Enviroman

Does Goju really stress loud "kiais?" Kind of odd, IMO.

Which means when the time comes you won't be able to perform it on someone else in a real fight. When people say they've spent "some" time on groundfighting means they pretty much went through the motions. Even though I was shown how to do an armbar from the guard the first day I started training in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, do you think for a second after even drilling it the whole day I could have caught someone in it the next day in class? NO WAY!!! It took weeks of BJJ training to be able to use that armbar correctly on someone who was fighting back.Yeah my school "teaches us how to sprawl and avoid taledowns" but that doesn't mean no one ever takes me down during sparring. You need to clarify what you mean by a "real fight." I presume, as you seem to have quite a caustic demeanor and you practice BJJ, that you are referring to a MMA fight or something similar. Obviously, Aikido isn't a ground fighting art, so turning it into one would sort of deviate from its purpose. But that doesn't mean that practicing various defenses against those sort of attacks is in vain. But I'm sure that you'll reply with something along the lines of "when you're hit with a takedown you're dead!!!" *shrug* We already know that BJJ is the bestest, most ultimate fighting art that ever graced (no pun intended) God's green earth.

It's common and it should be frowned upon in most cases, I think.

Wow, you have a problem with young martial artists. What's wrong with a young MA dedicating themselves and earning a rank. I agree that 11 is pretty young for a black belt, but a black belt is just a strip of cloth. You can buy one from a MA distributer. A black belt is more of a mental mindset than it is a piece of black cloth. You can achieve this mindset early on. In your other post about young martial artists in "So, how old is everyone here" you say that young black belts have more of a chance of getting themselves killed or hurt by a false sense of pride and in this one, you're talking about an "average joe on the street" and "beat any lower ranking belt in a sparring contest" and "seriously hurt an unarmed bigger oppenant" A black belt should understand that the untimate aim of martial arts in to not have to use them. Rather than try to defend yourself against a robber who wants your money, just give him your money. A black belt should be peaceful and learn to solve things without force (like the example above) If a black belt isn't peaceful, (s)he doesn't deserve it. As IsshinRyu5toforever's signature says, the ultimate aim of a warrior is to lay down his weapons. First off let me say that the Belt is an achievement you get for becoming good at your martial arts or self defense and signifies the road ahead to Master! So what you are saying is it's ok to give skilless students this idea that they can properly defend thierself.......and this is not a pride thing about a belt! I am very concerned for the kids getting false ideas. You speak about having a peacefull mindset, that comes only after learning and knowing you can beat your oppenant and after you fear them no more. But for an 11 year old to think they know how to affectively defend theirself and not fear a kidnapper is a false sense of hope. I love to hear people talk about how Martial Arts aim is learning how to be peacefull in bad situations. It is well stated in Eastern Zen that One must know war before one can achieve peace. He who Kills the Tiger now knows what Life is worth. .....For some reason too many schools are skipping that training of fear control and trying to skip to becoming a monk of Peace. I don't have a problem with Dedicated martial artists, or Kids, I have a problem seening a 15 or 16 year old who has a 2-5 th degree Black Belt who runs and hides all day and gets depressed due to bullies at High School and comes in with a Gun. Notice how many people read this forum and how many actualy responded! Either they agree with me or know that if they protest me it will get them laughed at. Please Instructors teach your kids properly! While I agree with some of your post, I strongly disagree with your mindset. Especially that last paragraph...totally juvenile.

Pretty funny

Ultimate Warrior owns all.

Circular arts (southern-style kung fu, tai chi, and others) will complement Aikido's soft and circular nature. I've studied both Aikido and a "hard" striking art. I feel that it might be to your detriment to study both as a beginner. I'd recommend sticking to just Aikido for a little while.

It's ok. It's silly flash animation, but it's still pretty well done.

There are covert operatives that work for every global government. They aren't too dissimilar to ninja...they just utilize newer technology.

$40/month is very low. (30X40 = $1200, btw). Here's an average breakdown for a retail commercial front (I work with this stuff as an intern): Rent: $700+ (can go as high as $3000/month for a large city/wealthy front). Utilities: $300-350 (if you're paying over $350/month for a 1500-2000 sq. ft. space you need to seriously check out your efficiency...) Insurance: About $150 Misc: Maybe $100 or so. Marketing would be the big charge here. So we can do some math: $1100 (rent) + $350 (util) + 150 (ins) + $100 (misc) = $1700/month for the store. Factor in roughly $1700/month in home bills (considering a 2 income family) and you get about $3400/month in debt. 40(x) = 3400 x = $85 He'd need to charge each student $85 to break even. That's not too bad considering breaking even considers home bills. As his business grows, he will get more students, which means he will begin to profit. It's not too terribly impossible to make it a successful business. Just as a side note, most CRNAs don't make 6 figures right out of school. The average starting salary is around 50k (the overall average is roughly 100k). Is she going part-time?

