DWx

Great drills Noah. We do similar stuff but reacting to the attacker stepping in or chambering the leg (for sparring). Interesting the use of your "hands ready" position. We have similar start positions for our forms so would be a good position for us to train from. I might borrow this! Normally we would use the "fence" position but I can see how being "hands ready" is just as good a position to train from.

This is a great insightful article Bob. I think some instructors shy away from treating the dojo like a business for fear of becoming a McDojo but unless you have unlimited cash elsewhere you need to get good with this stuff.

Great article Brian. You've really hit the nail on the head as far as being a supportive parent. It's a fine line between encouraging your child to do well but not pushing them too hard. you wait till they're teenagers.. it'll more along the lines of: Dad: "How was practice, buddy? Daughter: *shrug* [mumble something incomprehensible] Daughter: *exit slamming door*

I do think this stuff is kind of nice and seems to be forgotten by a lot of people nowadays. I wonder how many people nowadays actually eat regularly with the family or extended family at a table and not just infront of the tv or their phones? As to being forced to do this, I don't think of it as a bad thing necessarily. To me it's no different than asking a student to bow in class. It's part of the whole package and if they don't want to do it, then maybe it's not the right martial art for them. We only do it in a formal setting and actually it's quite nice to see everyone show a bit of respect for their elders in this way, especially the kids.

All valid points. Sometimes I wonder if those teens who did a sport which focused on weight classes like combat sports or wrestling ever grow out of that watching their weight mindset... Personally I don't like to see kids focus too much on meeting certain weight classes. They ought to just compete where they fall. Adults on the other hand should find it easy enough to drop up to 2 kg or 5 lb and then rehydrate to just nip in the lower weight division. It can end up making a big difference to how your competition goes whether you are in the correct weight class.

Congrats

That's great, makes it all the more rewarding

I had a friend that did this for 6 months I think. Will see if I can find out which she went to. Unfortunately I think a lot of them now are commercialised for Westerners.

Does anyone's dojo or style have rules for etiquette outside of the training hall? For instance in times when you may be in the presence of seniors or training partners but not necessarily physically training: e.g. meals together, formal meetings or times when you stay in a hotel together. I forget this stuff as it seems normal to me now, but for example at meals we tend to follow Asian or Korean table etiquette: - stand when a senior (grade or age) approaches the table - senior sits in the center then next most senior to the right, the next to the left and so on - keep your hosts and senior's glass filled - don't eat or help yourself until your senior is ready - wait until everyone has finished before excusing yourself

