joesteph

I enjoy finding bunkai in the forms I learn. My teacher has told us some things as we move along, which I'm glad for, but I'd love to practice them separately from the form. I am welcome to ask questions, usually if it's bunkai I think I see, but those occur at odd times, since there's a class for her to run. I don't mind at all if I'm studying a form for twice as long as "usual" if I'm dissecting it. I wonder if it's not until Shodan/Chodan that there's more emphasis on the why rather than the how.

Do you feel that your fists are truly straight if you run you fingers along the top of the forearm onto the back of the hand? If not, you may be hitting hard with your finger joints first, and the leverage may be taking its toll on your wrists. Killer mentioned technique, so that's what made me think of this. You might also see if turning the fist no more than three-quarters gives you a straighter line, Bastich. It's a very natural, very comfortable fist position.

This is a good video. The illustrations, front and back, at first looked to me like a bodybuilding chart, but it's a where-to-hit and what-happens-if-you-do chart, instead. There's a step-by-step numbered breakdown, going one at a time, zooming in on most points. Something to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8vV-fw2lk&feature=related

Hi Tony. Welcome to Karate Forums!

I think it depends on how often you're in the training hall, with your instructor or a senior there to guide you, and what level you're at in your art. In Soo Bahk Do, the first three forms are basic, and I mean very basic, so much so that they're found in other arts. But they're a challenge for the white belt in terms of coordination, breathing, stance, etc., and are really the "baby steps" (the symbol for the basic [Ki Cho Il, E, and Sam Bu Hyungs] forms is actually a baby) that other forms are built on. In my case, I attended twice a week, practiced them at home almost every day I wasn't in the training hall, and took my test after the earliest time allowed, three months. I was learning other things at the same time, so even though it appears that I studied a form or forms for three months, I had to share time with other responsibilities of my art. As you move up the belt chain, the forms become more challenging, and if you're still keeping up on old forms, I can see spending six months on a new form, especially if you're learning new, non-form responsibilities in your art while reviewing the old ones, too.

Welcome to Karate Forums! Enjoy!

Here are videos that demonstrate what is the common understanding of executing the side kick, whether thrusting or snap versions: The best one, Tae Kwon Do: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4j1w--TjqVY Soo Bahk Do: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/90392_soo-bahk-do-kicks-side.htm Tae Kwon Do again: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/94532_tae-kwon-do-strikes-kicks-side-kick.htm A Kung Fu combo, both the regular and spinning versions: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/133940_kickboxing-combos-side-kick-spinning.htm From Kickboxing: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/880_kickboxing-technique-side-kick.htm

A noun. Yes. Rename the horizontal knee kick that strikes with the ball of the foot the Alpha Kick. It can be performed forward, at a 45 degree angle, or to the side. It's always executed the same way. Rename the vertical knee kick done with a thrust the Beta Thrust Kick. It can only be performed to the side. Rename the vertical knee kick done with a snap the Beta Snap Kick. It can also only be performed to the side. Instead of fancy names, the original descriptive term is used when we say front kick or side (thrust or snap) kick. The noun has a name that we share in order to differentiate between kicks and, like Rateh, anyone I've ever spoken with used the term side kick to mean the same thing, including being more specific if need be by saying thrust or snap. If I'm infighting, and I execute a "rising block" to strike my opponent under his chin, even keeping my "rising block" there to press against his throat and step forward to shove him back, everyone knows I used my forearm in a particular manner, "blocking" nothing. Describing it to another person, I would be free to say, "I used a rising block, got him under the chin . . ." and it would be understood.

Congratulations, Killer! Now you'll be sporting that unique belt online.

Michi, when we perform the kick in which the kneecap is up/horizontal, and hit with the ball of the foot, we call it a front kick, no matter if straight ahead, at 45 degrees, or to the side. When we do what we call a side kick, there are two specific ways of doing it (thrust, snap), and so it isn't confused with what we call the front kick. It's not semantics or a fixed idea; it's that we have these kicks that are executed differently, and it's necessary to give each of them a name to tell one from the other.

