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Wow , Is this a testosterone question or what The max I have ever done was 75. I have never tried doing more. The only reason I did 75 was that I challenged my students by giving them 5 minutes to knock me off of a 6 inch stepper while doing jumping side thrust kicks. Now these were my 7 - 15 year olds intermediates (mostly boys) not adults. They only were able to get me 3 times. Now some of my teenage students are huge. I have 2 that are 15 and taller than me. (and I'm 6') I was trying to teach them that you could be as strong as an ox, but a technique that is not accurate is ineffective. While someone who may not be as physically as strong as there opponent could still be. They had fun try to "best" the instructor but learned a valuable lesson in the meantime. And they got to count off my pushups, so I know I did all 75!

Glad to hear your first time was a good experience. I love competing.. Keeps you on top of your game.. The nerves, the adrenilan, the feeling of accomplishment.. Pretty cool, huh?

I like mine to hang just above mid thigh and broken in. My wife likes hers a bit longer. Why, I don't know

I have a Tokaido for when I do demo's or promotion tests, but I didn't want to spend the $$$ on another. My wife would kill me! That is what I liked about the Bear Brands. My last one was just under $100 and was great for daily training. Never heard of some of the brands you mentiond. I will check out the Juka and the Ki. Thanks for the info !!

We have 29 Katas that are required to get to black belt. I will have to get a listing and post. I was looking through some of the posts and most of them are the same as my school.

Traditional Shotokan styles teach mainly linear movements. Meaning, anything that goes out and comes back such as a side thrust, back kick, front kick or a stomp. Arced kicks, such as Round houses, hooks and most crescents are an addition from taekwondo or Gojo Ryu (even gojo ryu doesn't teach all these kicks in a traditional sense) The good thing is that your instructor is not limiting you in your techniques. I teach Shotokan and when training for a traditional competition, I tell my students to stay with the basics (jab, reverse punch, front kick, side thrust, etc..)In class I teach everything though, Ax, scissor, and everything you mentioned.

I run into this alot. I have 4 students that are much bigger than the rest of the class. Whenever I line people up to spar, I always get the question "How am I going to score on him?!" First I tell them that a bigger person is just a bigger target (kinda the old saying, the bigger they are...) and to think of sparring as a game of tag. Second, all of the info about circling is good information. To expand on that a little more. I teach my students that when 2 people face off, you create a line of fighting. If you drew a line between each other for forward movement, you have the "fight line". What you need to do is change and control that line. Moving to the left or right creates a new fighting line. The trick is to get your opponent to remain on the original line. If you can do this, you will be able to score much easier. Third, I don't know if you can use what I call close combat techniques, such as elbows or knee strikes, but if you get within his comfort range, these are effective tactics, just make sure you strike and get out or to the side. Hope this helps.

Following the format of another Born-1972 Started training - 1980 Black Belt: Gojo Ryu, Shotokan Purple Belt: Taekwondo Blue Belt: JuJitsu (my college actually had classes for this, took it for 3 out of the 4 years I was there) Currently I train and teach Gojo Ryu and Shotkan for my instructor at his school in NY

Hello everyone, I'm brand new to this forum so forgive me if this topic has been discussed already. I am looking for a new gi and have not been able to find any BEAR brand gi's out there. The one that I am replacing, I have had for 8 years. I am looking for something that is comparible to the weight (14oz) and durability of the BEAR Brand. Any recommendations?