Montana

Open tournaments are those that are open to ANY system to enter. IE: karate, TKD, kungfu, kenpo, etc. How do you join? Just show up and register.

Assuming youtr Nahachin is the same as mine...where there is a crossing step then lowering of the center of gravity and both hands come from about the groin straight upwards in front of the torso to center of the chest level...that's movement is breaking a grab/bearhug from behind. Quoting myself here..and noting I made a mistake...what I was talking about is Nahachin Nidan, not shodan...oops! First hand movment of SHODAN is either a right outside open handed block or a strike (take your pick) to the throat followed on the next step by a grasp to the back of the head and an elbow smash.

Your health is the most important thing you have. Without it, you have nothing. Skip the test.

Assuming youtr Nahachin is the same as mine...where there is a crossing step then lowering of the center of gravity and both hands come from about the groin straight upwards in front of the torso to center of the chest level...that's movement is breaking a grab/bearhug from behind.

AGREED!

Just to add. It would take a absolute minimum, if the minimum time between gradings was observed 17 years to go from white belt to 5th Dan. so if they started at 1 year old the youngest would be 18. anything less than that is a shambles Show me a 18 year old 5th Dan and I'll show you a belt factory.

I'm having a sale thru thru end of the year for $200 US currency.

Unless it's the same system, or VERY similar one, all students start out as white belt, 10 kyu in my dojo. I would expect the same of me if I joined a different dojo myself.

I found this on Google under worlds youngest black belts. http://youngblackbelts.tripod.com/ Alexander Maskeny, is only 7 and just received his black belt, in fact he received 3 black belts from “The World Tae Kwon Do Federation”, “Tae Kwon Do Ji Do Kwan, Korea” and “U.S. Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Society”. Here's another link on a couple of guys in their 20's that did it http://www.umamn.com/usa-bin/show-staff.cgi ' Rediculous if you ask me.

Since you mentioned there was a board of other instructors other than your wifes normal instructor, I would guess that they didn't share your opinion of your wifes skills and looked at her thru more unbiased eyes than yoyu and her instructor did. What you saw from your wifes performance might not be the same thing the other instructors saw, or were looking for.

Shorin Ryu and Shotokan ar very different systems and emphasise different aspects. They are similar in only general ways.

My guess is somebody combined a little Isshin Ryu with some system of kung fu and named it Isshin Fu. Most likely not a main system...more likel;y a local club.

A;so be aware that the groin and knees are not targets in MMA competitions. As far as I* know, all Okinawan karate teaches and train to use those two areas as viable targets in a street confrontation.

In the majority of Okinawan systems the bo can be held either way, depending on what you are tryibng to do, or transition to. Each grip has advantages and disadvantages and specifuic techniques that are associated with the type of grip you're using at the moment.

This is the passai sho we do.

Perhaps brought to us by the same people that brought us the Pet Rock?

I agree that if a kick to the head connects it can end the fight immediately. No argument from me on that one. The objection I have to high kicks is that they are relatively easy to avoid and couinter if you train for that, and watch for the signs of an impending high kick and are ready for them. Those of you who have expressed that high kicks are effective, I'd be curious to know if you train to defend against them, such as attacking the groin and knees, sweeps and take downs,.

High kicks are good for one thing IMHO and that's for flash. Which I'm totally against in the martial arts.

Photos, authentic certificates, movies/videos, confirmation from verified other sensei that are their peers, etc

We use the groin as a viable target area, so we like high kickers,.,.,.A LOT! Also vulnerable are tghe knees and inside of the thighs. In a street fight, which is what we train for with no rules, high kicks are great...if they connect. But if not, they leave you off balance and quite vulnerable to countestrikes. There's only been one person I've met in my 30+ yearas in the arts and watched spar in a tournament that really impressed me with the speed and accuracy of his high kicks. I don't remember his name, but he was a Canadian (I think out of Calgary) that practiced Savate. Man, that guy was fast, balanced and accurate! The bnext month he was flying to france to compete in (if memory serves me...) the Silver Cup?

TODE SAKUGAWA 佐久川 寛賀 (1733-1815) BUSHI MATSUMURA 松村 宗棍 (1797-1889) NABE MATSUMURA Nabi (c.1860-1930). SOKEN HOHAN (1889-1982). KUDA YUICHI (1928 - 1999) DENNIS MILLER, GREG OHL, RON LINDSEY, JIMMY LEE ME

Yes here also. Your instructor needs to know these things and talk to you about what happened.

I hold a 3rd Dan Black Belt in TaeKwonDo issued by the late President and founder of the American Korean Karate Association (long since defunct...thank GOD!), and interestingly enough, I've never so much as taken ONE SINGLE CLASS of tkd! My experiences with TKD are based on my observations while visiting around 50-100+/- dojangs in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, California, Michigan, Minnesota, Georga, Florida and the UK. Also, I have been a tournament judge and referee (usually center judge/ref) at all-style tournaments since 1978 where I have had the opportunity to watch students AND instructors of TKD compete in sparring, kata and weapons. As to your question about how long it took me to learn the TKD punch? Based on my observations of TKD over the years, I wouldn't be the least bit interested in learning it from the vast majoprity of people I've seen use it in kata or sparring, as it goes against evwery basic principle that I believe in for proper execution and technique. That's ok if that's what you want to do, but with 30+ years in the arts I feel I have a better than average grasp of good versus not so good technique.

All parents think their children are the perfect little karateka, yet in my experience, the vast majority of parents rarely watch every class their child is in, or quite honestly can't look at their childs progress through an unbiased eye to really see how their kid is doing. I've had many parents ask me why Little Johnny hasn't tested yet because he has been in longer than that other kid that did test. I have to explain to them that kids develope and learn at different rates at that their child just isn't ready yet. Also, put some of the responsability on the parents. Ask them if Little Johnny is practicing at home, and how often. Are they watching them, or just taking their work they practiced, when in reality they were playing video games in the basement. As the parent to coem to class on a regular basis. Basically, get the parent involved. You never know, you might just get them interested in taking classes too!

Over thinbking? Oy yeah, most definitely. Where you said "Still I did not have a great increase in skill from green until my brown, my fitness has not changed much, in fact my knowledge of kihon, bunkai, and kata are almost the same. I have merely logged in more hours, and refined some of my kihon.": Well, I don't know where green and brown belts fall in your system, by changes in skill levels happen gradually in general, with an occassional "WOW!" thrown in for those "I finally got it!!! moments. I've been an instructor since 1978 and believe me, your instructor can see your improvements better than you can.