Kuma

I like the ball of the foot or heel for mine. The ball of the foot is the one I use most in basics and kumite, but I find it's less than ideal when wearing my work boots. The one time I've actually used a mae geri at work was with a heel.

I change mine every class, you let that sucker sit out in your car for just one day and the next day you're sleeping and your wife tosses it right on your face. Yep, gross. Cold water, hang dry is how I always do it (though sometimes if I'm in a rush I'll throw it in the dryer). To get rid of sweat stains, a mix of baking powder and water to make a paste, put it on for about 20 min, then wash it. For blood stains, hydrogen peroxide works best.

For those two videos, I'd say though every dojo is different I'd say it's something you can definitely expect from Kyokushin training. I've trained alongside very few women in Kyokushin but those that I did train with I consider the real deal. I cannot recall any serious body conditioning in those sessions but of what we did they stuck in there.

However, their style of roundhouse kick is different because it lacks the chamber of a snapping-style roundhouse kick. In that instance the raised heel is actually better for them.

http://www.phoenixkarate.com/sensei/sensei.html It could have been, I know the picture was taken at a tournament and there's not much Kyokushin here on the East Coast so everybody goes to all the same tournaments. If it isn't, it's great to see other women doing powerful breaks and other hard training.

I think I have seen that same picture and I believe it was Shihandai Cathy Melanson. I had the pleasure to train with her on one occasion and she is the real deal. I think she did that break with her forearm, the picture was hanging up at their Maryland dojo.

How often do you have to kill someone on the street versus kill someone on a battlefield, though? For the most part, a trained fighter in a street fight (we'll assume naturally the defender, but it's not always that way) is just trying to incapacitate his opponent somehow so he can make his escape. There is a difference between someone training that way and someone who's training to just kill his enemy.

For the most part, though you're starting to see some more lead kicks now. A decent video you can find online (search "Muay Thai Boxing Moves high roundhouse kick") you can see what I mean. Notice how on the high kick his supporting heel raises slightly. It sacrifices a lot of stability for that extra bit of power.

Shooting can definitely be considered an art. It takes a high degree of skill to shoot well. ICBMs are what detract from what can be considered a physical skill though and I think that's what makes the difference. You can design a machine that can shoot an arrow perfectly onto the bullseye every time but that's not art. Art is a human being doing that each and every time. Much like the modern soldier has his "martial arts" (camouflage, shooting, demolitions, driving a tank, and patrol tactics) so did the samurai, and many are those we would not in fact consider "martial arts" (horsemanship, swimming, signaling, and info gathering). I think that's the main distinction he's trying to make, that the skills have to be strategies and tactics used on a battlefield, not in a dojo, street, or octagon. Still, like he said, don't get caught up in definitions.

I think it depends on the doctrine of the style. Karate and kobudo tend to be more impact-oriented, so strikes would definitely be used more frequently. I've seen some videos of Aikido using a jo doing many different kinds of throws and locks as well, which is more their doctrine as well. I think traditional jojutsu tends to be more striking-oriented though as you can see many similar techniques to kenjutsu in it. The only "hanbojutsu" I've seen is through the Bujinkan, which has their own ways of doing things too. Still, after all it's just a foot. You can do the same stuff with a jo you can do with a hanbo.

Just read something last night that I thought was pretty relevant to this. I am a huge fan of Dave Lowry, and recently got my hands on "The Karate Way: Discovering the Spirit of Practice". For those of you who don't know who he is, he's been studying MA since 1968 in a variety of styles, from traditional Japanese swordsmanship to karate to judo to aikido. Fantastic writer IMO. One of the chapters, entitled "What's in a Name?", brings up some interesting points. According to Lowry, a "true" martial art is one that was used specifically in warfare alone. He provides examples of other "martial" arts that are not specifically fighting but are related to warfare, including battlefield signaling, horsemanship, and building fortifications. He then states everything else is merely a civilian combat art, including karate. This means most of what we train in nowadays, according to him, is not technically a "martial" art. There are new martial arts that have been created since those feudal times (i.e. jukendo, the art of fighting with a bayoneted rifle) but for the most part unless it can trace a direct and legitimate line to warfare (probably through koryu means) it's not a martial art. He then ends by essentially saying don't get hung up on definitions, it just takes away from training time.

I've done some hanbo training and some jo training. The difference? A foot. They work the same, so if you're doing one you can easily do the other.

