baronbvp

I am left-handed and normally fight right side forward. My stance is usually boxing/KB stance but with karate hands. It throws off most people because they don't see true lefties very often, but I always see righties so I am used to it. One thing I now watch out for - and this seems silly but has bitten me - is if we both throw a power punch simultaneously. I have hit the other person's fist with my fist and almost broken my hand twice and come close a few other times. (My left hits their right.) It hurts a LOT. It instantly stopped us both from sparring every time it happened. Another thing I am sensitive to is right leg kicks to my groin, but theirs is open to me as well. (Obviously we think about but don't train to that. However, mistakes happen during sparring and I hate getting "sorry" kicked there, groin protector or not.) Not as many people switch stances during a match as I would expect. I like to. When I get tired or see an opportunity, I switch to left side forward. It provides relief from fatigue and a different perspective to be belly to belly. Now I can use my strong left hand for a good left hook to a rightie's open right side, or an uppercut. I switch back when it makes sense.

Drunk peacocks don't intimidate me. The ones that freak me out are the calm, silent types with cold evil in their eyes. Dark eyes of death, like sharks. You can tell they are psycho and don't care if you (or they) live or die. Think Dolph Lundgren or Steven Seagal, or worse. I wouldn't fight either one of those guys.

Bushido Man, three things I like to do: 1. Sharp same-side down block with my open hand to slap it away, watching for the punch to that now-open side of my face; 2. For the roundhouse, step immediately and aggressively in, then kick or knee to the open areas as shotochem said (which is why I don't like high, exposed roundhouse kicks); 3. Grab the kicking leg and either pull the opponent off balance toward me, rotating to take the fight to the ground, or sweep/hook the supporting leg on his kick retraction to take him to the ground on his back. From my experience, most guys aren't expecting you to grab onto their kicking leg and hang on. This assumes he doesn't have Earl Campbell tree trunk legs I can't hang on to.

I have always found it very difficult to point my heel toward/toes away from the target; I still do, even using a chair. To do so puts a lot of torsional side pressure on that back knee. In order to keep from feeling that awkward pressure, I have to rotate my hips away from the target. As a result, I end up almost back kicking instead of side kicking. I can back kick okay, but a side kick with my toe in any rearward position is awkward. I can't side kick any higher than a doorknob on a door no matter how I do it. If I lean back with my toe pointed aft, there is even more pressure on my knee. I am more stable if I just turn all the way around and do a back kick. I am working on my hip flexibility in MT class, but I think front snap and push kicks and crossing and spinning back kicks may be about as much as I can do, along with a low to medium height roundhouse.

A man's gotta have a good quality beer once in awhile. Man Law.

My wife doesn't care for martial arts at all, so I never would have met her there. But my divorced sensei met and dated his divorced student, and now they own a dojo together and both teach. Very cool.

I am not an attorney, but I believe you are under no legal obligation to train someone if there is no contract. They can't sue for performance of a contract if one doesn't exist whether they feel humiliated or not. Avoid hurting or humiliating them so there is no personal or emotional injury case. Explain to them privately that you don't provide what they are looking for, and that their needs will be better served elsewhere. They would have no recourse because a case would have no merit, nor would they have any award to recover.

"These are not the droids you're looking for..." I believe chi is an aspect of the life force and EM fields in the human body, similar in action to the motive energy process of biofeedback. There is a great amount of fascinating material on this subject on the web. IMHO, chi is consciousness in action.

Update: I just learned the teep (tiip) kick in my second MT class Wednesday night. It's a good kick I was basically already using in karate to keep an opponent away. It is also a powerful pushing kick you can use to tire the opponent's body or cause his abdominal muscles to cramp in a long fight. Once thing my instructor said was that the teep is more effective than a snap kick because snap kicks don't work. Even though he is a 5th Dan in Tang Soo Do, I have to disagree with him there as does another guy in my class. I don't snap kick people's abdomens often, unlike the target for a teep, but a snap front kick against a knee, face, groin, etc is very effective IMO. I think what he is saying is that a snap kick against an abdomen or torso isn't the best choice. There is a place for each of these front kicks in one's arsenal, especially for someone like me whose hips aren't flexible enough for high or sweeping kicks.

Donkey Slayer, what does mean, "turn your hips over?" I am unfamiliar with that term.

In my MT class, we have to wear shorts as opposed to pants so you can see the opponent's knees. That way, you don't kick them by mistake. Whether you wear specifically-designed MT shorts or black Nike gym shorts like I do is personal preference. No one cares about the style of shorts.

