NothingsShadow

I guess you need to workout what you're really after. The description you have for the MMA seems to state there is a strong self defence theme, personally if your really after serious self defence (not how to win a pub brawl but actually defending yourself from an attacker) you should have a look a doing some no nonsense self defence. On the other hand if you want to get a feel for many of the different aspects of different martial arts this MMA sound good. That said IMHO (and experience) the tradition of the martial arts tend to get lost when you do something like a MMA, but it depends on what is important to you.

I totally agree, if you want to learn how to use a katana (well now days a shinken) you need to look at all of its aspects. Obviously in this day and age no one needs to know how to fight with a sword so Kendo and Iaido have a strong emphasis on the perfection of character and technique (the same could be said for all of the do arts).

Stuck in the mud - Just like they would play at school but if they get caught they have to stand in a nice low stance so that someone can slide between their legs to free them. Poison ball - we have everyone on our matted area and people roll the ball from the outside (it must hit on or below the knees), if you get out you move off of the mat and become one of the people who rolls the ball. Punch and Kick chasing - (not like the one they'd play at school) A sempai will chase the kids with a kick bag and if they catch someone they have to give the bag a quick one-two and then run off. I think this is a great thread, Kids are such an important part of Karate (any martial art really), finding new ways to get them excited about coming to training is fantastic.

I guess as with most things it just comes back to ego. I don't think I have ever seen a belt "go white" before but I have seen a few that have become naturally tattered. But it think 'Brandon Fisher' had it right, if a belts going to get old through wear it will get very weak at the knot and eventually brake well before the rest has gone white. That said just because a dan grade is young (or hasn't had a black belt for long) and has a frayed belt doesn’t necessarily mean they have sanded it. We have a tradition in our dojo where one sensei will pass a belt on to a new dan grade (not always, just some times), in this way a belt can get very old, much older than the person wearing it.

Perhaps karatekid1975 the answer you are looking for has something to do with you signature. "Perfection of Character" takes a lot more than just doing kick and punches, it also takes a lot more than training hard and pushing yourself as far as you can go. Maybe your Sensei is attempting to instil the respect and discipline that is required of a dan grade outside of training, showing you that being a dan grade isn't about perfecting one part of your character but about striving to perfect every part of your life (that might sound a bit deep). Now whether or not your case is that right approach is another matter, if you dojo is a professional one (i.e. the man out the front is making serious $$ of it) then I agree that cleaning and the like should be paid for by the dojo. But if the dojo is just a normal non-profit dojo then who else is going to do this cleaning, if you use the facility you should keep it clean and help maintain it. I think volunteering in some way in your dojo is an important part of your training and I can understand that you Sensei may make it mandatory to advance in rank. The shear fact that a Kyu grade understands that they must volunteer in the dojo (and why) indicates that they are advancing and they are ready for the next grade.

Hello, I'm a new addition to the forums from Australia, I hope to have some interesting and fun discussions with you all. Cheers