bushido_man96

I enjoy it, and have had more opportunites to do so since becoming a 4th dan, and since our last high ranking student had to leave the school. Before that, I was always calling the testing on the floor. I haven't been the lead judge on a panel for quite some time. It was a nice experience.

I love the sound of sticks clacking together. I envy you, Alex. Looks like fun!

With my instructor having to miss this testing due to the death of his friend, I was honored with being the head instructor at the testing table this last week. A 3rd dan from the school also sat on the testing panel with me. Other than the chief instructor, we are the active instructors amongst the black belts in our school. He is more involved with the Little Lions classes we have, whereas I teach either a mixed class, or a kids class most of the time. This was his first time sitting on a testing panel. First off, we had the Little Lions testing, starting at 5:10 pm and going through about 6:00 pm. Since he has more experience with teaching these guys, he took the lead, and he had me chime in and take one of the drills, as well. The little guys were fun, and they all had great enthusiasm. After the Little Lions testing, we had the regular Promotional Testing from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. We mostly had younger kids testing, and a handful of teenager/adults testing. We had some good forms put on display, and one not so good. One that I really probably wouldn't have allowed to test, but that wasn't my call to make. However, I did make the call on the testing score sheet, so we shall see where that goes. All in all, a rather small summer testing, which tends to happen to our school anyways. It was fun, and I enjoy sitting on the testing panels. Afterwards, I discussed the importance of basics with the testers, and why we harp on them so much in class. The other instructor and I discussed testing a bit, and we seem to agree on most things. He has some different views on some things than I do, but for the most part, we agreed on most things. Up next will be the results from the TTA tournament held this weekend.

Way to go, armanox!

Congratulations!

Congrats!

Didn't notice that. What were the rules here?

I like this one, too. Well done.

Pretty cool! I liked it a lot. Cool to see him in there like that.

This is the problem when it comes to teaching combat systems to an LEO. We have so many rules put to us, and the bad guy has none. I can't just punch a guy in the face because he is pulling his hands away from me as I affect an arrest. Actions like that are what start the media firestorms that Alex mentions we want to avoid. What I do like about BJJ applications in the LEO setting is that once you get a lock set in, you get to decide how much damage is done, based off the actions/reactions of the person you are trying to take into custody. Now, Alex, I think I can help you answer your question here a bit: I can kind of relate to you here, but I am the opposite of you in experience in BJJ: very little; in fact, one could say, next to none. The only real BJJ training I have had has been with the GRACIE course, twice now. Aside from that, a bit of no-gi DT related rolling we do in the Defensive Tactics club. But what I have seen is what I've been able to teach in my sessions with the department has been picked up pretty well by those that have come to the training. Thankfully, there hasn't been a lot of chances available for it to be applied in the work environment, but I trust that I more reps are put in, they will be able to apply it when necessary. I think the key to avoiding "your own press," to use Bob's wordage, is to remember that we can't teach them everything we know and use on a daily basis. We have to stick to the simpler stuff so they don't start getting confused about what they should do. I hope our officers never have to grapple a BJJ black belt taking them into custody for some reason. But, I tell them times like that are why we have other force options, too. Now, to add to the discussion here, I've got lots of years in TKD, and some ample years in Combat Hapkido. During my time in TKD, very little joint manipulation has been focused on; certainly not enough to become proficient in it. So, other than my leg kicks, and using some of my knowledge for apply leverage and adding some power in using my hips, all my punching and kicking really doesn't get applied in the work environment, unless the level of force goes way high, to the bodily harm or great bodily harm stages. If I restrain a guy with a knife in one hand, and have another free, I'm pretty sure I can justify punching the face multiple times if I need to. But until it reaches a point like that or similar, I really can't dig into my TKD tool bag. My Combat Hapkido has more options available to me, with the joint manipulation and locking. However, I've found by and large, that once you get someone by the wrist, and they start resisting, you've got a tiger by the tail. It doesn't look like an Aikido demo from there. I'd prefer to get control of the whole arm instead of the wrist, or move into a body lock instead of holding onto a flailing wrist. Its here, I think, when someone gets really good at joint locking a non-resisting partner, who doesn't follow up a technique, that one can begin to buy their own hype. On the other end of the spectrum, I know a TKD instructor who I had a discussion with about BJJ being used in the LEO environment, and how foolish it is to be rolling around on the ground with a suspect (which isn't the point of BJJ in the LEO environment, but I'm not sure I got my point across). He believed in the merits of what he taught, but not in those of the BJJ, which he has little experience in. In the end, some people will fall victim to this. Others, who choose to look into other methods and systems, will probably have a more open mind to different methods, and consider and review them for the use of their own training. I hope that helps out, and wasn't just a ramble.... ShoriKid, you've got a pretty good grasp there, too. Good post.

