bushido_man96

I'd like to think that Martial Artists fall under the sheepdog category, as do law enforcement officers (LEOs). Unfortunately, I don't think that is the case. There are some people out there doing MAs that don't have the capacity to commit violence if they need to. Unfortunately, there are also LEOs out there that are the same way. I watched a video at academy that we actually did some extra work on in which an LEO did not pull the trigger in a situation where it was obviously needed until it was too late. That said, I do think the right training can help some people see that they are sheepdogs. That said, I do think those three categories do cover the bases pretty well, and I'm not sure what other categories could be added in to simplify things more.

It definitely does depend on the instructor. I would still stay away from the Karate For Kids chain of TKD. I've heard nothing but horrible things from them. Each school is different. I ran an ATA school a while back, and we had a K4K program. It was a good program, and we worked on the physical stuff with learning the belt curriculum, and also worked on the "spiritual" side of things, in learning about honor, integrity, courage, self-control, and all that good stuff. It contains the kind of stuff kids want to learn in Martial Arts, and the kind of stuff parents want their kids to learn. The idea behind the Karate 4 Kids program is to present instructors with a format to teach the kids in both ways, and to keep them interested and coming back. The program itself is a good idea. Some instructors are not so good at it. In the end, it comes down to individual schools and instructors, and their approach to the programs.

Slow steady....I hope your recovery is complete this time around.

Believe it or not, this is a good thing, actually. Not every day will be a good day, and learning how to deal with these distractions, work through them, and re-focus, will be a good thing for you in the long run. As a matter of fact, if I were your instructor, and I noticed this out of you, I would probably try to present those circumstances in class more often. Bad days will get better. Its just another stepping stone, so take heart.

Buying suitable footwear is going to be more likey to fit that budget than buying something to cover the drive with. You might be able to find some scrap carpet somewhere that could cover it, but it might be ugly, with holes, and dirty; may not be much better than the concrete. Two options I see: 1. Footwear. You can find some decent priced, light weight MA footwear through just about any MA product guide. TKD shoes are particularly light weight, and you can form your foot in them, too. 2. Work out on the concrete. This will toughen your feet over time, although it may cut back your workout time until you've built the toughness on your feet to deal with pivoting and what not. Then there is the heat factor of the concrete you must take into account. I'd go with shoes, but that's just me.

Go ask. If that doesn't work, then you can probably work out some kind of civil arrangement to get them back.

tallgeese summed things up pretty well, I think. There are variations from state to state, but a little research will help to clear that up. Now, from what I've seen in my experiences in the jail, when cops roll up on a fight, the parties fighting get arrested, usually for something like disorderly conduct, or battery, depending on the damage done. If a bit of investigating can be done to figure out who started it, and why, then perhaps one party can be absolved at that time, with the instigator being arrested in stead. However, what is usually ended up with is one group pointing fingers at another group, with no clear answer. So parties get to sort out their differences in court. Now, this is what I've seen come out of basically bar brawls...drunk guys mouthing off and getting into a fight. I've also seen aggravated batteries in which there is usually a clear instigator, and that person is arrested, but the victim didn't have a chance to defend themselves, or couldn't. I haven't seen any instances in which someone defended their lives by injuring another severly, let alone taking another's life. I believe it can happen, but I haven't seen it yet. It would take some investigation and hopefully some good witnesses (which are hard to come by) to help an officer fill in the blanks to come to an informed decision based on the "totality of the circumstances."

It sounds like you've done yourself well, moving on when you felt you needed to, and it seems to have helped you along. Thanks for sharing this with us.

I've seen bits and pieces of the original animae movie, and then some of the series that followed, in which he never fought with the sharp side of his sword. Some of it was ok, but just not my cup of tea.

Agreed. That would also fall under the development of mental toughness, I think. Some people can push themselves past those kinds of things, and some can't.

Does he tell you why its a good thing, though? I used to bounce a lot more, but now I don't so much, and I haven't noticed that it ever helped me out that much.I have seen some correlation in bouncing and sparring, though; the lighter the contact permitted, the more bouncing I see; the harder the contact, the less boucing I see.

If there isn't a possibility of a failure, then I don't think it could be called a test. I think its important that a test produces some pressure on the students, and makes them nervous. I still get nervous at my testings, I know that, and I know there is the possibility of failing.

Will there be a difference between these two exams?

Welcome to the Forums, and good luck on your testing. Please let us know how it goes!

Welcome to KF, Ralph! I hope you find a MA school to your liking soon.

Welcome to KF!

Welcome to KF!

Bolo Yeung could be the host. Does he still look intimidating?

I see what you are saying here, but our school requires the patches to be on the uniforms. So, what would be a better option, in my opinion, for those who like to dip elsewhere, is keep a plain white gi in your possession so you don't have to worry about it.

We don't do Juche, but I do have the form in a book somewhere. Maybe when I have lots of free time, I'll look into some of those other ITF forms.

If you get a lot of class time, then use your free time to work on the fun stuff you like, or something in particular in class you want to spend more time on. Also, there is nothing wrong with just doing form review or basic movements, either. A guy named Loren Christensen put out a few books called The Way Alone, Solo Training, and Solo Training 2, with some good ideas in them for just that purpose. I have read all these books, and they have some good ideas that you can use verbatim, or tweak to your liking.

In a case like that, it would take lots of self-discovery. I agree that having an instructor present is the better alternative.

Punishment and reinforcement aren't necessarily the same thing. Think of them as reinforcement.

I guess we should decide what "rank" means here. If rank is a correlation to ability within the style, then I think that would mean that time in grade is only part of what you would take into consideration when considering what rank someone is. Normally, I don't think there is anything wrong with the amount of time set between ranks. But, when you decide to force someone to work through the required time in rank for each rank, and you don't evaluate their skill level in comparison with your other students, then you really aren't doing anyone any justice, and you take away the main point of the rank system. In my opinion.

This is one of those times when "rank doesn't matter," until it does. I agree with DWx. We don't know what the set up of the school is like, so we can't jump to a McDojo label right away. Like my school, we have a recommended black belt, but its still called a 1st dan. But if other schools choose to do it differently, then who cares?