tonydee

So much depends on the instructor. The very best instructors simplify their teaching down to the essentials, can provide very direct tailored advice, and are incredibly productive at moulding promising students into good practitioners. Kata require a lot less experience than sparring, so if the instructor directs the student exclusively towards kata their progress can be very high. That's despite kata typically involving more distinct techniques than are seen in many school's tournament sparring. I don't imagine this happening unless the instructor's trying to make a point though - proving he or she can get a students to that standard that fast - as it suggests neglecting many other aspects of the student's development and taking attention away from other students. Cheers, Tony

The only way I could find to do that was by rotating my torso/hips towards the lifted foot. You might find yourself do that if you're overly conscious of pushing off the foot you're going to lift, psyching yourself up for the big effort. Instead, relax, keep the torso square, and think about the application (main ones being deflection of an incoming front kick during the upward swing, or jamming down on top of kick to the groin on the return). Sometimes the "secret" is not to try too hard, keep the movements minimalist and "light" so you can "float" long enough to whip that foot up and down again. With hips kept square, I can't make that heel lift first even if I want to, though you may be more flexible. I notice in Choi's encyclopaedia (Vol 13, page 215), the application is shown with the kicking heel just forward of the grounded knee, whereas in the static images the sole of the foot is brought up to touch the knee. Always annoys me when applications and recommended form don't coincide, and I always execute the form that that matches the application. If there's another application for the documented form, I'll switch when I learn it, but there's no point practising something that you can't use. Reminds me of the final reverse knife hand block in Po-eun, which is shown with the hands further forward that a line through the knees: I want that block to deflect the kick safely past my knees, and am not about to stop it where it would only just touch but not actually deflect a kick from 45 degrees, which is where I understand the attack to be coming from. Lots of small frustrations in following a pattern from an art you don't quite believe in! Cheers, Tony

Given my training, I believe the explanation for how I tend to feel in real fight situations is found in endorphins. I've almost always felt very chilled out, very alert; time slows down and things seem very easy. It's no effort to apply my training... there's no hint of reversion to some more basic core of cave-man techniques . Everything perfectly controlled and precise (though so says the drunk driver too... what should I make of that?). Once I was so chilled out I didn't have anything at all to say to someone who was trying to thump me so he could make a get-away after a shop robbery, despite the whole thing carrying on for a couple minutes, and him swearing at me and talking about the gun in his pocket (or did he say knife - told the girl in the shop one and me the other; whatever - he didn't produce anything). Cut my arm when I punched through his car window - didn't bother me in the slightest either. One good thing about endorphins is that you are aware though - I've heard it's possible to get stabbed when you're having an adrenalin rush and not even be aware of it until the bleeding's got you near fainting...? A down side of endorphins is that - sans anger - you don't necessarily feel like hurting the other person. If you're not very good at your arts, and they actually pose a real risk, they might get you in more trouble by causing you to delay finishing the opponent off. My guess would be that much of my dojo time also floats by under endorphins' gentle influence. I've always assumed that the body would either release endorphins or adrenalin, but not both, but that's just a hunch. I suspect endorphin release is not uncommon in the "internal" arts too, so even if there is a tightening from adrenalin, maybe tai chi practitioners wouldn't need to worry about it...? A couple other times "on the street" I've definitely had an adrenalin reaction - though those times didn't evolve into physical fights. Separately, in a fight situation people sometimes try to explode into their movements even harder than during training, so there's a touch more violent back-swing. Some extra tightness might actually help to keep that safe, increasing the plyometric response too. Also on topic, famous/controvertial tai chi master Earl Montigue once wrote columns (for Australian Fighting Arts magazine if I remember correctly, but it's >20 years ago). I remember being disappointed that he basically said "I don't have to stretch to kick head high, because in a fight the body releases all these wonderful hormones that let me kick high safely anyway"... bit of a "let's denigrate what we can't be bothered to practice" aspect to that if you ask me. The physical ability to kick high is only the starting point for learning how to apply such kicks effectively in a combat situation, and you can't develop it if you can't do it in practice. It's good to train in a way compatible with the adrenalin or endorphin response you might get in combat, but it's not a good idea to rely on it. As you get better and more experienced as a martial artist, you're much less likely to have a strong hormonal response anyway... it'll just be like another cup of tea. A bit off topic, but a simile I can't help wanting to share: I read about one of those guys who walks on hot coals. He got increasingly confident about it, until after 20 or 30 walks he suddenly got very badly burnt. Turns out the ability depends on the body getting sweaty through the nervous tension that builds in anticipation. He lacked the nerves, hence no sweat, so no protective layer of steam providing some strange insulation against the actual heat.... Because of the different reactions, and the tendency for self confidence and experience to affect them, instructors need to be careful about assuming they understand what their students might go through in a fight. Cheers, Tony

