Montana

I feel your pain bro. I also have loaned out video's on the head of my system to others and never got them returned. When confronting one guy in particular (an instructor from a totally different system that wanted to see it) it darn near escalated into a full blow fist fight! Not quite..but darn close. He promised to return it to me within a week...then lo and behold..he moved out of state!!!

I used to have a sign on my dojo wall by the entrance that said: The instructor reserves the right to refuse training to ANYONE, at ANY TIME, and for ANY REASON! There were many, many people that I refused to teach for one reson or the other. Known bullies, bad attitudes, glory seekers, etc. And yes, as I've stated many times on this forum, I have kicked out a number of students, both adult and child, out of my classes for various reasons.

There isn't alot of videos of our founder, the late Sensei Kuda Yuichi out there, but here is a GREAT video of Sensei Ronald Lindsey of Bastrop, Tx that shows some very good techniques of how our system works. Note the use of body movment to the side of the attacker..it's an intrigal part of our system and is worked a LOT in class. Also note the use of his leg to block kicks..again, worked a lot in class and sparring. http://www.ikigaiway.com/2013/interview-ronald-lindsey-matsumura-seito-9th-dan-part-2/

100% agreement from me!

It will; vary from city to city, state to state, or country to country. No one here can really answer your question because of the many variables involved. In general though, what has been said already makes a good p-lace to start.

Over the years I've had some of these students, and this is what I do. First of all I warn them and explain why we need to have control. If this fails to resolve the issue, the student then spars with me...or one of my top students, who will gladly match power for power with him. He either learns and starts practicing control, or could face possibly being expelled from the class.

I've seen black belts as young as six...yes, I said 6! Total rubbish IMO.

Well, here's my $.02 worth. Bunkai refers to what the movements in not just kata, but in every movement you learn in a martial art, can be interupted as. Each and every move in a kata can have many, many different meanings. For example..what is a low block? Is it really just a block? Maybe it's a low strike? Or maybe even a throw? Now, take each of these things (block, strike and throw) and you can delve into what different types of strikes it might be used as, or different things it could be blocking, or how many throws can be done with that movement? You are only limited by your experience, imagination and training.

Oh wow..that is BAD lol

EXACTLY! That video was of a young girl wearing a black gi basically twirling 2 nunchaku around (flash, no substance) and doing backflips and cartwheels. She won the all around tournament grand champion weapons kata. Sorry, but I call poo-poo on that sort of stuff.

We kind of suspected his Sensei would have him test, but we didn't know for sure. He really just went over there to train, and at some point, his Sensei told him he was testing. Way back in June of 1978, sensei Kuda Yuichi, the Okinawan head of our system, came to little 'ol Havre, MT at the invitation of my instructor, to work with us for 3 WHOLE WEEKS!!! It was intense, and GREAT! I was a 1st Kyu bown belt and still had a few months to go for my shodan test, but at the end of Sensei Kuda's visit he called us up one by one starting with my instructor, ran us thru various things he wanted to see..and I received my shodan! It was totally unexpected.

This is a video of a 9 year old (or younger) black belt girl doing a double nunchauku kata...what do you think? I'll make my comments in a few days after everybody else gets a chance to post. *****NEVER MIND...I can't find the video now..please erase this thread...sorry

That is very similar (small things) to the Chinto I practice, and he did GREAT!

Do you strike with the instep or the ball of the foot? Both actually, depending on target, opponent positioning, environment, etc. Do you spar in class and/or tournaments with high kicks to the head? NEVER! Do you go straight for the ribs, or try an "angle" for the roundhouse to get under the elbow and to the ribs? Again, it depends on target, opponent positioning, environment, etc. Do you work the heavy bag or a kick shield the same way you fight? Absolutely! Why practice something you won't use? Do you use the Muay Thai-style kick, hitting with the lower shin? Do you strike to the thighs of your opponent? Both are targets, however the kicking style is different than Muay Thai in that we never commit our entire bodys into a technique. It's great if you make contact, but if you miss..you're very exposed and vulnerable. Do you throw the kick from the lead leg, the rear leg, or with a hop or step--or even a jump--and then the kick? All of the above are viable techniques, but we don't tend to jump much. Do you multi-kick with the roundhouse, such as kicking two or three times with that same leg? Yes, but most often a low kick to say the knee, then up to the ribs if yoru opponent bends down to block the first kick. Again, it all depends onb the situation.

