Fairfax_Uechi

Great post. I think we all go through periods where we question all the time effort and sacrifice that we give to do our art. At times, it can be very hard. Getting passed over for a promotion, or knowing that you have another year or two to your next one can be tough. Getting chewed out by your Sensei or seeing friends quit just makes it hard. And heaven forbid you get hurt and can't train for an extended period, this can really test your will. Those who are determined make it through. Some quit and come back, and many don't. One question that I had for you was the comment that said that you were "forced" to study martial arts. How was this?

Talk to him and find out. Maybe he enjoys competition but like others said either isn't cut out to be the top of the heap in competition. If he's a good instructor that's what matters. Look at baseball, very few good managers were outstanding players, but many outstanding managers were average or worse players. The same goes for instructors, as long as his form is decent and he/she can present what you need to learn and help you learn it that is what is really important. Well that and keeping you motivated.

I try to reach the best level of physical condition possible. But it is very hard with working, having a family, and trying to live a "normal life" Yes, training is both mental and physical to me. And even the folks who say otherwise, whenever you work the body you affect the brain. Blood flow, body chemistry, etc. all effect how you feel, and that's just the physical side. I find that kata are more internal, the moves become just a means of creating a way to be in a medative state. Actually cardio work does this for me too. But when I lift weights, it's all about pushing the iron, can't be off in a zone the same way with a huge amount of weight hanging over you, or on your back. I'm not fully sure what you're asking here. My Sensei and I have many views that are similar. But also many that are different. So yes and no. I choose what works for me, and discount what doesn't. Sometimes I'll try something that I don't believe in and work it around until it either works or doesn't. For instance, meditation is something that works for me, but something that I don't do enough of. I'm currently working to add much more meditation into my life as the short time I spend is nothing compared to the benefits. Um, yea based on the answers above.

[quote name="Menjo When you say some people have no conept or little concept of prayer or meditation' date=' now give me slack because I have no idea on the chirstian religion so maybe I'm defying a sound rule, but meditation for the average person doesnt mean clearing the mind or even slowing thoughts. Meditation for those who are untrained, is a way just to relax. Saying that there is a correct way could be very condrary to your own statements(if I understood your point correctly). So what I mean is that even though someone thinks they are on a certain path, they are on a path none the less... their desired destination is deluded( I guess this could apply to all sorts of thing), however they still achive(hopefully), some sort of accomplishment, in thier own sort of way.[/quote] I think you and I are saying similar things. But my point about prayer or meditation was that most people just don't do it or very much. Sure there's the "God Please help me ......" quick prayers that people say, but I'm talking more along the lines of a Zen state or meditation if you will. The totally clearing your mind and "listening", not forcing thoughts, but letting the thoughts come to you. Hence the slowing down the thoughts comment. In other words, when I meditate I don't want to think about the wife, kids, bills, work, the pain in my back. I want to clear them out. So yes, I agree with you there is no right and wrong way, but there are more introspective ways than others, if that makes any sense

Maybe for commercial dojos but I didn't see many (any?) of the smaller dojos that I know of that aren't store front based. I did a quick check on several very large dojos based out of health clubs or rec centers and they weren't listed. I guess I didn't test it well enough. I tested it for my local area. I thought that it had showed both my dojo and yours for our zip code. No problem. BTW where do you train? As a check I did find a few Uechi dojos up in New England listed but not a bunch. So the list isn't horrible, just not all inclusive.

No, some organizations have standards for belt colors but the general rule is colored belts can be anything. The exception being that white is pretty much universal as a beginner. As an example, in Uechi each dojo uses their own color system, and until you reach the Dan (black belt ranks) the material can be slightly different at each kyu grade. But by 2 kyu most Uechi dojos the material is similar and by Shodan (1 Dan) the test is pretty much universal. I know other styles that things depend on the instructor and the school. As for your style, I'm not sure if there is a standard set of colors.

Congrats on your engagement.

Maybe for commercial dojos but I didn't see many (any?) of the smaller dojos that I know of that aren't store front based. I did a quick check on several very large dojos based out of health clubs or rec centers and they weren't listed.

After reading this thread, I have to agree, chosing your shoes based on a possible fight is kind of immature. With that said, would you wear sandles to church? Boots to basketball? Cleats to tennis? Dress shoes to the beach? I wear dress shoes to work. At work, I'm most concerned with the way that they look and how comfortable they are. When riding my motorcycle I wear boots because they protect my feet, and the oil resistant soles are needed to keep me safe on slick roads (oil is nasty). At home I'm bare foot, and the rest of the time, I wear what goes with the way I'm dressed, usually tennis shoes, loafers, or cowboy boots (every get kicked with a pointed toe cowboy boot, can you say ouch??)

