Pyros

Sorry, I hadn't noticed this post at all! Yes, I know Kirves, we both work for the same company and also train together. We sort of handle these discussion forums together, as I haven't got Internet-access from my house. I can only get to the net from work or Kirves' place so often we are typing these posts "together".

Exactly. A belt rank means one is proficient in all the techniques required for that rank in that particular system. If a Hapkido blackbelt beats up a BJJ blackbelt in a ring, no way is he supposed to get a black belt in BJJ just for that. And vice versa.

I agree. My sister was walking with me down a street and was attacked by a stoned narc with intent of stealing her purse. This unknown pedestrian suddenly pulled the purse knocking my sister down on the pavement. When he realized the purse sling went around my sisters neck, he started using serious violence to get the purse sling off around her head. She was just screaming in panic. I stepped in to get him stop and he attacked me. My sister got up and ran away, and after she got far enough, I started running too. You are very right, me and my sister have very weak characters for getting into this situation. We need to meditate more so it won't happen again.

Seen Kurosawa's "Yojimbo"? Excellent!

Joined JKD Unlimited to study JKD.

Style, yes. A new art, no. If you want to start a new karate style or tae kwon do style or jujutsu style, if you want it to be recognized you have to go to the (a) head organization of that art. But if you start a completely new art, say Onidokan Budo (let's assume such an art doesn't accidentally exist.. ) there's no head organization to ask. You are the organization! You start the World International Onidokan Budo Association and name yourself it's chairman. Then you get some students and start teaching. There really is noone you answer to, as long as you don't lie to people. Just say it out lout: In the year 2003 I founded a new art. Period.

It's not always a case of forgery. Often a (hypothetical) guy has 1st dan in TKD and 1st dan in Judo and also has a huge need for immediate gratification. Thus he launches his own organization creating a new martial art style "Han Kuk Sool Hwang Do" combining TKD and Judo techniques and suddenly he has a curriculum up to 5th dan with himself already ranked at the top. All legal. All common.

You won't build bodybuilder muscles with martial arts classes. You get trim and toned, like you took a good power aerobics class. You will only look better, don't worry. External arts tend to be more physical. They are easier at first to learn and apply but they need more speed and strength that will diminish when you get old. An extreme example is Thai Boxing. Internal arts tend to be more subtle and technical. They take more time to learn so it'll work in real life (say five years of internal arts, say one year for external arts, for you to get basic self defence skills that may come from the blue when you get jumped). As they rely less on physical attributes, you tend to keep the skills when you're nearing a hundred years old. An extreme example is Tai Chi (not just the morning exercise but trained with the traditional combat side included).

Welcome! I hope you feel as welcome here as I did, I was pleasantly surprised by this board as I have posted on E-Budo, MartialTalk, BudoSeek and occasionally on other boards and this one just gave me a warm and welcomed feeling from the get go!

In USA that is. Here in Europe we still have the disctinction even in the ignorant public's mind. Here you rarely see (I have never seen or heard of) a "Korean Karate" school or such. Here just about everyone who has heard of karate or judo, has also heard of tae kwon do, kung fu, jujutsu, etc.

Yeah, I supposed that was the case at least in some cases. Of course it depends on the instructor, some are incorporating BJJ and similar stuff to theirs as a marketing tactic. Which is fine if it is done by bringing in a certified instructor, but I hate it when the instructor goes to a couple of BJJ seminars (or even stars training in a club for what it's worth) and then starts to add the techniques he learns to his own classes. He has no right or skill to teach those techniques! That sucks!

There are crane and other techniques in karate. Karate kid did Okinawan karate. But Mr. Miyagi's name was just coincidentally same as the Goju Ryu master. Like "John" in America - lots of Johns around, eh? Remember that on Okinawa, the most influence on karate came from China, that's why it was at first called "The Chinese Hand" instead of "The Empty Hand" as it is now called. Shorin is a direct translation of Shaolin, just to give an example. I also, as a European, for some years wondered why americans call everything karate. But later I found out from my personal contacts that in USA they try to make it more familiar to the public. Like Chuck Norris started training Tae Kwon Do but he called it Korean Karate instead to make it more familiar to the public who didn't really know anything about the stuff.

Here's an excellent article about the street and the street people from a man who knows what he's talking about, first hand. http://www.lwcbooks.com/articles/Streetpeoplearticle.html

Wow, I feel at home already with such welcoming! Great spirit on this forum, it seems!

-afraid of getting hit -not confident enough to commit to an attack

Try to find a training partner. Or better yet, form a small training group, a handful of people, and get instruction from somewhere distant. Attend seminars and training camps. Then hone the skills taught there, while waiting for the next seminar. Many organizations actually support this method. They like the idea that in a few years you have a small group of skilled enough people to open a branch club for their style. I know a guy who did this with Jeet Kune Do Unlimited and another one who did it with Jinenkan.

The Shorin Ryu I studied briefly, advertised (with some creditability) to be one of the oldest styles and the whole organization was originally founded to preserve the teachings of Chotoku Kyan unchanged. The school did lots of standup grappling. The kata ti-chi-ki (a.k.a. bunkai in Japanese) that is the kata's application to self defence, is mostly stand up grappling with punches, low level kicks and sweeps. So, yes traditional Okinawan karate has grappling self defence. We didn't see much ground fighting though, just the usual standup thing with locks, throws, sweeps and holds. Maybe your art has always had it that way, or maybe it has been added afterwards. Either way - they used to do that in the old days too.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_736770.html?menu=news.quirkies

It was nice to find this forum. I have some kali and shorin ryu experience but not that much anyway. At the moment I'm "between" schools. Either I go for genseiryu karate or tolkido hapkido. I'll have to investigate the schools and teachers before making the final decision! Good to have this resource on the web!

If you want discipline, karate can help. If you want to get your life from the rut, physically and mentally, karate can help. But it can only help. If you don't stick to it, it won't help. So you must enjoy it in the long run enough to stay motivated. It is my guess that your only chance is to try it out for a few months and see if you can, want and will stick to it.

Roundhouse kick with the shin to the lower thigh, inner or outer side just above knee.

I hear it often: hapkido has it all. When I ask what exactly, I get the usual list of punches, kicks, locks, throws, etc. Often this list also includes ground fighting. Could someone elaborate on this? Do they actually go to the matt and start free fighting? Do they teach "the guard", how to "pass" it, etc.? Or is the ground fighting just the submission holds from the take downs? Please inform the ignorant!

Burton Richardson teaches Jeet Kune Do via videos. He says he has had good results with it. What is the key aspect with him is quality control. He requires real life contact sparring with protective equipment. He requires lots of this sparring in the videos the student must send him about himself. And he wants to eventually meet the student from time to time (seminars, camps, private lessons) when the student gets high enough level. So I guess it is possible if the teacher is also honestly into it, not just scamming for your buck.

Zebra or Shrew!

Tell me about how you spar. Of course there are often different kinds of sparring used, but I mean, when you "really go at it". At the heaviest, hardest mode, what do you do? 1. Do you use protective gear? If so what? 2. How hard contact do you use? Do you KO each other often? Injuries? 3. What rules do you use? Punch the face? Groin? Grabbing? Wrestling? Submissions? 4. Don't forget to mention your style!