Seems bizarre to acknowledge the appreciation shown, but rude not to, so I'll do it quick: thanks... . I'm sure a little positive feedback now and then helps many of us keep motivated to think hard and post to the best of our ability. I also appreciate the thought and effort put in to the forums by the readership... keeps me coming back for my dose, and gives me somewhere to come when things start rattling around in my mind and I want to run them past people from other arts and backgrounds. Cheers.

In my original school, we weren't supposed to let people other than family know we trained. Then that was loosened to perhaps one or two close, trusted friends, partly as we were encouraged to invite them to come along and consider joining. I think there was one or two funny moments when black belts told fiances or similar. If we saw someone in public, we were generally expected to ignore them, and certainly going up to an instructor and saying hello was considered presumptuous - outside the dojang their time was there own - and invasive if they were with anyone else and might have to offer some explanation for whatever you do or say. We'd generally address instructors as "Sir", and in public seeing someone called "Sir" in Australia would have looked extremely weird in the '80s and '90s. Needless to say, our school could be a little weird, but wasn't as bad as the above might make it sound . Still, my point is just that different schools and people have vastly different expectations. You could to ask people at your own school what they'd like you to do.... Cheers, Tony

I wish taekwondo was worth its salt . Sadly, in the race to become (arguably) the most popular of (arguably) martial arts, much was lost from almost all schools, including any worthwhile understanding of mechanics.... Quite so, gravity is a sometimes convenient, sometimes inconvenient force complicating the muscular requirements for overcoming/generating bodily momentum. If not for gravity, we couldn't sustain a foot against the ground to generate reaction forces propelling our hip movement and steps. Thanks Chitsu - sounds interesting indeed. Perhaps we could start another thread for that though...? I'm still hoping this one will focus not on strengthening itself, but what develops body-mechanical awareness (be it weights or some other exercise), and how conscious, refined and important that's seen as being in different arts.... Regards, Tony

Back in the early '90s I met up with a black belt from another taekwondo school for a bit of training. He'd been at it as many years as I had, in his case smallish classes with a very hands-on and capable master instructor some 18 hours a week. His school drilled untelegraphed movement and reaction times more than mine, and he was so fast (while still plenty strong enough) that if I tried to close the gap to attack he'd consistently jam me up with side kick. With 20kg over me, I'd be pushed back a bit more than him. I just couldn't get past that side kick. I remember looking at his guard, and thinking he wasn't protecting the side of his head - it I could just reach a spinning hooking kick there. A bit exasperated, I thought I'd give it a try, but of course the side kick was there even more easily than before. Reaching for the more complex move was a mistake - a distraction - which he evidently recognised as futile, as he broke off the sparring for another chat. One of the things I took away from that day was the idea that techniques have a natural ordering: from the guard, the fastest line to the target is incredible important, and it doesn't matter if you seem to be vulnerable in some particular way as long as you're ready with a simple, strong strike that you can get in quicker. (Strange though it may sound, that was news to me because I'd always sought a guarding position from which I could comfortably wait for and block any attack, without having to grab, joint lock or trap to limit their future movement. I now know that such a thing isn't sustainable: you have to be ready to go on the offensive to keep a really good opponent out, as if they know they don't have to be ready to defend themselves their attacking opportunities multiply hugely. If you disagree, find a professional boxer physically in better shape than you, get in a tight space with them, tell them you're only going to block, and see how long until you get hit. They'll soon find a sequence that just takes too much manoeuvring to counter, and tire you out, even if that means leaving their head totally undefended while they do it. Good defensive technique alone isn't enough unless the other side's constrained by the threat of your counter-attacks, or your style's (often tacit) habitual movements. The latter can actually be very influential - for example, wing chun masters can often sustain a purely defensive strategy against another wing chun stylist, who's far more likely to engage is a way that's susceptible to this than someone from another style. Or watch - Nakamura-sensei is probably unaware that his movements are artificially restrained, partly because he accepts Higaonna's dominance, but he's repeatedly punch inside Higaonna's guard at a predictable pace and height - for example, a slightly hooked straightish punch would make the decision to block inwards vs outwards far more complicated, or throwing enough of a punch to draw the guard then circling slightly while changing to a ridge hand is more effective than completing a technique that you know is being blocked)Anyway, it's the exploration of this space - simple direct techniques, their relative merits, untelegraphed movement, footwork and timing, feints - in which the martial artist must excel. The basic, simple, fast techniques are the bedrock of that exploration. That takes far more dedicated, focused practice than rattling off 10,000 of each technique.... Time spent on fancy kicks is a distraction. Most worrying to me is that the generation that's interested in "extreme martial arts" stunt kicks have to focus on a tight airborne spin of the hips, and they use that angle and body mechanics for all manner of movements irrespective of appropriateness. Even watching some of the tournaments on youtube - the kata and weapons contents - all the techniques are tainted by the twisting motion needed for flashy spinning kicks, rather than the spinning motion that's needed for power generation and quick follow through/up motions and footwork. They're very different requirements. Cheers, Tony

