monkeygirl

Congratulations! That first belt is a very special occasion. I remember when I tested for my yellow belt (9th kyu)... I was super-excited because I had finally learned the white belt kata "H-Form 1"...it had taken me forever because the instructor had mumbled the name. I never realized that it was in the shape of an H! So, I finally got the kata and was looking forward to performing it on my own...and we only did it in a group! I was upset because they went too fast and I looked bad... I was afraid I wouldn't pass... That was probably one of my hardest tests, simply because it was the first. Congrats again! Keep practicing hard, and this kind of success will become commonplace

Sounds like fun! I believe KSNDoug was the previous champion..? Can't wait

Ah, so you mean your first competitive fight... Sorry, I thought you meant that you'd never fought before. Period. That explains some things In that case, you'll do fine...like I said, try practicing receiving full contact and getting used to it.

I wear a Century Heavyweight and it suits me just fine. What style do you practice? Knowing your needs can be helpful in determining what uniform to buy. Personally I would stay away from a "long-tail" uniform, because I wouldn't want it to hit my face when I kick (my belt already does that ). But that's just me; if you don't kick high or often in your style, long-tail would be fine. I've never cared much for Ikon's uniforms...they're comfortable but they don't give me any "pop" in the sleeves when I punch. Century has custom uniforms...custom sizing, colors, trim, material etc. You name it. I don't have any idea on a price range, though. I guess it depends on how many "options" you want. By the way, make sure you introduce yourself on the Introductions Forum!

First of all, I tend to be a little wary of any author who claims to know so much about the female sex, yet doesn't even know how to spell "women". Secondly, I must be a freak of nature, considering that girls would never choose to put themselves in a fighting situation. I could say much much more, but I'm not going to really get into this. I think it's pretty obvious that Mr. Sullivan (the author) knows very little about the martial arts in general. I think he read the news article, felt outraged and decided to make an essay out of it. I stopped reading the article after his fourth time repeating himself ("Boys are naturally going to fight, blahbeddy blahbeddy blah"). I wish there was some way I could get in touch with him. What strikes me as interesting is that he uses the newspaper article as a source, and many times quotes from it (see his definition of what a bo is), yet conveniently leaves out the part that mentions that Tiger Kim's dojo is "the exception and not the rule". However, even that source isn't exactly reliable since he claims that Bruce Lee studied "Kung Fu rather than Tae Kwon Do". It's truly a shame when speedy typers get outraged and decide to write an essay using long, long sentences; then gloss them up with big words. (That last sentence was an example. See? It's not pretty.) So much for me not getting into it...

Welcome to the forums!

That really depends on how you feel. There are two aspects to getting hit for the first time: Mental and Physical. Mentally, you need to ask yourself: Am I going to freak out? When I first got hit in a sparring match, I thought absolutely nothing of it. In hindsight, I'm surprised I didn't feel outraged that my partner had just hit me. But then again, I wasn't doing full contact. You need to make sure that you can keep your head clear after being hit. Physically, you need to know how much of a beating you can take. Punching yourself in the gut isn't going to be much of a help, either What I would suggest is that you get some practice fights in before March. Try asking your instructor if he can let you fight some of the upper ranks...he may even let fight you himself! Either way, you want to make sure you have a partner that you can trust to start off slow. Test your conditioning by taking a few light shots to scoring areas, then gradually have your partner pick up the power until you can't take it anymore. This will help you prepare mentally & physically for getting hit. After you've gotten used to getting hit, work on technique with your partner. There's a huge difference between what you learn in class and applying it to a real fight. Getting over any nervousness ("OMG OMG OMG I'm fighting") will be useful too. Also, what is the level of fighting gear (if any) you are allowed to use? If you've determined that you can't really take the beating (but still want to go on), you may want to invest in a chest protector/something similar. Decide now so that it can be ordered and arrive in plenty of time. Try to get one that hooks over the shoulders so it stays up, but isn't too bulky so that it obstructs your kicks. Finally, as the date of the fight draws nearer, but you still don't feel confident enough to fight, remember that it's OK to back down. This fight will definitely be an incredible learning experience, but you could also get seriously hurt. Your instructor obviously thinks you can do it, or he wouldn't let you go (I should hope). Bottom line: it's your decision. Good luck!

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome to the forums! You seem to be pretty open-minded; that's always a plus in here

You seem to have gotten some good answers so far. Blaze: There's no need to apologize for asking a simple question. That's what we're here for

yeah you better be careful, some crazy old lady (think: Adam Sandler's mom in Water Boy) is gonna be all "That KarateForums is for the devil!" But on the day we reach 77,777 posts, we shall all be very lucky indeed.

He threw the box of cards? Sounds like an anger management problem to me. An instructor should be in control of his/her emotions at all times, in order to be an example to the students. Most likely, if you saw it (Freestyler), the other students saw it. Those students who think very highly of him may even adopt these violent tendencies as their own...

I'm a little confused as to how someone can "revert" to a style they've never trained in, as opposed to the one they've been learning? Are you saying they're going to reach into some instinctual, primitive fighting force? IMO, if someone has been training in a particular style for long enough, however ineffective/impractical, they will continue to use those techniques reflexively. That is, IF they have overcome the adrenaline stress. If not, then they're not going to use any style at all...simple flailing of the arms and freaking out. Perhaps that's what you meant and I misunderstood?