But if you just earned your black belt you've just begun. Why quit now? I study Uechi-Ryu and it is a very pratical art and more kung fu than karate. It's well suited for my needs. I hear people make comments like yours all the time and wonder why they want to stop one art and stop another. I'm at a point where I'm starting to learn about other arts and learn from them to complement my Uechi not replace it. But that's just my opinion. Good luck in whatever you do.

Not to start a flame war but I have heard many bad things about ATA. Now granted this isn't first hand experience as I've never studied TKD, but people that I know who have, don't think highly of ATA. So with that said, I'm glad you think you're getting your money's worth, and think highly of the instructors.

How about different colored shirts? I know that I love having different shirts, and I'm sure that if you ask, the students wouldn't mind the extra cost if it's done nice (and the shirts you have look nice so it shouldn't be an issue)

Where in Japan and what style of Karate? As others said, it can be done, but it's not easy. If you're going to Okaniwa then look at Uechi and Gojo as styles. If on the mainland I'd also look for one of these, but if you can't find one, then you'll have to see what is local. FYI, I was told that training there isn't like what it was 5-15 years ago where folks would train 4-5 nights a week for at least 3 hours. When folks did this, it was possible to earn Shodan in about a year. 8 months would be tough, but if you're determined, practice a lot, have a good teacher, and are an exceptional student it can be done. (just not too likely). BTW, why the rush? Why not try to learn all you can and make the most of your training.

Five weeks is a LONG time with an injury. You're right. Knees are serious things and messing with them can be very very very bad. I'd suggest taking it easy and not doing anything to hurt it further. If you can get to a good doctor do so. It's not something that I would take to chance. Otherwise, I wouldn't do anything that would possibly hurt it. But I also know my body well and do a lot of research on things. My doctor and I work as a team and I plan how to adjust for my age, injuries and any special training that I'm planning. A few things that you can do that no one will argue with is to: eat as good as possible. Get as much rest as possible. Soak your body in a warm bath with Epsom salts as much as you can, and don't do anything dumb! Otherwise be smart, and if you're not sure error on the safe side.

Actually empty your mind means to slow down your thoughts. As I said above, the idea is to not control your thoughts, but to be able to listen. One thing I find very offensive about some "Christians" is that they have no concept of meditation and prayer. What these people don't understand is that medation has a long history and goes back all the way through the Bible. I don't think you can really meditate wrong. You can try and not get anything out of it, but like all things that are hard, you will fail many times before being able to do it "correctly". As I've said, I'm still learning to meditate and I've been working at it for 10 years. And it will probably be another 10 years before I'm just good at it. And another 10 before I master it. But it's ok, as it's a journey not a destination.

Well the simplest thing is to think of it as relaxation. Think about clearing your mind and just let your thoughts "be". Think about your everyday, you're probably thinking about the wife, kids, money, job, or something else. What if you just slow down the thoughts, and then learn to "listen". Once you can do this you can really begin to understand meditation. Like I said, I'm a long way from it, but I understand the concepts and have on a few occasions made some decent progress.

Sorry, but Mr Myagi was way off on this one. I have had several students who do not always follow the rules I set out. They do stupid things. I can't imagine an experienced instructor that has not had a problem student or two. Maybe Mr Myagi isn't a real MA instructor, he just plays one in the movies... I would be willing to bet that this guy's instructor does not condone his actions and would be livid if he heard about it. Have to sort of disagree here. I had a kid in my class who was AWFUL. HORIBLE and TERRIBLE and those were on his good days. I talked to the kid, the mom, and finally the dad. I had to spend a lot of time with them and I really didn't enjoy it. But the payoff was huge. The kid came around. He's now doing well, and has made great improvement. Sure he still has bad days, but they're just minor things compared to his outbreaks. The point is that a student can be "bad", but if you work hard enough as an instructor you can find a way to get through to ALMOST anyone. Yes, I'll give you there are hopeless cases, but I'm willing to bet that they're less common than we'd like to admit. It's so much easier as a teacher to blame the student. It's very painful to stop and think about what you're doing wrong, how to address the student's needs and how to help him or her see the error of their ways. So if you're student is a problem, and you can't find a way to help them become a better student, what are you missing? As for problem students, we all have them. Even a good student can have a bad day and be a problem. The student I used in the example above was a LOT OF WORK. I never once condoned his actions, and I didn't put up with them. I didn't like having to discipline him, go to his parents, and spend the time, but it's part of the job. And while it took some time away from the other students, hopefully some of them will learn from my example and file it away for the future. So, bad students no (with exceptions), bad teachers (too many really). Now with this said, I'd like to challenge you to a little test. The next time you have a student who is being a problem, think about how you handle the situation. Did you do everything you possibly could to help the student? Could you be a little creative and find a different way of dealing with it to help him/her see the errors of their ways? Now this isn't something for you to share unless you want to, but I hope that if you accept it that it will help you (meaning everyone here who teaches) be a better teacher. And FYI, I can honestly say both yes and no to this as I'm still learning to be a better teacher.

