KarateEd

As far as death blows go, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding Max Baer (a boxer from the 1920s-30s). "Baer fought Frankie Campbell (brother of Brooklyn Dodgers star Dolph Camilli) on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco and with only two blows, knocked him out. Campbell never regained consciousness. After lying on the canvas for nearly an hour, Campbell was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he eventually died of massive brain hemorrhaging. An autopsy revealed that Baer's devastating blows had knocked Campbell's entire brain loose from the connective tissue holding it in place within his cranium. Ed

Get ready to learn A LOT of languages! In my school we count in both Korean and Japanese, but the rest of our commands are in Korean, though we learn a little terminology in both Japanese and Chinese. Ed

Just plain old black, no other markings, probably about 2" across (I'm at work and don't have it with me to get the actual measurement) Ed

What do I love most from the martial arts? 1) Learning - there is always more to learn, whether it is kicks, joints locks, punches, theory, or history there will always be something new to learn. 2) Opportunities - Opportunities to meet new people, to teach students and watch them grow from beginners that can't even make a proper fist to a deft practitioner, opportunities to push oneself beyond previous limits, and opportunities to fight (spar) in a controlled environment so that it won't be completely strange if I ever have to fight in an uncontrolled environment. 3) Camaraderie - Making lasting friendships and finding new friends because of a common interest in MA. 4) Pursuit of Perfection - the goal that will never let me try to just "get by" and, due to the impossible attainment of this pursuit, this goal keeps me humble, respectful and patient with others. Ed

I learned about my current school from a friend of mine (we had been in TSD classes together until the school closed years earlier). His Dad knew the instructor through his work. Ed

This is a little bit different from what ya'll have been talking about, but my instructor teaches us to be friendly and greet new/visiting/prospective students as soon as possible, especially if one is of higher rank. I'm a shy person so this took a little getting used too. Anyhow, whenever I visit another school I always notice just how "friendly" they are. It is one aspect of how I judge a school when visiting. I guess I have just become used to "doing it our way" and measure others by it. Ed

Cool stuff Eric7_27! Congratulations. Ed

Sohan, IMHO I don't think they were ready to be black belts. As some one else mentioned, there probably was some behind-the-scenes "goings-on" that prompted their departure. As you and others have said I think you are better off for it. Ed

The nice thing about a party is that you can spread that cost over several people. Ed

I took TSD years ago (back in '80s). It was a World TSD school. I recently went into a WTSD school just to watch and noticed that Grandmaster Jae C. Chin is still alive and kickin' (excuse the pun) I don't remember a whole lot of specifics from my TSD days. I do remember learning Bassai as a brown belt. I have since learned this same form in TKD and Japanese Karate, each a little different. Ed

That MT guy was impressive! He had booming power in his kicks, it was obvious in how his body moved that he was utilizing his entire body to kick. The TKD guy's kicks didn't have a lot of mustard on 'em. Looks like he was used to fighting for points. Does MT routinely teach grabbing of the leg such as this fighter was doing or was he simply taking advantage of the TKD guy wearing pants? Ed

I haven't heard of the Christian Martial Arts Association. I'll have to look it up on the Internet. It is nice to know others have had similar experiences to mine. Ed

I learned something from it. I thought (and once heard on television ) that it was invented by slaves in Brazil, but I now know that it traveled with the slaves over from Africa. Interesting stuff. Ed

Here's an interesting Capoeira article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira Ed

bushido_man96, White/color belt testing in my school follows this pattern, students are broken into testing groups, usually lower ranks going first. The others sit off to the side. Students first demonstrate basic techniques (blocks, kicks, strikes), then move into more advanced skills to include various combinations (during this period a "judge" may ask a student to perform any variety of odd combinations so long as it contains no skills above that students exposure. This is a great way to test for mushin or if the student goes to what Takuan Soho calls the "abiding place," however, it is more prevalent at higher ranks). Next comes forms and then the various one-step and three-step sparing techniques. This ends the stratified testing section and everyone is included in the sparring section, though every student may not spar all other testing students. Last is board breaking if any is to be done (I can't remember at what level students start breaking boards, it has been a while since I have been around a color belt testing). I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Ed

Congratulations kyokushin_coe! Ed

I dug through some papers and found the name of my instructor's teacher, his name is Chun D. Lee and he is based out of Stockton, CA NOT San Diego. Anyhow, I said I would post this info when I was able to look it up. Ed

NightOwl, Thanks for the links to the videos. They were quite entertaining especially the one with the "Ninja" in it. The Katana was pretty impressive slicing 3 .50 cal rounds in half before it to split in half. Ed

$25 a month and this allows me to train in 3 different locations, with classes offered about 4 days a week. Its a good deal. Ed

Let me clarify that my instructor was there on site, so I received personal instruction. I was just graded via videotape. Was it effective? Hmmm...good question. I have sat in on or been a judge at many testings of both blackbelts and white/color belts and the nice thing about in-person testing is that if a person does the same or similiar techniques wrong several times a judge can always ask them to repeat it or a similar move to check if their incorrect technique was just random (due to nervousness, perhaps) or a bad habit. On a videotape what you see is what you get, you can't delve into it any further and you are limited to just one viewing angle unless multiple cameras are in use. Those are my biggest concerns, but I do think it can be a valid way of evaluating students. Ed

Well, we were in a remote, classified location at the time, so that was the best way to do it. Ed

The BB of C, As I am learning from this thread and the other KSW thread, you an I approach MA training from two different perspectives. You're probably real athletic, I don't know if I am or not. I like a slower pace than you, though not a plodding one. As for "[getting] as good as possible as soon as possible" I don't guess I really know what you mean because I don't think we are operating with the same definition of good. My formula (or definition) for "good" in regards to MA contains the element of time. Therefore, I believe "[getting] good" requires time, so that "soon" doesn't really fit into the equation. Anyhow as I said before, we apparently have two different perspectives. Ed

The training environment was informal. However, when we tested we video taped ourselves and sent it to my instructor's teacher for review and grading/judging. I can not remember what the name of my instructor's teacher is, but I have the documents at my parents house and will look up his name next time I am there. He was located in California, around San Diego, I believe. The BB of C, looks like you want a KSW instructor with the philosophy of my KSW instructor and vice-versa. Ed

I haven't read all the responses (probably should, but...). I am a Christian and have been training for years. Ki/Chi is, as others have said, a natural force/phenomenon. Utilizing Ki/Chi doesn't mean that you are blowing off God. It is similar to eating carbohydrates before running a marathon to load up on energy in that one is using a natural force to improve one's performance. Ki/Chi doesn't usurp/replace God unless you let it (ie, start worshiping it instead of God). Of course, anything can replace God if it comes between you and your relationship with Him. As a matter of fact I have trained in rooms that were part of a church campus for years and once performed a demonstration at a church! Hope this helps, Ed

I enjoyed it, but I did have a problem with the introduction of more advanced techniques so early in training. I already had MA experience when I trained in KSW so I was competent in the basics, but a beginner might pick up some bad habits jumping into more advanced techniques before honing their basics. Also, I remember doing hook kicks from a front stance position and my hips just didn't like it. I am used to doing any kick from a fighting stance, not a front stance. As I mentioned earlier I enjoyed the joint locking/pressure point techniques, they were different from what I had learned up to that point. I trained in KSW while I was in the desert so we didn't have a formal dojang populated with martial artists of varying experience in the KSW system, so as far as the environment/structure of a KSW training hall I cannot provide adequate information. Ed