joesteph

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I believe that when someone chooses a martial art, and a school to train in, the facts should be gotten from the chief instructor as to the rules of the school as well as what the art entails. The school in question in the OP has contact sparring, and protective gear is worn. I do not know the level of contact permitted, but whatever it may be, the rules of the school should be made clear to all students regarding contact by the chief instructor. A rule for all students may be no strikes to the groin area. There is protective gear for men and women available in the event of an accidental strike there. I was already aware of the special chest protection for women that was posted, but I'm glad the link was posted in case a woman or even an instructor wants this added protection worn. It may or may not be needed, as there are already protective vests available but, again, the level of contact rule of a school and the possibility of an accident may be factors. The information in the OP tells me that the school is not properly run. The instructor had obviously not established rules for all to know, or else there would not have been confusion. I quoted from your posting, Heidi, because it does refer to getting over it. I would suggest that if men and women join a school that has rules known to all that permit a higher level of contact, equal for both sexes, then yes, the men would be expected to adjust accordingly. If the man does not agree, then he really should not train at that school, just as if a woman does not agree, then she should not train there either. I do not see it as a flaw in a man if he needs time to adjust. I believe that he's resocializing, and at the same time understands that this resocialization is limited to the confines of the school. EDIT: Done to shorten the posting

Trapping rather than catching a kick is the usual term used. I wondered if the examples I've come across are feasible. There are counter-moves as the follow-up, but they can be used only if the leg is under your control. __ The following is a video from Expert Village: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/16054_kickboxing-technique-catch-kick.htm It seems like a lot of absorption by the body to trap the kick. __ The following from the September 2000 issue of Black Belt looks more like a trap: http://books.google.com/books?id=bM8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT5&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPT33,M2 It's also against the body but appears more feasible. __ This second one from the October 1999 Black Belt is to the head and also looks like a trap: http://books.google.com/books?id=nM4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA34,M1 But was it actually to the head or just a high roundhouse, as the caption reads? Could it have been to the head, but the block let it slip down to along the shoulder, where it was trapped? Would that be a credible explanation for what's demonstrated? __ This one from the January 1999 Black Belt has no block demonstrated, and it looks like the roundhouse made impact against the neck, but it's shown as trapped and then countered. http://books.google.com/books?id=Sc8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA66,M1 Is this a case of the idea being sound, but the execution flawed from the start? __ Do any members find themselves fairly adept at trapping a roundhouse and countering by a strike or takedown? If so, do you use any of the techniques shown above?

Hi Nacal. Welcome to the Forums.

The kick is a Muay Thai roundhouse, and it can be delivered against the opponent's thigh with the shin like a baseball bat (thank for the analogy, Tallgeese), and at an upward angle slipping under the protective arms (elbows) of the opponent to hit his ribs. I'm sorry about the the disc disorder, Bastich. You've got guts to do something about it. One of the adult students (age 46) at the dojang where I train has a bad lower back. In his case, karate keeps him moving, rather than atrophying, and he takes classes 3-4 times a week. Good luck with that flexibility training.

Wouldn't it be that it's the one with the biggest mouth, the one that comes forward first, that you have to concentrate on, before his friends circle around you? And he'll likely be larger than you are, anyway. It isn't necessarily the biggest guy who starts the trouble, but the one who's most arrogant (not aggressive--downright arrogant).

Do you have any idea why you have a weakness in flexibility, Bastich? I'm asking because I'm exactly the same way, and though I don't know your age, when I was in my thirties (I'm fifty-seven now), I had the same flexibility limitations I have now. The reason I've been able to get back to what I had twenty years ago is because of working at flexibility. I can do side and roundhouse kicks below the belt of a target my own height, and front kicks up to the midsection. If I do an instep-impact instead of a Muay Thai (shin) roundhouse, I can reach up to floating ribs level, but that's all, and it lacks power. I did weight-resistance training for those two decades, so I wondered if it had anything to do with it. When I was in school, there was no introduction/involvement in sports, which might also account for it. Did you train with weights or do sports in the past?

Grego, would you be referring to RW's OP or BB of C's posting on their stances?

Your perspective is refreshing, JusticeZero. Whether child, teen, or adult, the student should be enjoying the martial art. It looks like you strive to do that.

