obiwansbane

welcome back.. i hope you can keep up with some training eventually

hi... did you want some help on how to do it? or an opinion on it?

yes from my experience its best to use a hakama and then use the string that is tied on the sheath to tie your sheath to your hakama. another thing you can do is just not take the sheath into the ring with you, leave it with a clubmate whos watching your division and begin your kata in a ready position and finish in a ready position with a bow. either way works i find not involving the sheath is best unless your doing an iaido kata

this is something i highly disagree with. I went to a tournament this weekend and saw a collection of blackbelts all looking like they were stuck in the 70's and 80's with higher than 2nd degrees, and they were completely useless... bad judges, bad forms, bad technique etc etc. they would never have been able to defend themselves against a 14 - 15 year old blue - brown competitor in the street if it came down to it. A fellow black belt of mine made a statement that there is a point in a martial artists life, and thats when they get their black belt. They either slack off and eventually quit, or they go insane and become amazingly good. Black belts mean less now, only due to the sheer number of fake ones out there, if you go to a good school you dont need to worry about how meaningless they are, because in your case it means something. as for me it took me 5 years in shotokan karate, we did go to tournaments and were graded on our level of skill as opposed to some traditional schools that ive heard about that have certain times that u are required to be a certain belt before you can grade.

only way pink gear will help you is if ure opponent gets disqualified for excessive contact. I could see myself going waay harder on someone wearing pink gear. I usually prefer red gloves and black boots (red gi top black pants) it just seems to flow nicely and looks good in pictures of my sparring when people take them

im dead serious actually. I've seen someone do a nice clean kata with a sharp sword, and he beat out the guy who flawlessly tossed his sword in the air and caught it. it doesnt work everytime, but when you're being judged by people with decades of experience and who truly know whats what, it is quite beneficial

uh what is it? where is it based? what do YOU think about it? then maybe i can reply

a sharp sword = a high score u recieve soo much more respect from a judge if you can execute a nice clean kata with a sharp sword, than if you can throw a sword as sharp as a butter knife up in the air and catch it. I just purchased a sword through my instructor, full tang, folded, balanced, and 1.9 lbs with the sheath. Albeit it was expensive it is a beautiful sword. Its not sharpened either (im a bo staff weapon former myself ) so i will ask him where he gets his swords from and see if they have a site for you. You're gonna have to give me a couple days or maybe a week to reply though cause im not sure if ill have internet access in the next week or so

im in the same boat as bushido, as for the where do you learn them. I learned all of my katas (that were advanced for my belt) from the other black belt at the club (my friend ) he decided that i could understand the next up kata, and execute it with a decent level of skill so he taught it to me. And even if you just observed and learned the steps through watching. Kata is all about interpretation and if you can fully understand the steps you have learned, you can teach yourself the kata.

well there isnt really much you can do. Have you tried talking to the head instructor of you dojo about this? Also ive seen your sparring videos, and you are far from ineffective.

personally i would prefer a full tang, but as ps1 said, for competition a half tang should suffice... one thing though, how much does it weigh and is it balanced? Maybe i just didnt notice where it stated that but those are really important to me when i want to go and buy a sword.

well if the instructor doesnt mind, and she really wants it, id say go for it. It'll make her happy along with her having a nice gi she can specifically use for tournaments. The one thing to be careful about is gi colors have some sort of psychological effect, i know some people see this as false but i personally believe in it. There was a tournament i went to where a club wore pink gi's. People i had known for years to never get a single excessive contact warning were disqualified. This is why i think a white, black, or blue gi would work best. (I wear a red one and yes people are slightly more aggressive when sparring against me as opposed to others, although it also has a slight intimidation factor) Of course being 8 i dont think that they (people in her division) are old enough yet for all of these things such as gi colour to matter. Good luck to your daughter let us know how she does

hey good luck! i hope you get it! be sure to come bak n tell us how it goes

wow do i ever wish our tournaments were like that.... we have to be all dolled up in foot gear and head gear and hand gear, and people still mange to whine and cry... it bugs me to no end... btw that kick at the beginner where you hit the opponent in the face.... AWSOME!

well in some cases the instructor cant grade you super quickly or other people get upset, so even if you are at a higher level, you cant have the belt of it. So competing with a high level kata, and nailing it, is one way to show that you are at an elevated level of training compared to the rest

hehe derrick comedy is soooo funny, these guys are great... this was actually the first clip i watched by them.. pure genius!

steve took the words right outta my mouth, if you around the yondan level go for it, if your below, stick with the shodan

ooo heres a good one... Two cars are travelling at the same constant velocity when they colide head on. What can the force of the collision be compared to?

i can't remember... the last one i remember seeing for sure though is.. Epic movie... on dvd, it was khabi alvida na khena (hindi movies) and the prestige (english movie)

dont get nervous... it bugs me to no end to see people freakin out (even in the highbelt divisions) over a tournament... You're just there to enjoy yourself and learn some valuable lessons on sparring, and how good forms should look like. MY BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE TO YOU! since ure a yellow belt you should be done pretty soon, unless ure in the adult division when u may be near the end... but my best advice is stay and watch the blackbelts compete. Study what they do, think about their techniques and then think about yours, strive to do a kata, handle a weapon, spar an opponent, etc. Like they do... when you watch a black belt it gives you a much better understanding of strategy, clean form, proper technique usage, etc... good luck to you

3 2:00 min rounds is something id like to see in karate tournies... It will greatly improve a fighters stamina and ability to keep going. I feel that some tournament matches are over before they begin and one day you will fight someone who can last alot longer than you in the street and you will tire.

your instructor wants to feel emotion through your writing im sure... hes hoping to see how strongly you feel about this... get emotional, it will help! As for me.. a black belt in my eyes is a new beginning. I have been deemed acceptable, and am now ready to get into real martial art training. (From the MA perspective) from a self defence perspective, it means that i should be able to take a beating, and still be able to get up and try to defend myself (unless its physically impossible) and should be able to at least injure my opponent badly even if i do ultimately lose the confrontation. one thing my instructor told me, "A black belt gives some people a sense of false security. They walk around thinking that nothing can touch them because they have a black belt, but one day those people will come across an experienced street fighter and will get severely hurt. Never let that happen to you, always see your opponent regardless of how they fight, as someone with more skill than you, and fight while thinking about how you can effectively deal the most damage while defend yourself as much as possible. Don't ever get a big head and get careless." this was of course discussing a fight situation, there was no flight option in these scenario's good luck on ure test!

oh for sure i wish i could do that, it just in my eyes, does not fit at all in a martial arts tournament... maybe gymnastics? (shed be really good at those freestyle things they do on the big open floor)

its 18A so i will have to find someone to take me to watch it (which will be quite a task) but i cant wait! i think if they use kali fighting, and they incorporate it smoothly, and it doesnt seem too clashy with the rest of the fighting it should be quite nice

SCENARIO: You're thrown into a collesium, and you have to fight a mirror image of yourself. You have a choice, either broom stick *not the sweeping part just the handle* that is solid enough that it wont break. OR a dinner knife, *the barely serated kind you get in resteraunts* Whichever you pick your opponent gets whatever else is left. Which would you pick and why