IcemanSK

Ooohhhh, I don't think insurance companies would like that at all. In the 90's, there was an Olympic style TKD pro league on ESPN without hogus, headgear or gloves. You can find them on Youtube. The best fight of the fights was a 120 lb fight between Hyon LEE vs. Danny KIM. I encourage all to look it up.

I'm not one to label someone who doesn't train as much as I do as a hobbyist (or anything else that is less than how I choose to train). Everyone has their own desires, ambitions, abilities, & life priorities. Someone walks into my school & wants to train, fantastic!! I will teach you. If that's one day a week, it will limit the amount & pace of progress, but it doesn't mean they are somehow less than I am. As sensei8 is fond of saying, "The proof is on the floor," & I'm not going to put that person in a tournament. But I'm not going to marginalize someone who wants to train by how much they choose to train with me. I've had times in my life when I worked a non-MA 40+ hour a week job, but still trained 3 hours 6 days a week. I was in the gym when it opened until it closed for no other reason than love for it. But it didn't make me any better than the folks who could only make it a few days a week. Love for MA is caught, not taught. Some get it & some don't. But none that train are second class.

Good news!

I don't know if you'd be the first to do a 70000 degree spin kick. Most of the astronauts are military people (I assume), and I'd bet one or two are/were martial artists. Even if there weren't martial artists to ever go to space, people get bored. An untold stories of astronauts in space book would probably have some pretty weird things in it. Ronald McNair, who died in the Challenger disaster, was 5th Dan Karate.

For me, I would go to Korea & train under GM Hae Man PARK, VP of Chung Do Kwan & co-designer of Tae Geuk & Yudanja poomsae, & GM Kyu Hyung LEE,former head of Kukkiwon. I would als love to train once again under GM Yun Kil Kim, my first master, who now lives in Hawaii. I want to also learn serious cane SD for folks w/ limited mobility. Everything I've seen is done by people with normal to athletic ability &, it drives me crazy. But that is a other Oprah. I also would love to learn BJJ from Jean Jacque Machado. This is more possible, as I'm not terribly far from him: I just lack money & the hours in the day.

Pretend that you had the time & money to do unique things in your MA career that out of the ordinary for you. So, apart from training under the people that you do at the training hall when you currently train. What would you do? Who would you train under? Would you start a new Art? Tell us what you'd love to do if you had the opportunity.

Bwahahaha!

I agree completely with this & add the mental/emotional component to the above. If training (or the idea of it) seems like drudgery (you receive significantly less happiness from training), if training gets in the way of having normal relationships (because you train too much), or if you think about training all the time when you're not training (to the point that it gets in the way of your job or relationships), you might be overtraining. Training, even hard training, should bring be a positive experience & should enhance our lives, not make them more difficult.

Thanks for posting this! A good reminder that we need to beware of cheap imitations. It's tempting to want to go for a "deal." But it usually isn't the case.

Ain't it the truth.

We are often our worst critics.

I've always been drawn like a magnet to the worst of the MA flicks. In the 80's, I would go to Blockbuster or the local "mom & pop" video store & pass up every Bruce Lee film to grab the ones made by PKA kickboxers like Don Wilson, Jerry Trimble or even Super Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Elmore. "This one has to be good! I just know it!," I'd think to myself. I've seen more of these stinkers than I can name. Truth be told, I still haven't seen most of Bruce's films or even "Crouching Tiger." Don't kick me out of the club I do have a funny story about Don Wilson. I trained with Marek Piotrowski in the early 90's. Marek fought & beat Wilson in late '89. Our trainer, the late Kevin McClinton, told me this story. Don had made a film & it was actually released in theaters a few weeks before the fight. At the press conference, Wilson gave Marek some free passes to see the movie. Marek took Kevin & a few other guys to see it. Marek smiled & joked around with people that he knew well, but to most folks, he often came off as a very serious man. He was born in Poland & it was easy for him to come off with an "Ivan Drago" (from Rocky 4) kind of vibe. After watching the film, everyone was talking about the movie (laughing joking around) except for Marek, who was quite. Kevin asked what he thought of the movie. He looked at Kevin really seriously & said, "Now I have a reason to kick his butt." Marek won a 12 round decision against Wilson the next week. I'll see the new kickboxer no matter how bad the reviews are. It's my nature.

Certainly one of the big reasons, that's for sure.

Yeah, that's where I bought the 2 canes I own. The canes are very strong & would hold up well, if need be. When I've emailed the folks there asking if they had videos designed for folks with less mobility, I got no response. All of their folks in the videos (I bought several) are quite agile & don't need to use a cane. Their canes are very nice, however.

