BlackKnight

I see you're from New Jersey. I am a law enforcement officer in Passaic County and I as of yet have not heard of martial arts training or rank being brought up in court, not at least in this state. What you do see come up is a law enforcement officer's training especially when it comes to cases where the use of force is the focus of the case.

Some times you have to try different schools and styles to find that one that fits you. It took me three schools before I found that one that fit. While I know schools are expensive compared to when I started my advise is to give a little time before you decide it's not for you. I don't think you can accurately gauge a school by just a few months of training. Also, if you try one and it's not for you, be patient and don't get discouraged. Good luck.

Good job on stepping up. Sometimes being a black belt is not about only technique, but about character as well. There was a time in our dojo where everyone that made brown belt had to help teach. Part of the requirement to make black belt. We weren't expecting to make teachers out of them, unless of course they wanted to, but to give them an insight into it. Also, by helping teach, it re-enforces what they've learned.

You nailed it!

No. I did at one time, but no longer. The hazards of the job.

If I may recommend a good friend of mine who as of a few years ago decided as a hobby to start making kobudo weapons. Let me tell you I highly recommend his weapons. I've been doing kobudo for as long as empty hand and handled everything from crap to Shureido. His are just as good as Shureido's if not better and won't break the bank. His site is https://www.shushinkobudo.com. His name is Dave Williams. A while back I brought a pair of kama and Friday he came up to our camp and I purchased two more weapons. I attached some pics for your viewing pleasure. Kama; cocobolo, Eku; Ash, Nunchaku; Mexican Ebony. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/aburena/PA060001_zpse12ab4f0.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/aburena/Image1_zpsb87f4a3e.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/aburena/Image_zps3b088f50.jpg

There isn't an option for "none" or "all." I don't have a favorite. They all have key concepts and techniques they are trying to convey.

Don't iron them. Not trying to be glib, but never in all my years of training have I felt the need to iron karategi's. As soon as they're dry I fold them nice and neat. Good enough to wear.

What's make you think it's the inner thigh? There are three components to stances. 1. Stamina 2. Strength and 3. Flexibility. To make them stable you need strength. Contrary to popular belief sitting in a particular stance for long periods of times isn't going to make then stronger. It will give you the stamina to stay in it and may make easier and more comfortable to get it in it, but not stronger. The best thing for stances is a combination of strength training, i.e. weight training, in conjunction with stretching. I like the standard leg weight training routines like squats, bench step ups, and/or weighted lunges. I also like some of the kettlebell routines. Just work at it and good luck.

While I can not comment on that specific jujutsu system the benefits of cross training in jujutsu still applies, whether it's BJJ or standup.

Probably sometime in the early part of the 20th century when it was introduced into the school system for the school children.

Walk across the room. Now when you step in your stances, especially in shizentai-dachi do it the same way when you walked across the room. I found that many times a students step in a jerking type fashion, or stop and go when adding punching or blocking. Just step naturally.

I studied BJJ for three years attaining my blue belt. I never intended to stay long to lets say get my black belt, but to have a better understanding of the ground game especially as it related to self defense. Best thing I could have done. Since my BJJ sensei was also a high ranking Judo sensei I got two benefits. The one, of course, being the ground game. The other being being the throws. It gave me a whole new outlook and understanding of certain throws within our kata.

Ah, a Shukokai practitioner. My first sensei was Kimura sensei of Shukokai. Trained with him for a year.

Hi, My name is Tony. I registered a while ago, but I don't recall introducing myself. Anyway, I've been training for going on 30 years with the last 28 years in Okinawa Karate, specifically Chibana-ha Shorin Ryu by way of Nakazato sensei as well as Ryukyu kobudo. I've also trained in BJJ for three years. There's more, but then it comes across as self serving.