Teras Kasi Archive

That same person also mentioned time to obtain a black belt.... if you study under a true master, you can get your black belt in 2 - 3 years. A true martial arts master is also a master of Ki (chi)

If it takes you 5 years to reach 1st dan then you are getting ripped off. The instructor who teaches in such a manner is dragging out his lessons because he only has so much to offer the student and if he were to teach everything he knew, he would lose the student and thus the money.

I would like to add that if you are totally new to martial arts, 3 years is a good goal for 1st degree black belt, if you study under a true master. Once you have 3-5 years training in the martial arts, it is more realistic to get a second or third black belt in 2 years, because you have previous experience and training. There are very few true masters alive today, but if you find one then you are in luck. Try to avoid schools that are owned by someone who is 2nd or 3rd degree black belt.

Don't take classes that encourage you to take a hit to your body.

Don't take classes that encourage "toughening" of the hands or feet by repeatedly striking solid objects.

Don't take classes in a negative environment, where the students are competitiveor arrogant. A negative environment will do more harm than good.

Look for a school that focuses on internal power, built up with meditation, ki (chi) exercises, breathing exercises, etc. These are all very important aspects of traditional martial arts.

Find out what you are comfortable with. Some people prefer hard styles, others like soft styles. Hard styles are generally offensive, and soft styles are generally defensive.

Hope this helps.

Well, Blue, I'll just say that people expect to extractmany different things from the martial arts.I'll also say that I'm a realist. I know that if a karateka is not at least as profficient and well-rounded as your average amature boxer, he's going to get hurt in a real altercation. No amount of kata, throwing techniques into the air, or pounding a heavy bag can get around this (although it can help). Now, I've had many students who want to train only for the health benefits. I've had a businessman who wanted to hone his mental discipline. I've had a linebacker who wanted to fine tune his timing.Mostly I encounter folks who want to be able to defend themselves, realistically. In thoseuncontrollable circumstances when a physical altercation takes place, they have chosen to take the initiative andcontrol the one thing they actually can -- thier ability to defend themselves. It is my responsibility and the responsibility of every martial arts instructor who opens his doors to the public to ensure that these people are given that control, REALISTICALLY.

Those are the folks who need to spar every day. Oh, and by the way, when did I say anything about full-contact sparring? If my karateka step into the ring and show a lack of control over thier technique to the point that they are blasting one another into a pulp, then they are not learning to control thier technique. Of course, black belts are welcome to pursue whatever degree of contact they wish as long as there is mutual agreement between the practitioners. Generally, daily sparring should consist of bumping blows to the head, throat and other soft targets with body blows delivering more (but not damaging) impact. Sometimes, very rarely,people lose control and hit too hard. The offender (at my school) stops the fight, appologizes, bows out of the ring and procedes to do calisthenics as a reminder to work onhis or her control. The person who got hit now actually knows what it feels like to be hit, making it much less likely that they will curl into the fetal position and cry when hit in a real altercation. This is a good thing.

The point of facing an opponent in practice sparring is to introduce the karateka to the various mental and physiological obstacles that will certainly present themselves when the karateka is confronted on the street by a hostile opponent, bent on causing bodily harm or worse.

A karateka may train for years and develop near-perfect technique, rock-hard fists and lightning fast feet but if he has not practiced against a real opponent he will suffer grave disadvantages such as (but certainly not limited to):

Lack of Timing and Accuracy- karateka must be able to determine with absolute accuracy when and where to strike. Unless you spar against a living, moving, striking-back, blocking target you will never learn this. If your technique misses, or if your technique fails to cause the necessary amount of damage, then it is likely that you will be thrown to the ground and beaten by a redneck -- generally a bad thing when you are attempting to employ self-defense.

Distance - karateka must learn how to control the distance at which the fight takes place. Heavy bags always swing in the same arc, they don't care how much you feint. The interaction and mind-play that occur between two people in a fight cannot be duplicated by any means other than fighting.

Taking a Blow - Generally the first time someone takes a solid blow from another human being, thier mouths drop open, thier eyes widen and fill with tears (of anger, usually) and thier minds are consumed with fear of the prospect of being hit again. THIS IS A VERY BAD THING.If you are in amortal situation andyou lock up: end of story, cancel Christmas,daddy's not coming home tonight, etc.Coping with being hit is a part of the martial arts, IF you wish to learn to fight. If you just want to exercise and get in shape: fine, justbe aware ofyour limitations. If you honestly and REALISTICALLYwant to learn to defend yourself you'll need to know what it feels like to be hit. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you'll never get hit. I deal in real self-defense concepts in a real world where really badthings happen every day. Not Jet Li movies where the star is untouchable.

Mental issues - The worst fear is fear of the unknown. How can a person be expected to cope with a situation that he has never been exposed to? A frightened karateka may as well have never taken a lesson. I guarantee that if you've never squared off against a living opponent you'll wish to God you had when you find yourself in a realaltercation. You simply won't know what to do. You might attempt to throw a technique or two, but you'll just end up being that karate guy that so-and-so beat up. Or worse. I guarantee it.

