Montana

You guys are gonna hate this. When my students are tested, they don't even KNOW they are being tested. Basically, they are tested through my observations each and every class. When they are where I want them to be, they are awarded the next belt. No written tests, no verbal tests..not real formal testing procedure at all. It all comes down to daily training and what I see them doing. They either know the material to advance, or they don't. The way I look at it is a belt is a belt...big deal! What color belt you wear is just an indicator of what work you have done, nothing more. It doesn make you smarter, tougher, faster or stronger...it's just an indicator. Like ribbons on a soldiers chest...it just says "This is what I've done."

There's some good advice (and some not good advice) so far, so I'll toss in one little technique that worked well for me against an experienced TKD guy that wanted to kick me in the head really bad one time. We don't normally use wide, low stances, but knowing this guy was itching to kick me in the head, I assumed a low, wide side stance and sure enough, his leg went up and here comes his foot...right for my fully exposed head! Prepared for this, I dropped to the ground on my side and launched a side kick straight into his groin...totally exposed and unprotected. It was a perfectly clean shot that caught him by surprise. After that, he pretty much gave up trying to kick me any higher than my mid-section. Afterwards (this was a state tournament championship) he came up to me and said that nobody had ever done that to him before. It takes practice to get the timing down so that the kicker is totally committed to the kick when you do this, but do it once and it really makes those kicks come down and used less often.

I prefer white gear myself. Of course with the red marks from leftover blood from last months tournaments "victims". OK, just kidding...I don't do "gear", and I don't do tournaments. We do get some blood now and then though.

45 minute classes? How much do you pay to train there?

The only "Unforgivable Rule" I really use is...If you start a fight, verbally or physically, and I find out about it...you're done...period!" Of course, someone molesting a child, beating a spouse, etc...they're gone too. I don't need to tell people that. I used to have a sign over my desk that said I reserved the right to teach whoever I want, whenever I want, and also to NOT teach whoever I want for whatever reason I wanted.

Find an Okinawan school...50/50 hands/feet, grappling, weapons..and should be a real good workout for you. I'm partial to Shorin Ryu for some reason.

Each system varies in their requirements for rank advancement, and that can vary from dojo to dojo. These are the "guidelines" we use. They are by no means set in stone, but guidelines for a minimum amount of time in each rank before being able to advance. I've never seen, nor condone, skipping ranks in our system. 10 kyu - 7th kyu: Minimum of 2 months in each rank. 6th - 4th kyu: Minimum of 3 months in each rank. 3rd - 1st kyu: Minimum of 4 months in each rank. 1st Dan - 2nd Dan: Minimum of 2 years rank. I've rarely promoted anyone earlier than this guideline. The lower kyu ranks (10-7th) can be done easily enough, but I expect more hard work and effort with each belt advancement. If I see it, they advance, if not..they don't. I've had one student that has been a 3rd kyu for over 8 years now. He's reached a plateau and just can't seem to get past it.

Not for sure, but guessing...maybe Okinawan Te?

Same with me, but no cat stances.

I seriously doubt if you will EVER see any celebrity enter UFC, Pride, etc. Why? Think about it for a moment. They make how many MILLIONS of dollars to be an actor (even a bad actor) in a series, why would they jeapordise their face or limbs, not to mention their actign career, competing for a meager few THOUSAND dollars in prize money? Would Van Damm (however you spell it), Segal, Norris, Jet Li or any other martial arts actor enter the UFC/Pride? Nope...not going to happen. They have to much to lose, and little to gain.

Not really "one" technique, but a combination of techniques all rolled up into one movement and done very quickly and simultanously. IE: Attacker attacks (isn't that what they do? ), and all at the same time I sidestep, parry/grab with one hand, punch with the other and low kick to knee/groin area. That's pretty much the way we like to do things.

The groin area, certainly. But also the inside/outside of the thigh, inside/outside/back of the knee, stomach, ribs...all are "soft" targets and can bet kicked with the instep without hurting your foot. The shin is for more closeup techniques generally. Ball of the foot is to get around an arm, or to penetrate more into the torso.

Depending on the situation...such as at a friends gathering and meeting somebody new...if they ask me to show them something, my favorite thigsg to do is right from where I'm at, launch my fastest backfist (my personal favorite) and just touch the end of their nose, or damn close to it. Their eyes go VERY wide, and they don't say much else. Kind of depends on my mood and the situation I guess.

Hmmm...actually, that's pretty darn good stuff there. To tell the truth, as some of you know anyway, Shotokan had never really impressed me before watching that video. I was definitely impressed at the speed, timing and good techniques there though. Good stuff!

Actually, I do something similar to this that works a lot of the time...throw both of my hands in the air and KIAI real loudly then front snap kick...startles the hell out of them. You can't do it often, but now and then it really does work!

Question: Why does the instructor feel you need to have a black belt before helping him out in class? I see no problems with a green belt helping.

The link doesn't work.

Hey, if it wasn't for McDojo's, who'd we make fun of around here?

I taught children for around 20 years (I no longer do this) as young as 6. In my experience, kids between the ages of 6-8 (any younger and you're just babysitting IMO) can either get excited about it and do pretty well, or be a waste of time. I'd say she's not really interested...pull her out and wait a couple of years and try again if she shows interest. You should NEVER force a child to go to that sort of class if they really don't want to.

Rule #1 when using a roundhouse kick with the instep...don't kick a hard target with it!

Styles vary of course, but we use the ball of the foot (we don't EVER head kick) primarily to get around your opponents arm (extra reach) that is being used to protect his ribcage. You come around behind the arm and penetrate into that area, and he'll go down either out of breath, and more likely with bruised, cracked, or broken ribs. He won't continue to fight like that.

Agreed. It's something that would be an option to only a very small percentage of the population. Old farts like me with bad backs, bad knees and just plain old, wouldn't be able to do anything close to that. My outlook on the arts is that it should be something that can be learned by the vast majority of the people, not just those that are prime physical specimens. As for running from a fight...we do train in hit and run techniques often, along with stand and fight. I teach my people that if you put a guy down soundly, where he's not going to get up for a minute (knock the wind out of him for example), don't stand around and wait for him to get up. Get out of there to safety!

Blocking/Parrying is where it's at. Without a good defense, you have nothing. What I guess I'm trying to say here is that if ALL you do is offense, and you're fighting somebody with a good defense...say a good boxer for example, then you're screwed. Blocking/Parrying in a fight, the countering quickly and effectively makes you a much better fighter than just being aggressive and attacking. Sure, against an unskilled opponeent, hard fast attackers work well. But not against someone that knows what they're doing. My thoughts and experiences anyway.

Ahhhh...Sensei Lindsey! Folks, in a world filled with self-promoted, chest beating, and phoney as hell "masters" of the martial arts, Sensei Lindsey is the real deal! Although I've never met the man myself, I've trained with other high ranking sensei from this system (Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito) and his name always comes up. He's highly respected in this country and on Okinawa as being a true master of the art.

Very nice! I've been a judge/ref at tournaments for about 25 years now, including kobudo kata. The video wasn't real clear, but your technique appeared to be solid, good control, proper positioning of the tonfa on the arm during tecchniques...all in all, I'd have given it a little higher score. Good job!