tallgeese

today- mitt work, sevearl 3 min. rounds, rotating within the group. start with combo, add covering or bobbing two hooks at end. then add defending via traps or interceptions jabs and crosses prior to combo, continue to finish with hook defenses. shield work with mitt work rotation- shin, clinch, knees, break and shove, shin add defense vs. kicks at beginning and end of combo 20 min instructional block. reviews scarf and escapes. added armbar submission and key submission from scarf. covered escape from these submissions. 8, 3 min rounds of free roll.

As an after thought, cops and military or former miltary are pretty much in already on this one. Firearms qualifications that are regular and associated with these jobs trump anything we'd give any of our students.

It's a pretty basic requirement, really. I like to make sure they either have enough training or expeirence to understand the saftey percautions associated with keeping and handling a firearm and that they can actually hit with they aim at with reasonale consistancey for someone not in a field that madates carrying a firearm as a term of employment. I've seen guys meet the requirement by taking a rifle/pistol class at the college level (which is what I did prior to becoming LE), I've also heard that people have done the NRA basic pistol to meet it. It think that would be likewise fine. I'm sure any of the high end schools such as Gunsite, Sig Acadamy, or Thrunder Ranch offer basic coursed that would be more than adaquate, but those are pricey and hard to get to if you don't happen to live near one so none of our guys have ever done it. Guys who have grown up around guns, own their own, and can go to the range and demostrate how to use and keep one safe are also green lighted after we talk about legal implications. I have the benifit of haveing served as a range officer for our dept, so it makes this part go much easier. That's about as formal as the process is. It's again, basic on the deployment side. From a defensive side it should be much more through.

Probibly, I don't have experiance with Chineese styles, and yet JKD's trapping is extrodanraily useful and effective for what it's designed for. I odn't think you can knock it as not being the "real deal" when it works a effectively as it does. The major problem I see in any trapping art is that the practitoners often get overly complex in their traps. Multiple trapping combination have their place, but usually, it's more important to use a trapping tool and counter offensively to prempt further attack than lauch multipe traps. That's all A good tool, from whatever systems you borrow it from, when used wisely.

crossfit today- 100 pullups 100 push ups 100 sit ups 100 squats

I think that you are already seeing that in some areas, joe. At least in my little microcosom of the world it's occuring. It will probibly become more prevalent. To no one's suprise, I have no problems with this. I think, however, that great care needs to be taken when stripping bunkai to use. Some of the interprations I've seen have been down right silly and possibly sucidial if used in a conflict. A good system is based on good principles first, and then good movements. If you're stripping out movements that are less than effective in nature then one would miss the whole point of trying to make the process more efficient. That's the warining I would give people using this method. It's common sense really, but I've seen odder things happen.

Finnias and Ferb is popular here, too. It's one I can watch and not have my grey matter start oozing out my ears. Thank goodness my 5 yo has taken a liking to Spider Man as well. The WB's "Spectacular Spider Man" is a fav of hers and I quite enjoy it as well.

Yes, I highly reccomend it. The firearm is too standard a tool in this day and age to ignore. In fact, a basic demostration of the understanding of operation, safety and care of a handgun is mandantory for my guys. Personally, yes, I train fairly frequently with a handgun just due to my profession. I get a less time on long guns, but enough to maintain a good standard of proficiency. Most of my students either tend to be cops, ex-military, or closely related to one or both, so most don't need coaching from me on the matter. It's a topic of discussion amoung peers more often than not. If a guy comes thru that is neither, then formal discussion and range time would be mandantory to meet a bb requirement.

I'd never do it intentionally. As you point out,now some of my most vunearble areas are exposed. Also, my mobility to get away just went to zero. And, it's now harder to access any weapons that I'm carrying. That being said, I'd like to see it in action. It might have some real applications for being placed in a negitive position with a sucker punch or such.

I guess it varies based on your definition of self defense. I'd argue that if you're practicing hitting things and not getting hit, then you're practicing it in every class. We tend to think this way in our group. Everything you do revolves around defending ones self. We try to train the mind like that, every mit you hit, glove or weapon you parry, ect. it's all sd. That breeds in a sense of preperation to you training and an acceptance of what could happen. As far as movemtns go, I usually set up everything off the string of our principles (evade, stun, unbalance, control) and work thru them with a flow. That way I'm teaching the principles without lecturing. I usually try to incoporate some sort of counter or "oops" in each series as well. just to keep everyone thinking of alternitives and developing the ability to flow thru movments when things go wrong. So, I'd say every class. But that's just the way I look at things.

I've always used it to denote a martial arts system that had been largely synthesised in the modern era for the purposes of self defense application and/or actaul life or death conflicts. (you could stop there really- that's the short version ) It doesn't have historical roots in fuedal societites other than the fact that some of the movements used were probibly first concieved in those eras. Nor does it claim to have an ancient past. It's progressive in adding movements to it's catalogue of responses if they are effective and can be fit into it's operational framework well. It might look alot like mma, and those of use who group ourselves in this catagory usually have classes that resemble this, but that's not where it ends. Additoinally, other ranges are sought out for one to be proficient in. Probibly there is work in some small joint manip that is out of bounds for mma competitiors and a major difference is time spent on weapons of common modern usage. Clubs, knives, and gun. These are trainied both offensively and defensively. It's mindset is a critical element to training. There is no value training for self betterment other than survival of conflict. Anything else develops secondarily. As much training as possible is done "live" so students can learn to flow with conflict early. Sparring is done often and simulation training is a componant. That's kind of it in a nutshell. Stuff that's well known that I'd offer as examples would be Krav, some JKD outlets these days, a majority of DT programs such as Blauers and such (your milage will vary on these depending on how good and/or comprehensive the program is), and probibly hundres of other schools that train this way but keep a traditional label thru the ma community.

