Whitefeather

I have been doing karate for 11 years, and just last year tried my first tournament. Trust me, if you want to compete later, start going to tournaments now. In the couple tournaments I have been to, I could have done far better if I had a lot of experience under my belt (hehe, corny pun). So, to be but a mere echo of the popular opinion, yes, you should go. David

Good show, mister Fish. When I went for nidan, everyone thought that I had it in the bag, and then I failed. Four months later, I passed with flying colors. Although I was absolutely destroyed for a few weeks after I failed, I KNOW that I passed the second time, as to where the first time, if I would have passed, there always would have been that creeping thought in the corner of my mind, always haunting me. The same thing happened to another guy at the dojo (at the same time to, except he was going for shodan-ho). He was just almost there, but not quite. Four months later, he aced the test like no other. And, to top that off, the man that is the head of my style (and who is a multi-time world champion fighter) failed his shodan exam not once, twice, thrice, but all of five times before he passed. So, keep at it, and the sky is the boundry. David

Thanks everybody. I think I will go with my gut instinct and give Judo a whirl. David

Hey everybody. I have dished out more than my fair share of advice, but I have a bit of a dicision to make, and, in my humble opinion, one can never have too much advice (and, in reality, I am just a novice, and there are a lot of people around here that know a heck of a lot more than I do anyways). I have been doing Shudokan karate for 11 (I think) years, and I am probably going to try some cross training this summer, although I will not be quitting karate, I would still like a bit of experience in another art to complement my current knowledge (however small it is). I would like to try something along the lines of grappling, with an emphasis on throws, but there are many different grappling arts out there. I have read several books on Judo, and it looks like a load of fun, but I have never actually tried it to know. So, after all of the long-winded blather, here is the question: Is there anyone out there who does karate and has tried cross-training in a grappling art (or trains continually in grappling)? Which art did you try, and how did it complement your karate training? If you could go back and try a different art, which one and why? Thanks!! David

For fixed blades, I kind of like the SOG seal knives. For utility, I like the Columbia River M16 knives, as they are not insanely expensive and have a good quality steel for the blade, and the aluminum handled ones have a wonderfully sturdy feel in the hand. But, the all time coolest knife award goes to the dagger made ENTIRELY of carbon fiber: http://truenorthknives.com/tnk_1mainframe.htm?tnk_gallery-p-CE5483.htm~main 2.7 ounces! PS At first the link takes you to the main page, but it will then redirect you to the specific site, so be patient. David

Ya'know, I do not really think it would be a great idea to try to train yourself to be able to do that. There are a lot of cooler martial arts things that you could learn with the time you would spend, and, if you even slightly goofed once, as Sohan said, you would cause permanent damage that would come back to haunt you. David

She is an incredibly talented preformer, and obviously has a firm grasp of body mechanics, something lots of martial artists could use more of. But, there was not one movement that "Kata" which I would be fearfull of in a sparring match, or, to an even greater degree, in a real world defense situation. As I said, she is a very talented preformer, and that was fun to watch (I might even have to learn how to do that one twirly-flip thing), but that is not martial arts, that is preformance arts. I am sure that she is also a very good martial artist (and, as pendakarshihan1 said, could probably put any of us to shame in the category of traditional katas), but that video does not show it. Just my two cents, David

I agree. Martial arts is about achieving excellence of technique and achieving excellence of self. But, unfortunately, the belt system makes running a dojo much easier (you can have a bunch of different skill levels in the same class without getting confused, and that is just one reason), so it just seems to prevail. Sad. David

Well, the part where the two oafs broke in is probably illegal, but, if the article is accurate about the contract, the fact that the school should have not been running could be true, but that is still NO reason for the two dudes to do what they did. David

My karate class. I had always wanted to do judo, karate, or something like that, but my first karate class was my first bona-fide exposure to the whole martial arts thing. David

There was a pretty good thread with lots of great responses on this topic already: http://karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=25451&highlight=rain&sid=22592c0723c148f2b58346be869facff Enjoy, David

Well, that looks like some seriously good photoshop handywork, but that is just my opinion. David

