mafundhelper

Okay. So karate was turned down again. Is this a good thing or a bad thing in your mind?

Does promoting the "sport" of karate help the TMA or hinder them? How would it affect your teaching and training?

I am curious. If you are thinking of becoming a martial arts teacher, are already a teacher, are helping develop teachers, etc...

What kinds of things do you think a martial arts teacher should know in terms of first aid, medical care, basic health conditions?

I realize this could be a huge field. So what are the absolute minumums?

Let me start the process with the following 2 suggestions:

1. CPR

2. Emergency first aid

There are lots of crappy martial arts books out there. But what is one or a few of your favourite books? They can be technical or more mental/spiritual... what do you recommend to your students?

I am sure most will answer yes...but why?

What, in your opinion, are the pros and cons for each?

I will start it off with:

Makiwara pros:

1. promotes pull back

2. less give (like hitting a boney area)

3. easier to see if you hit with the proper weapon area (ie: knuckles versus whole fist)

Heavy bag pros:

1. pushing hits can be useful

2. roundness mimics a body (learn how to hit to the "center" of your opponent)

3. combination work (like a reverse punch and then a back fist or a step with roundhouse kick)

As a traditional karate practitioner, our current front kick uses the ball of the foot. Older masters, older pictures and more show that often a front kick used the toes. ( I use both when sparring.)

But considering most cases will be when the person is in shoes, what do you think is best?

As an experiment, have you tried any of the following:

Have you tried kicking heavy bags or shields with shoes on?

Have you tried different types of shoes?

Have you tried kicking in the air with different kinds of shoes/boots on?