karatekid1975

JaseP, long time no chat. How are ya (bows gracefully).

Ok, I know (kinda) where the forms came from ( I was a 5th gup when I left), but I miss TSD ALOT EDIT: OK I do but that was my feelings for the night (and many times ... Tang Soo!)

I agree with Willannem. I also look for lineage, but I could care less about if a martial arts school is affillated with some large organization (most of it is politics anyway). If you learned karate from a good instructor yourself, and you teach quality karate, then I would attend your dojo.

I like fighting men (my dojang does co-ed sparring). My take on it is, if a woman gets attacked on the street, 99% of the time, it a man that attacks her. If I can hold my own with a guy twice my size in the dojang, I have a better chance of it in the street (which I have defended myself against a man for real. That's why I like fighting men). In my TSD dojang, when I learned a new defense technique, I picked a buddy of mine to try it on (he is a 250 lb male). He wouldn't hold back. If I did the technique right, he and I would know it. That's one reason, I defended myself well when the time came. The guy who attacked me wasn't 250 lbs, but the training helped a lot. We are WTF. In the advanced class we go full contact with gear. Sometimes we do drills "hitting" each other with no gear for conditioning. We haven't done that in a while, though. In jujitsu, I learn the "down and dirty" self defense hehehehehe (elbows, knees, biting, whatever works to get out alive). My sensei is bigger than me and he and my boyfriend don't go easy on me while training. I think that is good.

Thanks I'm still at the same rank that I was when I wrote that LOL.

Thanks Patrick. Yes it is. He was a famous kickboxing champ back in the day. But he still teaches and has a bunch of videos on sparring (which I want LOL).

I agree. I'm not a BB yet, and I agree that the value of BB has gone way down. I've seen it many times. But I know when I get my BB, I will know that I earned it. If it means that I will be a red belt (2nd gup and 1st gup) for a while, so be it.

hehehehe. I'm the other way around. I love to tourture the lower ranks with my warm-ups hehehehehehe. But then, our instructor as "plans" too .... eeekkkk LOL

younwhagrl, maybe I should look up the website in your sig. You are a lot like me

My nephew is graduating this week, so I doubt he has hair after three months of boot camp LOL Goju_boi, what Co is he in? We are Alpha 1085

I am female, but I was not flexible at all when I started. I couldn't even touch my toes! Now, I can do a split (right leg out) and I can go to the floor with a V-stretch (that's with 5 years training and a couple of injuries, and a bum hip which is still "bugging" me here and there). BUT I know a couple of guys that got me beat. One is twice my size, but he was a football player (and many other sports). Another is a BB in Isshin ryu. Both are really good. I look up to them eventhough, in this style, they are lower rank then me. Both of them can kick my butt LOL.

I cheated. I used a chair or a wall LOL. I was pretty good at it till I hurt my hip and I had to start from scratch I still have a "bum" hip, but I'm working at it on my left side because I have to balance on my bad hip (right leg/hip) to kick with my left

younwhagrl, what forms do you do? I love forms also. I'm about to learn other forms on my own (I just re-learned my TSD forms). Just curious

