AikiGuy

I started to notice this in myself too. It hurts my bad knee when I do certain aerial moves so I don't do them anymore. My reflexes are slower but I still spar because I enjoy it. There are lots of things I won't do now. If I did, I would probably have to skip several classes to recover. It's just not worth it to me. The difficult part is learning how to say to a student "You do this, but I'm not going to because I can't anymore". You have to find a classy way to express this without sounding like it's a cop-out. I saw an instructor in his 60's demonstrate an escape where both parties ended up on the floor. He told the student very plainly "I'll just go up to the take-down since I'm old, but you do the whole thing since you are young and strong". He was very honest and I admired that. I usually blame my bad knee for things like this. I tore some cartilege and wear an elastic brace when working out or jogging to take the pressure off the joint. So when I can't do something, I just say "I'm going to skip this part. I don't want to tear up my bad knee anymore". People usually understand this ok. Honesty really is the best policy. Hope this helps.

I only read about half of this thread but it already seems like this student is coping out on responsibility for her own actions. Firstly anyone who says on their own they have a problem already knows the problem very well and probably how to fix it. They are just unwilling to change their behavior. She seems to want you to "fix" her without her doing anything. That's not right. If she wants to be there to learn a new attitude then all you should have to do is say "jump" and she should jump. With the incident where she did not want to spar, I would have sent her out of the class for the rest of the day. Either she wants to participate and learn or she doesn't. I'm not accusing her of anything but it almost seems like a head game. She says "teach me". Then when you do, she says "Never mind, I don't want to learn". I would remind her that everything in class has a purpose whether she realizes it or not. And if she wants to really become a better person she should participate. Then leave it up to her. If she is an adult, you can't hold her hand forever. She should do it or not do it.

It was 2002, I think. I trained with weights for about an hour a day, twice a week. I jogged 30 to 45 minutes once or twice a week. And I went to my normal class once a week, an extra class once a week and usually trained on my own once a week (bag work, kata, etc.). The test was a little over 3 hours and included 12 katas, defense techniques, kumite against 1 opponent, then against 3 opponents, and breaking. It was a challenge to say the least. I used to be in great shape when I was young: I could jog for over 2 hours and I have bench pressed twice my body weight in 2 different weight classes. And my BB test was STILL the most greuling physical thing I have ever done. If your test is anything like mine. You are wise to prepare so early in advance. It sounds like you know what to expect so I'm sure you'll be fine. Keep training and good luck.

Bo, sai, nunchaku, tonfa, kama, katana

I agree with most of what people are saying here. I would like to add the option of combining fakes to all of the above. I am average height (5'-9") and I have sparred with opponents up to 6'-4" and there is always an advantage for them. My advantage is that as long as I don't gain too much weight, I seem to be faster than most of them. Of course, that's not universally true but it seems to be common enough that it's worth my time training on ways to take advantage of that. Practice speed drills using combinations on a heavy bag. Then when you get to a tall opponent, fake a strike (any strike) in one direction, and then while he is shifting his weight or guarding, move in another direction and follow up with a second strike. As an example, sometimes I will do a front kick, the opponent blocks or steps back, and immediately I move at an angle (outside works better) and do a punch to the body or head. This works a lot since it is hard to kick while stepping. Of course he still has his hands but at least you may have a chance at taking his longest weapons out of the mix. This is a general type of combination that works on mostly anyone but since so many approaches don't work on taller opponents, I thought it was worth pointing out that I have had success with this one on opponents of all heights. Good luck.

If you struggle doing pushups on your toes, you will get little results from doing training that way since you will not have very good form. Do them on your knees and at least occasionally, do a set that really pushes you hard. In other words, maybe once a week or so, do a set of pushups or light bench presses until you can't do any more. That's very taxing on the body so don't do it very often but as long as you don't have any physical limitations or injuries, it should jump start your strength gains.

