bushido_man96

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?

My knees were killing me for a time from doing TKD for so long. I started doing squats at the gym, and my knees got better.

In my organization, instructors get a solid stripe around the collar on the dobok.

I've taken shots there a few times. If it became a habit, like 10 times, then I would wear a cup. I can't imagine ever getting used to that.

You could look into getting a pair of athletic glasses, with the strap to keep them more securely attached to your face.

heh I was just looking at it as an excuse to eat more I don't even need an excuse.

You need to look at what your goals are, and see how you can use your diet to affect those goals. If you are working out a lot, and want to get stronger, you will likely need to increase your caloric intake. If you are looking to drop some weight, then decrease it. Eating fresh foods is always good, but depending on your level activity and metabolism, you can get away with less than healthy stuff from time to time.

They are usually smaller meals, and the protein shakes can act as a meal replacement. However, I don't think there is that much evidence against 3 meals a day, either.