I'd say there have been several points in my training, but when I look back at that time, I realize I was wrong. At brown belt (2 years in), I thought "yeah, I think I'm getting it." Six years of training, when I tested for 2nd Dan, I thought I was fairly proficient. At 12 years in, I fought in full-contact rules kickboxing & trained 3 hours 6 days a week. I fought better then, but I didn't have a clue about my forms, because I didn't care about them. Now, with more than 33 years of training, I'm less able to perform my Art as well as I wish I could, but I think I might have a better handle on the Art, than I did at other times in my training.

I read somewhere that Mas Oyama used red as one of kyu grades in Kyokushin, but then eliminated it out of respect for high ranking yudansha who wore it in other systems. Speculating, but would that have come from his Korean connections? Red is used in TKD and TSD for 2nd and 1st kups normally. Not a bad speculation, as Oyama was Korean. One of his main teachers was also Korean (not sure if that one taught Shotokan or Goju). Not that I'm an authority on Oyama, but I don't recall anything indicating he trained in TKD, TSD or any other Korean art. I concur. That might be a possible reason for the red belt in Kyokushin kyu ranks.

I'm a Taekwondoin w/ a decent knowledge of joint locks. A few years ago, I tore my calf muscle & was in a cast for the better part of a year. I used a cane during that time to help with balance. Since I needed the cane, my interest in cane SD during that time. I've been able to find many SD videos & programs for designed & to be used by folks who do not have any mobility issues & are able to move freely around their attacker. I've contacted several folks who produce videos for cane SD & asked "what about folks with mobility issues?" & gotten no response for any of them. I have a disability that, while mild now, may require me to use a cane as I get older. The cane I used will be out of necessity, rather than a prop for a healthy 30 year old 4th Dan waiting for someone to accost them in a dark alley. Can anyone point me to a cane SD program for those with mobility issues? Thanks

I saw a bit about the skip dans. I thought they put a stop to it for the time being? I hadn't heard that they put a hold on the skip Dans, but they have put a hold on the Dan panels for now, at least in the US. The Dan panels (for those who don't know) is a new thing Kukkiwon wanted to roll out outside Korea. Up until now, one needed to be 4th Dan KKW or higher to test their students for BB. One could test their students up to 1 rank bellow themselves. The new rule that they rolled out in Europe in 2015, & tried to in the US, was that 4th Dan or higher HAD to take this testing panel course in order to test one's students. So, theoretically one could be an 8th Dan training & teaching for 40 years & had promoted 100's BBs, but now could not without passing this course. They've put that idea on hold here in the US due to MUCH push back. But they are teaching the panel exam course here in LA this weekend, anyway. Many heavy hitters from KKW are here. I was mistaken, its special skip Dan tests which I'd read http://wtu.kr/sub_read.html?uid=677&section=sc1 What you describe to be fair is not that much different to ITF rules. Under 4th dan testing can be done by anyone who is at least twice the grade you are testing for. So for example 3rd must be approved by a 6th dan. 4th and above require you to test under someone who had been approved to do those testings. As a result, you usually have to wait for a 3 day technical seminar to occur and then test afterwards with the visiting master, or request that they send someone to test you. Idea is its a quality control measure. My guess is that it's been like this in the ITF for a long time now. This change for KKW folks outside of Korea was to be fairly sudden. When there are 1000's of masters & GMs that have been able to test folks on their own. GM Herb Perez, an American Olympic gold medalist & 8th Dan stated,"I've trained & taught for 45 years, won X, Y, Z titles...please tell me what I need to know to test someone to BB that I'll learn taking this course." Now, while his approach was pointed (or rude, one may say), he has a point. He is hardly a beginner & knows what he's doing. The big issue was Kukkiwon initially said, "we're changing this to the new way in 18 months. You have no choice but to take this course if you want to test your students." But they only planned 2 course events in the next year hosting only 160 attendees at a time. So if I wanted to test my students 6 onths ago, I could. But with the new rules, I'd have to find a person who took the course & pay them to test my students. The new expense is another consideration.

Here's another: http://wtu.kr/sub_read.html?uid=643&section=sc25&section2=%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4

Wow, that's quite the display. How has that been covered or documented recently? Has the KKW been questioned about it or given a statement or opinion? Here's one article: http://wtu.kr/sub_read.html?uid=663&section=sc1 I'll search for others & post them if I can find them.

It's better, I think, to delete it & do a brand new business page. I don't think you can transfer it one from another.

