Montana

You've got to watch the whole thing...Ninja kata perhaps? http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&cache=1&gid=137966&vid=600913&b=2

Agreed.

Unless you're planning on wearing a cup everytime you leave your house, and your purpose for training in a MA is for self-defense purposes (not just sport), then you;'d better learn how to block/protect your groin. It's not all that difficult actually. Use your legs to block more than your hands. Also, we keep our kicks lower. The higher your kicks, the easier it is to get nailed in the groin (DUH!)

Yep! We don't full contact the groin...you don't have to to know you got it. Most cups make a distinctive "pop" when struck. But then again, very few of my students wear a cup anyway. I've found that those that do on a regular basis tend to not protect that area nearly as much. I leave that as an option for 18 years and up...but not an option for 17 and below. Those kids are required to wear a cup. For myself, I haven't worn one probably in 25+ years, and even then, it was seldom. I block instead.

I like your signature! About the vid...GREAT sweeps, very fast and powerful and yes, he'd be very hard to defend against. Not knowing the rules, I would be using more lateral movement against him. Everybody he fought stood straight on to him. He'd still kick my butt though!

I prefer simple and effective. Front leg roundhouse to the groin...it either makes contact, or at least causes your opponent to drop his guard. Either way, followed up immediately as your foot is coming down with a backfist or punch to the head. Works most of the time.

Keeping in mind that I know very little about iaido, so maybe somebody can verify this for me. In the video, with the katana in his belt, the curve of the katana is on the top instead of the bottom...is that the correct way of placing it in his belt? Or is it correct either way? I've never seen it that way before.

True. Red in some systems is the equilivant of brown (or just before black belt) in other systems. In my own particular system, and I believe the majority of Okinawan/Japanese systems, a solid red belt denotes the head of the system. Only one person can wear it (legally).

The system I practice already has mixed three different, and distinct systems some 300 years ago. They are: 1. Okinawan Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito Karate-Do 2. Okinawan Tuite (joint locks/grappling) 3. Okinawan Kobudo (weapons) It is a very complete (IMHO) system and well rounded.

Aalong that line, I've taught many people that had the interest and were willing to train hard...for free, because they couldn't afford it. Slackers? No...they can use the door. I use barter quite a bit actually. Mostly mechanics, a dentist once, students father that was a professional sign maker (I had some really nice signs in my dojo), etc. To me, barter is the same as cash, especially with a low overhead that I have.

AGREED! AGREED! AGREED!

Just a short story here. Way back in my college and early martial arts training days (1978 I think) I was having coffee inb the college student union building with several male friends between classes. One of these guys, a strange, paranoid fellow, started asking me questions about my training and why I did it. When self-defense against an attacker came up he made the point that he would defend himself with his gun. I said.."Oh really?"...and then launched myself across the table (remember, this was college, so it was sort of a "show off" thing ), grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him across the table onto the floor and proceeded to "beat" the snot out of him. No, I didn't actually make any contact with him, but threw about 5 hard, straight punches at his face while he was on the floor. He had no defense against it and if I'd wanted to, could have made a real mess out of him. I then said..."What good did yoru gun do against that?" His reply was "I'd go to my dorm room and get my gun and come back and kill you." I said..."To late, you're already DEAD!"..and that's one reason I study the arts. My point here (that was a short story?) is that unless you walk around with a loaded, cocked and ready handgun in your hand at all times, what good will it do you? For myself, there are many reasons I continue, for more than 30 years now, to train in the arts. Self-defense is one reason, physical fitness another, fascination with the art another...and mostly, it's just plain FUN!

Fun here also. In over 30 years of training in the arts, I can't remember even one class that I didn't enjoy. Well...maybe the one where that guy really nailed me good and made me see stars...but hey, that was fun too!

oh my god i would not want to get in a street fight with you. i had no idea how experienced people on this forum actually were... Um...I'd never heard of any of those first three systems, so I did a search on the net for them out of curiosity. Cartoon/anime martial arts shouldn't scare you to much unless you're a cartoon character.

Good luck! Can you explain to me why there is the "recommended", and then the "decided" testings? It makes no sense to me to have to test twice. Either you are, or you're not, promoted. Do you have to pay for both tests?

The Bruce Lee screen test...circa 1964 http://miraulam.multiply.com/video/item/16

From my own experiences, this can be very true. Both myself and my origional sensei tried to give free classes after we both had been charging for several years. In both instances, the class size dropped well below half of what it was when we were charging for classes (no contacts were ever used) within a month or two and only the really serious students came on a regular basis. American mindset is "You get what you pay for" quite often. As to quality of instruction in the US, well, several high ranking masters in Okinawa said a number of years ago that it wouldn't be long before you'd have to travel to the US to find true Okinawan karate-do. Not all instructors and systems in the US have gone over to the dark side for financial gain vs quality instruction. I've been teaching classes since 1978 and except for a 3 year attempt, which wasn't very successful, have never tried to make any money at it other than to cover expenses.

*tsk*...bunch of kiddies in here! 30 was...oh wow...24 years ago for me!

If you have a webpage, I'd sure love to see it.

Something you are missing here is that karate, and other "traditional" martial arts aren't designed for fighting in a ring. They are designed/geared for self-defense purposes, and that is an entirely different sort of thing. The training involved in them is different, and the objective is different. I've seen it in the UFC where a traditonally trained MA takes on a UFC trained martial artist, and gets his head handed to him. Yet take that same traditional MA and put him on the street in a fight against an average attacking individual, and they are in their element. I've been there. Apples and oranges people. Both look similar, but each has different methodologies.

One of the sensei I've studied under is married to a Thai woman. They go to Thailand once/year to visit her family and he has a brother-in-law that teaches Muay Thai and has his fighters competing often. One thing this instructor told me is that a serious Muay Thai fighter has a very short "life span" in the sense of serious competition, as the training is very rigorous and it's very hard on the body. Most are totally burned out in their late 20's to early 30's.

Has anybody stopped to consider that maybe she might be just be really cute?

800 kicks? Per leg??? Using leg weights while kicking is a really BAD idea. You're asking for a really serious injury.

If you mean "studied", as in actually taken classes in that system, then: Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo Karate/Kobudo--32 years, 7 months. (If it works for you, why take something else?) I haven't "trained" in any other systems, but I do study them.

You need to take into account your behavior and attitude prior to taking the martial arts. If you're an aggressive, abusive individual prior to joining the arts, then it's possible they may become more aggressive and abusive. But I also believe a lot of it has to do with the instructor and the art itself, that you can go either direction. Become more aggressive, or more mellow. An example in my area is a San Soo class taught by an 8-9h Dan instructor. He teaches pure aggression to his students and encourages them to get into fights to test their skills and techniques. Pure rubbish if you ask me. Another instructor locally teaches aikido. He is just the opposite.