bushido_man96

If you are looking at something to show your appreciation, and perhaps the appreciation of the entire school for his dedication, perhaps getting a plaque made up would suffice? Perhaps something with a picture of the students in the club on it, and a nice piece of written appreciation? Something to kick around, as well. The knife is a good idea, too.

What do you mean, they suck? They aren't great athletes, and don't compete at a high level? No power or technique? Do you watch them test, and do they meet the testing requirements? Sometimes, this might be the case. Not all Martial Artists have the ability to be great athletes. Most of us have full time jobs, and families that take away from our training time. I'm a 4th dan, and there are some younger and more athletic 3rd dans in my school that probably look like better Martial Artists than me, a pudgy 36 year old who doesn't get to train a whole lot. Being a black belt is about consistency and perseverance, among other things. Do consider that. I'm not saying that time in should guarantee a grade, but as we get older, and wait longer for each testing, our physical abilities might start to decline. I know mine have. Well, it just depends. Like I said, everyone is different. Do we all get the same black belt? No. What makes the Martial Arts different from other endeavors or team activities is that we move at our own pace, take our own journey, and compete within ourselves to become better than we were, not necessarily better than everyone else. Now this, I don't necessarily agree with, but I think there are other organizations that are like this, too. But, each organization view things differently, and perhaps think that the higher ranks aren't as much about physical performance as they are about matriculating the style. But, in my opinion, I do think physical aspects of testing should still take place, even if it is simply a demonstration of all the criteria of the style. But that's just me. (I also don't understand the aversion to naming the organization you are a part of). Our tests are still based on the ability to perform the curriculum. I've seen some older black belts in my org that don't perform as well physically, but that's part of getting older. Its not for me to say they shouldn't have their rank because they got older. My instructor is pretty hard on the technical aspects of our style. Good technique is important. But it doesn't have to be the highest, or the fastest, or the best technique. But it should look right. Could you elaborate more on what you mean by "doing stuff?" I can do all the basics pretty well. 360 degree jumping kicks are harder for me now. I can teach them, but they are hard to demonstrate since I weigh 265 and have knees that hurt. Should I be more athletic and be able to jump around and do flying kicks because of my elevated dan rank? I think this is, as you mentioned, probably more of your ego than anything else. Now I will say this; if I were present in your school, and higher ranked than you, but aware of the time you have in and the knowledge you have, I'd have more respect for you. But I'm not big on the whole rank/respect/hierarchy stuff. I'll be the first to pick up pads and put them away. I don't care where I line up in a class. I just want to take the class. Maybe those in your class should not have been promoted. Or maybe they should have. In the end, its up to the head instructors and the testing panel judges than anything else. The question is, do you trust their judgement? If so, then keep on keepin' on. If not, then perhaps its time to move onto a different org. I think this happens in a lot of places in the MA world. I think things like this is why so many organizations have splintered. Someone decides to do things their way, so they move on. Then someone they teach decides to do things their way, and they splinter. And so goes the MA world. I think black belts should be some of both, merit-based and effort-based. Something you haven't really touched on that is important for the black belt ranks is the person's ability to pass on what they have learned. This should be considered part of the equation, as well. Many of us mortals have a max level that we tend to tap out at physically. There just isn't much to be done about this. Also, as we get older, our bodies start to get older and decline, as well. Such is life. So as older black belts move up, what is important, the physical side, or the mental? This has been a fun conversation, and I don't mean to just sound like I'm browbeating you. This kind of thought process is normal, I think. When it comes to ego, the best thing you can do is come to class, work hard, and do what you can to learn and make yourself better. Eventually, you will get what is coming to you, and in the end, all things will work themselves out.

Yes. Both of the organizations I've been a member of has tested kids under 12 to black belt rank.

Congrats, and keep up the good work!

I think these are all important. The head instructor and the assistants, or even just black belts, should be good reps for the school, and should provide a smile and some helpful information to those who wander in looking and asking questions. People will remember being helped in such a manner.

I agree with ps1. This is what contracts should be for. I sign a contract at my TKD school, usually for 5 years at a time, because I know I will be training, and it gives me the best deal. Funds come directly out of my account, so I never have to worry about being up to date with dues...I just go train. From there, I just have to pay for testings, tournaments, etc. This guy really was just wanting to rip his students, and it sounds like he snowballed enough people to make some money on it. I don't think things like this happen as often as we might think. Just when it does, the "contracts are bad" arguments come out in force.

Great answer.

Most gyms aren't really in the business of checking to see if you are healthy enough to exercise. They want business, so most likely just have members sign a waiver stating that the member is responsible for assessing their level of health and all that. If ever in doubt, see your doctor about beginning physical activity.

9/29/2014 Evening TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Taught class, mainly doing forms and one-steps review for testing. 10/1/2014 Defensive Tactics Club: 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Mostly review for the club's first self-defense workshop of the year. 10/2/2014 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30. Not a big testing, but we've got some kids moving up the ranks, with some big testings coming up for them! 10/3/2014 3-in-1 Trial Class: 7:10 - 8:30 pm. I spoke more about this class in the Comparative Styles and Cross Training forum here: http://www.karateforums.com/my-recent-experience-with-a-style-called-3-in-1-martial-arts-vt47386.html The class opened with some jogging, which I detest, along with some moving in fighting stances and throwing punches. Afterwards, we did a lot of breathing and stretching. The instructor puts lots of emphasis on being flexible. We did some basic kicking, then we did some rolling and breakfall practice. At the end, we did some finger locking and a kote gashi version using the thumb for the most part. 10/13/2014 TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Did about half the basics, then went into working on forms review and learning new forms after students got their new belts and certificates from testing. Also did some one-steps review.

