Ironberg

Backflip kick! How I wish I could do that... The coolest kick I ever did was once in sparring - a flying round-kick to spin-side all in the air - landing right on the partners skull. I miss the look on the guy's face .

Yeah, I'm sure Tank Abbot and "Butterbean" would. However, it isn't everyday that you have to face a 300-400 lbs. wrestler on steroids, so I think that blocking has it's place in the parrying aspect of self-defense or sport-sparring. I tend to agree with shotochem, although the ability to be all-out-aggressive is useful, I personally have had successes in sparring with a defensive mindset comming into play here and there. I have lost count on how many mid-section kicks I've successfully blocked with my shins and countered. Natural Ability is also important, but only as important to the degree that it is being nurtured to face the people who have truely been training for a long time.

Huh?

One of my coaches described this one to me. Now I've seen everything... Sheesh, I've seen thousands of kicks like that in various matches. What the hell made this one so insanely grotesque.

I should probably be posting this in Health and Fitness, but I felt that more people would relate to it here. My Question is: What is the best way to make knee strikes more powerful? Although I'm a Karate/TKD person, I find them attractive especially since I really wish to someday compete in amatuer kickboxing. Second, what kind of experiences have people had with knee strikes - good or bad?

Yo Momma's sooo fat... Bruce Lee's step-into-sidekick sent Bruce Lee flying away. Yo Momma's sooo fat... I slapped the thigh, and I surfed the waves! Yo Momma's sooo fat... She needs two watches for two different timezones! Keep 'em commin'.

A few times in sparring I did two kicks in the air -really. One of the first times, I caught a black belt in the head with a spin-side-kick after a round kick, and all in the air. I guess that's what I get when I have really long legs: no acrobatic skill, just high-jumping, high-kicking antics. If I did a backflip I'd look like a girrafe attempting to bounce on a trampoline. I also got the flying double-front kick mastered. Really good sparring trick. I can also break bricks with my palm (with moderate pain involved), and can kick bricks apart if they are held by a few people ( no pain ).

Yeah, what he said... If you lack a mirror and space, remember that kicking fast requires flexibility then strength. Do kicking and punching combos as fast as you can (preferably in front of a mirror to watch your technique). And do them until your are doing an areobic workout. If you want to speed up your kicks, a surefire way is to develope enough power and flexibility to hold your side-kick at your current highest possible point for an extended period of time.

I never said bowing was wrong - It really is no different than a handshake cuz that's the only definition I've recieved from a viable sorce. I simply addressed meditation. I see nothing wrong with studying self-defense, focusing your mind, and sport martial arts as long as we are recieving our power from the natural sources God gave us. I also never said that we worship Buddah when we meditate. However, we are showing a respect for the religion when we do which I fear cannot be good for a Christain conscience. I already gave the bulk of my reasonings in my previous message, so I won't say any more for now... If you avoiding religious atmospheres, and bloodsport style arenas, then I see nothing wrong with a healthy Christian studying the martial arts.

@ wrestlingkaratechamp17 Thanks for the encouragement. However, I recently sparred a guy nigh my height at slightly above average weight (possibly around 180). We sparred for over an hour. My movements were constantly more energetic, while I noticed a slow decline in his. But, BIG but here, my teeps (MT push kicks) didn't have as much affect as I wanted. My best teep ended up shooting him back maybe one foot. Only my whipping head kicks seemed to do any damage.

