Rateh

We use both the sabumnim and chungsanim titles, as well as others. However our use within the system is not quite the same as they are used outside of the system. We have the following korean titles (probably not all spelled corectly) Haksanim - senior student chochanim - temporary black belt (like a japanese shodan-ho or a taekwondo 1st degree recommended), and any 1st degree who is under 16 sabumnim - any black belt who is a 1st degree or above and at least 16 who does not have another title kyosanim - an instructor over a program (such as the kids program) chungsanim - head instructor of a school kwanjangnim - head of multiple schools I don't know if this will help or not

He might not be able understand what he is doing when you are asking him to do a technique in the air. To him it might seem like he is just sticking his arm out or throwing his leg up in the air, because he is not able to connect that exercise to being a move used to kick/strike/block a target/person. Perhaps you could try spending more time practicing in ways that he wouldn't need to imagine the movements use, and see how he reacts to that type of training. Another possibility is that he just enjoys using equipment and so reacts better to those types of drills. Lots of kids, especially the young ones, react more positively when they get to use equipment, even if you are having them do the exact same techniques and repetitions that you would have without the equipment. If he does have aspergers (a type of autism) he probably has difficulty following social ques. For example if you are sitting in a group and everyone starts standing up to leave, then you get "cued" by their action and unless you have DECIDED you are going to stay, you get up and leave to, now you may stop and chat with someone before you leave, but it is not because you don't realize that the group gathering has ended. Someone with autism will often not catch that people are leaving, and if they do, it wont trigger any sort of action for them. So they end up staying where they are not because they have decided to, but because they don't even realize the implications of people standing up and going. This might have an effect on his being able to follow along during warm-ups and group drills. If he isn't getting cued by the other students actions as to what he should do, then he would struggle with these parts of the class. Another symptom of autism, which directly relates to what I said above, is a difficulty (or sometimes near inability) to "model". Which means that they do not copy anothers actions. Most learning in life comes from following what you see someone else do. Many students with autism have to actually be trained to follow another persons actions. A difficulty with modeling would of course make it a challenge to learn martial arts techniques. Another issue is called "joint attention". This is two or more people focusing on the same thing together. For example if a parent and say a 1 year old are together, and the parent points at something to direct the childs attention, many times they actually look at the finger rather than in the direction that the parent is pointing. Most people eventually learn, but for some people, such as those with autism, it never clicks. Pointing itself is just a very easy to understand aspect of joint attention, which is really anything that involves both people purposely focusing on the same thing. This again makes it difficult to learn. Of course we don't know exactly what his particular case is, or what exactly his disorder is, so these are all just things to think about that maybe will help in relating to him.

Congratulations!!

I call that a flutter roundhouse kick It was a purple belt sparring requirement at my last school. The point being to slide your back foot forward about 6 inches with each kick. The kick actually pulls the body forward. Hopping forward was (and I believe is) incorrect as it slows you down, changes your momentum, and if you're hoping then your forward movement isn't coming from the kick, its coming from your base leg. The best way to practice is to start at one end of the dojo/dojang, pick up your front leg, and flutter kick all the way down the mat/floor without dropping your foot. When doing it this way you will quickly find that sliding is much faster and smoother than hopping. Also the word "flutter" is a good description because we don't completely retract our leg back into our chamber for each kick. Instead we retract it about half way, then throw the next kick. More challenging, but more effective, is varying the levels of the kicks as you move forward. I also like to perform the last kick as a side kick instead of a round kick (again it is only a partial chamber, but the kick still must go straight in with a proper foot position, so it looks like the end of a proper side kick, not one of those round/side kicks that some people throw). I also like to perform the side kick all by itself. When you pick up your front foot for a side kick, and you are obviously not close enough to contact, most people do not react with any sort of evasion or movement. Then as you throw the kick you slide your base foot forward with the momentum, thus reaching 6-12 inches further with your kick and connecting with your opponent. That's actually my favorite sparring technique . Back on the original topic though....I believe a strike goes in and out with the same speed (fast as possible speed) in a snapping motion. A thrust doesn't retract as quickly so rather than a snap one gets more of a pushing motion. For pain imho snaps are best. But for gaining distance between you and your opponent than the thrust may be preferred as it pushes them away.

Welcome!

I have been bitten (work situation, mentally disabled guy who was blind, deaf, and in a wheelchair...he was mad about a situation and communicated it the only way he knew how, by biting my arm as hard as he could) Anyways, he bit hard enough that I have a scar. I went to the hospital for it. But I don't remember it even hurting. I doubt if it was some sort of altercation that the bite would have had any effect on the outcome. Being bitten by another human being is an odd feeling, kind of like a "what the crap!?" situation. If anything, I think that would make the attacker MORE angry. As far as fighting back...I don't think even a gun would make a difference to me. I believe in fighting back with everything you have. If that ends up with them dead, well that's what they deserve.

First question, are you warm when you stretch? By that I mean have you warmed up your muscles before stretching. Generally this means doing a bit of cardio first. Think of your body like silly putty. When its warm it can stretch easily, but when its cold it is more difficult and can snap instead of stretch. (a bit of a dramatic example, but you get the idea) Second question, how hard are you stretching? You should never force a stretch. I tell my students to stretch till they can feel it, but if it hurts they have gone too far. Third, as far as regular stretching, there is actually a set of stretches called "the daily dozen". It is often used in taekwondo. These stretches would be easy to find on any search engine.

In my experience hierarchy simply tells you who to go to. And in some cases who has the final official say. For example, if one wants to do their color belt test at another school, they would have to notify their kwanjangnim, who would then be responsible for notifying the kwanjangnim over the other school, and making sure that the proper paperwork gets sent over.

