Zaine

My wife an I are both fiends for tattoos so we argue about who gets to get the next one. Right now I'm up by one so she has a very strong argument for getting the next one.

5 of them! None that are karate related yet, but I have plans to incorporate martial arts into a sleeve.

Unfortunately the answer for this is probably not as interesting as the discussion. The answer in a lot of these cases are "because it felt better" or "because that's the way we wanted to do it." Maybe it's that way so that the kata can end in a certain space on the floor. Maybe it's that way because when the kata was created the kakewake uke wasn't as standardized in it's usage. Maybe your dojo prefers to do the technique a certain way but the preference doesn't exist universally. It could be a number of reasons. Given, I'm not as familiar with Shotokan pedagogy, but my educated guess is that there's not real reason.

Congrats! Well deserved!

Oh yeah! I remember now! I didn't watch 2 as many times as the first but he was the guy in Okinawa!

To better help frame the most appropriate response, can you tell me what CK is (I am assuming some sort of TV show since you mention "season 2"...but you know what they say about assumptions...) and who Chozen and Dan are? Thanks. CK is Cobra Kai. Not sure who Chozen is as I haven't watched the show but Dan is the main character from the movies.

Where is it that you live? If you don't mind me asking.

To echo Bob here, there's only so much we can do. There is a difference between quitting because you've lost interest and quitting because the curriculum just didn't work for you. Both are valid reason. The fact of the matter is that we just cannot do anything about the first reason. MA just isn't for everyone and that's okay. We don't live in an era where knowing how to fight is necessary. However, we can change our curriculums as needed. Sometimes, the problem is with the order we teach things, or that we teach certain things, or how we teach them. We could teach the most interesting thing in the world, but if we don't teach it in a way that is engaging, or our teaching style is abrasive, then we're not going to get far. On the other hand, we could be the best teacher in the world. It still won't stop students from leaving. That just happens. All we can do is focus on the things that we can control, and allow the rest to take its course.

They reintroduced Vincent D'onofrio as Kingpin from the Netflix series, so they certainly aren't shying away from using that material. That said, Iron Fist wasn't as well received as Daredevil, so who knows. It would be cool to see him as part of an ensemble cast. If they were to do the Thunderbolts show or movie, he could fill a roll there like he did in the comics. Iron fist also trained Spider man how to fight in the comics, so he could fill a similar role there as a guest appearance somewhere down the line.

Welcome back!

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you!

Not all of the trainers at the gym are educated professionals. The body is incredibly complex and trainers, who often give medical advice, nutritional advice, and whatever else they find necessary, have no formal training as to what certain conditions are or what the effect of things will be to the body. The prevailing opinion in the trainers that I have spoken to is that if it worked for someone else then it should work for everyone! In this way, you get trainers recommending bad diets (such as Keto, Whole30, Paleo, etc.), exercises that aren't good for the body, and other terrible things. They're not there to consider your health, they are there to make you "jacked." Take it a little easy the next few days and don't go back to that trainer.

Money, change in schedule, they don't find that it is for them. Our understanding tends to be inwardly focused. We find martial arts fun and interesting so it's hard for us to understand that it is not for everyone.

Why don't you teach the Pinans to adults unless asked?

I am not sure what you are asking here.

You read the title correctly, I have found not only the best, but the perfect system of defense there is. Maybe some of you are aware of the D.U.S.T. guy in Detroit and know how lacking the tactics there are. It may have left you wondering if there was a system of defense that could be effective. Wonder no longer, here it is: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdMjEW5c/ As you can see, there really is no room for getting it wrong. Now, personally, I would have done my techniques a little differently after the time-stop, but it's obviously effective. I think that this is where the martial artist can get really creative with what they know. Sensei here went with some pressure point techniques, stopping just short of dim mak (probably for legal reasons). Like I said, not what I would do but like we say, if it works it works.

Ultimately it's your dojo and if you're uncomfortable with her coming back without a doctor's release then that's that. You know the situation, you're familiar with the girl, so that's going to play a lot in to it. Personally, I'm given to think that she is fine. 5 months is enough time. I would maybe have her take it slow the first few classes just to be extra sure that she's fully healed and when I was confident of this I would allow her to go 100%. That said, I'm certainly not a doctor, and I don't think that wanting a doctor's release is being too careful. A part of my opinion comes from being a part of the American Healthcare system, which can mean that a significant bill for something like this. If I recall, you're in Australia. Not sure how things go over there but if it's better, then I don't see why not.

Congrats ramymensa!

I think so. At it's root, martial arts is about defense and arose from a need to defend oneself. However, we don't live in a time where needing to defend ourselves on a potentially daily basis is very relevant anymore. The societies that we tend to live in today are far safer than those of our ancestors. A martial art is just a system of defense and attack. Practical application is generally included, even if there is not sparring. However, for me martial arts is about bettering yourself, physically and mentally, through training for martial application. As a personal thing, that training includes partner work and sparring, but it does not have to in my opinion.

I think bushido_man96 has it exactly right here. Walking away is a personal thing. It could be loss of interest, money problems, or just a general feeling of malaise when it comes to practicing. I took a lengthy break from dojo training due to monetary struggles. I was happy to jump back in when I could. Overall, my advice to most people is give it a year after you begin to make decisions like this. This gives you the chance to be excited about it, ebb a little, and then find a happy medium. People fall in an out of love with hobbies all the time, it's normal.

Congrats Ashley!

Happy new year!

Very exciting! Good luck! I hope that people are safe enough to allow you to test!

Feel free to take whatever energy I am not using in making a resolution and apply it to that, Bob! I would also love to see you cancer free in 2022!

Congrats on the promotion! 5th kyu can be an intense test, it's the numerical halfway point! It also represents a pretty big conceptual change, I find. To this point, you've learned a lot of foundational practices, now is the time that you begin really building on that foundation to create the structure that will become your style of doing karate. This is an exciting time for you! Take it slow, enjoy the journey, and have fun.