Zaine

I didn't encounter this when I was starting, but I might be able to offer some explanation. There are many ways to generate power in Martial Arts. When we turn our heel as we punch, we generate power by the turn of the body helping the momentum of our first. When we keep our heels on the ground, we lose this power. However, when we don't have power we must focus on technique and find a different way to generate enough power to make the technique effective. I imagine that when you are doing formal practice, you keep your heel on the ground so that you can work on technique. Again, I didn't encounter this as a beginning karateka, so someone may have a better answer.

Welcome to KF 15 love, glad to have you! I look forward to your updates. It's always awesome to see someone else delve into a world that I love so much. Good luck to you!

I tend to agree with you sentiment about auto-grading being a sign of a McDojo. However, as this forum has proven many times, the line between legit and McDojo isn't always clearly defined. I certainly understand auto-grading, keeping students is hard and if you can get them hooked by ranking them up, even if they haven't necessarily earned it, what's the harm? Certainly they can catch up. The problem with this logic, I think, is that now the student has to catch up to their own rank and then become proficient enough to be promoted to the next and that can take a lot of time. I feel that I earned all of my ranks. There used to be a time where it would make me angry to see people rank up who didn't deserve it because I had worked so hard for mine but I've gotten over that. Now I feel sad because they will never have the same sense of accomplishment that I achieved. I wouldn't worry too much about your old dojo. If the instructor wants to take the school in that direction then that is their choice. As an instructor of your own school, you should focus on your students and give them the training they deserve.

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

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

Welcome to KF Jeremy! Great to have you!

Awesome to hear that you're healing quicker than expected! It's also great that you have such a supportive MA family, it really means a lot to know that you have a group of people who are just there for you.

Congrats! Well earned!

It has been my experience that the heavier gis have a better pop. It's also a lot more satisfying to hear as well. I don't think it is that useful during kumite. In kata, it helps to show the power you are using. In kumite you do that with your partner. This really depends on the person. It's hard to nail down an average gi weight preference without crunching those numbers. Gut feeling tells me that 12 oz is about average, it's what most of the people in my old dojo wore. I can't speak to this but I would imagine that there are a couple variables that come in to play here (i.e. manufacturer, how well the gi is kept, etc.) While doing a kata in a heavy weight gi can produce impressive sound and demonstrate the power you have put into a technique I don't think that it matters. A testing board isn't only looking at power and power alone will not cause you to pass a test. Does it help? Sure, it can. How much will it help? That really depends on the people on your board but in the long run I don't think that it is that important.

Congrats Alex! Good luck!

I really enjoy spears. My favorite has to be the long sword. Ever since I was a kid I loved European sword play.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Wow, great stuff Bob. Thanks for sharing.

Happy Birthday! I hope it was a good one!

First off, welcome to KF! It's great to have you! I don't think that it is offensive but I would suggest that you slow it down. If you focus on what is in the future you fail to absorb what is in the now. Enjoy practicing and mastering the kata and techniques you are learning now. When the time comes, you will learn the new thing and you will have a deeper understanding of it because you took the time to understand the simpler things. It's like someone attempting to do calculus when they still struggle with algebra.

Congrats! Well deserved!

Yes we did! The techniques done at close range both with and without a sword are so similar. I would not be surprised to find out that Fiore had some knowledge of karate.

YES! Check out Schola Saint George! They're dedicated to practicing Fiore's manuscripts. I've started in their system and I am having so much fun doing it. It's a good system that teaches some great stuff. For me, it's very relatable to EMA and my instructor equates it to the fact that our bodies can only do a finite amount of things so there will be overlap. If you want more about Italian sword fighting you can check out the manuscripts of Fillipo Vadi.

I didn't fall in love with MA until after achieving 1st dan. I like it enough, sure, and I was committed to it but it wasn't until I moved away that I found the love for it. I noticed that I was thinking about it a lot and constantly practicing. I studied more of its philosophies and fell in love with it. I may have been a late bloomer in both MA and the love for it but I'm certainly glad that I never gave it up.

Solid post! As a teenager this was a concept that I struggled with. It's very easy to get a complex when you're on the journey to become a MAist. You may think things such as "I am better than them because I am X kyu/dan and I have a deeper understanding of my body." You start to size up people and that's detrimental to the process. It's just one of those things that you have to learn the hard way most times. Just another part of the journey.

Welcome to KF! It's good to have you here!

I'm happy that everything worked out well!

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you! Congrats on your passing! The relax thing definitely comes in time as you become more confident and comfortable as a Martial Artist.

I agree with this. As a MA you should be humble and should have taken the parent aside (like in the office) and handled it that way. Saying "do you know who I am" just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That being said. The parent does need to be respectful of the instructors on the floor and any spectator needs to wait until after class to bring up any concerns that don't seem to be harming another student. I think that you handled it poorly in that what you said sounds like posturing and to an angry person that's threatening and (since they've already picked the fight option) it will only escalate the situation. In the end, I think that she should apologize to you but I also think that you should apologize to her for exploding. I know that may sound counter to what you think but remember that you are an example and clearing the air on both sides is never a bad thing.

Great interview! Thanks for sharing!