Montana

I've never been a fan of pads of any sort, except for Bogu gear, which is similar to kendo helmet and a canvas chest protector, leather lightweight gloves. Full contact...literally. I'm old school, learn accuracy and control when sparring. Hit happen, people accept them as part of the "game", but every effort is to control your technique. The only time I've worn foot and leg pads/gloves was when my students guilt tripped me into entering a tournament that I took a few to out of town. I entered the black belt sparring in these big, clunky and bad fitting "booties" and a pair of foam gloves. Single elimination, I won my first two matches, then the third was against a friend of mine from an eclectic kung fu system. I'd never fought him before. Score ties 4-4, time ran out, and he got the 5th point. I ended up placing 3rd (my first, and only tournament as a competitor), then got 2nd in kata doing Chinto . I retired from competition after that.

I'm not sure what you mean by a downward curve, but all of our kicks are withdrawn straight back usually, not just dropped. Less chance of being caught.

Well, I have no idea what a question mark kick is, so can't help you. Try mine the way I described it. Up to your knee first, knee pointing straight at your opponent, then as it goes forward you hook it into a roundhouse.

Early on in my teaching my first class I would have said no if approached to teach them a kata, especially a higher one. Now I'd consider it depending on who it was and why they wanted to learn it. For example: I've had "sensei's" that had a green belt in one system, brown in another, yellow in something else and saw a few kung fu movies, declared themselves a BB and started teaching. Absolutely NOT would I teach them a kata or anything else.

Just a side not, he does Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu. We don't generate power through our hips like a lot of other systems do.

Well, I could tell you all why we Okinawan stylists stand pretty naturally, rather than in a deep rooted stance, but they I'd have to kill you all. So, there's that aspect. Well, OK, I'll share. We stand rather naturally because we're a more relaxed and "natural" system. Shorter stances, relaxed posture instead of tense and tight, the entire dojo and training system is based around this concept. A huge part of it is the way Okinawans view themselves compared to the Japanese and Koreans. Okinawans are more Polynesian in nature, and appearance, than the Japanese and Korean people. Their way of viewing and doing things is different. their entire culture is different. Take a look at the typical Japanese or Korean dojo. Strict regimen, stand at attention when sensei speaks, lots of bowing and scraping, barked commands, loud yelling, punishment for infractions, etc. Whereas in some Okinawan dojos they're laid back, laughing, relaxed, not much for militaristic control, smiling, happy, butterflys dancing and unicorns singing. Oops, ignore that last part. Those are the very high sensei's doing that stuff. Anyway, the mindset of a Okinawan dojo is a lot different that that of the Japanese and Korean dojo, as are the techniques.

I'm a very defensive/counter fighter. I love an aggressive opponent! Everybody has their preferences. I'm 6'6" tall with long legs and the groin is a favorite front leg roundhouse target for me. Ore a front snap kick to the stomach as they come in. We also use a lot of body shifting and misdirecting. That takes a lot of practice, but when you get it where you don't have to think about it, it works really, REALLY GREAT!

I'm not sure exactly at what point our system considers you a "master". I'm thinking 7th Dan, maybe? Could be 6th. I'm glad I ran into this old topic. I've been to dozens of dojos to watch their classes, and lots of tournaments as a judge and referee. I've come across a LOT of "masters" during that time, many were in the 20's. I'm sorry, but IMO, it's literally IMPOSSIBLE for a 20-something year old to have mastered a martial art yet. Many of these "masters" I've met, I've had the opportunity to judge and ref their tournaments and gotten a front row seat to judge their forms. I've seen some pretty crappy technique, lack of power, lack of control, lack of literally everything that a "master" should possess.

A lot depends on the situation. Man vs Man? Man vs woman? Woman vs man? Woman vs woman? If it's Man vs Man, the martial artist better be able to handle a bigger guy, or needs a refund from his instructor for a wasted 8 years. Woman martial artist vs man? In all honesty, I'd give the edge to the man. Bigger, stronger, bigger bones, testosterone. Woman vs woman? That's hard to say. Probably the martial artist.

Well, happy birthday! Keep on kickin'!

My $.02 worth. IMO teaching women techniques to down a man is not a very effective method of teaching them how to defend themselves. sure, it's not a BAD idea, but not the BEST idea. Take for example a 100-140lb woman with no experience. Have an average guy 180-200 lbs SERIOUSLY bear hug her from behind. Can she escape? Likely NOT! Men are physically stronger than women, it's a fact. There are videos on UTUBE of average men with ZERO FORMAL TRAINING attacking BLACK BELT WOMEN, and subduing them. Your average man with no training is a better fighter than the vast majority of black belt trained women. The solution? Women need to learn to be AWARE! Aware of their surroundings, aware of their situation, and aware of their options. To any ladies reading this, please don't be offended, but sometimes you do some really stupid things and set yourself up for DISASTER! Here's a few things that come to mind that make you, a woman, a target. 1. got a vanity plate on your car? Like CUTIE, HOTTIE, SUSIE, SUGAR, etc? GET RID OF IT! You go to Walmart, grocery store,park, etc and your car makes you a target because it spells GIRL/potential target on your license plate! 2. Got foofoo crap hanging from your car mirror? Feathers, crystals, etc? Bumper stickers proclaiming GIRL POWER or such? GET RID OF THEM! They make you a target! 3. When you drive into a parking lot, be aware of where you park and what/who's around you. Anybody suspicious looking, park elsewhere. Be AWARE of your surroundings! 4. PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY WHEN YOU'RE WALKING FROM A CAR TO THE STORE, AND BACK OUT AGAIN! I could go on and on about this because I see it every day.

