ORANGE/"White Tiger 3" and "1 Kata" BLUE/"2 Kata" 2nd BLUE/"White Tiger 4(Cat 1)" and "Stature of the Crane" GREEN/"White Tiger 5" 2nd GREEN/"Tiger Form(Cat 2)" and "3 Kata" BROWN/"White Tiger 6" 2nd BROWN/"4 Kata" and "5 Kata" 3rd BROWN aka Black Candidate/"Mantis" and "Cat 3" So that's 15 Katas/forms we must know before Black Belt. At Shodan the forms are "6 Kata" and "Hansuki" (sry about spelling). After that, I don't know.

As far as traditional karate techniques are concerned, I don't know. However, when learning MA for modern self defense purposes, I don't see why one would want to learn how to defend against a sword. If your talking about karate vs. knives or sticks, then yes, there are plenty of ways to defend against these weapons with bare hands. I don't know much about different karate styles, but I know in Kempo we learn tons of ways to defend against knives, clubs, bottles, ect. The only practical thing we don't really learn a defense for is a longer ranged blunt weapon such as a bo. Now, if we're talking about a well-trained knife fighter, then I don't think many empty handed martial artists could win that confrontation. Karate vs. Trained "weapons (knife, staff, chain whip-things that can be easily replaced with normal objects, not swords) fighters" is a little bit different than average self-defense. just my opinion....

Whatever, I am also in high school (9th grade), and let me tell you, as a martial artist, you must, not should, MUST, get over this. I have NEVER been in a real fight before and that is because I swallow my ego on myriads of occasions instead of fighting. I have been verbally bullied throughout my school life, and never have I ever even thought to strike anyone. Even when people HAVE challenged my skills as a fighter I turned the other way. That is what makes you a great martial artist, avoiding conflict. So much of MA training is mental, you should be building a mentality that you don't want to fight at all, even if this will ruin your rep more than losing (it will for a while, but trust me, people will begin to repsect you when they mature to realize that walking away makes you the stronger person). Ego should have no place in your life, even in high school. You should get the greatest satisfaction from walking away from a fight, because that is the ultimate victory, even if nobody else sees it.

Shroin Ryuu, one of the best posts I've read in my little time here on KF. I agree with you, there are many times when I have been glad that my instructors didn't tell me everything they knew about a kata or technique because it gave me the opprotunity to teach myself something.

That is definitly not acceptable. That is totally unneccesary. That "lesson" could have been taught in better fashion. What disturbs me even more however, is the fact that the other students listened to the instructor when he told them to beat up this "unruly" student. My question is, what are his teaching methods like if his students listen to that instruction w/o any qualms about what they're doing?

Hey Kieran-Lilith, I'm also 14 (gonna be 15 soon) and like you I teach at my school. However, I have the luxery of wearing a black piece of cloth around my waist, something that demands respect from all strudents at my dojo no matter if I'm teaching a 7 year old, a 17 year old, or a 47 year old. However, I can try to give you a few pointers. I agree with SloMo, but I'll add: 1) Always be positive, never make a negative comment when teaching children. 2) Remind the students that you were put in charge by your instructor and if they give you a hard time you will go get him/her. 3) I found that an effective way to make students pay attention to you is to complete your explaniation if you see they aren't paying attention. Then, after the explanation, ask the student that you believe wasn't paying attention to repeat/sum up what you just said. 4) Be confident, yes this is redundant, but the importance of confidence is immense. Your body language says a lot about you. If you look confident, students (anyone for that matter) will natrually give you more respect. 5) Never argue with a student, this shows weakness as a teacher and an authority figure. Simply end the argument with dignity and speak to them after class or ask you instructo to speak to the student when (s)he has time. 6) Avoid looking at teaching as a job or an assignment. Look at it as a way to improve yourself. That way you'll be more enthusiastic (the more fun you make things and the enthusiastic you are the more younger students pay attention). Have fun and good luck with your training/teaching.

