marksmarkou

My Father trained Wado Ryu under Toru Takamizawa in the 70's at the TEMPLE in Birmingham. I started judo and karate then 3 of my cousing started training in martial arts.

Completly agree. Most martial artists nowadays have extensive knowledge about styles which they have never practised before. Unfortunatly sometimes this leads to them having opinions which surly can not hold ground since they have never trained in these styles.

At my Mauy Thai gym - Full contact to body thighs and head. No Hip type throws no ground grapling. At my Judo Gym - Throws and ground grapppling. No striking. At my Karate gym - We use small mits so the contact is not to heavy but basically we spar MMA style, all strikes, grappling, submissions are allowed. except strikes to groin, throat eyes spine and joints. Occasionaly we spar with the sole purpose of staying on our feet, and if we fall we try and get up as quick as possible without wasting time ground fighting. We also spar one against many attackers (manily two, three or sometimes four). Very different to sparring with just one person. kicks are hardly hrown as there is not itme for them, if they are used, its just aimed towards groin, knees etc. Great for reactions and awareness practise.

What is your favourite way to lower you opponents guard and what is your favourite knockout technique. Mine has to be a hook to the body to lower the guard (which is also a hard shot) followed by a hook to the chin. Combined with the body rotation it feels so powerful.

I think that the cost definitly is an issue nowadys. But more the better in my opinion. A black belt should be seen as somone who has reached a relevent standard, somone who should display a high level of stamina, strength self defence and sparring ability.

If your fighting one on one without weapons, then strikes, floor grappling, submissions etc can all be used. However in todays society, you rarely fight one on one and if it happens, it wont be long untill his/her freind comes behind you and causes damage. For that reason i would not bother with trying to take the fight to the floor, trying for submissions etc. Strikes are number one. Hard strikes to areas used for knock out. (chin temple etc) Having said that, some grappling knowledge is needed. Throws where you remain standing is helpfull. Clinch work and also knoweldge of how NOT to be taken down to the floor is vital. For this reason practising throws and defending from throws takedowns should be carried out.

If he is holding the gun from a distance away, you have lost unless you just do what he says. From close distance, I would rather someone held a gun than a knife. You can grab the barrel of the gun whilst getting out the line of fire, somehting not possible with a knife. Even though, its not worth risking your life for.

If there wearing a gi there are chokes you can apply. Maybe an Ude garami Kimura if you get the correct position or a possible foot look by reaching behind, hooking a foot in the crook of your elbow and twisting round your waist. Its always best to try and pass the guard though. Submisisons are much easier to apply with less force. Its like using the wrong size screwdriver. It may do the job but it wont be as easy.

For me the best finger conditioning excerises have been finger push ups and towel chinups. When doing towel chin ups, to develop finger and wrist strength concnetrate on gripping the towe with just your fingers rather than grabbing lots of towel and holding it llike a ball.

I train in my shed which is about 4x4 meters. I hang my bag there and can get some good training in, conditioning, and have some freinds over for some submission sparring. We keep the MMA sparring for the gym as there is more room.