Jiffy

Congratulations on the BB! Remember that jealousy is symptom of envy which is a form of flattery. So by them being jealous, it's just a compliment. Also, take it with a pinch of salt. By them being resentful towards someones success just proves the point that they are not mentally ready to have a black belt anyway.

Thank You!

This is the layout of our school. Chief Instructor - 4th Dan, 35 years experience Instructor (me) - 2nd Dan, 18 years experience Instructor - 1st Dan, 8 years experience Assistant Instructor - 1st Dan, 6 years experience As you can see, there's a fair variety and what this means is that there will always be slight differences in the way things are taught. This usually just comes down to personality and preference. Any major differences on the other hand should not occur. Because the head instructor and I trained in different dojo's, we find that sometimes this occurs. When it does, the students politely ask why I am teaching different to the head instructor. The head instructor and I will then discuss the difference and come up with an answer. Never is it a problem though because we are open minded about it and so are our students.

The first thing you must remember is that most new students know nothing of style. To them it doesn't matter which style they start in (as I said.... most, not all). What will happen is if they are looking at training, they will ask each of you why your style is better, but will only take it with a pinch of salt because they will believe you are bias. With this in mind, it all comes down to price. Competition is always good for the consumer, but never good for the seller. If however you are confident that you can maintain a lower price, you have a fair chance of success because you may get his existing students as well as new students of your own.

You already have standup striking and ground grappling, so I personally would be looking for some standup grappling. This could be any one of the following (or more) Japanese Jiu Jitsu Aikido Judo Hapkido

Hi Guys, Most martial arts use a colour system of some sort. Generally as stated, these are most chinese, japanese and korean systems. BJJ and some philipino systems also use colour systems.

In Oz, the average price is about $8 per 2 hour lesson. Work it out on a per lesson basis so you know what you are getting for your money. Probably best to compare with other schools in your area.

Just wanted to correct a couple of things.. A horizontal fist should also only hit with the first two nuckles, just the same as the verticle. This ensures smaller contact point as you said, but also places the bones inline. While it is true that anyone can injur themselves with a incorrect punch, the chances of injury are higher with a verticle punch due to the lack of muscle and tendon tension. Having said that, for some people (like myself in some circumstance), that is a small risk for the advantage of a faster punch.

In this situation, I would certainly advise to look at the greater good. Too often in society today, we look only at the disadvantaged and those that unfortunately are not able to reach an expected level. While it is crucially important that we do make allowances for those with genuine disadvantages, it is unfair to hand everything to them on a platter. What you must remember is that while for some that have posted here, a black belt is nothing more than a test of character, in the real world, many people feel very different about it. What it means is that if you were to award a black belt to someone who is only of several months ability/knowledge, you are insulting those who have worked just as hard or harder and reached a much higher level. It might not be quite as poetic than to believe that character is all that matters, but the reality is, the next person will either not value their black belt at all or will ask why they had to achieve such a high level when others didn't. Another thing to consider is, what is next for them? Once they have their black belt GIVEN to them, what is there left to achieve? They can't possibly teach their own class safely and effectively. Do you then give them a second dan as well? The point is, while it's sad that some people can not reach the expected levels for some things, that is reality and that is exactly what makes people strive for them in the first place. How happy would you be if you were given treatment by a doctor that didn't know what a liver was? Or if your house was built by an architect that couldn't work out the area of a triangle? Why should it be any different for a martial arts degree? They key to solving while still being positive and objective is to first fully explain the situation to the student. Chances are, they have probably come to the acceptance of the situation already. Then, you need to look at taking the focus away from black belt. There are many other things to achieve in Martial Arts and while it is my belief that a person in this situation should never be awarded black belt, it does not mean that there are not many other things that they can achieve. With all the above in mind, I would like to say this. I completely respect the position you are in. While the above is my strong belief, either way it will be a very difficult decision and difficult consequence. The most important thing to remember is to handle the situation delicately and allow them to keep their dignity (and that awesome spirit to go on).

I think the ideal answer is - Train with both! Generally, people get more from training with real weapons than fake ones. You learn a better respect for the weapon and it's uses. If however you are getting injuries from the weapons, you do not have suffiecient respect for the weapon, or you just do not have sufficient training. ANY training should be a challenge. NEVER should it be dangerous.

Do what I did. Eat lots of junk food and drink lots of alcahol! This turns the stomach into a smooth rounded shape. = no uneven 6 pack (for the gullable - it's a joke)

As said, what you did wrong was hit something beyond the point of conditioning. As a general rule for conditioning - If it's comfortable, you're not getting any benefit If it's painful, you're doing more harm than good (do not consfuse painful with uncomfortable) Have it X Rayed and then next time, use a punch bag.

