Balrog

Is any martial art any good? The question to be asked is not whether the m. a. is any good, it's whether the martial artist is any good. If you are growing and learning within your discipline, then it's all good. If you are stagnating, perhaps it's time to look at crosstraining.

Heh, heh. That brings back a memory. I know of a school where a young female student (16 or so) developed a serious crush on the head instructor, to the point where she almost went into heat when he walked on the floor. He handled it quite professionally, never hurt her feelings in any way. But it was amusing to watch how she would try to get him to work one-on-one with her, and he would deflect her over to his wife, who was the other instructor in the school.

I try to make the test for First Degree as difficult as I can. I want it to be a memorable occasion, one that truly marks the transition from colored belt student to Black Belt leader. They will do *all* of their forms, one-steps and board breaks. They will spar several rounds and at least one of them will be against either me or the other certified instructor in the school. After all that, we will have them do an "instructor's challenge" that we have decided on beforehand. We do not tell them what it is until we spring it on them during the testing. It's usually something that they have had trouble with. For example, if a student has had difficulty with board breaks, we might let them try a break that is either designed for a higher rank or we might jack the difficulty up by adding a board to one of their breaks. The idea is to see the Black Belt attitude come forth from the student: I'm going to step up and give this my best shot, even though I'm bone-tired.

Actually, I quit carrying a kubotan per se. I carry one of the MiniMaglites, the one that uses two AA batteries . I can do anything with it that I could do with a kubotan, plus I have the added advantages of a light in dark places and nobody (like airport security) hassles me about something that looks like a weapon.

As I have stated before, there is an integral element of training that is based on time. Sure, anyone can learn to punch and kick and memorize all the forms and one-steps from White Belt on up, and they can probably do it in a year or so. But that doesn't make them a Black Belt. There is an aging and maturity process involved. Go back and read my analogy of the oven. I think that says it all.

Sorry, I guess I'm not impressed by anything that looks more like XMA than Taekwondo. The only break that I really liked was the blindfolded jump spin hook kick hitting the apple. Nice hang time on that kick.

ATA's age limit for 4th Degree was lowered to 18 and the age limit for 3rd Degree was eliminated. IMNSHO, this was not a good thing.

My students are quite used to hearing me say that someone needs to cook a little longer, they're not quite done yet.

Searching on the ATA website: There are 10 locations within 50 miles of 55480. ATA AT THE MARSH 15000 MINNETONKA BLVD MINNETONKA, MN ATA BB ACADEMY OF CHAMPLIN 11351 AQUILA DRIVE SUITE 104 CHAMPLIN, MN ATA BLACK BELT ACADEMY 20818 HOLYOKE AVE. STE. 136 LAKEVILLE, MN ATA BLACK BELT ACADEMY & K4K 1040 EAST COUNTY ROAD 42 BURNSVILLE, MN EAGAN ATA BLACK BELT ACADEMY AND K FOR K 4178 PILOT KNOB RD. EAGAN, MN EXCEL MARTIAL ARTS ACADEMY, INC. 451 COMMERCE DRIVE WOODBURY, MN KIUN IL-SAENG TAEKWONDO 133 SANDBERG RD MONTICELLO, MN ROSEMOUNT ATA BBA, INC 15145 CARROUSEL WAY ROSEMOUNT, MN SINGEWALD'S ATA 185 FIRST AVENUE EAST SHAKOPEE, MN YOUNGMAN'S ATA BLACK BELT ACADEMY 14109 HIGHWAY 13 SOUTH SAVAGE, MN

Well, he is one of the seniors in my style. In more ways than one. What's that sir? MORE pushups? You haven't done enough, sir. I'm not tired yet.

Ah, but the big question is: what did you learn from that lesson? I used to spar with a higher rank on a regular basis. He spent way too much time with his foot on top of my head. From that, I learned to not block with my face, and how to jam someone taller and take his legs away from him. Everything is a learning experience. I'm not going to say good luck on your testing, because it wasn't luck that got you to this point. I'll just say this: have fun, do your best and strut your stuff!!

ATA changed the promotional requirements recently. As I mentioned before, they were trying to find a way to tie higher ranked promotions to leadership, and do so in a quantifiable, objective manner. The first route they took did not work. The first modification they made was a distinct improvement and the current method is even better. In a nutshell, the high rank has to earn 90 points a year for each year of the mandatory time in grade. For example, a 5th Degree would have to earn 540 points. If the points aren't earned at the end of the time in grade, the individual continues until the required total is met. The biggest point accumulater is your student count. However, you also earn points by taking an active leadership role in your district or region. For example, one can earn points by judging at tournaments, by serving as a regional officer, by being a guest judge at another school's testing. One also earns points through continuing education, so we get credit for the instruction seminars we attend, etc. I don't have the full list in front of me. I think it's fairer to everyone because it is not just numbers based any more. I have a small school and I would have never hit the numbers under the old guidelines. In fact, I didn't become eligible to test for 5th until the first modification came into play. Under the current rules, I can hit my points every year because of my active participation in the region and at national level as well. The wheels of the ATA grind slowly and we lost a bunch of good instructors while they were working this out. I'm sorry they left and I would like to see them come back. The organization would be much better off if they did.

The best revenge is living well. You earned it, they haven't. Now that you have it,step up your level of training and lead by example. Show them that a Black Belt is a lot more than just a 2 inch wide piece of cloth.

Another $0.02 on this topic.... As has been said before, there is no fixed, quantifiable time. However, there is an element of becoming a Black Belt that is purely time. One might train for hours a day and learn the basics and the curriculum for the style in as little as a year. I would argue that that does not make them a Black Belt - yet. The training is not just punching and kicking and memorizing forms. There is also training in the application of the techniques through sparring, training in life skills as the student becomes a leader, and more. And it just takes time to do all of that and internalize it all so that it becomes more than just part of your life, it becomes part of your existance. I really like the analogy of broiling a roast in the oven. The recipe calls for 4 hours at 250 degrees. If we crank the heat up to 500 and only leave it in for 2 hours, we wind up with something that is overdone on the outside and still raw on the inside. This is why I think "accelerated" programs do a disservice to the students; they just don't get cooked long enough to not be raw any more.

My favorite is a plain vanilla #1 side kick. I love to stick it right into the middle of my opponent's attack and "feed 'em the foot". Ruins their whole day.