gamedweeb

Congrats man!

good luck!

about 3 where I study.

Yay! After six months since my last promotion (just the way the regional testing schedule lined up), I'm testing for my 1st Degree Black Belt this month. Well most of the testing will be done this month... My physical, uniform check, and written test are on the 17th. On the 22nd I have a curriculum test, and have to turn in a 5 page essay. On 5th of October I have to drive to either Orem or Provo to test in front of Master Lawrence. I'll also be testing for Instructor while I'm down there on the 5th. Wow, that really sucks... 2 weeks worth of wait for the last part of the test... Oh well guess that's how it goes...

The first video looked like a beginer learning to spar. The second video from what I've seen with Wing Chun seemed pretty authentic other than the WC guys I know wouldn't have waited for the other guy to attack. Wing Chun is pretty cool, the control of not just your own centerline, but also the centerline of your opponent.

I've never heard of any legal difference for punching vs kicking. Most of the aftermath depends on the situation. I was told by one classmate who used to be a cop that if the guy had a weapon you could pound on him until he dropped it. There was a guy that went to another school in BLK that was harassed by a group of guys at a fair or carnival or something, and it ended up getting physical and he beat the crap out of them. But a witness told the cops that he was the worst of them so they cited him and he had to have his day in court for defending himself. I believe he was acquitted in the end but he still had to go to court. I think there's a precedent called Justifiable Force or something like it. I'll have to look the Black Belt article up. Personally I find it kind of backwards to expect someone to justify the amount of force that was used when you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.

Congrats man!

Takes roughly 3 years in the system I'm in depending on how the regional testing schedule lines up once you are ready to test for the third rank in provisionary black (We call it Han Ban Bu), then it can be between four to six months before you test for 1st degree. I'll have been in about 3 1/2 years before I can test in October. My style is Bobby Lawrence Karate.

I passed! I Passed! I PASSED! Hey, thanks for your support everyone! Hopefully this post isn't an overload. But here's a full report of the nights activities for those that are interested. Here's how it went: I left early for West Jordan, I wasn't sure how bad traffic was going to be on I-15 with construction and getting hit with rush hour on Friday. I ended up being there two hours before the studio opened. So I ended up reading most of the Art of War in my car. This was my first regional test so I was nervous. I was worried that I was the only one testing for Han Ban Bu for a while, but then there were people that showed up from Park City and a guy from Drapper that came. So that was good. Lets there were some people from West Jordan testing and there were five of us from Logan that were testing. The studio opened at five, I went in paid my fee and handed in my thesis. Then headed to the back and got changed. The test started a little late. I think it was because my Instructor was late and he was on the panel. We lined up by rank, then moved on onto the floor. We started off with basics, a few different kicks from a guarding stance, then strikes from a horse stance. Then they divided us up by rank into groups. They rotated us through group by group for katas. Those of us that were testing for Han Ban Bu performed Heian Shodan, Jion, Kan Ku Dai, and Long 1. I got to watch the Black Belts that were testing for degrees perform Short 2, 3rd Exam, and Kanku Sho. That was awesome to see. After forms we moved to Self Defnse. We Chan Ban were tested on Haulting Ram (defnse against a tackle from the front), Circling Wings (two handed choke from the front or rear), Locked Wing (a hammer lock), Five Swords (a roundhouse punch), Flashing Wing (straight punch), Sophisticated Crushing Hammer (grab from behind, arms pinned), Repeating Wings (grab from behind arms free), and Grip of Death (sucker punch into a head lock). When we started Self Defense I was getting tired. I think it was due to the stress and the fact that it was hot in the building. I startled some people when upped my intensity and started yelling with my kiais to bring up my internal reserves... It's amazing to me how well that works to bring my energy level up when I'm tried. After self defense we moved to Sparring, I knew it was goining to be fun when I was warming up and was able to throw a side kick into a double roundhouse, into a hook kick followed by a back hand, to an L2 to the body. Luckily there were two guys that were testing for the same rank that were the same size as me. I discovered that my tactics work against other people with long arms and legs as well as they do against short (I'm the biggest guy at my stuido). It was lots of fun! There were 21 people promoting, about half of them were testing for 1st Degree Black, 1 was going for 2nd Degree, and two were going for 3rd. There were 5 of us testing for Han Ban Bu (last rank in Provisionary, next rank is 1st degree). The organization was trying a new method of testing using a point system. They're tring to do an objective method of testing. The panel (3 3rd degrees, and 2 5th degrees) went into the office to confer about the results. 5 minutes later they came out and informed us about the new point system they were trying. Points were added for things and points were subtracted for doing things. Then they told us that we had all passed. That was a good thing, Master Lawrence upped the bar for passing a couple tests ago and no one passed! So all the studios had to up the bar to make sure that people would pass. The testing proceedure was also changed so that only the people going for Han Ban Bu and above would have to attend regional tests. But then those that were going for 1st degree and above also had another test before Master Lawrence. I guess that's happening next week. I might be posting another wish for good luck next week because they're doing Instructor Certification/Advancement at the same time next week. So I might go for that next week, or it might be when I go down to test for 1st degree (assuming I pass the regional exam). All I can say is WOW!!!! Two years of hell, and three years of training are finally starting to pay off. I've been working part time, going to school mostly full time for the past two years, working on a Black Belt for three years, and doing Instructor Training for almost two years now. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I PASSED! I PASSED! I PASSED! Thanks again for your support everyone!

