bushido_man96

I just eat!

I think that you just think you can tolerate more pain and stretch better after drinking, and I don't recommend it. If you stretch too far, you will damage the muscles too much, slowing your progress in the long run.

Here is my feeling on ranking. Each person has to be judged individually, and cannot be compared to the next individual. The basis of their improvement should be based on how far they have come as compared to the day before, the month before, the year before. Each person is an individual, and therefore should be evaluated as such. After all, it is their karate, TKD, TSD, and so forth, right?

This is a very interesting article, and brings up some good points. Why can't the martial arts progress like boxing or wrestling? They have no ranks, and have plenty of members. However, the rank system does provide some benefits, like providing a guide as to where the abilities or knowledge of the student lie. Personally, I have trained for so long, that I could go either way. That said, I plan to test for 3rd dan in April, and it will cost me $250! That kind of stinks, but what's a guy to do?

This is very interesting. You mentioned that you got your 2nd dan 2 years after your 1st, but it took longer to get to your first. In my style, it takes about 2 years to get to black, if you don't miss a testing, and then the time goes up to get to each dan grade. First dan to second takes 1.5 to 2 years, 2nd to 3rd takes 2.5 to 3, 3rd to 4th takes 3.5 to 4, and so on. I guess it just depends on where you go, how they do it. Who knows how long it should take?

Well, I think you have good reason to be annoyed. As an instructor, I would always welcome back a student who left on good terms. I don't understand this instructor's reasoning. Sometimes it is difficult to motivate children, but good instructors can get through this. Hopefully he can adapt to the new classes you are taking, and will begin to have fun with it. Best of luck to the both of you.

This may depend on the instructor, as well. I feel that most of my TKD training has been fairly linear, and it is said that it is rooted for the most part in Shotokan, and therefore this could be the reason. There again, this is in my experience.

I think that you will find your instructor easier to talk with than you realize. (Boy, I hope I'm not wrong!) And good luck finding another location. Hopefully, the instructor will understand this as well. Best of luck!

Way to go, alsey!

Flexibility does not have to have anything to do with self-defense. It does, however, have something to do with preventing muscle injuries. This is why flexibility is important.

Welcome to the forums, and welcome back to MA!

Welcome to KF, imr1212! Glad to have you here! As for your flexibility issues, I would wait until you actually start your martial arts classes. The instructor may run you through a set of stretches during each class. This way, you will learn what you can do to imporve flexibility, and then you can work out on your own. It comes with time, and you will improve. Just don't overstretch in the beginning.

I'm a ninja.

I hear you there. I usually don't eat much of anything, because I don't want to do all of that moving around with anything in my belly. The nerves don't help much, either.

It does seem like the older adults tend to be a little more self-conscious about how they will perform. If you can get them over that hump of the first few months of training, and they begin to perform with more ease, then they just fall right in.

First of all, welcome to the forums! Like Jiffy mentioned, talk to your instructor, and let him know that you are trying hard. Just keep with it, and practice hard. It will come in time. If you are worried about the testing that is coming up, just don't test. Wait until the next testing, and see if you feel more comfortable by then. Martial arts should be learned at your pace, not anyone else's. Take your time, and don't rush anything. Best of luck to you!

Hey, great site. Thanks a bunch!

You should try it. It'll surprise you. It is a very nice complement to the sause. The flavor blend nicely.

Good luck!

Have them at the front of the school, rip the belt off of them, and then tell them to leave and not come back. However, the likelyhood of this opportunity presenting itself is not high, so it would be more verbal then anything. Again, this is worst-case scenario.

For the same reason I don't try to fly a plane without training. Sure I could go through the years of trial and error of those before me, or I could just find out the best way and then take it from there. Also, what we would learn in todays society with these weapons is nothing compared to those before us that depended on these weapons on a daily basis just to keep them alive. You can still learn from the past without the use of forms. This kind of research has been going on for well over 10 years now in regards to Western fighting systems. You can get some great information from this site: https://www.thearma.org.

most of white crane is about A.Evading the first strike B.Hitting eye or throat ( sometimes a pressure point) C.killing body in many cases the same blocking hand (front hand) does the strike too, and if back hand does the blocking then front hand fingers hit the eyes at the same time. here is Matayoshi sensei doing a crane kata and a Monkey form Thanks for the information. The form was very intriguing.

Cool stuff.

From what I understand, this pulling back of the fist to the hip/rib is supposed to simulate the pulling in a grabbed arm/wrist/hand. Therefore, if in fighting, you don't have ahold of something, then this pulling back motion would be wasted.

All three work with knives. I didn't realize this as well. Thanks for the information, elbows_and_knees.