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The argument against injuring the knees is this. All of the muscles of the legs around the knee area tie into each other. By using the horse stance for training the muscles of the thigh you will strengthen the tendons around the knee area and build overall knee stability. That is where you will begin to reduce the risk of knee injury. As for the Hung Gar style, they train the horse stance very hard. they are known to hold the stance for 1 to 3 hours in the advanced stages of training. A story that I read in Black Belt Mag. told of a master that sat at his work bench for 10 hours every day fixing watches. Upon further examination you will notice that he has no bench to sit on, but he is in a low horse stance. The story goes on to tell of him sparring with a Thai Kickboxer. When the MT guy kicked him in the leg he was the one that walked away limping. To field the muscular endurance portion. You can build harder muscles by holding the stance for long periods of time. Strength can also be increased with this type of muscular training, just not at the same rate as with regular weight lifting. Strengthening and muscle hardening can go hand in hand.

Anybody with five to ten dollars can buy a black belt and self promote. Capitalism, who would have thought it?

Do the KSW sword forms use the longer Korean sword like in Haidong Gumdo or do they use the Katana size? The korean sword is roughly 4 inches longer than the katana.

Shorin Ryuu is right about it being a bonus. In traditional Okinawan karate styles the splits are not needed. I can do the splits, but the only thing I have found them to be good for is "showing off." If you can get your kicks up to around mid-chest you will do just fine. If you are wanting to increase your dynamic flexibility you should by Thomas Kurz' book Stretching Scientifically. This book will help you with getting you maximum kicking height.

I could not agree more with the biased politics that are involved when people split from their parent organization. Unfortunately, we are all pawns in someones little game.

Good idea to learn from your instructor. It seems to save a lot of body parts.

If you want a freestyle type of double katana kata you should go to Black Belt Mag. and look around I know they have one. If you want traditional you will never find it. Niten ichi ryu uses wak. and kat. in their forms.

The dumbell military press or using the delt deck. Remember the keys to muscle growth is the use of heavy weight, proper nutrition, and plenty of rest. The reason for the push-ups is because they also work the shoulder, even though it is only in a small ammount.

that is very interestiong as I am still under the impression that Master Dometrich is the head of the Chito-ryu in North America. I have been known to make mistakes. I was not aware of there being much in the way of unity in the Chito-ryu family. I do not have access to information outside of the U.S., except in limited quantities. With so many problems here in the U.S. with Chito-ryu we are getting mixed information. My sincere appologies for any incorrect information.

If you really want to see the advantages of the horse stance then sparr with a Hung Gar person.

Actually, a left twist kick. He fights as a southpaw and I have my twist kick taylormade for lefties.

pineapple, I feel your pain on losing students. I have had my own students leave my classes and go to My Instructors classes, because I was "too hard on them". Ans for the ones that left because they could not take a small hit I say, "this is a dojo, not a knitting class". If they wanted to learn to dance they should have went to one of the three dance schools in town. We all have to deal with frustration and setbacks, but we have to keep on going.

How? I was already running a boxing club that I had inherited from my boxing coach and I was assisting with the adult classes at the dojo. One night after class my instructor came up to me and asked if I would be interested in teaching a class that he was getting ready to start. He said it was for beginner teens and I thought it would be fun. Within two months I was running 4 classes a week by myself and assisting with all of the advanced classes. Would I reccommend it? Without a doubt. It is great to see students learning what you are teaching. And as you teach it makes you learn the techniques inside and out. Before you know it you won't be the same without it.

I agree with the point of turning the tables on him by taking an interest in what he is doing? If this does not work you could always tell him that if he trains hard enough in the TKD that later on, when he is older, he can start training with you in WT. If you start teaching him the WT it could cause him to get irritated about not being able to go with you to the WT school. I feel for you being in the position that you are in. My Father, My Wife, 2 of My Cousins, and Myself all have at least our Shodan. We have also trained with each other at different times. We have many more in our family that have trained, but do not have BB's. It is a great way for family bonding, but beware. I broke My Dad's cheek bones during the grand finale of my Sho-dan test. So be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.