Well I'm driving down for my last Provisionary Black Belt Test. Assuming I pass I'll be testing for 1st Degree in October!

I was thinking along these lines the other day, I study an offshoot of American Kenpo. Not everyone's cup of tea, but if you want very effective self defense then I feel that AK is an excellent way to go. Then general idea is to examine a situation and run through possible scenarios, such as if they throw a right hook and I counter by ducking under it, what options do they have available to them, and what options do I have available to me. But then again most "Traditional" AK schools end up looking like Superman fighting Lois Lane. Instead of hitting hard, hitting fast, and moving on.

I'd consider the "Infinite Insights into Kenpo" series by Ed Parker key in any collection. Check the kenponet.com mall if you're interested.

Bushido, funny you should mention goal oriented. Goal setting is one of the biggest skills that students are expected to learn at BLK. Angry, that's cool about the Aikido stuff, I don't think I've been taught any of that stuff per-se. But joint manipulation is fun, as well as useful.

By the Aikido do you mean stuff like Locked Wing, Twisted/Spiraling Twig?

As far as clubs go, they're more levels of commitment I guess you could say. Each level includes all the curriculum from the level before it. There's the "Classic Karate" as my intructor calls it. It's the basic curriculum for the whole system. You learn basic self, but effective self defense, basic Katas and Forms, very basic boxing, and some "Showtime" kick (jumping, variations of basic kicks). This is what's required to earn a Black Belt in the system. At the "Black Belt Club" level, some basic weapons are introduced: Nunchucks, Escrima Sticks, and Bo Staff, there are forms that go with each of those. There are extra self-defense techniques that are taught as well. You also start sparring at Yellow as opposed to Purple in the "Classic" program. More boxing skills are included. At the "Masters Club" level bladded weapons are introduced Kamas, Bokken/Shanai (which translates into the Katana at 3rd degree Black), and Sai. There are forms that go with each of those. My instructor has also included some other forms that Master Lawrence has pulled from the system for some reason (Heian Nidan, Yondan, Tekki Shodan, Bassai Dai). More boxing skills are taught as well as more Self Defense techniques. Interactions between different weapons are also taught. Then there's the "Instructor Training" level, it includes leadership training, more weapons forms, more empty hand forms, more self defense, kick boxing skills are also taught. There are three levels to the instructors program. Year One: Happy Wander: The student is given responsibilities in class, such as helping other students, and spreading energy in the class. Year Two: Assistant Instructor: The student generally starts leading basics and other sections of classes, occasionally an entire class. Year Three: Instructor: If the school can support it, this is generally where other paid positions come into play. *When this third year is completed the student is considered to be ready to run their own school or a club. (* at least that's my understanding) Also at each level there are extra classes that are taught for each specific level, such as two extra classes a month focusing on Black Belt Club skills, two extra focusing on Masters Club skills, and an extra 1-2 classes per week for Instructor Trainning. I think the school owner really decides the ammount of extra classes. There's also other clubs like SWAT and STORM, SWAT is kind of the teenage leadership, and STORM is the demo team. Wow that's a lot of stuff, now that I look at it...

I study at the Logan Studio. I think as far as TKD goes, some of the kicks we learn are imported from TKD. At least that's the impression I got from one of Master Lawrence's books.

Sweet! a board with other BLK people on it! Which studio do you study at Angry?