I never, ever required my mother to call me "sir" or Mr. Walker. Out of habit, she usually called my by my first name, but she did call me Mr. Walker from time to time, to try to keep some continuity in the class. But I never required it, and if she called me by name, she had every right to; after all, she gave it to me. On the flip side, I usually ended up referring to her as mom in class. In my organization, it's written many places in our material for students, "You may not call BBs or your instructors by their 1st names, even if you are related." This is an in the dojang kind of thing, but it is important to how the org is run. Heck, neither Sr. GM Edward Sell nor Sr. GM Brenda Sell have EVER called me by my 1st name. I came into the organization as a 2nd Dan 10 years ago. In every conversation, inside or outside of class, casual or formal, they always address me by my title. As their student, I'm aware of my place & address them by their titles, always. But as their student, I actually wish either of them called me by my 1st name out of class. Their formality with me, their student, makes me feel at arm's length from them.

. I saw a bit about the skip dans. I thought they put a stop to it for the time being? I hadn't heard that they put a hold on the skip Dans, but they have put a hold on the Dan panels for now, at least in the US. The Dan panels (for those who don't know) is a new thing Kukkiwon wanted to roll out outside Korea. Up until now, one needed to be 4th Dan KKW or higher to test their students for BB. One could test their students up to 1 rank bellow themselves. The new rule that they rolled out in Europe in 2015, & tried to in the US, was that 4th Dan or higher HAD to take this testing panel course in order to test one's students. So, theoretically one could be an 8th Dan training & teaching for 40 years & had promoted 100's BBs, but now could not without passing this course. They've put that idea on hold here in the US due to MUCH push back. But they are teaching the panel exam course here in LA this weekend, anyway. Many heavy hitters from KKW are here.

Well said. Standardization is a hard thing to do, even in small organizations, because each practitioner has different strengths & weaknesses. 5th Dan "A" may have a perfect side kick, but struggles a bit with the technique that 5th Dan "B" excels at. You posed a great issue with those folks who go independent or are no longer with their instructor (for whatever reason). If they stop testing by choice or out of necessity or circumstance, it may eventually limit their students' options for advancement. Say a 6th has an 8th master in an independent organization. The master dies & the 6th Dan (Master #1) decides that he won't seek out advancement from other folks out of respect for his master. Master A runs a successful program and is able to produce 5th Dan Master #2. Master #2 is a faithful student & reluctantly accepts a promotion from Master #1 also to 6th Dan. Master #2 is a good instructor his students love & she too has a 5th Dan student that she promotes to 6th Dan. So, the highest ranking members of this program that dates back to 1965 when Master 8th Dan took in Master #1 as a student. Good stuff happens on the floor every night, yet the self-imposed limitation in rank (due to circumstances, & choices of Master #1) do not express the depth of learning the leaders have achieved. I trained under a man who (I discovered details later) misrepresented himself at almost every turn. He was 4th Dan from his grandmaster, with whom he had a falling out. But he was so arrogant that he opened up a school directly across the alley from his old GM & promoted himself to 6th Dan in not one, but 2 Arts! In the 80's, he claimed to be a member of the PKA (because that was popular). Then, he magically became a 6th Dan in Aikido when Steven Seagal did his 1st film. He also claimed to be the state director of a large TKD org, but he would actually bring in the man who WAS the state director to do seminars for us. My point in bringing this man up is not to point out this man's failings, but to say what I learned in this event. Before I showed up at this guy's school, I received 1st Dan in a large organization from a master who moved out of state. The magic 6th Dan tested me for 2nd Dan & gave me a bogus cert. from the org he claimed to be state director. After all this bogus stuff came out, I realized the value of credentials from organizations (& legitimate ones at that) rather than ones from an instructor only. In Korea, there are government regulations about who can teach what & at what ranks. Some people struggle under the narrowness of it (even Korea). In the US, we have the opposite...no regulations of any kind what so ever. Anyone can claim anything or nothing & put mats in a room & teach. I'm thinking that some kind of middle ground is needs where regulations of some sort are required of instructors. Heck, it's like that for teachers or yoga, strength training, Zumba, etc. Why not us MAists? end of rant.

Beginning a few months ago, several masters in Korea began picketing against Kukkiwon over the "skip Dan" & the "Dan panel" issues. (Folks were being promoted eg. 2nd-7th). Only one grandmaster, to my knowledge gave up his KKW certificate. He did id it in a very public way. With media in tow, he walked into the KKW president's office & handed over his 8th Dan & belt. GM LEE did not resign his KKW rank, but he has stepped back quite a bit. There is a Kukkiwon Dan examiner's course this weekend here in LA. Many big name instructors at Kukkiwon are in town, but GM LEE is not among them.