The idea behind doing a side kick the "right" way regarded doing it in a manner that referred to raising the leg into firing position, as the OP describes. One way turns out to be a thrusting side kick; another way turns out to be a side snap kick. I've found it more natural to do it in the thrust kick manner, but my art only accepts the snap version.

Michi, if you go to: http://redirectingat.com/?id=378X600&url=http%3A//www.tangsoodoworld.com/reference/reference_techniques_side_kick.htm This is what we're referring to. What you're describing is still a "front kick," even if performed at an angle that isn't straight forward.

I taught summer school for twenty-two summers in the past, when I held that as a second job. I rarely had a student from my own school, a college-prep academy, in this program, and so I encountered all different personalities, including those who I couldn't fathom what they considered important in life. These were students who knew they'd failed during the year, and so needed to pass the summer school course for credit. I learned the hard way that there are people who can desperately need your help, and the more you try to help them, the more they resent it. There are those that you cannot reason with. They operate on emotion and it's frequently defensive. You may actually represent "the enemy" in his mind. I didn't say it's logical; I'm saying it's just how some people are. Stubborn=Inflexible=Rigid=Pig-headed. My own teacher is a woman, and her teacher is a woman. They're great. I don't know if you've spoken with your sensei about this, Joi, especially if you find him disrespectful. Sometimes we just have to be realistic, even if the student is sabotaging himself. I take it he's an adult. Enough said.

Welcome to Karate Forums! With the different martial arts you've studied, you'll be having a good time exploring the site.

It's funny, but even though I've practiced forms and sparring combinations, when my teacher says it's "Ki Cho" time, meaning we form a line and she calls out combos (inside-outside block, reverse middle punch; double knifehand middle block in back stance, reverse spearhand strike), these moves that are practiced repeatedly have to be processed and don't always come out smooth as silk. What adds to it, for me, is that they're in Korean. I don't know what martial art you're training in, but using my own art, Soo Bahk Do, as an example, you can go online and order books that have those moves in photo form. Sometimes just examining the photos and figuring out how they fit together (usually by remembering or writing down the combos that keep being called out) help for next class. I don't know your belt level, Garry, though I'll guess white or just above it, but as you keep training, you might realize that these combos that are from forms you're already studying, or will discover that they'll come up next form.

This is a good one, Brian. You know there's an "attack" coming, but you've still got a challenge. Your partner doesn't even have to be a martial artist and there are two levels of readiness. We say that when we're confronted by someone, that we should put our hands up, but it may be that he's not listening, so there's no pause for the hands to make that fence. All you have to do is blink, and then you find yourself on the floor. This reminds me of "The Magnificent Seven," when Yul Brynner had his hands wide apart, and the young man in front of him was to draw his handgun, the idea being to beat Brynner's clapping his hands together. The younger one couldn't do it, but Brynner did when they switched.

The reason I selected "Other" is because I do a modification of the jump kick, jumping forward and then executing the kick. I realize that most think of a jump kick as an airborne one, but many cannot do this due to knee issues or simply lack the coordination to execute good ones. I preserve my knees from the impact of landing, learning from years of weight-training that taught me what my knees can and cannot accept. That jump forward covers ground fast without heavy pounding on the knee joints. This modification is accepted by my certified instructor. The former assistant instructor, who is presently a certified instructor with his own school himself, had operations on both knees in the past, so standard jump kicks are forbidden by doctor's orders. When I was first doing these jump forward kicks, he told me that he's seen many in the martial arts do the same to protect their knees.

