AndrewGreen

Sure won't do the guy any good, but unless YOU can test it, multiple times on multiple people, don't make any assumptions about exactly what will happen. Many, many myths exsist in the martial arts world about "When you do this, .... happens". If you can't personally test it, never assume that it will happen as advertised any more then thinking that "belly zapper" thing you saw on an infomercial will give you a six pack by electricuting your belly while you lie on the couch and eat nachos.

1 - There is always something that you can find for someone that can't train to do. Have her help out a couple younger students, have her try some refereeing, switch to doing something that she can do. I don't like the have everyone sit down idea as it means a bunch of people that should be training aren't. 2 - Get him to do some sparring, go hard, as few rules as possible. Pick him apart and humble him. Then tell him if he wants to learn he shuts up and does what he's told like everyone else or goes somewhere else. Don't let him keep running his mouth or it will spread. As long as he thinks he knows better he'll be a problem, if you want to solve the problem you got to break that thought of his, which means not leaving him any outs. (ex. "If I where allowed to do this...." or "Had it been full contact....") If that's not the way your club spars point him to a local boxing gym, Muay Thai Guym, BJJ school, wrestling club, MMA school, etc. they will sort that out for him.

Not that I know of. Kobudo is hard enough to find as it is, and I've never heard of sai being taught as a stand alone. Most teachers I would imagine seeing that like teaching only snap kicks instead of karate...

Same goes for a grappler that can't keep from getting hit. The two don't seperate nicely, leaving out positional grappling is like leaving out footwork. Without it you're gonna get beat by someone that trained it. If you want to strike you still need to train striking in the clinch and on the ground. If you want to grapple you still need to train footwork and defending strikes. There is no grappler vs striker seperation. You NEED to be able to move effectively anywhere you might end up in order to be able to fight.

yup, sai is the second most used weapon in Kobudo, pretty much everyone use them.

On that... If you are going to use a makiwara, use a proper one. The board in the ground that is padded and has a good spring to it. Do not use those cheap boards that you buy out of catalogues. You will regret it in the long run.

Nah, that makes no sense. So if I want to learn to play basketball I got to master dribbling before learning how to shoot? But that's all one sport? ok, so schools got it wrong, you should master math before you start LA or Science or any other subject? Different people have different goals in the Martial Arts, some want to master and preserve a traditional system. Others have no interest in doing that. But mostly I'd say that gets said as a way of instructors keeping there students from wandering of and trying things that involve giving there money to someone else Like if walmart where to tell you that you can't shop anywhere else until you'd bought everything they had to offer. Only the RIAA tries to do that sort of thing

Liddel, Silva, Belfort, Maurice Smith... Just to name a few off the top of my head. Lots of top guys like to win by strikes. It's not a matter of which you do, you need to be able to control where the fight takes place, and that means knowing a good deal of both even if you specialize in one. There are no pure grapplers or strikers fighting anymore, It started that way, but has evolved into a distinct system of fighting. What you are talking about isn't grappler vs Striker, it is Submission vs KO. Everyone that wants any chance has to be able to move and defend effectively from any position. The better fighter is the one who can control which positions the fight takes place in, and has an advantage in the one that it does.

If you feel you need something new, do something new. Different people have different objectives in there training. Some might want to do one style for 40 years, others need some variety. I'd say it's the tradition of Cross training that has gotten lost. Back in ye olden days cross training was common. Most, if not all, of those old masters did it, that's why each one ended up with a different style. I would also say that this: contradicts this: If you want more then what is there, look outside of that box. Things might fit together quite nicely depending on how you approach it. But if you want to stick to traditional Shotokan, what you got is what is there (providing you got a good instructor...)

With a strong wrestling background you need to learn how to hit people, and get hit in return. A group that trains MMA is the best bet... providing they are good at it. If that is a no-go look for Boxing or Muay Thai is also a good bet. SInce you mentioned Muay Thai, did you try looking for a Boxing gym? Most cities have at least one pro/am boxing gym... If there are no full tiem commercial gyms there might be a smaller group training out of a Community center or YMCA. Still nothing, Well, I'm not sure exactly how things are set up down there up in Canada we have a National Sports Association, and under that provincial ones. And they would be able to point me too any boxing gyms that compete under them. CHances are your State has something similar.

Having seen old texts from as far back as the 18th century which discuss how to throw a jab, I'd say you're mistaken.