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. Forms, kata (型), poomse (품새), hyung, tul, talou (套路)... Whatever you want to call them, set patterns of movement against imaginary attackers are key building blocks of the East Asian martial arts. But what purpose do they serve? We can talk about them being a simple physical exercise, as being a catalog of techniques and strategies or as an instruction manual for a system of combat. And I think for many practitioners, this is as far as they go with their form practice; they use them as a tool for physical training but nothing more. For me, though, they serve another benefit. Rather than simply a tool for physical training, to me, forms represent a kind of mental training also and, through repetitive practice, a way of obtaining peace of mind. So where am I going with this? I believe that the study of martial arts serves two purposes; through regular practice they not only preserve life (in self defense) but they should also enhance life (through physical, mental and spiritual health). The first purpose I think is pretty self explanatory as are the physical benefits, but what about the mental and spiritual health aspects? Let's go back a step and consider what it is we are actually practicing. When discussing the East Asian martial arts, we can make a distinction between the budo (武道) systems, such as karate-do, judo and taekwon-do, and the bujutsu (武術) systems, such as jujutsu, kenjutsu and aikijutsu. Bujutsu can be translated as "martial craft" or "martial method." These styles concern themselves with effective combat and ending an altercation as efficiently as possible. Budo, on the other hand, means something slightly different. Budo can be broken down into the roots "bu-" (武) meaning "war" or "martial" and "-do" (道) meaning "path" or "way." Simply put, whilst budo does consider the physical nature of combat, this comes hand-in-hand with a certain philosophy and lifestyle. As such the budo ideal is summarized perfectly by Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate: "Perfection of character." What does that really mean and is it really relevant to today's martial artist? What's more, what does this have to do with forms or kata? Is it just a coincidence that the vast majority of budo arts incorporate some sort of form practice? When we talk about karate, taekwon-do or judo as having a way or path, it helps to understand where the word "Do" (道) comes from. The Chinese pronunciation of 道 is "Tao," and Tao is the idea that there is a fundamental order in the natural patterns and processes of the universe: In the classic Chinese text by Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching (道德經), Tao is described as being the culmination of all the inner rhythms and deeper currents of the universe. Just as water will always find a way to the ocean, there are always pathways to follow to a goal. These pathways are the Tao or the way. Why spend effort climbing a mountain when a path through the valley already exists? For Lao Tzu, beings which are in complete harmony with Tao act entirely naturally with effortless action or wu wei (無爲). They "go with the flow" and let nature take its course. To align oneself and be in harmony with Tao, or with nature, Taoism and the related Dharmic religions emphasize the importance of knowing one's self. You cannot change nature but you can change yourself and to change yourself you must first know yourself. To truly know oneself is to develop a complete mastery over your own mind and body. This can be achieved through disciplined physical practice. As a result, there are many activities in Asia that are carried out according to a Do or way. To one ignorant of Tao, these rigid practices may seem overly formalized. However, rigorous disciplined action results in a balance of mind and body, of yin and yang. In Japanese culture, for example, there are rules governing flower arrangement (kado), calligraphy (shodo) and even the tea ceremony (chado) where this process of meditative training enhances the practitioners mental clarity and awareness whilst developing physical skills. Take calligraphy (shodo), for example. Apprentice's learn by rigorously copying over and over again the works of their master and other reputed calligraphers until they can reproduce this accurately. Good calligraphy is judged on correct strokes, stroke order, character structure, balance and rhythm, and for any particular piece of paper the calligrapher has one attempt to create. Fluidity is required as any hesitation can be seen, and the characters must flow out of the calligrapher. In order to do this, a true master must first reach a state of "no mind" or "mushin" (無). It is then that they can truly express the meaning of the character. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Forms can be used in the exact same way. At first, martial artists meticulously copy their instructors and try to emulate correct techniques. They try to draw the correct shapes with their arms and legs. They focus on perfecting each little move to get closer and closer to the ideal action as laid out by their instructor. At a certain point, though, maybe when the student feels like they are starting to understand their martial art, they start to adapt the mechanics and tweak the movements to suit their own body and methods, yet they still think upon each movement and how it should be executed. Eventually they reach a point where they let go and the movements flow naturally. Shuhari (守破離), if you will. To me, forms practice is most definitely a way of achieving mastery over myself. I can have had the worst day at work, have 101 things I need to think about or do, yet when I step onto the mat and begin going through the techniques, it all doesn't matter anymore. I can get lost in the movement and just focus on the here and now rather than what has happened or will happen. I suspect the same is true for a lot of martial artists. Whilst ultimately what we are doing has a martial or combat purpose, and every technique is designed to disarm, trap and strike, I think it is important also to appreciate forms or kata practice for what it actually is in the present and for the ritual it offers. Practicing movements over and over again, striving towards some notion of the "perfect technique," spending time looking at all the little nuances and tweaking the movement each time to make it faster, stronger, better. This is physical mastery. You cannot watch a master or kata champion and not appreciate how totally in control they are of their whole body and how whilst every move is deliberate, it is also effortless. And this is where the mental training and meditation aspect comes in. Forms offer a moment to be able to switch off completely from all outside stimulus and focus on something that you have complete control over: your own body. Eventually after many years of practice you reach that point that the movements flow without conscious thought, that state of mushin where you're not really thinking what you're doing yet are completely aware, this is when you have complete control over both your body and your mind. This is when forms become meditation through movement. Addendum: I will say that the idea of Tao, of a Do, needn't be at odds with your own personal beliefs or religion. Tao itself is not considered a deity nor something to be worshiped. Tao is more a name for all of the inherent processes that happen in the universe; a sense of what is the right way for things and what is natural. Many religions and belief systems discuss similar concepts, including Christianity and Islam which recognize that there is a nature law to the world. For example C.S. Lewis wrote extensively about the idea of Tao in The Abolition of Man and discussed it as being complementary and part of his Christian faith. Even if you have no particular beliefs or would simply prefer not to believe in Tao, forms practice can still contribute to physical and mental well-being. Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen

I'm with this. It's teenage stuff. I wouldn't worry about it. So, you both condone it?? Expectations, seem to me, are not being meet. Age, shouldn't excuse the unwanted actions of students. Allow one, you have to allow others, and this is a pot being stirred until it overflows. Imho!! No I don't condone it. But what will banning him from sparring acheive? Will it convince him to stop reacting like this? To me it seems unlikely. Especially as this is a "troubled" teen. Better to use it as a learning opportunity.

Maybe that would work. He'd still be learning and taking part but would have a punishment. Do you teach them what they should do instead of fighting?