Well congrats. Like others said. One month sounds quick, but without knowing your background, how much you train, practice, and the standards of the dojo it's hard to comment. I would suggest that if your dojo promotes you every month, then think twice about the quality of the training. Otherwise, enjoy and keep up the hard work.

All of the suggestions for balance are great. But I would add that you should do something every day. Balance isn't something you learn over night. But a little every day can really add up. In Uechi we do Jumbi Undo exercises. The leg lefts and leg circles are highly effective at helping you get better balance.

Um, I'm not sure. I'm not familar with tensho. But you have to remember that Uechi and Gojo do Sanchin differently. From my quick (2 minute research on tensho), I can say that we work breathing, and hardness and softness into all of our kata. Hence my work to perfect Sanchin. It's ironic, but as a beginner, I would be very tense and try to ge the moves right with what I thought was a lot of power. As I progressed, I actually learned to soften the arms or legs that I was moving, but actually tighten the rest of my body even more than I could as a beginner. But the more I train, the more I go back to basics to improve other techniques. FYI, at some point, I'm going to hook up with some of my Gojo friends and learn some of their techniques as I think it's always good to know other things outside of your own art.

I agree Boxing is all punching. Uechi could be considerd mostly hand techniques with some leg work. TKD is the opposite, mostly kicking with a little bit of striking. Now the question to answer your question, is why are you asking this? For instance boxing is a great sport, but as far as being practical I'd say it's not as useful for self defense as some other arts. For good self defense you really should look at the techniques and how efficent they are. Combined with conditioning, as well as a combination of striking, kicking, and ground work. As far as speed, speed is mostly a function of how you train. You can learn to be fast. The trick is to do good technique fast.

I don't like zero tollerance. And the example you state of someone being hit from behind being expelled and arrested is just nuts. I can tell you that I would sue the school, the police and everyone else if I had a kid who was assualted and then got thrown out of school. First it's just wrong, and second, I'm sure a good lawyer can rip that policy apart. As for the first part of your question. If somone starts fights they don't have any business being in the dojo. But someone who uses good judgement and defends themselves shouldn't be thrown out for doing what they teach them. My view is that fighting is a last resort, but if you have to fight, you should have done everything to avoid a fight first.

I have shirts and jackets with the Uechi crest on them and the dojo's web site along with the name of the dojo. Very understated. If someone is close enough to read it, then we're close enough to have a conversation. If not, then it's not an issue. Also, I'm older also, so just like usc96 it's not like I'm hanging out with a bunch of teenagers, or going places where a crest or name is going to cause an issue.

Maybe I missed your point, but how much cardio work are you doing? What sort of shape are you in? If you have weight to lose do everything you can to get rid of it. Fat is just extra weight you're lugging around. If you don't have any extra fat, then consider cutting back the weights and add more intense cardio work. Intervals, and sessions where you push yourself for long periods with short breaks. Get to the point where your cardio workout is tougher than the 3 rounds. And as others have said, get enough rest. Contrary to popular belief, your body gets stronger when it's resting, now when it's working out. The workout tears the body apart, the rest is when the repairs are made and the improvements come. Also eat right, and don't over or under hydrate.

No Fair! I was going to say that! Seriously, that really is tough. My favorite in a movie, TV, history, or real? So number one would be my son. What more can I say. He's my son. Next would be me. Afterall, if you don't love yourself can you appreciate anyone. Next from that would be my seniors who have taught me soo much. I have learned so much from them. Next would be my students. I also learn from them. After that. I admire Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, and as I learn more an more about him, Superfoot Wallace.