Kobudo means" old martial ways" What you are taliking about isn't Japanese, it's Okinawan. Japanese Kobudo is any number of systems that trace back to before the Meiji restoration and can be swordsmanship, juijitsu, etc. Okinawan Kobudo is very similar to karate in structure, and most karate schools do teach some Kobudo. Generally you start off with the Bo (staff) as it is the primary weapon and most kata use it. Then progress into other weapons according to the syllabus of the system you are training in. There are many stylistic differences between the different branches of Kobudo. The two main ones would be Matayoshi's lineage and Taira Shinken's Lineage. They do different kata and preferom basic techniques differently. They are different in the same way Goju-ryu and Shorin-ryu are different.

Okinawan's used a well padded and very springy board for punching. It did harden the skin, but it primarily was too build power through plyometrics, sort of like a resistance band would do.

No, I think it's a bad idea. I think a good idea is getting some handwraps, some 16 oz gloves and hitting a heavy bag is a good idea. Why? Because you only get one set of hands, and they have to last you many more years. Doing things that damages them intentionally is not a good idea.

Isn't that the whole idea? Figure out what works for you and make it work? If it's all untested theory and demo's on dummies then it's kind of silly... unless of course that is what you are looking for, but if you're making it work on live opponents then isn't that the main goal?

Be careful in what you are doing. Finger tips aren't really well structured for hitting things with and overdoing it may cause you to regret it in a few years... I did it too for a while, was able to hit pretty solid with my finger tips. Wish I hadn't done that now though... same for toe tips... Not much practical value to it, more of a novelty technique used to impress people. Get into something for real and the adrenal dump will get you back to fists and basic movements in a hurry, far too big of risk of hitting funny and breaking them. Professional fighters break there fists in fights all the times, and fists are fairly solid, fingers on the other hand... And I would also imagine they train to hit things with there fists a lot more then you train to hit things with your fingers.

Good luck!

Yoga is not a martial art... Just as something can be a Martial art if it isn't asian, Asian things aren't always martial arts... Fencing is, at least as much as any Asian system. Dictionaries are largely a waste of time when it comes to defining words that are debateable, you'll find a short, one line answer that might give you a general idea, but not a full description. Looking at the words individually is also a waste as pretty much none of the things we consider martial arts ever had anything to do with warfare. Mostly civillian self-defence, streetfighting and duelling, with maybe a little law enforcement on the side. But not far, no one goes to war unarmed...

Holding you to a 3-year contract when you can't pay is rather unethical to say the least, even if you could pay there should be a cancelation clause. It's not in there best interest to keep you on a contract if you don't want to be there either. Simple out, write up a press release detailing your experience and send it to the owner with a note saying that if he can't deny it's inaccuracy (by letting you out) you will forward it to all local news agencies. I'd imagine you'll be out of it pretty fast

Lot's of different way to try and improve that. Pyramiding, Do 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 - That's 12 done, have a little rest in between. After that's comfortable go to 5, which will give you 25. Elevate your hands or go from your knees. Decrease the amount of weight until the mechanics are cleaned up and the muscles stronger. Just do 5, not 10 don't burn yourself out, but do 5 everytime you get the opportunity, so 10 or more times throughout the day. Every week or so do as many as you can without rest and keeping good form. Take a day off, then use 1/2 that number to do everytime you get the chance.

Well, it's been over a year since my last post, so I decided I might as well re-introduce myself. My Name is Andrew Green, I run a small club in Winnipeg. I've been doing Martial Arts for about 16 years now, durring the day I am also an instructor, but for a community based College program. My interests are primarily in MMA, grappling, boxing/kickboxing and weapons fighting, but I do have a fair knowledge of Karate and traditional weapons too as that is a part of my history.

Stories get exagerated to sell the art Nothing magical about it though, same thing goes for any art that trains "full contact" and live from day one. 3-4 months under a good boxing coach with well-coached sparring from day one will result in a better fighter then some traditional striking arts fighters, all depends on how they where trained. Beating a wrestler - As was stated, this is because of rules. Wrestlers have some habits that play into BJJ guys hands, they often turn there back rather then be on it, got no idea what to do in someone's guard, etc. Let them ground and pound and you might see different results though.

