DWx

Welcome Matthais What styles have you studied in the past?

Congrats

Good for them Joe, you should be proud of them

Thing with novice fighters is that they tend to be unorthodox in how they fight as well. If you're used to trained kicks and punches you'll have trained how to read and react to them too. Even across different styles movements follow similar patterns but a total novice hasn't learnt how to move like that. Look a how many styles use a roundhouse or straight jab. You can train yourself to pick up on these movements so when a novice fighter comes along and does something unexpected its harder to deal with than even maybe another stylist. Think I posted a thread ages ago about have a similar problem with training partners being unable to throw non-TKD like punches in self-defense work. Its not so good for practising real responses.

Repetition is v good but there comes a point when you have to try new things and do something different. Even if you're training the same techs. its good to take a fresh look at them. Don't stick with your Kempo school just out of loyalty either. If its not fulfilling your requirements it might be time to move on. Having said that though I wouldn't be too hasty to quit just because you're bored. Things may pick up a bit if you grade or something. Maybe try a bit of both for awhile?

They're a good cheap training tool. Can't really add much to tallgeese's advice. One thing which irritates me about the rubber knives is after you've used it for a while the ends can sometimes become a bit bendy, not all that realistic.

I want it Graphics look like a mix of Windwaker and Twilight Princess.

I tend to think of places like those as practising martial sports rather than martial arts. Each to their own though. If people want non-contact exercise that's fine as long as (like tallgeese said) its not marketed as an effective self defense.

I have to train by myself whilst at uni. As long as you have a good foundation its not too much of a problem. Might be more difficult for you but I see my instructor twice a month maybe when I visit my parents back home. So you can train what you know on your own and then just get your old teacher to give you intensive lessons once in a while. But since you're in college, check out what styles (if any) it offers. Finding something similar can help.

I'd agree with your break down of it Bob. We assign meanings to the colour of our belts using an analogy of each stage of a plants growth. 1st couple of belts is laying the foundation, then development, then maturity before reaching a level of proficiency.

Think you're probably right with the "motivational trigger". Think on some level its also wanting to compete to get the top grades, either with just yourself or with your peers. We have a tiered system of "pass", "merit" and "distinction". Everybody wants a distinction next to their name and no-one really wants just a pass. Grades also gives them feedback on how close they are to getting it totally right too. If you're a B you know you're nearly there, just a little bit more to improve. Getting an F is not so good and you know you have a lot to work on. Bit more informative than just pass or fail.

Think that brings up another problem I have with people not allowing younger people to have belts. Fair enough if you give a them a "junior" blackbelt because they've tested with reduced requirements but if they test on the same standards and are expected to know and do the same things as adults I don't think its fair to make them test again. Especially if they have to pay for it twice. And they should have the opportunity to test on the same level as adults and not be forced to test as a child just because they're not old enough.

If you practice in front of a mirror, that should help you see which way you are leaning.

I never paid any sanctioning fees which is why they were asking me to join the federation, which involved $$$. To my knowledge most associations have annual membership fees. I guess so. The opens I usually go to don't make you join to have the title though. If you won it you won it. Because of the divisions in ITF we actually have 3 World Champs (one for each of the orgs) so even if you win one of them you not really really World Champ because you haven't competed against the all of the ITF practitioners. You mean like a Unified World Champ? Why not? That's if they can all agree on any terms. Hard to do something like that though because who's rules do you compete under? Champion of point stop sparring will have difficultly under continuous fighting rules and vice versa. Problems with sparring light contact to heavy contact etc...

sorry but you had to pay to be their World Champ? Sounds like a bit of a money making scheme to me. If you're do hold a title it can attract people to your school if you choose to use it in the advertising... MA newbies think its awesome and for those in the know if its a credible tournament circuit you're champion of I guess its attractive to come train with you.

Welcome Pablo George's advice is pretty sound

I don't think age should have much bearing on when you deserve a belt. Skill level and knowledge should be the deciding factors. Having said that (and I think most of you wont agree with these), our org's requirements are 13 for a 1st dan, 14 for a 2nd, 16 for a 3rd, can't remember what it is above that but the gaps increase the further up the dans you go. You can also sort of be awarded a dan rank by your individual school before reaching the age requirement, it just wont be official and you wont get the proper certificates from the org.

Why no strikes at close range? TKD uses close range strikes as well as long distance; elbows, knees, stamps, close range punching etc.

I think your breakdown, Bob, is pretty much what I'd say ours was like. For us: 1st through to 3rd are considered novices and have the title "assistant-instructor". They can be instructors of their own schools but usually they are still under the guidance of someone else. 4th to 6th are experts and are called "instructors". 7th to 9th are the elite who fully understand the style both mentally and physically. 7th is a master, 8th senior master and 9th grandmaster. You can't apply to test for these dans and its not just about your skill or knowledge, at this point things such as contribution, dedication etc. are taken into consideration.

I agree that if they're equally important they should have equal weighting. You can make them equal with the maths though. Just have to normalize the marks for each section and make it worth 3/100 of the final grade. Or a simpler way would be to make each section worth 33% and then award 1% for something completely unrelated and easy so that each candidate can get it, like for turning up on time or something. Or bring in other components like theory, breaking, etiquette etc. which could also warrant marks.

I think that's the key there. It's a very rare 16-year-old who can teach adults effectively. Children and adults need to be taught differently-- they need to be treated differently, things need to be presented differently for them, etc. 16-year-olds tend to have trouble with this because they've never been adults and so they don't know how adults learn. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part, I've found this to be the case. I think you need to give 16 year olds more credit. They really aren't that far removed from adults. Especially if they've been attending the same classes as the "adults" have. Treat them like little children and they'll behave like it but respect them like adults and they'll behave like them.

Its a concern for me for the same reasons Brian said. I'd lose if I got taken to the ground by a grappler. I've not really seen anywhere offering BJJ or another grappling style near me but there are MMA classes and I guess they must teach some component of groundwork. I've been on a seminar where, when teaching us how to defend against knives, the master basically said: you can't learn to defend against a knife until you know how to use a knife. So he spent 30mins or so teaching us some basic ways to attack with a knife before even getting to what to do if someone came at you with one. I think in the same way you can't really defend against a grappler unless you know a little bit about grappling. Goes back to that thread where you quoted Royce Gracie.

Welcome Pablo Those are two great styles to learn. Which style of TKD were you looking at? Learning by yourself will be hard. Really you need to have someone there to give feedback on what you're doing and to suggest improvements. You can't really get that from videos and books. If you can't go to classes maybe find a training partner or if you have a friend that studies MA you could workout together. Your mom lets you play football but calls MA violent? Maybe you need to show her its not. See if you can get her to watch a local class or something or even show her some vids on Youtube.

Sure they're a good combo. One of my instructors holds blackbelts in both and combines them pretty effectively.

Aren't all defence movements ultimately offensive in nature too? Even without using any strikes or locks you could throw your opponent into a wall or send them off into some other obstacle.