I have a gi that is about 8 years old and for the first 4-5 years I wore it 4 or more times a week. It's a basic student weight black uniform. The knees have been tissue paper thin for the last 6 years but as of yet they have not split open. In other words, uniforms can last a long time. I'd say that unless you are rolling around on the ground most of your training, it'd be pretty hard to ruin your gi. As far as what setting I wash it on? It's the selection that says "mixed colors/dark". I run it through the drier as well, but again I don't know what the settings are.

My grandma is one of those people who decides she wants to switch lanes, so she does...without signaling, or even LOOKING. I have no idea how she doesn't get into an accident every time she gets in the car. This is why I never ever ever ever ride with her.

A black belt is means everything. A black belt means nothing. Just like anything else in life, how important something is depends entirely on the person. What their priorities are, what matters to them, that will decide what the black belt means. And what it means to me is different than what it means to all of you, because we all come at it from our own place.

Martial arts is unique compared to other physical activities. I mean how likely are you going to use your soccer skills, or tumbling, outside of the specific sport? I figure martial arts is one of the only physical activities that actually HAS a use outside of its arena. Also, how many adults do you know who actively participate in something that keeps them in shape? To me, martial arts is something that anyone can participate in to actively improve themselves. Which is far better than a lot of things people spend their time and money on.

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome!

I wore ankle weights for about a month every day to school. At first I felt like I was walking through mud. By the end of the month I didn't even notice they were on. I don't know if they added any power to my techniques, but they did increase the height of my jump. I knew someone who wore a weighted vest for point sparring. (Of course this necessitates non-contact to the body area). The goal was to get so used to sparring with it on, that when he removed it his speed would be increased. I think training with wrist, ankle, or a vest weights can all be beneficial. But if you are kicking or striking with the ankle or wrist weights, it would be very important to do the techniques more slowly to prevent injury to your joints.

I know for a recent 3rd degree test in our school, the student performed a blind jump spin back kick. You may not want jump kicks, but a couple of blind techniques might be cool. It also might be interesting to try a separated board break. Like set up for a spin hook kick with 2 boards, each 6 or so inches apart and break them both on the same kick. This would make it so only one person would hold each board, which would also make it more challenging. (Never seen this, nor have I done much breaking so I don't know if it would work.) Good luck!

I know my dad buys glasses that are just below what he needs and wears them for part of the day. He says it has slightly increased his vision since he started. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea. (My dad has a lot of opinions on things, that don't necessarily have any bases in fact).

I agree with what Truestar has said. One drill you might try is an energy drill. You split the class in half, one half on each side of the room. Have each half choose a team name. Then you will have one team do a technique trying to be the most intense with the best kiah. The second team will follow trying to be more intense and energetic than the first. Continue the back and forth until you feel the students have gotten the message of being energetic, trading off which team goes first. I like to award the best team with push-ups, the effectiveness of that depends on the group though. Either way the winning team should get some sort of re-enforcement. If you wanted you could make this a permanent warm-up in the class. Is there any drill that these students seem to enjoy? If so using that as a reward to motivate them might be another option, including making those students who did not show enough effort have to sit out on that drill.

In my experience, no, I have not had to work harder to gain respect as a student in any of the schools I have trained in. Most of my teaching has been with children, and in general how much I have to assert myself does not have anything to do with gender. I have taught the occasional boy (generally around 7-9 years old) who shows discipline for the male instructors, but I have to constantly correct their behavior. In these cases I have found that the children were usually put in martial arts because a single mother wanted their child to have a positive male influence. Regular consistent expectations and discipline has always gotten through to them. In teaching adults, sometimes males are hesitant to believe I know what I am talking about. They have never outright disrespected me though, and if they did I would treat them just the same as kids who are disrespectful. They'll either stay and find out I know what I'm doing, or they'll leave and miss out on the training, I don't care which they choose. As I have thought about this, I have found that students in general are more respectful and disciplined as I have gotten more teaching experience. The "air" if you will that I demonstrate in my teaching is one of being in complete command of the situation. I think that helps with having students be respectful in class. I wouldn't say that is asserting myself, more like the way I carry myself. Interestingly, all the adult women I have taught have told me they love having me as an instructor.

Having had my hair grabbed that way, as well as seeing others be attacked in the same manner. I think most hair grab defenses are worthless. The attackers hand will be entwined in your hair, and any type of pulling it off will end up pulling your hair out. It doesn't matter if you loosen their hand first, the hair will still be twisted around their fingers. My first choice would be to cause them pain somewhere else, thus changing their focus and making them WANT to let go of my hair in order to protect themselves from my attacks.

How old are they and what is the age range in the class? Also, how long have they been training? Are the higher ranks in that class really putting their efforts in? In general the best way to get kids to put energy into their training is to be super energetic yourself. If you make the drills sound really fun and exciting, then that will often help as well. More details about the situation, such as answers to the above questions, would give me a better idea of how to help.

As a female, I do get offended when people say don't hit like a girl. I would also get offended if I was told I hit like a guy. Whats wrong with girls that if we hit hard its masculine? I don't think me being a girl or a guy should have one bit to do with martial arts. As far as I'm concerned, there are no females or males on the floor. We are all martial artists, period.

I don't know how much color belt testings are. Dan testings are $60 payed out over the course of the pretesting year. Pays for certificates, embroidered belts, and some higher ranks to come to town for it. (And still some people complain of having to pay a whole $60 dollars)

Welcome!

Congrats!