joesteph

I found out from the assistant instructor that, in Soo Bahk Do, if all has gone well with the test until the board break, and the board is not broken after three tries, the person can got for the board break again one month later in order to pass. The whole test doesn't have to be redone.

I used only one person holding, Brian, just me. At the AWMA site where the board holder can be bought, there's a video link, and I saw that it's just one person holding. It does work with one person, provided that you're just as stable as when working with another person and holding the board with your smashable fingers.

I like the way this is put. I wonder if those most "married" to a martial art find it satisfying their aesthetic (and spritual?) needs, to the point in which they no longer see it as "martial," but they do see it as "art." Would a "higher" plane be seeing it as both, or is there a fork in the road that has "martial art" to the left, and "art" alone to the right, with the better choice being what is best for the individual? I'm not sure about this, feeling it's at the very end of the continuum. Most MA applications that are studied can check, hurt, or maim, rather than kill, and, IMHO, still fall within the "-do." (Like the caution, "Avoid rather than check, check rather than hurt . . .") I won't say killing isn't there, it most certainly is, but I see it as the extreme.

My father can't hold it for me to do breaks, the shock to his arms being too much for him, but he can hold the "kiddie" (yellow) rebreakable board, there being far less shock, so my boys can have Granddad hold the board while Dad helps them break it. At the dojang, my teacher hadn't seen these board holders before, being familiar with the heavier-duty ones, and, after class, she permitted me to use the holders while students broke the kiddie and adult (red) rebreakables. I caught on how to hold the handles so that nothing moves, and the best break was by a twelve-year-old who did a jumping side kick against the adult board. Next week (as there'll be a guest instructor tomorrow), maybe I can see if an adult can hold the handles for me to try.

The subject of conditioning for breaking led, at one point in the thread, to practicing board breaking, and the idea of using a board holder came up, but they tend to be expensive. This board holder: http://www.awma.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/11998.htm from AWMA was just delivered to me today. As you can see, it's $80, not the $200/400/600 that I've seen. It holds just one rebreakable board, or one wooden one, but that may be all that you'd want for practice, especially if it's someone new to breaking (so one board is all you'd use anyway). I'll see if my father can hold it for me while I test it out before class. If it's as good as I hope, I'll show it to my teacher.

Hi, and welcome to Karate Forums. Keep preparing for that first grading. You'll make it.

Holders: proper hand position, board position, and stance. Breakers: set up, one or two practice runs to set proper distance and angle, and break. From what Tiger and Brian are saying, it's like the breaker is the pitcher and the holder is the catcher. They don't work together only when there's a game, they show up for practice so that they work as a team when it really counts.

This is a nice find. I read Issue 5, then went to Issue 1, which has a cultural article, "Taekwon-Do Numerology," by Dani Steinhoff, on p. 20. It refers to the Samtaeguk, or cirle with three swirling colors--red, blue, and yellow--to represent heaven, earth, and man. It seems that the number three is the "lucky" number in the Far East, not the number seven, and the number four is comparable to our number 13. Incidentally, I noticed that photos in Totally TKD aren't dominated by black belts. Even the numerology article was written not by a dan member but by a 1st Gup. Thanks for the link, DWx.

A very interesting article, with many photos to show the techniques applied, is on p. 65, "The Bunkai of Basics 3: Hikite," by Matthew Miller. The author explains that hikite is "the pulling hand," and there's a page of what must be a repeat of all the photos in the article, organized into a chart. They appear to be simple, effective applications that lower belts (like non-dan me) could pick up with practice. Worth a look.

If you go to: http://www.iainabernethy.com/Jissen_Magazine.asp you'll find the newest issue of Iain Abernethy's Jissen Magazine is now available. It's a free download.

Thank you! Thanks again, DWx.

Welcome to Karate Forums! Bring on the questions!

There was no precedent in my teacher's background, nor for any of her students who were present. It was always target-based, that you practice strikes (promotion strikes are, after the first which is an elbow strike, all kicking ones) against targets; then, at testing time, wood is to be broken. Many times, especially in a martial art that, as you moved up the belt ladder, your teacher was--and might still be--your mentor, we become teachers who teach as we were taught. I don't fault her for thinking this way; she is my teacher, as well as my children's teacher, and she has my deepest respect. I did not say in my posting that the reason I wanted to practice with the plastic board was because I had taken three tries to kick (with accuracy and through the target) and break the board last time I'd tested, and, last night, there was another test for promotion. Though I wanted to wait until next testing time, my teacher felt I was ready, and I respect her judgment. I discovered I was much readier than I thought, so she was right, and I did break the board, but, again, it was on the third try. The last time it was a side kick, this time a back kick; the heel has to hit as close to dead center as possible to do it properly. These two board kicks "catch you" hitting with the flat of the foot, and so no break occurs. It's actually a learning tool for the kicker, and, if we think about it, those who hold the board (not slanted or crooked, a tight grip, elbows locked) learn as well.