I'd agree with cross. That's a pretty good analysis. Granted some serious updating can go into those classes. So I'd add that it would be as stated but without any signifigant modification, ie. still heavy reliance on kata, classic weapons use, in karate based systems you'd still see deep long and hose stances, ect.

I agree. Formatting into a chohesive pattern is probibly a more impressive feat that coming up with the latest "super move" or such.

I'd suggest picking up the trade paperback of Civil War. It' a really good tale and kind of gets you back into eveyones storylines if you've been out for a while. There are a bunch of tie in books out ther for it so it can get confusiong. Just look for the one that only says Civil War.

Pretty much, yeah It is nice to have some sort of reference point on a student's development. It's also nice to have some connection to the root of what we're doing. It's not about abandoning everything that came before. It's a matter of streamlining it into the most efficient method possible. Some touchstone of where the orgin isn't bad. Hence, the use of belts as a referance point, even if we rarely wear them. Even at that I don't rank everyone I train or train with. There are guys that just do mma stuff with me. That's their thing, they have no interest in combatives beyond that. Therefore, I don't rank them. The ones who want the complete system, they're the ones who get ranked. So far, this has worked out fine for all parites invovlved.

It's one I use alot

The stock answer for Christmas has to be "A Christmas Story", about Ralphie getting his bb gun. I like to tell my wife that my favorite Christmas movies are "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" since both are set at Christmas. It still gets an eye roll out of her. I'm really only half kidding.

Not necissarily. The black belt rank holds meaning both in trad circles and non-trad ones. It's a measure of something in both.

Sure, but there are plenty of arts out there that aren't "traditional" in their mold. And their puropses are pretty well defined and have plenty of purpose behind them. It's simply a different approach, certainly no less valid.

It's been accepted for some time that the more realistic that you make training, the more useful it is in a high-stress fight enviornment. Therefore, paired, more dynamic training methods would be more valuable in nature. You practice "hitting the target" by repping movments on mitts in a live enviornemt where both participants are moving. You spar with them, you armor up an attacker and use your movements against him. That's how you come to an understanding of using ma movements. One dosn't have to do kata to understand movements that hurt other human beings. And that's what we're looking at, trying to hurt another person. The formal methods of getting there don't matter as much as the outcome of getting this done. It's just a matter of how to train for this most efficiently.

A couple of other threads that have been running prompted me to ask what everyones position on kata was. Do you do them as a school? What are there relivance to your practice of the ma's in general? Is there a strict set to your school, or have you imported? Lastly, what are your feelings on them if it's not you running class? Personally, I don't use them. I think that most of the authentic bunkai of the old forms can be translated successfully into more modern teaching models, including two man drills and the like. This has the benifit of placing it into context immedialtly without translation. Proper movment and posture can be taught in more dynamic and therefore, realistic formats. Discliplie is instilled thru the rigors of class. Because of all this, I don't see the need for kata/forms. They were probibly an excellent sourse of training at the time of their creation but times change and innovations in teaching and culture move on. Now, most of the jobs they served can be done in others ways, nor is the secrecy that they once established for the pratitioner needed. There is a huge time commetment with them. First, you teach a set of movements. Then, you have to go back and interperate bunaki. Then, you ahve to practice those bunaki to use in sd setttings. It's much quicker to simply cut to the "practice the bunkai" stage. More training time for the more pertanat skills. Just my opinoins. I know everyone won't agree, but I'd like to hear everyone elses thoughts on them.

today- crossfit squats, 200 lbs. 5-5-5-5-5 which led naturally to a leg day with the weights. 1 mile run

The test is simply an artifical standard of one progress. It's important, espically at a black belt level, i agree. But I think too much empasis is placed on them. In fact, I've taken to only testing for purple belt and up (so I actually test for purple, brown, and black). The idea in testing that I've most often heard is that it places the trainee in a higher pressure situaion and makes him/her function despite the stress. That's a good theory. But why only do this on test days. I think proper training should, on a routine basis, place the student under stressful conditions and have them perform. It's a large part of the theroy behind having people spar. Live drilling, spontaneous segments, ect, all also train this into fighters. Even at lower levels, students should be placed into limited live drilling with the skills they posses to place them under this kind of stress. It's an on-going process. Besides, no fighter worth promoting will go into a test with a "so what" attitude. Espically one at black belt level. In fact, breeding that kind of attitude is the kind of thing that's made me drop kata entirely from my teaching bag. I don't care for it, feeling that better training methods for the encompassed bunkai have been created and that attitude showed in my teaching. I don't take it seriously, anyone training with me wouldn't, and that would show in a test. They would merely rote movements used for testing, and that's the kind of thing I don't want to burn time on, but that's another thread all together .

The shin is nature's baseball bat...

Yeah, it's just never been that important to any group I've been part of. Alot of schools in our organization don't even do any anymore, my group included. So if you have to botch a part of any test, that's the one. It's still not looked well up on I'm sure. Now, conversly, if someone can't do the perscribed sd movments or continually fails to initate an inappropriate response, then you're in the automatic failure status with our group. Luckily, most of our groups are small enough that people aren't even tested before the instructor knows that they will pass. I don't think we've ever ran into the failing issue on a test before. To keep this trend up, on e of my friends who teaches will even postpone test to make sure everyone is good, or only have certain people in a given rank test.