I've said on here a couple times that I don't feel weight training is really necessary for developing power in martial arts, providing you're training hard, know how to engage your whole body behind techniques, and getting the feedback you need (from various targets) for developing both speed and power. Things like burpees are great plyometric training exercises that create an explosiveness that - in my opinion - is better than bench pressing. That's not a topic I'm seeking to reopen right now! That said, one way in which I believe weight training is very useful is in developing awareness of our own musculature - both in terms of: 1) the "lines of power" around the body (that is, the way to move that naturally utilise our strength), and 2) the relative strengths of different types of movements. For example, if we lie on a bench and go to press two heavy barbells upwards, we must position our elbows downwards and keep the elbow-to-hand line pretty vertical during the press. If we tried to start by lifting our elbows towards our hips, then straightening the arms from there, we'd find it extremely weak in comparison. This reflects the way a punch should drive towards and through the target, rather than having the forearm swing around in a "backfisty" or "hammerfisty" motion. That's one of the reasons why - at least in my art - the arms are pointing forwards towards the opponent's head rather than boxer-style (more vertical, curled up towards towards the head, emphasis is on create a defensive wall). Similarly, we can see that the bench press is massively stronger than the chest fly (that is, starting from the bench press extended position and keeping the arms straight while letting them fall outwards to the sides of our shoulders until they're horizontal, then returning them to vertical). That's why I deliver an inward block by keeping the arm bent at a constant angle, elbow pulled back a bit like the low position for a pushup, while rotating the shoulders (based on hip movement and leg strength) to affect an inward block, rather than dragging the arm inwards with the pectorals. So, just wondering whether other people: 1) have this kind of awareness 2) had to consciously cultivate it, vs it being intuitive 3) value it (and how much) 4) explicitly have discussions or comments from instructor to students about it, or find it in your textbooks 5) find weight training a particular useful exercise in developing it. What other dojo/ang exercises have helped you and/or your students? Even other sports or physical activities (please don't say waxing the car), or a good book? Cheers, Tony

Either I had a really vivid dream ~ten years ago, or I tracked down a magazine interview with Choi Hong Hi on the 'net where he was cornered in later life by a highly respected Korean academic who was intimately familiar with taekkyon history and repeated the assertion that Choi's calligraphy teacher - based on where he'd lived - simply wouldn't have had any access to any of the people practicing taekkyon. On top of that, there was social stigma and the Japanese all discouraging interest in the art. As I recall it, Choi finally admitted that - as a boy - he'd not literally learned any taekkyon movements from his calligraphy teacher, but rather just be "inspired" by stories about its existence. I've tried to find this video again since - my recollection was it was uploaded as a number of images scanned from the magazine - but never found it. I think I might have saved it to my hard disk, but I've so much stuff on so many hard disks I'd need weeks to search. Apparently it took him a while to warm up to this admission - much more recently I was searching Amazon for any video of Choi and found this video - note that the second reviewer points out that in the interview he admits to having learned only 1 or 2 movements of taekkyon. I wasn't sufficiently interested to buy the video though.... That said, I'm not trying to suggest Choi's martial arts influences uniquely defined taekwondo - his military and political connections simply let him control his seniors in martial arts for a while - but he made some of the strongest and widely publicised claims to Korean martial arts links, while others brought in other Japanese and Chinese influences. Cheers, Tony

