Zaine

Congrats Joppe!

Congrats on the promotion!

Congrats mazzybear!

I agree that it is a good idea. At the end of the day UFC is a brand that has to make money and as such, they wish to avoid any controversy surrounding a fighter that appears within their organization (such as they have already faced). Like the article said, the UFC wants to expand and grow their empire and the way to do that is to be responsible about who they bring into their fold. As far as the health check goes, for me this is a given and they should have done this already in my mind. Wastelander is right in saying that it is already handled, but as a company that literally throws people into situations where the end goal is to physically best their opponent it doesn't hurt to double check.

Congrats on ranking up!

If you are happy with the training and the stuff they do then stick with it. It is fine to practice at home, in fact, I hold (as my signature states) that MA should be more home practice than classroom practice. However, if you are unhappy with your experience, then consider looking for another dojo that trains more.

I enjoyed reading that, thanks for sharing! I liked the 42 points. I thought that they were solid and beneficial. For me, however, I am less worried if my technique is snappy (or at least what I am assuming he means by snappy) and instead I am more concerned as to whether or not it is powerful.

This is unfortunate and I wish him and his loved ones the best. I think that this is one of those things that happens sometimes. The athletes know the risks and take every precaution but things happen. Luckily, he seems to be stable and will hopefully wake up soon.

Great stuff Bob, I really enjoyed reading it! I bet! I imagine that there is an inordinate amount of information. Good luck to you!

Honestly I don't see anything wrong with that approach. If they want to have multiple BB then let them, usually they know as well as anyone else else that they would benefit from staying at one place but they are in it for the knowledge. They want to have different perspectives and then they can be comfortable continuing the journey in a particular style. Everybody gets something different from their MA training. While some find the most fulfillment in staying in one style, others find it in trying as many as they can and either approach is fantastic in my book. I myself, after obtaining Shodan, moved to a different state and then went to training Kung Fu. Now, I am going back to Shorin Ryu to continue the journey and the things that I learned in other systems are invaluable and give me fantastic insight on the different ways to do a similar technique. I absolutely get school loyalties, but as a martial artist you have to do what you feel is right for yourself.

Welcome to KF Les! Glad to have you here!

Blue belt was 8th kyu for me. 5th was green with one stripe. I don't remember it being particularly difficult but I practiced as much as I could, especially when it came down to testing time. When you say that you want to go to BJJ, do you mean that you want to leave Fudokan completely?

Thanks for sharing! It was a interesting to watch!

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

Happy birthday to KF! Here's to another 13 years of a great community!

Congrats! Well deserved!

Congrats Fang! Well deserved wins! Best of luck on the test, you're going to nail it!

Every generation has emotional problems, just like every generation has had school shootings. There are a plethora of documented cases of school shootings in the US dating back to the 1870s. I think the difference is that in today's world, we have access to a lot more information therefore these events get a lot more coverage from the news outlets. You're right, we don't have the same parent structure. Is that a bad thing? No, it's a good thing. The world is constantly changing and we (as parents) have to change with it. There is a lot more that we have to keep up with so that when it comes times we can explain it to our children. I would also like to add that there is no conclusive evidence (in fact, there is a lot to the contrary) that violent video games cause children to be violent. In fact, parents have a far greater influence on that. Children are able to separate the fantasy world from the real world whereas when children observe adults behaving violently they are more inclined to behave violently. I would also disagree that there is less accountability and personal responsibility with today's generation. They are just as accountable as any other generation, the difference being, again, that this generation has more access to publicity that previous generations. We hear about all the trouble kids but I would argue that there were just as many trouble kids in previous generations, we just didn't hear about them as much.

I would assign the same amount of difficultly to both. On the one hand I view blocking as rigid and solid and the on the other I feel that deflection is more fluid and loose. Either way, the transition from one to the other is going to feel as if the student is doing the exact opposite of what the other is. Blocking is a wall. A good wall lets nothing through. Deflection is a river. A river moves things caught in it where it wants.

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.