USCMAAI

Palm-heel to chin followed by a Tiger mouth to the throat......works every time!

Nine: I would respectfully disagree with this. I have never been intimidated by the size of an opponent. Maybe it is because I am too stupid to be scared, but I would rather think that my personaliy doesnt lend to being intimidated very well. I would think that the "1000 yard stare" is more intimdating than size. A person (regardless of age,size or sex) who looks as though they are looking trough you can be unnerving. My students accuse me of this all the time during sparring. We call it "total commitment" in our system and infact is what Zanchin (our schools name) means.

Welcome

Amen! I have had people ask me (after learning I have advanced rank) "Did you have to register your hands and feet?" It always makes me laugh, but it is another one of those urban myths. As far as quitting before black belt, another reason people do this is that in many schools black belts are required to help instruct, and some people would rather not teach in a formal sense. Many have no problem assisting people, but would not want the responsibility of doing it formally.

Good luck, and much success!

Very well put!

I understand what you are saying here and I agree with most of it. However, blatant disregard for the rules (no face contact) in the ring generated the like response. My children have been taught early in life that violence is not the answer to everything, and have on several occassions had to just walk away from people who try to start trouble with them ( I witnessed just this weekend my daughter walk away from other children her age calling her the "N" word, even though she was really upset by it). On the other hand there are times when the behavior of another must be delt with (again, I think that she went overboard with the backfist and comment), and you must stand up for yourself. Philosophically you are probably right, she was proving a point to the boy (but mainly to herself) and that was "saving face". Again, I am still proud of her for standing up for herself, even though I think there was a way she could have done it properly! I think that people assume that I am condoning her action, and that is not the case. I am condoning her spirit. As I have said before, violence is not a solution to all problems, but in the real world if you are not prepared to respond to violence done to you (either on the street or in the ring) you will be a victim.

I knew there was more to your original post to just the "proud father" thing. I too am the father of two daughters and given your very difficult job, I can fully empathise with your situation. I think though perhaps you have to draw a line between what happened to your daughter at a sporting competition and some of the horrific cases that you may have to deal with as part of your career. I have a different point of view to most people on this board. I do not think that what your daughter did in the first place was in any way commendable or comment worthy. If the boy that did that to her was a thug, he was a thug, leave it at that and rise above it. In my experience, these things happen in competition, its not nice but you just move on. You have to separate whatever feelings of "oppression" that you may bring from the outside world in order to be a clear minded competitor. Zanchin: Thankyou for your words, unfortunately I would have to say that sometimes you can't "rise above" things. I agree that in this case Kinzie's reaction was excessive (I think she could have made her point without getting dq'd or making a smart remark). But I am proud of her standing up to the attempt at intimidation. As a father of two daughters I hope your children never find themselves in a situation where their spouse/boyfriend tries to abuse them. I hope my daughters find partners who are kind, gentle and caring. If they should find themselves in a situation which their partners try to be abusive in anyway, I have given them the tools (physically and emotionally) to deal with it. As for your assertion that I have issues of being oppressed.... In my family I have only seen 1 time in my life where a woman in my family was abused (well actually it was an attempt at abuse) My oldest sister was struck by her husband when I was about 12. She threw a skillet of frying chicken on him and then began to play "skillet ball" with his head with a cast iron skillet. They divorced after that. I personally have never been oppressed or even intimidated (outside of being afraid of disappointing my parents/sensei). I would contend that children learn from watching us as well as what we say, and that "rising above" someone's attempt at intimidation maybe well and good, but where do you draw the line? For me (and my children) the line is clearly drawn! "Don't start nothin, won't be nothin" as my son would say. That doesnt mean we will fight at the drop of a hat, or that we don't try to resolve conflict in a peaceful manner (either by talking it out or if given the opportunity leaving), but we will not be bullied even a little bit, and if violence is done to us we respond in kind.

He trains in Zanchin Combat Karate. 16 is the earliest age which black belt is awarded. He understands that black belt is the beginning of mastery of a system that it takes a life time to truely understand. Thanks. It is good to see that he has a mature understanding of karate. I have never heard of Zanchin Combat karate. Is there a site that I could look at to find more info? Unfortunately no. I have recently been named the head of the system and will be working on a website in the future. The system is based on Special Operations Combat Karate developed by Grandmaster Christopher Kemp, and has elements of boxing,kenpo, shotokan,jujitsu and jkd. Grandmaster Kemp was a member of the Special Forces and used elements of the "kill or be killed" hand to hand system he learned in the 50's and 60's to develope this system. It is purely a combat system (we only teach kata at low levels, and focus primarily on self-defense and dynamic sparring), and in my view it is really effective (I have personally used the techniques as a soilder, police officer, and in a riot at a prison as well as in my personal life). If you have more specific questions send me an email and I will attempt to answer them. Thank you for your interest.