Excellent point, and that is the reason I cannot really answer the original question (I've never been in a real fight). However, I can say that I would bet my last dollar that I'd never use a "fancy" technique in a real fight. Usually fancy moves are also telegraphed moves unless the one executing it is a virtuoso at the givin technique. The only time I could think I'd get sort of fancy is if my opponent was temporarily blinded for some reason. I am a pretty boring fighter in that I don't try fancy moves, even while practicing in class. I prefer sticking to the basics. Also, I've got a question, has anyone ever found a flip of any kind to be at all usefull in combat? I have seen people that practice martial arts in my area doing flips and gymnastics movements often; now I have an open mind, but I am having difficulty in trying to think of a real situation where a backflip would be useful....

Do Cerio's Kenpo (no I'm not biased, what are you talking about? ) Back on topic: from what I've heard and the limited things I've seen (I'm sorry to say i don't have a very wide range of martial arts I've had experiance with or even seen in action) Judo's great against most people on the street. 90% of street fights end up in a wrestling match, and if you're any good at Judo you'll be able to take out your opponent so they won't even remember what happened. Like Shorinryu Sensei said, I don't think it would be as effective against a good striker. However, you should just go with your gut and train in what you like, loving what you do is what's important (to me atleast).

Thanks for my daily dose of self-esteem I'll remember that next time I feel like I'm the only one in the room that can't touch their toes in a sit&reach...I need to stretch more instead of posting on this stinkin forum...

I personaly would never kick above the waist, but that's because my high kicks suck (it's sad, i'm a the least flexible black belt in all of NYS). The answer to this question is different for different people. If you have great high kicks and you have confidence in them, use them! If you don't, don't try 'em!

The Good: -Knowledgable, dedicated instructors -Every class is something new and exciting, still not boring after almost 9 yrs. -Friendly, comfortable environment -Classes organized by rank AND age -Instructors are understanding of different students' needs -Since I'm 14, almost 15, I don't have to pay every month, my parents do (The benifits of being young and "dependent" ) -I don't have to go to a McDonald's or supermarket to get a job like most of my friends -Main and back dojo The Bad: -Tournaments have to many rules -The training has gotten progressivly easier over the years -Not that much full-contact sparring -Small main dojo -Weapons classes are either once a month or you have to get private lessons (privates are only 30 min.) -Private lessons aren't cheap (I pay for those, feel bad for me... )

I practice White Tiger Kempo: White Tiger Kempo is one of MANY braches of kempo/kenpo in the world today. It's main influences are the late Grandmaster Nick Cerio's Kenpo, Kajukenbo, as well as tons of jiu-jitsu principles and techniques. It is very similar to most Kempo styles, what sets it apart is the amount of jiu-jitsiu and grappling we do. Professor Fescina (the founder) recognized that Kenpo lacked grappling applications so he trained in JJ and added many of those principles to the Kenpo he learned from Grandmaster Cerio. It is a very complete system, and I am glad to call myself a student of the style. The only drawback of the style is the way we train. In my opinion, the training has become softer and easier over the years that I've been at my school (becoming more like a bussiness ). It is really up to the individual to put in 150% and get the most out of the physical conditioning, but the techniques and principles of WT Kempo are still just as effective if trained properly.

I've never been in a real fight. I'm still in school and I try to stay away from places outside the school where fights occur. I go to high school, and yes, most of the people have matured beyond using physical conflict to settle disputes. Kids have tried to start fights with me because they know I practice martial arts (I'm very proud of my training) but I have an uncommon ability among people my age to swallow my ego and end a fight before it begins. I'm very proud to say that I've never been in a real fight yet, but I'm still only a nineth-grader.

I'm not an aggressive person by nature, and that shows when I fight. Weather I'm sparring with padding and tons of unnecessary rules in a tournament or sparring at my dojo where the rule is "don't hit harder than you're willing to be hit" I tend to be a defensive fighter. I'm small (5-7, 118 lbs-I need to gain weight) compared to the people I train with, so I don't just charge in. I tend to leave obvious openings when I try to be to aggressive so I fight best when I counter.

Exactly, correct technique must come first. Power and speed will come with practice.

I don't believe there is such thig as "too young" anymore, as long as the instructors at the dojo know how to deal with young kids. Most martial arts schools today have a myriad of classes available for young children that are geared towards promoting fitness and self-esteem while teaching martial arts in a fun, comfortable environment. If you believe your children are ready, then let them try it out, the worst that could happen is the instructor is ignorant towards teaching younger children. If that happens, then just find another dojo, I'm sure there is one in your area that offers children's classes.