RichardHangHong

Haven't read it, but I've heard of the title. If you get it let me know if it's any good and I'll get myself a copy.

It's quite normal to feel that post-grading. Was the grading fairly easy (physically and mentally) or was it hard? If you had trained hard preparing for it then it's possible you were very ready for it and didn't neccesarily feel that pushed on the day. It's highly likely that even though you might not feel you earned it, your sensei has seen something in you that made you worthy of the belt. Now you're there just concentrate on being the best orange belt in the dojo. That should get you feeling better about yourself.

I absolutely agree with you there Fish, but surely there's an average time span that most people achieve their grades within. Wouldn't that be the "normal" interval? The majority of students like to have a goal to aim towards and a timeframe to work within. If every instructor out there only told his students that there was no average time to get to a belt there'd be a lot of disheartened people out there.

Personally, I prefer doing katas in their original forms, but that's because I come from a traditional background. Although if certain techniques are made to look more asthetically pleasing I don't mind, provided it doesn't detract too much from the moves' intention/bunkai. For example, a chudan or kansetsu yoko geri is changed to jodan to look more impressive is okay. But the application should still be taught as chudan/kansetsu. Obviously it depends on what type of school you're in. If you're in a traditional school, do it that way, don't change it. But if you're in a "freestyle/xma type" style, then it doesn't matter as the katas are more about asthetics than practicality anyway.

An average time between grades is about 4 months, then 6 months for brown belt levels. It really depends on the individual though and can be shorter of longer than the normal time depending on their ability. Yellow and orange belt are very junior grades and it's quite common to see someone go through them fairly quickly as they are just basic grades.

No worries Mike. See you at class tomorrow if you're there.

https://www.darwinawards.com

Your Momma's so fat her blood type is Ragu!

I'm glad I don't smoke!

Or how about Street Fighter? What do you think would be the best MA film re-enacted in 30 seconds by the bunnies?

You did the right thing Mike. Sticking up for that kid was good of you, and you didn't hit any of the kids, just grabbed one and shoved him out the way. Teachers can't even do that now because of all the over the top laws "protecting" children in schools these days. My other half was a substitute teacher for a while and told me all this and I couldn't believe it. E.g: If a couple of kids are having a scrap or a few kids are beating on just one like in your library situation and a teacher goes in and pulls them apart, the teacher is the one who gets done for "assault" and will most likely get sacked or suspended. Teachers have no power of authority in schools nowadays and the worse thing is that the kids know this! They know they can get away with pretty much anything and use that to their advantage. Thankfully none of this stupidity has found itself into the dojos as it would be the end of martial arts as we know it. In my early days as a junior grade, I remember if someone in class had a major problem, i.e. hurting/bullying other students and was not listening to the warnings given to them, the instructors or seniors would just give them a little "attitude adjustment" to drive the point home and hey presto! no more problem. We never had anyone quit after an attitude adjustment either as it was always explained to them why it was given after the lesson had finished so they understood what they had done wrong. Shame we can't do attitude adjustments in schools!

None so far. I can't grade people to dan levels (that will be recognised by our governing body) until I reach my sandan (3rd Dan) which I'll be attempting next year. Although I've had 4 students who've trained under me reach black belt so far.

I have 3 sensei's from 3 different schools. 2 karate Senseis, 7th Dan and 5th Dan 1 Iaido Sensei, 4th Dan I also run my own school and am currently 2nd Dan.

Nice pictures. Looks like fun.

Mike, Cowards always get brave when they've got the numbers, but revert back to their natural state of being chicken when they're a minority. You did the right thing by ignoring them and not giving them the reaction they wanted. You showed them that you are the better person and therefore made them look (and very much likely feel) pretty stupid. Good job on inviting them down to a class. I often do the same with troublesome kids that hang around near my dojos. As none of them ever have any bottle they always go away the instant I invite them to train. On the rare occasion one of them comes back and tries a class, sometimes even sticking at it, becoming a better person and learning to love the art. For any other similar situations in the future I'd recommend talking to Sensei Steve for additional advice.

My sentiments exactly ninjanurse

Yup, I agree with Brandon, patusai and KarateK it can depend on the situation. I've seen people pass their gradings because they had so much spirit even though their technique was lacking. Remember as well that you don't always know what the examiner/instructor is looking for. What you think is good or bad, they may think the opposite.

I'm waiting for the PS3. I might get the XBOX 360 at some point if I have to wait much longer though. I do like the games on it, but they're so way overpriced!

I'd love to see the bunnies do X-Men 3 or The Da Vinci Code. It'd be hilarious!

There's always one person (or in this case 3) who gets a few too many drinks in them and decides they have a huge chip on their shoulder and must prove to everyone around them they are a tought guy by starting a fight when in fact they just make themselves look even more stupid than they already are. Pity you didn't drop the guy. Would've made him look even more of an idiot.

The guy sounds like an obnoxious moron. Good reaction that you stood up for your family though. The shakes are just an after effect of the sudden rush of adrenaline pumping through your body. Not much you can do to control/condition your body to stop shaking like that and get used to it unless you were continually putting yourself into situations which gets your adrenaline pumping that way. Not the best plan in the world. Better off just dealing with the shakes as rarely as possible.

Tell the jr student politely that you are trying to work on something and you would be more than happy to talk to him about stuff after class but right now you need to focus on what you're doing. If he offers to help at this point he's showing a mature attitude so ask his advice as this will take his attention away from what he may have been babbling about. Like a few of the others have said, if he is a regular interruption to your training, mention it to your instructor.

How do you mean Holland? I've spent hours going through just two or three moves of a kata and coming up with all sorts of applications and I come out of it knowing there's still more that I've missed out. Especially when you take into account the different methods of bunkai that can be applied (Bunkai, Henka-Waza, Oyo, Okuden-Waza) and the categories within them (Jintai Kyusho, Tegumi, Kansetsu-Waza, Ne-Waza, Atemi and Heiho). The further you go, the further you see, the further you see, the further you go

In my school I have one night a week dedicated to kata where we go through both the technical/asthetics of a kata and the bunkai in as much detail as is possible in the 2 hours we have. Gives us time to learn the standard applications as well as getting creative so we can put our own interpretations into them too. Does anyone else have a class(s) that are dedicated to kata/bunkai or otherwise?