Turns out the other place has closed down, so the problem solved itself it seems. I've just begun hitting up the boxing gym more steadily now rather than occasionally, that should help.

I think it all depends on how the kick is thrown. Take the Muay Thai roundhouse kick. Instead of keeping the heel flat, you actually rotate on the ball of the foot and in many cases you'll see the heel predominantly raised. For a strong forward-style kick though, having that heel raised will make it a weak kick.

...unless you can take a chunk of skin off with the bite...I think the cons outweight the pros in this kind of situation. I've seen plenty of bite marks from domestic violence situations where it never broke the skin that much and some of them were pretty deep bites. In the minds of some rapists, the woman "asked for it" so by biting them, even if it's to protect yourself, it might only further excite them and establish that in their minds that they're only doing what the woman wants. Strange way of thinking, but that's how some of their mindsets go. I honestly advise against biting in any kind of situation for self defense. The potential for disease nowadays is too high and you might escape that day only to contract something from the attacker. If it's a do or die situation, go for it, but in 99% of most cases there's many other safer, more effective techniques available. Most people don't have the stomach for getting in the kind of bite that would actually be effective either: if someone can't stomach a stinky garbage can, for example, I doubt they'll be able to stomach a quivering inch of bloody human meat in their mouth. Not the first technique I would use in any kind of situation. One of the last.

I'd actually advise against women biting a would-be rapist. It would more likely excite the attacker than stop him.

Brave warriors who die in battle go to Valhalla, in preparation for Ragnarok, "final destiny of the gods", a huge battle in which the world is eventually submerged and the circle of life begins again. (I've got some Norwegian in me, I love that kind of stuff)

Similar to a military chain of command, I would imagine. Other than for that reason and for historical interest, it can also give you an idea of what might have inspired the founder and might give you some more insight into your chosen art.

Glad to hear you finally decided on which one you want to stick with. I guarantee here in a year or two you're going to be punching much better than you are now and will barely remember your problems with it. It also gives you something to work on: getting your punch technique down. By focusing on one thing at a time, your whole skill overall will improve. It may only be one step, but each time you take a step you get that much closer to where you want to go.

Why specifically Shorin-Ryu or Tae Kwon Do? Is it because those two are just available to you or do you genuinely have some interest in learning one of the two? Do you not like Shotokan or do you simply want to learn some techniques from one of those other two? Once you can determine why you want to study another art, it will be beneficial to you.

I'd say it depends on what your current experience level is. If you're already at least a shodan in Goju and have a decent foundation, then training in Shotokan as well will certainly be feasible. If you're still fairly new to both, though, I would choose the one you like the most and stick with it until you reach dan level before looking at branching out.

The main reason for no head punches in Kyokushin goes back to the formative years. Kyokushin kumite originally included face punching with bare hands. Stories float around about how some students would be in charge of collecting teeth during the matches so they could be returned to their rightful owners. However, about this time Oyama ran into the problem that many countries had laws against illegal prizefighting (in which the idea of fighting without hand protection and allowing hand strikes was included) so he had to adapt. He could either add protective equipment to continue the strikes to the face, or he could eliminate face punching and still keep the idea of jissen kumite without protection in effect. He chose the latter. Some organizations are bringing back face punches now using the 2oz gloves you see in MMA. I'm a Kyokushin guy and a cop, so I get in a scrap or two every now and then. Haven't seen any downsides to having Kyokushin training, only benefits, so take it for what it's worth. Not the total package, but definitely a valuable tool.

Pull-ups bar none for your lats. Either find a sturdy tree limb, or drop 30 bucks for a good pull-up bar. Palms facing outwards and don't pull with your arms, instead push your elbows down. For triceps, nothing better than good old dips. Either find two parallel bars or supports of some kind or else set up two sturdy chairs an equal distance apart. Keep your eyes facing forward, lower yourself down slowly and push up slowly, and keep your feet crossed and your knees bent.

I agree with JusticeZero, that's a good way of going around it. I usually like to throw 10-20 kicks after doing a bunch of slow ones though just so my body still recognizes that yes you do have to throw them fast. Too much slow movements without enough quick movements makes a slow fighter.

As an interesting side note, if you're really interested in seeing how some of the traditional karate "blocks" can be interpreted bunkai-wise, "75 Down Blocks" is a great book. Shows all sorts of variants of down blocks for defense, takedowns, and self-defense type scenarios.