jaymac

I joined originally as a child and that is the only time I ever got into a fight. Not by my doing, just a couple of bullies. But I joined then because I didn't have anything else better to do and the training hall was walking distance to my house. I rejoined in my 20's because I wanted to personally better myself. I had remembered how calm and less angry I had been when I was in Martial Arts previously. It has helped me mentally and physically. I did not join to learn to fight out on the streets, but if i am ever attacked, i feel quite prepared to defend myself.

Your welcome Holland. Hope your school continues to grow and continues to do well.

GOM, usually in this area, larger tournaments are open, mixed. I see alot of Tae Kwon Do, few Kung Fu, even fewer Kempo, and other forms of Karate. The tournament awards points along with awarded trophies. There are several tournament throughout the year. At the end of the tournament "season," points are totaled in each division and the individuals with the most points earned in the catagory are labeled, i.e. 2006 Adult Kata Championship for ages 29 and older. Now that sounds great, but it is really simple to do. Usually the winners, tournament all year long and at every tournament in the tri state area. So it is easy to accumulate points and ultimatlely win the championship. I have attended a few and done very well. I was listed in the top 10 for Pennsylvania after only attending 3 tournaments. So what does that tell you about the competition. Not that I am excellent at it, but that the first place winners in each catagory, competed at least 10 times to be awarded high marks. I lost my appetite in the whole thing. Nothing was traditional. All was flashy ineffective moves. Poor sportsmanship at all 3 I attended. Got a great compliment from a Gojo Ryu instructor though, he told me I did a great traditional representation of Bassai Dai. That meant alot to me. Anyhoo, when I read now that someone was ranked the state champion.. blah, blah, blah I think differently.

I started training at age 9 in kung fu. I did that for 4 years. My instructor died. I think had he not, I would have done it forever. I loved MA and not because of any single martial artist or movie. I loved everything about it. Forms, self defense, sparring, weapons. I didn't find another school worthy of joining until I was 27. The instructor that I am with now is an amazing individual and an awesome teacher. Again I have found the passion of MA, and loving everything being taught, but Kata is my favorite. What a way to get lost iin yourself by practicing Kata.

I don't necessarily agree. I would much rather have my several years of MA training to back me up in a situation than have no fighting experience at all. That street fight that was shown was staged. The victim didn't even try to use any MA. So how does this prove that MA experience would be ineffective in a street fight?

Very nicely written. You are ready! If something is forgotten, fake it til you make it.

I think that you are right. Look at other sports: hockey, football etc... The team captain isn't always the guy with the most experience. It is usually the guy who can teach, perform, motivate, and lead. Same is true here in your sports situation. You are absolutely right, not all black belts are great leaders.

While training on heavy bags, I am going full force, whether it is body or head area. In the ring, there has to some control. I am not a really tall person. Most of my opponents in the ring are taller. I rarely go for the head because it is not a true vital area for me. I strike areas in my fighting zone. Now that doesn't mean I do not ever strike towards the head with a kick, but I notice that I do put more force behind a body blow than I would a strike to the head. I get close without having to pull the kick, but in reality, it isn't a powerful kick for me because I am striking upwards. Most kicks are more powerful striking across and down. I guess I feel more comfortable to allow myself to do that on a body than a head in the ring.

You know Holland I do agree. I work nights, so I shower just before going to class. My belt nor my gi ever smells. However, I have noticed from one of our students that he eminates a very strong body odor (all of a sudden). I thought it was him. We were doing headlocks and my nose was right at his obi. Yep, that was it! All I can think is that he is putting his obi after class in his carry bag along with his uniform and leaving it there. Really, if my obi smelled that bad, I would have to wash it. It is offensive and not fun to train with him.

Thanks Brandon. You are right. That compliment meant more to me than any award i have been given for competing. I couldn't wait to tell my Head Instructor what a great gift he provides to all of his students and what an honor it is to train under someone who passes on his awesome technique and knowledge.

