Sensei Rick

Where can i get a red, white and blue uniform with a stitched dragon on it.... My tkd instructor made us demo or participate in a tourney 2 times at each gup level. this was at first irritating. And I didn't like it. Then, since it was required, I started to embrace it. I challenged myself like crazy. I came up with all sorts of comical ways to make the break fun and exciting. I have seen people come out with fake dynamite and act tlike they were gonna blow up the bricks. I once made a brick costume…. I was the brick. I hid offstage while another person was doing a brick break. I came out in my brick costume and said my name was BRICK A BRACK. I then chased the other guy around the gym with a wooden sword and yelled that I was going to avenge my brick family. He had no idea what I was going to do….. that’s what made it better. The look on his face as better than the audience. Good luck and do the demo.

Teach him like this. tell him before he can learn to move he must first learrn to hold himself in silence. have him stand in a fighting stance.... not moving, not talking. tell him he must do exactly as you say or you will not continue to teach him. just make him stand there.... perfectly still and when he move or talks.... make him start over.... i love doing this

Go rent the last samuri with tom cruise and see how he learns to sword fight. You will get there Danielsan..... and make sure to pay your dues on time, ur making sensei earn his bucks.

Sensei say's...... book only imitation. besides..... what are you wanting to get nto MA for.... this isn't about fighting. This is about changing your life..... this is about seeking perfection of character. You expect to learn THAT from a book? only if your book is a bible...... When I go to the dojo, it's almost a religious experience for me. I release all my demons and confront life with renewed vigor and optomism. You can't...... and i repeat.... CAN NOT learn from a book. Now go pay for lessons. and do yourself a favor, pay twice as much as the sensei asks..... I want you to really listen. Seek perfection of character......

okay, next time you're in class, with an italion accent say, " hey sunkake, did you get the ice cream...... then say in a different voice.... sunakake... no cone...... it's sure to get tons of grunts and groans and no..... i repeat noooooooo laughs!!

Okay, if you guys are interested in this kind of stuff I have a secret I shouldn't be sharing. There is a chain of stores called bookmans and they have a fantastic used magazine section. I have ordered from them online too, but don't know if the do mag. shipping. I shouldn't even tell you guys this, it's so great to get lost there. happy hunting.

If you're thru with her, I have several friends and myself we wanna adopt her right away!! (j/k) She needs to be brought down a few notches, a good booty whippin is in order. Someone that is her age and can pace a fight would be great, but probably in short supply. My biggest fear is that left unchecked, she will get herself into trouble on the one occasion she is outmatched. I have no easy answer. You have your hands full with this one, but I love her quote!

That's fantastic!! keep up the good work, and learnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!

Please let us know how you do!!! If ya need any help along the way, we're here for ya!!

ROFLMBO He gets his kicks in his kickin"jeans!!!

He mentions that he is teaching kids, including elementary kids. Some of these things you mention only come with life experience. He is totally qualified to teach this seminar...... even a non martial artist can teach this. I suggest you google "project safe sheild". It's a highly researched and effective CHILDRENS safety awareness course. When teaching these things you must be able to get into the kids simple things they can remember. Your talking about things here that will bore them to death and may inhibit there learning. I agree with much of what you say in your post and the website you mentioned is good too. But I believe you can give these students good value and good lessons without delving into fight or flinght responses via Dr. Fernandez!! In as much of what you say is good, it seems that you are dicounting teaching kids to get away and run. Self defense situations leave very little time for this much thought process and all that thinking stiffles your responses. I love the keep it simple. I remember my sensei telling me a story of a man (soto I beleive) who was a great judo practitioner and was the last person to recieve his black belt from Kano as I recall. When asked how many judo throws he knows he replied 8. Now, he knew all the throws in the judo cirriculum but, he only used the 8 that worked for him. Now I may have some of the facts wrong but the point of the story is the same. Keep it simple SIR!! Everyone so far has made great points, and gullum you have much to think about. Go ahead and do it, you never learn anything by not trying, just ask Tom Edison about that. Your future classes will get better and better as you go along. If i've learned anything from teaching, it's that I learn as much from my students as they do from me. I wish you success! ps. Great points bushido man!

I've been hit in the face, but worse than that was getting hit in the side of my head with a kubaton from my ex girlfriend!!! a kubaton that I gave her!!! That was the last time I cheated on her though, she dumped me straight away!!!

To ED and TURBO, those are strange indeed, but i think you've reached the wrong number, please hold..... Oprah will be with you in a moment!!!

Well, decide what you want them to know at the END of eight weeks and work backwards from there. Teach simple kicks. Front snap, front push and knee kick. You can teach round house but don’t be too critical on form. Concentrate on hammer fists, knees and elbows. Simple escapes involving dropping block are effective and easy to learn. Tell them to say stranger and fire rather than help. Tell them to raise a fuss in public if a stranger has them. Tell them if the stranger tells them their name it isn’t good enough; tell the little ones that their parents must know the person for them not to be a stranger. Anything else????

As I have stated before in many posts, I am currently studying with Sensei Koyama. He is 72!!!He teaches 6 days a week. And what is even more amazing is he does our class (1 hour a day, 3 days a week) then my training partners and I go to lunch. When we come back from lunch, sensei is still inside the dojo,Still working out!! and these are no wimpy workouts. Hard core, old school shotokan. I only pray to be that active when I'm his age. he truly is the embodiment of karate do.

As a fellow student of shotokan you know that one day has little meaning. I can only say that you need a philosophy for your class. Our company uses "break free and RUN!!!" talk about simple release techniques and getting the heck outta there. better to live and fight another day. Also concentrate on simple striking points, eyes, ears, nose throat and of course, between the legs. Come up with your own clever phrase that they can remember like, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. How ever you feel about that phrase it worked and 15 years later I bet you can remember what it's from. GOOD LUCK!

MA is about repition of technique. If you are a good instrucor you train yourself to look at the whole and see who isn't meeting the standard. You don't need private lessons to get good. You need to repeat your lessons over and over to get good. I have taught a class as large as 60, any more than that and I start to get nervous. but it can be done and private lessons don't really make you better faster, only time does. IMHO anyway...... now let the disagreement begin!

I like your post Jaymac. I am studying with Koyama himself and he uses the word. I am inclined to agree with you and let it be stopped in my own classes..... hmmmmm?

I love helping out, that´s what i love about this forum. Just glad to do my part..

That's totally Awsome!!!!!

In my 40's.......And i didn't feel old until i read this thread. now get my slippers and my rocking chair!

I have some easy ones...... stand facing eachother in horse stance. students try to maintain balance as the other students tries to push them over. they can only touch with open palms. when someone moves their foot or falls,they "lose". they do one pushup. Animal races. have them racefrom one end of the room to the other doing diferent animal walks. Crab walk is fun.... leap frog etc.... get creative!!!! next... pair them up. each holds the others leg in a front kick position... they bounce on the remaining leg for 30 seconds to one minute. then switch.... builds calves like crazy and they willl have a blast!!!! I could go on and on, but this has been covered many times in this forum.... search for my post on "the nothing game" you will find many their. Make sure your games and such have a martial art purpose.... not just recess. Let the parents see that you have purpose. Good luck. Ps. only do one "game" or so a night, you don't want to blow your whole wad at once.

could you please mention the specific jump turning kick that is puzzling you most?

awwww, the procrastinators choice.....a wise one in deed, and..... my all time favorite!!!

but which option did you choose, that's the question that's killing me.