Okay, I may not have read every message in the thread, but I have something to contribute. Firstly, I'd like to say that I appreciate the traditional arts, but both question and praise their application today. When kung fu was around back in it's golden age before it was even brought to America, it was a lifestyle not just an art. The very name "Kung Fu" means "Great Skill", or possibly "Hard Work". For example, the martial arts of the Shaolin Temple were a broad reality to the monks who practiced everyday and became highly proficient at it. The reason who Kung Fu generally doesn't fair well today in the eyes of ring-goers is because people generally stink at it. People can become good quickly at minimalistic arts like MT, BJJ, or Vale Tudo because the scope is small, but it's depth in the limited techniques immense. What I sincerely wish is that we could catch a lifelong Shaolin Monk offguard in a UFC match - then I think everyone will find kung-fu to be something worthwhile - but unreachable because the monk isn't called a monk because he "got a black belt". Arts like kung-fu have a really broad scope, but it's depth is limited only by the amount of time those movements each develope the power of, say, a Muay Thai roundhouse. People who practice arts with such a broad scope generally don't find the depth because of so many things in american "overnight" dojos that impend their ability to stand up to a MT guy, or save themselves if they were attacked by a mugger. The same holds true to TKD or other arts that have been saved their depth because their scope is so unreachable to the general public. Kung Fu's finesse hand striking; TKDs high kicks; Aikido's complex joint throws is sort of like being a lone entreprenuer: It is so incredibly difficult to apply, but if applied brings so much reward to both mind and body. The application of such feats in the present environments requires much more than a "I'm-gonna-train-for-2-years-and-get-a-blackbelt" mentality, especially if you hope to be challenged by arts like MT and win. The saying holds true: "A person who has practiced 1 technique a 1000xs, is more deadly than the person who has practiced 1000 techniques 1 time."

Some time ago, I injured my right middle knuckle for mostly the same reason. Although the injury wasn't serious it was enough to make me not do any empty hand pounding on the heavy bag for some time. Be careful... I'm not saying you shouldn't condition the hands, just do it slowely and preferably with instructor consent. Talk to your instructor about it. Ask him what he does for hand conditioning for breaking/ bareknuckle fighting or whatever.

Well, after what's happened with a few recalled products, and also advice from a friend or two, my family has sort of a phobia of GNC. We do not really know which products or brands to trust on the matter. I'll admit that I have bought some protein whey from the store which I think is rather safe, but I'm kinda edgy about their other stuff. IN addition, I haven't been able to but protein from there for a long time since I'm really low on the green...

Boy, I sure would enjoy learning a bit of kung-fu kata - preferably Shaolin Kempo. However, like the other poor boy, I'm stuck in a miserable small town. The only good thing in this miserable town is the Karate school I train at.

@ Tombstone: Maybe you're right. Perhaps I should stop envying people who've got the strength of an ox and have larger muscles. @ Ben You've encouranged me to never drink beer (never have, never will), I don't have a problem with carbs either. Maybe it's just the amount of consumption. @ Newbalance There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I'm going to stop my martial arts training for an entire month unless I become paralyzed by some drunk driver. I'm not losing the little muscle I've worked so hard for.

One of the primary reasons for TKD being bashed all the time is because so many American Students and sometimes Instructors just plain stink at it. Kicking is like being an entreprenuer - it is difficult to apply, but if applied well is so darn rewarding. Then there's the whole darn McDojo problem... TKD people who are always getting beat-up by Muay Thai people could in fact be good TKD practicioners - but their downfall is that they have a brain the size of a wallnut and don't know when to NOT kick high, or whatever they need to understand about their own limitations. I'm not saying that high-kicking is bad or good - just take it with a grain of salt. There are people out there who are pretty darn good at TKD and know how to handle themselves - they are just hard to find. I'm a firm believer in the saying: "It's the practitioner, not the art."

I unfortunately learned this the hard way - Just Don't Do It. - sorry, I just have nothing more hopeful on the subject.

I think you should kick the grandmasters * for smoking. Seriously, dress up like a ninja or in a trench coat with a mask, anything and go kick his *. Anyone who smokes, drinks, or takes drugs, especially a grandmaster, deserves it. If you aren't doing any of those things it should be pretty simple. Okay, I was only joking, but don't think it's not a sub-conscious desire I feel every once in a while. About Bruce Lee smoking pot, I don't know about that. Sounds like a bad urban legend if you ask me.

Dare I say - Close Quarters Training for future Cops Dojo.

