Montana

If a belt is all you want send me £400 and I'll send you one with a certificate and you won't have to do an ounce of training!!!

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.

Very smooth performance, although quite different from the Shotokan version. It's an interesting family tree.

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.

High kicks can be very succeptible to counters. No arguement there. That's why high kicks have to be timed right, and thrown at the right time.

Look at the high kicks seen in MMA competitions from time to time. They are not very frequent, and when they land, they usually get results. Also, of the high kicks I've seen in MMA fights, I haven't seen anyone get taken down while standing on one leg.

The high kick is not the end all, be all of techniques. Its just another technique that, if trained properly, and used accordingly, can be another useful tool in the tool box.

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 street fights, Montana?

That's just what my trainer always tells us they are not for. Because on the street you are likely to wear tight trousers and may be unable to stretch your legs enough.

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

How do you go about fact checking, apart from asking the oldest surviving person in the line?

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.

Montana and Tallgeese,

How long did it take you guys to learn TKD punching to the point where you can reasonably defend yourself in a fight versus a person of the same weight and athleticism?

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.

The truth is that kicking is the most difficult skill to learn. And that is what TKD gives. Boxing is one of the easiet skill to learn. Grappling is also incredibly innate.

Hence, the TKD guys are among those who can make the transition to MMA the easiest.

You're kidding, right?

Boxing and grappling are easy to learn?

Im sorry, but I'm going to 100% disagree with that statement.

You live ian London, one the the largest cities in the world...surely there is an embroidery shop somewhere that if you take in the kanji it can be compouter scanned and reproduced on a cap.

I did that with Shorin Ryu kanji for a baseball cap and back of one of my coats. You'll probably have to pay for the firsttime computer setup, but after that it should be pretty cheap.

Very rarely do any of my students fail a belt test.

Why?

Easy...I don't test them until I know they can pass.

I don't have formal testing days, and my students all know they are tested EVERY day in class. When they are where I want them for the next belt level, they are awarded that belt and we keep going. Each of my students knows what I expect of them and what they need to work on to advance.

Since you don't list any information in your bio, like where you live or any systems you study, I'll try to figure out what you're trying to say here.

If I understand you correctly, you want to know if you can just do a little bit of this system, a little bit of that system...mix them all together and be any good?

My response would be....no.

Like building a house, you need a good foundation of basic principles and techniques, regardless of the system, and somebody to show you how those principles are incorporated and built upon as yoyu progress in learnibng a system.

Now, once you have learned a system and understand fully the pribnciples of that system, THEN you can incorporate other philosophies and techniques from other systems into what you are doing.

Your best advertisement is your students. See if you can challenge them to each bring in one new student and maybe offer to give them 1/2 off each month they bring in a new student that signs up and PAYS a full month fees. Offer is good only for one student per month, but if each of your 6 students brings in a new student, then all of those bring in one the followibng month, you'll have a huge class ian a few months.

Of course, not everybody will stay, but if you make it a continuing offer you'll develope a core group of students that will be out there recruiting for you.

That worked pretty good for me when I started teaching at first.

Karate has NOT lost any value in my honest opinion!! Karate is still quite viable across the board. Perhaps it's only viewed as valueless by the masses that aren't experienced in karate for whatever reason(s).

I'm a karateka, and I've been a karateka for many, many, many years; therefore, me, being a karateka, I've no value at all...none whatsoever!!

Not only am I a karateka, but I'm a traditional karateka, and have been my entire life, and now, because of that, now, I'm irrelevant, of no use.

Yep..me too! Couple of old ...uhhhh...dudes I guess.