bushido_man96

Cross makes some very good points. Regardless of the style you study, being faced by multiple attackers puts you at a disadvantage, regardless. You may be a great striker, but if someone wraps you up from behind, or bars one of your arms, then you are now only half the striker you were. I think that the video summed up well when dealing with multiple attackers: you figure out how to manage them.

Kicking does take a longer amount of time to develop proficiency in. I'll bet that there are quite a few South Korean practitioners that are skilled enough, and quick enough, to kick to the head on a regular basis. However, some of them have been spending most of their lives kicking.

Wow, that is a bummer. Hopefully, you can maintain your training, or find a place that suits your needs. Welcome to the Forums!

Why did this happen? If you don't mind me asking. nahh i don't mind at all. what happened was he was an Instructor at one school but because of a shift, i took over his school and he took over another. well, the school i took over started flourishing and doing exceptionally well meanwhile the school we had him take over went from 35 students to 17 almost overnight! most of the students he had lost were special need or special attention cases. we had a woman(a very respected red belt) come up to me and our chief and talk about how he has scared people away, made people upset, and almost caused a few fights. well after we heard this we were very upset, a few days later the payments for the school came into my chief and it was 200$ which is ridiculously low, and just enough to cover the instructors pay check for the month. so he was losing money, losing students, he had lost hte heart to teach, and at that month's tests his students looked poor. so we told him that his instructor duties were over and he could still keep his 3rd degree and train. and he's currently trying to train for his masters but if i get my way, that won't be this year, im still quite upset. That is an interesting story. Why do you want to prevent him from testing as a master?

Well, this is true. However, we don't always have the option of diffusion.

Gripping a lighter or some other fistpack object doesn't alter the already-trained punching hand of the Karate-ka. In fact, it would probably improve it. Although it may alter the sieken a bit, I don't think to the point of being that significant.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with using DVDs and books as training materials. I do it all of the time. However, doing video testings, I am not so sure about. I think that they are more of a scam than anything.

That is true. If knockout is legal, it should be considered.

I would take your questions to your instructor. You have a right to ask what the deal is. Ask politely, but be sure he gives you a straight answer. He may be testing you...who knows?

I agree with Zanshin. I appreciate your training goals, and understand them completely. However, there may be a Karate school out there that might suit your needs.

What target areas did you attack when using them? What kind of set ups did you use, and what were the results?

I could not agree more. Very well worded.

Why did this happen? If you don't mind me asking.

3rd Dan, receive Instructor Certification. 4th Dan, title of Jr. Master. 5th Dan, title of Master...must also be teaching to be eligible to test for this rank.

Welcome to the Forums!

What holding the lighter does is allow you to create a tighter packed fist, because of the action of squeezing and holding the object. It also creates a more dense fist, enhancing the strike. Hand=chicken bones Head=stone bones Not many people are going to be cracking skulls with their fists.

In all of the instances that I have dealt with so far, I have found out that I would rather the situation just start abruptly without warning, as opposed to being faced with someone who is yelling and threatening, and building up the situation. That way, I don't have any time to "think" about the situation; I am just forced to react.

Well, you could stay out of bars. Otherwise, this is just something you are going to have to work your way around. Even if you do get into the Martial Arts, people may still treat you the same way. It is more of a matter of keeping yourself out of situations like that.

I guess so.

Jumping attacks have one problem: you are committed when you throw them. If someone side steps them or defends them well, you are left hanging, and then you can be royally screwed.

That is great! I am happy for you. It looks like that school offers quite the eclectic mix as well.

This was my thought as well. I don't see how breathing out through the mouth is different than breathing out through the nose. Try this: kiaing or kihaping while breathing out through the nose... I think they call that "blowing your nose." That would be a little unsightly in the middle of kata LOL! I have actually seen people do this during gradings, and when they were supposed to kiai as well! Agreed! I have enough problems with spittle exiting my mouth when just exhaling, let alone kihaping at times!

Best of luck to you, ps1! I am sure you will do great.

Those are some good points, MMA_Jim. I can see pros and cons of both.

On another note, I really think that there can only be so many subtle differences in schools of swordsmanship. In fact, I would be willing to bet that the major differences lie in schools of thought and philosophy, as opposed to major technical differences. There are only so many angles to cut someone from.