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Winter's End
Belt Promotion Test
March 2, 2010
Video Clips have been added at the bottom of the page!!
These back two lines (above) : The youngest students at Ligo Dojo. Young Warriors all!!
We place these two photographs together for a very specific purpose (above and below). The two students above (engaged in a full-contact match) are 14 and 18. It's the 14-year-old here (left) who's the champion, having won first place in last year's tournament in Connecticut, not just in his division but also in the division for 15-17 year old boys. But note the determination on the face of the 18-year-old (right). He's fighting to win and he's fighting for real, but the key point is here that he's also fighting with his friend and training partner, and he's fighting according to the rules of the "sport" designed to protect the fighters from injury.
Now notice the 11-13-year-olds below. Notice the handshake. They just finished "fighting" too, but they do it at Ligo Dojo for the first time in their life in a way that takes the violence out of their fight. They're not fighting out of anger, and they become closer friends, and have more respect for one another (and more respect for fighting and how dangerous it can be!) having fought in this controlled, anger-free environment. Notice, they're congratulating each other!! This might be hard to grasp for the causal observer, but we invite anyone to come see the training. These guys (the little ones) are having the aggression (those that have it) programmed out of them, and they don't even know it!
Counter-intuitive? Maybe, but beware the karate school that DOESN'T allow the the students to participate in activities that come close to matching "the real thing." Yes, it has to be done safely and by the rules, but to practice martial arts without this type of experience is to foster a fantasy and parents should be cautioned. Would you rather have your own child safely knowing the real thing, or further endangered by being led to believe he/she knows the real thing when really for him it's just a game he does at the karate school with other who play the same game?
Although this looks like a KO, it was not one. Levitation (notice Chris's feet off the ground!) is NOT a skill we teach at Ligo Dojo.
Shihan Jacques (below right) was one of the first people in the
US to practice Kyokushin karate. Having been introduced to Nathan Ligo
by Mas Oyama (Kyokushin founder) in 1992, he and his wife Annie, have
been living in North Carolina and attending Ligo Dojo trainings for nearly
three years. His friend Jim (left) just stopped in to watch.
Sensei Ligo (above and below)
Video Clips of the Fights All students at Ligo Dojo participate in one one-minute round of hard fighting, once every three months at their belt promotion test. All matches (i.e. who fights who) are made in order to make the experience as safe as possible, i.e. paired students are the same size and level. Headgear (and other padding) is used in any case where we feel like the match might not be safe. Please watch the video clips of the fights below, but please note! These are men, women, teens, and children participating, and they're just like you! We don't engage in this intensity of sparring everyday, but these students (i.e. the ones who don't opt to fight in tournaments) spend three months training to get stronger between tests, and at the tests they're giving a REAL chance to test what they've learned. Watch the video clips and notice how the students walk away from their mataches smiling and unhurt. Again, counter-intuitive, but our RESULTS proove the method. These students are learning real Karate, real self-defense, and DEVELOPING REAL CHARACTER that will help them to be more successful in life beyond the dojo. Come watch a class!! See for yourself. |
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