Before I get directly to the point, there is a small bit of history I'd like to clear up. Firstly, before I was 14/15 yrs. I was a poor athlete, and suffered terribly from poor health including asthma, and being a constant bacteria spounge. As I started to slowely work out, and a year later start Tae Kwon Do, my physical condition has improved quite drastically. One problem I've never had, however, is being overweight. I am at 17.5 years of age (be prepared for a shock .....) a 6 foot 5 Inch male at --- 150 lbs. Although I have a measure of strength (I can bench 110% of my weight a 6 reps, and do 280 lb leg extensions, and 80+ pushups, 200 situps), I have very little mass. I eat alot everyday and try to get as much protein as possible. I have a six-pack, but kinda pathetic arms. Is it possible that I have a problem with being underweight? As poor as I am I can't affort a professional dietition or sport-coach on the subject, so that's where you guys come in. In addition, I though that my stats could humor a few people.

I Hope the weight training helps you, eyeball-san. My sympathies go as well. Well, my sympathies are kinda low, however. I injured my knee three weeks ago. I injured it doing a really fast spin-hook kick that made an incredibly loud pop at the point of extension. It isn't serious, however, as it appears to almost all healed up know, but it hurt like hell when I did kicks or jogged. I actually made it through an entire sparring session yesterday , so I should be back in business and going to tournaments again real soon. Once again, the best of my sympathies.

Who could forget that. "The price is wrong, !" Reminds me of the old James Bond movies where we have a highly trained spy who fights like a clumsy, high-school, bloke. In seriousness, I really liked most of the fight scenes in both the Matrix movies, I'm surprised only one other person has mentioned them.

Well, I heard once that turning the other cheek was a way of demeaning your attacker back in the days. If he struck you with the back of the hand, in those days, it was considered feminine and demeaning for the attacker. However, I don't exactly trust the source of that statement... Good article. About meditation - the farthest I go in meditation is concentration of a technique so that my muscle memory is improved. I personally see a problem with calling on mantras over and over again in a subconscious state, or constantly emptying your mind (a very unBiblical principle) so that an unknown cleanliness arrives in your movements, or ability to break things, etc. Understand this, the ungodly spiritual forces in this world aren't stupid. If everyone who performed eastern meditation (or read Harry Potter, or other such matters) was changed for the worse, people just wouldn't do it. We are not cows who just blindly follow procedures, and get roped into trouble - we are human beings. People who are affected in today's present are carefully chosen so as not to be seen by others. Because you are a human being, be careful what your mind dwells on for it is a gift. It is the most powerful computer created, but it can crash, or worse, be taunted by the unseen.

Try a backwards scrapping kick on the shin. This would work great if you are wearing normal shoes, primarily because of the way there is a nice rubbery edge on the heel! Just lift up and push hard all the way down the shin. If they are not Muay Thai fighters they should start to bend over. As they bend over you can manipulate them using a fake Judo throw, and land on them with your back to knock the wind out of them. If they are trying a rear choke by wrapping the elbow around your neck this presents an amazing opportunity! Start by resisting them so that they are forced to apply a bit of force on their quads to support you. Then lift both of your legs so that your insteps are as far behind their knees as possible. Then slam the insteps into the back of the knees causing their joints to become unstable and fall to the ground; also causing their knee caps to feel real discomfort. If they fall all the way to the ground, use one of your hands to keep yourself from taking the fall. If their grip loosens you can reverse-headbutt 'em again and again until he lets you go. If not, get your feet back out in front of you while he is still on his knees. Then move your butt out to make the next maneuver easier - remove your shoes and pull off a sock. Start rubbing it in their face and they will let go. I realize the last part of this paragraph is mostly for humor, but a rear-naked choke is no laughing matter - use what works.

Start doing lifting routines with the hamstrings: ie Roman Chair Hamstrong Curls, or Leg Curls lying down, or you can use ankle weights to strap on dumbells which you can use by holding onto a wall and pulling your foot up with your hamstrings. Then start doing slow kicks and work on the glutes. The first kick is the side kick, since holding it up there for a while strengthens the glutes significantly as well as the sides of the hip that stabilize the two kicks. Also work on holding onto a pole or wall and working your hook kick slowely with the best form possible. Then practice hook kicks in front of a mirror to analyze your progress. Hope that helps.