joesteph

Tiger, your secret is safe with me.

My primary is punching, with a high guard and getting in there to infight. What kicking I do is usually front kicks and roundhouses that look more like the Muay Thai type than Korean style. Last night, I sparred against a higher belt who either threw no punches or virtually no punches--I don't remember any. I was able to hammer away, but it's non-contact, so he always had the opportunity to "recover." The only time he was able to shoot kicks was when I tired (the sparring sessions are getting longer), so infighting was more difficult for me, and he was then able, on-and-off, to separate to his kicking range. I'm not saying my personal style is better, and I do like this sparring partner (he's a good kid), but whatever one's personal style is, no one can afford to be wedded to it that s/he can't defend him- or herself. If I hadn't fatigued, where would that have left him?

Kind of fun. I never knew there was a Blue Moon Brewing Company, but there's the bottlecap.

Not vs. my instructor, BB of C, but she has twice observed me using a boxing flurry against the face of my sparring partner. It's non-contact, so I was not causing any undue harm. I was admonished both times, the first being told that it wasn't the art, and the second time the admonishment was more direct. When I first used the flurry, I was doing what I'd been told when sparring against a lower belt; try things that you don't usually do when sparring because they need improvement. In my case, I'd never done a flurry while sparring, unless you count BOB, so that was the right time to try it. The second time, I was against a higher belt, and I didn't even realize I was doing it until pointed out. I had seen a facial opening and was on automatic, "pulverizing" the face, but causing no harm as it's non-contact sparring. In both cases, my sparring partner didn't know what to do to counter it; if someone used it against me, I'd be on the receiving end and would work to figure out how to counter this attack, but no others use it. And all it really is, as I see it, is rapid punching. I would understand my instructor wanting me to hold back against a lower belt, just to give the guy a chance; as I said above, I can always work on something I need to improve. But if I'm against a higher belt, I'm the underdog, so I need to use my arsenal, and I could learn from the higher belt who is countering my strikes how to do that very thing--countering strong strikes.

I had done this stretch that White Owl is describing some years ago, NoVice. I does give you a good stretch, but I needed to use my arms to keep in good control of my legs, which were flat against the wall, as gravity will really give you a "V"-shaped stretch. It's sound; it's just something you have to get used to controlling to benefit by it. _____ _____

Stretching before going to class Class tonight: Ki Cho Hyung Il Bu Ki Cho Hyung E Bu Ki Cho Hyung Sam Bu Pyung Ahn Cho Dan --practiced on dojang floor before class During class: Sparring combinations Sparring Self-defense techniques Introduction to first moves of new hyung, Chil Sung E Ro

Does Nikolai Valuev have true championship talent, or is it his incredible size (for a boxer) that has carried him through? I don't want to take away from anyone who's in his place legitimately, but anyone against Valuev, even Holyfield, is dealing with a muscular 320-pounder. I learned from the movie "Cinderella Man" (Russell Crowe as Jim Braddock, who defeated Max Baer), that Baer's height advantage over other fighters added greater power to his punch, especially if it came in a "whirlwind" motion. This may be working for the seven-foot Valuev as well.

I wonder how large it is? Can everyone in the forum have a piece? Oops! It's to be eaten by everybody at the LEGO Batman vidoegame party. I knew I should have RSVP'd.

I've never done skydiving, but a guidance counselor at my school found it to be an exhilarating experience.

Many times, something is theoretically feasible, but only on paper, as in Archimedes' claim, "Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth," reflecting his insight into levers. To go "to the one hundred-thousandth floor" (as it says in the article), would involve a cyllinder-shaped structure that would not only contain the cable and other inner workings to have the elevator operate, but it would be a long, thin "target" for any space junk. The base of it would be moving at over 1000 mph (as its base is on earth), and that would mean, by extension using geometry, that each section of the elevator would be going faster than 1000 mph as you go to the top. (Think of a long line of horses, the horse in the center simply spinning around in a small circle. Each horse next up would have to be going faster and faster until the end horse is going at full gallop.) The smallest piece of space junk, and there's an incredible amount of space junk since more nations, particularly China, have become involved in outer space, would collide with this elevator at I don't know how many thousands of miles per hour, with all pressure on a single point, meaning that, unless there's a perfect system of deflection, the item punctures the cyllinder, destroying a large section. (One of the "Star Wars" concepts that came out under President Reagan was a "rail gun" that would shoot a golf ball-sized piece of metal at an enemy ICBM and have that missile destroyed by the impact.) I believe it can be worked out on paper; in practice, I'm not as optimistic.

I teach social studies, and certain students are simply honors students. They can't be given what the regular class is given; they need to have their minds "filled"; the challenge must be there for them. The World Languages and Math departments give a test to determine where certain advanced students just have to be placed to do them justice. In the martial arts, some recognition of the advanced standing of the student (as in avoiding "reinventing the wheel" for the sake of saying that all the bases were touched) must be taken into consideration. They can be tested and prove themselves as to where they belong, even if it be in a middle position between two belts; when they learn that "half" they didn't already know, they can demonstrate proficiency and move up to a more appropriate place, one reflecting their skills.

