joesteph

I think of home defense as self-defense, and this one has to do with a man's car on his property. The article is titled "Would-Be Burglar Messes With Wrong Man," and was posted on October 1. I just caught it now. I don't want to say too much about it. I'm posting it to ask your thoughts on whether the home-/carowner did the right thing and the situation just got worse, or the owner made the wrong decision no matter what the burglar did (or tried to do). I've asked myself if I would call 911 while the burglar's out there, then go outside with a weapon to--to what? I don't know. Or would I go out with a weapon in one hand and my cell phone in the other, calling 911 while shouting at the burglar--but so enraged that I'd chase after him? It's interesting to read what the burglar did to the owner, and yet the owner was concerned about how badly he'd hurt the burglar. http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Would-Be-Burglar-Messes-With-Wrong-Man/yZMkHVK0k0aP8I1Us1SK3g.cspx

Have you been in contact with his previous instructor, who had to make decisions regarding testing that brought him to 1st gup? It does not lower your standards to recognize a problem that is mental rather than the obvious physical and permit advancement.

I'm glad that martial arts gives fathers and sons a chance to do an activity together. I have two eight-year-olds (going on nine), and even though we take different classes, I'm there when they train, wearing my dobok just as they do. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can mix it up with them. I know what you mean, Wolverine, when you say you're proud of them. I photograph and record my sons doing karate, and even post these to Facebook. There are some photos of David and Patrick in the Photo Album right here on Karate Forums. You could click on the link (white letters on red background) at the top of the page and see if you'd like to upload a photo--or a few--of your own boys.

What's sometimes a help regarding younger students is that they may remember better, or catch on more quickly. I don't know the ages people think of when they say younger students, but I've been taking double classes, and the first class has the younger ones, meaning grade school age. At the very least, it's a great class-long warmup for the adult class. Tonight, my teacher was reintroducing me to more moves in the last form I'd studied earlier in the year. The boy with me is in grade school, has a higher belt than I do (red, probably 3rd gup to my green belt 4th), and was learning these moves for the first time. When we worked together as a team, he was remembering how to get from A to C (as in he remembered B, but I didn't). The more we practiced together, the better I remembered, and I got somewhat more flowing.

This reminds me of when my sister was in high school in the 1970s, and there were "girls' rules" for basketball. It consisted of different limitations. Times changed and there was no difference between boys and girls' rules. The game didn't falter, it became more exciting. So long as women are competing against other women, I find no reason to alter--which usually means to introduce limitations--the rules that men go by.

It was an interesting article, and it makes me consider that men and women should not be in MMA competition with one another, but not that women shouldn't compete. One thing about human beings is that we are an adaptive species, aren't we?

Superfoot!

Good stance and kicking advice, Danielle. Thanks!

Common stance in kickboxing and TKD. Fight side on to minimise the targets presented and to make it easier to use lead leg side/hook/roundhouse kicks. I expected what you'd said for TKD, Danielle, as two friends who've been in tournaments regularly said that using the lead leg is a point sparring strategy. I didn't expect that you'd say this about kickboxing. I understand about the power of the rear leg for a back kick or spinning back kick, but I thought that kickboxers preferred to be careful about turning their back to execute those kicks. I remember a video by Bas Ruten, in which he said he took a stance similar to that of a boxer, although a bit wider, which made him somewhat more of a target, but he needed to be able to kick with that rear leg. I've tried sideways to help me have the rear leg skip forward, so that I could put power into the lead leg for a side kick or even a back kick. It's also faster than a stepping side kick. I kick low, so if my opponent is taller than I am (I'm 5'6") and it's contact, I have to be careful with this skipping kick. With non-contact, I'm not chancing breaking someone's leg, meaning I can use it. For me, it's practice, in a sense, for an actual altercation.

True. That's some shot! I think he was proud of you, Evergrey! I really do!