I feel you're asking the philosophical question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" It's like when my son David was born, was in the NICU with his brother Patrick, and both were receiving IVs. David received an IV burn. Why? Why this helpless infant, who bears the scar till today? There will never be a satisfactory answer as to "Why?" because we live in a complex world with so many variables that, unfortunately, we find that life has a harsh and random side that even good people run into. Life is strangely impersonal. You were not selected to encounter this. It's part of the randomness of life. None of you did something to "deserve" this. You are all free of malice, something your attackers cannot claim about themselves. They live by the sword, and I am certain that, one day, they will die by it. You need time to heal, Kez, and, speaking as someone very familiar with anxiety, you must work to avoid creating a habit of negative thinking about this that has you blaming yourself for the crime, and attacking your self-worth, your self-esteem. Persons who experience anxiety are not only highly sensitive individuals in dealing with others, but are often quite hard on themselves--harder than an objective individual would be. You enjoyed class before. You can enjoy it again. I'm no psychologist, but sometimes just driving by, walking by, stopping in to visit, deciding to sit and watch, putting the gi on at home and considering . . . all these "baby steps" can be surprisingly helpful. Good luck with your recovery, Kez.

Good luck, Rateh. You're two-thirds through and it's the last lap coming up. Isn't it funny how people will say, "For the first half, you do this, then the second half, that, and for the last half . . ."

I guess it can technically be with the ball, heel, blade, or even the flat of the foot, but how much power is generated? Whenever I've held the kick shield and someone is impacting with the ball instead of the heel, I've noticed the power difference. I'd never heard of a jab kick before, but perhaps it's for range? The heel gives the most power through its focus. Any part of the foot that strikes has to be backed up by the lower leg, and that means going through the connection of the ankle. The heel is the most direct through the ankle to the lower leg, almost like a side kick being a side "stomp" of sorts. Fine photos of the heel making contact are online at Tang Soo Do World: http://www.tangsoodoworld.com/reference/reference_techniques_side_kick.htm The flat of the foot is a lot like a push, so that, say you want to break a board (or someone's rib), to be successful, it's much better to strike with the heel than to dissipate the force over such a large area. When I had to do board-breaking for my last test, I erroneously used the flat of the foot on the first attempt, making impact, but breaking nothing. When I focused on the heel and hitting the center of the board, then I broke through. I remember side kicks using the blade of the foot years ago, but perhaps now they're for a really low shot, like to the shin, or if you're at the side of an opponent and want to go for the knee (as in one of my upcoming self-defense techniques). The ball of the foot is something I think of, if shooting a kick straight forward, for the front kick. I think there's more power in the front kick than the side if using the ball of the foot is desired. A high-speed photo of a strike would show the toes pulled way back, the ball of the foot at impact, a straight line from the ball through the arch of the foot, the ankle, and into the lower leg. There are excellent photos of this straight line at Tang Soo Do World: http://www.tangsoodoworld.com/reference/reference_techniques_front_kick.htm

Hi, and welcome to the Forums.

Hi Jim. Welcome to the Forums. Definitely a lot of power--and speed. He can really move!

When I did weight-training, Ronnie Coleman took the Mr. Olympia to an incredible level. What we're looking at, though, is skeletal muscle. What long-range effect the chemicals needed to induce such size (genetics, weight-resistance, and muscle recovery are the base, but the chemicals are imperative for this size and precise proportion) will have or are having on the internal organs. When Schwartzenegger reigned as "The Austrian Oak," what was taken was still oral (e.g., dianabol), not yet injected, and not as powerful or varied (e.g., human growth hormone--HGH) as today. Still, though, when he was asked if all that muscle mass were healthy, he responded, "Do you want to be healthy, or do you want to be a champion?" I learned that years ago about him and never forgot it. When you seek such muscularity, flooding the body with chemicals far beyond what nature dictates, you take your body on a "trip." Just because it isn't lysergic acid, which affects the brain and so takes the mind on one, doesn't mean the body can't be on a trip of its own, maybe a bad one (kidneys, liver, cholesterol level, etc.) in the long run.

This sensei practices Aikido, and has a different takedown from the others. He also gives greater warning about the power of the roundhouse and where you should confront it. He calls it "leg nikyo." http://www.expertvillage.com/video/118576_leg-nikyo-against-roundhouse-kick.htm

Is seizing another way of saying a strong block that arrests the forward motion of the kick, Bob? Is it usually based on force, such as raising both arms against a roundhouse to the head to stop it in its tracks?