Yes, there's an inside-to-outside crescent there - interesting case in that it was "blind side" in the sense of being hard to get an arm to, but it didn't matter if he could see it coming as he was trapped in place by having his front arm tugged downwards. Still, I wasn't so proud of that technique selection as a finishing move: may not have been decisive at finishing a real fight (good boots would help again) so I didn't point it out! There are a couple more examples scattered throughout the other slow sparring videos. Thanks for taking an interest. Cheers, Tony

My original taekwondo school included the same crescent kick / side kick combination for 1 step sparring, and as DWx mentioned crescent kick appears in some advanced TKD forms. Can only agree that the crescent / side combination is a bit contrived: I see it more as an exercise in balance, coordination, distancing and limb control. While it may never be a good idea to force the crescent kick into use against an arbitrary punch, you will find that sometimes things just come together and a tool in your repertoire just fits in at the time. As you get experience, you'll no doubt surprise yourself many times. That's interesting... definitely, surprise is a huge advantage. I find as you get more senior you naturally block more gently, just through better anticipation getting you ready to reach the incoming technique earlier - before it's focused - and affect a more gradual deflection. Still, the first few years in my TKD school it was pretty much bashing away at attacks and blocks... no harm in that either, good phase to pass through, and it's important to have the limb positioning, posture and balance to block when effectively when unable to dodge a strong attack. Now, I sometimes block a bit harder, or shove/pull the attacking limb immediately after blocking, just to unbalance the opponent.... Where I've trained, we wouldn't even call those crescent kicks... just axe kicks. We would sometimes use a front-leg stepping axe kick, but would always bring a straight leg up one one side; other arts (e.g. WTF) sometimes skip in with a front leg kick, raised bent and frontally then extended. That's a bit like what I'd call a "pick" kick, except a pick kick bends again as the heel is lowered into the strike. Our style of straight-leg up-and-down axe kicks are very hard to use in a non-contact situation... a straight leg raised towards vertical has a very strong tendency to crash earthwards, and it's hard to take the power out sufficiently. Cheers, Tony

Like the "consider themselves important"... . I think whatever you do, if you do your best at it, with a motivation to be helpful to and considerate of others, then that's perfect already. Modern society is very complex, and many things have to come together for it to work efficiently. I wouldn't say a painter, singer, philosopher, physicist or martial arts instructor is less useful to society than a policeman, doctor, farmer or plumber. It's because we have enough of the latter than we can advance to an appreciation of the former, and in some senses that's where our "humanity" is cultivated, and our true collective wealth resides, so I wouldn't rank it less important. Even if you make your money doing something pretty over-the-top indulgent, like selling sports cars, if you pay your taxes then you're still encouraging and stimulating the economy - allowing the rich to enjoy their spoils - which the failure of communism/socialism to deliver good living standards to the general population has proven is a necessary carrot to entice the most able to work harder. It's up to the government to balance that with taxes, minimum wages, benefits etc. so that a net benefit is felt by all.... Still, comparing martial arts with most pastimes, I do feel it has a bit extra to offer - people tend to "grow up" that bit more given a need and tool for dealing with physical conflict situations. But, even if the activity develops a unique blend of skills and abilities in the student, it's definitely not true that the same can't be aggregated from several other activities. For example, dedicated courses in stretching, meditation, asserting yourself in life situations etc. (often better taught than ad-hoc elements in MA training too). In the end, for most people, martial arts aren't qualitatively different from the other aspects of life. Hence, a world without martial arts instructors - or even martial arts - wouldn't ostensibly be much different, though it would be subtly poorer throughout. Cheers, Tony

I don't find the outside-to-inside (movement towards the big toe) crescent kick particularly useful, though it can target a blind spot without much telegraphing, so I do swing it over the opponent's shoulder sometimes (e.g. at 3:55). Honestly, I don't like delivering the kick bare foot, as the inner ankle can catch a nasty crack if you contact someone's skull, catch an elbow or a solid block. It's an ideal kick when you've got good boots on... the stereotypical - if doubtful - application is against an armed attacker - as per Bruce's little effort in Enter the Dragon, though I gather he cut himself quite badly during the shoot (at 8:50 in ).My hapkido master (who was also a WTF taekwondo master and had black belts in a few other arts, so I can't be 100% sure which style his crescent kick was based on), used to keep the leg much straighter than I do, and basically fall forwards through the opponent, forcing their block to bear a sustained weight. Not many attacks require such resistance (axe kick, ...?), and as such it could be an interest aspect to explore. Inside-to-outside crescent (also called slapping and vertical kick in my old school) is considerably more useful. It's a tighter, more controllable motion, and as KarateGeorge says - can be deceptive. Cheers, Tony

