Montana

They adjust very quickly (they have to). The more experience they have and practice at it, the quicker they shift gears and tactics. As for how often they win...there is no winning involved in that training. No points, just sparring. What I ask of my "attackers" is that if the defender gets in a good technique that would knock them back or disable them, then to back of for a few seconds. You see, we don't wear any pads of any sort in class (most don't wear groing cups), but I expect powerful techniques with good control.

In our system, we believe that a black belt test isn't any different than any other belt test. In all tests, the student needs to be better than their last test (basically) and meet the requirements of that test. My own 4 black black belt tests each were a surprise to me and I didn't know I was being tested at the time until they were over. My Shodan and Sandan tests were given to me by the head of the system.

When I mentioned kata is designed for learning to defend against more than one opponent, I didn't mean that kata alone would be sufficient training. Not at all. What kata teaches you in that aspect is how to move and how to get your body in tune with doing more than one thing at a time and moving quickly. In my class we spar against numerous opponents frequently. Sometimes, just for the heck of it, when two of my students are sparring, I will suddenly jump in and attack one of them, or have 1...2...or even 3 other students join the fray unexpectedly. It gets pretty interesting at times, and a whole lot of fun!

One thing I'd like to mention regarding training for multiple attackers is this. Kata is training for multiple attackers. It teaches you to move, shift directions quickly and solidly, attack at various levels and strengths, etc. In my fight against the 3 (I call them the 3 stooges), they were lined up 1-2-3 in front of me with the leader (or the only one that did the talking anyway) on my far left. His attack (which I was ready for from what we call a natural stance) was to bring his arm back to swing in a classic haymaker punch. When I hit him square in the nose, his right hand was still behind his head winding up. The 2nd guy (in the middle) took a step towards me, and that's when I kicked him in the stomach and dropped him. The fight last really only a few seconds, and I had the shakes from the adrenaline rush for several minutes afterwards. I went to the police station after they drove off and filed a report (CYA) in case this fight came back to haunt me, which it never did. The police said I did the right thing filing a report first, before they did. I learned a couple of important lessons in this fight. 1. Hit hard and hit fast and accurately. 2. Don't assume a threatening posture when in a fight situation. 3. The element of surprise is your friend! 4. Report to the police immediately after the incident and press charges against the attackers (yes, even if YOU won the fight!)

I believe, but not positive, that that is the Chinese version of the Okinawan/Japanese Sai.

Well, speaking only from my own personal experience, I fought 3 young men (early 20's) that attacked me (I was in my mid-30's) and the fight consisted of one badly bloodied (maybe broken?) nose from a fast reverse punch (assailant #1), one loss of breath from a snap kick to the gut (assailant #2), and assailant #3 looked at his two friends on the ground, then at me, and decided he didn't want to play alone with me. I helped #3 get his friends in their car, and that was that. The whole "fight" lasted less than 5 seconds from the time assailant #1 made his aggressive move on me. Me - 3 Assailants - 0 I also know a long time instructor that had to fight 5 men that attacked him, and he successfully defended himself with nothing more than a few bruises. In my opinion, if the system you are training in isn't training you how to handle multiple opponents, then it's time to find another system, or take up long distance running or badmiton. There are very successful tactics and strategies designed for how to handle multiple opponents...none of which include running away or going to the ground (unless you have no other option).

Right on the money Kid!

As a weapons judge with over 20 years of experience judging weapons kata in tournaments and over 30 years of teaching weapons technique to my students, I really enjoyed the kata...for the first 15-20 seconds anyway. You lost me when you went to one handed, swing the bo around, techniques. Sorry, the bo is a two handed waepon. It has no practical usage as a one handed weapon IMO. The two handed techniques were good though...concentrate on those. Forget the flash.

Throwing them into the air wouldn't really be the best use of the coins. Casually dropping them on the ground is better, as it takes their eyes downward. My opinion of course. This is a technique as old as the hills. Nothing new. It's illegal to carry more than one stone in your pocket? Please..somebody send me a link that shows me it's illegal to carry two (or more) rocks in your pocket. I'd love to see that one.

I appreciate your input, and can understand what you're saying. But i just have a follow up question, if you will... What if the two styles compliment each other ridiculously well, not to the point where they are the same style, but they compliment each other well? Yes, it depends totally on what your objectives in training are. If you want to be a MMA for example and enter that sort of venue of competitions, then you need to diversify and learn as many different techniques as possible for that sort of goal. However, if you want to learn an "art", then IMO, training under more than one system at a time isn't a good idea. Basics alone vary from slightly, to drastically, from one system to another. For example, and I'm not pickinbg on any system here, just speaking from my own experiences...TKD and Shorin Ryu have drastically different approaches to teaching basic blocks, kicks and stances. They each have their reasons for teaching them the way that they do and the problem that you'd run into trying to take them both at the same time is deciding which one is correct for you...the student. Each sensei will tell you that their way is the correct way (for that system of course) and should be able to tell you why. That can cause a lot of confusion with a new student trying to learn both systems. They both say they're right, but both are totally different.

I've never heard of the system before, but I find it interesting that they use the "ryu" in the name, which is of Okinawan origion typically, yet the founder (Rhee) and his instructors (Lee and Park) are obviously Korean and two of the four system they base the art on are Korean. Why? Just wondering.

