AndrewGreen

I think that most striking people, especially traditionalists, really lack in knowledge about takedowns. Shooting is a very well developed skill, it is not simply charge at him and try to grab him. Shoots are set up and designed to go past the lines of defence. Grapplers are more aware of striking then strikers are of grappling. Probably just because striking is much more visible. Boxing, kickboxing and Muay thai all get tv time. Wrestling (not WWE) and submission don't. And anyone who hasn't seen the first few UFC's really should watch them. They where the closest to pure style vs style fights in a big event.

Everyone seems to think the staff is a good place to start and is one of the more effective and easy to use weapons. Not really. Against shorter weapons staffs get jammed up pretty easily, especially with beginners. A short stick (2 ft) or to of them seems to be the weapon of choice for sparring amongst most of my newer weapons students. They are easy to become effective with fairly quickly. Most hate the staff as it is awkward and hard to defend with at first. For forms I used to teach bo first. Now I usually do Nunchaku and then let them choose. But really it just comes back to what you want to do with it. If you want to spar to win I'd say go with a shield and sword. But effective for competition, for fun, for self-defence, etc. Are all different and depend on you, you're abilities and your interests. Don't listen to anyone else, try it and figure it out for yourself. Want to know which is most effective for fighting, get a group of people to learn the basics a few each and spar, a lot.

depends on what you want to do with it...

No, that would be "bodo"... but you'll never here that. Bojitsu is usually used. Ko - Old/ancient Bu - Martial (same as budo, bushido, etc.) Do - way

Kobudo means "old martial way" Within an okinawan context that means the weapons training. Within a japanese context it is just old styles, styles that have a long lineage. Bo and sai are the two main weapons of Okinawan Kobudo. Other popular ones are: Tonfa, Nunchaku, kama. Less popular ones: Timbae (shield used with short spear/machete/sword) 3 sectional staff, eku/kai (boat oar) Tekko (knuckle duster) Suruchin (weighted chain) manji sai (sai but one prong up, one down) Nunti-bo (spear with manji sai on end), Kuwa (a hoe... don't ask) There are some others, depends on who you train with. I teach most of the above. The only one we've never use is the kuwa. Nunti-bo & suruchin not very often, same for manji sai.

Both. Jump in as much as you can while keeping an eye on anyone that needs an eye kept on them. But get in there and do it, it is much easier to help them progress, helps you progress, is fun and it is good for them to see you still in there doing it with them. diadvantages to getting in, its harder to keep everyone doing what they are suppose to, but unless you are working with all complete beginners or young children you should be able to let them be for the most part. At the same time it is also sometimes good to watch from a outside perspective, it can be easier to spot things. It's really up to you and what works best, try both, favour the one that works better for you. But just remember that telling them there mistake will rarely have any effect. Try and create a drill which will force the mistake to be corrected and tell them.

Have them drill fighting, but do so with specific goals. Don't just say go and let them have at it, give them a focus. Drill, drill, drill and drill some more. All kinds The drill has to have an objective. If I want to work the jab, thats what we spar with. Want to keep the hands up, only the head is a target. Want to work combinations, you can only hit in 3's (or 2's, 4's) Want to work a specific combination, only use it. But all of them are sparring, no preset drills. Those won't help much, all they are needed for is sometimes to break down psychological barriers about hitting and being hit at. So lets say you have a brand new student, first day. You teach them posture, movement, covering and a jab. Now have them spar with it. Just a jab, keep moving and keep your hands up. Throw when you get an opening. Throw to create an opening. But just the jab, maybe even just to a particular target to start. Then add other things. What you drill will depend on what you want to develop. You say you can recognize when something is wrong. Now create a drill which isolates it. Bob there drops his hands and exposes his head when he kicks. So now he can only kick, and Joe can only close and attack his head when he kicks. Bob will correct his own mistake or have a very sore nose. What are there strengths/weaknesses. What do they land/what lands on them. Develop a strategy which works within that. Bob can't kick, doesn't have the balance/co-ordination/leg speed or whatever, he just can't do it. Teach him to close and use his hands. You don't need to explain it much, just isolate it and drill it in isolation. Something goes wrong when Bob kicks high but your not sure what. Bob can only use high kicks, Joe anything and try to narrow it down. You're pretty sure it has nothing to do with Joe's kicks so take them out. Once you isolate it and correct it in isolation put it back into a more "complete" form. Don't let beginners spar beginners with everything. A beginner can slow spar an advanced person with everything if the advanced person is walking them through it and is really isolating and drilling things as they go. If you could give a little about how you spar and what sorts of things you want to develop someone might be able to provide more help.