If you are just starting lifting for the first time, don't go to failure on many sets. Most people won't go to failure on any set for a while. I would recommend the latter to start with. Firstly, the discomfort (and soreness later) is discouraging for most beginners. It is also unnecessary. Failure training is something experienced athletes do a lot to get past a plateau. Beginners generally don't gave this problem and grow easily without it. Secondly, it takes quite some time for your body to adjust to working out even at a light or moderate level. Going all out at first will get you injuries by the truckload. Muscles grown and strengthen faster than bones, ligaments, and tendons. So you may feel that you are gaining the muscle strength to keep up such a workout but other parts cannot handle it and will just snap or tear without notice. If you feel soreness in the next 1-3 days, you are doing enough to get results. Don't do more than necessary or you will become very close to your doctor. A good beginning rule is to do reps and stop when you think (guess) you could force (straining) two or three more reps without breaking form. And don't start out with a number in mind. Just do reps until it becomes difficult. That will give you an idea of what level you're at. As for the sets, decide how many sets for each body part separately. Some muscles have greater endurance and will last longer. For example, some people can do 1 set of 10 chinups and be tired afterwards. But most can do 5 sets of 10 quats and not even feel it. The point is that each muscle group has (and should have) a different strength level. For a few weeks, experiment with different numbers of reps and sets for each muscle and see how many gets you pretty spent by the end. You might do 8 chinups per set, 30 pushups per set, and 15 situps per set. That's pretty normal. There's also nothing wrong with only doing 2 sets if you get fatigued faster than you thought. The onset of fatigue is just as important (moreso in some workouts) than the number of sets/reps you do. After several months, you will be able to push it harder without as much chance of injury. DISCLAIMER: Of course there is ALWAYS a chance of injury when you are really pushing it and sometimes even when going light depending on you body condition and health. A good idea would be going to a gym that has a "free trial" workout and get one the trainers to evaluate you personally or have a physical by a doctor.

Kumitekyle187 is right assuming it is a no contact tourney. They like to see control since people who go to these do not want to get blasted and bring home bruises. However, some tourneys have light contact rules. Meaning you can tap lightly and must do so to score. I'ts all about finding the balance between a near miss and injurious contact. If you can train your self to strike hard and fast but loosen up and pull the shots at the last second, you will score. Here I imagine judges look also at the strikee to see their reaction. If he falls down or his head jerks really hard, you went too far. If it looks like a miss, graze, or you were overextended (and therefore could not have accomplished a solid strike in a real fight), you may not get a point. Find out exactly which rules will be used ahead of time and train mostly or solely in that mode so it becomes habit. Good luck.

First sitch: Palm heel strike to the nose or punch the throat. Keep the elbow bent so it does not break if he swings and hits your arm. Keep the arm in place after striking to block or at least partially deflect a punch from his free hand. While he's stunned, immediately change the position of your pinned arm. If it's straight out to the side, jerk it down as if trying to elbow yourself in the ribs. It doesn't have to come off the floor, just slide it while pinned. This should throw off his balance. Even if he falls on you, he is no longer leaning his weight on your arm. Now push him off to one side (not straight up and back). Second sitch: Not sure which hold you mean but it sounds like a choke from behind. If so, let's say the right arm is the one around your throat, pull his arm down with both hands, step back with the right foot and turn 90 degrees to the right. Now he should be pulling against the left side of your neck instead of your throat. Elbow strike to the gut or ribs. Repeat strike 10 to 12 times or until released. That should do it.

I'm glad you asked. I too tend to take on too much at one time. I work full time, go to school part time, have a wife and two kids, go to my MA classes, and help my instructor teach his larger class on weekends. In the past two years, I have dabbled in Boxing, Muay Thai and Kendo and at least once a week I lift weights and play Ping Pong. Gee, I wonder why I got so addicted to caffeine =( Anyway, my wife gave me a reality check and just told me I had to choose. Now, I still train in my primary style of Aikijutsu and lift weights but all of the other things are just occasional things now. I must say it's a lot easier and I get more done. I say pick your favorite one as a staple and just do the others whenever you can fit them in. You have your whole life to diversify. Ask yourself this question: Would you rather work toward one black belt or 12 different green belts?

Firstly, I hope that was merely a clever joke about what to do if any conflict arises. If that is really a concern in your mind, you are not ready to get married IMO. Please don't take that the wrong way, especially if you were only kidding about that. I do not wish to seem rude but I knew my wife for 7 years (including a 4 year engagement) before tieing the knot just to be sure we were on the same page concerning several major issues. And how we would handle arguements/fights was definitely one of the main issues. I am a BB and my wife has never studied MA but she never worries about violence and we have never had a physical fight. As far as the MIL goes, hopefully she is a person who respects the privacy of two adults and will not complicate things or influence her daughter too much. For finding a school, maybe try doing an internet search and then just start calling places. That's how I found my Muay Thai instructor last year. Since you are a green belt, I suggest going with the same or similar style as your last MA (or at least one of the 3 substyles you mentioned) so that more of your training transfers and you won't go back to basics all over again. I agree with most instructors that it is more difficult to try to remember two different approaches at the same time so I would do only one style to start. Then switch or add another later (if the instructor is ok with that). My instructor has BB's in 4 different styles but I think most do them one at a time. If you get pretty close to your wife's rank, it will be great to have a live-in training partner. Hope you find a dojo soon.

