Whitefeather

Uhhhh, Hmmm. Lemme see here. Does Karate count as a special talent . Actually, if it counts, I can juggle five balls (on a very good day. On a bad day, well, lets just say that my room does not have very many breakable things in it. Anymore.) David

Bludgeoning pigeons, that sure stinks ! Hope you can start training again soon. I'll be praying for you. David

Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1, preferably in G minor. David PS If that is not to your liking ( PHILISTINE!! ), than try going to a music store and just start listening to random cds in the "Dance music" section until you find something you like that goes well with your kata.

I would like to keep a journal, but, knowing my stupendous luck, there is a very good chance someone would read it, but this martial arts journal thing sounds like a good idea. I might give that a whirl. David

Whatever is left of what everybody else had for dinner, plus whatever fruit and meat I can scavenge from the fridge, capped off by a bowl of ice cream, if there is any around. But, of course, if it were up to me, I would actually go for Claimjumpers' sourdough bowl with chedder-potato soup, followed up by one of their i'claires for dessert (of course, plus a bit of gatorade, just to make it supreme). David

Zngers!

Picking fights, or doing somebody harm without complete and valid justification is a rather big no-no. David

Greetings you all, Here is a question to ponder and answer: If you could go back 5, 10, 15, or however many years, what is one thing that you would have done differently, and why? For me, I would have learned a musical instrument, because it seems like music is something that enriches one's quality of life. David

Well, not to crash your party, but I whole heartidly agree with patusai. Try thinking about what it would be like walking in his shoes. If that does not work, then forget about that method and just accept him and try to make him part of your circle of friends. Chances are, he is just trying to belong, as patusai said, and, if you accept him, he will stop being annoying. Trust me, I have plenty of experience from both sides (actually, mostly from the outside), and nothing hurts more than people trying to ditch you. Nothing. David

Hehehe*snork*hehehe Good one, David

Here is a book that I found to be very helpful: Martial Arts Instruction by Lawrence Kane I would highly reccomend it. When you start teaching, firstly, as a number of others have said, be humble. Nothing will make a student clam up faster than a ego-loaded teacher. Secondly, relax. If you get tense, it is all downhill from there, trust me. Thirdly, try not to ramble. From my experience, it is very easy to accidently do, and it really gets on peoples' nerves. If you are trying to explain something, and it is just not working, chances are that you are rambling; in this scenario, stop talking and just have them keep practicing the move. Observe carefully, try to figure out what the problem is, and try to find a short & sweet way of explaining it without too much talking. Also, as important as it is to be humble, as seemingly contradictory as it is, you also need to make sure that you are not seen as just some dude/dudette that sensei put in charge. Everybody should know that you are the one running the show. As Ms. Lillith said, do not let them think that you are a softie, but, at the same time, you musn't be mean to accomplish this. As already said, it also helps a lot to speak up just a little bit while teaching, because it helps cement the fact that you are actually in charge. Also, you should speak up because nothing is more annoying than a teacher that talks so softly that you can never tell what they want you to do. Also, NEVER NEVER NEVER, EVER get angry. That is the absolute worst thing you can do. Anger shows that you are in control of neither yourself of the situation. If someone is continually doing something that is just kinda annoying (but harmless), get over it; that is part of teaching. If someone is continually doing something which is annoying and has some kind of harmful effect (ie annoying other students, distracting others, hurting others, ticking off others, or if it is in ill-will, et cetera), then you should firmly reprimand that person (while keeping a perfectly cool presence about you), and follow the general standard practice at your dojo when it comes to dishing out pushups (or whatever other punishment method is standard). So basically, to sum up my advice (which is not at all expert, so take it with a grain or two of salt): 1) Be humble. 2) Relax. 3) Do not ramble. If you start rambling, stop, compose your thoughts, and spell them out as simply as possible. 4) Be firm. 5) NEVER get angry. 6) Do not be stupid. 7) Have fun David PS Note the witty demonstration of rule #3