Words to be heeded diligently. David

Hmm, I have never heard it put that way before. Well said. I have only been to two tournaments, but both times I was subject to bias when I did my kata. Once by a Kung-Fu person, and the other time by a TKD person. The way that you can deal with that is to be so insanely good that there is no way whatsoever that a judge can say that you were not the absolute best. That is what I tell myself when I start getting ticked at biased judges. David

From what I have seen, read, and heard, it all depends on the instructor and the dojo. Some instructors probably teach very few weapons, and there are some who can teach so many different types of weapons it would make your head hurt. David

Good heavens, that smells like, a, umm, well, something really bad!!!! Seriously though, that is not good. Kids should be allowed to judge only if they can cary themselves in a mature manner and if they are solid and respectable practicioners of whatever type of martial arts. If I was you, I would talk (in a kind, respectful, and dignified manner) to the organizer of the tournament about what happened, because there is a good chance he/she had no idea that that happened, and, if notified of the problem, he/she would probably not let it happen again. Out of curiosity, what division were you competing in? David

I would go with JerseyDevil on that one. If you train in one genre of martial arts (striking, grappling, punching, kicking, etc), then, if you are going to cross-train, it would be best to pick a different genre to try out. Generally speaking, if your art is mostly striking, than you should try out Judo or BJJ. Personally, just from my reading, I think Judo is a better complement for striking arts, but I will probably get flamed for saying that. Doing this works wonderfully if you are trying to make yourself a well-rounded martial arts person. Alternatively, if you are just trying to get a different perspective on your specific genre (striking art), then you should try something as different as possible while staying in the same genre (and while staying inside some boundry of sanity). So, basically, if you want to be a more rounded martial artist, go with a grappling style. If you want to gain a broader perspective on the whole striking-art gig, than you stick to the most different (but still sane) striking art from your own, i.e. karate or boxing. Have fun! David

I would agree with Sohan: Grappling/BJJ/Judo is all awesome (and I wish that there was a good judo school around where I am, I would love to try it sometime), but if you are looking for self-defense skills, you should look past just grappling. Even though it will definately help you on the street, there are situations where you would be vastly better off if you had some experience in a fighting art, such as Karate, Muay Thai, Kung-Fu, etcetera. Preferably Karate . David

I think I have a headache. A bad headache. David

As for right now, Coldplay Third day U2 Flogging Molly Kutless P.O.D. Tonic

Yah, personally, I think myspace is kinda scary, with how personal people get with total strangers. Just my non-judgemental (and, like, totally dead on and right) opinion, David

Well, mine is not really to complex. During Vietnam, there was this sniper, by the name of Carlos Hathcock, who is basically my life role model. The people that knew him said that he was the last person that they would ever expect to be someone who's job was killing others. It was only out of his incredible respect for human life and the lives of his fellow soldiers that he did his job so well, because he knew that if he did not do his job, than the cost would be the lives of his fellow comrades. Once, shortly after a very intense offensive, when Hathcock was standing in a field, a white feather floated to the ground in front of him. It reminded him of the peace of home. He put it in his hat, and left it there (yes, even during missions, aside of one, where......wait, I am rambling, sorry). Thus he got the nickname whitefeather, and, thus I use that nickname because he was one of the most incredible people (at least in my opinion) to walk the earth, and also a darn good role model. David

Drills, drills, drills. Talk to your sensei and with the high ranks in your dojo, and ask for the most effective combos that they have used in tournaments. Pick three or four of the combos that you think would work well for you, take them home, and practice relentlessly until they are completely set in your "Muscle memory." Practice them while visualizing a shadow opponent in front of you, and also try practicing them on a punching bag. Another method that works well is to take a long (8' or so) piece of string, hang it from something high (10' or so), tie a weight of some sort 2'-3' down from the top, and start it swinging. Pretend the string is your opponent. This will help the timing and coordination of your combos. Once that gets boring, tie another weight, much lighter than the original weight, two or so feet below the first one. That will make it really interesting and more realistic. Good luck, David

¡Hola!

People are given gifts of natural aptitude for all sorts of things (ie math, writing, karate, running, etcetera). But, without work, those gifts are nothing. It is dedication and effort that will take you places, not whatever gift you have. Never let anyone (and that includes you) convince you that you cannot achieve excellence because you do not have the "Gift" for whatever it is that you love. David