It seems more and more difficult to get adults into an MA class anymore. Adults are always very busy, especially if they have kids. Most of the adults in our TKD class are there because they have kids in class. That's one reason why we have combined classes a lot of the time. And if the kids are doing other sports alot, then it cuts in on MA time. I think the adult market is just getting harder to get filled into the Martial Arts.

Yes, congratulations!

Sounds nice. Are you able to flex and form your feet pretty well for whatever kicking tool you use? Years ago, I had a pair of TKD kicking shoes, but I had the same experience with the narrow sole, and I was more wobbly in them than I was barefoot.

Thank you, everyone.

I agree with your sentiments here. Not everyone trains for the same reasons.

Good points, Bob.

I like your points, ShoriKid, except with "the goal of competing." I don't think MMA has to be strictly sport related, although that seems to be the driving force behind it.

Not every instructor has the time to devote to what I would consider a "full-time" school. Many MA instructors do it on the side, and have a separate full time job, and possibly a family. So they may not have the time to make more classes available to you. The class room time you get should be supplemented with some solo training time. If you like your school, stick with it, train some at home, and keep working from there. If you really feel like you need more time, then you may have to find a different school.

Break the form into segments, and focus on each one, hitting the tough techniques and getting the timing down. Then move onto the next segment. Once you feel comfortable, put it all together.

Pretty cool. I'll bet that gi is heavy when its soaked. Probably why its easier to stay under.

This past week, Sun Yi's Academy sadly lost a member of its black belt family, Mark Selbee. He was a TTA black belt, and a former Kickboxing Champ under the International Kickboxing Federation. What I was told was that he was at the lake with his kids on a boat, and one of the kids dropped a toy over the side. He went in after it, and drowned. I'm not sure why. I didn't know him personally, but my instructor came up through the ranks with him, and they competed at a high level at local tournaments for several years. Mr. Selbee went on to compete at a US Open tournament as well, and then into his Kickboxing career. My instructor felt this loss greatly. RIP. Here is the local new story: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/26/5047983/hillsdale-drowning-victim-was.html#

According to articles posted on https://www.mnmmanews.com, Kiser is recovering: http://www.mnmmanews.com/minnesota-mma-news/1266-update-kiser-continues-to-improve.html The main question right now is how much rehab he is going to need to do. It appears that the bulk of the damage was done by a few upkicks he received during the bout.

It just depends on what and how we view things. Troy Aikman retired from football years ago. Won 3 Super Bowls with the Cowboys. But, is he still a football player? No. Should we look at our time in the Martial Arts the same way? I'm sure football was as big a part of his life, and meant just as much to him, as our Martial Arts mean to us. But, can we still call him a football player? I don't really think so. It just may be that when we retire from the Martial Arts, the same happens to us.

Congrats on your progression and upcoming test! I would suggest (to help your conditioning) doing other exercises outside of karate. If you do too much of one thing you will plateau to the point where the exercise doesn't do as much for your body as it did at first, this is why a lot of programs change up what kind of exercises you're doing after a set time period. If you're wanting more endurance, the heavybag workout is a great way to go, but don't discount a nice jog/run. I agree with Zaine here. Although Karate can be a good workout, and help you lose weight, it probably isn't the direct goal of your instructor to design the classes around weight loss. Take up some jogging or other cardio exercises to supplement your training, and I think you will see the results you are looking for. Good luck, and let us know how the testing goes.

I will try to look into that, tallgeese. Thank you. 5/26/2014 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:15. Taught this class, and only three kids in today with it being Memorial Day, but we have testing this week, so we went ahead with having class. I did basics, then forms, and each student did their own form at least 3 times, working a little things here and there, giving them pointers to sharpen up on. I had each of the colored belt students do one-steps once through at least with a black belt, so they could get them all in using the testing format. After one-steps, I had them spar in round-robin fashion, as all three of them are going to the organization's annual tourney in Topeka this weekend, too. 5/27/2014 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:15 pm. Basics, with a few change ups in the combinations, doing punch and consecutive round kicks, and another doing punch, back leg front kick, back leg side kick. Stretched, then did my form, Choong Jang. I'm getting better at it, but need to put more solo work in to really clean it up. For one-steps, I did run-throughs with a white belt, and then a high green belt. No sparring, but after class, I worked with some brothers, the high green belt and a low blue belt, on some sparring drilling ideas using the hogu and a target pad for drilling combos, and talked about a few different combo ideas and setups to try working on.