It's good to partner white belts with senior ranks. White belts don't know what they're doing, so they're unpredictable: starting an attack at completely the wrong time, using the wrong technique, following an unexpected trajectory, breaking with a formal stance to try to nail you one - because they still understand that to be the objective rather than just delivering a technique per se, not telegraphing as their seniors do because they can't imagine that it's necessary to coordinate their attacking limb with any other part of their body, flicking out explosively without the deliberate methodical muscular motion that students tend to get as they gradually develop power and body-mechanical movements and condition their bodies. Consequently, handling a white belt can be harder than handling a mid-colour-belt rank. But, white belts shouldn't get over-confident about it... you might hit hard enough to hurt, and unknowingly break the "rules" of body mechanics to surprise someone and get a hit in, but you haven't learned yet how to hit hard enough to stop the fight, or block firmly enough to stop a hit that isn't pulled. Too many students - especially talented ladies - rush through the first half of the colour belt ranks only to hit a brick wall when some seniors start standing their ground. Don't let that happen: be humble, pay attention, do techniques the right way so there's more there than just aggression, speed and an abuse of the leniency extended to juniors.... I'm not saying all or any of this applies in this particular case, but Blade96 - do have a good think about it - if nothing else, it's a good thing to recognise in others, and an important thing to steer your own students away from should you teach one day. Regards, Tony

Just thinking to myself, that the "case" for chi is badly damaged by the amount of stuff that's done in the name of chi that's complete hogwash. Even the Shaolin monks do lots of things - lying on nails with sledgehammer concrete breaks etc - that's obviously just about tough skin, surface areas and concrete being strong but ultimately fragile. Some of the granite block breaks they did when I saw them on tour in Australia were just simple mechanical things: leave a little gap so the larger block has space to get momentum, then it's already swinging into another granite block with a very thin line of concentrated contact. Then there's the brain-washing bits: the hypnotists. Bull-shido did a nice expose on that... sure a googling will turn it up. All this begs a question: what are some potentially meaningful examples of what can be done with chi? Is there anything that people have seen that really left them impressed and mystified? Anything on youtube or whatever that might be the real deal? Cheers, Tony

Good posts both... I've not much to add but my agreement.... Cheers, Tony

Varying the training's important too. For example, practice joint locking as a rest from striking, or alternate reflex training with power, footwork with ground work.... Cheers, Tony

Definitely worthwhile getting some books, or if your patient you can piece it together from the usenet FAQ, which has been around for donkeys years, capturing lots of good knowledge, but talks more about what to stretch, for how long and hard, and sadly not so much about individual exercises to stretch those muscles, but you can google around and find that information too. The kinds of things to look out for: order of stretching so you're stretching the connecting muscles on either end first, isolating the muscle, applying maximum leverage, breathing/relaxation/tension patterns. For example, stretching your head down towards (past) your knees: work into it with a buttock stretch, then a calf stretch, then sit on a bench and straighten the leg with the ankle hanging loosely forward (so the calf isn't being stretched at the same time), then reach underneath to get leverage to pull yourself down (keeping back straight, chin forwards). You should acquaint yourself with "PNF" principles (or variations) if you want timely results (including the safety precautions). It rarely takes more than 2 or 3 months to reach a good level of flexibility for martial arts if you work at it correctly and a few times a week, but a good stretch can take more than an hour. You've got to want to make progress, and invest your time and effort wisely in the right exercises. Cheers, Tony

