Ironberg

How realistic are you wanting to be? Are we talking ghetto-punks, or Bruce Lee's theatrical brutality (JKD), or the farfetched kung-fu from "The Matrix"? Are the characters skilled in martial arts or street-fighting (not that steet-fighting is always better-please don't misinterperate this), and do they possess weaponry. Realistic Moves- hook punch, hook kick to the head (much taller fighters), low-line kickin seen in Muay Thai, all kinds of boxing punches, Scissor kick takedown , Knee thrust, elbow smash... Far-Fetched moves- Shaolin twist stace to a "Shadow Kick" in a crane stance, Reverse ridge hand to a flip-over-the-head takedown. Three head kicks followed by a flying side kick. "Mr. Jet Li style..." I hope your beginning to see my point.

I never really lifted much before I got a Bowflex this month. I just turned 17, and weight, hmm, the last I weighed myself I was a measily 150 at 6'4''. In about three weeks, according to my Bowflex I've reached fro 60 to 110 pounds in about that timeframe (6-12 reps). Very weak, but hey, a good start. However, if anyone asked me what I can lift with my legs they would be pretty awe-struck considering I can still do the full splits.

I think it is really funny when my instructor asks my class to do a good number of one-handed pushups. I see some people bobbing their heads up and down while their arms aren't doing a lick of work, while others collapse to the floor. I myself am terrible, but their was a time when I injured my right pectoral in a nasty home-benching accident, and I managed to do twenty-five left handers during class and I still couldn't to anything much with my right arm at all. Yes, tricept power is very essencial to one-handers. A tricept press with dumbells would be a good way to train for one-handers. One question, has any of you ever done one-handed pushups with one leg saddled behind the other. I can't seem to do that yet, I need more balance and power.

I think some people here have been playing the Bloody Roar series a little much - LOL. Anyway, the test somehow equated me to a Sable, and a penguin... and an owl!!! I think anytime you equate humanity to the animal kingdome you are going to get some pretty funky results.

Iron Monkey (Ancient Martial Arts with fascinating moves - lots of 'em) (who here can do the shadow kick - not me) Fist of Legend - Jet Li (Perdy Kung Fu) Enter the Dragon (Chuck Norris vs. Bruce Lee - really cool)

I really enjoy martial arts. My club (American States Karate) teaches American Karate which is mostly Tae Kwon Do, and a pinch of anything else. We learn that technique must first be taught, perfected and then unessencials removed. We also learn that our techniques are to be put to the test through sparring. My only complaint is that grappling is seriously neglected. I have toyed with it in the past, and I may have a talent for it- but it doesn't get any fresh air and there is nowhere to get it. My instructor has the greatest teaching style. He is not a drill sargent, but simply tells us what we should be doing, and makes it abundantly clear to us what we should have the disipline for. However, he can't MAKE people do anything and I am sure he is as disheartened as I am when we see lazy people who think that martial arts is like some sort of coffee house. His black belt standard is very flexible and people who shouldn't graduate do (unfortunately), but there is only so much he can do about that. However, his ideal standards are very high, and he isn't there to take money. Final Verdict- Me and some of my friends have benefitted too much for us to not like this club. I have learned much about self-discipline in the past year.

I hate it when a certain blackbelt does the warm-ups. He has not the faintest clue what a real pushup is even though I talk about it all the time with my friends. He is young (pre-teen), and demands that we do at least 75 "pushups" + everything else. I have no choice but to sweat out the first 60, and come up with the remaining 15 sometime later (with my nose millimeters away from the ground at every rep). The best way for me to describe his push-ups are "neck-ups". He is also a mortally short dipstick that I try not to step on when I spar him. Other than that, I hate it when people fart while doing "back elevated leg raisers".

I know I am not the one to be giving advice on the subject- but I've had some interesting experiences with it: Definately weight lift. I have given up getting gym memberships so I just ordered and acquired a bowflex! I also drink protein suppliments which can get pretty pricy, so I have to compensate by trying to put more protein in my regular diet (ie big slabs of ham in my sandwiches). There was one week last summer when I was serious in both my training and weightlifting at a gym that I gained ten pounds. Remember to use a spotter if you are trying to really rep out the heavy stuff. I know this from experience and never learned because the majority of my weight lifting was at home.

To gain ten pounds. I am 6'4'' and weight 150lbs. Two weeks ago I couldn't stand it and ordered a Bowflex PowerPro.

I was six when I studied kenpo. I loved it, but then I moved. Now I'm in highschool and have studied American Karate for over a year. I like American Karate because it is 70% TKD, 30% just about anything else.

Any knee combos or thrusts to consider here? I suppose if he managed to grab my knee I still have elbows.

Don Gwinn is absolutely right. I just theorize that most of us at times are foolish enough to wish for the "good-ol-days" when it took more than a trigger pull to main or kill someone. If martial arts is more than a hobby for you all, you must be a realist to get far in this world. Some of us train for many hours a day, and I think some of those people cringe at the thought that they could become a dead pile of muscle by one loud sound, even after the hours they spend learning how to "defend" themselves. It is a sad reality for people fascinated by the martial arts, but a reality non-the-less. I'm not saying that martial arts is obsolete- God forbid - but that we must understand the times we live in. We must also remember that in ancient times, take the Shoalin Temple for instance, there were no guns. The form of combat then was martial arts, and their training was all they had. They were no superwarriors because everybody else was training 24/7. Sorry about the rant.

