Jiffy

It's hard to say without seeing the school, particularly because "Freestyle" can open it up to mean just about anything. If you are learning something, keeping active and enjoying it, it can't be too bad.

I wouldn't advise that you train in two styles of Karate. They are too similar and you get confused more than anything else. Go for a completely different style. Aikido and JuJitsu are good as they are completely different, but still a traditional Japanese art.

Get yourself into a good JuJitsu, Hapkido or school of similar origin. Then, read a book called "Body Language" by Alan Pease. Then, work on your communication skills. That should get you started.

Philosophy is not really part of our school per-se, but I do try to use philisophical comments and connotations from time to time.

It really depends on the scenario. If you don't really want to hurt him, it may be hard to break the grip. If you don't mind hurting him, there's HEAPS of different options. One of them... squeeze his thumb so that you push the end of it towards the first knuckle.... he'll let go.

hehehe, yeah, that's what's ironic about it. I find this hillarious and a tradgedy at the same time. Hillarious that someone can spend thier time creating something like this with little to no research. A tradgedy that would-be martial artists may get turned off by something like this.

hate to be a stick in the mud, but I was rather un impressed. While her flexibility was fantastic, it completely lacked fluidity, speed and -power. More of a dance routine than a martial arts display.

I'm glad to hear that the students have been spoken to. At the end of the day though, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Now, you (you as in the dojo, not you personally) should learn from the experience and structure the payments system so this doesn't happen again. "The height of ignorance is making no change, but expecting a change in the outcome"

What you have come across is a very common scenario, and unfortunately the answer is as individual as the people practising. Generecally speaking, try to find forms/drills that you can do in short bursts. That way when you have a spare few minutes, you can do them. as for getting to class, time to do some prioritising on paper.... that should help.

BTW - the key to this technique is momentum. Get your body moving as fast as you can as quickly as you can. Momentum will take care of the rest.

I always thought it was called a Kick Up.

I'm assuming this was a same side grab? (Ie he grabbed your right with his left or vice versa) There are HEAPS of different escapes for this one, but the simplest one, put your elbow right next to his. See if you can get hold of some information on ICHF combat hapkido. (https://www.ichf.com) Their syllabus is 90% grab escapes. Remember though, you will multiply your chance of success 10 fold if you use a distraction.

Oh definately! The cross is definately more powerful than the jab.

To me, it sounds like your processes are at fault, not you or them. You need to have a clear, defined and repeatbale process for the payment of funds. That way, there is no confusion. Get your boyfriend to make a ruling that he checks with you before class (or at least before everyone leaves) to ensure they have paid. Another good way of going this is to ask them to pay as they enter the dojo. Prices need to be defined and consistant. If there is a student that is taking lessons as payment for something, this needs to be made very clear to you. Make sure there is no confusion about what people should be paying, if there is, this is the quickest way to loose respect, and students. When handling cash, never put their payment in the box before handing them their change. That way, there is no dispute as to what note they gave you because it is still sitting infront of you. A common trick years ago was to go to a shop, give them a $20 and then when you get change, tell them you gave them a $50. The tricker would confuse the person and gain an extra $30 change and an undue appology. Leaving the note in plain view avoids this. Most of all, if you are taking the money, your boyfriend needs to give you authority. He then needs to speak to ALL the students and let them know they must ensure their payments are up to date. Never feel guilty about taking money, customers don't, they are expecting to pay, but if you don't enforce it, they will not volunteer it.

This kata seems to be a version of Bassai Dai or something derrived from it. Without knowing your style, it would be very hard to comment, but you seem to be sharp, defined and fairly fluent. Well Done.

dragonwarrior_keltyr, I think the way you express it is the way it occurs in most schools.

As previously mentioned, neither is wrong. I tend to believe that for the most part though, the ball of the foot is better. It allows greater movement of the leg due to less tension in the calf. Also, remember that the smaller the striking area, the greater the impact. The other thing is that with the calf fully tense in a heel kick version, the flexability is greatly decreased, therefore the ability to flex the hips and to kick high are both decreased. The exception is a front kick to the knee. In this scenario, you do not need flexibility and due to the low line of the kick, the calf is not over-tensed anyway. The advantage of the heel kick in this scenario though is a greater chance of hitting a small moving target (as opposed to the large, semi-static target when going for the body).

Give as good as you get I say. And if they love it, then so do I. It's great to see the women that are not afraidl to take it to the men.

Nugget???

Brutal is punishing your students for the sake of doing so. Tough on them is punishing your students for their own benefit. If this principle didn't exist, then no-one would do an aerobics session. In this particular case, something like this is not only for the body, but for the mind. The idea is to break them down and see if they can continue to perform. In doing this, the true spirit of the person will show. Can they make it or are they a quitter. While we don't do gradings like this at our school, I fully support the ideas of the schools that do.

http://users.esc.net.au/~aacd/syllabus/karate/KBlack1.pdf

On ours, we have the style in the language of it's origin (eg. Karate students have Japanese, Hapkido students have Korean) and on the other side, the persons name in English.

I'll give you a tip that you should remember forever. A big school does not mean a big school. Some of the best instructors in the world only have a few students and a tiny add, if one at all.

That's what Bruce Lee said when Dan Inosanto showed him what was at the time called an "Air Shield". Now known as a "Banana Bag" or "Striking Pad", it is one of the most widely used pieces of equipment.A partner is ideal. A dummy is better than thin air.

Also, I've found that when I'm controlling my dreams, I remember them much more easily and vividly.