Ironberg

I study karate/TKD. I've seen stacks of bricks broken by higher belt practitioners who believe in these things: 1. focus. 2. confidence. 3. technique. 4. timing. But no chi. I have my own little positions about it that I prefer not to get into. However, I don't think it is a needed component to make a good fighter/Martial Artist.

Thanx again. Yep, Sais are heavier than most implements their size. If I do buy one I'm going to weigh one just for kicks.

thanx! Yes, most of the time I simply think that doing the kicking drill as fast as possible will eventually make me faster. Also, I have a problem with keeping my body upright if the kick is higher than my waist. Could this be from turning the hips too much into the initial kick. Remember we are talking about round kicks, side kicks, and hook kicks here, not front kicks.

thanx... Just one question: is it true that there are four or more ways to hold a sai? 1. The dagger. 2. The four fingers gripping the side prong-axel. This is more of a transition to the third one: 3. Holding the spike itself. This allows one to use the hilt as a weapon in the case that a backward/side jab to the ribs. Also for "controled force" if you simply want to stop your opponent and not kill 'em. 4. The reverse dagger (holding it as if to do a downwards strike). One last question... Because the sai is usually heavy metal, are there some strikes that utilize it more as a club than a spike. Just curious because this would effect my decision to learn sais or not.

Just a few theories: 1. Shin block to punches. 2. Lower your stance and whip your arm to the side so that the shin/instep is unfortunate enough to whack your pointy elbow. 3. Palm grab it with a lowering reverse-palm block. Yes, you are meeting force with force, but if you are successful, you've essentially got a grab on their leg; which can lead to several creative counterattacks. The only problem, however, is that the palm maneuver could leave your chin exposed to a nasty jab or two.

The little obsession with the machine-gun kick first started with the double-round kick, and then movies. Then there came the triple round kick and now I can do 8+ round kicks without putting the foot any lower than my thigh and as high as my forehead. However, I've been attempting to time myself and wish to speed up the flow of kicks. I first started by holding onto a wall and throwing multiple kicks. Then I began to work on balance more often, then three, four, and then five kicks just came naturally. However, being long-limbed it is difficult to not teligraph this pace. Any suggestions on speeding up the multi-kicks. Maybe extra sprinting, weights, pylorics, ect. ??? Anyone else doing something similar for sparring, forms, or "just for kicks" ?

Well, as you all know, summer is dawning upon us. I'll finally have some time on my hands. So far in the 1.5 years I've been studying the martial arts I haven't really picked up a MA weapon. However, I have been frustrated in what to choose. Being a kicker, some say I should pick up a small hand weapon like the chucks, sais, kamas, escrima(s), walking cane. I hear that sais, escrimas, and canes do poorly in kata tournaments (competition does hold importance to me). Sometimes I imagine weilding a katana, or doing pole-vaulting kicks with a bo, but I just don't know. I heard katanas do espeically poorly in kata tournaments (anyone seen differently?). Someone else suggested I try to do something drastically unique and attempt to develope or find a "belt" kata. Sounds impractical, but definately something you'd always have with you. Lately I've been thinking about learning Sais, but hearing that they are looked down upon at tournaments discourages this. Sometimes I do the same with the katana, and also note that it will cover-up my kicking repritore. However, a good price of a katana at my dojo makes me flinch at the decision. Any advice or further questions. Views and opinions greatly appreciated.

I am having a bit of a conditioning problem. A combination of home-brewed knuckle conditioning, sub-zero weather that I work in, and a really stupid incident combined with the usual bare-knuckle bag work has developed this. My left knuckles are fine, partally because I learned my lesson, and because of luck. My right middle knuckle has an extra narly "knot" in it with a huge skin seperation that shows the width of the caullose. Every time a whack a bag with this baby it whines and whines, and bleeds! Is there anything I can to to properly heal the knuckle without tearing the section of skin clear off, because the skin seperation has for about two weeks showed no signs of healing. Like I said, it bleeds when I hit stuff.

I personally think it best to leave the knife hands in the dojo and opt for fists on the streets. I used to believe that the ridge hand was a particularly useful technique until I descovered the hard truth that is only seems to work on soft targets such as the abdomen, or perhaps wood. I do think the hands of most athletes these days are probably the poorest trained due to the fact that dojos do not do body conditioning like they used to. The idea about the ridgehand was quickly replaced with a technique I later read about (I don't know the name) where a back fist is turned upside down and hammered sideways using your hips for momentum (reverse backfist??). Why shoot a knife hand into the gut when a hammerfist will be better. However, I still debate whether or not the knifehand takedown upon striking the side of the neck is any effective (the one where you strike, knee the head, and then sweep). You can't seem to not use the knifehand because: 1) it feels really ackward with a hammerfist 2) the grab is made almost impossible.