Bit of a strange one here. I have a couple friends who just love martial arts movies, and are trying to get started in the industry (based in Australia - not so easy). Irrespective of the practicalities of actually shooting anything, it's fascinating to contemplate what to present, and how. There are lots of movies about martial arts, but to my mind very few satisfy, and even fewer express, challenge or develop our attitudes to our practice, or those of the non-MAist public. I'm curious what people think about this; what attitudes, concepts, plot or dialog ideas - people would care to put "in the public domain", for anyone to discuss, develop or use. What themes can be identified in existing movies, and what's key to their most successful usage, or lacking and unexploited? What completely new themes should be explored? What historical anecdotes related to martial arts powerfully conveyed something fundamental? What non-martial arts aspects could be usefully recast in a martial arts context? Ideas that might suit an unconventional format, like a 30-second to 5-minute skit, could be just as interesting.... By way of example, obviously the things that are contentious on this forum are candidates for wider presentation: someone trying to escalate force by stages versus someone not, whatever the outcomes; tensions over junior/senior student/teacher interaction; inter-dojo relationships; practality; inter-style squabbling; rigged tournaments; mcdojos; absurd grading fees or cultist practices; existance of ki; pressure to train at levels courting injuries; arts fueling unwarranted confidence or foolhardiness; twisted or simplistic ethical codes; keeping going as we age; public perceptions of MAists.... Nothing wrong with a lot of that, and the existence of these issues might surprise many non martial artists. Tie a few together and you could probably get a better than average martial arts movie. But, part of me is hankering for something more subtle... something where not only the issues are unexpected, but the implications to a martial artist are likely to be too... drawing on subtle insights and realisations that come specifically through training, or through the martial traditions. Do such things even exist? Is there anything about martial arts that engenders unique perspectives, obligations, behaviours? I have quite a few ideas, but will chip in later as I don't want to focus the discussion too narrowly. Thanks and regards, Tony

FWIW, I don't see a necessary link from master to slave. The term can denote a master of a particular subject matter, without the slightest connotation or suggestion of subjugating other people. I wouldn't call someone with a masters of science "master", but I might well call someone recognised as a master of some artform - painting, calligraphy, pottery, bonsai etc - master. In doing so, it would seem respectful but quaint, and I can't imagine people caring much either way. I think it's other elements permeating martial arts - a dimension of physical threat, eastern customs, potential unwarranted violence, cult activity, fantasies of being a comic book hero made real - that already puts some people on guard and makes them hypersensitive to the term "master".... Cheers, Tony

I'm sorry but I've no real knowledge of these conditions. I guess you must have tried stretching, and seen a professional? FWIW, I personally stretch calves in three ways: - with a leg out in front, deliberately bent at the knee, and the ball pulled back towards the shin with both hands, varying the angle at the ankle - pushing against a pole or wall, with the rear leg, torso and arms forming one long line from floor to wall, as shallowing inclined as possible while keeping the leg behind straight and the rear foot nearly front-facing, again varying the angle at the ankle (and hence the specific muscles in the calves being stretched) by moving the heal around side to side. - while leaning away from a post or wall, I lower my hips and place the heel as close to the wall as I can while keeping the foot upright. I then raise myself and/or pull myself towards the wall or pole. I hope you habitually go through a thorough sequence of joint rotations before you start exercising, and that your kicking is technically correct. If you can upload some video somewhere, I could look at the technique for any potential causes of joint stress. I've seen many people suffer due to poor technique - even with decent flexibility. For traditional taekwondo (which is closer to Shotokan) and good technique, it's quite surprising how little flexibility or strength is needed to kick solidly chest or even head height, and how little stress it places on the joints. Best of luck with the training and conditions, Regards, Tony

