searcher

Pacific Shore and Anonymous One are both on the money. Go there for what you need and then go home. As a martial artist you are a little at fault for being drawn into the fight. Everything changes if you feel like you are in danger of being mamed or injured. If this is the case you need to find another school to train at. This cannot be the only school in your area. You said that you are a part of the "Chikara community". Does this mean that you are a part of a larger organization? If so go to your sensei's instructor or the head of the organization and ask them for advice. Just be sure to do it respectfully.

I think we should all remeber that being bouncy and being light on your feet are two different things. With that in mind being rooted does not mean being unable to move quickly.

I also agree with Skeptic 2004 in that you should refine your technique. Also Shorin-ryuu has a very good point with the use of ankle weights, take it very slow. You should do several reps of very slow kicks to build up speed, because contrary to popular belief slow training builds speed. You also need to do strength training like squats and lunges. The added strength will make you faster. As for how flexible is enough? You need to understand that just because you can kick over head high does not mean that you are flexible. Strength+flexibility+technique=speed. A simple formula that works.

Are talking about the Anan kata of Ryuei-ryu of Tsugero Sakumoto that he used to win the World Championships? If yes, then you might want to buy his video that shows the kata and teaches it. If you would like to see the kata before you learn it you might want to check out Wonder Okinawa. This sight has several videos of kata and one of them has Master Sakumoto performing Anan. Just to clarify, the Anan that is taught in Shito-ryu is the same kata.

For example, I-ryu has shorter stances than Shotokan and I-ryu rarely use their kicks higher than waist. Both Kyokushin and I-ryu emphasize fighting, but Kyokushin is almost strictly full-contact. They all have weapons use to some degree, but the weapons kata are very different. These are just some of the differwences, and there are more. Go to the different schools and check them out before signing up.

Try meditating before hand. Go through a mock-up of the test on your own or with some of the others who will also be testing. Prepare yourself physically for the rigors of the test. Excellent physical fitness tends to over-ride the nerves.

I agree with ncole, it all depends on the instructor. As for similarities they all use striking with the feet and hands. They all have kata. You might have been better off asking for the differences.

If your instructor told you that there would be some suprises for you He/She is only trying to get in your head. Take a deep breath and give them all you have, it WILL be enough.

That video kicks. Thank you very much for sharing. I agree with The Saint on the reasons for punching and kicking. Everything has its place and time. Are their any more videos form that site available?

Congrats on the medals. As with the other posts, tourneys are a great learning experience and can help you grow as a martial artist.

Keep working hard and you will notice great improvements. After this I think you will find it easier to talk to the higher ranks in your school.

I used to umpire softball for the USSSA and it is a very well organized group. They are extremely strict on their training of referees and umpires. They are a very large group that covers alot of different sports. They are pretty good and I look forward to seeing how they work out.

I had the same problem and I started wearing some cheap sweatbands that you see on a alot of basketball players. It has kept the sweat on my hands to a minimum.

Rohai is called meikyo in most Shotokan schools. My form for competition in traditional forms is Sochin, in open forms I use a kata called .38 special(so named for the number of kicks in the kata).

Cons are depending on what you are studying the martial arts for. If you tell us more on what you are wanting, we can all tell you if there are any cons.

It indeed must be mental. I talked with the master of my system and he gave me some advice on how to correct it. I have been working on it for a couple of days and it seems to have gone by the wayside. It seems that he thinks I am getting in to much of a hurry to retract the kick and this is leading to it being "chopped off" short. I stand at a range from a focus target that will require full extension to touch the target. Then throw the kick. This has started working and I will continue doing it until the side kick is fixed. Thank you all for the replies.

Kicking at the heighth that I am talking about is new for me since my backgroung is in the Okinawan martial arts. As to whether or not extending to " full extension" that would cause a hyper-extension is a TKD thing or not, you would have to ask someone who has more experience in the Korean martial arts. As for the level of extension, I am not talking about locking out the kick to a level of possible hyper-extension. I am sorry for not making myself clear. What I am talking about is cutting out the 8-10 degrees of bend in my leg or at least reducing it. The bent leg problem is not happening when I kick the bag or while sparring. It is happening when I perform "air" kicking or while doing forms. Thank you and keep the ideas coming.

Video training can be very helpful in that is DOES pick up all of your mistakes and they can be scrutinized by the testing instructor, as has been pointed out. The merits of this is that they will correct things that are not caught in a standard testing environment. This can lead to some very good technical changes that could get worse down the road if left unchecked. As for the value of rank testing, it would depend on if you can use the techniques that you learn. I have learned some weapons kata from video and though I do know the kata, I feel they are only a shallow representation. A live instructor is better, but videos have there place in today's martial arts world. So give it a go, it can't do anything but increase your knowledge.

On a more serious note, the last time I got into a "street fight" I ended up with a broken nose and some broken ribs. I can't say I really ever want to go through that again. So my way of dealing with street violence is to avoid at all cost. Now to address the youth issue. Let the poor kids be. They will have plenty of time to experience violence when they gorw up, so if they want to vent about playground scuffles then let them.

I chamber my kick with my knee near my collarbones and my hips are in proper allignment. The problem seems to be at the last 5-9 inches of the kick. My chamber is goodbut it almost feels like I am trying to snap the kick back to early. As for the flexibility question, I can perform splits without warm-up in side split and front split with either leg forward. So flexibility is not an issue. I have been pondering whether there is a strength issue, ie. not enough quadricep strength to snap the kick to full extension. Thank you for the responses.

31 going on 12.

Last summer I began practising Taekwondo(ITF) and as my kicks get higher there seems to be a problem with my side kick. The problem is that I am having difficulty getting the kick to reach full extension, ie. it is not locking out. I have been trying to remedy the problem on my own, but it seems to still be there with everything that I seem to be trying. I am hoping that somebody else has had this problem and they can shed some light on how I can fix the problem. I never had this problem before I started kicking higher. The Okinawan styles do not kick very high and the bent knee started when I started kicking higher. All I get form my instructor is that I need to get rid of my bent knee and no input on how to get rid of this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The site is AKA karate homepage. I have competed against some of there Black Belts and they are very good they have very good all-around skills. The fact that is seen in the large number of National and World champions that John Sharkey has produced. But as with all schools they also have there faults, they are not perfect by any means.

The site is AKA karate homepage. I have competed against some of there Black Belts and thay are very good they have very good all-around skills. The fact that is seen in the large number of National and World champions that John Sharkey has produced. But as with all schools they also have there faults, they are not perfect by any means.

I hurt someone's feelings once. Does that count? It was in the middle of the street.