liquidkudzu

I have no problem with tshirts (we wore them in the summer at the school I came from), I just don't like it when you go to a school, and some students are wearing red gi's, some blue gi's, some tshirts, some v-necks. The school I came from was like that, although our official color was a black gi. The quality was great, but anyone could wear anything with their belt. I believe a black belt can wear anything they want, but students should have a dress code. If I end up starting back up again, I will only let students wear black gi's during the year and tshirts during the summer. Also, the gi's will have to match in style, whether it is cross over for everyone or cross over for guys and v-necks for girls. lk

When would the instructors here promote someone to black belt? Is it when they are able to handle all of the requirements for that rank, or is it when they hit their personal best? By that, I am referring to someone who has a mental or physical disability. If someone has been training diligently and hard for over ten years in the same style under the same teacher and still can only remember 2 of the required 20 forms and not do the kicks and punches well, should they be left as a white/yellow (beginner) belt, or be promoted to black? I am dealing with a similar situation and don't know what to do. A student of mine has been training under me for over ten years and is equal to a 6-8 month student. He has no physical issues and is smarter and more well adjusted than anyone I know, but has some type of learning disorder that blocks him from learning any of the requrements. I keep thinking about the origin of the black belt: a person keeps training and washing their uniform but not their belt; after years of training, the dirt makes the white belt "black." If this is how it should be applied in truth, this person is a black belt, particularly due to his personal maturity, love of the martial arts, and contributions to society, but where does that leave me in the promotion decision? Do I want a black belt that can't kick well teaching at my school and representing me when others visit the school, or do I do what I consider the right thing and promote him? Opinions are badly needed here. lk

Thanks for the replies everyone. It would have to be all or nothing. I don't want any "large" females being reminded that they are bigger than the skinny little girls by the fact that they have to wear men's cross overs while the smaller girls get the v-neck uniforms. This is an issue with one of my private students. She is a teenager and is about 250 pounds. She dresses like she is 100 pounds less than she is and is TERRIBLY self-conscious of her size. Anyway, I am still flipping a coin on this one.... lk

I am on the edge of starting my school back up and have decided to let female students wear black v-neck uniforms instead of the usual cross over style. I am wondering though, how well do those things fit overweight people? I have been training for over 15 years and have never worn one. I have had several people approach me and say they want me to start my schol up again and a few of them are overweight (as is most people so it seems). lk

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_en_mo/obit_morita I am now in my very early 30's, and I know so many karate instructors that started taking martial arts because of those movies. It is sad he is gone, but at least he leaves a positive legacy portraying a good character. lk

http://kickteam.org/videos/videos.htm That link has 30 free vids for download. http://www.chloebruce.co.uk/videos.php That one has 5 cool ones (get the show reel and Cylob video for sure) lk

Did you resend your other ranks (in other styles) when they began competing in tournaments? lk

I second everything that he just said to your question. I think that is the way to go. lk

KWON is my favorite by far. They sell the WTF stuff that you mentioned in your subject line. https://www.kwon.com They don't have a minimum order for your first order and are fast. You only need a business license to open an account. To give you an idea of wholesale prices, a size 6 adult karate uniform (student weight) is normally $32.99 retail, but is $15.99 wholesale. The Brazilian JJ gi's are $99 retail, but are $49 wholesale. 6 foot bo staffs are $19 retail and $11 wholesale. The foam dipped gloves are $29 retail and $14 wholesale (they even have the yellow gloves and boots). By the way, if you can't get a business license, go to https://www.martialartssupermarket.com & https://www.martialartsmart.com They both have close to wholesale prices, without the need for a business license. lk

Actually, that was Gracie Jiu-jitsu in Lethal Weapon. Rorion Gracie (Royce's older brother and the then head of that style) choreographed the fights in the movie. Read here: http://www.gracieacademy.com/rorion_gracie.html (9th paragaph down) & http://www.aikidojournal.com/article.php?articleID=90 here is the section of that very long interview that I am referring to: A production assistant for the movie "Lethal Weapon" had seen one of my fights against a kickboxer. The script had a big fighting scene and the director needed a fight coordinator. The man who had seen me told the director: "Look, you've got to meet this guy. He's the best." So the director hired me to choreograph the fight and teach Mel Gibson and Gary Busey for "Lethal Weapon I." A couple of years later I worked with Rene Russo on "Lethal Weapon 3." I not only trained her, but also when it came time for the fight scene, they hired me as a stunt man. lk

22 forms for the shodan test. 17 are empty hand. 5 are weapon. lk

My favorite suit is a Century middle weight blue top and Proforce white pants with my KWON embroidered black belt. My gloves are Century c-gear and my boots are typical foam ones by KWON. Overall, I prefer the fit of Proforce and KWON though. lk

I wouldn't. On a whole, blackbelt sucks, IMO. ... I wouldn't say it sucks. I would say it is halfway between mediocre and good. You can get a year of it off of eBay and eBay stores for about $9. I'd say it is worth less than a dollar per issue if you get it that way. lk

There is a pretty good article in this month's Black Belt magazines titled "Myths and Misconceptions." I won't print the article, but I will list the 10 items that they explain in the article: 1. A black belt must register himself as a deadly weapon 2. Bruce Lee was assassinated by Shaolin killer monks 3. A black belt is a master 4. All martial arts are ancient 5. Traditional systems do not work 6. There is a world champion 7. There are death matches 8. Masters are always calm and serene 9. Women can't do martial arts well 10. A black belt can take on a whole crowd Also, next month, 6 more myths will be listed and explained. lk

Here in South Carolina, EVERYONE involved in the fight, despite any details, is suspended. That means that if my son is walking down the hall and someone runs up behind him and hits him in the back of the head and knocks him unconcious, when he wakes up (in the ambulance), he is suspended from school--even if he has no idea who did it to him. That may be something for you to keep in mind. lk