Ironberg

Concur! Although I'm not that crazy, yet, I've had dreams where I've been beaten down by enourmous gangs, been asked to do countless clapping pushups on an incline, kick the crap out of street pursuers, and the like.

Almost the same story as GrandMasterChen, and I do mostly TKD. I use the sideways stance as often as I can for over two years and has helped me alot. It's the only way to go, especially if you are into multi-kick combos. Shin blocks, counters, and the like shouldn't be a problem if you are moving properly in the stance and aren't stationary. It also makes front leg kicks more defensive, or instantaneous, and back leg kicks more powerful because of the hip torque. People I spar who go in a forward, square stance are usually kicked in the gut pretty easily. People I've fought who do as I do, or slightly differently I find are the toughest to face. One guy in particular has a very similar style, but more experience, and enjoys messing with my mind in terms of timing.

I wear a KarateGi with that has the usual, fold over drawstrings that sometimes untie during training. That really bugs me especially since I'm rather scrawny and my belt will sometimes hang loose - causing my uniform to go into chaos when doing stuff like jumping jacks. I'm looking forward to my membership at a TKD club - V-Necks, baby! No more drawstrings!

I'll be studying a bit of WTF style TKD to complement my American Karate a bit - soon. I know WTF is more sport oriented, but that's kinda what I'm looking for right now. Actually, TKD is already somewhat incorperated in my American Karate - I'm doing this primarily for the search of better sparring partners and tournament experience.

Are there any video clips of Tae Kwon Do at the Olympic games anywhere online? Just curious, thanks.

I have to write a comprehensive paper for my black belt test. One of the topics includes the history of American Karate. The paper syllubus mentions the fact that this is the hardest part of the paper due to limited written material on the subject. I was kind of hoping that some of you could mention a few pointers that could help me in my research.

That's true - and it's cool. However, you can't punch the head - grr! I recollect a recent TKD tournament I went to where me and my opponent both threw really really hard body hooks at the same time. Though we both connected, his elbow smashed into my bicept pretty bad. Though I was able to finish (thank heavens for side kicks), it took my bicept a good week to heal. Lesson to be learned: too bad I wasn't able to hook the head and avoid the injury altogether.

Martial Arts has helped my to be more confident and assertive in my character. It has helped my to think of myself with more dignity, and to carry myself that way. My training has also helped me to let off steam on the right things.

I live in a pathetic town on the edge of the earth. I've always tried to broaden my horizons in the martial arts, but have usually failed. I've competed in many tournaments, usually point fighting. I have traveled far and wide to compete. However, recently I've competed three times under Olympic TKD rules. In short, I've found the continuous nature of Olympic Sparring more of a rush, a better test of my skills and endurance, and more rewarding from a sports-man's perspective. I'm moving soon to a bigger city. Not much of an improvement, but an improvement none-the-less. I'll be trying out a TKD school in that area headed by an 8th degree Grand Master who has coached olympic USA teams in the past (Master Park). I live in the Southern most tip of Minnesota on the boarder of Wisconsin, currently. I'll be moving northward, but I have a question: Do any of you know of any WTF style tourneys in my area? I like this better than point sparring. Secondly, have any of you ever taken TKD to the Olympics, and if so, what was it like (competition wise, etc.)?

Ahmen! You hit the nail on the head. I miss my white belt through green belt days when there were people better than me.

Interesting - it almost sounds like Northern Mantis is like Hapkido, except with intricate footwork and unusual hands.

I fear neither. One guy is predictable, the other just plain stupid.

Good point.

I got a question for the ladies (sorry to interject in Mart's post)... Do girls really like a tall, shadowy, solid type who has a reputation for being a loner, or having a close friend, or few friends (that they seldom hang around). As far as my experience goes in this area, this is the way I'm beginning to percieve myself, and have either been hurt trying to get acquianted with the opposite sex, or abandoned. Perhaps my problem is that I'm too quiet, serious, locked-up, sometimes ackward, maybe even bitter or cynical. Is there any attraction to strong, silent types who have good listening skills?

Yeah, not having a car has forced me to sometimes bike almost 10 miles a day. Maybe you should pretend you don't have a car for a while - ya know.

Concur!

Oops, I guess Mart got a really bad kick in the head recently.

So there's your problem -- your hens need another guy figure...

Get 'em involved with c*ck fights. It should help envigorate the hens as well. (somehow this message board censors "cauwck" even when I thinking of FogHorn Leghorn, and not the alternative)

Um... okay... Don't forget to emit horrible noises as you beat off your opponents. Kiap, Scream, growl, roar, howl at the full moon, etc.

I study a traditional art - and my instructor is simply called "Sir", or "Mr. ...".

I know how you feel. I'm reminded of a match at a TKD tournament where an adult green-belt was smashing a younger blue belt to pieces. At the second round, the poor 17-18 (maybe older) yr. old just gave up - and was simply exerting effort to remain standing. I can't help but feel sorry for him.

True - but they often go through alot of pain doing so. I'm reminded of a good PrideFC fight where a kickboxer faced off with a wrestler - the kickboxer lost by a submission ultimately, but the silly wrestler was beat on pretty bad. After seeing some well timed head-kicks and some nasty punches, the wrestler was about through. It was kind of sad to see a good stand-up game ruined by h*mpin' around in the cage.

Same story here. I use to be terribly underweight. When I first started training I was close to 6'3'' and weighed close to 140lbs. Now I'm 6'4'' 173lbs and am feeling more confident of myself. The only problem is that the weight I've gained doesn't show really well and I still look pretty scronny.

Well, a good percentage of the few friends I've got have been seriously burned by girls they've admired. One dude I know needs some serious therapy, but when you get down to it - we all do. There seems to be an aweful lot of girls who just want to use guys as steps up the social ladder. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure an equal amount of males do the same thing, but not in my shallow neck of the woods.