Then I guess my dojo is ludicrous. There is no rank other than sempai-ship. The dai-sempai is the guy who has been continuously training the longest (30 years). Having gone from a ranking system (reaching shodan) to one where there is no rank, I prefer the system without rank. My instructor stopped wearing his belt 20 years ago (long story) and has not given out rank since then. His students who still train with him gave up their belts as well. It is actually quite liberating on both a conscious and subsconscious level when we're all equals - my instructor says, "We're all just a bunch of guys who really love karate and like working out together. I've been training longer, so if you want, I'll show you what I've learned." It's a simple, realistic philosophy, and my training and growth have jumped leaps and bounds since adopting his idea and working with him to become better at karate. Needless to say, we don't have small children in my class, nor do we attract younger people. I'm the youngest student (at 24), and the average age of these guys is mid-50's, and their average training duration is between 15-30 years. We are not part of any large martial arts organization; my instructor struck out on his own after his teacher passed away in 1969. I'm not sure how well our system would work with a younger, more impetuous demographic, or if we were under a large organization. Wow, that is cool. That seems like what martial arts should be. It seems to me, from all of the opinions on this matter, that standard (modern, belt-system) dojos do definately have their place, but, at the same time, I think that there should be more dojos like that one, where it is much closer to how martial arts was back in the good old days. If I were ever to open a dojo someday, that is how I would run it. Props to your instructor, Skeptic2004. David

The studies on aspertame that one always hears about, the ones where the rats all get cancer and die, are not quite totally applicable, since they pratically fed the rats nothing but aspertame to get that to happen. That being said, if you do a bit of research on aspertame, it actually is quite nasty stuff. When it gets to around 90 degrees (I think), it breaks down into three chemicals, one of which is a carcinogen (carcinogens cause cancer), and another is basically the same chemical as rat poison. I am not quite a hundred percent sure about those facts, but I am reasonably confidant that they are correct. Henceforth, I tend to like to stay away from aspertame, if for no other reason than it is kind of disgusting tasting. It is probably just a rumor, but supposedly the Air Force does not even allow its pilots to even chew sugarless gum before flying, because the aspertame in it has been known to cause dizzyiness and vertigo. David

Definately. If I am not mistaken, there is actually a kata taught at the greenbelt level (fourth kyu, I think) which has a very simple jump that is practically impossible to not do properly. From there forwards, there are many katas which use jumps of varying, and sometimes extreme difficulty, such as the oh-so-beloved Unsu with its 360, which is reserved for shodans only. David

That was a joke, right?

Oh, I almost forgot. The sweeper truck.

Spiders. Bloody stupid stinkin' scary fuzzy evil possesed spiders. They are the bane of my existance. They are evil. Period. Also, although it is the respect type of fear and not the "Holy cow, I just peed in my pants!" type of fear (unless I happen to be reading one of several certain passages in the old testament at the time), I also fear the God ("the," because there is only one). David

I do not know why, but heavy metal kinda scares me. Just my opinion on the matter, David

Bicycle or Motorcycle?

Very true, with one exception (if there even can be an exception to a "hould" statement). There are the teenagers out there who are flat-out nincompoops, and they will be very hard to teach the basic tenets and morals of martial arts. Albiet, that does not mean that one should still try to teach them. If anybody out there neads it the most, it is those who are impossible to teach, not the idyllicly perfect model teenager that is a joy to teach (such as I am sure we all are all of the time ). It is those problem kids that will take the most effort to teach, but it is those kids that need it most. David David

Bienvenidos (sorry, I just have to show off my uber spanish vocab) I am sure you will find this to be a good well of information when you need it. David PS I like your username

I have never done or judged a Kubodo competition, but if you make sure your movements are fast and crisp (ie no extra wasted movements), then you should not do too bad, at least from what I have seen (which is not a lot). Practice, practice, practice. David

It seems, to me at least, that , unless one is devoted heartily, life kinda displaces martial arts when one enters those beloved mid-twenties. I think it is the whole new job-wife-kids-life thing. David

Hmmm. I guess I will have to learn this Kaku(o)shin kata, it sounds quite wonderful (especially that 270). As for the "Ryuei-Ryu" katas, I have never the family name before, but I know (and thoroughly enjoy) Anan, and, although I do not know them, I have heard of Heiku, Pachu, and Paiku (I think) as being excellent tournament katas. About Choshin, I believe that one can actually use it with some success outside of Shudokan tournaments (granted, one must have it absolutely, 100%, diamondly perfect). Supposedly one of YSK blackbelts used Choshin at an international tournament in Las Vegas, and he placed somewhere in the top 10, I think eighth. But then again, he is freak-ishly good. David PS It is a happy thing to see another Shudokan practitioner around.

How long is Kakushin compared to Choshin? I know Sochin and Choshin, but, regretably, I do not yet know the middle kata in the series. David