Against each other it is a range game. At a distance the bo dominates, in close it looses. Generally the sai can can tie up the bo and enter without taking to much damage and its all over for the bo. With good footwork the bo user can keep distance and strike the sai user as they try to enter while backing up. It also depends on the type of bo you are using, a rattan bo handles and is used very differently then a oak bo. Neither is superior, both are good, it just depends on how you use them. A rattan bo is a lot lighter and bends, it moves a lot faster and is easier to land with. A oak bo is slower, but can cut through many attempts to block.

From your comments I could almost assume you have never punched at a real person before. But I won't do that, because I don't know you. Punches with light gloves are more powerful then without. Why? because the gloves protect the hands more then the head. Nope, same skills and tactics. You forget that they are also playing against someone at there own level. A NFL team in a high school league would be another issue. Then they could do different things, but they're not so they stick to the basics, which are performed better both defensively and offensively. Effective punching is a very complex skill, have you ever fought someone with boxing experience? Yeah whatever. I could also say that the McDojo's are the ones that try to sell students on "lost" secret skills with foreign names, like "tegumi". What is the Okinawan term for keylock from mount? or the Okinawan term for scissor sweep? Double leg takedown? Ankle pick? Whizzer?

What do you mean by tricks?

Can the average striker deal any punishment before a decent grappler can clinch and put them down? Question works both ways. I don't knoe enough about football to go to far, but is NFL skills and tactics really that different then lower levels? I can hit you in the head a lot harder with a glove then without.

I disagree, they used to, but not anymore. Now they favour a ground and pound style

another Winnipeger... We'll be taking over the forum soon I think

Nope, that doesnt help. Why not just try it?

Not sure what you mean...? A dropping sweep, like a squished spinning hook/cresent kick? If that what you mean then yes it can be used, if it is timed right. I've used it, but more as something I do when I'm just playing around in sparring. Sometimes they got straight over backwards, sometimes they end up in my guard, sometimes they don't go over and I can follow up with a ankle pick or something else, sometimes I end up in a little trouble...

No, Kobayashi Ryu comes from Choshin Chibana, a student of Anko Itosu. It is not connected to Isshin ryu in any significant way. Isshin ryu comes from Chotoku Kyan, Chojun Miyagi, Choki Motobu and Taira Shinken. While Kyan did teach "shorin-ryu" it was a different form and lineage then Kobayashi. Then you are either not looking, or refusing to admit it. Depends on what you mean by kumite, why not just say sparring. It will if you do it right. If you use silly contrived rules which eliminate and restrict useful techniques and promote the use of flashy ones then yes, it will be of LESS value, but not of NO value.

Size 4 or 5 will be too small, Size charts should cover waste size as well. If it is not there ask. You will have to hem the pants and sleeves though.

I teach seperate weapons classes as well, Why? and yes Kobudo (Okinawan/Ryukyu) is related to karate. They are different elements of the Okinawan Martial Arts, empty hand and weaponry. ps: It's Kobu, not kobo

“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” It is a sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet and is used to learn keyboarding skills. I wrote this a while back and it explains what I mean a little more: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=85 (Hope the moderators don't mind me linking to a competitor )

Kata is to karate as "The quick Brown..." is to learning to type.

One that is traditional If I give specific examples of traditional training methods I open the door to anyone to say "I'm traditional and never did that". As I have also claimed that many are wrong, listing any will offend those that do those methods. I would suggest going to the library and reading a few books on coaching. A University Library (with a sports science department) would be a very good starting point. See how what you are doing compares to what those books say you should and should not be doing. This subject could easily have a book written on it and even for a few simple examples the amount of justification and explanation would require a lengthy piece. Also keep in mind that traditional can mean some very different things to different people, which is why I had it in quotes.

All of those things come from training in a sports environment, something "traditional" styles don't provide as well as non-traditional. Pick up just about any book on youth sports and it will tell you about character development. It will also tell you that much of the "traditional" method is wrong for accomplishing those goals.

Give me a specific example of something spiritual learnt in a karate school.

We've been topping -30 a lot and -45 with windchill...

The school may not allow it, either because they don't want you doing it, or there just not insured for it. If you are looking for full contact, find a school that does that. Point sparring and full contact are different in tactics and techniques.