bushido_man96

Something like this only leads to conflict when the instructors are too insecure to allow a student to follow their own Martial path, as opposed to being constantly led. If an instructor doesn't approve of such practices, then fine, but I don't see why instructors make such a big deal out of it. As has been seen by this thread, there seems to be gains to be made from attending each school. So why not? Nobody likes the politics of the Martial Arts, but this kind of division is the very thing that stimulates the politics of the Martial Arts.

This is so true. I don't think I would work out under someone who does such shady things as you mention. And if it means that you have to start over to get your black belt, then so be it. The Martial Arts have no time limit, so just get to it!

We do that kick a lot in our TKD classes, pretty much that way. We use a more angled stance, as opposed to the forward stance of the MMA styles, so we don't have to worry about that telegraphic little step he starts the kick with. As for the jump he uses, we do that some, too. However, I try not to jump that high. Instead, I do more of a feet switching motion, and throw the kick that way. Otherwise, it is very similar. I probably worry more about knowing where the kick is going, as the way we have scoring areas to worry about more. My kick may not be a totally blind kick, but it is very close to his. Thanks for sharing that, Baron!

Mild case of dead...I like that one. Is that anything like in The Princess Bride, where they talk about the difference between mostly dead and all dead???

Just ask him what he meant. Maybe he can elaborate.

A card that you show someone before thumping them, so that you aren't held liable for their butt-whooping? Am I understanding your statement correctly?

I have a friend in the Reserves, and he is considering getting in on this combatives training. A former student of ours has gotten into it as well, and from what I have heard, his training from TKD has helped him out quite a bit. He enjoys it. If my friend gets into it, hopefully we will be able to work on some of the stuff together. My friend was telling me that after completion of the courses, there have been some of the Army guys who have quit the Army afterwards, because they were recruited by low-level MMA groups to compete.

I am not really too sure what it exactly is. Just bouncing? Or a certain way of stepping that other styles don't teach?

Seeing a ring fight, and witnessing something like this are two very different feelings. Seeing this would seem brutal here, I think. I don't know that bystanders would allow it to go on that long around here.

I agree with you here. I don't think that fighting (on the street like this) is about honor, but about surviving. I would not have held back. Perhaps they had a "gentleman's agreement," but who knows.

These videos are also pre-arranged choreography. Most show the attacker stopping after one initial attack. I am not going to discount the vialbilty of these styles from these videos, but the videos don't show much more than a one-step, from what I saw.

When it comes to this point, it doesn't really matter what you train in; your chances of defeating opponents under these circumstances is only the stuff of movies. If you get jumped by 4 guys, your are most likely going to get beat down by all 4 of them, regardless of what style you study.

There are lots of arguements on this. However, many of those who would state that they don't think young kids should wear black belts are also the same ones that will tell you that "a belt just holds up your pants," or "rank doesn't really mean anything," etc. In the end, it is something that you will have to come to a conclusion on yourself. As DWx said, a case by case basis is a pretty good idea. I have seen lots of kids with black belts, and I am not sure what to make of it. Personally, I don't worry about it that much myself. At this point, I don't promote anyone, so I have the option of reflecting on how I would do things differently. I would like for my son to get into the Martial Arts eventually, but I don't know how I will approach this with him. I don't think I want him in on the various "kids programs" that focus more on character building and what not as opposed to proper technique. I can build his character at the home. However, working technique with him is something I look forward to doing with him. Here is a funny scenario to think about. I hope that my boy takes up Wrestling; I would love to get him into kids Wrestling first. If that happened, he could wrestle for around 4 or 5 years, and then I could start him on TKD. If he did wrestle from the age of 4 to 9, and got good at it, and won some tournaments, people would call him a good wrestler, and all that nice stuff. However, if he got into TKD at 4, and had the same success, and was given a black belt by someone at the age of 9, I would have to listen to how many other Martial Artists would question his ability or rank, when, as a 9 year old, his skill may be good enough to put him head and shoulders above many other 9 year olds (not that I would do that, because I wouldn't want him to have to put up with those kinds of things as a child). In the end, when you look at someone's rank, think about how they compare to the peers of their group; kids with kids, adults with adults.

I wouldn't call it controversy; just friendly discussion! That sounds like a great plan! Stick to it, and you will reap many happy rewards.

I agree with you here. When the question of rank, black belts, and the like come up, I think of the various styles that don't use rank at all; Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai, JKD, and I am sure that there may be others. I am almost envious of these practitioners, because they are not bound by the limitations that rank can put on someone. I don't think that politics would have near as much affect on their training, either. When asked if they practice any MA, they just say "yes, I Box;" or "yeah, I Wrestle." No worries about time spent in rank, no queries about whether they came from a McDojo, or any of the like. When you train with others in such styles, there is a sense that everyone in the gym knows where everyone else is, as far as knowledge and skill level is concerned, and it is all done without the control of rank.

Throughout my Martial Arts career, I have spent different amounts of time training depending on what time was available to me. At one point, I did 2 days a week, 2 hour long classes a day, while I was a colored belt. When our club became a school, I would train 5 days a week, unless I had something come up. Once I got my black belt, I kept at it as often as I could, with the 5 days a week option. When I taught, I would try to train before teaching my classes. Now that I have a family, my training is more sporadic than it has been in the past. I can usually make at least two classes a week at the school, and usually another hour session with a friend of mine, where we work on stuff like Defensive Tactics or Combat Hapkido. I do get some solo workout time, as well, but it is not ever guaranteed. Having said all of that, I think that the training up to black belt level is just as important as training beyond the black belt level. After all, it is just another step up on the ladder.

Hehehehe, pretty funny!

Bah, I missed it again!

Do a Google search on it, and see what it brings up. It may be an organization; I don't recognize the style. However, that means very little; there is a lot that I don't know.

I'm doomed Hey, me too.

I really don't see that there would be that much of a problem with this. As far as technique is concerned, other than the sine wave, the differences in technique would be very minimal, I think. I have actually been to a school that taught both sets of forms. Also, the sparring would be easy to keep straight as well, as long as you trust in your own ability to adapt back and forth.

I have never really had an issue like that, but only because selection has always been limited where I have lived. When I first started TKD, it was the only thing around. Now where I live, there is TKD and a place called Karate Fitness, and another TKD instructor who has a small school. So, I have stuck with TKD. Hopefully, time and place will come together for you will soon, and you will be able to settle in for a while.

I have heard that the areas that put it on first are usually the last areas that you lose it from. I don't know if it is true or not, though.

People catch on to different things at different rates. Some people are natrual atheletes, and tend to take to these things like a duck to water. Some, however, are not as apt to pick up things as quickly, no matter what it is. Then, it takes some more time. With time and training, things start to pull together. Others may not be able to see it, but the practitioner will begin to notice little things on the way that they didn't really notice about themselves before. It may be because it is something new, or because they are just more aware of themselves, and of what it around them.

I think that most ITF schools do a lighter contact of sparring than WTF schools do. For WTF, you have to have body displacement to score a point (or a good slapping round kick that makes a lot of noise). I think the ITF uses lighter contact, although I do think there are some schools that are an exception. I think that some ITF schools actually allow hand contact to the head, as well. I think that even though both arts may be presented as well-rounded between forms and sparring, I think that the WTF does, as a whole, put more emphasis on its sparring, due to that being their Olympic domain. Like you stated, though, there are those that focus well on the other aspects, too. At the school I attend, we do the ITF forms (without sine wave), but do WTF style sparring.