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. This is a continuation of my "My Journey Thus Far" article. If you haven't read it already, please do so that you can know where I left off. The school that I was referring to that I left my first TKD school for wasn't what I expected. My article "What I Have Learned" covers why. The main thing that I wrote about in that article was that I learned a major lesson about humility and modesty while I was training there. I earned my red belt there, but I feel I didn't earn it. Needless to say, I left there and went back to the first TKD dojang. One of the major reasons why I left is that, I felt I was thrown into teaching. As I said in the article: I was also asked to teach at the YMCA for my instructor. He wanted to have an adult teach there. I kind of didn't have a choice. I was the only adult available to teach there at the time. I learned something from this experience as well. I was kind of thrown into teaching. It was very hard for me. When I had a question or concern, I didn't have a black belt or instructor to ask. I was just a blue belt at the time and I was alone. I was very uncomfortable doing this. I should have said no, because I didn't have the experience and I wasn't a black belt. I learned by trail and error. Even though the kids at the YMCA were good kids, for the most part, I eventually stopped teaching there. It was overwhelming teaching 25+ kids with no help or experience. Anyways, when I came back here (the first TKD school), I was told that it was possible to keep my rank. I actually didn't want to keep my red belt. I didn't earn it. But the first day back, I was told to wear my blue belt. I was very happy to do so. I was told by a couple of people that it takes modesty to start where you left off, instead of keeping my red belt. I told them that it does, but that wasn't the reason that I wanted to start from blue belt. I didn't earn my red belt (or my brown for that matter), therefore I did not want to keep it. As far as I was concerned, I was still a blue belt, the one I earned from here in the first place. I eventually got back to red belt. I feel I earned it this time. My master instructor changed his curriculum, which is more self defense based and I had to relearn everything. I also had to change a few forms that I learned in the other school. But it was well worth the hard work. As a red belt, I have to help out in the beginner and intermediate classes. I was kind of scared to do this from my previous teaching experience. But the first class I helped with wasn't so bad. I had the senior instructor and two black belts showing me what to do. If I have a question or concern, I have them there to answer them for me. I'm not doing this alone anymore. I am learning from the experienced ones. I was very comfortable with it this time. Teaching a beginner their new form or a kick, to see their face when they get it right, is the most amazing experience. This is nothing like it was when I taught for my last instructor. This is much better. This is giving me the experience for my own school in the future. I want to thank everyone at USA Masters Academy for this.

fall'y-do hehehehehe. That one is good. Except when I get thrown by my sensei. He is so graceful about throwing you (goes with the flow, so to speak), it doesn't hurt .... unless he wants it to LOL.

You sound like my nephew (I think the Marines broke him of that though ... no hair hehehehehe).

I went to Heidi's demo (actually I was in it), and I don't think she would have a problem My boyfriend refered one student to her dojang Like she said, she's not in it for the money, but she is a great teacher (shameless plug hehehehehe).

My TKD doboks (gis) I throw in the wash and the dryer with the lights. It doesn't hurt them one bit. I use Tide for cold water (saves on gas) and oxy clean, no bleach (we have hard water. It would turn them yellow-ish ... been there, done that ... eeekkkk LOL). I fold them right from the dryer, so they don't wrinkle.

I got my wish I wanted to train with a good friend of mine who is a awsome with tech's and forms. She knows who she is (also on KF) I also got my wish to train in traditional Jujitsu (her hubby). They are both so knowledgable (sp?) about MA it's crazy LOL. They are not famous, but it doesn't matter. They know their stuff. But other than that, if I had a chance to train with any others, it would be my old instructor. Also awsome at forms/kata and techs (well I still do once in a great while). I think if I have to pick someone that is famous and still alive, I think it would be Superfoot for sparring. And Mike Reeves for breaking.

I train in 2 MA's now. My TKD instructor wouldn't be happy about it. BUT I don't think he would stop me. But I don't talk about Jujitsu in my TKD dojang at all. No one knows except for a select few that I KNOW won't "blab." What they don't know won't hurt

I've been training 5 years (year and 3 months in TSD) and 4 years in TKD. I'm a 2nd gup/kyu.

younwhagrl, wow. There's someone like me ... cool!

I do too. I have been training for 5 years. NO ONE can make me kiyap unless I feel the need to (a signal for one steps, ect). I just figured out how to breath sharply so I don't have to (same effect as a kihap, for me anyways). I don't kihap when I break. I still break. I don't kihap when I kick an air shield and I still kick the other person across the dojang ... so why make noise if I can do it with the right danjun breathing and good technique??? LOL

"Repetition is everything" - my dentist (I'm an intern for him). That is so true for MA as well.

I did a little grappling with my honey tonight. I mounted him on the back and applied the choke easy (then again, he's a rookie at grappling). But even in Judo, I found it easy. But that was against girls my size. I have never fought someone from BJJ. So, I kind of can't help you there.