I was wondering if this would be said. It isn't that the sport may specifically rule it out, although as Danielle said, it might be in tournament rules; it's likely that the instructors may discourage it. How do they expect you to block, Nevinyrral? Is there an "approved" way? I remember when I first sparred in a non-contact art, using elbows and shins just to block. People banged away at me, complained of pain, and though I thought to myself that we wear no gear for protection, and if it's non-contact, how much force was used in the strike that wasn't supposed to land, I eventually did what was approved. It was to sidestep and block with the arm, or just sidestep. Edit: Shortened the post

Since you've already got a base, an outline of how you want to set it up, Bob, you could contact a former student who has published. It doesn't even have to be that s/he has published a book; articles, short stories, and novellas all show experience. A martial artist I know and respect was approached by me last year, that she could make a contribution in the form of an article. Due to her much higher rank and years of study, there was bound to be a lot to mine there. Her first thoughts were copied down by me, then presented to her; she found it wasn't what she wanted to say. We went into her thoughts again, trimming the old and bringing in the new, and though it improved, it still wasn't what she wanted to say. I got her talking more and writing down by her own hand, rather than by me, how she wanted to put it, what she had to say. Two drafts later, we had, to me, a good article, and since so much was by her, I felt it should only bear her name. (Besides, her rank gave the article greater credibility, just as your rank gives your work greater credibility.) As the article was specifically about her martial art, I knew exactly to which online publisher it should be submitted, but submitted by her, not by me. I'm afraid she dragged on, even questioning if she should speak for her art. In the end, it was never submitted and never published, and now it's outdated as it was written for a specific calendar year. That same publisher later published work by a martial artist in her art, one who had a much lower rank. Students/former students can be a great source for publishing, from editing to proofreading.

When I was a senior in high school, I finally had a phys ed class I liked, and it was because of the teacher. He pulled all the jocks off to one side, forcing them to play one another (instead of allowing them to spread out and claim little fiefdoms while others like me got stuck being ornaments and feeling discouraged). The rest of us would group together and, lo and behold, we now had a chance to be the "stars" of our games! I'll never forget one time that we were playing floor hockey like we were in a war, and our teacher had to run over to remind us to not to kill one another. Once you feel you've got a chance, you take it, and in his class it was our chance to shine! BTW, Brian, since you spoke of wrestling, I was way underweight when I was in high school, which still meant that I could fit into a lower weight class division and wrestle others my weight from other schools. I heard announcements that everyone's welcome to join the wrestling team, and that there were different weight classes, but I didn't feel adequate. I'm a teacher myself, now, and I believe it was the duty of the teacher who was the wrestling coach to approach me. I mean it. The teacher approaches the student and speaks one-on-one in a positive manner, at least making the student feel welcome. There was one other boy in my year who was about my bodyweight, and we could have practiced with one another--if we joined--and then competed against students from other schools. If my sons remain on the slim side, when they're old enough (say in middle school) to wrestle, I'm going to approach them about it. They don't have to do it, but I want them to consider it. (There's also judo and jujitsu, but I'm thinking about what the school system offers.)

Talk about learning something new every day! I was reading the September issue of an online magazine, Totally Tae Kwon Do, even though I actually practice Soo Bahk Do, and came across an article by Master Doug Cook, in which he referred to moral principles found in Tae Kwon Do. The 10 principles he stated were greatly similar to those of my art's founder, Grandmaster Hwang Kee. I emailed him, and he responded with a photo of the ancient tablet that has the 10 principles inscribed on it. They were composed by a Buddhist monk, Wonkwang Popsa, were adopted by his art, my art, and another Korean art, Tang Soo Do! Here's the tablet: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=252134&l=259e8d6b9d&id=100000928483076 And here's what it says: BE LOYAL TO YOUR COUNTRY BE LOVING AND SHOW FIDELITY TO YOUR PARENTS BE LOVING BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE BE COOPERATIVE BETWEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS BE FAITHFUL TO YOUR FRIENDS BE RESPECTFUL TO YOUR ELDERS ESTABLISH TRUST BETWEEN TEACHER AND STUDENT USE GOOD JUDGMENT BEFORE HARMING ANY LIVING THING NEVER RETREAT IN BATTLE ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU START

The WaveMaster I use has the base filled with water. I took two 2X4s and put them touching lengthwise alongside each other, one lengthwise against the molding of the wall, the other lengthwise against the base of the WaveMaster. It's a big help against sliding; it doesn't eliminate it, but there's a lot less adjustment, I'm sure.

