Takusankage Soke

a good exercise for kids to practice balance with is: -Have them stand on one foot -Have them place their lifted foot on the knee of the leg on which they are standing -They will most likely lose their balance at first so have them invision a horizontal line This is very basic but it works great for most children

Do not let anyone discourage you my friend. When martial arts was originally created, did they have teachers. No. At one point the art was invented by many years of training and contemplation. Also necessity. If you wish to lean a martial art from a book then i encourage you to go for it. Know however that it will take much more work than taking classes. Talking to an instructor every now and then would help greatly too. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

The same can be said of Traditional martial arts as well. One instructor of shotokan went to jail not too long ago. He was a pharmacist that was selling pharmaceuticals out the back door without a perscription. My point is that it's not a MMA vs. Traditional thing...it's a good person vs. bad person or good instructor vs. bad instructor thing. I agree. The reason that MMA gets such a negative appeal is because it is in the spotlight all of the time. If any MMA guy gets into trouble, the world is going to hear about it, because of its popularity as a sport. But if the local TMA school owner gets into trouble, it isn't heard about to the masses....because they have no spotlight. It may make local news, but in the end, it doesn't get near the publicity. I know of a TMA instructor that got into big trouble in my area, involing his line of work, and he ended up leaving the area completely. Yes, I apologize. I didn't mean to say that MMA instructors were the only ones who got into trouble. Anybody TMA or MMA can get into trouble. You have to be careful about how you learn from TMA or MMA. There are those in the MMA who promote honor and respect and the same can be said for TMA.

What martial arts has everybody here studied and how long. Myself: Takusankage Shinobido 13 Years Koto Ryu Koppokutsu 9 Years Hayai Ryu Kenjutsu 9 Years Kenpo Karate 1.5 Years

The same can be said of Traditional martial arts as well. One instructor of shotokan went to jail not too long ago. He was a pharmacist that was selling pharmaceuticals out the back door without a perscription. My point is that it's not a MMA vs. Traditional thing...it's a good person vs. bad person or good instructor vs. bad instructor thing. Great point my friend. You have to be careful about who you learn from..traditional or not.

Keep it simple at first... go through the thumb. The thumb is the weakest part of the grip. Also you must be as the water moving the stone. Do not tighten up when you are trying to get out of a grab, remain loose and relaxed.

I am into the Traditional Martial Arts myself, so my opinion of the MMA is obvious of course. Some of the MMA can teach you effective self defense and discipline, but others will only teach you to be aggresive and dishonorable. You need to be careful with MMA, know who is teaching you and what his / her curriculum is all about.

Typically in the Japanese martial arts, the dan is the level of black belt that you are. I have never heard of sub levels in the black belt.

Well, I didn't make him seem to be in love with money, however I think that it did over exaggerate his ego. Bruce Lee always seemed to be very humble in my opinion. There were parts of this article that seemed to instigate that he was a jerk. Overall not a bad article though.

Have you ever heard of Tokugawa or Togakure Ryu Ninpo?

Whether or not you study philosophy really depends on which are you study. In Ninpo, we greatly study philosophy. Basically what the true meaning of the martial arts is, and what it means to live an honorable life.

If god never wanted us to use ki, then he would have never created it. It is a very spiritual energy and it is 100 percent okay to use it.

Music and martial arts are very similar, almost one in the same. Music consist of many notes and chords all working together, as does the martial arts. When you study, you want to strive for harmony as you would for a musical masterpiece.

Meditation is restoritive to the body and mind. so i meditate at least twice a day (usually when training or when needed). For proper meditation technique research zen meditation.

Ki is the energy that surrounds us all. It is both inside and outside of you. Inside your body is what is called a hara. It is just below your belly and this is where your ki rests. Your spine is a gateway for your ki to travel on, a ki highway if you will. Using this is how you channel ki to seperate parts of your body. To learn more about ki research tai chi and or ninpo.