hobbitbob

Hello all. I have just learned that a former student of our Uni TKD club, who left at 3d gup (red) is now teaching TKD for a parks and rec program, as a self promoted black belt. What would others do? I am tempted to gather with the other instructors and pay a small visit, encouraging him to not claim our club as his place of origin, adn to perhaps cease teaching.

ISKF has variations of "passing" in its kyu testings that correspond to a pass, high pass and honurs. Is it anything like that?

there was a photo published recently in "Dragon Times" showing Funakoshi Sr., Gigo (jr), Mabuni, Miyagi, Konishi, and Motobu all sitting at a long table. Even more intruiging is the fact that Funakoshi and Motobu are seated side by side! (althou there is about a foot between them, much more space than between ant other people in the picture.) I find this fascinating considering reports we've alll heard about teh "feud" between Funakoshi and Motobu. Any insight, anyone?

My goal right now is to finish the seminar paper I should be writing instead of playing on this forum!

Pretty much 4 nights/week, monday-thursday. But..I'm often caught "daydreaming" about kata, technique, etc.. when no in class! Like Ray Dalke was quoted, I'm also horrible around mirrors, often practicing techniqes in any reflective surfaces, looking for ways to improve. let's not froget "knocking" my knucles against hard surfaces in eleveators, along walls, etc.... Good grief, I'm obsessed!

I: Disrespect towards the senior instructor/instructor staff/other students. II: Refusal to learn, i.e.: "I know all that there is to know, you can't teach me anything!" III: Dishonesty.

Monkey girl brought up teh subject of CFW's latest incarnation of its non-kungfu publication in another thread, and I am prompted to wonder...what publications do form members read, and what do they think of them? I used to read Black Belt, but it has gone downhill over the years, ever since the Ninja '80's. Now there is precious little martial art, and much "reality steroid enhanced you can be a cop-wanna-be antiterror-military woof-hoorah" technique. Inside Karate (now "Martial Art) was allright, but suffers from CFW's rotten editing, and often seems to be a shill for the company's books and videos. Taekwondo times is coming along nicely,and seems to be moving away from its beginnings as a "my grandmaster is soooo cool, adn can beat your master up" sort of writing that characterized the publication for its first couple of decades. Journal of Asian Martial Arts is splendid, adn a truly academic journal, although I fear it may be somewhat daunting to teh average reader. I love Dragon Times, which is close to the caliber of JAMA, but their shoestring budget leads to shortfalls on subscription services, adn it seems to be opearting one minor catastrophe away from collapse all of teh time.

And the dreaded jump spinning crescent. Argh! Jump, spin, or crescent, but please, not all three at once!

Black belt tests vary tremendously, also! (never end a sentence a preposition with ) My 1st dan Wado test was at the Dojo, and was just students from our school. My 2d adn 3d dan were at Gasshukus, with may students,a dn were real "endurance" things. My 1st Dan TKD test was brief, the idea being that the test itself isn't difficult, but that being allowed to test should be difficult. It does rather sound like your friend is the victim of a McDojo. I had, like many other americans thought that MA in teh UK was more regulated, more "honourable" than in the US. Unfortunately,a s I found out summer before last when I was playiig in the Archiveso f the city of London, McDojos are just as prevalent. Sigh.

I find the "black belt club" phenomenon disturbing. It places emphasis on the Black belt as an ending, rather than a beginning.

Turning Wheel Kick! AAARRRGH! And, of course, if you don't do the same number on both sides, you remain dizzy!

I ahev always felt that a "natural fighter" was someone with a good, competitive spirit.

"master Mac's" site is one of the best all-round sites that there is!

Is there the equivalent of a yellow pages? that might list a MA supply store. I think Kamikaze is mostly sold online, though.Good luck!

Not to flog the expired equine, but how is walking away not using your skills?