This is an insightful analysis of the past, where the root of tales, legends, and myths begins with a germ of truth. Someone could have genuinely been struck, internal damage (often bleeding) occurs without those present understanding it, and the individual dies much later than the strike was performed, the erroneous conclusion being that a "death touch" was the source. I remember reading in the past (and found--but failed to bookmark--a Black Belt magazine article that was similar) that the heart is affected, a "spin" of force entering in, causing cardiac arrest at a time about one or two weeks later than the strike was performed--the Dim Mak. At least that's the idea (or one of them) behind it. I wonder if, in this offering, there's some knowledge about the heart and a lot of speculation, resulting in a "satisfactory" conclusion. It's not Dim Mak if it's immediate. When Max Baer killed Frankie Campbell by a powerful whirlwind of a blows in the ring, sending Campbell to the hospital where he died by the next day, it was that the force caused his brain to be "knocked completely loose from his skull." (Source is Wikipedia. Select "boxer" from the list.) Edit: To make the name "Wikipedia" the link.

I just asked about this tonight . . . When I posted this, I did not complete it by saying that my request to use the plastic board was turned down, even though it would have been after class, with a student friend holding it. Frankly, the response made me feel foolish. I don't believe I was doing anything wrong by asking. I do understand, but, personally, I'd rather screw up in practice than during a test, and if it's after class, then it's only the interested students.

I just asked about this tonight, in that the kiddie plastic boards can be broken, reassembled, broken, etc. The use of thinner wood and moving up in thickness is a good idea, too. I guess you can double the plastic or thin wooden boards, too. Unfortunately, I just don't have that time built into my training for breaking; the expectation is that hitting targets is adequate. From what I understand from other members' postings here and there, it's not often that most schools give enough (if any) time to breaking practice.

I think of an open stance as, say, sparring partner "A" has his left hand forward, while sparring partner "B" has his right hand forward. That would open up their midsections to one another. Closed stance, to me, would be both having their left hands forward, or both having their right hands forward. Looking at it this way, closed stances would be more protective/defensive, and open stances riskier but more for offense. There's the maneuver of switching stances from closed to open to surprise your opponent with a kick to his now-exposed midsection.

I think that the higher the belt you are, the more experience you should have acquired using both sides. The lower the belt, or simply the less time you have trained in sparring, the more likely to work one side that's more comfortable, then go for a greater balance as you move up the belt (and experience) ladder.

Interesting clips. I liked that they included takedowns and a lot of hand striking, not just kicking.

I'm sure you're prepared. Good luck.

Have you ever considered Tai Chi? It encourages you to be maintain balance while performing a flow of martial art movements that are done slowly and precisely. There are martial art applications to Tai Chi, but that depends on whether you have an interest in applications. There's no sparring, although you can work with a partner, once you've got the basic form down, on a two-man form. This is orchestrated, so that you can see the martial art applications without sparring at all. There are different styles of Tai Chi, but you might simply try whatever your local school offers to see how you like it. Why not give it a try? You can always give it a month or two as a start and then take it from there if you'd like to continue.

Congratulations, Kuma! Enjoy the June honor.

Welcome to Karate Forums!

I agree with your reasoning. If the one accosting you causes you to feel you are in danger, it is only human/natural to go by our feelings, which are our state of mind, telling us this individual is an assailant. If we have to explain ourselves to the police at the time, or in court, so long as we present ourselves as that we acted as any "reasonable person" would have under the circumstances, having taken in body size (is the assailant of larger size, or the same size but muscular), age (is there an age difference in favor of the assailant), sex (a woman, even if she is physically fit, is still at a disadvantage if faced by a male assailant), and the proximity of the accoster-as-assailant. The behavior exhibited by the accoster determines that this is an assailant. If there's a choice between explaining my actions while on the witness stand, as opposed to explaining what happened while in the emergency room, I'll choose the former. No first strike? Good advice. Don't start trouble; don't bully; don't antagonize, etc. It sounds negative with all those "don'ts," but it's positive for allowing us to have a society.

Kez, I do remember your post on the assault, but it looks like you didn't let that stop you from carrying on. Congratulations!