wagnerk

The only thing that I can add to that is to have fun and not to "over analyse" everything... I also have very little aggression in me, but practice and having fun makes it easier for me to train and in turn spar

TSD does have lock's, throws, etc... However it really does depend on your instructor and association... After all it's all in the forms

Cool, welcome to our community. Glad to have you onboard

Excellent, congrats May this be the first of many...

Ok... Haven't participated in any tournaments in quite a few years now, but in the last one I did do around 2002 (I think that was the year), it was Enpi - came 2nd nationally

Good luck with your grading.. Like bushido_man96, I also get nervous at gradings (17 years for me)

Congrats on your 4th Dan

Agreed, for instance the gedan barai in a form/kata could be interpreted as a downward block or an arm lock.

Hi and welcome to KF

@Kwon_Artist, I currently study Technology Management (Post-Grad). Just completed my PGCert, thinking about my PGDip/Masters. But it's all about time and finances... I've been studying with them for 3 years now (1 module/course a year). Done the U810, T848 and the M889. If I do decide to continue then my next module will be the M815 What module(s) have you done/doing? -Ken

Glad to have you onboard Also live in the UK and also studying with the OU -Ken

Enpi (flying swallow) so I can fly off the deserted island TBH, I'm not sure, off the top of my head, possibly Kanku Dai as most of the elements of the Heian Kata's were derived from this. So it covers strikes, kicks, throws, locks and grappling (that's not to say that the other kata's do not cover it). -Ken

For me, it's: 1. Having Sjögren's syndrome (an autoimmune disorder, same family as rheumatoid arthritis) 2. Working two jobs 3. Studying 4. Having a family. The key thing is balance

For us, we had to chose a favourite one but we also had to know the others as the examiner could call out 1 or all of the others as part of the grading.

My current main branch is Korean, however my base (first) art is Japanese (to which I'm returning to in the new year) and have also trained in Freestyle karate and kickboxing

Not sure if it's still the same (as I've switched arts/styles a while ago), but this is what is was as I graded: 10th kyu: Taikyoku Shodan (half Kata) 9th kyu: Taikyoku Shodan (Full kata, from now on all kata's are full) 8th kyu: Heian Shodan (Peaceful Mind Level 1) 7th kyu: Heian Nidan (Peaceful Mind Level 2) 6th kyu: Heian Sandan (peaceful Mind Level 3) 5th kyu: Heian Yodan (Peaceful Mind Level 4) 4th kyu: Heian Godan (Peaceful Mind Level 5) 3rd kyu: Tekki Shodan (Horse Riding level 1) 2nd kyu: Bassai Dai (To Storm a Fortress) 1st Kyu: Kanku Dai (To view the Sky) 1st Dan: Enpi (Flying Swallow), Jion (From the temple of Jion), Jitte(Ten Hands), Ji'in(Temple Grounds), Wankan(A Proper Name) Time wise, it was 3 month between each grading up to 3rd Kyu, then every 6 months, with the grading to Shodan "averaging" about a year (after 1st kyu). However few did it within 6-9 months of passing their 1st kyu, others took years... (I use the term "averaging" loosely). -Ken

My current association is non-profit (my CI can do this as he is now retired and not dependant on this), so any fees are put back into the club. We charge £20 (approx. $31) per month and that includes insurance, gradings, class fees, etc... If the average is about 4 years to get to Chodan/Shodan, then you're looking at about £960 (approx. $1500), provided you pass every grading. I have trained in for-profit clubs (nothing wrong with them, standard wise) and it cost about £2700 (approx. $4250), again doing multiple classes per week and passing every grading. I ran a club for a year (as part of my 2nd Dan grading) and the only thing that my students had to pay for was the grading (£20 - that went to the association and £20 for the insurance - that went to the insurance company), my teaching time was free as well as the training place. I have trained in other places which are more expensive. So, it really depends on where you go and what you do over a certain length of time...

To be fair, in the videos the guy posted of adults, it seemed as if they were doing a "go as fast as you can" exercise with the kata. We do them every so often at my school with similar results. ... I would have agreed with you, however there was a video on Youtube a while ago posting their full black belt exam (it's been since taken down, I've been trying to find if anyone has posted it without any luck) and it was not much better. There's nothing wrong with "go as fast as you can", but when it comes at the expense of the technique (or should I say the usability/effectiveness of the technique) then it gets questioned if they have the "maturity". Saying that, a black belt means that you've met the requirements for that black belt exam for that club/association (as there are no national/international standards). Should we be brushing every person/association with our own standards? After all what may be acceptable to one, does not mean it's acceptable to another.

I used to agree with the junior black belt discussion, however now I'm more of the mindset of quality of the blackbelt and school. I mean, just check out these examples (and there are plenty more on the internet) (please excuse the guy talking) and they're adults. Now compare that to kids form video and ...I know that there are equal amounts of video showing the opposite (or even better examples), however it is down to the individual, there are mature kids and immature adults. The same thing can be said about the time served principle, it normally would take a minimum of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years to gain shodan in a lot of martial arts. However are we to disregard people who have gained their black belts in a lot less time, people such as: Ticky Donovan: 1st Dan under a year Hirokazu Kanazawa: 1st Dan under 2 years Chuck Norris: 1st Dan under 2 years Paul Mendham: 1st Dan under 3 years And there are many others Like I said at the start, for me now a days, it's not the age or the time served... It's the skill, spirit and actions of the individual. Some will agree, others won't, this is my 2 cents

For me it's pretty simple 1. Continue training for my 2nd Dan in TSD 2. Return to Shotokan karate training -Ken

MA 1. Continue to do this 2. Continue to do this Non-MA 1. Complete 2. Moved to 2015 3. Moved to 2015

I guess an update is in order... We on the day, we decided to attempt the grading in the new year. It was very nerve racking. The class that my son goes to is in-conjunction with an school's club, which is very good, however there are only 3 of them. During the grading there were about 100 people... Nerves got the better... So plans for the new year is to continue with the school based program, but also attend the main association classes, so that he get used to the people there. I'm proud that he did half attempt the grading and that he is continuing it. It would have been easy to say "I don't want to do this anymore"... -Ken

Cool

I was going to go for that one... I guess I'll use community

Thanks guys, will post results after the grading this weekend