Well done indeed. It's a difficult situation. Just walking through things systematically - rather verbose, but trying to get you to see the situation as a martial artist must.... As you were lifted off the ground, you've couldn't have pushed your legs against the ground - necessary to turn your hips strongly, which in turn would have made it practical to form a strong strike with your free arm/elbow. Still, an initial surprise strike might have been enough to have made him let go, if not he'd probably have held you in closer to smother further attempts. We'll come back to this elbow. From that position, if his head was behind yours and on the side of your trapped arm, you would have been unable to reach your free arm back to attack his face or grab his hair, but they're useful attacks generally, and might have been possible momentarily during the struggle to get free of that initial grab. Also with that free arm, you might have been able to attack his groin, but I'm not sure it'd have dneo enough to make him let go, especially if he happened to be wearing something strong that might be pulled taught simply from the way he was standing (e.g. denim). It's not quite as easy to attack a man's groin as some would have you believe, and to restrict your ability he might have defensively hugged you tighter to him - even wrapping a leg partly around you - making it hard to free that arm too. Your free arm had little chance of pulling his arm off your throat, unless he was stupid enough to leave a finger or his thumb hanging out. Your trapped arm just might have been able to reach his groin, but as per above, not a particularly promising option. The one place you could combine the available (albeit restricted) strength of both arms/hands to attack was his lower hand around your midsection. If you could extract a finger or thumb, you might have been able to break it. If his fist was firmly closed, then that was a bit of a dead end too. With you in the air, even with two hands you probably couldn't have twisted his wrist well enough to use a joint-lock escape. The final option for hands is just to inflict pain: you'd need pretty strong fingernails to do any damage - even if his arms were bare - but you could potentially give a nasty scratch with a ring or key. Not enough for a guaranteed release, but another things to add to his confusion and doubt, perhaps creating a window of opportunity. So, arms aren't particularly useful. Another option: the head - either a backwards headbutt (dangerous for you too - best when opponent's forehead is raised) - or biting (dangerous to be exposed to his blood). A headbutt that managed to hit the nose or jaw could easily be a fight changer. Next - legs. A backward kick at the knee caps. Kicking backwards with only one leg at a time is a better option than both: generally speaking, you have half the surface area taking the same or more impact (which comes more from the swinging inwards and outwards of the torso and flexing of the spine, combined with as much twisting of the hip as can be managed, than from the thigh muscles themselves). Keep the other foot ready to catch yourself should you be released/dropped suddenly. So, a kick straight backwards at the front of the knee, or, if twisted away from his centre, the side of the knee. If the edges of your shoes were hard, you could have scraped them down his kneecap and/or shin. If you weren't lifted into the air, or got lowered momentarily, a downwards stomp onto the instep or toes could do damage and cause pain. If the first attempt failed, you would want to have randomly mixed up kicks from one leg then the other (or varied it based on the opportunities presented), to have kept him guessing. (You might want to buy some solid, practical shoes to go with your gun). If you were only wearing something soft like sneakers and he didn't let go after the couple attacks, the probability would have got dramatically lower - he'd presumably have found some way to cope or moved you into some even more precarious position. So, ideally you'd have used the factor of surprise to help tip the balance, trying to make sure that first knee kick hit him unprepared and created a chance for you to release yourself. To do that, distract with an initial attempt at a free-arm elbow to the ribs - even if you knew it couldn't actually hit him - as it would have dramatically increased the chance you could land the knee kick before he refocused his attention. Concurrently, you'd ideally have readied your hands to prize out any loose fingers, or twist his bottom wrist as suddenly and hard as you could, hopefully letting you touch the ground and create some space to turn sideways, putting in a good elbow. There wasn't much for it except to keep kicking until he let go, with your hands primarily waiting for any opening (to bend a finger) or relaxation (to wrench the wrist) of his bottom hand, but if/when that seems a lost cause, using your free arm to lessen the pressure around your throat, elbow or attempt a hair grabs should you get the chance. While all that was happening, you would have had to be wary of him deciding you were too much trouble upright, and either pushing you straight downwards, or seeking to fall backwards/forwards/sideways with you, then wrapping legs around you and using the ground to further restrict your movement. Should you have escaped the initial grab, or at least got a foot or two firmly on the floor for a few seconds, many further options would have appeared... indeed, too many to mention. Re styles... I practice and old style of taekwondo which is useful for self defence, but sadly Montana's correct in saying that a great many taekwondo schools these days are pretty worthless, and the average standard in traditional karate systems is higher. I wouldn't recommend aikido to you in this context, but the others he mentioned are credible. Regards, Tony

Sometimes excessive unwarranted humility becomes a conceit, keeping the focus on that which is being protested. Master, student, they're all just labels, and many labels can apply concurrently - one need not be a denial of another equally appropriate. But then, if I had an organisation and controlling things from a lofty height (yeah, right), I'd defer conferring the title until it was unequivolcably deserved, which is not always done. Hmmm... interesting insights and experience. Some people definitely do get like that after they pass a certain rank. In some organisations, the technical requirements for senior dans pretty much break down - with predictable periods of continuing loyalty and student funds being the only significant requirements for ongoing (if less frequent) promotion; people can practically "retire" towards grandmasterhood. There are certainly those who loose their drive (or had the wrong one all along), whether or not the word "master" contributes.... Cheers, Tony

