14
votes
Etiquette for sparring with women - How to find the balance and not do disservice?
I will present a judo view of sparring, which will be partially applicable to a kickboxing situation. Judo has two key principles:
mutual welfare and benefit
maximum efficiency
As applied to ...
- 13.6k
12
votes
Why did a Samurai always wear their katana on the left side?
It's similar to the concept of shaking hands with your right hand. The majority of people are right handed, so when shaking hands you present this hand and clasp to show you do not have weapons. With ...
- 13.6k
12
votes
Accepted
Etiquette when changing from karate to jiu-jitsu
There is a famous zen story, one of the variation is this…
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a
university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in ...
12
votes
Accepted
Etiquette for sparring with women - How to find the balance and not do disservice?
As a short answer, I'd say that it comes down to trust and pattern recognition.
Respect the level of experience. During sparring, if the woman recognizes the patterns in your attack and defends with ...
- 682
10
votes
Addressing martial artists of another style
The Japanese term "sensei" isn't so much a title as it is a form of respect for those who have paved the way for you in some way or another. It is often given to teachers, but also to doctors, lawyers,...
- 2,247
10
votes
Accepted
Is bowing a universal sign of respect across all martial arts?
Not really. Bowing is mostly a Japanese phenomenon. Even then in Shorinji Kempo (a japanese style) we don't bow but rather put our palms together in a traditional Buddhist greeting.
In Chinese ...
- 2,830
10
votes
Accepted
What is a grandmaster?
The short form of the answer is that it is entirely dependent on the organization and its standards and customs.
For the longer answer, start by looking at the way the word "master" is used in ...
- 610
8
votes
Is it appropriate to display the dojo kun at home?
Yes
Of course it is appropriate.
I am struggling to find a reason why not to do it if you are keen on it. It is a piece of nice calligraphy which would be enough to display as an art piece ...
8
votes
Accepted
How to spar against a weaker opponent
Competition, in a club setting, should be all about learning: for yourself and them. Thus,
Help them!
Against a weaker opponent, your goal should be to make them better. So, allow them to practice ...
8
votes
Accepted
How to Deal with Talkative Training Partner
Quite frankly, yes, that's basically exactly what you do, ask them to stop giving you advice. If you want to be nice about it, thank them, but say that you really need to concentrate, and the talking ...
- 10.9k
8
votes
Is it okay to get a custom belt if you're not a black belt?
For this question there is only one person to ask:
Your trainer(s).
Is it okay for them or not?
If it is okay for them, always have a normal belt, just in case you do classes or training somewhere ...
- 477
8
votes
How to test teacher's ability?
At my kyokushin karate dojo, one of the instructors is nearly 80. He's physically incapable of performing most of the techniques he teaches. Like, one of his knees doesn't really bend anymore, so he ...
- 2,247
7
votes
Accepted
Why did a Samurai always wear their katana on the left side?
You've answered your own question. It's etiquette. Right-hand means you don't expect to use your sword. Left-hand means you're ready for action. The Samurai had loads of rules and etiquette to abide ...
- 4,158
7
votes
Addressing martial artists of another style
I'm a Taekwondo Master, but having met plenty of martial artists over the years I've been referred to as Sensei by Karateka (along with their traditional "oss" shout) and Sifu by Wing Chun ...
- 1,081
7
votes
Accepted
Why isn't striking part of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
BJJ inherits this treatment of striking in rolling from judo. Strikes were removed from judo randori (free play) because Kano could not figure out a way to train them safely. Only relatively safe ...
- 13.6k
6
votes
Why is a gi worn left side over right?
Origin of keikogi, and Japanese left-over-right dress tradition
The uniforms of karate, aikido, kendo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, sambo etc are derived from the uniforms of judo, which were themselves based ...
- 7,272
6
votes
Etiquette for sparring with women - How to find the balance and not do disservice?
I'm not sure why you feel the need to adapt your sparring to women specifically.
I always try to adapt my sparring to the person I'm sparring with: make it interesting and challenging for them if I ...
- 181
5
votes
Judo zarei difference between men and women
1. Seiza gender differences
The prescribed gender differences in seiza one sometimes hears stem from traditional Japanese seating etiquette, analogous to sitting sidesaddle/astride in equestrianism, ...
- 7,272
5
votes
Addressing martial artists of another style
[...] how to respectfully address masters of other styles.
In exactly the same way as you would do in any other setting: politely ask them.
If you do not know something, you seek knowledge. You read ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the etiquette for practicing with more experienced partners in BJJ?
There is a nuance in the question as posted. Ultimately, this practice may have to do with cultural differences between Brazilians who are more loyally subservient to a team, dojo and instructor, ...
- 60
5
votes
Accepted
What Etiquette Should be Followed When Sparring at Another School?
Yeah, don't be that guy. You don't want to show up at a school asking for a fight. Even if you make it perfectly clear it's "just sparring", many people will see it as a challenge, and you're going to ...
- 17.3k
4
votes
What are the corrects words to greet our shifu?
This sounds like it's probably Cantonese or a related dialect. You're going to be best off finding someone who speaks the language to tell you the exact meaning, though whether it is "correct" is ...
- 8,533
4
votes
Accepted
What are the corrects words to greet our shifu?
In Mandarin, "hao" means "good", and is used as a greeting. (As in "ni hao". "Ni" means "you", but can also be replaced by a title, in this case Shifu.)
The end of class phrase is probably "shi fu ...
- 86
4
votes
Accepted
Switching schools/styles - Is it disrespectful to ask about differences in technique?
It should be fine to ask why techniques are performed in a particular way. Good practitioners understand why and do more than blindly follow what they have been taught.
Good teachers will be able to ...
- 13.6k
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
Kōichi Tōhei in his Book of Ki: Co-Ordinating Mind and Body in Daily Life (1976) states only:
"rest one big toe on top of the other"
when describing exercises from seiza position.
Historically ...
- 7,272
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
I don't know from personal experience, but I did have the opportunity to ask several high-ranking Aikido-ka. Two admitted never having heard of the practice, three others are aware of the practice ...
- 3,851
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
Answer to a previous question:
"Some schools cross the big toes, some don't."
Then there is this discussion on a kendo forum.
And the Wikipedia page on seiza:
"...big toes sometimes are ...
- 229
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
I just went through my bookshelf and the first book I found which talks about this is Chino Susumu's はじめての合気道, which says:
Point! 両足裏は親指が軽く触れる程度にして座る
"Important: place the front of your feet such ...
- 177
4
votes
Etiquette when changing from karate to jiu-jitsu
When I was studying Tae Kwon Do -- if you want to be ultra polite...
Explain the situation to your current instructor and if possible get permission and a reference letter.
Even if you don't talk to ...
- 41
4
votes
Is shaking hands after a judo competition bad etiquette in Japan?
I feel that this question can be split in two sub-questions:
Is shaking hands bad etiquette in Japan?
Does this apply to (Japanese) Judo?
While I have trained in Judo for a few years, my best ...
- 2,247
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