bushido_man96

Lineage is a lot like a family tree; it has a lot to do with circumstances, really. Not all Americans can be related to George Washington, and just because you are, doesn't mean much today. I think the world of Martial Arts is becoming the same way, with as many practitioners as our out there right now, and with so many options to study. If you can have a direct line to Funakoshi, then that's a great thing. If not, then it doesn't mean you don't do great Karate, or have a good thing going for you.

If it really bothers you, then talk to him. It does seem a bit unfair, and all he can do is tell you that he won't answer your question. If the topic of respect comes up, you could mention something to the fact of how your rank is being respected if someone else is moving up that admits that they shouldn't. But, its your call.

Good listener, willing to learn, asks good questions. Excited about what he/she is learning, but doesn't get too overzelous and leads to burnout.

As an instructor with a wife, 3 kids, and a full-time job not instructing, it can be hard to pencil in training time like I could when I was young. As a teacher, your duty is to your students, and not yourself, so you can't always line up in the class and do basics and forms, especially if you are going to watch and make corrections, and help your students get better. Often times, the only class I can make in a week is the one I teach, so I don't get a class of my own to work out in. So, I have to try to find some training time on my own, which can be hard to dig up, too. What is important, is knowing the material you teach. That is a big one. So, its important to take the time to review at least, to stay on top of what you teach.

In my opinion, if you are in a Martial Arts class, you should be learning self-defense. Not everyone thinks this way, though, and its my opinion only. Hopefully what you spend time learning as a Martial Art has a side effect of lending to self-defense abilitiy.

Well done! Congrats!

Congrats, Danielle! Sounds like it was quite the test, for sure. Well done!

Agreed. If you're using a weapon generally I think that the intention is to hurt the opponent. A weapon has the ability to hurt the opponent, albeit, the wielder of said weapon is where the intention lies, and not in any weapon!! Imho!! All true. To use one of tallgeese's terms, a weapon is a force multiplier, and should be used as such. A weapon that doesn't much hurt the opponent is of little use, like a pillow fight. If you don't want to hurt an opponent, then avoid the confrontation altogether.

From what I've seen, there is a DVD that can be bought to accompany that book, which would have the form on it. That book has the form in it, too, if you are interested in picking it up. You might be able to find a clip on youtube, as well.

I don't know, Bob. I'll take 11-5 next year, for sure. There are some tough games in there, especially with playing Denver twice (Super Bowl team), Seatle (Super Bowl champ), San Franscisco (NFC Champ appearance), and New England (AFC Champ appearance). Then there is San Diego twice, who was much improved and made the playoffs, as well. I'm ready for a challenging season.

There are grappling schools out there that might have a self-defense focus, and could provide good self-defense training. There are grappling schools out there that will focus on improving position and getting out of a situation, which is great training if you wind up on the ground (which is where a lot of people end up). Don't discount a grappling school.

4/25/2014 GRACIE Re-certification: Day 2, 8:00 am - noon. Started off working weapon retention from mount and guard, and then reviewed standing weapon retention. We also worked drop-and-draw against knife attack, and worked close up knife attack defenses. Then spent time reviewing all material, cleaning up some nuances along the way.

Thanks, Bob. If he does compete, we'll have video. For now, though, its just practice. Can't wait til next year!

4/24/2014 GRACIE Re-certification: Day 1, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. Doing an overall review of all the material from the course. Good workout, and it was good to see some familiar faces from our time at the course last year. One more day to go, and its always a blast to train with Royce!

The NFL released its 2014 schedule. Here is a week-by-week schedule: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/04/23/2014-nfl-schedule-by-week/8072059/ And a team-by-team schedule: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/04/23/2014-nfl-schedule-by-teams/8072165/ What do you think? How does it look for your team this year? KC got a tough draw, playing at Denver, New England, and at San Francisco, all before their bye week at week 6. November 16 they have Seattle at home, then two weeks later, Denver at home. It will be a tough road to hoe this year!

Nope. Not going. They probably don't have an internet connection, and then I couldn't post on KarateForums. Not going.

I have not seen it yet, but have wanted to. Now that its on Netflix, the wife and I may sit down and watch it.

At 5'7" to 5'8", you'd be a pretty short QB. Unless you have a rocket arm, or play at a school that runs the option, your shot at playing QB might be fairly minimal. Your prototypical QB is 6' at least, although there have been a few great shorter QBs, but even then, they go about 5'10". Depending on your speed, you might be able to fit into a position like halfback or wide receiver. You might also look at putting on some bulk to gain a bit of weight. But those are just suggestions, and not hard and fast rules, either. Best of luck, and keep us posted.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Personally I think someone filmed them at a demonstration and jumped to conclusions. The WTF has a creative forms division for competition therefore there is no need to add these to the traditional divisions. The info I got was from a book by Richard Chun. It made mention of them being developed, so I went looking for them. I figured they would slot them into the black belt ranks somewhere.

Agreed! Sometimes, too much thought gets put into the wrong things.

Everyone's learning curve is different. The most important thing to do when making mistakes is to not get down on yourself. Let the instructor fix it, and move on. Focus on the task at hand, and do your best. That is all any instructor can ask out of their students.

Each person will be different on this. I don't look down on someone because they have a lower belt color; I don't know that person, what they have done in the past, or may currently do. To assume something like this can put you in a bad spot. But, I'm sure there are those out there that do look down on others, look at sparring as a chance to school a lower rank, and show how good they are; it can be an ego trip for some. Everyone will be different on this matter.

We have now started the Greco/Freestyle season of practice. Its two nights a week, for 2 hours each night. Kendall is always nervous about this style, I think mainly because of the throwing. He has more of a comfort level with folk style, and I feel I can help him with folk style better than Greco or Freestyle. But, I think its good for him to keep getting the mat time, and he is even having a better attitude about the practices, and is staying much more positive. I don't think we will be hitting any competitions for it yet, but he will hit the practicies as often as he can.

Great post, so well explained. I haven't got to this kind of training yet, but I hope to, soon. Now, I have an idea of what to expect, and to keep myself positive about it.