KuroTora

I would love to see that portion of your test. After completing everything else, than attempting to go that long in continuous sparring. I did 20 minutes of continuous sparring for my Shodan test and I was shocked at how tiring it was, and we start our test with that sparring. I've been through Marine Corps bootcamp, so I understand that the human body and mind can continue a lot longer than most people give themselves credit for, but your test seems a little super human to me. I love to see it done. Sir, I'm one of the few that has passed Sensei Ford's{AKA: OldskoulkarateKa} Shodan test,i also hold Shodan rankings in 2 other styles and those tests were nothing compared to Sensei Ford's idea of a test, and there is nothing superhuman about the test afterwards you'll want to sleep for a week,but its one of the toughest tests in the business and every Shodan that emerges from it,is a testiment to themselves and others,and not a testiment of oh how great i am but a testiment of respect, honor, endurance, confidence, balance and skill, I've seen guys who are black belts in other arts,or body builders,or ex spec Ops soldiers,give up and only have like an hour or thirty minutes left in the test,and not because their physically worn out but because they are mentally worn out. and we have those guys in the association who try to take the test as a show of their toughness most of them give up after about 2 to 4 hours in, and then ive seen some of the weakest looking individuals on god's green earth take it and pass with out a problem,so its 85% mental. something else thats kinda mean but really funny,is that if you bug him enough Sensei Ford will let you attempt his test and when they give up he uses it as a lesson in waiting,proper timing and mental preparedness,because if you arnt ready and want to rush everything you do you will fail,crash and burn really bad,and Sensei isn't hateful about it,but if you are willing to work for it and condition for it,Sensei will guide you and teach you how to push your self and accomplish what you consider impossible such as his Shodan test. but whats really funny about it is that in and around our town we have ATA Tae Kwon Do centers{McDojo Inc} like in every direction on the map,any who word has gotten out that Sensei Ford will let anyone attempt to try our Black belt test,well anywho I've seen more than my fair share of these ATA Black Belts who think they are 10ft tall and bullet proof attempt his Shodan exam. and get mad because Sensei didn't hand them a Black Belt after they give up,now dont get me wrong i have a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and have all the respect for it in the world, but to be a black belt and expect someone to just hand you a belt is sad. I might have A video of the test laying around in my office,ill find time to get it posted on You tube or make it in to a file and ill send it to you.i have to get it transfered to disk first.

I would have to agree with mr.Fisher,although he left a lil'something out about exactly what proper Makiwara training does to your wrists.and I'll speak about what happens with good training and bad training. a.) The foreknuckle,Most people have a bad habit of hitting with more middle knuckle than foreknuckle,#1hows this a problem? and #2how is it fixable? 1. if you use more middleknuckle it will lead you in to poor punching posture and weakin the bones in the hand and wrist,and that equals health problems later in life and a broken hand the first or even third time you have to hit anything or one. 2. this is one of the easiest problems to fix as easy as One two three, step one:do some knuckle push ups on carpet-with the top two knuckles, and when you get done doing 5 or 10 take a knee,and look at your knuckles, if the top two knuckles on both hands are red and only the top two knuckles then you are ready to move on to the next step,but if the bottom three knuckles are red,then keep trying to do push ups on the top two knuckles,everyday until only the top two knuckles are red. step two:find a wall and extend your arm,make a fist and touch it to the wall,and see wich knuckles touch,after doing step one enough both top knuckles should touch evenly,if not cock your fist to where your leading with the foreknuckle and watch your top two knuckles touch the wall evenly.and then move to step three. step three:build or buy a Makiwara,Centuryfitness.com carries them for under $30 U.S. and mount your Makiwara at solarplexus level.for the first week of training tap punch it,over the next 3 months hit it about as hard as you would urgently knock on someones door,and after that third month is up start making contact but take it slow keep a beat with it 123 pop, 123pop, 123pop. b.) the wrists, what happens to the wrist? how to make weak wrists stronger? 1.what happens to the wrist when you condition on the Makiwara Properly? Well the cartilege inbetween the small bones in the hand an bones of the wrist and forearm will act as a pillow on the impact of your punch and as a result the shock to the bones in the wrist and forearm. Ok now lets talk bones the bones of the human body are 80% hallow and full of really small holes.wich is why the bone by its self only takes 7lbs. of pressure to snap. now with that outta the way every hard punch you throw into a Makiwara creates a direct shock to the wrist,when this happen 60% of the shock is cusioned by the cartilege in the wrist the other 40% of the shock creates teny tiny fractures in those really smally holes in the bones of the wrists,the scar tissue that occurs fills these really small hard to see holes and makes for solid bone and this will after a decade or so of makiwara training make youe wrist and forearm bones 80% solid,Karate practitioners who properly train will seldom ever have any health problems as a result of properly training on the Makiwara. 2.)if you want to make your wrists stronger do push ups and take up Sai training it does the trick every time. And before i go,please keep a slight bend in you elbow dont lock it out when you punch,this will save your shoulder and elbow a lot of greif in the future and will cut your chances in half of buckling your wrists on impact. If you take any of these tips to heart i hope they work for you and help you get results,these tips are what i was taugh and what i teach,they have always given my students and myself great results and good luck on Makiwara training.

I guess my question is actually, "what is the test's purpose?" After years and years of training surely you know the capabilities of your students. Surely they know their capabilities. It sounds like you're being brutal simply to be brutal. Just my opinion. please no one get offended at what i am about to say. My students are very well conditioned and able bodied individuals, it is called a test for a reason,sure i push them,i push them hard,but its not for the sake of brutality,this is the same way i was pushed and im grateful to my various Sensei for their as you call it being "Brutal"or as my assocaites and i like to call it tough love.There is an old saying that I think sums it up quite well"The iron thinks it's self needlessly beat on the anvil, and burnt in the fire...However the sword looks back and understands why."sure...I could water down my test,Raise my fees and pass people just to pass them, like 75% of the Instructors and mcDojos out there but then it would not be a test,it would be a hand out.In the end it boils down to the student.my students know what their getting it to on the onset of a test,they know its a tough test, they go through with it,and pass or fail they walk away with a scense of accomplishment and pride in themselves ,if they pass they know they've earned that belt,if they fail,they pick themselves up,train harder and succeed.but then again unless you've ever had to truly earn your rank or be truly tested,I wouldn't expect anything I've just typed to make sense. Sensei Ford,AKA Oldskoulkarateka is one of the scariest men I've ever met,I am one of His Black Belts and the higher standards of his Dan testing requirements are what separates his Nuggets from the other Black Belts in Dojos across the tri county area,AND did i mention He is one very intimidating Karate practitioner.