WhiteBelt

The average I've heard in Toronto is about 50-70 a month, but there are the few extreme cases of 200 a month per person.

Kyokushin will most likely train a fighter for this type of match, compared to the other choices. That is, of course, only in my humble opinion.

I've read some place that it is basically kyokushin's fight rules, with one round per man. The object is to stay alive, not to win; just survive and you pass the test.

There is a kyokushin dojo across town that loves full contact and traditions. The only protection they wear is a mouth gard and a cup, and the only rule is don't punch to the face basically. You fight until somebody hits the floor twice, or doesn't get up the first time. I've heard from people that have gone there to see what it's like, and they saw one particularly brutal fight... Leg shots until the guy couldn't move fast enough and finished off with a side kick that threw him into and through a wall. Who knows how true that story really is, but I can just imagine the guy's legs dangling out of a hole in the wall and hear him quietly asking for help from the next room.

You just have to take out Van Damme's right leg and you've won. I don't think I've ever seen him kick with his left leg.

We're doing more ground fighting every month. At first it was pretty silly and all in good fun, but these days were practicing shoots, arm bars, a few leg locks, and of course 'ground and pound'. All bow before that last 'technique' for nothing will make your opponent look prettier. I can speak from experience that even a smaller, and unskilled opponent can be very successful with a shoot, unless you sprawl and get out of the way. Kicking is not going to work too well...

Nah I broke my fist when I did a standard punch to the face in a fight. Found out a month later that it was broken. Now my pinky is one centimeter shorter than my other pinky...

This article pretty much sums up why I'm interested in judo, jj, mt, kyokushin (well maybe a bit less). While we do train fairly realistically in my dojo, we do not do full contact in our sparring or self defense. In the end it's up to the participents, and my girlfriend who will 'beat me up' if I do anything too risky... I've been trying to convince her to ease up for the past three months.

So... makiwara is better for developing punching power than a heavy bag? I've broken one bone in my fist by hitting something a bit too hard, so I'll stick with the bag.

Yeah it was a joke.

The front snap kick is pretty dirty. I'd call it the fastest way to the family jewels. The back thrust is useful if you get jumped from behind, or want to retreat from somebody that isn't trained much. It's also very powerful. The other two are pretty standard these days. Everybody should know how effective they are by now...

Has anybody told you about glucosamine? It's supposed to help 'lessen' the effects of arthritus on joints.

Seriously though, training at a McDojo until you're ready, or can find another dojo is just as good/bad as home tutoring. You will probably get better instruction on the basic training at the McDojo because you are more involved and can see the basics in person. However, the McDojo will inflate your ego when you get your blackbelt in six months...

If you want to self-train yourself to be a fighter then here is how you do it: 1. Physical training You're going to need to be tough, and have great conditioning. So start working out in the gym, and do plenty of cardio. Do enough flexibility work to get you by. You're not doing any flying spinning flipping something-or-others... 2. Basics Ok, you don't have a teacher so forget the advanced stuff. If you want to learn a weapon I suggest a club, it goes with the thug style. Get a punching bag to practice bullyin... er, your techniques. Jab, cross, haymaker, front kick and roundhouse kick are all you need. However, if you got mad skill then try out a hook punch. They're neat. 3. Sparring Since you don't have a partner you're going to have to 'volunteer' somebody. I hear that local bars and clubs are a great place to start. If that fails then you can always grab somebody anywhere and hope you can run fast after the cops arrive. 4. Future Now that you're in jail and somebody's bitch maybe you've learned your lesson?

Stance? I use the tool that gets the job done. Whatever works...

The Bubishi (sp) has a lot of information on this subject. In short: false, karate was indeed born in Okinawa.

Kata and forms were ways of hiding self defense techniques. Now they add a touch of 'art' to the MAs that include them.

Make sure you are strong enough to do isometrics or you are asking for pain.

Thumb tacks are great traps. You can take the protective cover off of diskettes and sharpen it too. The antenna off your office radio may substitute your lethal pencil.

I brought up the machette because it happened in my city a couple of days ago. A woman had both hands chopped off by her crazy neighbour, who weilded a machette.

I see TKD more as a sport, if they are giving away black belts like that... In any case a black belt is very subjective as some MAs don't use black as top honours anyway. Also, you can't really judge the 12-16 year old black belt without really knowing the circumstances. The kid may be the next MA guru, or maybe just a hard working tournament stylist.

Yes all things are part of the bigger picture. One part being weapons which the ring does not account for, among other things. I agree with people who do very well in the ring are no doubt tough and can handle themselves. I disagree with it being 'the place' to test your overall skill in MA, or self-defense skills. Put an expert in Kali with a machette against an unarmed Muay Thai expert... is it unfair? Yes, but weapons are a part of the street.

I was watching some UFC thing the other night. A tiny guy knocked a huge monster of a man down with one hook. Yeah, one punch-fight over. The hook is not weak.

I brought in the gang to show how the ring is nothing like the street. Even without any rules what-so-ever it is not the same atmosphere, and not the same environment. Also, I have been attacked by gangs before I returned to MA training. All I had at the time was basic karate training to save my butt, and it worked because I was realistic about what to do and not some hero. I'm not saying Pankration is ineffective; I'm disagreeing with the ring being the place to prove your self-defense. A realistic method of proving an art's worth for self-defense would be the lifespan of it's practitioners...

The ring is worthless in proving what you know for self-defense. How often are you attacked on the street with a ref near by and some bikini girl with the round number handy? If you are jumped by a gang in the ring and didn't know it was coming, but some how survive, then I'll agree with the poll. Unless of course, all you care about is competition.