JCavin

6 rounds of 3 minute sparring. Finished up with 100 burpees.

Mike Tyson's trainer Cus D'Amoto never fought. Just for perspective. Also, if someone like master toddy says someone is good enough to yeah I would defer to their judgement.

I think that the training you would go through at his camp would be sufficient to become an instructor. Also, just reading up on toddy's page it says that fighting is optional to become a teacher under him. I don't think you should have to fight personally. You don't have to compete in a BJJ comp to earn yor belts do you(I don't know, actually asking)? Same for most martial arts

What do you mean by fighting? Sanctioned fights? Smokers? A lot of muay Thai tests require you to be in the ring with instructors for a certain amount of rounds. Have to throw so many kicks per round or you fail etc. most of the muay Thai I've been involved with is through ajarn chai and I know his tests are ran this way.

In TKD class: 3x3:00 of jump rope. 20 minutes of muay thai 4 counts. 20 minutes of ladders doing right round, cross, hook, switch left kick, cross, hook. Started with ten kicks(5 each side) then switched pads. Add one kick each time. Made it to 19 because he added in burpees after every 2 kicks( I did a sprawl). TKD instructor is also a muay Thai instructor through a mutual old instructor in this area. Nice to have that skillset available.

The first form they do is chon ji. That would most likely make it an ITF offshoot, right?

12/5 Went to first TKD class. 4 rounds of 30sec of: - Jump Rope - Jump Spinning Side Kick - Burpees - Pump Kicks - Air Squats - Rest 1 round of 1:30 of: - Jump Rope - Jump Spinning Side Kick - Burpees - Pump Kicks - Air Squats 5 rounds of 20sec situps w/ 10sec rest Then stretching. Then hobbled out the door...

As a counter to the post I see below... I tried out a local TKD school today(only school that has classes during the day). He's actually someone I trained with as a kid(briefly) and he and I both trained under another guy named Marc McFann here. McFann is an instructor under Inosanto, Ajarn Chai, etc. This TKD instructor trained with him for 8 years to supplement his TKD. As for his TKD rank, he's a 7th degree in the WTA(Anyone have info on this organization? I'm new to TKD and their politics). A real nice guy too. Anyhow, the class was great. A lot of circuit conditioning mixed with TKD drills. Class was one hour. Afterwards people are free to stay and spar, work on belt requirements, etc. The more formal classes are held at night. I watched the black belts spar to get a feel for it. It seems typical. Controlled, for the most part. Seemed more about learning than it did about hurting each other, which is something I like. After years of ring fighting I just came to the conclusion that a punch is a punch and a kick is a kick. Doesn't matter what style you do, fighting is pretty straight forward(No i'm not talking about fighting in a sanctioned event. Talking about years as a LEO.). I enjoyed it and will be signing up on Thursday.

For some reasn I'm good at spotting a grappler. I have no clue why though

We have a similar program here. However it is aikido. Which lends itself better to that type of program I think

My sensei is a cop. I was previously a detention officer and part of an immigration task force with homeland security. Now I'm the milk man

Self defense. Think it is a combination of being a husband and a father(and a former LEO). When you have people you love that much it makes their safety a priority in every facet of your life. And as I see it, I can't protect them, or teach them to protect themselves, without first being able to protect myself.

In our school, and this may be different in others, senior students have a responsibility to make corrections to juniors. Mostly because we spend a great deal of time at the first belt(1 year is typical) before promotion in order to get a grasp of the basics. This allows even people with the yellow belt to make corrections because they should already be quite familiar. Sensei is typically doing the same, only over most of the class. He occasionally leads an exercise while the "sempai" are making corrections.

One of my favorite quotes by Miyamoto Musashi: "It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first."

Darnit I thought we were playing a different game here lol

I'll bite. My guess would be that every kata aims to automatically place you at a disadvantage from the beginning. One step behind. If you are taught to fight always from a disadvantageous standpoint, well, that's an advantage.