Well the answer to this is rather unuasal. Kamden has been training since he was 7yrs old. Our system does not promote black belts until they are at least 16yrs old. As an instructor, I would say that he has been technically ready for 1st dan for 2 years, but since our system is combat based (stun, stagger, kill) we don't allow promotion until 16yrs old. Honestly, in my systems history there has only been 5 or 6 black belts under the age of 21! My middle daughter is probably ready for black belt as well but is only 14, and so she will have to wait 2 years as well. Normally this would be difficult, but my students understand the rule and look upon it as an opportunity to sharpen their skills.

Congratulations! Wow he's a big boy! BTW how is you mom?

I know that some of you may think I am a bit extreme in my views on women being assertive. I work as a counselor for sex offenders in a prison, and see how they still manipulate women (what else would you call a mother who stays with a man who molests her child?). It is rather pathetic and disgusting to see. I try and teach my children (son and daughters) that no one has a right to abuse you in any way, and that the morals and values that they have must be defended. I also teach them to be kind and gentle when possible, but when being assertive is called for, be really assertive!

I am glad that your mom is ok. I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.

He trains in Zanchin Combat Karate. 16 is the earliest age which black belt is awarded. He understands that black belt is the beginning of mastery of a system that it takes a life time to truely understand.

Excellent article! The only thing I would disagree with is the passive stance. I would assume what the police call the interview stance. Strong side back, feet apart and hands up in a passive manner.

My son just earned promotion to 1st dan. His 16th birthday was April 23rd, and he tested under an affilated instructor. He "maxed out" on points and passed with flying colors! I am very proud of him!

I would stay out of it. As said before the instructor should know the difference between a bad strike and a bad hold.

Your instructor should have stopped this match when he saw the frustration in your opponent! If your instructor failed to do this, you should call for a break, and ask your partner why he is escalating force. I have a rule in my dojo "Hurt them out there not us in here". It is important to address this type of thing quickly befor someone gets hurt.

Thankyou for posting this! With all that I have been dealing with (my daughters tourney problem). I had lost track of the real reasons for competition. Again, thankyou. As for competing, I would suggest you try a couple and if you don't enjoy yourself, stop. lordtariel is right they can be a lot of fun, and you do get to train with people of different styles. This can be a great learning experience.

I understand your feelings in this regard, and agree. However, I don't see this as arrogance, as much as it was anger. She was angry that a call was not made. She was angry that the young man mocked her, and she was angry that he felt that he could do it again. We did visit the young man's Dojang last night. My daughter humbled herself in front of the boy, his instructor, the youngmans parents and his entire class. She said she was sorry and was greeted with " you were lucky, next time I will beat you!" I was stunned! The boys instructor was just as angry! He was very cold and not very receptive. The only thing that made the visit moderately successful was that the youngman's father made him accept Kinzie's apology, and then thanked her for comming. Arrogance does seem to be prevail in some schools, and I agree that we should teach our students to be humble. I try to teach my students to be humble, but to be confident in their ability as well. Especially the girls! As I have said before, a woman needs to be confident in herself and be willing to stand up to a threat (physical, emotional, psychological, etc). My daughter is a smart (at age 13 will be attending Kansas University for summer courses), sweet and sensitive. But she is also know as "little tiger" (guess who is known as "tiger"!), and I will help her learn to control and use her temper, but will never try to curb her confidence (arrogance if you would like). I have told her that there are probably people who are better at karate /fighting (all things really) than you are, but 9 times out of 10 skill alone does not win. Heart and indominatable spirit can be what takes you over the top. I can honestly say that she does not look for trouble, but if trouble finds her, she will deal with it to the best of her ability. SHE WILL NEVER BE A VICTIM!

Rick: While I am not opposed to "booty whippins" in general, I don't feel that in this instance that is called for. I have two sisters and know how difficult it is for girls to balance being a woman and being assertive. I would rather my daughters (I have two) be able and willing to confront a man who is trying to physically dominate them. As I said in an earlier post she has been consequented for her lack of control, but I will never teach her to be submissive. God help the man who thinks that my daugthers will just be a "punching bag" be it physically or emotionally.