1. In the late 1600s, an Englishman, Newton, and a German, Leibniz, developed calculus completely separately. 2. In the 1800s, an American named Kelly and an Englishman named Bessemer developed the air-blast furnace independently of one another. 3. In the 1900s, a Hungarian professor named Rubik and a Japanese engineer whose name I don't recall independently developed multicolored cubes that could be twisted and turned. (It was proved at the time.) The Ideal Toy Co. called it "Rubik's Cube," and a Japanese company called it the "Wonderful Puzzler." (Many who bought what they thought were Rubik's Cubes were actually buying Wonderful Puzzlers, which were sold at a lower price.) Did different Korean martial artists whose backgrounds and ideas were not tremendously different establish their own styles, and then, with government pressure to unify as a Korean national martial art, come together as Tae Kwon Do? I'll bet each one of those who headed his own kwan could show where he'd received his ideas/training separately from one another, so it's a martial art with a number of "fathers." One martial artist who was able to keep his separate from the others was Hwang Kee for the Moo Duk Kwan, and that was determined by a Korean Supreme Court decision.

When I approached an instructor known for full-contact bouts who could tutor me in simple light-to-moderate sparring (as my art is non-contact), we had our discussion and the understanding was that he would not contact my teacher; I would let her know that I was speaking with him and what it was about. If she had an objection, I would have honored it. What I wanted to set up were three of these sessions on consecutive Saturdays, as private lessons are costly. When it looked like it would be working out, I told my teacher, and she said she had no objection, so long as I did not neglect my studies with her. It turned out that he could not work in the sessions, so I told her. As we spoke, I discovered that he had called her before I had first spoken with her. She told me that she did know who he was (the friend of her then-assistant instructor), and that he was letting her know that he wasn't trying to take a student away from her. I was extremely disappointed in him; we'd had an understanding. I was glad I'd told her before being turned down by him, so at least I presented myself as an honest man in her eyes. Some time later, she let me know of a self-defense instructor who could take me on Saturdays, so it wouldn't be sparring, let alone light-to-moderate contact sparring, but it would apply more to real-world situations and so would be very useful. I took five sessions with him, learned a lot, and kept my promise to her not to let my studies with her slide. I wonder if instructors look upon this as a business, just as private college-prep schools do as they compete with one another for college-bound students. Every student pays tuition, and sharing a student with another instructor can be seen as a chance taken in the MA business.

It's been said many times that you'll fight the way you train. In an actual altercation, I'd rather do the boxing stance, guard up, front and Muay Thai kicks; i.e., nothing fancy. I think your sparring is more towards sport for yourself, and I imagine you enter tournaments. Nothing wrong with that at all. Do what's fun, what makes you happy, in the martial arts. Personally, I think you've mixed real-world capabilities with sport. The best of both worlds?

Hi Joi. Welcome to KarateForums. You're fortunate to be able to continue your studies. When will you be getting the T-shirt for your baby girl that says "Future Black Belt"?

Is the question whether he can teach it and confer ranks on students, or whether he can teach it at all? I really think that, so long as the students know he isn't certified by an organization, then the freedom is there for them to choose. He may even be free to make changes that the organization has been "examining" (as in "put on the back burner") and so be in the Shotokan tradition, but an independent version (an earlier posting referred to a hybrid) of the art. In my personal/career life, the parochial high school I've taught in for thirty-four years now can no longer be maintained past June 30th of this year by the religious order that founded it. We're not shutting down, we're going independent, and we have an incoming freshman class this September. It's all been publicized, so there's no dishonesty.

I would agree that practicing without striking is useful, and it’s incorporated into a number of self-defense techniques taught in a standard karate class. These are the same techniques that contain palm heels to the nose and knife hands to the throat, but without carrying out an actual strike. Many martial artists view sparring as a forum to practice karate moves without it becoming a brawl. By what you’ve said, Akedm, it seems that this is how you view it, and this is what you expect in the curriculum of the school where you train. If school regulations reflect this, then you’re in the right. I realize there’s debate on this among forum members, but I do see your reasoning. People study martial arts for different reasons, which often means that the primary reason isn’t the same for everyone. The primary reason might be character development, exercise, self-defense, or simply something you enjoy doing during your free time. Whatever the rules of the dojang/dojo are, as set by your instructor, so long as all know them and continue to train there, then all are expected to abide by them. Students are free to remain, leave, or supplement their training, the latter perhaps taking classes focusing intently on self-defense.

