ShoriKid

To quote the Patriot: "Aim small, miss small." Don't aim for the head. Hit the left eye, and I mean the eye. If you "miss" you still land a solid shot. Aim for the bottom corner of the floating rib, if you "miss" it's still a good body shot. Hitting "the body" isn't a target. It's an idea of what to do. You need speed enough to hit the opening. Knowledge enough to know the effect that hit will have. Accuracy enough to actually hit it. Power enough to actually do something when it lands. Timing/perception enough to take advantage of the opening before it's gone or all of the above won't matter. It's why we train, because if it were simple and easy, everyone would do it.

You have to make sure you really want something on you. Because, even though you can get them removed at great expense, it's going to mark you. That said, what you're looking to get inked with has good meaning all through life, not just the martial arts. So if things change for you in 10 years, you wouldn't have to go through a drawn out explanation as to why you got the tattoo. Which reminds me to find the kanji for my next one.

Nothing wrong with raw honesty and saving half your paycheck in gas money. Means more money for the house, training and gear. And if you're not dropping in quality of training, and the people are good, you're winning all the way.

It means what it's intended to mean. "Kill With One Blow"!!! I interpret it to mean that I will strike, kick, block, punch...EVERYTHING...100%...as hard as I can EVERYTIME! To give 100% in everything that I do that is of the Martial Arts...in EVERYTHING that is/belongs to my Shindokan/Martial Arts training! I love this post sensei8. It encapsulates a lot, especially the second section. At our dojo we constantly remind students that they should preform kihon and kata as if each technique were the last one they would get in a fight that meant the living or dieing. 100% effort and commitment to the movement both physically and emotionally. Addressing the question though, I do believe the "one strike, one kill" ethos of training has more to do with the adaptation of Japanese budo, most especially sword work, than with the idea that one could, and would, literally end a life with each single technique.

Best of luck at the new academy tallgeese. I know switching instructors and schools is a big call and I completely get where loyalty comes into the picture. Sounds like the decision was based on more than just a quick drive and some gas money. Hope things go well, and you have found a good fit.

Congratulations on the big step ps1! That's a pair of big steps and the biggest one still to come. Good luck on your planning and preparation for your next step as well as growing your school.

Solid head control is the assumed from the start, which required good positioning. It's not trick to try while you're mounted. Had to point that out once or twice to different folks.

Try to flee. Crash and make a hole and run like the Devil himself is hot on your heels. If you can't get away, try your best to stay mobile, hit and move, anything you can lay hands on as a weapon use. Then flee. Notice a theme here? And this is a discussion we had with our students last week actually. Bunkai work involved a lot of neck wringing, throws that would land someone on their head etc. When we finished with the physical side of it, I told them they had to "go through the list" of things they might have to do. Put a thumb in a person's eye? Not that hard an act physically, but emotional and psychologically it's a whole different deal. If they can't envision it, live with the thought every day of having done the act, they needed to take it off the list. Go all the way through to ending a life. Include your own death as a possibility, of having all those things you think you could or couldn't do, done to you in return. Psychological preparation for violence is as, if not more, important than the physical preparation. It wasn't about the macho, bad butt imagery either, but about survival and being the one to go home to your family at night. A man with thousands of techniques and decades of training isn't nearly as dangerous as a deliberate and determined man with a handful of techniques and a year of hard work behind him.

Rent costs have likely killed more martial arts schools than bad economies and bad instruction combined. We're paying $400 a month for about 600 total square feet for the two rooms above the local vet's office. Biggest space we've had yet. At $5 a class or $40 a month, receipts and tracking it are a nightmare though. In a small town with the highest unemployment in our state, we make rent and put a little back each month for gear. There is no income for myself or Pittbulljudoka, the other instructor. We just enjoy teaching, if it were a money thing, we'd have quit when we were in a storage room that was 10x14 and the windows painted shut with six guys. I don't begrudge those making more with higher dues. Especially if they are trying to make it a full time living. If there were the population and economy to support it, I'd love to teach full time. But, it won't pay the mortgage and feed the kids, so it's not in the cards right now, no matter what we charge.

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Once you've had some plans fall apart you get used to coping. But, you have to learn it responsibly or you can get hurt.

And here I was using it to get intoxicated... ....all those wasted beers..I mean years. Being in a bar/club doesn't preclude something from being self defense. Regardless of the fact that plenty of hard heads go out drinking and attempting to prove how tough they are. It's self defense when not fighting back, fleeing/talking your way out, would result in more harm to yourself or those who you are with than fighting. Best thing to do is know the law in the place you stand. In the US each state has it's own self defense statutes. Some have a obligation to retreat and are not very friendly to the ideals of self defense. Others have no such obligation to retreat. Still others allow for the defense of a third party, and enact self defense doctrine when in public, not just on privately held property. Meaning, I can go to the bar to have a few drinks with my buddies, and if someone attacks me, or even a friend (knocks him down with a sucker punch say and then puts the kick on him), I can act in their defense.

One who will challenge me to help me grow. One who knows the difference between a challenge and abuse.

Violent sensei8? Certainly. And wholly and utterly okay with me. Heck, I condone and approve of the opinion myself! I've always believed that the aggressor has taken the option to go to violence. I might initiate action, but they made the choice. Once they've made that choice, I'll oblige in every way possible.