We used time between belt tests as a "minimum amount of time" between tests. For the first 3 belts (10 total) it was a MINIMUM of 2 months between tests. Next 3 belts was a MINIMUM of 3 months. Last 3 colored belts was MINIMUM of 4 months. This doesn't account for them knowing that next levels requirements.

I had a sign in my dojo that read... DOJO RULES 1. The Sensei is ALWAYS right! 2. If Sensei is wrong, refer back to Rule #1.

If I had a senior student that even came close to what you're describing, I'd be kicking his butt out IMMEDIAATELY! If his friends and family go with him, so be it. That's extorsion!

Under 18 it's Sensei or Mr. Weed (yeah, that's my last name). 18 and over it's Sensei, Mr. Weed, Paul, Hey You or whatever..as long as it's respectful. It's a small thing IMO.

Jane's obviously not into it any longer. I teach the way they do in Okinawa. If she comes, teach her. If she's not interested in learning, either ignore her, or ask her parents to pull her out. I'm there to train those that want to learn, not babysit a child that doesn't want to be there. Any time you spend on her is wasted time that is robbing students that want to be there and learn.

On this note, I'm available for summer seminars. Fly me, hotel me, feed me, pay me what you feel is appropriate, it's all good. I like to travel and go new places. Just kidding...I'm old, beat to heck, and very opinionated and will tell you as I see it, like it or not.

I'm not a fan of instructors who have maybe a first dan in multiple systems, then want to start their own system. 1st Dan just means you know your basics, like graduating from high school. There is so much beyond that that you THINK you know, but don't really until you've been working it for years and years. With that, I myself, started teaching my first class as a Shodan in a small farm town about 60 miles from my sensei. I only practiced one system, and did it as faithfully as I could. My students knew my sensei's name and phone number if they wanted to call him about anything pertaining to me or what I was teaching. Nobody ever did. I have over 45 years in one art, and have so much more to learn about it, that I never will.

I had black and white 8x10 pictures or drawings of the founders of our system thru current heads of the system. I hung an American Flag 3x5 as I'm a veteran and BY GOD THIS IS AMERICA! My kobudo weapons were hung on the walls along with my rank certificates and dojo charter from the organization I belonged to. One thing you do NOT want to hang is a picture of Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris, unless you are teaching their system! SOOOO CHEESY! I did have a hole in my wall with a picture frame around it once from a female student that put her foot thru the sheet rock and her name underneath it. lol

Personally, I'd invite them as a "guest", not as a paid instructor. I've sat in on maybe 8-9 testings as a guest instructor for TKD, Kenpo, and a couple of "eclectic" dojo's where they combine several arts into a system of their own. I asked for no compensation, not expected any other than maybe dinner if it was out oftown..

Kickboxing and TKD are a totally different types of martial arts, and will attract different types of students. I would welcome the other instructor and make every attempt to get along with them. I taught at a healty club for a while. My karate class followed a well established aikido class run by a very skilled Sensei. I'm not a fan of aikido, but would always arrive at least 30-45 minutes before my class to watch his class, and talk to him before mine started. Super nice guy! What I teach has what's called tuitte, very similar to aikido, but not as in depth or "peaceful".

My classes were 2 hours long, twice/week. They weren't rigid and set in stone, but generally they went like this: 20 minutes of basic warmup exercises consisting of stretching, 20 pushups, 25 situps and various other basic exercises. Followed by basic kicks (10 per leg), basic blocks (5-6 different ones, 10/side) then 3-4 basic punches 10/side. This was followed by a quick 2 min water break, then working on combinations. Can be 2-5 technique combos back to back, mixing it up constantly. Done as fast and strong as possible. This was followed up by self-defense techniques. This can vary from class to class, but all students, regardless of rank, work on the same techniques. I'm not a fan of "this is a white belt technique", or this is a black belt technique. EVERYBODY does them all. 2 minute water break Sparring, semi or full contact using bogu gear. 2 min water break Kata kata kata kata and more kata to finish up the class. I've seen a number of dojos where students just wander off the floor in the middle of the class when they feel like it to get water or go to the bathroom. Totally not allowed unless you're going to pee your pants. I like to keep their blood flowing and heart pounding. At the end of the class there better be SWEAT AND EXHAUSTION, or they aren't working hard enough.

I'm usually the "oddball" in here in my replies. As to what I charged for "private lessons". Well, I never taught "private lessons" other than to have a student come in early to class, or stay late after class to help them with something. My goal was to teach the next generation and people that wanted to learn. Is my time valuable? Yes, and that's why I chose to share my valuable time to help my students. Money was always secondary, and I didn't try to make a living at teaching karate. Well, for 3 years I did, but I didn't like it. I prefer my basement, small classes, personalized instruction, total involvement of their training and learning process. Yeah, I'm the oddball of the group.

A bo case? Really? Obviously you guys have never seen my beat up, dented and marred bo! lol I whack trees with mine, poles and fences. Basically, get used to hitting stuff with it. Gets to banged up, even broken, I get another one.

Good topic! My origional sensei learned in Okinawa from one of the top people in the system, Sensei Kuda Yuichi. My sensei never really mentioned what language they spoke in class, but I know sensei Kuda only spoke a little English. What I learned from my sensei was mostly English terms for the techniques, such as: Outside block Inside block High block Low block Hand block Snap kick side kick Roundhouse kick etc. Katas were in Okinawan: Pinan Sho, Ni, San etc. Counting was in Okinawan also. I had a BB student that started researching the Japanese terms for the various techniques, but I really never got into it.