Well, first you got to break the guard: Note - There are other ways, this is just a fairly common one. This also DOES NOT work with strikes, this is a submission grappling method only. With strikes you will likely get punched in the face then swept or submitted. Step 1 - Get position First thing you have to do is protect yourself from being swept or submitted. First you want a good wide base with your knees, keep them outside of either side his hips, this will also restrict his hip mobility. Now get your weight down low, butt to heels and keep it there. In order to attack he needs use of his arms, his hips or both. So we have to tie them up. Also if he has control of your arms you will be unable to pass his guard, and in danger of a submission. So use your head to pin him. You are using it as a third hand to keep him flat on the floor. At the same time you are protecting yourself from a whole bunch of sweeps and submissions that require your head to be up to do. Now we want to control the arms as well, in order to break the guard so that we may pass / stand up / leg lock we need to control the inside line. So start working to control his arms at the elbow and keep them up and away from him. Do not fight him with strength, instead relax and bring your arm back inside and reset when he tries to fight out. It takes practice but you do not want to rely on strength when doing this. *A simple drill is to get into a closed guard and fight for control of the arms. He is trying to get underhooks / overhooks / neck ties, you are trying to pin his arms out. Ok, now we’re safe, time to start working into position to break the guard. Step 2 - Posture the legs With his arms tied up with your arms, and him pinned on his back with your head you are fairly safe to adjust your base to a less stable position, but one you can use to break his guard. Stick your right knee right into his tail bone it is going to be used as a wedge. Your left foot is going out to the left and back a bit so that he can’t reach it to grab it. Make sure you keep yourself low and your head pressing down. Step 3 - Move the hands into position. Now that we have the base we need to break we have to move your hands into position. They are going to move from his elbows to his hips and take over the job that your head was doing so that you can posture up. Your arms will be far enough back to make attacking difficult, especially with his hips pinned to the floor. The most common mistake that gets made is to bring the head up before the hands are on the hips. This opens you up to a number of sweeps and submissions during this step. Keep your head down. Step 4 - Straighten up Now that the hands are in place pressing the hips to the floor you can bring your head up. Keep the pressure down on his hips and straighten yourself up, here your butt comes away from your heels and your head away from him. Step 5 - Break the guard Using that right knee as a wedge sit back and keep his hips pressed to the floor with your hands. If the guard is not breaking use your right elbow to press down on his leg to assist, keeping your hand on his hips. Now that his guard is broken you can pass, fall back to a leg lock or stand up and separate. Other methods of guard breaking work of similar ideas, First you protect yourself and control the inside line. Adjust your base if you need to, put your hands in position, posture up and break it. The important thing to realise is that if you loose control at any time you must start over, otherwise you are in danger. So if you get to step 4 and he gets an underhook go back to step 1 or you could be in trouble. ========== After that you get to pass, here's a couple basic ideas: Going under the leg - Keep one hand holding his hips down, (Or he can lift his hips and triangle you) the side that you're leg is out on, reach under the other leg and drive forward putting your hand to the floor on the opposite side of his head, Keep him stacked hard. Once he is folded the hand that was on his hips will move to the floor, right be his hip so that he can't turn. Walk around to the side keeping him stacked hard and his leg will slide under you and you end up in side mount (or a cradle if you like). Don't lift your head to get his leg to go under, stay low the whole time. Get to your feet and hold onto his ankles driving his knees into him. In a quick motion switch from driving them in to throwing them straight out and step around to the side. So if you are stepping around to the left your right leg moves around him. Immediately plant your right knee on his stomache to prevent him from being able to just bring his legs back to guard, then drop to side mount. And one more: Again, stand up controlling the ankles, this time away from his body. Swing his legs to the left, then the right, then throw them hard to the left, follow him in getting knee to the belly and then drop to side mount.

Here's what kids classes should look like http://onedragon.com/prod_paw_video.shtml

Many senior instructors don't like teaching kids, and pull a deligate and disapear act. As if the kids class doesn't really matter, anyone can teach it. Kids classes also require a higher instructor / student ratio. So there are more positions to fill, and less people wanting to do it. When your at the bottom, you get the jobs others don't want. I love teaching kids.... I also enjoy teaching adults. The two are very different and require different methods. One thing I can't stand is to see someone that hates kids teaching a kids class. Kid's need to have fun in class, if they don't they won't learn anything. Instructors that try to run a kids class like an adult class rarely get anywhere. Just get frustrated that all the kids want to do is play games and not learn. Another thing I can't stand is people that hate kids, but like having the ability to be able to tell others that they teach kids. Be it martial arts, daycare, sunday school, school outings or whatever. If you don't like working with kids then do the kids a favour and let someone that does do it.