Everyone has such intresting reactions to this post. I agree that Kinzie's gloating was wrong and to answer your statement as a parent my daughter has been disciplined (not allowed to compete for 90days). The punishment is not to curb her fighting spirit (I agree that, should she be accosted by a boy/girl/man/woman I want her to deal with it quickly and with what ever means that ensures her survival),but because of her attitude. My Sensei has been punished as well (not allowed to "coach" the kids at tourney),not because of what he said to her, but for what he didnt do(he could have protested the call, or more importantly should have pulled her from the match).As for the rules:backfist were allowed, face contact wasn't for under black belt. We train face and head contact in the dojo, and so she knows it can happen. I asked her why she got so mad and was told "daddy they let him hit me in the face, and then he smiled and said "get up so I can do it again", that is what made me mad!" I did not hear this statement by the boy, but Doc (my Sensei) said he did. Now that does not excuse her behavior, and we discussed control, but I do understand why she did it. Kinzie and I are very much alike in temper, and I think that although I will enforce her ban form competition, I won't be trying to put out that "fire" in her. She and I have been discussing the difference in training for defense and training for competition and she has come to the point that she would rather train for defense. As a father I was proud of my daughter for getting up and showing no fear. As an instructor I was embarrassed that she showed lack of control, I was also disappointed in the officiating and in my sensei's cavalier approach (He is a good man, and actually thought the little boy was being encouraged to break the rules, therefore needed a lesson). I made an offical complaint to the director of the tourney (not about my daughter's Dq, but about not enforcing the rules equally), and admonished my Sensei for putting both children in danger! If they were adults sparring and this happened fine, but you don't let kids get out of control like that. He agreed and took his punishment well (He really enjoys watching the "grand kids" train and compete). He also spent time with Kinzie and talked about why "daddy" was so upset at both of them. I don't know exactly what was said, but she informed me that she was sorry and she wanted to visit the other boys dojo and apologize to him as well (when I was her age, an apology would have never occured to me). Overall I think she learned a valuable lesson about controlling her temper, one I hope will help her throughout her life. Oh by the way, Kinzie said that she did not mean to hit him so hard with the backfist, and I think that she was just trying to knock him down.

" I hope you have children just like you" This statement is one that many of us hear from our parents (and for me my Sensei) when we were growing up. Well folks the curse works! Here is my story. This weekend my daughter showed some of my "old" mannerisms at a local touney. She was sparring in green belt division (mixed sexes ages 12-14). She was up against a young man who was just a bit bigger than she was. The young man launched a backfist at her and it landed right in her face, knocking her down! Now Kinzie(my baby girl) is rather famous/infamous for her temper, and my first instincts were to rush over and pull her out of the match (you should always follow your first instincts). Well, my Sensei(dressed in civies) was over watching her fight(kids call him grandpa), and when the ref didn't give the young man a penalty or warning, I saw him (my Sensei) bend down and say something to her. She got up and assumed her fighting stance. The little boy shook his head and with a smug smile got ready. He again launched a backfist, but this time he was greeted with a well timmed and well placed side kick to the ribs. She picked him up off of his base with that kick, and then followed through with backfist of her own, right to the boys face! Blood flowing, the little boy on the ground at her feet (crying and gasping for air).Of course she was disqualified (and rightfully so). What made it so bad, was that while the poor little kid was laying there my daughter said in a rather loud voice "Your skills have been tested, your heart has been measured and you have been found lacking." That is exactly what she said, she then turned bowed to the center ref and proudly walked of the mat. Of course I was completely stunned. I honestly don't talk that way (well not anymore...I was rather "confident" as a young man). I have know idea where she gets this stuff. My Sensei just smiled at me when I went over to question him (I always think he is up to something, and he never treated me so gently as he does my children). He told me that he had ask her what she did wrong, and then told her to fix it. He swears that he did not tell her what to do or what to say. When I asked him why he let her continue to fight when he should have recognized the "Kinzie warning signs", he stated "being dq'd was good for her, and being brought down a peg or two was good for him". Seeing the clouds of anger on my face, he smiled and said "finally you have a student, that is just like you....enjoy!" then the old man walked over to my daughter put his arm around her and took her for ice cream. I love my daughter and I love my Sensei, but you might be seeing my face and story on America's Most Wanted. My daughter's quote is from some movie called a Knights tale. Has anyone seen it, and should a 13 yr old be watching it?

As stated by other post, keeping your techniques simple is one of the most important things. Just as important is concentrating on Environmental Awarness. Teaching people how to pay attention to what is happening around them is the key! Most assaults can be avoided this way. Teaching students when to leave or go get help is very important and should be stressed. Remember even 8 weeks of instruction is not enough, and you have to stress that continuous practice of techniques is very important (this also allows you the opportunity to offer follow up and advanced self-defense courses). Good luck

4 years in Kenpo 6 years in Jujitsu 3 years in Combat Karate 4 years in Shotokan