The Martial Arts thread!

[borg]

Do you Tae Kwon Do or do you Kung Fu?

Or maybe you do something completely different like Jeet Kune Do?

Me? I took Kung Fu lessons as a kid but switched to Karate as a young adult, I was active in the arts for quite sometime but havent been part of a club for a while now.

In the most recent years, I have studied different techniques in a workshop setting like hand to hand combat, sharp edged weapons defense, take downs using different pressure points & such but I'm getting the desire again to join a club.

Both my boys are in TKD Shadow Warriors Program for 4 - 8 yr olds, they have been taking lessons for the past 2 yrs & this weekend they tested & attained the rank of 9th gup.

[borg]

They will now be allowed to participate in regular classes & attend as often as they want instead of once a week on Saturdays. Watching them do their near flawless patterns & the courage they displayed during the test makes me very proud.

[borg]

Since I will be taking them to their lessons more times during week, I thought I might as well make better use of that time by participating instead of sitting behind a glass wall watching & waiting for them to finish. The borg household is so pumped up about this that even Mrs borg is considering joining the club.

[RipRocK]

Great to hear that you'll be taking TKD,borg! I took TKD off and on quite a while ago, the last of the classes I attended being about 10 years ago now. I took it purely for fitness reasons. I'm just not disciplined enough to have wanted to "study" it Oh, that and my brother-in-law was the Master, so, I went for free He still runs the place, but I just don't go at all.

Anyway, it was by far, the best workouts I ever had. Beats any gym memberships or some "the fitness exercise of the week" regiment. I was in the best shape of my life back then, weighing between 165lbs-170lbs. Gawwwwd....what a blob I am now. It's rather depressing.

Of course, with children, the primary reason for getting them involved is to instill some sense of discipline, self confidence, respect towards others and etc.

My girls took it for a while, my older girl getting to as high as redstripe, just like her oldman, and my younger one to greestripe. But it wasn't just their cup of tea. They preferred only tap/jazz/ballet and wanted to quit TKD altogether. My wife and I let them. Didn't wanna have them take something they didn't like, even if we thought it was good for them.

borg, it's great to hear that your whole family probably will be taking TKD at the sametime. I always thought it was neat to see a whole family go to the promotion tests and cheer each other on.

Also, I think it's the most exciting form of martial arts to watch during the Olympics. Neither the CBC nor the NBC carry enough coverage of the sport though. I think there's Judo, Karate and TKD in the Olympics and TKD just rocks. I love watching the ighterweight classes because they're so quick! It's fun to see all those kicks and countermoves. The best is when you see a high kick connect with with a jaw or the chin and the competitor just drops

[m-mmeyer]

My daughters and I have been studying TKD for sometime now and last summer my oldest daughter and I achieved 1st degree black belt. My youngest is still entrenched in the under belts and will be for a while. It is hard for the younger ones to keep there focus for such a extended period but she is doing a good job and will join us soon enough. As for us the process never ends now it is a new set of things to learn and practice to work towards our 2nd degree.

Matt

[a2Pilot]

That's so cool, Borg! I was the same way. Sitting there watching the kids in TKD class thinking, "hey, I could be out there too!"

I'm Second Gup (Brown Belt), but have not trained in a few months due to old feet / ankle injuries acting up.

Both of my kids are currently training, and should promote to First Gup later this summer. They both have their eye on Black Belt.

My 9 year old son can hit a full splits! It startled his instructors the first few times, but now they know he's VERY flexible.

I find a great deal of comfort in the training my kids have received. It will be especially nice when my daughter departs for college one day, with the skill of a Black Belt to protect herself. It's good to know she'll be safer with these skills. (I bet M-mmeyer and RipRock can relate to that!)

[jrex]

My 11 year old has been taking TKD since he was 5. He got his black belt in May 03, and joined the demonstration team for his school shortly after. This pic is one of his breaks for his black belt test.

[jrex]

...and a pic of him during one of their demonstrations.

[Bill Balmer]

I took a little Aikido a couple of years ago, but for the last year my 9 year old son and I have been taking Shotokan Karate. He just got his orange belt (+ 1 stripe) last week.

It's interesting for me to see how different clubs and disciplines handle the ranking and testing. Maybe it's just because I'm personally involved in it, but this particular club seems to make advancement much more difficult than clubs my neices and nephews have been involved with. My 12 year old nephew got his black belt in TKD last year and his 10 year old sister is one test away from hers. They achieved that level in about 5 years of training. The way our Karate club is organized, it would be literally impossible to get to black belt level in less than 7 years unless they gave you some double belt advances (which isn't going to happen), and more than 10 years is probably more typical.

For those of you who study a martial art, I'd like some information on testing procedures. You see, our club is very well known, having 5 or 6 members on the US Team, but also very large. In my opinion, they need to decentralize their testing procedures. Currently they test each level twice a year at a central location which is an hour from my house, on a weekend day. They give you a testing schedule based on your rank, age, and place in the alphabet (for example, white belts 7-10 years old in the first half of the alphabet), and there are still usually about 200 people testing at a time. Most people I know who study a martial art get tested in their own dojo during regular class time.

This arrangement has made it impossible for me to attend either of my first two scheduled tests (one last December, one this month) since I'm a musician and I often have gigs on the weekends. Because of this, I have recently quit training because I was getting very frustrated, not having the opportunity to advance and learn new things.

So for those of you who study a martial art, is the testing convenient for you? At your home dojo? At your regular class time?

