Aodhan

It will work, but it's not the best thing. Basically, you are shortening your stride, and not completely extending the leg, so your hamstrings have a more limited range of motion and they don't get stretched out. However, it places a lot more stress on different parts of the legs and lower back, and if you keep it up you will develop aches in different parts of the body as you try to compensate. When I was doing cross country, we only ran specifically hill workouts once a week. Aodhan

Depends on what you want out of the class. Any MA practiced at a high level will give you fitness benefits. Various types of MA's will enhance agility, core strength, flexibity, grappling, etc. Aodhan

I've been getting them since I turned 25. Aodhan

Pulse rate is your best measure. You want to keep your heartrate at 60-75% of max for 20 minutes or more to get cardio benefits. Aodhan

Here's what I've been thinking of so far: Break #1: three boards on each hand, supported on blocks, broken from a seated position. Break #2: Concrete edging blocks on end, stacked over another with concrete blocks in between, double speed break Break #3: Jump reverse side kick over 3 people, 2 boards Break #4: Three board ridge hand speed break Aodhan

I do spend my time practising katas and basics too, but during the sparring I do get bruises, but also try to give them too!! Well I would find a perfect executed block that could break hard metal pretty useful against an opponent who launches a straight punch!! You don't need an iron forearm. All you need is 16 lbs of direct pressure to break the ulna. About 8 lbs of direct pressure to break a rib or collarbone. It really doesn't take that much "toughness" if you have good technique. Aodhan

Yeah, the ATA gets a lot of knocks, but there are a lot of things they get right. Aodhan

I don't know the proper terms for it, but it would translate to "Mastery of self". If you think about it, martial arts are all about mastering yourself. Control over your body and it's movements, control over your thoughts and reactions, and the better you get at all of the above, the better at martial arts you are. As far as what physical techniques I would require, well, you didn't ask :D Aodhan

I did some research on google groups and various other forums, and it appears that there are a few people that have investigated her for "cult like" activities. I could not find any substantiation, but I didn't dig really hard in the time I had. I also could not find anything to substantiate her background, but since she "created" her style, she is free to call herself Grandmaster if she wishes (Shouldn't that be Grandmistress? :D) Aodhan

Me too, but it doesn't necessarily mean a mcdojo, more likely an instructor with really bad fashion sense. Aodhan

Hey all- I've been doing a year long program at my school. One of our owners got her 6th degree last year, and has been doing a year of preparation for her Mastership. She created a program similar to the UBT by Tom Callo. For the past year we have been doing: 150 situps, 150 pushups, 3 miles walking/running per day. Form, 3 x per day. Sparring, 3 rounds/day. 10 good deeds/day, one book a month for self improvement, and meditation 20 mins/day, and then there are some other more personal requirements. We get to design our own testing for the final. No less than 10 minutes, no more than 30. I want to do a lot of different breaks. Power breaks, speed breaks, agility, etc. Anyone have any really sweet breaks that they like? Hopefully I'll be able to record the testing, and post the video somewhere for people to see. Aodhan

In the early days of the UFC, Royce (pronounced hoyse) Gracie introduced brazilian Jiu jitsu (BJJ) to the mixed martial arts arena. He went undefeated for several UFC competitions. He and his brother Renzo are probably the two biggest reasons that BJJ and grappling arts have made such a surge in popularity the past few years. Aodhan