Hey they did that in Shaolin temples, they simply used much harder objects and combined the action with acrobatics.

More and more in sparring I am realizing the power of the low roundhouse finished with a high hook kick to an unsuspecting target. To me it is almost like the friend combo to the multi-roundhouse in that you can mix 'em up and confuse your partner; BUT as long as you are about as fast a speedy gonzales, because some people do know how to dodge or block.

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for me. A high ranking buddy at my dojo has enlightened me in the ways of the Iron Palm. It goes beyond throwing your fists into a buckets of sand to throwing them in wood bark, and then metal shavings. The caulouses are turned into rubber, and the rubber turned into pads of rough material, because the metal shavings actually meld with the skin making it ideal for concrete breaks. Yes, dit da jow is a must above the sand stage as it keeps your hands from looking narly and monsterous. I consulted him about any health effects like cancer; he said he never heard of it because it is shouldn't concern anything below the skin if done properly. Any thoughts on the Iron Palm conditioning.

Thanx guys. It'll definately be helpful to get an economical exercise like the one jmy77 was proposing, because I also spend alot of time on the lower body.

Now that we're on the topic of weightlifting, I'd just like to say that I never used to lift weights until recently, and in my last summer. I've seen a boost in performance in a couple areas, but I have yet to get these pitiful excuses for forearms pumped up. I can bicept curl with both arms sixty pounds at a good medium rep, but can't seem to notice much size change.

I got "flying swallow". No offense, but don't swallows already fly. Concerning the swallow part, I've always known I need to gain some weight but this is rediculous.

I think that it would be soo-wweet if I, or someone would break a brick with the reverse punch. I've seen fellow practitioners do it with side kicks, and flying kicks (with people holding the brick of course). However, the knuckle conditioning requirement is huge. I am currently trying by doing knuckle pushups on hard surfaces (like concrete), and jabbing at hard objects. Any other good ways? I know many people have put their fist through brick while the brick is lying between cinder blocks, but we are talking a reverse punch here. Has this been attempted before?

What the heck is dit da jow??

--- Ironberg selects thread about weight-lifting... --- Ironberg prepares to contribute praise about Shotokan_Karate0's weight lifting rant... --- Ironberg scrolls down, scratches his head and then slams his palm into his forehead... --- Ironberg knocks himself out, and leaves this message for you: jkfghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhh... MESSAGE TERMINATED

I'm a medical idiot, so I have nothing to contribute. However, because I have a poor excuse for conditioning in my martial art curriculum, I have to do it myself. I do knuckle pushups, ON CONCRETE. Other times I jab at the lenolium, and vigorously rub rolling pins up and down my shins. I sometimes hammer my basement floor with my palms, or hit myself in the gut among other self-taught garbage. Yes, I do not know if this will kill me when I turn sixty, but right now I just don't know or care. If it does, I'll... I'll... hmmm, what will I do?.

Do rolling pins (wood or metal or marble) make good shin conditioning devices?

Not only is the scull highly dense, but it's curvature enforces is like a small arch bridge. If the scull was a much flatter object like a brick it probably would be much easier to break.

Hwarang Taekwondo huh! That would be the day! Now I wanna open up a karate school and call it "Kazama's Training Hall".

Yes. However, keep in mind that for TKD to work at its prime the light person must have some long-limber limbs. One thing I've noticed in my many sparring bouts is that the natural reaction for semi-well trained tall people is to either whip their heel into their opponent's mouth from afar off, or to aggressively skip into some sort of wild punch down at their shorter partner's head. This causes the shorter semi-well trained guy to say: "GRRRR@! Can I just tackle you now %&*$%!" I've never been in a street fight, but the hard truth is that concrete is friggen solid (more than training mats), and I only want my opponent to feel any solidity- my boots. However, I must admit that I feel somewhat incomplete without a further knowledge of grappling.

I tend to use shin blocks. Especially because all of my sparring partners are shorter than me. I personally think that if you were to try to use your hands at all to stop low kicks you'll just get punched in the face. For you Muay Thai people, other than being tougher is there anything that is particularly unique about your shin-blocking style as compared to other styles? Curious...

Oh man, where do I begin... For starters, theres the ol' low-high trick. Personally It would be great to take out the assailant with a spinning hook kick to the head, but I think that double kicks are more street-worthy. Start by bashing a low target like a knee. Just as he grabs for his injured sector, the head recieves the final blow- usually in the form of a hook kick or a round kick. If I'm real mad I'll then finish him off with an ax-kick, while he is on the ground wimpering.