Zaine

I am so ready! I actually took the day off (though to be fair, that day also happens to be my daughter's 4th birthday, and my 5th wedding anniversary). We are dropping my kid off at her grandparents and binging it for our anniversary.

Happy Birthday Bob!

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you! What you talk about is something that most of us have taken issue with one way or another. I definitely understand what you mean when you say that you feel like you're not being allowed to explore the extent of the art, and that you're not happy with the "do as I say with no questions" attitude. Questions should always be allowed. To answer your questions: 1) How passionate are you about it? You sound very passionate, and you have at least stuck with it until Brown Belt. It sounds like you would be more happy sticking with it until you have a better option. 2) Do you want to change styles? Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu are great styles, but if you're not ready to move on from Shotokan then it won't be enough. That being said, those two are similar enough that you won't feel completely lost making the change. 3) I have a good amount of experiencing with cross training and I heavily recommend it when you are ready. What "ready" means tends to vary, but the general consensus seems to be that most people should wait after 1st dan.

Thank you for this post. I hope that she gets better soon so that she can get right back at it. You're right, as divisive as MA can be, it's also a great tool for people to come together and make connections with one another.

Congrats! Well deserved.

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

Sorry if I am confused but in one sentence you said steel is expensive but in another you said you have made a bearded axe, a sheild, long swords and daggers. Did you make them from wood. A bokken per-say? If out of steel, what type of steel did you use for these? High carbon between 1045 and 1095? Steel is not that expensive. High carbon steel, at least in my opinion is cheap. Tool steels can be more expensive depending on what your look for and what you want it to do, but they may not be expensive if your trying to get the best performance for a given task out of them. It's more expensive if you use the wrong steel for the job and it fails. Example: 440 SS for a long blade. I cringe just thinking about it. In fact depending on what your skills are and what tools you have or prefer you can forge or stock remove your weapons with minimal expense (files and sand paper). Forging maybe not so much if in residential neighborhoods. If you are in a residential area you not going to be able to heat treat either but you could send it out for HT for not a great deal of money. Sorry, I made them out of wood. I wish I could blacksmith, but I don't currently have the space to learn. Pre-done steel swords are expensive, at least for me, so I made a lot of wooden weapons for practicing things that the polys aren't well equipped for.

I have made a number of wooden weapons for WMA. Steel is expensive, and though I have poly weapons they are useless when practicing things like point control. To date I have made a bearded ax, a shield, two Italian-style long swords, and a few rondel daggers. I enjoy the process of creating something, so I enjoy hand made. It also doesn't make me feel as bad when if I break them. For me, it is more of a hobby that I find very relaxing.

I have spent so much time thinking about, and debating, this very thing. We have to begin understanding that secrecy in regarding bunkai is useless.

Welcome to KF! What kind of information? As for its content, it details the history of Okinawan karate. I don't know about the price. As far as I can tell it isn't a sought after book, and I don't know how much more or less valuable a signed copy of it would be. My suggestion would be to search ebay to find some kind of price history.

My mother, who has stopped telling people because of this question, usually got the same response. I find this interesting because I usually get people telling me about their MA experience, or how they always wanted to get into MA.

I think that kata are important provided that you a) learn what the moves in the kata are actually doing and b) practice those moves like you would any other self defense technique (like in step drills). This is something that I find a lot of schools lacking on, especially in the lower levels. You can be the very best at Pinan Shodan, but if you don't know the practical applications of it then do you really know it?

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

Well promotions usually come with a test, so it's not as easy as just accepting the promotion. If one of your Senseis think that you are ready to test, then go for it! I don't think your Sensei is setting you up to fail. Often times a Sensei will know that you are ready before you feel mentally ready. Take the chance. If you fail, then you have still learned something. I don't think that you have anything to lose. You should focus on skill. That being said, it is important to understand that belts are gateways to more knowledge within curriculum based schools. Your rank will often denote what you learn next and what you need to continue working on. At the end of the day, a Black Belt is only the beginning. The only thing a BB tells an instructor is that you have learned the basics and that you are ready to move on to the really advanced stuff. Good luck in your MA journey, and with your test.

That makes sense. I took "MA lux" to mean "MA lite" since lux is Latin for "light" and I am a giant nerd. Regardless, I think that you and I were thinking the same thing with the phrase. I have always been split about this kind of thing. On the one hand, I come from a teacher who taught us in a "traditional" (whatever that means) way, and for me MA should be about learning how to effectively defend yourself. On the other hand, MA is different things to different people. If someone wants to learn MA because they like the flips of XMA or the flashy moves, then who am I to say that this is wrong? Do I think that this type of MA has a place in a ring? No. I will argue that things like the Mayweather/McGregor fight are, in no small part, a popularity contest. Yes, the actual fight was decided by actual fighting. However, a lot of the lead up to the fight is about generating hype for this-or-that fighter and part of being a fighter today seems to involve some showmanship. Would McGregor have been chosen if he had not been a showman? I am not so sure (and too be fair, it has been awhile since I have followed professional fighting so I might be wrong). All-in-all, I think that your assessment about getting into the ring just to be famous is correct. If you're not a fighter, don't get into the ring.

What (who?) is MA lux? And what is the me me generation?

Dallas is far enough away to not get hit, so my family is okay. I had a few family members close enough to get a lot of rain, but nothing as devastating as the Houston metro.

Thanks for the birthday wishes (and my Demon Hunter appreciated the Ding!). I'm really thankful to be a part of such a welcoming community. Here is to many more!

Yes, there is an inappropriate age to start but it is measured on a clock not a calendar. Taking the kid directly to the dojo, from the hospital, is just extreme. They should have a few hours to go see their new home and maybe chug some milk first I tend to agree with this. An inappropriate starting age is just any age before the appropriate one. After that it is a question of timing. Are you still recovering from an injury or illness? Probably not a good time to start. Just about anytime else? Welcome to the dojo!

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

Thank you!

I agree with sensei8. I will only add that being able to switch stances and let that feel natural will make you more flexible as a fighter. Switching your stance might throw your opponents off if they are inexperienced with sparring, but my experience is that the more experienced fighters know how to handle it.

Congrats! Well deserved!

Boxer's knuckle is sometimes a fracture. I understand your circumstances, but I would definitely try and find a free clinic or something. Otherwise, get some ice and get some rest from the makiwara. Afterwards, take Wastelander's advice to heart. Don't hit the maki too hard. It's really satisfying to hit a maki really hard, but you will get the same results by hitting it a little softer. I hope your recovery is a speedy one!

I think that, generally, the agreed upon age is 5. I also think that this is too early for MA training. In my opinion, classes for kids this age should resemble a bunch of MA related activities over a bunch of traditional exercises. It should help them learn structure and discipline and not necessarily how to defend themselves.