monkeygirl

I always taught beginners how to tie their belts right away, because some that trained before tied them a different way that our school didn't like. Still, people had a hard time figuring it out. When it got to where the whole class was messing it up, I would reserve a time in the beginning of class where I lead them in belt tying.

I would go with three lengths of stick: knife, escrima and bo staff. That way if you have a bottle, mid-size stick/branch, or a broomstick (respectively), you're prepared

I agree with you. I have a hard time believing that proper breathing will make your muscles automatically do the right thing...but then again I've never tried it. Since I already know what I'm doing, I'm kind of spoiled.

TKD and TSD schools are pretty abundant in the bigger cities around here. You may also want to try Hapkido. It's a little more realistic combat-oriented than TKD, if I remember correctly.

If you are REALLY fast, you can push their punch off to the side, make your entire body follow that line of motion, and grab the wrist...but it takes timing and incredible skill if your opponent is a quick puncher. It's probably not worth it since you'll probably only make it work.... 10% of the time, if that.

Kamas were used to chop stuff. In the farms. I guess. I'm pretty sure they were farm implements, though. Since they're not on the list, I'm going with bo staff. I have a feeling that when I play lacrosse this spring, I won't be able to stop spinning and striking with the stick

Heyyy I've heard of OSensei. He was mentioned before on the forums...I think everyone thought he was Irish.. sounds like a cool guy.

I'd like to meet Jackie Chan! Also, any legitimate martial arts master who is willing to take me under his wing for--oh, say 10 years--and train me to be a great martial arts master. Wushu, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido...I'd love to live my life doing that.

Isn't vegemite fermented vegetables or something?

Alright alright...you forced me to Google it. If you're clueless (like me) about marmite, check out this webpage: http://www.gty.org/~phil/marmite.htm Take a look at that kid!!

What is marmite?

I have no problem with refining my technique or working on my sparring...I probably would have been fine with the blackbelt curriculum, BUT the head instructor was never around! There's only so much I can do to refine my own technique, I needed him to be there and help me. But, he was the phantom instructor, leaving us to teach every class. There were times when I had to teach my own class (the highest class in the school), because the regular instructor (who was not the head instructor, btw) was sick. But that's beside the point. The one person in the whole school who could actually help me advance, was never there. I think that was a large part of why my dojo couldn't hold on to its blackbelts...there was no incentive to stay! While it wasn't the whole reason why I left, it certainly didn't encourage me to stay.

Yeah, I think we're saying the same thing but in different words.

Does Batman ever actually do undercover work as Bruce Wayne? That seems like a huge disadvantage to me (if he didn't). James Bond can at least blend into his surroundings. Batman is only welcome at a costume party.

Well, even though TKD was in the olympics, it didn't receive much TV coverage. I agree though, it was a pretty lame excuse on his part. My dojo was a little money-hungry.

Some schools don't have a very good blackbelt program. My school, for example: once you reached 1st dan, you learned a new kata, and that was it. No new techniques, nothing. You were just supposed to improve on previous techniques for two or three years before you could test for 2nd dan. And the cycle continued: new kata, improve on old techniques. The worst part about it: my instructor couldn't remember the 2nd dan kata.

Welcome to the forums! Your info sidebar thingy says you practice Shotokan. How long have you been studying shotokan, what rank have you achieved, how did you get started, what do you hope to achieve by training, do you teach, etc etc etc?

I actually agree with a lot that you said, KM. Please remember that I used the term "white belt" very loosely. I meant for it to cover the whole "beginner" stage as a martial artist, basically the first 6 months to a year of training...even though in my school, we only spent a month as white belts! I'm sorry if this has caused any confusion for anyone...it seemed nifty at the time. Also, I do know a few people who have spent nearly a year as white belts. I do think that the "inside feelings" (if my understanding of the term is correct, that is) are more important than the "outside feelings", but I think that those "outside feelings" should begin to be taught at "white belt" level. The "outside" is very complex and will probably take years to master, but that's why they should get an early start. Some "outside feelings" take priority over others, and those are the ones that white belts should learn. This is also why I think white belts shouldn't have a lot of complicated techniques (when you spread this across a whole year, though, this will still be a respectable amount of techniques. As far as techniques "feeling" right for the student, but BEING wrong, I'm talking about things like limp wrists, loose fists, and incorrect foot positioning on kicks. If the student were to use these in sparring, he would damage himself...and yes, I have dealt with students who thought this was "proper" form, although I don't know where they got that idea from. Sometimes they do it without knowing, sometimes they do it on purpose. I also agree that you can't demand for someone to learn...there has to be cooperation between student and instructor, and the student has to be willing to learn. I often assume that students are willing to learn, because why else would they be there? Then again, some kids seem to be there only because their parents are forcing them.

My instructor was always pretty paranoid about having other people visit, thought they were "checking out the competition" rather than learning more about martial arts as a whole. Usually, he was right: the people were "scoping us out"...didn't even talk to any instructors. Some of the parents would even report to us later that the visitor badmouthed teaching styles or told the parents to stop by his school. Unfortunately, my instructor was so paranoid that he wouldn't even give the legitimate ones a chance.

In regards to the topic of the thread, my TKD school called itself "karate", even though the majority of the training was TKD. The head instructor mixed in a lot of other styles into the training, though. I think he explained that people wouldn't know what Tae Kwon Do is, and Karate was a more accessible term. Basically it was a way to get more students to come.

Hope everyone is having a good, safe time on New Year's Eve, and at least having more fun than I am (It's 11 p.m., I just woke up from a four hour nap at my house, and I won't be counting anything down). Here's to hoping 2004 is infinitely better than 2003!! Does anyone have any resolutions? Did anyone's resolutions actually succeed from last year?

Well, this will vary from style to style, school to school... In your case, proper dojo etiquette does not include bowing or any special treatment for your superiors. In quite a few schools, however, respectful treatment of instructors (as well, as students...don't get me wrong, everyone should be treated respectfully, but instructors are often supposed to get "more" respect in that sense) is very very important. In my personal experience, I found that white belts often felt overwhelmed by everything they needed to learn in addition to their physical techniques. However, if your school doesn't have a lot of extra things to learn, or just doesn't place an emphasis on them, then you have a little room to add a few techniques. But still, I think the student's attention should be focused on discovering their own MA learning style, and learning how to perform a technique very accurately after seeing it done once or twice. Furthermore, it's incredibly important for the student to recognize what good technique looks like. I can't tell you how many students I've seen wobbling their heads around or throwing loopy techniques because they thought it "looked better" or "felt better" than the clean, straight in techniques we tought them. Taking it slow and doing it right (rather than rushing ahead and learning many techniques) will pay off enormously in the future, in my opinion and personal experience.

I honestly don't see a conflict between being Christian and being a Martial Artist. You're not being cruel by sparring people...it's a skill that you're practicing together mutually.

Bond's gadgets are soooooooooooo much better than Batman's! On gadgets alone, Bond would OWN.

Thanks