Many times those liability waivers aren't worth much more than the piece of paper they're printed on. All they say is that you recognize that MA is riskier than walking down the street. If you injure yourself at the dojo, you can claim the mats are old and that's what caused it, so the school is negligent. You can sue for any reason, then the burden of refutation is on the school. As far as contracts: Yes, there are a lot of bad schools that use contracts like a club. However, used properly, contracts are an excellent thing. They allow the owner to budget, plan costs, and do other things like that to ensure that the dojo will be open 6 months from now. The things to watch out for are 3 year non-breakable contracts. Our school uses contracts. We have 6 month, 1 and 2 year agreements. There are clauses to get out of the contract if you move more than 30 miles from a school in our system, or if you get injured and cannot continue training. Just getting bored is not a reason. If you truly want to know if a school is a McDojo (Although I think that's a stupid term), here are things to look out for: 1-Excessive number of low ranks with very few upper ranks. This usually means that people don't like the instruction and quit. 2-Refusal to talk about the "hidden" costs. Testing fees, equipment needed, "required" seminars, etc. 3-Contracts with NO escape clauses (See above) 4-Refusal of the instructor to talk about his lineage. Some other small things that show that a MA school IS striving to be professional: 1-Membership in the BBB. This generally shows that a business acknowledges their responsibility to the consumer. 2-Clean, well organized school. 3-Decent lighting and safety equipment 4-Students that are happy. If you see a lot of surliness, maybe there's a reason. Everyone points to trophies as "Ooh, a mcdojo! Headbands? McDojo!", etc etc. Do your own research, rather than try and fit a preconceived definition to an MA studio that you think is suspect. Aodhan

Apparently mine is defective... Didn't your sensei teach you to never leave yourself open like that? Sheesh...too easy to even take the shot. Aodhan

If you want a cool break that isn't that hard, practice breaking with a "cupped" hand. Once you get that, you can awe your students by breaking with an egg in your hand. Aodhan

I am a serious competitor. I've qualified top 10 in the ATA world standings in forms before, and might possibly make it again this year in weapons on a limited season (Broke a rib ) I move up an age group next tournament year, and anticipate making top 10 in forms, weapons and sparring. All that aside, I love the training, I plan on teaching and owning my own school, and after 19 years, I just can't imagine not having MA in my life. Aodhan

You mean yours isn't?? Huh...and here I thought everyone had one. Aodhan

I wouldn't think that is necessarily indicative either. If someone sets up a system and trademarks the name, then people that use the system must pay a fee to use the name as well. It may or may not be a mcdojo, but licensing fees by themselves don't make it so. Aodhan

For forms, I like the katana styled blades. For fighting in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) I use a rapier and a parrying dagger in my off hand. Aodhan

Nope. In my opinion, it's just the latest "fad" supplement, and will disappear soon. You have to take the "next greatest thing" that the muscle mags promote with a grain of salt. Most of these mags generate huge revenue from supplement companies by promoting certain supplements. Weider owns most of the muscle mags out there, and most of them are half as much ads as they are articles. Good solid nutrition, a well planned workout regimen are all you really need. I like the boost that creatine gives my workouts, so I use it off and on throughout the year, depending on where I am in the tournament circuit. Mostly it's just vitamin supplements (Because my diet isn't the best) and protein powder. Aodhan

What I would do is set up the school as a corporation, and hire yourself as an employee. If you set it up as a sole proprietorship, then once the school assets are exhausted, they can go after your personal assets in any lawsuit. Also, the AAU insurance I believe is personal injury insurance, not liability insurance. The injury insurance will pay for the injuries, but if they sue you for negligence/creating the circumstances that aided in the injury, then that isn't covered. Also, be sure that the other person that teaches doesn't affect you in any way. It would really suck to lose your half of the business because he did something wrong. Since you are selling a service, most cities won't require a tax license. That is usually reserved for businesses that sell tangible merchandise that can be taxed. You will probably need a federal EIN, though, and have to pay taxes on the income you generate from the business. Aodhan

I think one of the things that is key for an instructor is to be able to relate the material in a way that each student understands it. This means being able to recognize and utilize different learning styles. Some people learn by watching and imitating. Others need "hands on". Others can look and absorb, some are more technical, etc. That is one of my strengths when I am instructing computer stuff, is I have an ability to break it down into terms that are comprehensible to the layman. Aodhan

My wife is very supportive. She is training to be a dance teacher, and is also training to be a certified instructor in the ATA. She loves teaching the little ones which is great, I don't do that well with really young students. Aodhan

Common belief is that it came over from Okinawa, as they were banned from using weapons and developed empty hand fighting. Previous to that, the only arts that were known in Japan were the sword arts. Those supposedly came down from about 700 BC. Aodhan

Don't take an art based on what you can move with. Take some tryout classes and see which you enjoy more. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stay with it, no matter how convenient it is. Aodhan