Dave McNeill's Blog (221)

Plus an instructors seminar on Sunday!

Dacula Family Sports, Dacula, Georgia

770 237-2121

bobby@daculafamilysports.com…

I watched a jujitsu class last night taught by an amazing, high ranking, high caliber…

Lee Tau was a wonderful martial artist, father, minister and soldier. He never met a stranger and I never saw him display anger. Lee, you've fought the good fight, now you can rest.

Master Andy Tourin is one of the best Jujitsu teachers you will ever have the honor to learn from.

Signed 12" cocobolo training knife with turquoise inlay. $60 plus S&H. If you think that is a lot of money, take a look at the cost of raw, unfinished cocobolo.…

This was the first ever Samurai Award. It was presented to Master George Fujii for his unwavering community support via his long occurring free self-defense classes and free classes to the special needs population.

What does the hook and title mean? The Hawaiian hook is a symbol of caring…

Jake Passas is now a Black Belt in Goju-Shorei Karate.

Standing left to right: Sensei Denise Ramsey, Sensei Dani Kooyman, Soke Larry Kooyman, Master Ken Mammen, Master Andy Tourin, Sensei William Chappel, Sensei Jake Passas, Sensei Marta Azzam, myself, Master…

47 years in the martial arts is enough so I'm retiring. There are 13 different styles in this photo and over 1,000 years of experience. We had 100 plus at this soirée hosted by John Mayes at his hanger in Carson City, Nevada.

I am so blessed and honored by everyone that showed up, ate and talked story. Thank you dear, dear friends.

Much to my…

I have been doing seminars at this school for 12 years and I love the owner, Todd Bradley, beyond measure because of the quality of his students and steadfastness of his standards.

I taught a 2 hour class on healing Friday - with the awesome help of Mary Ann. Saturday I taught martial arts for 4 hours concentrating on the 6 knuckles of Goju-Shorei and the Roku Empi (6…

If we teach martial arts we always hope that we will have a positive, lasting effect on our students. Seldom do we get confirmation that we made any difference to them, so I was thrilled when I got such confirmation twice within a week.

Mary Ann and I went to a Carson City restaurant mid-afternoon. There were only two other tables…

I am in need of unfinished hickory canes 36 to 38 inches long. If anyone knows of a company that makes raw, unfinished hickory canes please let me know.

Most, if not all, martial arts systems have some kind of time requirement for grading to the next belt. At the lower levels (kyu) it might be just a couple of months before the student is allowed to test again. 

At black belt (dan) the time between tests is measured in years. A typical time in grade is; 2 years between first and second degree, 3 years between…

In the early 2000s Tom Callos and I were talking at a coffee shop in Reno when he mentioned something he was thinking of doing. He called it the Ultimate Black Belt Test, and when he explained what it consisted of I told him he was crazy, because no one in their right mind would do such outrageous things over a year. 

Fast forward a few years. In…

I strongly believe this curative effect would apply to all martial arts.

This is a picture of Master McCuskey teaching pressure point theory and application at my dojo decades ago.

Dan had a heart attack late last week and passed away last night.

He introduced me to pressure point in the 80s by knocking me out with a Lung 1 & 2 strike. I was sold before my butt hit the ground. He was generous with his knowledge and time…

Learning a martial art from scratch – basics, concepts, forms and vocabulary - is hard. But not as hard as herding butterflies.

Testing for any rank requires a trust in the process, a high level of conditioning and overcoming nerves and doubt. It is hard, but not as hard as herding butterflies.

Coming to a martial arts class when you are sore or tired…

If you are in the martial arts you should aspire to be a good martial arts teacher. We look to other martial artists for inspiration, examples and guidance. If we are inspired by our own martial arts instructor then our style of instruction will probably be a close copy.

But I think we should also look back to our teachers we had in grades 1 through 12. We all…