Boy, that's not one I'm familiar with. Is it a translation of a Karate form of some kind? My guess is it would be from something like that, as most of the forms in Korean styles branched from Shotokan.

Unfortunately, these are both forms left out of my style.

Hee Il Cho was a big name for a long time, and he has produced some good students. His organization also holds an international style of tournament, I believe, either yearly or biannually. He is an original student of Gen. Choi years ago, and he has a different style to his kicking, and this could be different from other styles. As suggested, look into both of them, and see what will fit you better. Let us know which way you go, and why you decide to go that way.

This. Do some checking with the school you want to go to, and see what it takes to get into the competition. If you are looking into ITF specific tournaments, you are going to need to do the form the way they do them, with sine wave and all that. I don't know if Jhoon Rhee does them that way or not.I also thought that Jhoon Rhee made his own forms, and did those for his students. Or does he still do the ITF forms? I'm interested to know. Please let us know!

I liked that a lot. I think it could become another part of the warmup for out DT club. That would be good drilling to do every class! I do have a mount question for you, and any other Jits guys with suggestions. What do you do when you are mounted on someone that is bigger, and you can't get your knees to the ground? How do you keep it secure, and keep from getting rolled or swept more easily?

I liked it. I will try to keep this in mind when I get the half guard slapped on me. I am going to be adding your videos and tallgeese's videos to my youtube account, so I can view them when I need to!

TJ, thanks for the info. Very informative post, and welcome to KF, as well!

Yeah, that's what I wasn't sure on, Bob. I don't know if he meant my GM, or my current instructor, or some GM of his. I just wasn't sure. Either way, I don't see myself joining up at the place for regular training. My main interest would fall into the grappling aspect of the class, and we didn't even touch on that during the class I attended. I don't really need to gain a black belt rank in his style of TKD, because I've got most of it down.Its just one of those things that kind of caught my attention. I may go back from time to time to cross-train with them some, but we'll just have to see what time allows for that.

I do think it is important for an instructor to have an idea of the character of the people he or she instructs. The problem with adults it that they are usually set in their ways, and changing them can be difficult. The same can be said for kids, because we are not their parents, and only have about 2 to 3 hours of their time in a week to affect them. So an instructor fights an uphill battle when it comes to trying to influence their students. It can be done, but not to a great extent. So, the other option is to monitor them, and if they act in a way that is counter to what the instructor wants to represent his school, then it needs to be addressed on an individual basis with the student. Then its on them to fix it.

Taekwondo is largely based on Shotokan, so there is a great deal of overlap. Normally, the body mechanics are different in TKD than in Shotokan, though, and training both will get you confused and hold you back. It is possible that the TKD instructor at your dojo has changed the way they do things to match Shotokan, though. In that case, it may not be much of an issue. Its really going to depend on the style of TKD you get. I do a style that does ITF forms, but not with sine wave. I think we have a very "Karate-like" approach to how we do technique, so if you have a place like this, then it may be beneficial for you. As far as looking for bunkai goes, you could look up Iain Abernethy, who has done a lot of work in researching bunkai. Some agree with his points of view, and some don't, but either way, he's worth a look. Welcome to KF, and we look forward to talking with you!

Well said. My knees hurt quite a bit, and I'm not even in my 40's yet. I think whenever anyone stays active for so long, it eventually just starts to wear on the body. I think for Martial Artists, the joints especially take a beating, especially doing hard striking in the air for so long. The answer, some anti-inflammatories, taken as needed.

Very nice, Patrick. This might be helpful for someone like me, who has to find time to work out at home anymore to get something in. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Thanks for the tips here, Alex. Sorry I just saw it, I've been sick. I did dig into one of the Gracie books I have, and found that where I messed up is by not blocking his hip with my arm. At least that was one problem, anyway. I plan to work on it with him when I get back to training. 9/22/2014 Defensive Tactics Club: 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Warm-up with shrimping and pummeling. Self-defense review. Then we reviewed the shrimp defense, and getting guard back from side mount along with elevator sweep. After that, we had the students in small groups, and they had to talk their way through the process of getting guard back from side mount, and the shrimp defense, while demonstrating it. This was a really good learning experience for them, and they did pretty good. 9/29/2014 Defensive Tactics Club: 1:00 - 3:00 pm. We got the opportunity today to train with a former club member who was also an All-American Wrestler at Fort Hays, and is now a professional MMA fighter out of the state of New York. His name is Andre Harrision, and the guy was a real treat to work with. Very nice guy, very humble and soft spoken. Here's a link to an article on Andre: http://combatpress.com/2014/09/ring-of-combat-champion-andre-harrison-healthy-and-ready-to-do-work/ We worked some stand-up and some ground stuff today. With stand-up, we did some stance work, hand position, and worked jabs for measure, and jab/cross combo. We did some close-in work, doing a combo of an elbow strike and a step-up knee strike. We also did a repeat jab, followed by a grab with the rear hand, followed by a back leg knee strike. From there we went to some ground work, starting by drilling a sprawl. Then he showed us what he called a Bravo choke (I think), which started from the sprawl position. Next, we went to some guard work, where if the top guy postured up to punch, we would squeeze our knees together and crunch him towards us and control them. From there we went to a Kimura, and then did a variation that started with what he called a knee shiv that worked into a triangle. Overall, I had a great time working with this guy, and learned a lot!

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you!

mal103, what is your experience with Krav Maga?

I think I'm happy training at home. Going to see Kukkiwon would be interesting, but I don't do that style, and an ITF headquarters wouldn't work well either, because I don't do sine wave. And the old politics of Korea screwed up TKD history so bad for so long, who knows what I would get? Yeah, think I'll stay home and train.