Chuilli, Kyo Sah Nim

nope, i practice tang soo do which as im sure you know is a korean art. we(as in korean artists) believe in symbolistic representation where the main belt levels mean something, and the belt levels have symbols attatched to them. now that didnt make all that much sense but this will. There are four main rank categories there is white, green, red, and black, now its not just those ranks themselves but those in between, so for white it applies to white belts, yellow belts and orange belts and all stripes in between until you get to the next category which is green. and they all have an animal, meaning, season, and element...and they are as follows.... RANK ANIMAL SEASON ELEMENT MEANING White Tiger Winter Metal New, Potential Green Dragon Spring Wood Starting to grow Red Bird Summer Fire Hot, Energetic, Agile Black Turtle Autumn Water Maturity, Wisdom now the cool thing about this all this also represents a flowering plant as you can see as it progresses. now all these clearly lead up to black belt where the turtle is and the turtle represents wisdomd. it is old and slow, but knows a great deal. hope this helped. in tang soo, k.chuilli

i love the dojo with others and by myself, but i must say the beach is my absolute favorite place to practice quietly by myself.

i use ankle weights as well as weighted vests but i find the ankle weights help me out a ton. i have 5lb(each ankle) weights and they were about 15 bucks you dont need real expensive ones for them to work, cuz five lbs is five lbs, so good luck, happy training!

well as an instructor at my school you need to be very proactive and very involved. for example, i need to take a briefcase with me everywhere i go to fit all my paper work and things of that nature. so i would expect a full time instructor to be atleast a black belt, and intelligent, and just most importantly know how to teach. i have seen great martial artists be the WORST teachers. teaching is truly a gift, you need to be humble yet know how to use the power given you, you need to know when you must multi task and when to go one on one with them, when to be mean, when to let things slide. so its quite a feat being a full time instructor but personally all the ups and downs and angry moments are all worth it, i couldnt love what i do anymore. and along with the age thing, age matters to an extent because i have seen 16 year olds who could run a school for God's sake, but on the other hand i have seen 16 year olds that couldnt control one group of two white belts, so in my opinion it truly takes an incredible person to be a great instructor.

well as far as excercise goes we do 25 minutes of abs at the end of ours and its a great way to end cuz your not doing cardio anymore but your still sweatin. we use med balls and throw em at each other and we do leg lifts, pull ins, elbows to knees(both at once and then one at a time) and i think its a great way to end our program, we also do shuffling instead of running, and we do walking 8s sometimes too, those are a killer but i love them, good luck with your program. in tang soo, k.chuilli

wow thanks guys thats awesome, i will be looking into all of your suggestions very soon. in tang soo, k.chuilli

wow these are great ideas, im definately going to use the tying the belt competition because im a stickler about properly tied belts! mini tournaments sound fun too. teamwork would be good too, its harder to cheat with a team than individually. thanks guys, keep em coming!

Okay, well after tests we usually have these 'fun periods' were we completely get away from any major curriculum needed to test and do things that are 'fun' for the kids. we do things like board breaking, obstacle courses, "karate survivor", races and things like that, but after tests it seems like thats all i have in my mind for creative thoughts for the kids. i cant seem to come up with anything else and would love nothing more than to surprise them with new and fun games or drills, so if you guys have any ideas, please let me know, i'd love to give them something new. thanks in tang soo, k.chuilli

haha i forgot the link, im sorry here it is.... http://www.natkd.com/tsd_forms.htm

well the best thing that i ever learned about blocking techniques in sparring is that not all blocks have to be physically made with the body by making contact with the opponent. the best thing ever taught to me was the block that didnt block...the evasion. evading the technique all together if you cant get your hands out there, and then usually because the leg didnt make contact the leg will drop in a sloppy unbalanced stance, then its time to sock-em!!!

Congrats! sparring can be the worst sometimes ! What would we do without moms...

Congrats, what a milestone!

well, as far as the changes i know many schools of many styles who 'tweak' froms, patters, or hyungs because the bunkai doesnt make sense, so they will change a few techniques to make the bunkai make sense. and as for a video clip of it i have the tang soo do version for you, it is performed by a master and the video is clear and concise, but again it is tang soo do, but it should be very similar. in tang soo, k.chuilli

thats probably why.

I've seen it in all the tournaments i have been to and either judged or performed in myself. it typically goes(just for example) "good morning judges my name is kate chuilli, i represent macdermotts tang soo do association, in the art of moo duk kwan tang soo do, the form i wish to perform for you today is kong sang koon, with your permission i will step back and perform it." i like it personally because as a judge it gives you a feel for the artist before they even perform but i also dont like it as a judge because some judges grade it as part of the performance and so dont. but as a competitor i feel it gives me time to just blab alittle and work out some butterflies and make it known who my studio is and who i represent. but i see it all the time, but all the tournaments i have been to have been fairly traditional for the most part.

jeez thats awful, thanks for the warning.

yes, rateh is right, those are all the appropriate times to bow, and bowing to all the judges just looks good so thats optional, but to keep away from the whole messing with your gi thing people have mentioned, which as a judge i HATE, when speaking to the judges get in, front position, your ready stance, or hands behind your back and feet together. also, i was talking to one of my students the other day in preparation for a tournament. he came up and he adressed the 'judges'(we were practicing it was me and two other dans) but he only addressed me, he was only looking at me. and i told him, hey there are alot of cocky dans out there, whom if you dont look at them personally they wont listen to you, so make sure you look at every single judge as you are addressing them and asking for permission, because after all if only takes one judge to say, 'no.' good luck in tang soo, k.chuilli

an affiliated world tang soo do website...they were so funny and so true i HAD to share.

yea, its hard, but i feel im obligated to find her a place, thanks again!

haha back in the old days they'd promote the white belt for something like that hahaha.

wow thanks guys, thats quite a library right there, i'll look into those.

any suggestions for good martial arts magazines with a decent subscription price? any suggestions welcome... in tang soo, k.chuilli

well we usually set the whole thing on the floor, bow to it. then take it out and leave the sheath on the floor, but i know century has a weapon holder, not too sure what exactly it holds though. good luck!

i dont as an instructor but we charge my kids 40$ per month

usually the easiest way of niping this in the bud is going...does your child practice at home??? and when there is a long pause...you just smile and go yea, he/shes not testing. good day. haha always worked for me.