Elmar Schmeisser's organization (there's a link on https://www.24fightingchickens.com) has an interesting scheme for instructor certifications. It includes completion of courses in physiology, psychology, etc... I wonder if other organizations have such credentialing processes? I also wonder who has the time to do them?

Monkeygirl, I'm sorry that you took my post as a personal attack. I don't believe that after ten years one magically becomes an instructor. i DO feel that it takes many years (ten being the minimum!) before one has enough insight into one's style to adequately analyze and correct the techniques of others. I don't doubt that you are an effective "model" of techniques. I don't know you, or your instructor to be able to make that determination. I do feel that, in general, allowing someone who is 15 to "teach" is an exceptionally poor decision on the part of any senior instructor. Pax.

http://www.hyong.net has the Chang-Hon patterns done correctly (i.e.. no bouncy bouncy!).

I think it's interesting you picked 10 years for someone still being a beginner, usually by this point most martial artists will have a black belt which is seen by most as a sign of mastery. I'm guessing by your statement that you've been around in martial arts for some time now. I'll probably always consider myself a beginner. I have practiced for 22 years now, and am still a "beginner," and always will be. I think that, with the current spirit of "belt inflation (rather like grade inflation at University)" 10 years is a reasonable amount of time for someone to become reasonably proficient within one's style, regardless of how many stripes he or she has sewn on her belt. We frequently haev new clubmembers with 3d adn 4th dan rankings from their schools, with a grand total of 4 or 5 yars of training and no basics whatsoever. Sigh. I'm glad they/ their parents were wealthy enough to buy them their stripes.

I thought long and hard about posting on this discussion, but here goes (open mouth, insert feet!). I don't object to the concept of Moneygirl ASSISTING in instruction. My concerns lie in the thought of soemone who is: a) 15 years old. b) a beginner teaching class. This isn't her fault, it is the bad judgement of her instructors. The age issue actually doesn't bother me as much as the issue of someone at the level of 1st kyu teaching an entire class. In reality, anyone who has under 10 years or so of training is qualified to lead class, but hasn't the knowledge and abilities to make adequate corrections. Instructional ability comes from long periods of analyzing techniques and of observing human interactions. I don't feel that someone with as littel training time,and as littel actual time alive as she could adequately "instruct." Having said that, let me say that I have found her posts to be quite mature for someone of teh early teen years. I have no doubt that she can ;lead the occaisional class. We frequently have one of our 16 y.o. first dans up front at the Uni TKD club, and he does a wonderful job WITH DIRECT SUPERVISION. Frequently we put him up front so that the instructor staff can wander and make spot corrections. IN that case, the person up front serves as a "metronome" to call counts, etc... The thing I have found is: Until one has about ten-twelve years of practice to their credit, one tends not to run a practice that is beneficial to the entire class, rather one tends to work on what one feels one needs to do that particular day. This can be observed anywhere from the warm-up, which when led by novices tends to be long on jumping jacks and short on stretching, to basics practice, where the tendency is to show how much you know vs. how little everyone else knows. It takes time and maturity to be able to intuit what is beneficial to teh groups at large, rather then what is beneficial to you as an individual. Sorry Monkeygirl, feel free to pounce!

Read Robert Doherend's article in the current "Dragon Times" for an interesting account of the origins of TKD and the possible continued existence of indigenous Korean martial arts.

In Wado-ryu I learned them as teisho (palm heel.).

From the Okinawan/Japanese standpoint, something like Goju or Uechi that concentrates on close in attacks and grappling applications would be good for the less tall individual as a beginner (i.e. less than 10 years of training). But, as has been mentioned above, over time, the individual adapts his karate to his particular physiognomy. So, the answer reeally seems to be "any style will do."

When I began at aged 14, Karate was exercise and self defence. At 35, Karate is a way of life for me. It became practice for the sake of practice.

I agree with you except for the tourna,emt bit. i don't see tournament wins as criteria for earning a black belt. Again, Ernie Reyes is an exception.