IMO, if a student has an infraction, such as bullying or starting fights, and deserves to have his belt taken away...I just kick them out of class permanently instead. I give every new student a standard speech when they join the class, and this speech includes "If I ever hear of you using what I teach you in an aggessive manner, such as starting fights physically, or verbally, you will be kicked out of my dojo pernmanently." And yes, I've enforced this on several occasions.

Well, OK then...with that added info I can understand why you left. Your initial post made it seem like nobody else was getting involved in the situation.

Excuse me for pointing this out, but your neice is also "your family", and from the sounds of it, you were the only reason her husband didn't attack her...and you left? Myself, I would have told my wife and kids to take the car and leave, and stayed at the party and either had my wife come get me later when things calmed down, or caught a ride with somebody else. I agree that your own personal familys safety is most important, but isn't your neices also? It didn't sound like any of the other men were of much help. That's just the way I'd have done it I guess..but I have a bad case sometimes of White Knight Syndrome.

I would say the vast majority of schools don't teach weapons, and in my experience, 90% of those that do teach weapons, shouldn't! This varies from school to school, but I start my students out with the bo at 3rd kyu level. Why that late? Because I want my students to be proficient with their hands and feet (karate) before they go to weapons. Weapons are just an extension of your hands. Check local laws...they vary alot!

AGREED! I have a rattan cane that I used because it's thick (about an inch), tougher than wood, lightweight and totally leagal to carry anywhere in the world, even on air planes!

I practice the following weapons: Bo (6' length) Jo (4' length) Sai Tonfa Kama Nunchaku Cane (the most versatile imo, and legal to carry anywhere, including air planes!) kobutan ashtray car keys telephone pole coffee mug beer glass rope Well...you get the idea. Basically ANYTHING (almost anyway) can be used as a weapon. Once or twice a year I take my students for a walk around town (in street clothes, not gi's) and look for literally anything that can be used to your advantage in a fight. It gets interesting sometimes!

I just wanted to add something to this from my experience. Years ago I was judging a weapons competition at a tournament and a TKD black belt presented himself to the judges saying he was going to show his expertise with a katana. I always inspect a bladed weapon (katana, kama, etc) prior to a person doing their kata to make sure it's safe. This particular katana was a cheap, aluminum (sp?) bladed weapon, and safe as far as I coudl tell. So the kata started....about 4 moves into the kata the guy did a technique that caused the blade of the katana to bend about 45 degrees at tthe base where the hilt meets the blade. He stopped and look at it for a second, then continued his kata. The other judges and I were expecting the blade to fly off the hilt at any moment, but fortunately it didn't, and he finished the kata with a smile. Before the other judges and I voted and gave him his score I huddled with them for a moment and told them that it wasn't his fault the blade bent, so please ignore that in their judging, and only judge him on the actual kata and technique. He was pretty embarassed about it though lol.

When you post a video of yourself you open yourself up to critique from others..which is braver than I am! lol I don't know what actualy belt you hold, but from an instructors (since 1978) point of view and a long time tournament judges opinion, I would say your hand techniques were good, except a few were kind of low (outside block for instance), but speed and power (kicks also) were good for a mid-level belt. Where I would suggest you focus more attention to are your overall stances, which seemed nearly straight legged at times, and not strong. I also do an Okinawan system and use higher/shorter stances. Again, not knowing what actual belt level you hold, I would estimate you are around a 6 kyu level or so?

My wife and I have this already worked out. She screms hysterically, and I fight.

There are so many funny moments it's hard to pick just one....but.... I had a adult student once that had an issue with his jaw. It popped loudly when he talked and was the source of jokes in class. We were sparring one day wearing full contact bogu gear (Okinawan sparring gear) and I had a wide open shot (punch) at his head that rocked him backwards into the wall, then down to the floor. He seemed stunned so we stopped and hastily took off his helmet. From that point on his jaw NEVER POPPED AGAIN! I kept telling him I'd send a bill for jaw repair some day...lol

One thing to note about Okinawan karate is this. Some sensei/systems have modified their arts somewhat, to include high kicks, board breaking, etc that are not origional to the Okinawan arts. These are newer additions to satisfy the public that wants or expects these things in their art, and a sensei that wants to keep students will incorporate them into the art just to get/keep students. I practiced Shorin Ryu for over 30 years and have NEVER kicked above the waist, nor broken a board. Both concepts are totally against the philosophy of the art and (IMO of course) worthless wastes of time and energy that could be spent elsewhere in more useful training.