bushido_man96

This is a tough one; it can change for me at times, and has changed over the years. I suppose after I type this, it will change again, eventually. I think that a black belt should be able to demonstrate every physical requirement up to the point that they have reached that the art ecompasses. Forms, one-steps, sparring concepts, etc. I also think that a black belt should not only be able to demonstrate such things, but should also be able to teach the basics of the style to new students, or be able to demonstrate and explain the hows and whys of the style to the layperson. Although I feel that personal characteristics like integrity, courtesy, respect, and the like can be enhanced from the training of Martial Arts, I feel more so that these are things that normal, morally, ethically, and legally responsible human being should already harbor. My job is to explain to them when and where it is morally, legally, and ethically adequate to use their skills. A black belt should be able to demonstrate this knowledge, as well. I think a black belt should be able to defend themselves if need be, as well, and should have a good working knowledge of self-defense. I don't think that they need to be prepared to fight in a competition of any kind, however, a level of physical fitness should be adhered to, as well. Last of all, I would expect a black belt to be an ambassador of their school/club, and to think about what they do, and how it may reflect upon their school/club. With rank, does come responsibility.

I have heard the school of thought stating that push-ups should never be given as punishment; something about associating punishment with more physical improvement work not working out in the mind, or something. I think that sitting out might be more appropriate, like ninjanurse suggested. However, both have their drawbacks. But, punishments aren't supposed to be fun, and I guess some kind of consession has to be made.

Very nice, John. Thanks for the wishes. Being with family is one of the best parts of the Holidays now. I really appreciate it more now like my parents did when I was younger; being with the folks, having the kids/grandkids around. Good stuff. That said, any way that I can get more funding to buy books this Holiday season will be great....

I thought I was going to see a fight. Little guy had the right idea, though.

Wow, that's a trip back, isn't it?

The photo with the whale was breathtaking. Awesome.

Good job!

I do not know of any at this time in my training and what I have read so far. For tournaments my Sensei has me throw my kicks high because they "look better" and to be able to compete with competitors that do not do traditional katas. I agree. Not many did. More do now, but just because a kick is thrown high in a kata performance, doesn't mean that it can't be done lower, in application.

Well, Wa-No-Michi, you and I see eye-to-eye on more things than we thought. I agree with you here, especially with adults. Not that I don't think anyone can change, but only if they want to, not if I want them to. I don't really think that this is the case. At least, not that I have seen. As a parent, I think it is important to relay to our kids to respect our neigbors, and try to teach that accordingly.

I see this approach by people at times, too. That's when I adhere to my philosophy of "whatever you train in the MAs for, self-defense should be a side-effect of the training." In the end, the teacher decides if the student has put in enough work, effort, etc. in order to advance. So, I feel that in a way, we can control what they take from it. So, no matter what they like about the classes, I would try to make sure that they still take self-defense skills with them. If I can hide that fact from them until they realized that they needed and used them, then I guess I'm just that damned good!

I agree with you here, WNM. I have tried and tried to get the guys outside of class to not call me Mr. Walker. I prefer my first name, or just Walker. What is even more funny is that when I am at the Aikido class, the sempai there that tends to teach the Saturday classes, and did take the TKD class for a while, still called me Mr. Walker...in the class that he was teaching! I finally got him into calling me by my first name. But, at the same time, its nice to see the respect there, too.

I'm not so sure that leg kicks should be a part of "point" tournaments. Perhaps they could be, however, the problem is that too many people who don't practice the control with them could end up taking out a knee. And you wouldn't want to use thrusting kicks to the knee area, like side and front kicks, as they would be tough to control, not to mention the fact that the other guy may run into them at the same time. For full contact, I'm all for them, though. I think the strategy of the low kick lends itself better to higher levels of contact.

Thanks for the tips there, tallgeese. That helps. I guess the key is, instead of trying to be what I'm not at this point (a grappler), trying to use what I know to rectify the situation. One of my concerns, though, is with work, if I took a guy down, and he attempted to squirrel away, or drag me down, is can I get away with striking a downed guy? Also, I made a change to my workout listed above; I did some front kicking before my TKD class, and I plan on trying to do more of it, to just get more kicking work in.

Congrats to Lewis. Well-deserved.

I'd imagine that most of the hand-to-hand training of the Japanese military isn't too much removed from what other countries do today. Most of the training is going to cover weapons usage, formations, scenarios, etc. What they did duing WWII, I wouldn't know.

Yes, I would maintain the "core time" in which the curriculum of the style would remain; forms, one-steps, etc. Then, in my ideal world, the blocks would be established, and then rotate, so the ground fighting block would rotate around every 3 months or so. Something like that. I like this approach, too. I did this in a class with the knife hand strike that we use in basics, using the chamber motion as a cover to an attack to the head, possibly seizing the attacking arm (in a perfect world), and then the attack with the strike.

I've never been a big Eastern school of thought kind of guy, but I do think that mushin does have some establishment in our Western processes, in the form of training muscle memory. With that said, I think that at times, as students we are told that we "should flow," and then its left at that. How? Teach me! I think that this is probably realized by training in simple, repeatable, and adaptable methods in scenarios that would start out ideally (like one-steps), and then move into more dynamic training approaches. That's my beat-around-the-bush idea, anyway.

I think that it is important to look at the kind of competition that you do, too. Olympic TKDers train in a lot more anaerobic ways to attain the ability to go in shorter bursts, but they don't neglect the aerobic aspect, either. If you are going to fight in rounds, then you should do some of your training in rounds, too. Boxers train in rounds, as do TKDer's. Things like sport specificity should tailor your training methods, too. If you also train on a "seasona" type of circuit, getting some periodization training would be of benefit, as well.

I understand what you mean by your points system, now. The ATA does it that way, but I never saw any problems with it. Now, what MAists choose to train or not train when it concerns competition, I leave each to their own devises. The bad mouthing and what-not is not appreciated, for sure. But, don't judge all the same way. Instead, look at each person as an individual, choosing their own path of behavior and the like.

In our school, when the students test for their 1st dan, they have to write a short essay on what TKD means to them, how it has been important in their life, and what it means to receive their black belt.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Thanks, tallgeese. That helps clarify a bit.

Good information, John and beast. I try to keep confidence as a high priority. I try to walk with my chin up, and with an open eye around. Teaching others to do the same is important, too.

Very nice. I haven't seen the Director's Cut. May have to look into that one. Another one of my favorites is from this movie, Gladiator, but its not the Russell Crowe movie. This one starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Marshall as high school-aged kids that got into an underground Boxing circuit, ran by Brian Denehey, and helped by Robert Loggia. Its a pretty good movie, and the last fight scene that Marshall has with Denehey is a classic, in my opinion.[/url]

As for this fight and the MMA Picks, ShoriKid really cleaned house, didn't he? I really miss seeing these on a regular basis, because I just don't know anyone out there.