Back Stretch Have two people stand back to back. One turns to the left and the other to the right and the touch both hands flat. Then the do the same on the other side. Once they get a handle on this, have both people turn to the left, rotate right around so they touch hands in the middle. Then the same the other side, back and forth, back and forth. Stance Resistance Have people form a good stance. Get their partner to hold onto their belt from behined and apply resistance as the person tries to step forward into stance. Rounhouse Fitness Have both people in left stance. The hold hands (left) and place their right hand by the ear. The first person steps up with the right and kicks the hand with the left leg, then steps down. Then the other person. Build up to maximum speed. The hands are for balance assistance. Over-Under Another back one. Have two people facing away from eachother. Spread their legs. Get them to both bend down and clap hands underneath. Then reach over and clap hands above the head. Repeat.

Hate to sound like a broken record, but Tae Kwon Do. Tall people generally do well with kicking arts.

Hmmm, that's expensive! I went to our local Martial Arts stores here and they both sell them from about $20aus (about $26us) EDIT - ooops, I take that back.... that's the price for a wall mounting one.

I have trained with both, depending on the style and I have to say that I like both for different situations. Verticle Fist - I quite like this for when I am doing close quater trapping and attacking the upper part of the body. I find that it is faster and more direct. Verticle fist (when used with the thum on top) also has the advantage of being used to having the thum out and is therefore less of a transition when you want to use the thumb to stike such areas as the groin, temple, neck and various other sensitivity. Horizontal Fist - I would certainly agree that there is a greater tension in the arm during a horizontal fist and for this reason it feels a lot more powerful. The bones are in line and therefore it can produce a more powerful impact. Also, with the horizontal fist, the thumb usually held underneath meaning that it holds a tigher fist and is also less prone to thumb locks or being caught in gi's. The other advantage of the horizontal fist is it is consistant with the Shotokan blocks we do in that we use rotation (in the case of blocks, it's used for extra deflection) Conclusion (in my opinion) Verticle = Faster, More Direct, Thumb Techniques Horizontal = More powerful, Safer, Consistant with blocks.

Without a doubt, I would say Tae Kwon Do. They specialise in kicks.

Unfortunately, I don't live in your area, but where I live, they have a competition called National All Styles. Basically all styles are invited to compete. My advise would be to look for something like this in your area. Start with one of the governing organisations, they should be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction.

Long legs has nothing to do with it, it's about being able to control the main mass of your body. When you are on the floor, put your hands palm down on the floor next to your ears. Lift your legs and hips then flick back the other way. When you do this, think of a pole volter going over the beam, you need to arch your back and then when your feet get about half way back down, flick your upper body up as well with the help of a push from the hands. In a nutshell, that's pretty much it. Just keep practising.

For me it was my father. He was a brown belt at the time and I was only six years old, but I wanted to do it. I tried it but it didn't work out. Tried again when I was 7 and have been training since. (I'm now 25) Along the way there has been other bits of inspiration pushing me to do better, but that's how it all started.

Definately ask! You wouldn't hire a lawyer to defend you without checking what his win rate is, so why take a gamble on someone you are paying to teach you something. If he takes offense at you asking, I would be asking yourself some serious questions as to weather or not this is a good person to be training with.

Anytime you go behined your instructors back, you are being dishonest. I would speak to him and ask him why he doesn't want you seeking answers outside. Failing that, ask your instructor the question and if he can't answer it, ask if he can find the answer for you. Then if that doesn't work, stuff him, find the answer yourself.... you tried.

Apart from the obvious answers above (which are true), it does strengthen the fingers. While it's obvious that this would help in eye gouges etc, it's not actually hard to poke an eye out. In many arts, they strengthened the fingers for techniques that are used to penetrate armour (usually bamboo). Techniques such as Karate's "Nukite" were used to do this.

I just wanted to comment on this whole streetfighter vs professional fighter thing. What you must consider is that the ring fighting and street fighting are two different things. For instance, if you were to say "Who is the best driver in the world" some might say "Sebastian Loeb". But take him out of the rally car and put him in a F1, he might not do so well, because while it is still driving, it's different. The same applies for this scenario. While the two things are fighting, they are different. While it's my belief that the professional fighter would ordinarily be faster, fitter, more accurate, more powerful and have a greater range of techniques, he may not be aware of some of the dirty tricks on the street. Nor will be as used to fighting in uncontrolled environments and therefore may become distracted or unbalanced more easily.

2nd Dan. Was supposed to go for 3rd Dan last December, but I went over seas so will have to do it this year.