[btk467]

I took Shotokan Karate for a few years(orange belt) with my son(green belt + stripe). After awhile we switched to Aikido. Very impressed. You can take classes every day. There is a few pictures from our dojo http://members.shaw.ca/nwaikikai/pic39.html

[a2Pilot]

Testing and rank are very different in various schools. Our school stressed positive re-enforcement. Develop a love for the sport early on. We study the forms, self defense, weapons and the Martial Artist way of life.

Our belts are:

White (9th Gup)
Yellow (8th Gup)
Gold (7th Gup)
Orange (6th Gup)
Green (5th Gup)
Blue (4th Gup)
Red (3rd Gup)
Brown (2nd Gup)
Brown / Black Stripe (1st Gup)

White through Orange are first year students, and considered beginners.

Green through Red are second year students, and considered intermediate. (Sparring begins at Green Belt.)

Once a student reaches Brown Belt, they are considered advanced, and treated very differently. Expectations are MUCH higher. There is much more required of them.


Our school uses this process:

Two classes per week, 45 minutes each. All missed classes MUST be made up.

Monthy Tip Test - Every month students are tested during "Tip Week". A Tip is a colored strip of tape wrapped around the end of your belt on the right side. They are tested on forms (Taeguek Poomse), as well as general behavior, attendance, martial arts knowledge, and proper attire when on the floor. (Did you tie your belt correctly?) There are also other requirements based on a fitness test, participation in tournaments, and use of weapons. You have two opportunities to test during that week. If you don't pass, and not everyone does, you wait another month and work on whatever it is you need to work on.

Once a student accumulates three tips, they are eligible for promotion to the next rank. Promotions are held once a month on a Saturday night at the school. Everyone goes through their high form, and a few other drills. They usually do a line drill too. Adults are required to know all forms up to their high form, one-steps, kick drills, and a musical form. Kids need to know less, depending on age.

Once the student reaches 2nd Gup (Brown Belt) the system changes. They test for a white tape stripe that goes on their belt in the middle of their back. Get three of those to earn one colored tip for the front at the next belt promotion. It takes about 18 months to go from 2nd Gup to become eligible for invitation to Black Belt training. Not everyone is invited the first time around.

There's so much more to all this, but I'm out of time. (I'm at work) And I hope I got it all straight!

I hope this info is helpful!

[Samuel2003]

Borg (and others), I think that it's great that you can get the whole family involved!

I know aikiko, karate, jiu-kitsu, and a few other Japanese words...

One of the most effective styles is Mexican Judo...

Personally, I'm not really concerned about rank.

I took a couple of years of Tang Soo Do back in the day and, even then, I missed a few testing opportunities (never got my black) but it was no big deal.

These days, all the guys in the different training circles I frequent are also really not too concerned about rank. Some of them have earned traditional ranks but it doesn't make that much difference. We pretty much know who is good and who is better (regardless of what belts each of us may possess) and there are no attitudes (well, not among the guys that regularly train together).

If, however, I was limited in learning/training by a ranking system, then that Would also be a concern to me...

[Bill Balmer]

Originally posted by Samuel2003

Personally, I'm not really concerned about rank.

I took a couple of years of Tang Soo Do back in the day and, even then, I missed a few testing opportunities (never got my black) but it was no big deal.

These days, all the guys in the different training circles I frequent are also really not too concerned about rank.

If, however, I was limited in learning/training by a ranking system, then that Would also be a concern to me...

Yes Samuel, I agree. Rank, in and of itself, doesn't really concern me either. EXCEPT, that I can't really progress to the next level of learning until I achieve the appropriate rank. So I was spinning my wheels. It began to be a task to go to the dojo, rather than something enjoyable.

A2Pilot, thanks for the info. on ranking in your system. FYI, in ours it works this way:

There is no testing during regular class time, in your home dojo, or even by your Sensei. You test at a central location in front of a panel of three Senseis (actually there are three panels going concurrently--9 Senseis in all).

You are tested on your basics (depending on level--stances, front punch, front snap kick, rising block, downward block, roundhouse kick, inward block, outward block, reverse punch, jab, etc. etc.) both while stionary and while moving. Then kata (forms), which is more like a choreographed fight than anything else. First kata is 22 moves. They get longer as you advance. Once you reach higher levels they introduce kumite (sparring) into the equation as well.

Only children (under 16? - not sure of the cut-off) get stripes. Under the age of 7 they get red stripes - 6 needed to advance in rank. 8 and above get black stripes--4 needed to advance. Adults are tested on a pass/fail basis.

My son took Karate for 6 months, then tested and was awarded 3 black stripes. this was the best anyone in the class did. He just tested again, after a full year of class, and got three more stripes, making him an orange belt + 1 stripe. If he does well in December and gets another 3 stripes, he could get his yellow belt. But essentially, they make it very difficult to advance more than 1 rank in a year.

[borg]

The kids started out taking Kung Fu lessons from Sifu Hilbig when they were 5 & 6 yrs old. Sifu had the distinction of being the 1st female to attain blackbelt in CANADA. To this day she continues to teach & is very much sought after & well respected by a lot of experienced martial artist for who she is & what she has accomplished.

[borg]

Due to unforeseen events we had to relocate, which made attending Sifu Hilbig's school unmanageable, that's how we ended up @ Phoenix TKD.

Sifu Hilbig as a lone female competitor @ a competion in the 1960's.