Sorry, Cross!

Colts/Saints! Manning's destiny meets Katrina rebound.

How do you guys have this much time? I have never been able to go more than three times per week. Even regularly going twice/week is a luxury for me. Good on you for your commitment.

Hi, Shorin Ryuu, good to see your username again. Do you really have time to go every night? Impressive!

The pace of warmups and conditioning is accelerating. First night was 25/75 conditioning and learning, last night was 50/50, and now it goes to 75/25. Not that you learn less, but that you do what you've already learned faster so as to condition simultaneously. We practice footwork, kicks, punches, knees, and elbows as well as clinching. Last night we started wearing the gear for the entire class. I had to wear my karate sparring gear since my KB stuff hasn't come yet. We also did some combinations, which after awhile gets a bit tiring holding your hands up - an old lesson but freshly apparent. My lack of hip flexibility is my weakest area, so I'm really concentrating on improving that so I can move better and kick higher. One thing I liked about Shorin Ryu is that the kicks were mostly low, but MT has some high ones. I need to be able to at least teep kick someone in the chest and roundhouse to their torso. I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I can kick someone in the face unless they are 4 ft tall. We did some partner work where we kicked each other in the thigh and pushed each other's faces to get used ot a hand in the face. This is all pretty tame but good for those who've never sparred to get used to contact. Next week (week 3) we start getting punched in the face. By week 5 it should be full contact all around. We can go on Saturday as well for free, so I may start doing that if I can convince Mrs. Baron. Once a week isn't enough.

Update: I love this class! Muay Thai is filling the bill - all fighting, no kata.

Great post! Insecure people belittle others to make themselves feel better about themselves. No one likes or deserves to be embarrassed or humiliated. What an unprofessional and immature training technique, especially from one so senior. Good thing your dojo got out of that organization.

Jiffy, isn't Shorin Ryu one of the 4 main styles vice Shito Ryu? I thought Shito Ryu evolved from Goju Ryu and Shuri Te (which evolved into Shorin Ryu) to be a combination of those two. See http://www.all-karate.com/110/shito-ryu-karate

I'm 45 and I just started Muay Thai kickboxing. Before that, I did Shorin Ryu karate. I like the change - more sparring, no kata. I still like karate too, though.

As far as your feet go, they make sparring shoes now that your instructors may let you wear. For defense, move more and bob your head to the sides. Try smaller blocks that deflect rather than outright block your opponent's punches and kicks. You won't have to move your limbs as much away from your basic fighting stance.

Welcome to the forums!

There are great points by many folks in here. To me, the important thing was always whether I felt I was getting my money's worth in training. Regardless of style, great dojos have a positive training environment. The senseis learn how you move and fight as an individual, and they help you personally get better. They have sparring of some kind so you can tell if you are improving against an opponent, since pretty kata may get you a belt but won't help you much in a fight. The instructors aren't afraid to tell you truthfully where you need more work, but they also compliment you if you are doing well. They have the integrity not to award belts unless you deserve them. In the end, the training they give you makes you better, makes you want to keep attending, and you can tell that they know what they are doing. Bottom line: If you are getting your money's worth, you'll know. If you aren't, you'll know that before long, too.

Check out this website for a huge variety of martial arts classes offered by Fairfax County Parks in Northern Virgina (DC area). They have prices, days, times etc all laid out for all kinds of styles: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes.htm. There is not much shown now since classes have started this quarter, but in mid-Feb they'll have the list for Apr-Jun. What I'm paying now for Muay Thai: 1. $44/month 2. Muay Thai kickboxing 3. 1 day/week, 1.5 hr class 4. No perks What I paid last year for karate: 1. $130/month for my whole family (me and three kids) 2. Shorin Ryu 3. 3 days/wk (Fri was sparring only), 1 hr class 4. Unlimited use of dojo (no gym), discounts on equipment

I have a fantastic DVD of my 6th DAN renshi doing excellent versions of these Shorin Ryu kata: Basic stances, strikes and blocks Kihon 1-6 Fukyu Shodan Fukyu Nidan Naihanshi kata Pinan kata Wansu kata Ananku kata It is available from him on the web at http://www.cranekarate.com/index.html for about $40 plus $5 shipping. I used to watch them and write down the steps (with my own notes added) in my training journal so I could practice them with and without the video. I still have them and find them very valuable.