Have you ever tried just typing those kata names into the search engine on the computer. I have found great sites that provide step by step moves and video of my kata, just by typing in the name. Good luck in your training!

I think for the most part, tournaments can be a fun experience in your training, but as I have said in other posts, most tournaments I have seen lately are not based on anything traditional. The competitors do flashy, acrobatic, non effective techniques. I guess that is what people want to see. Me personally, I miss the tournaments from 20 years ago, when you could go and watch a great representation of every style and competitor.

Bullies in the dojo should always be brought immediately to the head instructors attention. If they are bullying one person, they are bullying many, inside and outside the dojo. This in turn looks really bad on the dojo itself. Bad representation of the instructor and school. The head instructor may have to deal with this individual by expelling him/her if problems persist.

I think it would be very sad if someone joined a dojo with great expectations and was never promoted to black belt despite their efforts. What if you had an individual who may not be the most physically athletic indivdual, but attended as many classes as possible, tried harder than most, and continued to strive to be better. Are you saying he/she is not worthy of advancing in a style as opposed to the very athletic individual who may have great technique, but shows lack of enthusiasm or loyalty. I know everyone in here knows of or has trained in a dojo where this situation has occurred. There are people who are talented in every sport they have done and it comes by easy for them. There are people who no matter how hard they try, they are just lack something. We are not setting our school up to produce warriors. We are providing a place for individuals to better theirselves in many different areas. Hopefully, they learn to defend themselves in any given situation. But because one person's technique even after years of hard training hasn't been as good as another's, who am I to tell him/her that they aren't good enough to wear a piece of black cloth. Being a black belt comes from inside too. At Nidan, I certainly do not believe my technique is perfect. If it was, why would I try so hard to get better.

Holland, I meant to get back on here and tell you before your reply, I went to your website already and checked it out. Very nice. You have a great set up and a great looking group of indivduals. You are very lucky to have such a following and a church to back you up. I have heard of other individuals teaching in church basements. Usually a very small group and not a great sponsorship from the church itself. Completely different situation for you. You must be an awesome instructor to get so many students from white to black and beyond.

innocui, We usually do not have a problem with little kids starting and kiaing. They love it because they can do it well. It it the teenagers on up that have the difficulty with kiaing because they feel strange. If they stick with it though, they learn to do it automatically. I love teaching little kids to kiai. Their awesome. After their first day (for a while), they kiai all the time and with every move

What an honor it would be to be given a belt worn by my instructor. That is a really great idea.

Maybe the assistant instructor was having a really bad day or maybe she didn't want the position she was given. Still no reason to treat paying customers (and that is what students are) poorly. I bet if she was the head instructor and it was her business, she would care a little more on how her students were being treated. Had I been the Head instructor, I would be sure to not give that instructor a second chance to be in charge.

Well put Aodhan!

Relaxing some, practicing some, still working alot Ready to go back to the dojo!

Don't have it. What system are you playing it on? Is it fun? challenging?

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!! Any cake left?

Just out of curiosity, what rank does your instructor have if he cannot test you at a kyu level?

I can say that our dojo is definelty not a fitness gym. We do not have weight lifting machines around or a sauna etc... We have two training areas. One which is heavily matted to train in self defense techniques and sparring, one is a hardwood floor. We clean because we use it and dirty it. It is our responsibility to clean up after ourselves. Any other maintainance is done by employees and those who volunteer their services, which most do because they have great respect for our instructor, each other, and the dojo. We are not required to learn CPR in order to advance to BB. I know CPR because I felt it important to learn at an early age. Any volunteering I do outside of the school is not recognized as part of my participation at our dojo.

I think disclaimers are a very important part of teaching Martial Arts. It is a written agreement. If it is broken, it is up to you to decide if you want to keep them or expel them. And as previously stated, I do not think many lawyers would take on this case unless they felt they could win on discrimination. Holland, good for you. I am surprised that you were so patient with this individual.