KarateEd

Well stated ps1! Ed

I think you made a good decision, sacrificing now (i.e. spending extra time now learning your second form) can pay dividends in the future. Ed

I agree with ninjanurse. If he presses the issue do as RealWingChunKuen and AikiGuy suggest, be diplomatic, stall him, and, if you feel that you have to show him something, do it very incompetently with the excuse "hey, I just started, I haven't learned much." Ed

:lol:

Congratulations! He's a stout little fella, huh? Ed

One way to avoid a take down is to sprawl. Chuck Liddel is good at this. Try finding videos of some of his fights on YouTube and see how he does it. Also, maybe you can ask one of your classmates to help you with your ground work. Of course, you are just beginning so you have a lot still to learn, so don't be too hard on yourself! Ed

Most dreams make no sense whatsoever, after you wake up, but when you are having them they seem so real. Ed

Mantis Swords has a pretty good selection of both Asian and European swords. Ed

Cane (~red belt); nunchucks (brown belt); escrima sticks (1st dan BB); finally, weapon of choice. Ed

What would ya'll consider the definitive Bruce Lee biography? Or, is it best to read a certain collection of books in order to get the full story of his life? Ed

I didn't say I would volunteer to be the punching bag! Isn't that what Buster is for?

Welcome to the boards, man! Ed

Thanks for posting links to those videos. You have good kicks and you held the center of the "ring" very well in that first video. Just keep those hands up and punch a little more! Ed

rotfangcon, Don't worry about your performance. It was your first tournament after all. I remember at my first tournament, many moons ago , that I was a bit nervous, because I didn't know what to expect and the Grandmaster was going to be there. Personally, if someone corrects an error as you did whilst demonstrating a form, I don't hold it against them (I haven't ever officiated a tournament, though, just graded students during testings). As for nervousness, I have found that repeatedly doing whatever it is that makes me nervous reduces the jitters over time. However, they probably won't ever go away completely, which is a good thing IMHO. Ed

In my school we spar at most of our testings. However, it is not a requirement and doesn't determine whether the student passes or fails. We have a few different scenarios during testing. 1) Students that are testing and of the same or are close in rank spar each other. They "go at it." 2) Students will spar a higher ranking student (who is also testing, if possible). The lower rank is expected to take it to the higher rank and the higher rank is expected to demonstrate some degree of restraint in the techniques he/she uses against the lower rank 3) Sometimes students will spar a non-tester which is usually of considerably higher rank. This is done to test the lower ranks ability to "take it to the higher ranking student." The higher ranking student understands, in this situation, that it is not his role to show off his skills. Ed

Maybe we have a good experiment suitable for Mythbusters! blackxpress makes a good point, though. As I sit here contemplating my fist, it seems that when I make a nice tight one it doesn't really have room for any foreign object. Also, it seems that holding something would change the shape of your fist so that it would become difficult to actually strike properly. Ed

I didn't say it legitimized his training, I said that his motivation in buying a black belt may have been, in his mind, to legitimize his training. In other words, wearing this black belt, to him, would make his training seem worthwhile or authoritative. I agree that such an attitude demeans the efforts of everyone that has earned their black belt through the proper methods and channels. Ed

That's cool, USCMAAI! Ed

Congratulations!

Cool, man! Congratulations Ed

I agree, lortariel. Ed

It doesn't sound like this fellow is a beginner and should have better control than what you experienced. For someone at this guy's level we have a rule in our dojang, hit someone hard without control and expect to get hit back just as hard (or harder). Also, the side stepping suggestion is good, sound advice (and is something that I definitely need to work on). Ed

I have only been asked "show me what you got" in a joking manner, so I usually reply with some sort of nonsense. Ed

Well, it did seem a bit like a McDojo (I am not equating having BB levels with McDojos, it is just that this is the first place at whcih I had seen such a thing). I can see how it would be useful in keeping students motivated, or how it could be used as an indicator so that an instructor could, with one look at the belt, get an idea of just what that student should or shouldn't know (particularly useful in a national organization with schools all over the country where students may earn a BB in one school, move, and join another school but still be in the same national organization). ninjanurse, what you describe is very similar to what this instructor was describing to me. How long has your MA organization used BB levels? Thanks for the replies, Ed

What is a good source for quality hakamas? I am interested in the divided (umanori) type. Thanks, Ed