True - its very counter-productive.I think along with the "no one wins a fight" mindset, we see too much of worrying about not hurting someone too much. When you worry about not hurting someone too much, you can second guess your actions, and it can cost you time and position. I've had this happen to me not long ago, and I won't let it happen that way again. When it comes down to it, your safety is what is paramount. Bushido_man, You're really hitting on something here too. I hear things from some other martial artists and read from instructors about dealing with an attack without hurting the attacker. We should be concerned with our own safety first. The only way we should become concerned, in my opinion, with the well being of the aggressor involves a use of force ladder/continuum. Was the force used justified given the violence of the attack? That's it. Concern with not hurting an attacker makes dealing with them orders of magnitude more difficult. I've dealt with drunken friends and family members before when they became violent. It's really, really hard to do much without inflicting some kind of harm.

I don't believe I've ever used the "No one wins a fight" expression as an instructor. I have said that getting in a fight is going to hurt. I think an instructor does a grave disservice to their students if they put them in a mindset that doesn't focus on taking the needed steps to come out on top when they have to use violence. I'd even disagree with you a little Tallgeese on saying the employing physical violence as a last resort, or that it should be avoided at "all costs". It's very situationaly dependent, but sometimes physical violence should be the first option, as it is the appropriate one and cycling through all the rest can be a fatal mistake. And, to me "at all costs" means that you've already compromised your position enough that you are in a bad way from the start. I don't encourage violence, but I accept it's a fact of life and if we shy away from it when discussing martial arts, we do more harm than good. What I'm thinking is one of those things that takes a bit of time to explain face to face, let along over the net. As for the mindset bred by "no one wins a fight" I'm in full agreement, at least I think I am Tallgesse, with what you're saying. I make a firm point to tell my students that if I'm in a fight, I damn well intend to do what it takes to come out on top. And I expect the same out of them. They don't quit and when it's them or the other guy, it ain't gonna be them. Willingness to be aggressive can do a whole lot to over come an opponent. There's plenty of video out there of bigger, stronger and even more skilled people getting beaten by someone who was just flat out more aggressive and willing to carry the fight forward. Drilling the saying "No one wins a fight" to me, gives you a very passive mind set to enter a conflict with. If no one can win, what is the point of doing everything you can to, in effect, "win".

Just wanted to repost something I found on the Karate by Jesse blog and wanted to pass along in part. A reminder that even those with karate "in their blood" are just like us. From an interview conducted by Sensei Michael Clarke in 2005 with Nagamine Takayoshi in 2005: Michael Clarke: Did you find it easy to do karate or was it difficult? Nagamine Takayoshi: “I found it difficult, and in some ways I still do. I guess there are some genius people around who can do karate very easily, but my way was to just try harder and harder over a long period of time. Sometimes I have had a plan, but it didn’t always work out the way I wanted, so I just keep trying.”

Nothing other than integrity. Some grappling tournaments set divisions by training time, but same deal there.

Sleep. Despite what you may think, it's your best friend when training hard. I'd rate it even above nutrition. Not saying eating right doesn't matter, but your body can't put itself back together after training if you don't rest.

Now this is quite interesting. One of the reasons I got into BJJ was that it was one of the most popular styles of martial arts these days and I was curious as to how to defend against it as a practitioner of Matsubayashi Ryu. When he says I've never trained BJJ, you have to know what that means. I have never been to a formal BJJ class. I've done a couple of grappling seminars, my Matsubayashi Ryu instructor had a bit of judo training. And we've always grappled. Pittbulljudoka has been helping use clean up our technique, which before was....rough at best. The best way to defend against BJJ as a Matsubayashi Ryu practitioner as as follows, my opinion only of course. Work wrestling for take down defense and for that quick scramble and escape mentality. Then go train some BJJ. Once you know the positions, how you need to get there and get a feel for them, you get the idea of what's coming if you're on the ground. No more panic, no more complete lack of skill.

I can't imagine the fights you guys had as kids. Well, it was an interesting childhood. These days, we're the guys no one stops when we spar too hard or try to see which one needs less blood to remain upright and alert. Heck, he made me real pretty for Christmas pictures last year. He's a great training partner. Yeah, I brag on the guy now and then.

Wrestled together in high school, trained in our first style together, run a school together now. He brings the BJJ back for us. Not a bad guy. Oh yeah, he's my brother too.

Says the guy who came in with a new stripe today! Good work yourself bro.

Dude! Don't tell them! Angry Japanese boxing sensei storming the dojo..err gym in there shorts...Gi. Dang it, now I'm doing it too. (Sorry, had to have a bit of fun) For me it all comes down to tradition and comfort. If your lines tradition is to use titles, or not, I'd stick with that. More over, if you aren't comfortable with a title, using or not, don't. That's all a matter of respect though. If I've earned the title and someone uses it, respectfully, cool. If I'd prefer not to be addressed by the title, that's respect as well.

Hey! Steve's "California Blitz" was featured in this month's Black Belt Mag. As others have said, off angle and hit with an attack. "L" step and front kick/side kick about belt level. Tends to put a much better stop to an aggressive guy than hitting higher. Sometimes pivots them at the waist and opens them up to counters.

You'll have to ask some of the guys with more experience in BJJ, but a lot of requirements vary by school. The greatest thing about wearing low rank in another style, especially so different than stand up, is getting to relax and just train.