bushido_man96

Any proof? As far as the whole "formal" way of blocking, i.e., crossing the amrs, executing the block with one arm, and pulling the other hand back to the ribs, I don't think will happen a whole lot in a fight, and neither would it be wise to pull your off hand out of your window of defense. However, I do think that a solid block with the forearm can work in self-defense, but its motion will not be to the extreme that it is seen in forms. The arm will move from its position (be it guarding, down, up, or whatever) into the block position, with a hard, jolting snap, if trained properly, while the other arm can be held in the window of defense. After the block, the same arm can lead into a counter.

This is also the way it is in my school that I train at. I think that this all the more formal that we really need to be. I have heard that the "sir" or "ma'am" thing doesn't even go on in BJJ schools. I have heard that they are very informal. Which would be a nice change.

I feel that allowing young black belts to have the time to teach and gain experience is a good thing. After all, if instructors never trained assistants, then we would not continue to find good instructors. However, there is a method to doing this. An instructor should not just throw is young black belts "to the wolves," and hope they figure it out. They need to have them start out easy, like by leading warm-ups in a class supervised by the instructor himself. The instructor should also have some lessons with only the new assistants, teaching them how to teach, essentially. This way, they can be worked in gradually, and their confidence will grow more and more along the way. Something I do believe, however, is that the head instructor should not try to phase himself out of teaching "regular" classes, or "low rank" classes. I believe that he still needs to be involved in them, and be more than just a face of the school.

Finishing out would be worthwhile, I guess. Finding another style afterwards sounds like a good option as well. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Wow, that is quite a chunk of training! Is it all MA training time, or is weight lifting and cardio worked in as well?

That is not too early. And remember, everyone is a little bit different. You could go to bed at 11 instead, and may still feel just as good. You just have to find what works for you.

I think that the escrima training transfers in a more practical manner than some of the ways that some weapons are taught today.

My instructor requires a short thesis for testing for 1st degree, talking about what achieving black belt means to the student testing. Each student has to read the thesis before testing begins to the audience. I know there is a paper at 5th dan as well, but I don't know much about it.

As has been stated above, one would be most likely to perform the forms for the belt rank that you are. As an instructor, I would not teach a higher rank form to a rank lower than that who learns it, especially for a tournament purpose. However, everyone does things differently.

7-11-07 Solo workout Back leg round kicks: 10 each leg, 2 sets on heavy bag. Back leg 'bounding' round kicks: 1 set, 10 each leg. Crunches: 3x20 Taught Orientation from 5:20 - 6:00. Back Assisted pull-ups: plate 12x10x3 sets Back hyperextensions: 2x15

How long it takes to adapt will just depend on each person. I don't imagine it will take much longer than a week or two. Since I get two days off in a row every week, I can swing back and forth. I go to bed at around 10 or 11 pm on my nights off, and then go back to the sleep-in-the-day schedule when I go back to work.

That sounds like a very uplifting experience that you had. Very nice.

It sounds to me like you already know what you are wanting out of a school, and it sounds like you are not getting it from your current school. You may want to shop around other schools, and ask questions to the instructors about how they run things, what their requirements for teaching is, etc. As the others have mentioned, you could confront your Sensei about these issues. However, seeing as he is the one who did all of the appointments, I don't know that you will be able to sway his opinion. Even if he does see your point, and assign you as an assistant, will it be something that you actually feel good about being a part of? Just an idea. Welcome to the Forums!

Yeah, there are tons of factors involved. I do think about it a lot, though.

I am not sure they would be all that practical for self-defense today. They may make a nice distraction, but I don't know for sure. You could try and see, though.

I think a double-end bag may help more than a speed bag will. The way it moves forces you to move when it comes back at you.

Awesome! Improvement already!

You might want to get your head looked at. You may have a concussion.

I don't really have Medieval Combat around here. I wish I did. I have some friends that share the interest, but our schedules don't key up very well. So, most of my research comes from reading.

I have seen it, and have wondered about them myself. I have always been suspect about Century equipment, though.

I prefer the white gi, myself. I have worn black bottom/white top, but I prefer all white.

I am not sure if he is quite ready for UFC level competition, yet. I know he has great takedowns, but I don't know how good his ground fighting game is. It may be his only weakness.

I agree with this. You make a good point. High percentage is the most important aspect of successful self-defense. You can also see it in the many MMA matches today. I think that many of the throws, trips, and takedowns would have existed before, when Karate-jutsu's focus was weapon combat in warfare (before it really would have became what we know of as Karate today). However, when it moved from bujutsu to budo, things changed quite a bit. I would have to admit that it is tough to practice takedowns and trips practicing a kata by yourself. And maybe practitioners figured out ways to work them into the forms; and then again, maybe they did not. So, the debate continues.

I have jammed my thumb, and I think I did it punching in sparring, and I am not for sure exactly why. But boy, was it tender!!

I always liked the concepts behind the JKD applications. I would love to be near a school to learn it.