Lycann

I have noticed that the biography for many martial arts instructors often follow a pattern, especially when it comes to higher dan ranks and dan ranking in secondary and tertiary (and sometimes more) arts.

They usually explain they began training and earned their initial black belt after X years. Second dan then follows some time later. Rank from there seems to explode in terms of frequency and variety. Why is it that after second dan everything seems to come faster? Is it a matter of concurrent study in multiple arts and simply leaving the details out for the sake of brevity or do you really advance that much faster after your years of training?

I have heard about martial artists cross training one another privately and conferring dan rank in accelerated time lines but these stories usually leave the scent of McDojo in the air. Is there legitimacy in this practice that could help explain the pattern?

I realize the question is a bit generalized but I've seen the pattern often enough that I'm curious for some responses. I would especially appreciate responses from top contributors ranked highly in multiple styles as their own experience may shed light on the matter. Thanks much!

A quick search didn't return anything worth while so hopefully this hasn't been fielded yet.

I've been told numerous times that flying kicks were primarily created and intended for dismounting warriors on horseback. I'm curious who else has heard this and whether anyone has put serious effort into verifying the story?

Many people here quite rightly point out that rank means nothing without the skills to back it up. So it's a safe statement to make that rank doesn't matter.

That got me to thinking about cross-training. These people are looking to acquire skills from varying arts without much focus on rank. By many of the traditional guys' view this should be admirable. However, we often see statements about people wandering from style to style not realizing that if they stick with one they would often learn a complete system. To me that sounds like the opposite message.

I'm not pointing fingers or accusing anyone on anything, if it works for you, all the power to you. I myself have only really studied in a single art, having just dabbled in a few with friends for the sake of getting that exposure.

What are you views on cross training? Should it be supplemental to a focus on a single style? Should it be avoided. When is "right" to seek more exposure to other arts if you've been studying a single style? Clearly the circumstances are different for each of us and so I'm only looking for your opinions.

When we see the "how do I beat up this kid at school" type questions the responsible contributors explain that fighting isn't the answer. This attitude is what most experienced martial artists have learned through personal experience and their years of training.

If the truest martial arts related answer to these questions is pacifism then answers suggesting anything else go against martial arts training and therefore really have no place here. Answers to knee cap a bully or hit them with a bat or even pull a gun on them (I've seen all these and more) are dangerously irresponsible and quite honestly against Yahoo! Answers Community Guidelines. Many of us train with live sparring which includes a lot of hitting (both giving and unavoidably receiving); questions that are asked about sparring could easily be applied outside of class but these are often answered as they are technical in nature. The school yard fight scenario warrants no answers because it does not relate to the practice of martial arts (even if one or both parties in the fight train). Any answers that advocate violence are against the Community Guidelines definining "Doing Harm"

"Be responsible and don’t misrepresent yourself, claim false credentials or expertise or give advice in a way that might cause someone harm. Don’t incite or advocate violence or harmful practices"

So I've covered the valid answers and the invalid answers, but I believe the questions themselves go against community guidelines for a couple other reasons. Not only are they seeking the kind of illegal answers that they invariably get but they quite often begin with a rant against the other kid. The last point of contention I'll mention is the age restriction; too often I see these questions from kids who openly state themselves to be 12, a full year younger than Y!A permits.

While this post may seem like a rant I believe strongly that these school yard fight questions should be reported and deleted quickly. I haven't heard about it happening yet but how long will it be till some unstable kid reads the answer to pull a gun and decides that's his best bet? Martial arts aren't a game and while we have fun with some answers these ones should not be allowed.

Who else reports these questions as a violation? Who will join me in reporting these questions? What else do you suggest we do to make this section a safer place?

I've always heard that submission type techniques (joint locks in particular) are detrimental to the development of joint in children. This has always been cited when explaining age restrictions at some schools. They do also cite that the style is full contact but I don't see this as a real reason to not allow children as long as they are taught well.

More recently I was reading through an article that actually suggested grappling type arts were better for children. They said that the exercise is great, a child's natural flexibility allows them to develop much faster in their game and kids love to wrestle around anyways so it's almost a natural choice.

I understand not necessarily wanting to teach a child but why make excuses if this is the real reason?

Who has the facts on this? What are the reasons behind age restrictions at your schools? Does your school, focusing on grappling (be it, judo, bjj, whatever) have children programs with the full syllabus?

Kind of an ambiguous title but it should draw some attention.

Since I began my training I've become close friends a few fellow students. This seems to be more than a likely occurrence given the time you spend with your training partners and your common interest in martial arts.

Despite this, I haven't done anything with my martial arts friends outside of class. I'll send an email but that's the limit of it.

Is this common to have friends you train with but never do anything outside of class? I realize that a lot of people compartmentalize their daily life and their martial arts training and keep the two separate but this question is to just find out what other people here have experienced along these lines.

I came across a question about testing and a couple of the top contributors' answers indicated that they do not hold testing.

So here is my open question: Who else uses the no test promotion? What are you experiences with this?

As an after thought, what style do you train in that uses this practice? I know it's ultimately up to the instructor but I'm curious to see if there are trends with different styles.

Personally, I like the idea. I'm under the impression that a school I'm looking at continuing with follows this same practice but it is new to me.

For those training in this style, are there requirements for visiting the Honbu dojo (rank, invitation, scheduled events, etc)?

For those that have visited the Honbu dojo, how much training have you received directly from Hatsumi soke? I'm not talking about watching from a crowd as he performs a technique, I'm wondering about instruction he personally has given you.

Any experiences with this would be welcome. Thanks.

For the teachers that contribute here, if a student was dedicated but unable to afford the standard membership, would or have you made exceptions/alternate arrangements so they can continue studying under you? Would you accept a new student under these circumstances?

I realize that this is your business and livelihood but as many of you have said, it is a path wrought with financial ups and downs, but the hard working students make it worth it.

For those reading this question, have you been in such a situation where you couldn't afford training dues but came to an alternate payment method with your instructor?

I'm interested to see what you all have to say on situations such as these.

A couple days ago I saw a poster (top contributer as well) mention using his training should society collapse and he be left to fend for himself and his family.

Clearly, those trained would have an edge in H2H and CQC but who, if any, has trained with this seriously on their mind?

For those more grounded individuals, how and why did YOU start your training?

Looking forward to your answers.

I see so much about martial arts and ultimate fighting here that it brought the idea to ask what you think. I have my own ideas but I'm interested to hear what others have to say. Some regular posters I'm sure I can guess their outlook, but again, I'm curious to see everyone has to say.

What do you think is the definition of a martial artist and a fighter. Is there always a clear distinction? Is there ever a clear distinction.

While ultimate fighting, or MMA, is generalized as martial arts (and there are a lot of martial arts techniques, don't get me wrong) is it really fair to still call it such?

What are some of your experiences when you decided to start a new martial art. Were you treated as an outsider at the new school? How about your old school, did you return regularly and if so how were you treated?

I am using XHTML and require a <div> element to add a scroll bar for the data. The problem is that because <div> does not play well between rows I had to create two tables, one with the header outside of the <div> and a second within the <div>.

This idea is required because the table is generated from a script and produces way too many results. The fixed header location (outside the <div>) and the scroll bar (made possible by the <div>) for the data are both required.

What is the best way to get these table columns to line up?

I would prefer an XHTML solution; CSS solution second.