jaymac

Good luck to you, and I hope that you let him know why you will no longer be training at his school. There are other great instructors out there. Think of it not as a loss or a step back. You have great morals. You should be commended.

That is just it about passing a belt onto a student. An instructor shouldn't have a favorite, or make it known that he/she favors one student over others. It still would be awesome to wear it. As for the frayed thing, my instructor has his original black belt awarded to him by his instructor over 20 years ago. It is still black ( but slightly discolored). Only the edges show wear. I think also, you will see more aging on belts if you choose to wash them. That has been discussed on other threads however.

When I fight, I do not drop into any deep or low stances. It is almost impossibe to be quick in those type of stances. They look great in Kata, but in sparring, I just use a standing, relaxed, slightly bend in my knees stance. This way I can move in quickly on my opponent and move back out just as fast. But everyone is different.

Unfortunatley GoGoGo, I do not think Karate is for you because you are already perceiving it as a negatively affective Martial Art. Going to a dojo to train initially for you may not be a good experience because you will be entering it with bad interpretation of what you feel Karate reflects. I do believe that Karate is a very affective MA to use a self defense in any situation. I do not intend to use my skill in a caged ring and fight the next K-1 champion. I joined Karate for several purposes and have found that I have benefited in several areas of my life. I am a better person for studying and practicing the art. I also know that if a situation arises where I may need to protect myself, that I have been prepared to do so. If you are interested in fun, exercise, and UFC type of training, look for a UFC training center. Good luck. By the way, board breaking usually is not required. It is a great way to focus, build self esteem (especially in younger students and lesser ranked students), and a nice way to get an idea of what it feels like to hit a solid object. It is definitely not used in our dojo to predict whether you will rank or not.

I am so sorry for your loss. This has happened to me---> a long time ago. I felt such a loss that I did not choose to find another instructor, even after one approached me and said that he would continue to rank me. I turned him down because I felt that I would be disrespecting my instructor that I lost. I was very young and very wrong. I wish I had continued my training and advanced. I am with another style now and very happy, but have my regrets. Continue on in your style. Share your story with other (is it shotokan?) instructors. Someone will take you on and rank you. Be ready however to possibley go through a "test" period. Good luck in your training, and I offer my condolences to you and the other students who lost a great teacher.

Also think that the target is not those boards, but the area below past it. Think through the boards.

It is absolutely horrible that this man can even consider himself a teacher. Just the fact that you are questioning it, proves that you know deep down that it is wrong and you feel you need to leave. You can find other Martial Arts instructors/schools. I am sure that this "sifu" has been doing this for a long time and many are aware of it. I personally would not want to be associated with an organization that felt that way, because it reflects on you, even though those aren't your beliefs. But I would make sure before I left, that I told him exactly why I was leaving and say that you would not be recommending his business to anyone.

We got one and before I actually knew how to use it, I got into it and got stuck in quite a split position. I did not know how to release it and kept working the handle, thinking it would eventually release. It did not! That was painful.

I have a total gym. I love it -------> it is awesome to hang clothes off of when its folded and standing. Actually, I need to use it. I do think that it works, but you have to really get on it and work it.

Any type meat with mashed potatoes. Could go for some right now.

I think that I would have applied myself more in high school. I got good grades, but I think I could have taken more challenging classes.

I would love to meet anyone, but would like to talk shop with any shotokan practitioners. Looking through the posts, Sohan is a top favorite. You have great advice and insight to the Martial Arts Sohan.

I guess I never thought about keeping a Martial Arts journal. What a great idea. I think I will start.

Great job on 3rd Dan. Good luck Aefibird!

Aodhan, I am with you; however, some of the fees you pay seem alot too. We also have over 200 students and run 2 floors of training. It does cost alot to keep it in operation. It would be ridiculous to not have a fee. The costs of opening the place for belt testing would be quite expensive.

Thanks for the insight everyone.

Teaching martial arts outside of school to non martial art students is a big no no. Had this happen. One inexperienced kid showing stuff to other kids and they beat up several other individuals (saying they learned MA at our school).

Another great idea would be maybe to give each child a white belt to wear. They can earn stripes on belt for something they have achieved during your karate lessons. They will think this is cool and maybe you will inherit some new students once camp is over.

Sohan, is there anything that you do not know about?

This was an awesome post. I can't believe some people would wear these things. Maybe the bright colors and flashy sparkles is used to disorient the opponent, making it easier to overcome them in combat!

Wow that is awesome! Congratulations!

When I judge, it depends on the age of the competitors in what I look for and of course their rank. Obviously with older teens and adults, I am going to be looking for technique, snapping techniques, are they turning there head to look at the opponent, did they land in the spot they started, did they appear confident? With children, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. It must be terrifying to stand in front of judges whom you do not know. If they try hard, remember their kata, kiai, and perform their kata at the skill level I would expect for their rank, then they generally get good scores from me.

You always come away from tournaments with more experience and an opportunity to return and perform even better. What is more impressive is that you have your whole family doing Martial Arts together. What an achievement! That is awesome. Congratulations to you, your wife, and your children!

Congratulations. Hope there are more Sunday tournaments for you in the future.

No need to comment any further on training. Everyone has been dead on. You are ready. Have fun and good luck. Keep us posted.