Well, to elaborate on what I said above, I consider that a master should have integrated their art to the stage that they are able to use it instinctively and spontaneously and dynamically affect its optimal responses in any given situation. That said, not all arts have equally good sets of responses to choose from in certain situations, nor is everyone's body equal, but that is judging the art or person and not the mastery. Of course, mastery of a mickey-mouse art is worthless too, so some criterion re general utility needs to be factored in, but I can't be bothered to try to express it exactly - let common sense suffice! Simplified, mastery requires an absolute confidence in and knowledge of your art, so that you express it instinctively and operate at a higher conceptual level, able to express and achieve your own will as to the evolving situation and outcome. I can't agree... I think some very few people really are masters in every sense of the word that matters to me. Is your objection one of personal values (i.e. concern about your relationship to the master... what acknowledging someone as master takes from your self-determination in their presence? possibly preserving a religious or idealogical freedom?)? Or do you just think nobody's that good a fighter? Cheers, Tony

While understanding and respecting other's right to practice like this, I have strongly divergent ideals in my own pattern practice. I care not at all about any audience, nor drama for drama's sake, nor whether my performance is a bore to watch or not. I do want a student watching to be affected by my performance, but I want it to be a sense of awe, terror even, and a call to improve their own performance. I'm sure it's not a uniquely American thing, but being more footage around from there, I have noticed that the American patterns tournaments I've seen footage of are generally very disturbing for their deliberate effort to appear like flashy loud-mouthed psychopaths, with core body mechanics long forgotten. The average ITF world championships are equally disturbing for emphasis on showcasing flexibility and sine wave at the expense of power, telegraphing, speed, defensive position, vision, application, balance - ultimately applicability and practicality. Team patterns are typically even sadder, with all attempts at strong movement reigned back to improve control and predictability of timing. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but this is a sore point! Patterns have so much more to offer. All I care about in delivering my patterns is that they both express and develop my fighting ability - physically, technically and mentally. If that doesn't have the side effect of inspiring students, then they're not paying enough attention, but I haven't generally found that to be a problem. Pauses should appear after a sequence of connected movements, the conclusion of which represents an escape from immediate threat. So, they tend to appear at the end of a sequence of counter attacks, or where some fast footwork, deflection or dodging might carry you clean past an attacker. There is no such thing as moving too fast within such a sequence, but increasing the speed of correct body mechanics is the priority - not rushing through a hollow outward resemblance of the moves. In this, I feel the Luca Valdesi video linked above shows he's gone too far: watching the movements around 1:14, he doesn't take the time to bend and straighten his back leg powerfully generating real power through his movement. He's not moving like someone trying to make each technique do its job - more like someone conscious of being watched. That ellusive mix of control and snappiness shouldn't be at the price of simplifying or shortening into uselessness the fundamental body movements and their overlapping timing. Generally, I consider it the practitioners business how long they make the pauses. They should attune themselves to their performance, and start the next subsequence when it feels right. They might take time to reach for the relaxation to start it untelegraphed, although hopefully they'll have increasing control over attaining that state as their training progresses. Generally, if they pause longer then I'd hope for a more refined performance of the next sequence, one way or another (which doesn't mean controlled - releasing and controlling more energy may be the refinement sought). As above, in my patterns they relate to sequences. Long sequences suggest would suggest you're having a hard time concluding an exchange, or dealing with an absurdly large number of simultaneous or nearly-so attackers. For handling the latter, a properly crafted pattern should encourage footwork to engage some while outrunning others, again creating sequences and allowing some pause. Not as much as you might think. The movements are important. If the practitioner can proceed with only a minimal pause, and they're in the right frame of mind and physically able to do so cleanly, then that's fine too, but having at least some pause is good as it reminds one to take stock and stay outwardly focused - reactionary to the imaginary attackers - rather than inward. It shouldn't feel like you're setting your own pace without developing a feeling of awareness, reaction, timing and distancing.... I can't speak for other pattern sets, but the Chang Hon patterns I practice seem to be about right. There are so many aspects to, and so many ways they're performed by different people, that I can't even begin to answer. I'm not sure, and I doubt many people know. Perhaps some video of Nam Tae Hi in the 50s would answer that, but I've never seen any. From what I can gather (not having met the man), Choi Hong Hi didn't seem to like to do more than an isolated movement or two at seminars, and anything the ITF has put out in the last 20 years will be markedly different from the origins anyway. As always, a thought-provoking thread from sensei8... thanks! Cheers, Tony