Montana

Looking at the video twice to allow me to see each child do their kata I would say that your sons stances were stronger and from what I could see they both had very good technique for their ages and belt levels. I agree that the other kids head was better at turning before he moved, which is something I look for when judging kata. I don't like it when 2 or more participants all do their kata at the same time because you can't see everything and really give a fair judging when competitors are close in skill level, which I think these two were. All judges look for different things. Power was good for both, speed and "snap" was good, and in general you should be proud of BOTH of these young martial artists.

The best advice I can give you is to see if his instructor, or a senior student (preferably black belt) watched the match and ask them these questions. They should be able to give you an answer to your questions. I've been a tournament judge for well over 20 years and one thing I've learned is that judges are human, and humans see things differently. What one judge will see as a point or good technique, another won't.

What has surprised you most about my style? Well, after working on it since January of 1975, what surprises me the most is how much sense it makes, and how practical it is in philosopy and in application of its techniques. It's not fancy, nor flashy, but in the half dozen times or so that I've had to use it in the street, it has NEVER failed me. The one time I tried it in a tournament (black belt level) I walked away with 2 trophies (2nd in kata, 3rd in sparring--single elimination) and a plaque for Outstanding Tournament Competitor. I have total faith in this system for what I chose to take if for...which is to protect myself, my family...and anybody else I chose to protect during my life. It isn't designed to function as a competition/tournament system, but from my own experiences and those of a few students that compete occassionally, it does quite well if you stick to the priciples that it teaches you and use them as they are intended. Oh...and we don't break boards either...

I don't teach people how to shoot in my class (most know already) but we spend time monthly learning disarms and control against opponents that are holding a gun on you. I have an old .22 cal revolver that we use. One person holds the weapon (verified by all in the class that it is unloaded) on another and we practice techniques for gaining control and disarming. The very first, and most important lesson I teach in that respect is... "If someone points a gun at you and says "Give me your wallet/purse ..."...GIVE THEM YOUR WALLET AND PURSE! No amount of money that you have in your wallet/purse is worth dying for, so give it to them as nicely and slowly as you can. Heck, write them a check if you have to! Disarming techniques are used ONLY if, and when, you feel your life is in danger regardless of what you do to comply with your assailant.

I NEVER use physical punishment in my dojo..ever! If the problem is with a child in class, I talk to them about it. If the problem persists, I talk to the parents about it. If it still persists, I kick them out of the class. If the problem is with an adult..I talk to them about it. If the problem persists, I kick them out of class. Can you tell I'm not trying to make a living out of teaching? lol Basically, I teach people that are there to learn. If they want to waste my time and theirs, then I don't want them in class.

In Shorin Ryu we can go either to the inside, or the outside--depending on what you want to accomplish or what technique you're going to use. A lot of it depends on if you have the room, what foot you're on, and of course, what you are comfortable doing. As has been stated, going to the inside gives you a few more "targets", but also makes you more vulnerable to your opponents weapons also, so the outside is generally encouraged.

I used to have several books by Tadashi Yamashita concerning proper use of various weapons (sai, tonfa, kama, nunchaku and bo I believe, but over the years I've loaned them out to various students and never got them back. As I recall they were pretty good in how to do basic movements, proper holding of the weapons (which the majority of videos I've seen forget to do) and I believe a basic kata or two.

Mats? They make mats to fall on in training? OK..when I joined my instructors class he had 8 adults working out in the living room of his duplex apartment...proably 15' x 12' in size. If nothing else, you learned accuracy with your kicks or you'd kick one of the other people in the class...which wasn't good, because they'd kick back! Personally, I always liked a cramped, small workout area better than all the room in the world. Why? Because if you train with all sorts of room to manuever, then get in a fight in tight quarters and don't have much room to move, it can really upset your fighting ability. However if you're used to no room then all of a sudden have it...wow..this is cool!

100% in agreement with you on this one! If I'm with a "friend" that is carrying a large knife, nunchauku or worse, a gun...well, I wouldn't be with them in the first place. To paranoid for me, or we're someplace we don't need to be in the first place. I carry a kobutan on my keychain and it serves a dual purpose. First, combined with the snap hook that snaps to my belt loop and the kobutan slips in my back pocket, so I've never lost my keys in carrying them this way in 30 years...and yes, I have the kobutan if I need it...and actually have used it a couple of times in self defense. Someone that carrys a large knife for the sole purpose of defense scares me. someone that carries nunchaku because they anticipate problems...well, I don't hang with people that think like that. And guns...forget it and get the heck away from me!

No natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados or earthquakes here, but winters can be a real pain. The past 2 years we've had OVER 6 FEET of snow which can cause a lot of problems getting around, especially when you live 15 miles out of town in the woods. As for how I've prepared, my wife and I have 2 4x4 vehicles (truck and SUV), 1 AWD SUV, and a neighbor with a Catapiller plow. Last winter, I never missed one day of work because of weather. We keep the pantry well stocked in the winter with at least 2-3 weeks of food and we have an excellent well tapped into an underground river. If need be, I could boil snow for water easily. If power goes out, which happened several times last winter, we have a generator which won't power the whole house, but will power the well, a few lights and the pellet stove for heat. I have 30 bags of pellets on hand which would last 2 months or more. For cooking food I have a gas BBQ with 2 tanks of propane and a camping cook stove with plenty of Coleman fuel. I also have 2 camp laterns powered by the same fuel. I have tents, sleeping bags and just about anything else needed to survive in the woods. Worse comes to worse, because I live in the woods, there are game birds, LOTS of deer and 1 moose around my property or close by. If it really got severe, I have 3 horses that I can use for transportation...or food if needed. (God forbid!) I'm well armed with a 30-06, Chinese SKS, shotgun, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, 9mm, and several .22's and plenty of ammo for each. I have 5 acres total and plenty of trees on it. If I needed to, I can cut down trees and we can move into the 3 stall garage, which is totally insulated and keep warm with the wood store. I have about 2 cords of wood cut and stacked now.

I give two weeks of free lesson and toss the new prospective student right into the general population of white-black belts and they experience the exact same training and lessons as everybody else gets. I pair the new prospective student with a mid-rank (green/blue belt usually) student that helps them as nuch as possible. Basically, it's the "sink or swim" introduction method. I make sure they understand that they can expect to be totally lost for the first few classes, but they catch on fast normally and within those 2 weeks they are holding their own pretty good. It's 8 hours of training in all.

Just curious here...how old are you and how much formal martial arts training do you have, and in what systems?

Currently I teach out of my home in the garage, but I've taught in church basements, college/high school gymnasiums, a commercial dojo, 2 health clubs, my living room (that was interesting..), a telephone company's conference room, parks, fields, drive ways, alleys, back yards, swimming pool (water training)..probably a few more, but that's all that comes to mind at the moment.

Whether karate does, or does not, get included in the Olympic games makes little difference to me. It won't change what, or how, I teach. Personally, I think that when judo and tkd were added to the Olympics, it made those arts less than what they used to be.

A "strike" kick, as in a punch, hits the opponent, penetrates, then withdraws just as fast as it went out. A thrust hits the opponent and then keeps going...basically more like a push.

I'll use a broom handle or such and place the tip against the inside of the non-kicking knee and make them kick over the stick and return it the same way. That's how we kick and I want them to learn it the right way the first time, not develope bad habits from the start and have to break them later.

I've been teaching for over 30 years and never had insurance...nor ever needed it. I must know 50 other instructors of various styles and we've had this discussion before..very few of them carry insurance either. None of us have ever so much as even HEARD of someone suing over an injury. Not to say it can't happen... The key is to prevent gross negligence. In other words, don't do anythign stupid in the dojo. People expect to get bumps and bruises..and a little blood letting now and then. This is the martial arts afterall...not square dancing. I guess the best answer is to do what you think is best for you.

My rule on gi's is that they need to be clean, in good repair (frayed/worn a bit is OK but not torn) and relatively wrinkle free. Doesn't have to be ironed exactly, just not a wrinkled mess. I have a brown belt thats been with me many years that I have to remind now and then about the wrinkle rule. He just stuffs it in a bag after class.

Ah..the simple chair. Such a marvelous martial art weapon. We have several folding chairs in our dojo that we use for various training situations. ie: 1. Defender sits in the chair and attacker comes from behind and tries to choke them. Defender grabs attackers arm and while still seated moves his feet back a bit and bends forward...it throws the attacker right over the defenders shoulder and on to his head..right in front of you for easy "mop up"... 2. As has been said before, blocking and striking with the feet, legs, arms and hands are also taught while seated. 3. We also will set 3-5 chairs around the sparring area and fight around them..teaching the usefullness of obsticals in your way and how to avoid them, and how to use them to your advantage. 4. Oh yeah, we also can use the chairs as a self-defense weapon for blocking, "jabbing", or as a distraction.

I like to mix it up and teach a little of this, and a little of that..one night fairly basic techniques to the entire class, regardless of rank..and the next night brown/black belt level techniques. What I've found in 30+ years of teaching classes is that beginners, although not as pretty and precise in the movements, can nomally handle the harder techniques just fine. Understanding them fully--well, that takes practice and experience.

I can think of a few dozen (or more) "martial arts" that I've seen since 1975 that I thought were a joke...but they weren't really all that funny.

100% in agreement with you bud!

In the situation described... 1. You're to close to do an "effective" kicking technique as they've described. A foot stomp or side kick to the knee would be more plausible. 2. Look at the videos again. The attacker is soooo wide open for a punch to his floating ribs, which causes serious pain, if not cracking/breaking the rib, and the fight will end there. 3. Anybody really know what the high block is used for besides blocking something coming at/down to your head? It's an arm break guys. You put one hand (like in the video) on the guys arm to keep it where it is and do a high block to his elbow. Of the 3 videos, the first is the only real plausible technique..the others work great in the classroom with a partner that goes along with what you're doing, but doubtful in the street.

Agreed on all counts.

I'm 6'6" and 250lbs with a 38" inseam and long arms. Your best advantage at that height is to kick low and use yoru hands a lot..or so has been my experience since 1975 anyway. Kicking above the waist leaves my groin wide open and vulnerable. My advantage is reach, mass and strength and I use it to my advantage. As for tall people being unable to "in fight"..well, I seem to keep the little guys pretty well under control if, and when they get close.