Shorinryu Sensei

Uh...not quite. I watch my students closely at every practice and when I think they've reached that point where I feel they are ready to advance up a belt level, I might ask them to show me some specific things, such as a kata that I know they have had problems with to make sure they have it where I want it, and when I'm satisfied with what they can do, the next class I will have a certificate ready to give them at the end of practice. They are responsible for getting their own belts. I either order them, or more often they go down to the local large commercial TKD dojo where they keep belts in stock and they buy their own. Like I said, I don't make a big deal out of the promotion process. They know what I expect from them and those that show me they are willing to work hard, are rewarded. I don't believe in 2 day testings, being able to show me they can do 100 pushups, or make them write 100 page essays. That has nothing to do with the martial arts IMHO. I expect them to train hard and to take what I teach them seriously and show me a willingness to do what is expected of them. Those that do, advance. Those that don't...well, don't!

OOPS...never mind

Yes, let her spar adults. Kids I've had in class in the past have, and they can do pretty good sometimes. It makes them work harder

My students are tested from the moment they step into the dojo, until they leave the dojo...and they know it. I promote students when they have shown me they know the material and have advanced in skill level and understanding to whgere I feel they need to be for their next belt. I don't make a big deal out of promotions except black belt promotions. Even then, it's nowhere near what most other dojos do.

Actually, I think about that cute gal I met last weekend while out dancing. Oh...uhhhh...well, not really. No, I don't think about any story behind a kata, I look for proper technique, speed, power, balance, intensity, etc. Basically, are they doing the kata properly? Since all I judge are open, all style tournaments, I don't know the storys behind their kata. I use the same criteria as I do with my own kata. It's amazing how many black belt competitors have sloppy, weak technique out there in competitions. The higher the belt, the more I expect from a competitor. I realize also that other systems techniques aren't the same as mine, and I take that into consideration...but power and intensity should be the same especially at the black belt level.

A question for you SevenStar..what are some of the criteria for advancing from belt to belt in those schools that havve the belt system? They don't do kata..right? As far as I know, just sparring/fighting? Self-defense techniques?

They have a belt system in kickboxing? I didn't know that. Learn something new every day on here!

You know, I'm classified by the state as 44% disabled due to an injury I received way back in 1983, yet since that time I have successfully passed several black belt testings myself by the head of our system and others, and have continuously trained a few hundred students reaching as high as 3rd degree black belt level in this art since that accident. I can't do more than a few pushups because of this injury and I have a bit of a pot belly which just won't seem to go away, yet by some miracle, I have managed to defend myself successfully upon occasion against as many as 3 opponents in a STREET/BAR FIGHT, I have done security and body guard work for the likes of Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon, been a bouncer in several bars, defeated talented and frequent competitors in one tournament (the only one I've ever entered) and seem to do just fine in the arts.

Well, I would assume (yeah, I know what asume means) that most people think "reality based" means a system or technique that works in a real combat situation...meaning real life, not just looking pretty or working in tournaments. That's the context that I think of it anyway.

I hate to disagree with you Snakeeel and cathal, but in my experience there are a lot of dojo's out there that must be living in some fantasy world where their opponents stand like fence posts and will apparently allow them to do their techniques on them without making any effort to defend themselves. IMPO, I consider Olympic TKD in that catagory. Most, but not all, of these that I've seen are systems where the instructor has a little bit of this training, and a little bit of that training...declared himself a black belt and opens a dojo. I have two of these dojo's locally here. One calls his system Oki-Ryu and the other...well, he claims he teaches TKD, Ninjitsu, Kungfu, Kenpo and God knows what else, and you can get not one, but TWO black belts in two different systems in 13 months. No kidding! I think (hope) he packed up a little while ago and slunk back to a smaller town about 50 miles south of here late last year though. I'll have to snoop around one of these days and check on that.

Just make sure you understand that having a pair of "custom made sai's" made for you is probably going to be expensive, and when throwing them you run a good chance of breaking them. I've done it. if yo uwant a set of sai that will fly straight without turning, then you need the end of the sai very heavy. I wouldn't recommend it however, as the only thing they will be good for is throwing. Another thing you need to be aware of is sai aren't really designed (contrary to popular belief) to be thrown. They are a hand held weapon. Can you thow them? Sure...you can toss a bo too if you'd like to.