JuJitsu is taught in my teacher's dojang starting at 8:00 (turning it into a dojo) on Mondays and Wednesdays, the karate classes having ended at 7:30. Since it's the same sensei as on Saturdays for self-defense JuJitsu, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the classes ran a good hour-and-a-half. Two hours may not mean that much of a difference, depending on what you're doing.

My own teacher is a classroom teacher during school hours, and is certified by the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation (say that three times fast), but if for some reason she decided to go independent, I would have no trouble having my children--and me--continue to study under her.

This makes me consider that someone might be "in the know" but isn't certified. I imagine that, to be accurate, it's in the Shotokan tradition, but not recognized by an established Shotokan organization.

Here are the photos and explanation that Brian's referring to: http://books.google.com/books?id=is8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA50,M1 The only problem I see is that Lewis makes it look easy.

Since you did say "or so," could it be two two-hour sessions, perhaps a week night and a Saturday morning? Or would you have a Saturday with one two-hour morning session and one two-hour afternoon session, but expecting that these are students who can come only one day a week themselves? It would likely be composed of adults with time crunches but MA desire. EDIT: I'm referring to two separate classes. A student would likely be taking just one of these. A self-defense JuJitsu class I'd taken earlier this year was only once a week, on Saturday mornings, lasting an hour-and-a-half, and I profited by it.

Sometimes when addressing "every" martial artist, the thought kept in mind is that most are not dan members, so what is simple, efficient and effective is what is presented to the numerous lower belts. One is an outer leg takedown, another an inner leg one. Standard; easy to learn. There's the throw over the hip, two with more finesse, and one for the quick and bold (Suplex). They require some more time to learn, but not much. Their simplicity (possibly except for Suplex), to me, puts them on par with "block, punch, kick" in karate, and the latter is what karateka are expected to know. In an altercation, how many throws do you actually need to know to execute self-defense? One of my defense against the wrist grab requirements is to step and pull the opponent so as to unbalance him, strike him with a knife hand to the neck, then take advantage of the placement of the hand at the neck to pull him into a knee strike. I call it a teaching technique. Why? Because the moves aren't efficient. When I step and pull the opponent, I could be stepping more naturally with my other leg, and instead of a knife hand to the neck, I could be placing my arm in that same place; then I could be using the outer leg takedown--more efficient and just as effective. I'm sure different martial artists, knowledgeable about different throws, could argue different selections, but I'd be very happy to be proficient in just those six.

In the September 1999 issue of Black Belt is an article by Ken Harte, "Essential Judo: Six Throws Every Martial Artist Should Know." It has excellent photos and fine explanations of each of the six, and I recognize one of them from my Soo Bahk Do teacher, and another from my past self-defense JuJitsu sensei. Japanese names don't accompany the English ones, but, in English, they're called Outside Body Sweeping Throw, Outer Rear Sweeping Throw, Inside Sweeping Thigh Throw, Suplex, Single Knee Drop Throw, and Body Drop Throw. Of the six, five seem to be straightforward and easily applicable to a self-defense situation, such as someone seizing your clothing at the shoulder, while one different from the other five comes with a caution that, if not done right, you can injure yourself. The article can be accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=nc4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA80,M2

Hmmm . . . On second thought, they might not be amused.

I was already using the vertical fist for the lead hand when I found out that Lee used it as well, although I learned that Dempsey used the last three knuckles before I found out that Lee did. I've done multipe rapid punches against BOB, finding that the faster I go, that lead hand tends to land with the last three knuckles, especially the higher BOB's head is. Standing square against BOB, so there's no lead hand (or, looking at it another way, both act as "lead" hands), and rapidly firiing off as many alternating shots as I can against BOB's face, the higher his face is, the more likely that impact is with the last three knuckles. So long as I feel that the ring finger knuckle is the center of the striking fist, Brian, I'm fine with it. It's sound.

In the past, one member posted that she'd again cracked a knuckle. I don't remember it well, but I do recall her cautioning that many who think they're striking with the first two knuckles are actually striking with the middle finger knuckle first, meaning more pressure on the one than shared with the two evenly. When performing a horizontal fist, it seems very easy to "lead" with the middle finger knuckle. But when performing a three-quarters fist, it seems to be more evenly distributed over the first two knuckles. Striking a board, the makiwara, or a jawbone is much more resistant than a nose or solar plexus. I wonder if the three-quarters aids in both index and middle finger knuckles striking simultaneously?