I dont know if you can do the light stretching that IronWarrior suggested but until you know exactly what kind of injury you have, I would recommend not stretching that particular area at all until you know more. It may be fine in a few days or it could get much worse if you stress the area further. If you are taking classes, tell your instructor so he will not expect you to follow the class for a while. If you don't know what is causing the pain and it persists for more than a week or two, you should absolutely see a doctor. Good luck.

I assume you mean with your legs up in a V and stretching via gravity. This is just like being in a seated leg stretcher so is sounds like a great stretch. After you become more flexible, it may lose its effectiveness. For a little added stretch (only after you have become pretty limber), you may try ankle weights or heavy boots. Of course if you do this too soon, you may pull/tear something so be careful. If you do add some weight, maybe put a towel over each foot to hang down against the wall to avoid scratching the wall. Good luck.

It sounds like you have a lot of training in the striking arts. I say try something that has little or no striking for variety. I take Aikijutsu which I recommend if you can find it in your area. It has the throws of Aikido and the locks of Jujutsu all in one art. It is usually very difficult to learn for beginners but your previous training will surely make it a bit easier. Judo is also a good throwing art from what I have heard, similar to Aikido. I practiced once with a Hapkido guy once and his stuff looked very much like the Jujutsu moves I learned. If you REALLY want to diversify, maybe wrestling or MMA. I'm glad you're looking for something different. I think it's more beneficial than taking a new art that is very similar to your previous one even though it may be harder to pick up. IMO, another striking art (TKD, Boxing, Muay Thai, etc.) would be less beneficial if you are looking to be well rounded. Of course, the main thing is to follow your interests so you continue to train without getting bored. Good luck with your decision.

In my style of Karate, we practice fighting left and right handed leads. In boxing and kickboxing, most fighters only work on one side to perfect that side. Both are good ideas in different ways. If you are fairly new to this style, I suggest working the way the instructor recommends as a primary focus. After all, he's the teacher. Once you get comfortable with one way, I personally see nothing wrong with trying alternative approaches. If the instructor prefers to see his way practiced in class, just do your other approaches at home. But learning both at once, is usually confusing and takes longer to develop proper habits.

Thanks everyone for the input. Some points of clarification since some have asked: The kid in question usually seems like a nice boy and pays attention as much as any 8 year old (which isn't much). He has taken TKD a little before coming to my Karate class and seems quite proud of that. I think he just likes to show off a bit. I don't really mind that except when it becomes dangerous. I agree I should probably not have yelled at him but it was such a shock to see that, I guess I lost my temper a bit since "no-contact" is the rule I stress more than any other in class. I talked briefly to him after administering his punishment. And I talked to his parents after class hoping they would understand the purpose for making a big issue out of this. I hoped they would talk further with him at home and return the following week but he did not. I appreciate everyone's opinions and suggestions. Keep them coming if you have any more since I am still teaching kids.

Thanks everyone. That's a lot more info on the rules / variations than I expected. This should help me lots. I'm going to go back soon and hopefully pick up on some of what you have said here.

I would like some feedback on a situation I had in my class. I used to teach a kids class (6-12 y.o.) and I had a promising student who loved sparring. Since they were all quite young, we only did touch/point sparring. I always emphasized the no-contact rule and even warned them that there would be consequences if they went too hard. I always do this with kids since they blank out in the heat of the moment and forget the rules. Also they sometimes want to show off which makes them want to be more aggressive. During a sparring match, this kid jumped up, faked a kick, grabbed his opponents head and held it all the way down, and slammed it into the wood floor. The opponent was bleeding and crying. Both kids were 8 years old. I just about lost it. I yelled at him and stopped the match. I made the kid do pushups until he couldn't do any more and was really struggling at the end. He never returned to class after that day. I felt bad afterward for yelling and also wondered if I was too hard on him. I have heard other instructors' disciplinary actions for exteme contact (with injury) and some go farther than mine. Examples are: DQ and losing the match, sitting out the rest of the class, contact sparring with a higher rank, sparring with the instructor. I thought my rule was somewhere in the middle. So do you think the consequences were reasonable? What would you have done?

