monkeygirl

A couple things to check out: 1. See if your state qualifies martial arts dojos as gyms. If so, you will need to make sure you are complying with gym laws. Check under the Health Club Act. 2. See if your state requires that your students are under contracts. 3. It may be a bit expensive, but hire a trustworthy lawyer and an accoutant. The lawyer can check into your licensing information, as well as insurance terms for your school and health requirements, and whether or not you are incorporated. The accountant will let you know how your school's taxes need to be done, as well as what you need to know to sell gear. There can be a lot of tricky things as to zoning and whether or not you have a seperate pro shop, etc. etc. 4. Networking is a must, so join your local chamber of commerce. That way, you can set up joint projects (health & safety fairs, self-defense demonstrations, martial arts entertainment, etc.) with other businesses in the future. I don't own or run a school, but those are my suggestions.

I think when they say "for competition", they mean for it to be your special tournament gi, as in one you keep "special", just for tournaments. Often times, people don't want to compete in the same faded and worn gi that they train in. So, they keep special tournament uniforms so that they always look crisp and new. Perhaps by having a gi made from a high quality fabric, they feel luckier... Anyway, I think it's just a marketing ploy. I have no personal experience in BJJ, but I've never heard of any tournaments of any style disqualifying people because they weren't wearing the right weight of gi. Now, if you show up in something tie-dyed, then maybe... Just make sure you don't shave your eyebrows into a thin line; they'll disqualify your for that in Japan

Yay, it's here! Sign me up pleeease

Expanding off of that, you've got to remember that police come in all shapes and sizes. Also, don't forget that there are female police officers as well. Because of this huge diversity, officers would need to choose which style is best for them. All of that aside, however, my suggestion for a style would be CDT. I believe it is already popular among police officers, because it is effective, yet leaves no lasting marks on the criminal, which rules out the possibility of the officer being charged with police brutality. Still, we have spoken many times on KF about attackers who are drug-crazed and feel no pain. This is where your more powerful, lasting effects come in to play. Police officers would need to know how to effectively break the knee of someone who is on a doped-up rampage. This means going directly for the break, without relying on disabling the person first through painful strikes. The criminal isn't going to feel any pain, but s/he won't be able to walk if their knee is busted. Anyway, I'm probably just repeating what others have said.

Oops, I meant to say: "I hate it when a parent tells me how to teach a class", as in when I'm teaching kids' classes. When I looked over my post again, I realized it kind of seemed as though random parents were telling me how to do technique while I'm taking class....

I agree with PacificShore: kata can be a useful training tool for balance, focus, etc. They cannot be used alone, because then you're just doing some sort of aerobic exercise. In order to reach maximum effectiveness in your training, you must have at least SOME sparring. Kata alone will not cut it. I don't understand this "notebook" analogy everyone seems to keep using for kata. Kata are a prearranged series of techniques. This doesn't mean that every school and style do the same kata with the same moves, each one is different. However, each student of that school/style will be required to do it in the same way, in the same sequence. Can somebody please explain the notebook analogy, and how it contradicts my understanding of kata?

There's a difference between having difficulty breathing and not breathing at all. When you can't get any oxygen, you risk brain damage. Which means that next time, they DEFINITELY won't be tapping. It's your responsibility to let go...you hold their life and well-being in your hands! If you have a lot of people refusing to tap and they're obvioulsly being choked, ask your instructor to give a talk about the importance of admitting loss. It's just as important for your body as it is for your mind.

8-year-old black belt? That's just wrong. I've seen some of these kids before at tournaments. In fact, my friend had to go up against two of them in a tournament last July. The division was 14 and under, and my friend didn't turn 15 until October. The problem is, these 8-year-olds were not judged on the same level as the older competitors (my friend and a 13-year-old girl). If any 13 or 14 yo. had performed like those 8 yo.s did, I'm pretty sure they would've gotten much lower scores. Sure, they were great for 8 year olds, but they were beyond compare of the older competitors. This wasn't the kids' fault, but promoting kids to that level gives a false sense of confidence. The kids think "hey, I beat two big kids in a fair competition", when it wasn't fair at all. They think "I have a black belt, I can defend myself". They don't know that they can't do anything to a 300 lb agressor. The end result is very dangerous.