Wow, you have a problem with young martial artists. What's wrong with a young MA dedicating themselves and earning a rank. I agree that 11 is pretty young for a black belt, but a black belt is just a strip of cloth. You can buy one from a MA distributer. A black belt is more of a mental mindset than it is a piece of black cloth. You can achieve this mindset early on. In your other post about young martial artists in "So, how old is everyone here" you say that young black belts have more of a chance of getting themselves killed or hurt by a false sense of pride and in this one, you're talking about an "average joe on the street" and "beat any lower ranking belt in a sparring contest" and "seriously hurt an unarmed bigger oppenant" A black belt should understand that the untimate aim of martial arts in to not have to use them. Rather than try to defend yourself against a robber who wants your money, just give him your money. A black belt should be peaceful and learn to solve things without force (like the example above) If a black belt isn't peaceful, (s)he doesn't deserve it. As IsshinRyu5toforever's signature says, the ultimate aim of a warrior is to lay down his weapons. You don't think some of his post has some merit? I've met more than my fair share of young black belts that think they can take on the world. I know a 30-something 115 lb. woman with a blackbelt in TKD that always tells people "I'm not afraid to walk around the city after dark...I'm a black belt!" Do you seriously believe that she would be able to defend herself against one or more attackers that outweigh her by 70-130 pounds? Probably not...but she thinks she can (hence, the overconfidence argument). I'm not against young people studying martial arts. I do think that many of the young people awarded black belts don't deserve them. Sure there will be those that are completely proficient in their forms and requirements for black belt (and that even respect their art and know enough that they aren't superman) but those are few and far between. I'm willing to bet that your average 14-year-old with a blackbelt will overestimate his or her abilities and underestimate his or her opponent's abilities. It has more to do with age and maturity than anything. But, then again, quite a few of the people on this board (possibly a majority) are under 18 and will vehemently oppose this with anecdotal and biased evidence...

I did PPC and IPSC shooting competitions. If you're a quality shooter in either of those formats you'll be deadly in a self-defense situation (literally). The plus side is that you also have better control over the firearm.

I think there are measures that can be taken to reduce the amount of bullying. Tougher punishments, for one. Suspending a kid in the 8th grade means literally nothing. It'll never show up on his college applications and it'll probably be nothing more than a vacation. As for what sort of punishments would be fair and would also deter this sort of behavior...well, I'm not sure.

If your talking about the Karate Kid movie, the style is "Goju Ryu". Mr. Miyagi is supposed to be a descendent of the founder of Goju Ryu, Chojun Miyagi. In the second movie, Miyagi's old friend/enemy, Sato, actually wears a Goju Ryu patch. Yeah, but I think most of the MAs in the movie did TSD. The referee is even an accomplished TSD practioner (I think 8th Dan).

Depends on where you start, and how much you stretch daily. I've seen it take as little as 4 weeks, as much as 6 months. Do a search on the web for PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching, and you will find some excellent stretches. Aodhan Here's a decent article describing some of the stretches: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0675/is_4_20/ai_90924139#continue

is this in the wrong thread?

From what I can tell, DeLucia has strayed far from his Kung Fu beginnings. Not that it's a bad thing, just that it may explain his title of Sensei (I didn't even know about the Aikido thing).

Hmm, if you do find something, please post it! I'd be interested in seeing it.

He could just as easily become proficient in muay thai and then train in another art.

I need to get some books...I have none!

I think they tend to be related when in the ring. Watch a lot of UFC fights and you'll notice that there is a good amount of punches/elbows thrown prior to a submission being placed.

I agree that books can provide some assistance but I'd recommend just practicing the form repeatedly. Maybe 1-2 times a night, 6 days a week (you probably want to give yourself a break at some point). Freight, where do you study in town?

My school showed us how to sprawl and avoid takedowns...and we even looked at utilizing some of the joint locks on the ground. It wasn't too detailed but we did spend time on it.

Eh, I'd always have to give it to the guy with 10 years of training (assuming the other guy had only the 1 year of MMA training...)

I've always been turned off to judo due to its sport aspect, but I do think that it has many applicable defense techniques.