Zaine

The visiting instructor was way out of line. Firstly, if you think that an instructor has taught some one incorrectly, then you need to bring that up to the instructor so that they can either tell you (politely) that you were wrong or realize that they made a mistake so that the students can take direction from their instructor, not some stranger. I would do the same as sensei8 in this situation and ask the instructor to leave immediately. Being a Yodan he should have known better than to do that.

Congrats on your progression and upcoming test! I would suggest (to help your conditioning) doing other exercises outside of karate. If you do too much of one thing you will plateau to the point where the exercise doesn't do as much for your body as it did at first, this is why a lot of programs change up what kind of exercises you're doing after a set time period. If you're wanting more endurance, the heavybag workout is a great way to go, but don't discount a nice jog/run.

Welcome to KF! It really depends on the instructor. Some will let you keep what you have and rank you up when they feel that you are ready (which could take some time, you may find yourself learning a lot to catch up to what they would consider your rank) and others will put you at white belt. If they put you at white belt, don't be disheartened! Look at it as the start of a new journey, not a hard reset.

Happy birthday Ken!

Interesting article, thanks for sharing. I'll probably have more comments as more studies get published and this lawsuit moves forward. Personally, I like them because I think their comfortable, nothing more nothing less. I'm a fan of the minimalist style of shoe (and running, for that matter) but with these types of things you generally see a boom of popularity before you get the long term research (e.g. vaping).

For me, it was being the first Shodan in my school. I never felt that anybody really believed that I had what it took (as far as my fellow practitioners went). I was never the favorite or the highest rank but I stuck it through and not only achieved Shodan but was the first within the organization to do so. It meant a lot to me in a very egotistical, not very sportsman like way. It was a win that I could be very selfish about because I did it through hard work and I like to think that I was very humble about my victory. At least in public.

That's an awesome story Bob! Thanks for sharing! It's really good to see a community rally around anybody and let the neighbor guffaw, if they can't see the value in this then that's a pretty sad thing for them.

I noticed something similar in my training. Maybe it's the final weeding process of most instructors? Maybe it's a common perception thing? I'm more inclined to go with the former.

Progression is progression, regardless of the speed. Stop worrying about being good enough and practice at being good. Regardless of the speed at which you progress the important part of progressing through the ranks isn't wearing the next belt, but the journey to the belt. We learn nothing in our tests and everything in between.

One day you will go to class and know the terminology. My sensei stopped using Japanese in class (it's a long story) so I feel like I missed out on that part of training. As such, I can't speak to the length of time it will take. That being said, being a student learning foreign languages, I can suggest that you study and be vigilant! One day your sensei is going to shout out an instruction and you'll know exactly what they mean by it.

Most of what we do as MAists is deflecting. However, I know that I was taught that even a block can be an attack. F=MA, as it were, and if my opponent is throwing a punch with all of their power, it doesn't take much of my own force to injure their arm, or leg if they throw a kick. In fact, done correctly, a block (or deflection) can drop an opponent just as easily as a strike.

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you!

I've seen this more than brown belt for myself. I suppose there is just this feeling that after BB you're done! You've completed all you needed.

Congrats and well deserved!

Thanks for the share! I enjoyed it very much!

Just because the term didn't exist before UFC doesn't mean that MMA wasn't around and there were systems that incorporated a mixture of MA long before we thought to call it such. So I'll repeat my sentiment: When we use the term MMA we automatically think UFC, which isn't wrong, but it is still only one side of the coin. I still hold that any system that mixes different MA into one system of MA (or fighting) regardless of the intended result is an MMA. I share sensei8's view, I never shunned MMA. I can't speak for others but I always found it interesting. "The customer has no idea what they want. If they ask for it, tell em you have it. Just say anything to get them in your door." And that's a horrible way to run a business. . . .With the internet, it's a little easier for a person to do this. However, the best form of research is to talk to the experts. It's a problem if the expert is going to lie to you when you walk in the door. We all know exactly what someone is thinking when they walk in and ask, "Do you do MMA here?" If you are not running a legitimate program and say, "yes." You're lying. It's that simple. Anything else is trying to get out of it on a technicality. A person can justify a lie any way they choose. But it's still a lie. . . .There's no excuse for lying to prospects and, in the long run, it will put you out of business. You and I don't disagree here. I never claimed that this is something that one should do, I just don't blame them. I can only imagine that owning and operating a dojo (which is not a often not lucrative business) is stressful and that I understand the mindset. Will I flag them if I don't think that they are up to the standard, you bet. That being said, I think ninjanurse takes the best approach here. All in all, I think that MMA doesn't exclusively mean what we see in the UFC. If someone came in with a system that incorporate a mixture of systems (lets say a system of kung fu, a system of karate and a system for WMA) that it is MMA.

Congrats Devin!

I agree with this. I understand where you are coming from, pwen arye, however but Wastelander is right. Most of the TMA stuff starts out as MMA but in a different sense. I think that the perception is that MMA means UFC now and while that isn't wrong, it's just one side of the coin. This is why I think that it is important for each aspiring practitioner to do the research into the schools before going in. Now, do some TMA schools advertise themselves as MMA to get people into the door? Sure, but I don't blame them for that because they're running a business and I understand where they are coming from.

It was free! I was bullied and beat up on and we had a friend who taught karate for free out of his community's rec center. Later, I picked things that I felt would diversify my training and give me a different perspective, hence the Long Fist and the Mantis.

Welcome to KF!

That's not always the case, imho!! Physical reason(s) might force one off the floor. Emotional reason(s) might force one off the floor. And these two considerations might not allow one to train ever again. What I mean to say is that the physical side isn't the only thing to consider. There is also, for me, a mental part of training, such as I might obtain from books and meditation.

I have also been training for half of my life! I've never thought of it that way before. I've been doing it for 12 years and I have been cross training for about 6 of those years.

Welcome to KF! Like Sensei8 has said, you should begin your own list and go off of that. We all have our own and something might be on my list as a red flag that isn't anywhere close to someone else's. What you have to ask yourself, I think, is are you happy with what you're getting? Or, are you becoming dissatisfied with something in your organization?

I disagree. I think that it's the practitioner. I've seen some terrible MAists come out of fantastic schools with fantastic teachers and I've seen some fantastic MAists come out of terrible schools with terrible teachers.

Just because you can't train on the floor does not mean you cannot train.