If we get into grappling/ground fighting, sometimes we'll take our gi tops off, because they can get torn in all the rolling around. We don't do ground fighting very often, though.

I have a couple favorites: Pretty much everything from red belt up. I love Advanced Form 5, Chung-Mu, and K-Beck (black belt kata). Not sure on the spellings, and I know they are not true to the traditional versions. Advanced Form 5 is a pretty complex kata, and the first one to have a jump in it. The best part is the powerful beginning, however. Underarm blocks followed by tense hook punches, sliding the feet together. Chung-Mu is a fairly difficult kata. Has a jump kick and a jump-spinning move...pretty rare in our katas. K-Beck I like because it's my highest kata right now. Other than that, it's not really that great.

What I hate is when a parent comes up and tries to tell me what to do in class. I will respect their opinion up to a point, but for the most part I'm pretty aware of who needs help. It hasn't happened in a while, but I have had parents in the past downright order me to "help their child". The point is, they don't train and really don't know when the child really needs help. If the kid messes up ONE kick, then we (the instructors) "are just not paying attention to little Tommy. He's struggling and I need you to help him!" Of course, we can't just tell the mom "Lady, he's doing better than half the class...it's a brand new kick, he'll get it with some more time" But to say that would be to forget that the world revolves around her and her son.

Pretty much, you want a mouthguard that is comfortable and gentle on your gums, and allows you to breathe. A good mouthguard will not restrict your breathing at all. However, in order to get such a quality of mouthguard, you'll pay upwards of $50, easily. You need to ask yourself how important mouth protection is to you. Some mouthguards (Like Wipps/Shock Doctor) actually claim to prevent brain damage, because of the way they position the jaw or something like that. So that's definitely a plus. However, most schools don't hit directly to the face anyway...the uber-mouthguards are for the kickboxing/shotokan people. Like Red J said, if you have special dental needs, consult your dentist. Also, if either you or your daughter have braces, you will need a custom mouthguard. MAKE SURE IT'S A CUSTOM-FITTED ONE! The "football" types they give you that "go on without a fit" can actually do the opposite of their real job. They can bang against the gums painfully and cause bleeding. Oh, the agonies of being a brace-faced martial artist

I wouldn't say there's any ONE pressure point that is the absolute easiest. There are a few easy ones, but what is important is what's easy for YOU. Personally, I like to pinch a tiny bit of skin on the inside of the upper thigh. Hold it for awhile and it sends a jolt through the whole body. It's pretty hard to miss, and is usually pretty available during groundfighting situations. Anyway, that's my personal favorite.

Welcome to the forums! Maybe it will be your newest obsession

yes I think all things in life (and MA) could be improved with foam swords

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome to the forums!

Thanks for the ideas, Kensai. The bulldog drill sounds interesting. Sai, that's a very intersting variation of Sensei says...I think I will definitely try that. As far as sparring drills go, I forgot to mention that he is a yellow belt...in our school, that means he has about 6 months before he can begin to make contact in sparring. However, that samurai warrior drill would be a ton of fun for the Kids' Advanced class.

A lot of people in my school do a "Tsss" noise (my mom calls it the leaky radiator noise). I picked it up when I was a green belt, because someone told me it was to improve breathing during the kata. WRONG! On two seperate days, I did nine kata in a row--one day with the "Tss" and one day without. All the "Tss" did was make me breathe less! I felt like passing out and could not perform to my full abilities. However when I left the noise out, I found that I could breathe fairly normal, with only a slight increase in breath rate. The occasional kiai helped to forcefully exhale and get fresh breath. I don't mind the sound of the "Tss", it's when people begin to snort that bothers me. It's like they're trying to blow their nose but they have a sudden lack of Kleenex.

I was thinking about this thread last night as I watched ER and listened to the theme music ...I can't imagine doing a kata to that... Go down to your local music store and ask some eclectic-looking people there (whether or not they work there!). Alternatively, there might be a techno/dance section amongst the CD's. I'd love to do something to the original James Bond Theme. Moby might be good...