I never said kickers should be faster than boxers. I simply didn't clarify a statement I was trying to make: "kicks are generally slower than punches". I apologize for the vagueness I made of it. I think I also mixed pronouns by accident. I also have a system of hand techs I utilize when I feel my kicking circle is about to be breached. Being a "kicker" has it's downfalls just as much as being a "puncher". Therefore, I personally think it is wise to have a balanced mindset of the two upon considering your physical abilities and height, etc. However, a person with a heavier preference on kicks should think about his speed, because even if the kick is pretty long ranged more time means more telegraphed intentions.

One word: SPEED! The hands are naturally faster than the feet, simply because they travel a shorter distance, and are much more flexible. This causes a kicker to be somewhat slower at times when he shouldn't. I'm a kicker, and I also find that playing with his mind helps. The beginner's way of achieving that is to throw machine gun kicks (ie low to high round kicks). Eventually more dimension will follow with discussion of circular vs. linear kicks, and so on. However, speed is one of the greatest assets in a kicker's arsenal.

I'd like to second that with the spinning hook kick- The more you do it the more you like it. When I first started doing it it landed a foot away from their face. Now I'm so darn fast that I nail guys in the head with my calves!

I should start experimenting with this, but I think that it would be cool, if you have the reflexes, to actually punch the swinging arm. Bear with me here, one day when I was sparring I through a hook at the same time my partner was throwing a good jab that landed squarely on my bicept! It eventually got back to sparring that class period, but it hurt like hell. I was lucky it didn't bruise. However, I was wondering if that wouldn't be an effective counter to any hook. Any thoughts?

Greetings!

Howdy! Welcome! Being young and I've learned that underestimating fat, unflexible opponents is more foolish than my trying condition my hand on a metal dumbbell (please don't ask). Last week I sparred on of your kind who is getting better all the time. He was also very short and landed a very well timed, and controlled side-kick on the edge of my knee. My response: "Sweet shot. That might not have givin' you a score in a WTF tourney, but that would wipe me out on the street." Good Luck on your journey in the martial arts.

Hmmm... Has anybody looked up "ass" in an old dictionary lately? Because, I've been training my ass to do karate for many years now and he has already kicked out the barn door three times, and demolished five chickens. Farmer Joe across the road hasn't set foot on my property for years! My ass has a second dan leather belt, and is willing to take on all challengers.

I apologize if I've prejudiced against short people. I've had a 5'8'' blackbelt in my style kick my a**. My purpose on point number 1 is to demonstrate that all those "mighty" kicks are best suited for a physique that has the ability to throw them with reach and power. This doesn't mean that short people can't be good. I might add that Bruce Lee was a short guy as well (remember, however, that he practiced the economical art of Wing-Chun).

This is the only praise that I'm going to give TKD concerning match-ups against other styles: 1. If the person is tall. (like above 6'2'') 2. The person understands interception. 3. The person is fast- leathal speed. 4. The person is very skilled and can take a hit. 5. Is not ignorant towards the subject of grappling or other styles. If these five things are met by the TKD practitioner, then he is deadly. I believe that comparing styles against other styles when you fail to take physique into account is perhaps a bit shallow. I myself study an art that resembles TKD and a bit of other arts and have seen many physiques triumph, but more of the time, tall and skinny people with a disire to be stronger usually dominate. However, Hapkido gets the best of both worlds concerning grappling and TKD. I have seen TKD get a bad press all the time I tend to agree because there are too many people and dojangs that are not serious about their art (did somebody say... Mcdojang).

Ibouchet, Submission Fighter- did I see ninjitsu!!!? As sweet the ancient art is, I thought we had about the same amount of ninjitsu schools in the USA as we do Sushi Bars. I mean, I've seen instructional videos in Century catalogue, but I've never heard of a ninja dojo somewhere in the US. Just curious ...

Yo people! I recently heard some rumors that there will be alot of swordry featured in the Matrix 2. Wouldn't that be awesome!!! Seriously though, the katana can chop down a bow, is longer ranged than a sai or chucks or kamas. I am still not in a weapons class but someday hope to be introduced to swordry just for the fun of it. However, nothing beats a handy handgun, except maybe another handgun that was used first (oh the un-samari-ishness of modern weaponry).

I am not kickchick either, but, I am also interested in leg kicks because they seem to be very "street worthy". BladeLee was right on the money, I might also add that the knee is also a pretty good striking target. I am just hypothesizing that any well placed kick against any part of the knee is good use of a leg kick. Any comments?...

Welcome to our Kendo school- the art where we bash each other with sticks while making inhuman noises (could be a cult). Tai Chi Quan - Transulated Tai - ("the way of") Chi - (lets just guess: "Standing Around") Quan - (maybe Klingon for "Only faster") What is white, black, and red- The TKD stylist who faced a Muay Thai guy.