Whitefeather

Hey various pedestrians and karatekas,

What is the longest kata that you do, quantified by how many times your stance changes?

Sorta like this:

White

Yellow

Blue

Orange

Purple

Green

Brown #3

Brown #2

Brown #1

Black

For under-12s, they must progress through the first six earning the striped version of their current rank before testing for the next.

Although I rarely spar (yes, that is gasp-worthy, but I do fighting drills and self-defense combos with commonness), I tend to plant my stance and not move-unless my opponent tries to circle around me-until I have a combo ready, then I "explode" (please excuse the painfully corny word). Sort of a defensive tactic, but not totally, as I do not move backwards or retreat in any other fashion (usually).

Dave

Mine is my life philosophy (that is, for now).

I train because I enjoy karate, I enjoy honing my skills, and I enjoy progressing. How was that for seriously crazy deep and complex?

-The Most Honerable Earl of Kirkland

Good Grief. Well, actually, it is mainly that "Dudes and Dudettes" story. I got through about two lines and promptly fell off of my chair, victim to an incapicatingly (or decapicatingly?) terrible migraine. I go to the Dojo, and, well, umm, train and teach. I am not sure what else y'all do, all I know is that it is a fiercly efficient headache-inducer.

-Monseuir Le Sijedpero

PS:

Just in case anybody at the moment is thinking of tracking me down via my IP number and beating the livin HMPHF out of me, I have two things to say. Firstly, that was kinda-mostly a joke, and, secondly, I have a $20 dollar airsoft gun and am not afraid to use it .

Well, I carry around a knife, but that is only for utility. I have nowhere near the knife-training that I would need to be effective with it and to not cut myself up in the process of defending myself (something I think would happen to most people who tote around a knife and think it makes them invincible). My one "Layer", so to speak, is my mind. The human mind is the most incredible weapon and "Layer". Period, no debate.

-Dave

At the school I go to, the blackbelt test has most of the emphasis on the understanding of technical skills. Under technical skills, to a lesser note, there is an emphasis on the ability of the student to use those technical skills with power (or, to sound less cheesy, with OOMPHF). If a student has OK technical skills but no oomphf, or if the student has OK oomphf but no skills to go along with it, that does not constitute a blackbelt-worthy student. The way the belt system is set up, no matter how young you start, you will be at least 12 before you can test for blackbelt, and I think that is quite perfect. If someone that young tests, and they have not hit the develpment spurt that allows them to have the needed oomphf (if you were wondering, yes, that was a lame-o euphemism for puberty), then they can make up for it by having outstanding technical skills which, skills that would make them even with someone with more strength but lesser skills in a street-fight situation.

Basically, without all of the rambling, it looks like this:

(technical skills) x (oomphf factor) = overall ability

I hope that was more understandable than a rambling bit of gook,

David

I am not the instructor for our school, I just help out. That said, the school I go to has promoted around nine people to blackbelt, myself included (although that number might change this afternoon; good luck guys!). Out of those nine, one dissapeared the moment he got it, four got busy with college, and four are now nidans and actively training/helping.

David

Go to a doctor ASAP. The sooner you can have a professional look at it, the better off you will be if it is something that will require treatment. Chances are you could just go easy on it for a while and you would be fine, but if that is not the case, you could do some serious and irreparable (did I spell that right?) damage.

David

I highly recommend listening to everybody's advice here, as they all seem to have a lot of experience (probably a lot more experience than I have). That said, I have to throw in my two senses (or was it cents?...hmmm). Pick out somebody in your dojo who has good technique with their hips. Watch them move and try to mimick their movements when you train. Say you were trying to figure out how to use your hips on a basic punch. The best way--in my experience--to do this is to start out punching VERY VERY slowly, making sure that your hips are synched with your punch in the same way of the person you are trying to mimick. Very slowly work your speed up until you are punching at a moderate speed, using your hips properly. From there, it is a cakewalk to work up to punching fast while using your hips, at least from my experience.

Good Luck ,

David

https://www.kingfisherwoodworks.com

This fellow does not list escrimas on his website, but if you call him, he can make some for you. He has made both a set of escrimas and a jo for my brother, and they are hands down the best quality wood and best quality worksmanship I have ever seen. A set of escrimas in the second highest wood grade set my brother back around 100+shipping, but again, they are the best, period. Highly recomended. If you do not want to drop that much on a set, I would recomend finding the cheapest set of escrimas you can find and saving your money for a set from Kingfisher. If you are very adventurous and/or know something about woodworking, you could order some of the hickory stock from Kingfisher and try to make your own, but that would be a wee bit gutsy.

If you really want to send someone sprawling, it will take patience and practice. One of the best methods is to play defensive, always retreating when they try to move in for an attack. Make them have to move fast to catch you. When you opponent is moving in on you with sufficient speed, wait until his front foot is about to hit the ground, during the split second when his weight is already transferred but his foot has not made contact with the floor. At that very moment, cup the bottom of your foot and use it to pull his heel about 6" towards his inside (so, if it is his left foot you are sweeping, pull it to his front and to his right, at a 45 angle). Once you have off-balanced your opponent, follow up with your favorite combo. Also, follow h2whoa's advice and find a Judo school to take classes at; that will help you a lot.

Drills drills and more drills

I can not agree more with that. Pick several drills that you like (whether you came up with them or not does not matter, but if use drills you made, show them to your sensei first before devoting a lot of time to them) and spend hours hammering on them in the most relentless manner possible. Try to watch the sparring habits of people that are better then you. How they move, how they time their attacks, what attacks they favor, what combos they favor, etc. Also, practice sweeps at home to. Hang a weight from the ceiling about three feet off of the ground, and then hang a tennis from the weight so that the ball is inches off the ground. Then set the whole thing swinging and practice sweeping it at the apex (the part where it is just about to start moving away from you) of its swing. This will help build your ability to time your opponent for sweeps and other attacks.

Nidan, after nearly 10 years of training.

There is one huge advantage to being short. It is extremely easy to cover your torso targer area. When you spar, try lining yourself up so that you have to turn your head 90 degrees to see your opponent and keep your arms about 3/4 extended, with your front hand nearly over your back hand (Imagine you are making your arms into a gate that your opponent must breech before he can get to you). Doing this makes it extremely hard to get in a midsection point on you. Then, you can strategically make opening in your target zone, prompting your opponent to attack. Because you know when (aprox.) the attack will come and where (aprox.) the attack is aimed, it will be much easier block and counter. This might or might not work for you, but give it a whirl and see what you think.

Hey all,

Couple questions for you:

1)

What is your favorite kata to use in tournaments (or just your favorite kata to do)?

2)

What is your favorite kata to watch?

3)

What is your favorite kata of all time?

My favorite to do is Anan, to watch is Choshin, and my favorite of all time is probably Anan, although it is a hard call.

"I could take you"

Said by a 17yr kid who had no martial arts experience whatsoever, to the sensei, of whom was a national sparring champ. I did not witness the event, but I heard that it involved the kid having his sparring helmet turned 180 degrees via a backfist and being thrown into the corner full of ukemi balls.

he steps forward

Say he is stepping forward with his right foot. Right before he transfers his weight to his foot, sweep it to his left. Then follow up with your favorite high attack.

Hey everybody,

What are some good drills to build depth perception and ranging skills?