tallgeese

Absolutely agree. Everyone has a ceiling. Either due to physical parameters, training time, recovery, etc. or just due to age. There's a curve to all of this.

In Bujin Kempo I hold a 6th degree rank after 33 years of involvment (god I'm old) 2nd Dan in Gokei Ryu Kempo 1st Dan in BJJ

That's the best kind!

Ok. This is an awesome thread! Let me pull my copy out and work thru it. Good call Bushidoman!

Happy holidays all!!!!

Congrats to everyone! Well-deserved all the way around.

Congrats!!!!

That is a crazy long time when you think about it! It speaks not just to the value of the community but your own passion for what we all love in one form or another. I understand exactly where you are coming from and know your presence will continue to be felt here. It honors me that you look fondly on our interactions on the site and know it's been a pleasure to share thoughts on the arts with you as well and serve on the staff with you.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

It really depends. The best principle to approach the question with is to match weapon to target. In other words, does the choice of contact area give you a better advantage or outcome. Different targets are going to demand different impact areas. So it's hard to nail down an absolute answer. That said, there are a couple of generalities that I think are useful. First up, the round kick, I think the optimal impact area for this in MOST circumstances is the shin. It's nature's baseball bat and has not little bones that are prone to breaking. It's also an easier motion for most people vs. the ball of the foot. However, I'd not say the ball of the foot is without use. Front kicks kind of belong to the ball of the foot. The trajectory just doesn't lend itself to either of the other options. The side kick is the heel or blade of foot, with again me leaning to the heel since it's less prone to damage.

Congrats!

Welcome aboard!

Thank you all so much! It's great to have a bit of time to check in again. I've missed the discussions!

I'm going to be the dissent opinion here, from a grappling art standpoint I just don't like it. I'm good with pockets on the inside of a waistband for a mouth piece or such as you'll see on no go shorts, but external pockets seem a great way to snag small joints and would be a weak point in the construction. Now, for a stand up style not focused on grappling I could see some logical arguments for them. But it would still create a weak point that would rip.

Thanks, guys!