We don't teach it or use it in Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo. It goes against our philosopy that any kick above the waist will get you neutered or your knee broken.

IMO, to do a system justice...ANY system, you need to focus your entire attention and spirit on that system. Dividing your time and energies trying to train in more than one system at a time is, IMO, not doing either system any justice. There's just to much to learn in any given system.

That's pretty much the way we do it. We don't place any "God-like" significance on a BB, or getting one. However, we have been known to have a bottle of sake handy and have a toast at the end of class for the recipient. And after class, we've been known to toss back a brew or two.

My first instructor was Sensei Miller, who had just finished a stint in the Navy, stationed on Okinawa. While there he trained under the late Sensei Kuda Yuichi, head of the Shorinryu Matsumura Kenpo system. Sensei Miller was a redneck cowboy who trained hard, and made us train hard also. It was a common event at the end of class to see who could get perspiration to wring out of our gi tops at the end of class. We trained in a small, single car garage with a carpet tossed over the concrete floor. There was one small window that didn't open, so there was no ventalation. In the winter (Montana winters aren't known for their mildness) we had a small space heater in the corner that really didn't do much to provide any heat, and our feet were pretty well frozen by the end of a 2-3 hour class. I think the only reason nobody got frostbite was because we were training and working so hard that our body temps were high. In the summer we had a small fan in the corner...but again, it didn't do a whole lot of cooling. We'd take 5 minute breaks every hour to hydrate from the garden hose in the yard. It was common to soak ourselves from head to toe before returning to training. Ahhhh...those were the good old days! Training was intense, contact was hard and plentiful, and we had a heck of a lot of fun!

We'll no doubt get a lot of different opinions on this one. For me, TMA's are those that have withstood the test of time, whereas many died out because they just didn't work, or weren't effective. Systems like Shorin Ryu, Goju, etc have been around a long time because they worked as well 200 years ago, as they do now. Maybe not in a sporting aspect, such as the UFC and such, because that isn't what the were developed for. They work well for self-defense purposes, because that is what they were developed for.

I totally agree with this. I've seen many 20-something year olds that strut around calling themselves "master", and all I can do is shake my head in disgust. A true master of an art IMO is one that not only knows the moves, but knows the system inside and out. This takes years of dedication and practice to that system. There is no set number of years to reach true mastery of any given system, but I don't believe that a mere 20 years is sufficient to understand any one system. Those claiming "master" status of multiple systems and are under 80 years old (my opinion of course) are only fooling themselves and people that don't understand the arts. I've been in the system I practice since January of 1975 and still feel I have so much more to learn. I've had fellow martial artists from other systems introduce me, or refer to me, as "Master", and I've stopped that practice immediately. I am no master of this art and doubt if I would ever be anywhere near that level.Back in the late 1970's there was an article in Black Belt Magazine (before it went down hill) that stated there were more "masters" in any large American city than there was in the entire Orient! A sad commentary on the American mindset if you ask me.

A. TaeKwonDo B. Probably MMA C. TaeKwonDo D. Undecided

I'll be the oddball here and state that I believe that pressure point knowledge, whether punches/kicks are being thrown, or in a grappling situation, do work and are effective. If you ever get a chance to par someone with good PP knowledge and skills, you'll find that your punches are going to hurt you, as will your kicks. A good PP fighter can strike accurtely specific points of your body causing lose of usuge of that limb (arm/leg). It takes practice, accuracy, knowledge, speed and confidence in your abilities.

I currently train in Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito (we call it Kenpo) and have for over 30 years. The only other system that has ever interested me was Aikido, to enhance the Okinawan veersion of joint manipulation that we call tuitte.

The roundhouse kick is good for "soft" targets, like the sides/back of the knee, inside/outside of the thigh, groin, stomach and ribs (we don't do head kicks). It's great to get a person to lower their hands, take out a knee, whack the groin, knock the wind out of them, or bruise a rib.

My rule used to be ages 6-8 could try the class for a few weeks, then I would sit down with the parent and tell them whether or not I felt they were ready for the class. I don't condone martial art "baby sitting", where they play games while wearing gi's, and call that karate training. My young students learned nearly everything that the adult classes do, and have the same requirements for testing. If I felt the young student wasn't ready, I would advise the parent to try the local TKD class down the street, as they take anybody that has the money. I don't teach for the money, or try to make my living at it. In the last 10 years or so, I've changed my classes and only teach adults, or older children that can, and are willing, to train with, and like adults. It's a much harder work out, including full contact (with protective gear) sparring.

I don't agree. That stance only works if your opponent has sloppy technique and poor accuracy. We use the shin to block a groin kick (yeah it hurts...until you get used to it.) That, and a sweeping kick where your foot comes up and crosses in front of the opposite knee. This is a good technique because when you catch his kick then put your foot on the ground, it spins your opponent and causes them to lose balance, possibly fall. The technique is hard to describe, but it's the "knee slapping" technique found in Nahachin 1.

Linseed oil...it makes the wood harder/tougher and resists moisture. I use it on all of my wooden weapons (bo, tonfa, kama handles, niton bo, and nunchauku)...have since about 1980...works for me.

Put your belt in a clothes dryer for about 30 minutes, low heat...and toss in a tennis shoe or two. The shoes will beat the belt into submission and it will come out much less stiff.