bushido_man96

It sounds like there is some pretty dark stuff going on there, according to that article. Hopefully some charges get filed on him, and things run their course for proper punishment.

I enjoyed our time with this, Bob. Could you elaborate a bit more as to what you focused on?

It sounds to me like this situation took care of itself rather well. As we say in the LEO profession, NFA: No Further Action. If there are hard and fast rules about this kind of conduct for the school, then I would perhaps advise that the student be pulled aside advised and or reminded of these rules, perhaps provide a copy to be read over, and leave it at that. I think its good that a kyu rank would want to spar a dan rank. It shows one of two things: 1. he wants the opportunity to learn from a higher rank, or 2. he thinks he can take the higher rank. Either way, the kyu will learn a lesson. I'd hope its #1 they are after, and not #2, but sometimes, that stuff happens. Like I said earlier, it looks to me like this situation policed itself rather nicely.

That does look like a good time!

I don't even recall seeing it in the 15 volume Encyclopedia, to be honest with you. Anslow's book were the first place I saw that one.

Hadn't thought of it that way...if I had a student ask a question about a form he/she wasn't working on yet I would just suggest that the question be asked when he/she was working on the form. Guess I'm used to Chon-Ji being the first form since that's how it is where I go... I'm the same way. We don't do the Saju exercises, we just go right into Chon Ji as a white belt.

I'm one of those huff and puff guys, too, although I wouldn't call myself a "fit" person. I'm not sure if that is necessarily a reflection of rank or not, though.

I agree, and this is the most important point, I think. In all the material we cover in our curriculum (and keep in mind we don't do any kind of forms applications training in classes), we do one takedown, in an orange belt one-step. We could make it into a trip or a reap, but we only do it on one side, attacking their forward right leg. And once they complete the punch, they are done moving, so no resistance. I think that rather than looking into the forms for throwing applications, it might be more important to have someone with the knowledge of applying throws and takedowns in by use of some active partner drills would server the students much better.

Nice. I've used this one a few times, as well.

Thanks a lot, everyone! I'm pretty pumped up to be going. A guy I know here has also been through the course, so I'm going to try to get with him so he can give me a bit of a heads up on what to expect. You should try to convince them, Alex! I might need a partner, after all...

I agree with you, Bob. I do think there are legitimate practitioners out there that won't have any connections with the Japanese or Okinawan origins of a style. There may even be some like that that are better than those that do. So much importance gets put on where someone is from as opposed to where they are going.

On this long MA journey, its hard to ask for anything more than that, isn't it?

Best of luck to you!

Not an instructor, but thought I'd share a situation from a student's POV. When I was 14 and doing Shorinji Kempo, a group of us had joined up at the same time and were all blue belts. Then everyone got proposed to brown belt apart from me. This got me so discouraged that I eventually quit (there were other reasons behind that, too, though). I know it was my fault for being weak-minded (and 14), but the school lost a student because of me not being allowed to grade. Just thought I'd share...not even sure why, lol. And that's why its called a test.

Sounds to me like your golden, then.

I agree. Well put.

I'm not sure I'm following you here. Are you saying you are asking him about the techniques in a form that you is not part of your current rank requirements? If that's the case, then the instructor is right, I think, although he could approach it a bit better. Or, he could be pointing out to you that you should focus a bit more on your Saju drills before getting too carried away with Chon Ji hyung.

No, not the same, that I can tell. Saju Tulgi is 4-direction thrust, used to practice the elbow strike that is done in Hwa Rang.

I'm not sure the two could be compared. It appears with this style, once someone is down on their butt, the game is over, whereas in BJJ or MMA, being on the back isn't good, but it isn't game over, either; there are still options.

I think the main thing to consider is whether or not you want to learn a particular system, or if you want to become proficient at self-defense. I like to think the two should be one in the same, but this is not always the case. But if the system is your goal, then its a good goal, and I say go for it. But I would like for my system to provide what I need in self-defense, so I look for that where I can, along with the other aspects.

I think you are really over-analyzing every aspect of the school. Some schools need to make money to stay open. And some people like to do what they love for a living, so they have to make money doing it, if they want to have a decent living. I don't think its uncommon for some clubs to rival other clubs. Club rivalries can be motivational at time, as long as they are healthy. As for bad mouthing a style....this is unfortunate, and will happen from time to time. It doesn't mean you school is a McDojo.

I will have to look further into this, but what we "hear" and what is actual can be two different things. Has been charged with any crime, or just accused? And who brought the charges? As far as his students go, where they allowed to continue to train, or have they been expelled? This is all news to me, so I'm interested. When I get more time, I will look into it more.

As mentioned by DoctorQui, things like this should be considered on a case-by-case basis. I think as an instructor, I would try to take into account this student's maturity level, and keep it in mind when deciding if the student should test or not. Perhaps he can't help himself. But, given certain incentives, perhaps the student would make a more concerted effort to control himself.

I'm going to be attending a GRACIE Combatives course in June, from the 3rd to the 7th, for some law enforcement training hours. The course is going to be taught by Royce Gracie, which I got very excited about when I saw the opportunity! I spoke with my Sheriff, and got the training approved today! There is a chance my DT training partner with the PD might be able to get to go, as well, which would be great just to have someone I'm familiar with to work with there. I thought this was such a great opportunity, and I am very excited about it! This will also help me get on my way in the niche I want to carve out in my LEO career, as well. Unfortunately, I'll have to push my 4th degree testing back another two months to accommodate for the time needed for this course, but Ii don't know how soon another opportunity like this will come back around. The course is being held in state, and although its a bit of a drive away, it will be very worth while, I think.

4/17/2013 Worked with a hi orange belt on tweaking his form; focusing punches to the proper targets, getting the reaction hand pulled all the way back to the ribs, and stretching out the front stances a little bit more. Also worked on his one-steps, hitting the right targets and such.