Before I can go into what I think I have some questions for you. I am not trying to frustrate you or disagree with your wanting to go the founder route. I am just curious. What other experience do you have other than training in the two styles you mentioned? Such as, do you fight alot on the street or in competition? Is there something wrong with the two systems that you have trained in? Like flaws in the training or techniques? How driven are you to create this new style? Are you willing to fight anyone anywhere to prove that your style is worth studying? What do you hope to accomplish in creating this new style? Fame or Fortune? Are you going to allow in new techniques and allow for the constant re-shaping of this new style?

You should definately go visit all of your options and see what he likes. Do not choose one based on his physical build. I know several people who were very short, squatty, fluffy, etc when they were young and they later ended up tall and skinny. As for helping him lose weight, the style will make little differance. He should be on a good eating plan, not a diet. Diets are to restrictive and do all kinds of harm. By good eating plan I mean something like Body 4 Life or the like. He is also at an age where he can start lifting weights under a certified Fitness Trainer. They are not cheap, but they will keep him form getting hurt as easily.

Shidokan Open, Ultimate Test, Sabaki Challange, or any other knockdown style event. I still get butterflys in my stomach when knockdown is on the menu for the day. When I am fighting and even when I am not.

If it is possible you should get some old or refurbished wrestling mats. They are a little squishy, but you will get used to them. I don't mind the puzzle-lok mats if that is all there is, but I would prefer the wrestling mats. If you look on the web you can find several places that sell scraps or like new mats for cheap. 300-600$ for varying sizes.

I have studied styles that use low horse stances and others that use higher stances. There are advantages to both and you have pointed out most of them in your post. One you might want to think about is your center of gravity. I always tell my fighters the same thing I learned when I was starting boxing. My coach told me that anytime you start to lose your balance you should squat/drop your weight and it will bring you back into balance. You should try this it works. My 2 cents.

Superfighter and Ottman both have good points. I also see alot of WTF guys with their hands down(no offense intended). Ottman is right on them having their hands down. I have found that this is a bad by-product of point or "tag" sparring. There is no real threat of getting knocked out in a light contact match or at least there is not supposed to be. So fighters tend to not guard their heads. Every person on this and any other forum can learn a hard lesson from this video.

I have moved away from the more flashy aspect of the martial arts, but Have and still do compete in "open" forms divisions at tourneys. If you want to get some ideas for "flashy" moves and how to create an open style kata you should check out https://www.maslinc.com or https://www.xmarevolution.com on tese sites you wil find a lot of kata and tips to help you out with your creation. What style of kenpo do you study? If it is Parker's American Kenpo you should look into some TKD for better kicking for the kata. Butterfly twist is like any other technique practise will pay off.

The martial arts are not about hurting other people. They are about learning to defend yourself while doing what it takes to survive. Sometime people get hurt, but people get hurt while playing sports or even while driving to work. You should slant your parents towards the spiritual side and towards the physical fitness aspect of the martial arts. Be calm with them and allow them to ask questions of your potential instructor. Be patient with your parents sometimes they need a little help before they will fully understand.

You might want to go to Bob Leiker's website and check on it. I received an e-mail the other day informing me of Jason and Jarret's tourney. Its on a Sunday in February. I won't be attending that one, but I am always interested in the larger comps.

SR is right on the money. And italian guy is right about finding a dojo that has class at least two days a week.

I am a Go-dan in Chito-ryu. It is actually translated as "1000 year Tang Style". To clarify for everyone Sensei Mike Foster is the Head of U.S. Yoshukai and is based out of Florida. As for an overview of what Chito-ryu is. Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose studied Shorei-ryu from Seisho Aragaki and Shorin-ryu from Chotoku Kyan. He then "mixed the two together and created Chito-ryu. After the death of O-sensei Chitose the whole Chito-ryu family went to pieces with every master going their own way. If you want more information on Chito-ryu you should look up the U.S. Chito-ryu Federation ot Travis Cottreau's Chito-ryu site.