Fair enough! So would you not try any chinese arts or anything like that!? I've watched countless other systems practice in their schools and in tournaments where I've judged/ref'd from China, Japan, Korea and just about everywhere else, and no, I have no desire to train in anything other than what I have been doing for 30+ years now. Why? Because I haven't seen another system that I like as well as what I do, nor any more effective in what I feel is my idea of what the arts are all about. I like to watch other systems though. Very interesting to see what they do, and why they do it.

I re-read my previous post (and edited it a bit) and I can see where it appears that I was saying RBMA's are sport oriented...that wasn't my intention. I was referring to traditional martial arts that are leaning more towards the sporting aspects rather than practical self-defense. Old school, traditional MA's and RBMA's have the same goals, and that is to learn how to defend yourself in a real fight.

My "home" is Okinawa...where karate is karate.

I'd venture to guess that the majority of martial arts sytems are geared now days more towards sport and a "gentler, kinder" martial arts where pads are used, points and trophies are awarded and in general, just watered down training. I think the big difference between reality based MA's and us old traditionalists are in their training methods. We use kata and old ways of training, whereas the reality people use more scientific approaches. Which is better? This is of course, a matter of opinion, but I believe that the old school martial artists that train for self-defense as opposed to winning tropies and "looking good" are just as effective...if not more so...than the reality based arts. The end result we're both looking for is surviving a street encounter.

I like the way your brain works, sensei! What can I say...I'm just an old perv! I just started teaching a new class at a smal lhealth club a friend of mine bought. It has a small therapy pool (94 degrees) that we can use anytime for practice. We've held class in there twice so far working on kicks, punches and blocks...love that resistence and sure can feel it after a bunch of reps

You can have the same effect by practicing in a swimming pool. Resistence, low impact, fun...and you get to see that cute green belt in a swim suit!

California is a HUGE state with MILLIONS of people in it. It would really simplify our helping you if you can tell us where in California you're going.

I always say that Taekwondo is a modern martial art who's roots go back to Chinese martial arts that are 2000 years old. Not only a better sales pitch, but hopefully more accurate... -- Well, I guess I could say my martial arts is a few MILLION years old...if I want to count back to when the first caveman learned to make a fist and found it knocked somebody down...then he taught the technique to somebody else.

I have watched many of the the local TKD classes and demonstrations and I cringe everytime the instructor or one of his black belt students says "Our martial art is over 2,000 years old." I just want to jump up and yell ....well....you know (Hey Patrick, I restrained myself this time! ).

Reaching shodan in my dojo depends entirely on the person. Some can do it in 3 years, whereas I have one student that's been with me over 7 years and has at least another year to go...but I suspect longer than that. I can promote my own students up to Sandan level. My personal opinion, and that of my organization, is that the instructor knows his students better than anybody else does, so they allow us to promote our own students rather than a "master" or a certifying board of some sort. Not that that method is wrong, and it does promote a sort of consistency in ranking, but if you can't have faith in your instructors and their ability to determine if someone is ready for a promotion, then what is the point of having them? It's the way that we do it. Okinawan systems in general (not always of course) put their faith in the training of their instructors that they know what they're doing. We don't need to be babysat. Of the various higher ranks that I have worked with, the various belt levels have always seemed to be pretty much right on with each other in skills and abilities.

I agree with this. The law permits you to defend yourself using only that amount of force necessary to stop the aggressor from harming you or others. Where people run into the most trouble with this in court is when they stop or defeat the person, then decide to "teach him a lesson" and pound him after he has already been stopped or defeated. Then you end up liable because yo uwent to far. There are a lot of gray areas in these laws and each case will be different, each state and each court/judge will be different. I guess the main thing to keep in mind is yes, stop the aggressor, protect yourself (or others)...then stop yourself.

How about addictions to martial arts forums? The exercises we do in my class are for warming up the body, and I stress to new people that I'm there to teach them karate...not build better bodies. If they want to run 5 miles...do it at home. If they want a 6-pack stomach...do that at home. If they want to do the splits...do that at home. If they want to learn karate...do that in the dojo. That's my philosophy anyway.

Isn't the aging process fun? Not only knees, but back, hips, elbows....well...you name it, it pops and makes noises!

I've been a judge and referee since about 1980...I can tell the difference and a snapping gi doesn't influence me one bit. If it does the judges you are going in front of...you have lousy judges IMHO.