Welcome to the forums!! We deal with a lot of international users, and judging from your posts here, you should do just fine. Trust me, your English is better than some people who've spoken it all their lives

I don't fit it any one category...I guess I'm sort of "Traditional"--minus the disdain for Progressives, minus the close-mindedness of techniques and minus the fact that my school isn't traditional. So you see? I obviously don't fit in it, yet it is still the "best answer", when compared to the others. I believe my methods work, but I also keep an open mind towards others' techniques. I fight (well I guess you can call it that...mostly it just feels like flailing), but I also do katas. I believe in effective self-defense and forward thinking. *sniffle* Just like always, I don't fit in

I"ve never been to a seminar before, so I guess I'd pick that just to try it out.

I agree. Valentine's Day stinks for single people and here it comes again. So we should both be happy to know that St. Valentine was beheaded

Cool, thanks KickChick!

If you have the reaction time, dropping to the ground and throwing someone can be a good technique. This is only good if the person is running straight at you, so it's not exactly common, but good nonetheless. Someone's running at you: 1. Grab their shoulders (you may need to block some attacks first) 2. Start to tip backwards, keeping your back round for a soft landing 3. Put your feet in their gut and kick straight up They should fly on over. This is extremely fun to do, besides being really effective. Plus, it's a very simple, fluid motion. I used this one during my black belt test, and it has a nice element of surprise. Remember guys, we're all just trying to offer up some techniques here, so keep the personal stabs to a minimum, eh?

As KickChick said, changing your life won't happen overnight, and there will be times when you feel discouraged, as with anything. So, I suggest taking a Polaroid of yourself now, write a letter about how you feel and the goals you would like to achieve. Heck, your original post here should work just fine! Seal these in an envelope, and whenever you feel discouraged about your training, bring out the envelope. If you've made any progress, you'll know by seeing the "Before". Hopefully that will keep you encouraged. Also, you said to widen your social circle. The friends you will gain through martial arts can last a very long time, especially when you get to the upper ranks--people tend to stick around longer then. There's just something about being punched in the face by your best friend with no hard feelings...makes you get all gooey inside. Just like you'll be keeping track of your progress, make sure you check in with us, too! We all like to hear success stories and help motivate people. Happy dojo hunting!

Is there a website related to this magazine? If you have such a high opinion of it, I'd be interested in checking it out. Thanks!

Yowza! Well, I think we use enough karate techniques to be safe ...I hope

I live in Pennsylvania, USA. My school is called a "Karate Studio", even though our main style is Tae Kwon Do, and we mix in a lot of other styles. I'm not exactly sure, but I think Karate is used as a general term. To be honest, I don't think I would have ever gone to a Kuk Sool Won or Ba Gua dojo, or any of those styles. I think I would have felt like I needed an egg roll with that. I don't mean that in any offensive manner, but before I joined my school, I knew nothing about MA. I wouldn't even have known that Kuk Sool Won WAS a martial art. But Karate is a friendly-sounding, familiar term, like Kleenex. Everybody's heard of the Karate Kid. But didn't he actually practice Kung Fu? (not sure on this one, but with the crane stance and all...) Yes, karate is its own art, too, but not many people on the street know that. Perhaps it is commercial, but I think it's neccessary.

Hrm...we actually did a demo in the mall in early September, as part of a fitness fair they were having. Actually, it was three demos: One on Friday night, two on Saturday afternoon. I must have passed out about 300 tickets over the weekend, and only two students came. They came twice and left. Buddy sponsorships can often work well. The way these work is that current students give friends Buddy Slips that are good for 2 weeks of free classes. If the buddy joins, they get a free uniform. Depending on how many buddies a current student gets to JOIN, he/she earns prizes. Our prizes went something like this: 1 student-- T-Shirt (with school logo) 2 students- Belt Display Rack 3 students- Jumbo Gear Bag 4 students- Wavemaster Heavy Bag 5 students- 1 year of free classes The offer lasts for about 2 months. You may have to vary prizes depending on how much you charge for classes. There is an alternate form of this where instead of prizes, a student gets $20 worth of gear/MA supplies for every student s/he recruits (it can accumulate). Also, try using these at different times of the year to see which works best. Most of our recruiters were teenagers so you may want to keep this in mind: End of school year (Right before actually ending)-- Kids still have access to the friends they see every day, and the freedom of summer is a good time to start new activities. However, we've found that a lot of people are away on vacations during the summer so it doesn't always work well. Beginning of school year-- Can be a time of high pressure at first, but wait a few weeks and their schedule will settle down and be figured out. People will often wait until fall to join, because it kind of has the feel of an after-school activity. Also, it's a good way to release all that energy from being penned up in school all day. Finally, if you have a program for small children, you might want to try advertising in day cares/preschools, etc. Make sure you get the point across that you don't get into "Eastern Mysticism" (if that's true of your school), because people get kind of freaked out. They think you're going to make their kid levitate or pray to Buddha or something. They sometimes think of it as religion instead of art/activity/sport whatever.

Welcome to the forums! Ah yes, very spirited indeed....speaking of which: Don't drink and type!! You'll regret it in the morning At least, I assume you would