Well this is a tough call. I'm giving an answer having never been put in your position so maybe I would change my answer when the time came. But anyhoo, I think many of the posts are correct when they said it would not be fair to the art, the other students, etc. to give this student a BB. I know you want to reward the extreme amount of effort from this student but the fact remains, he may not be able to do what a black belt can do. If not, there is no question in my mind. Not only is it a "stretch of the truth" (pronounced "lie") but he will become an example of your style, school, teaching ability, etc whether either of you wants that or not. When some new person comes in and sees him, he will think "That's what they call a black belt? This place is a joke." There are other ways of rewarding students for other efforts. I agree with Gen Tora who said "give him an honorary black belt...". Also you could come up with another award for his specific accomplishments. I've seen certificates and awards (most improved, 1 year perfect attendance, best kata, etc.) do a lot for students' moral. But IMO, it shouldn't be a BB. I would feel insulted if a guy gets to stand next to me and call himself a BB like me if he did not take the same test as me. And in all honesty, I would also feel cheated if I was exempted from some of the requirements that others have been required to do since that makes them more knowledgeable than me. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

Kreza, Don't worry about hitting anyone in the face as long as your dojo allows this. Believe me you will take your share of shots to the face too so it all evens out for everyone. Be very aware of the level of contact used at your school. Every place is different. My school practices "touch" sparring so hitting too hard gets you a penalty. Advanced ranks have the option of also doing some full contact sparring but it's all voluntary and we wear headgear. We are not allowed to strike any unprotected part of the head or face but some "agree" not to enforce this limitation for the sake of realism. For kyu levels, it all depends on your sensei's rules. Educate yourself on the rules. If you do only touch/point sparring, practice on the bag or in the air doing fast strikes that are pulled at the end. Practice block/strike combos and evade/strike combos trying to avoid tensing up. That will help put you in the correct habit. If you are concerned with this, you are already approaching the issue correctly.

I think it is always a good idea to try new ways of approaching a fight. Students will like and benefit from the variety. Whether they mention it or not, they ask themselves if their class lessons really work on the street. So if you can show them alternate defenses to the same attack, you appear more versatile and credible. I am a student and a teacher and I always enjoy when my sensei comes to class and says he found a book or tape from another style with a viable alternative to some of our teachings. It shows he does not have his blinders on when he teaches. As for the splitting into factions, I think incorporating the new approaches could be an optional item as students gain seniority. That way, the ones who like the old stuff aren't having anything new shoved down their throats. But the ones who want to diversify can do so. We do this at our dojo with sparring. We do traditional touch/point sparring as a requirement for all ranks. But as students become advanced, they are allowed to do contact sparring if they choose. It is not required for kyu grades at all so there is no penalty for not participating. If a school does do this, I personally think it is better to start with the traditional, less aggressive stuff first. In my experience, beginners are often not ready for "the real thing", nor do they want it early on. Another option is to make two groups. I know you said there is no such option. But I hope you mean to say it would be difficult to work in another session, but not impossible. Students could do one or both apporaches. If there is any chance to make two groups, I think it would open the school up to the best of both worlds without excluding anyone. Even if it is not possible now, the promise of expanding in the near future (when instructors' schedules clear up or whatever) would keep some people around who would otherwise give up on the whole place and go to another school. Good luck

Sounds like there are a lot of variations on the rules. I guess it depends on the school. I did not mean to say that a roundhouse to the gut was not allowed. I meant that you could not kick in general without wearing pads. I assume a curve knee is when you angle the knee to come in more from the side than straight up. They told me about this but it seems doubtful that all participants, especially beginners in this style, could do it consistently that way. I am just as worried about injuring others with an improper strike as I am about being blasted myself. Perhaps I just need a few more classes to get used to this. Any other things to look out for or do would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

I am a BB in Karate and Aikijutsu and recently dabbled a bit in MT. It seems very hard (impact, not difficulty) and brutal to me. I am confused about the intended level of contact. I was told they don't wear much "armor" because it wouldn't be realistic so there would be no point. This is also their reason for allowing unpadded knee and elbow strikes to the chin and face. I get that but if full contact is the point, why do they wear gloves, headgear, shin pads, etc.? I would rather take an unpadded roundhouse kick to the gut (which is not allowed) than an unpadded knee to the face (which is allowed). Can you be protective and have realistic contact simultaneously? Can someone please explain this to me. I am quite interested in continuing but I would like to know what to expect.