I'm not sure I would discipline him per se. I'm not sure what your remit is at the teen center but as you say, you're not his parent or guardian. Personally I wouldn't discipline him by banning him from sparring as it would make him resent you rather than actually stopping him from fighting again. Have a chat with him maybe about your expectations but it sounds as though he isn't deliberately going around starting fights but a stupid teenager letting his emotions get the better of him.

Welcome to the forums highkick

I like this. Especially taking into consideration mental and spiritual health as I think this is often overlooked. For me, everything in moderation. Eat well and clean but don't be afraid to occasionally treat yourself.

I find you often end up doing stuff like this (like leaning forward) when you've spent a lot of time trying to develop something else e.g. you've been concentrating on hip movement or stance transition or whatever. You don't notice you're doing it and it takes sometime else to point it out to you. Even better if it's someone who doesn't see you regularly as they will notice the little odd things better rather than writing it off as a little quirk.

There are plenty of books and videos out there you can learn from. Same as always though, it would be better to learn with a teacher of possible to correct your firm and any mistakes you are making. Depends what your goals are though and if you just wanted a taste of Tai Chi, books and videos would be ok.

Does anyone know much about Indian martial arts? I came across the Urumi today. A flexible whip like blade which is swung much like a whip and paired with a buckler for combat: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/indias-deadly-flexible-whip-sword-takes-years-to-master Sounds like it is a weapon that is difficult to master but deadly to use. Are there any East Asian equivalents? Video of Urumi combat here :

If you've won both times, does it matter if he bounces around? If the problem is with him avoiding you all the time, does he react at all when you throw your attacks? Could it be that he isn't convinced by your fakes? I've fought him three times now and winning 3 times by somewhat slim margins (in my view) doesn't mean I don't want to become better. Also, as much as I try to mix my approach up, he's also sizing me up and getting gradually better. My fakes have been effective on him about 70% of the time. My problem is that anything I do, a fake, a punch, footwork, causes this guy to take about two huge bounces back or to the side. He is the type to constantly back up or move to the side (at a great distance) waiting for the chance to either throw a single rear hand punch or lunge with 3 sloppy head shots that are just punch/punch/punch. Not saying either is ineffective, just looking for ways for me to use some techniques to be more effective. I've tried using a fake in one direction to get him moving in the other, then I use kicks to corner him off. Everyone else in my dojo spends the entire match chasing this guy around and I have vowed I am not going to do that. They wear themselves out, and this guy just constantly dodges and bounces around as soon as the fight begins. I have stood in one position while he is about 2 feet away just bouncing left, right, up and down, and the other students started to see how silly the whole thing was. Sorry if I'm rambling or it doesn't make sense. Thanks. OK so if I understand correctly he just moves back or to the side when he thinks you are to attack? I see there being two things you can do really: keep pushing forward attacking and cutting him off either until he steps out of bounds or you close down on him. A win by the opponent collecting penalties is still a win. Alternatively you would need to cut off his sideways movement and intercept. Now the other half of it is looking at his attacks and what you can do to counter attack that. It seems as if he is throwing the rear hand as an attack itself rather than a counter? If it's an attack, a rear hand punch on it's own is horribly easy to counter and he must have "tells" or signs that he is about to do this and will leave himself open. Do you have any videos of either of you? Kinda hard to advise without seeing the movement.

Congrats

If you've won both times, does it matter if he bounces around? If the problem is with him avoiding you all the time, does he react at all when you throw your attacks? Could it be that he isn't convinced by your fakes?

Martial Arts is a bit different in that we don't really have an off-season. If you look at most sports: soccer, baseball, football, basketball, etc. they have a few months of the year when they're training and then they have time off until next year. As martial artists, we never get a break and have to train in all weather. Personally I actually like training in the winter more when it's dark at night. In summer I just get too hot and when the weather's nice would prefer to be outside doing other things.

This is how we do it. I think when you get beyond a certain number of students it does pay to have this convenience.

Our bodies need fuel and they need new raw materials to build muscle. As much as we'd probably all like, a burger and fries isn't that best fuel for an elite fighting machine. So what's everyone's diet like? Do you actively plan your intake? Watch what you eat? Or just eat anything? Anybody take supplements?

Thinking about some of the behind the scenes stuff for running a school; how do you organise getting payment from your students? Do you hire an outside company to collect fees and chase payments? Do you collect monies yourself? Do you have students pay per lesson, per month or block book sessions. On the flip side, if you employ instructors, how do you manage their wages? Do you contract an outside company for this also?