My instructor just began showing us a new hyung tonight, and it was just a few beginning moves, but the focus she had was on whether or not we were twisting the two middle punches (one after the other) with the proper stance and movement of core, shoulders right through to the hips, twisting the body into it. Go slow at home or during free time at the dojo/dojang before class to get it right. You can always speed up, and you feel the power when you do it right.

I'm for that! I think that the win was so quick, that it actually leaves us in a lurch about a fight that goes for more than one round. They're guys with power and guts; they're not afraid to go back into that ring and see who gets pounded into the canvas--or taps out.

There are ten "gups" in my art, Soo Bahk Do, and all white belts start off as tenth gup. Ninth gup would be a single blue stripe; eighth gup would be orange belt. I learned from my instructor when I was working on promotion from white belt--at tenth gup--that it was for orange belt. The lower level of the belt (only so much is required of a rank beginner) accommodated that someone, usually an adult, could fulfill requirements to reach orange in one test. There was a ninth gup who was a young girl; she was too old to be a Little Tiger, but was not a teen. The blue stripe she wore on her white belt recognized her improvement from tenth gup, and when we all took the orange belt test together, we all moved to eighth. There's no more double-promotion offered. This does bring up the question, of course, of a person who's in one art, particularly a related one, being recognized at a higher belt level than white--or not. It might prove counterproductive to have someone with a dan (or perhaps brown belt) ranking in a related art "learning" low block, etc., and spending (losing?) time that could be used for higher-level training in the art. That person would likely be on a fast track, which the organization the dojo/dojang is associated with would have to agree to. This doesn't mean giving the higher belt away; it means the person on this fast track has the opportunity to reach a higher belt rank through testing at a pace more rapid than another, "regular," student. It may or may not mean double-promotion.

Congratulations, Pete!

A once-in-a-lifetime experience, Humble Monk? A unique aesthetic expression? Perhaps remembering the first time you saw forms presented in a tournament, not within the confines of your dojo or dojang? The upside of videos is preserving the moment; YouTube shares it with millions. One of the upsides of today's technology. The creative self expressed? Barring discussion of self-defense, what of making one's own forms/katas/hyungs? My children actually "play" at karate when home with me by making up "Smurfy Karate" (based on Smurf toys they'd gotten a while ago), with basic forms that they make up themselves--and they're just going on age seven this month. I encourage them and ask them to teach me.

The DVD is out right now. I want to see if the sequel will be as good as the first.

Interesting story; photos of him on the North Korean side aren't what I'd expect to see, but that's politics, not martial arts. I wonder if he fell out of favor to wind up in the factory. Unfortunate. It looks like he was a true contributor to Korea's growing martial arts.

Recognizing the ancestral root, whether in the 20th Century or a thousand years ago. I think the key word DWx is using here is "art(s)"; these arts are martial in their origin, and those who truly understand the root, the origin, will recognize that martial aspect. We don't burn the martial arts bridge behind us; what we do is recognize the change that has occurred over time regarding self-defense. We can have both if we keep proper perspective.

The simplest stretching exercise for legs I know of is what my instructor suggested. I lean on the back of one chair, its seat facing away from me, and I put my other foot up on the back of another chair with its seat facing away from me or on top of a counter (I prefer the counter). It's a simple stretch, just counting to 100 is all I do for each leg, and that's in-between regular stretching. The only "warning" is that you might need one arm on the chair back that you're using for balance, and the other to lift the leg on and off the chair back that you're using for stretching.

Then there's hope for me! I'm 56. I feel like a kid!

This really something I'm looking forward to. Four films between 2010-2011. Fantastic!

My instructor has had someone stand in the middle of a circle, and one person steps forward to do something simple, like the ever-popular wrist grab, but just as a kind of exercise. She's worked on teaching us to zone, and when she demonstrated against two people, she wasn't looking so much at the guy in front of her as to the one behind him. I remember a really big guy who wasn't that fast-moving, so she had him in front of her (the rules were that you could use open hands to the arms and shoulders, but nothing more--it was an intro). I was trying to get around him to move in on her, but she was always going the opposite way I went. She told me later that, despite the other guy's size, she could still see me and so she was able to zone. I really admired the way she darted back and forth, side to side.

He's no slouch. There were a couple of other YouTube videos with it, and I'd say he's got a career ahead as Vladimir "the Terrible" Putin in MMA. Wouldn't it be something if/when it becomes available outside of Russia, that it's a bestselling DVD?

Wait a minute! Look at this one: Muliebrity: The condition of being a woman I didn't know being a woman was a "condition." Learn something new every day . . .