My pleasure

What a lot of people fail to realize with a workout program is that it should be progressive. In much the same way as a martial art. You start with basics, and then you slowly add more and more. So if you're doing a workout at home, start writing down what you're doing. If you are doing 3 sets of 20 pushups one workout, try to add 1 rep every workout. So instead of 3 sets of 20 you're now doing 3x21, then 3x22, then 3x23, etc. Then you can start adding sets, decreasing rest times, super setting with bodyweight squats, etc. The point is to keep some type of SMALL progression in there to keep getting better and better. The same goes for running. There isn't much that beats running for weight loss. Start with a light jog at 5 minutes. Do that 2-3 times a week. Next week add 30 seconds or 1 minute. If you feel really good one day run longer. Just have a set amount of time to run and add to it so you are always getting a little better each time. Don't think about these things in short-term. Think about where you want to be a year from now. Or two years. And think about the small goals you can accomplish on your way to help that long term goal. If you add 1 minute a week to your run, at the end of a year you're running an extra 48 minutes! That's a LONG run, lol. Also, use a common sense diet. If it used to be alive(animal or plant) then it is probably okay and healthier than the alternatives. Meats, especially lean meat like poultry and fish, fruits and vegetables(fresh), and whole grains.

As was mentioned above, just keep training. You're going to be incredibly nervous just before your match. The good news? As soon as it starts you will completely forget about being nervous. The worst part is ALWAYS the waiting. This is normal and it is your body's way of trying to protect itself. Every fighter gets nervous, even the professionals. But, they've done it enough to know that the fighting is easier than what you imagine beforehand. Just stay the course and you'll be a much more confident and better martial artist afterwards.

How are your eating habits? Generally, fat loss is a combination of good, consistent dieting and making sure you are expending more calories than you take in. Sometimes people only think they are burning more calories than they consume. There is no way to spot lose fat, but having some underlying muscle mass in a particular area does help the appearance in most cases. What does your workout look like at the gym? What does your cardio look like?

I now have a physical labor job(I love it after being in law enforcement for 6+ years). It's very physically demanding, especially on my legs. I work out 3 days a week with a focus on basic barbell lifts such as the squat, bench, and press. I don't do deadlifts anymore. Anyways, I say all this because I have a fine line I have to walk when it comes to energy and prioritizing. Martial arts, work, workouts, and running. Sometimes I just don't have the "umph" to get a real good workout in one. Obviously my job takes priority. When i'm having one of those days and it is a workout day, I tend to just focus on hitting set numbers on the big lifts and forgetting the accessory exercises. Get in, do the work, get out. Refuel, rest, and go to work rested. My question is, what do you try to do for your martial arts workouts on these days? I have recently been concentrating on basics when this happens. Footwork, stances, and really breaking down the techniques to get that smoothness.

1. I'd like to test in front of Master John P. Nieto this year. 2. Really focus on my makiwara training. 3. Start teaching some basic grappling in class.

I always found that sparring before learning techniques made learning the techniques more important to the students. For instance, we make people spar the first night so they have an idea of what to expect. Then we teach them a couple techniques and have them think about exactly how they would have used that, and then have them spar again, using only those techniques. Has worked well for me. Gives you perspective.

John Sullivan. I have a ton of respect for the bare-knuckle boxers.

Funny thing about this is that I've not YET meet a new student that didn't want a black belt one time or another. Whether they learn later that the belt isn't important or not, that very thought [wanting a black belt] has ran through their mind more than once!! I started when I was 7 years old, and I know for a fact that I thought about wanting a black belt; I even drooled many, many times. I'm sort of the devil's advocate here, I think. Perhaps the exception to the rule. I've been doing martial arts for the past 10 years. Most of it has been in muay thai and submission grappling(not bjj). In all the time I was training those I tested 1 time because I happened to be there on a test night. Recently, however, i've come to want my black belt for a number of reasons. First, i've never had one. I would like to be able to say that I was dedicated enough to get it. Secondly, I would like to teach. Obviously I can teach without it, but if I ever want to teach in an actual school, my students will expect to be able to achieve rank in it. I can't do that unless i'm ranked myself. Lastly, it is a personal goal that i've set for myself. It is a goal that I would like to complete for the sake of completing it. Just to give some perspective from the other side.