These are schoolyard fights in middle school grades. Everyone circles around and immaturely (b/c they're kids) goes "Wow!" Don't let a fight with another adult go to the ground, b/c his friends will do a dance on your head. If you do a takedown, have him land hard and maybe give him a quick shot to the gut (not the head; it has nowhere to go against the floor, the impact will kill or brain damage him, and you'll be in boiling hot water). Always watch out for his friends. Who told me that? A JJ sensei who's also a police officer.

I think it's great that you're able to train in the dojo four times a week. I'm a family man, so I can only go twice a week, taking a double class each day with my teacher's permission. Liiving in Southern California, with its beautiful weather, even if you don't join a gym, there must be outdoor activities like walking or hiking that would build up the power of your legs and keep your cardio at a high level. And it's said that swimming exercises the whole body. Could you take a double class? Would you be interested in outdoor activties?

I can understand an organization recognizing that cardio (or aerobic) kickboxing has its popularity, and why not capitalize on it, if not motivate those who are involved? The video's dated December 2007. It could be a startup time for the sport; it might have grown since then, meaning better presentations. Would you know if this is something included with karate tournaments, Danielle, or if it stands on its own?

Which is likely why you prefer the palm heels, Rogue. I remember reading that when boxing was bare-knuckle in the US, body shots dominated. The danger of damaging your own knuckles (break your own hand?) was greater hitting the boney areas of the face, and if to the face, straight punches, not hook shots, dominated, protecting the outer knuckles.

It's in another language, but all you need is to watch all the way through: http://thebubble.msn.com/#/video/?id=9b94514a-2324-462b-8081-20c587209178 Have to admit, she's clever!

Congratulations!

I remembered the term "tank" as a kind of fighter, but I thought it was in a JKD book. It turns out it's in The Little Black Book of Violence by Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder. From pp. 190-191: Don't Play "Tank" You're not a heavily armored tank. It hurts to get hit. . . . If you don't want to get hurt in a fight, you will need to move away from the strength of the other guy's attack. It is imperative to not only get off line, but also keep your attacker from being able to reorient immediately at the same time. . . . Closing is done by moving to the outside while blocking across the opponent's body or to tie up his limbs . . . [M]oving off line and closing is taught to beginners because it is relatively easy to learn. And it works pretty well too. This post would have fit in better if I'd found the quote earlier, but it follows the train of thought in dealing with an incoming aggressor by using a term to avoid: tank.

I think this is where sparring shows itself to be sport, something separate from an actual altercation. If the sparring isn't full contact, say controlled contact, you and your partner can pop away at each other all you want. If there's no facial contact, and say you've both got gear on, you can probably go to town. If it's an actual altercation, it isn't going to help you to get into a mutual mugging. I'm not saying to expect that you're never going to get hit, but this is where Brian's "slug harder, longer, and faster than the other guy" is essential.

That collar grab sounds like a good move. You can take him down w/o even hitting him. I remember a video on the Black Belt website in which the one moving behind the other grabbed the face (not the head, exactly, but the face) from behind. I think the collar is faster and likely simpler; the face grab from behind required both hands.

Major mistake in thinking, oh sensei with decades of experience! Bob, what you have to do is brainstorm, to write down anything that comes to mind about your martial arts years, perhaps with the help of going over photos that jog the memory, not being concerned in the least about whether or not what you're writing down is in printable form. That's the idea of brainstorming; everything is tossed out there to be organized later--often much later. And you've had so many students who are at different levels in the martial arts, these former students being a gold mine of info about things that are not at the forefront of your memory, perhaps not even realized by you as having been so important to particular students, that they can give you info. People love anecdotes; why not memoirs, which are in the same vein? When you get info together, which can be from you, from former students, from friends over the years, you can spend a good deal of time organizing, analyzing, even critiquing, until you've got a collection of nonfiction tales. Print-on-demand is the way to go if you're interested in just publishing and presenting the books to friends and family--which includes former students. I used AuthorHouse for my books, and it's a great system. Instead of ordering a certain number (say 100, 300, 500) books printed up and trying to figure out how to sell/distribute them, the print-on-demand system prints only the number of books actually ordered. You could simply think of a snappy title and donate copies to the public library, even giving copies as gifts. Get on Facebook and let your FB friends know you've published your memoirs. Bob, I really suggest you go to http://www.AuthorHouse.com and request info.