I noticed a few posts up someone was poking fun to the effect of grabbing a karate-man and throwing him down and beating him up generally works. You know what? He's absolutely right because most martial artists simply don't train hard enough. The martial arts must be approached with a sense of realism if you expect to be able to defend yourself with them. If you enroll in a martail arts school to learn to fight, then you darn well better learn to fight. Learning to throw punches and kicks into the air is not learning to fight.

On the subject of aquiring a black belt in 2 years: I suppose that since the idea of a belt ranking system is wholly an American invention (westerners are generally more impatient than those in the east and require substantial rewards for the work they've done for some reason) then the 'acceptable' time frame for someone to earn a black belt is subjective to the expectations of theinstructor of thesystem in question. 2-3 years is, apparently, an acceptable time in which to become a black belt within some systems.

Where I come from, you aren't a black belt until you are able to handle yourself. Where I come from there are no misconceptions regarding your ability to defend yourself. If you haven't put in the time, sweat, tears, and yes --sometimes blood, and your ability isn't such that you can be reasonably expected to defend yourself against most common assailants, then you aren't going to be lied to and told that you can fight. None of the black belts where I come from are going to be thrown to the ground and beaten by an untrained individual, period, and that takes a minimum of 4 years HARD work. Very few people make it to black belt where I come from.

I am the first to admit in conversation that most martial artists can be dispatched with little effort by most bar-room brawlers. It's sad but true. And it's true because many instructors instil a false sense of accomplishment and security in thier karateka. People areactually lead to believe that with a minimal amount of work and little real fighting experience they are qualified to defend themselves, and they end up not only getting hurt but making all martial artists seem silly. Shame on instructors that allow this to happen.

Beware, guys and gals. There are very few truly effective martial artists out there for a reason. The disciplines are technical and difficult. The techniques take a GREAT deal of practice in order to be usable. If you don't feel like your system is training you to be able to fight, then it probably isn't. If you are a black belt and don't feel absolutely confident that you can defend yourself, you probably can't.

Getting a black belt and being able to defend yourself --although not necessarily mutually exclusive by any means --are two very different things. Be realistic, for your own sake.

you are talking about developing proper mental state in combat. I know exactly what you are talking about... moo shim. Empty mind. Zen.

Sparring may prepare you for a physical confrontation, but in order to effectively enter a "empty mind" state, meditation is required. That is the best way to achieve this state, not through sparring. Sparring merely gets you used to fighting with an opponent. It will not help a student drop all fear in a real confrontation.

Blood is absolutely not necessary in training and should be highly discouraged. Again, if a student draws blood then they have erred andneed to go work on thier control.

There are as many methods of training as there are martial styles. Some utilize meditation, others don't. If the final result is a student that can defend himself in a real confrontation, then we have fulfilled our responsibility as instructors (assuming the studentpractices the art to learn self-defense). The one thing we should never hear from a student is, "Sensei, I got my butt kicked last night by some guy... I used the techniques I was taught... what happened?" As long as we train our guys and gals properly, we'll never have to hear it.

I appreciate your input as well.

I am brown belt Tae Kwon Do and former PKA kickboxer. The good old days. That was like 17 years ago...

I must respectfully back BlueBlahBleh (by the way, may I ask who your sifu is, and your lineage, I would love to know) in his assertion that meditation is a key element in continued martial arts mastery(I admit my bias in this belief). In fact without a well-rounded approach, I do not believe it is possible to become a truly effective martial artist. Young_Padawan, I do recognize that different schools have different approaches to training (for instance where I study we have 2 different programs, external & internal). In the end, many different paths will produce a good martial artist; it sounds like the training methods you use for your higher ranking students encourage a great deal of respect and control. Your school should be comended for that.

Initially, I had concerns about your post that BlueBlahBleh full-contact should be disallowed (because I feel students should know what a solid punch, or techniquefeels like as part of understanding it and being prepared for it). But the clarification you made, that sparring was necessary, brought up a very valid point, and I understand better what you were saying. At our school, we disallow certain techniques during free sparring (standing arm bars, knee traps, throat shots) due to the potential for serious injury due to a lack of control. We do encourage, at the higher ranks (with mutual agreement), solid punches/kicks, sweeps, throws, submissions, etc .. at the lower level we really just have to protect them from themselves.

One of the posters brought up UFC and the grapplers/BJJ. In these contests, certain moves are not allowed due to the extreme potential for permanent damage. Note that these no-holds barred have pages and pages of regulations dictating the rules of engagement. Some fighters, and systems, train around those rules, making for more effective contest fighters. There is a whole debate about competition fighting v. street fighting training and how the training should be done. We could ask 100 people and get 500 answers to which is the "better" training method. I do not have a good answer here except what my limited experience has taught me; I believe that answering this "how to train" question is as personal as "what style works best for me". I believe the best training method is the one that works best for the person using it; this is why we have so many different approaches. This is also why, in many cities, martial arts schools have teachers come from other systems to share knowledge and perspective.

Anubis222, I am glad to hear that you have found a style that excites you. I hope that your search for a school goes well and that you are able to find a good place to learn and train. Please let us know what you find, and if you run into any roadblocks.