DWx

As to the original question, definitely a martial art. Used by almost all cultures for hunting and fighting. The bow today is not very relevant for self defense or warfare but I would still consider it a martial arts weapon. Very cool though hitting the frisbee

Korean equivalent Gungsul: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gakgung And also Japanese mounted archery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabusame

How does your school or association train instructors? Do you have a formal programme to train people to teach or do new instructors learn on the job?

Welcome to the forums Tobias. Which part of Germany are you from? My family is originally from around Dortmund

wow that's great progress I'd really recommend https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for tracking your inputs. Alongside calories it tracks things like protein intake, carbs etc. and gives the full breakdown. One of the better apps I've found for doing this.

That sounds like an interesting theory. Would explain why Japanese (and Okinawan) styles adopt red and Korean don't.

As I said, I left it deliberately ambiguous as your own interpretation of the term is part of the answer too.

This sounds like dwitbal sogi or rear foot stance from TKD. The "little cousin" of L-stance.

1st of all, welcome to the forum Arvind Great advice so far. What I'd add is that very few people start Martial Arts with a good level of flexibility. Most beginners, both adults and kids, start at a low level of flexibility and then work on this throughout their training. I know that you said you had some prior training but even so your instructor shouldn't expect you to ace head level kicks straight off. Work within your limits and you should steadily see some improvement.

I was just about to post this! When I was at university, the tkd instructor there suggested this as an application for moves 2-3 in Toi Gye. Would work if you were fighting Spartan style!

Great answers so far I deliberately didn't define the term "proficiency" as how you personally interpret it is an answer in itself. For me, I'd say I truly felt proficient probably around 8 or 9 years of training. Around the time I just graded for my 3rd dan. Before then I definitely think I could do most things well physically, I'd even been competing internationally at that point. And I thought I had a reasonable chance of defending myself successfully. But prior to that point I was still at the "monkey see, monkey do" stage. I could do what I was told or act according to the strategies of the style, but my understanding of the techniques and methodologies was limited to explanations that someone, somewhere down the line, had told me before. About 8 or 9 years in is when I think I started coming up with my own explanations.

Does anyone know the original reason for renshi ranks being red rather than another colour? The more I think about it the odder it seems. It's likely that belt colours themselves in all Eastern Martial Arts are heavily influenced by thea Five Elements as even s far back as 600 AD kingdoms in China, Korea and Japan were using these colours to denote rank: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_in_Chinese_culture Wood = green / brown Fire = red / purple Earth = yellow / orange Metal = white Water = black https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Level_Cap_and_Rank_System Black makes sense as the highest colour as it is the king of colours and is used in direct contrast to white. So why make red special?

It sounds pretty cheesey but have you seen Cane-fu? Its marketed towards seniors and those with limited mobility http://www.canemasters.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=51 I wonder why we don't see the cane more commonly? It is something everyone has a good chance of needing to carry at some point in their life.

Well with Oyama there was definitely some contact with ITF TKD and Gen. Choi. It is believed that the General tried to recruit him and get him to call his style Tae Kwon Do. (see page 84 of A Killing Art by Alex Gillis). We talked about this some on the Korean forum a while ago. http://www.karateforums.com/mas-oyama-the-itf-vt35134.html In an interview in TKD Times the General said he met Oyama in 1966, how does that fit within Kyokushin's timeline?

It depends what she was doing exactly but she might not be disrespectful. Sometimes I struggle to watch my opponents as it turns me into a complete bag of nerves. For me especially I can't watch my opponents during breaking competitions. I end up calculating and analyzing their every move and it sends my stress levels through the roof. But yeah if she was turned away and talking then that isn't so good!

Just curious as to your answers to the above question. Was there a defining moment or did you gradually realise?

I read somewhere that Mas Oyama used red as one of kyu grades in Kyokushin, but then eliminated it out of respect for high ranking yudansha who wore it in other systems. Speculating, but would that have come from his Korean connections? Red is used in TKD and TSD for 2nd and 1st kups normally.

This is my feelings on the topic. I always meet the other competitor on the mat and shake hands, whether I win or lose. It's a congratulations to them if they win, a sign of mutual respect and thanks them for the match. In fact even at high level tournaments in my style it is very unusual for competitors not to shake hands. In our tournaments it is also customary for the competitor to shake the hands of the opposing coach before going back to their corner.

I saw a bit about the skip dans. I thought they put a stop to it for the time being? I hadn't heard that they put a hold on the skip Dans, but they have put a hold on the Dan panels for now, at least in the US. The Dan panels (for those who don't know) is a new thing Kukkiwon wanted to roll out outside Korea. Up until now, one needed to be 4th Dan KKW or higher to test their students for BB. One could test their students up to 1 rank bellow themselves. The new rule that they rolled out in Europe in 2015, & tried to in the US, was that 4th Dan or higher HAD to take this testing panel course in order to test one's students. So, theoretically one could be an 8th Dan training & teaching for 40 years & had promoted 100's BBs, but now could not without passing this course. They've put that idea on hold here in the US due to MUCH push back. But they are teaching the panel exam course here in LA this weekend, anyway. Many heavy hitters from KKW are here. I was mistaken, its special skip Dan tests which I'd read http://wtu.kr/sub_read.html?uid=677&section=sc1 What you describe to be fair is not that much different to ITF rules. Under 4th dan testing can be done by anyone who is at least twice the grade you are testing for. So for example 3rd must be approved by a 6th dan. 4th and above require you to test under someone who had been approved to do those testings. As a result, you usually have to wait for a 3 day technical seminar to occur and then test afterwards with the visiting master, or request that they send someone to test you. Idea is its a quality control measure.

Looks fairly similar to the Taekwondo forms Chonji and to Heian Shodan

Sorry to hear it's not much better Ken. Have you had any luck alleviating the symptoms through dietary changes? Sometimes certain foods can trigger an inflammatory response.

Bit of an update: Saw doc at the hospital again who confirms no break or fracture and diagnosed damage to The UCL and referred me to the community physio. Am seeing her once a week for ultrasound therapy and manipulation to get full range of movement back. At the moment have between 30 and 60 degrees of movement which sucks big time for my training but I have been able to start running again so at least that's keeping my fitness up.

In all fairness the lack of popularity (compared to TKD) might be a good thing for TSD. Fewer imitators and fewer politics.

Welcome to KF Hayleigh

I saw a bit about the skip dans. I thought they put a stop to it for the time being?