AndrewGreen

No, Jab may get a little more because you don't normally throw your body behind it as much. Thai boxing is a little different then western boxing in terms of how they punch. In Muay Thai you need to avoid committing your weight to your lead leg, so instead of powering punches by shifting your weight and turning your hips they will throw more from the upper body. Also good to know how to do if your leg has been getting kicked a lot and you can't shift your weight on to it. Almost a natural adaptation, the leg kicks take the power out of the legs, which can allow you to hit harder, so instead they power them from the shoulders. Muay Thai fighters also tend to not do much damage with there hands compared to other combat sports. The Knees, elbows and kicks are what wins Muay Thai fights.

Books and videos are great... as long as you are also training on a mat against other people

Martial arts is a unregulated industry, you are not required to have anything except a business license. Insurance, your landlord will require certain things, and you should protect yourself. Same for waivers, cpr, etc. It's not required, but a good idea. If you're teaching kids keep an open door at all times, let parents stay, never be alone with a kid. Again, not a requirement, just to protect yourself. Contracts - In a church basement no, in a commercial space they are pretty much a neccessity. You need to be able to pay the bills and maintain a steady income to do so. Just make them fair to your clients. Be prepared to put a lot of time and money into it. Working full time plus running a full time business will burn you out if you are not careful. And make no mistake, it is a business, if you don't think of it as one it will fail. But that doesn't mean you have to compromise on what you teach, just that you have to advertise, you have to sell it, and you have to charge enough to keep the doors open.

It's a rare thing, but it can work. Unfortunately it is easier to escape then a regular triangle and harder to secure. As for the hooks, in the sequence from lockflow he goes to a butterfly guard first.

There are many ways to throw a round kick, they do different things. Instep however, is a dangerous one in that there are a lot of small, easily breakable bones. Not a problem if your footware is appropriate. Shin is good for landing the power strikes, its the biggest and can deliver the hardest blows. Ball of the foot can be used for snapping techniques. Not as much power but a lot faster, kind of like a jab. With shoes the toe tip can be used as well. It's a different kind of pain...

You don't have to cut back on carbs, carbs are important. No carbs = no energy. It's where you get them from that matters. Fruits / Vegies = good source of carbs. Pasta / breads / cereals = bad source of carbs. Creatine can be dangerous, if you don't know what you are doing. I had a student (academic not martial arts) that went on Creatine too loose weight knowing nothing about it. Needless to say she didn't feel to good soon after starting. If you do go on it do your reading and drink LOTS of water. It makes your muscles absorb more water, meaning if you don't drink lots you get dehydrated.

SIze and Strength is a big part of it, hence the reason weight classes are so important in combat sports. Of course a lot of idiots think that 90lbs little asian men and chubby Pressure point masters can drop football players with ease.

How thick the material is and how many rows of stiching there are. In general don't bother with a student weight one unless it is for someone under 10.

Well, that depends... are they similar weight? How skilled is the MA fighter? What rules does he train under? Size + strength + skill those are the things that win fights, Depends who's total is higher

I'm going to partially disagree here... Select the moves you are going to drill daily a little more carefully then working through a book. For the next few months worry about 1 move, possibly 2 for some, from each position. Make yourself a little chart if you like, Basically this is what you need: Mounted - Bridge and Roll Sidemounted - Elbow escape guard - Scissor Sweep (Ignore submissions from guard for now, learn to position yourself first and no matter what anyone tells you, if you are on your back you are in a inferior position) In Guard - Arm under pass On mount - Arm bar, cross face and grap the tricep to set up On the back - rear Naked Side mount - Get to mount Turtle - Sit out (and avoid getting mounted using elbows) That's 8 techniques on the ground, add a double leg, hip throw, sprawl, digging for underhooks and that brings it up to 12... Work those 12 things and when you're sparring go for them. Once you can reliably do all of them on guys with a month or 2 experience then think about adding more. Key thing is those techniques will cover most of your basic movements, once you got them others will come much easier.

If it ishas been doing this a while go to a doctor and stop doing it for now. Things like this have a nasty habit of becoming permanent if you don't let them heal. Find out what is wrong and how to treat it. If it means taking a month off do it, better a month now then several years later.

Sometimes, but being in a high school amplifies those things 100 fold.

Teenage boys can't show weakness, especially when in martial arts. The two combined is like taping a big bullseye to your back.

There are lots of movement drills you can work on solo. Sitouts, bride & roll, shrimping, getting to your knees, feet, shooting, etc.

Great idea on their part, from a money making POV. You've invested 3-years of training, want to have it recognized, pay up or you get nothing. If even a few pay, they're laughing. And with most people quitting shortly after black anyways, what do they got to loose? $6000 would cover you for 5 years easily at most places. If they can get it out of you all in one shot, and then probably send you on your way soon after, if 1 / 10 who reach that point pay up that's a pretty sweet deal. So, I'd say find a new school, one that is honest about their business practices.

Here ya go: http://www.seishinkan.com/seishin/sskbuki/howto/nunstring01.htm

Destroy the lead leg through a couple hard kicks, if you're not used to it one or two will do it, and suddenly you can't put weight on your lead leg. This kills footwork and power on all your techniques. The lead leg is one of the best targets you can hit to weaken an opponent. They need it too move quickly and to hit hard.

Fendcing is great fun, Back in boxings beginnings (Broughton rules) it was based on fencing, taught by fencers. It may give you some new ideas about the jab, as essentially that is what it is all about. Footwork is quite different as it is all forward and back, but it definately won't hurt you... well maybe a little, but it will be a good hurt

Okinawan styles vary, some are hip, some are ribs.

But you shouldn't have to, well, not entirely. A good coach should be there telling you what to work on and how, not just dropping you in and telling you to learn from your mistakes. If that is the case why bother with a coach at all, just get a group of buddies and start sparring in the basement. The reason I mentioned Boxing is because sparring is the end result. Coaches don't become coaches without knowing how to teach people to spar. In many other forms of martial arts this is not always the case. Some coaches can, some can't. To a beginner it is hard to tell.

Boxing or Muay Thai. I reccomend Boxing, at least to start. I disagree, MANY martial arts instructors don't really teach sparring, they just toss people into it and say go. A good coach can get just about anyone that wants it to a decent level, regardless of what they come in with. Decent meaning they can beat beginners with ease and are comfortable sparring, not meaning they are winning belts or trophies.

no, I mean yours. getting hit in it sucks, so better put something in the way.

Stylistic differences in kata. If you're in a fight, put it on your jaw, otherwise where the style says it should be, neither is more or less correct.

There are hundreds of ways to choke a person, different counters are needed for different methods. How are you getting caught?

The "traditional" answer I have on that is if you hang them over 3 fingers they should hang nicely, but with no room to spare. You'll have to learn how to tie them too, then you can do it too whatever length you want. That's Akamine lineage Ryukyu Kobudo answer, other branches might have other preferances, and partially it is what you prefer.