Hrm...I need a drill that slow, chubby kids can win at. I know that sounds terrible, but there's a student who tries very hard all the time, learns his techniques and is very good at all of that, but he's not a very fast runner or a high jumper. He tries not to show it, but I know he's heartbroken when he's one of the first few out in the games we play. I'm hoping he'll get better as he gets older and continues to play, but if he always loses, I'm afraid he'll give up. Now that I think about it a little more, we might try using Ninja Freeze or Sensei Says. Anyway, are there any that your dojo uses in these cases? I just seriously need something to put this kid in the spotlight for a second and give him a confidence booster.

There's life outside of MA? Hrm... let's see: School Sleep Playing Guitar/Piano Writing stuff on the guitar (with lyrics too) KarateForums Sleep Reading Writing my "murder mystery" Sleep Hanging out with friends Did I mention sleep?

Oops I didn't even see that part of your question! I don't really know where you can find Techno stuff...however, my demo team (like the corny people we are) uses a lot of stuff from the Mortal Kombat soundtrack.

If you have soft foam-padded bats, like the Strikers from Century, you can swing them randomly and quickly at the students. They then have to react quickly and use their blocks. Don't be afraid to hit them, as long as it's quick and soft. When they get hit, it teaches them to block faster next time!

I like that magical little word "freeze!" Play a few games of "Red light, Green light" with them, but call it "Ninja Freeze". Your kids are lined up in the back of the room horizontally, and you're at the other end of the room. When your back is turned and you say "go!" the kids can move. You wait a short bit and then say "1, 2, 3, Ninja FREEZE!" and turn around. It's amazing how "frozen" they'll be. Anyone who moves while they're "frozen" has to start over again from the beginning. This game is a lot of fun for young kids, and it ingrains the importance of the word "Freeze" in their minds. After you play, sit down with them and have a discussion about why they would want to be able to stop quickly on command. Pretty much, so their parents can keep them from crossing the street. After they get good at Ninja Freeze, yelling "freeze" to get their attention should work pretty well. Another drill to do is the stance drill. You can do different stances; ready stance (choon-bi or whatever you do before katas etc.), attention stance (standing perfectly straight, feet together, arms straight at sides...kids usually add a bug-eyed expression ), sitting down (sitting cross-legged, back up straight, tight fists on your knees), and any other stances that incorporate standing still. You call out the stances and the kids do them (with you performing, too, facing them so they keep eye contact) quickly. They also have to hold still. They usually do this anyway out of necessity...they need to be able to hear you. After you've done these drills for awhile, (and keep doing them occasionally), kids begin to associate attention with fun. If the kids are getting unruly as a whole, you can just say "Attention stance!" or whatever, and hopefully they'll freeze. If you're trying to teach them a technique step-by-step, "freeze" works well..."OK put your hand up there and... freeze!", since kids have a tendency of doing what you tell them, but then flopping all around. Finally, make sure you award attentiveness. Tell the kids that if they focus, they might get a sticker after class. Then keep an eye on them. At the end of class, you can give them a sticker, or a stamp on their hand, etc. Our kids love this. Your local craft store may even have some stickers of kids in gi doing techniques, bowing, etc. I know my local A.C. Moore has them, anyway. However, if there is a kid or two...or a couple...that quite obviously did NOT focus, don't reward them. Still reward the other kids, but not the ones who were tyrants. Explain to them that if they focus the next time they'll get a sticker/stamp/whatever like everybody else. You might get some criers, but it happens. If you don't want to single out the unfocused kids, you can try giving out just one prize a night, to the kid who was the most focused..."Student of the Night". Try not to give the same kid twice in a row, though. Try to keep the prizes fresh, cheap and new. That way the kids aren't like "I've already gotten that sticker four times...I don't have to focus now". It may seem like your bribing the kids to be good, but really you're just instilling a habit. By the time they get to the older kids' class (if there is one), it'll be a habit, with or without a sticker. OK so that's a bit long-winded, but it's 8:49 AM and I'm sleeeepy.