brickshooter

There are two types of side kicks. The snapping and the thrusting. With the snapping side kick, I find that it's a self-inflicted knee injury waiting to happen. So I avoid it like t he plague. With the thrusting side kick, don't think of it as a kick. Think of it as a foot stompt. But at rib level. I've attached two decent instructional videos. The first one has a cheasy commercial, but it has very clear instructions. The 2nd is of TaeKwonDo folks who are generally exceptional at using the side kicks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV12Uaejxww&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j1w--TjqVY

I think that one of the primary reasons that children like the martial arts is that their friends are doing it too. It's recreational and social. So putting them in private classes may take all the fun out of the martial arts, which explains why they may be losing interest in it. Actually, as an adult I also get bored if I have to train in too small a class.

$5,000 is a bit steep for two kids. But I think that the whole point of martial arts training is training. The theory is that one can take a kid with little physical and mental toughness and make them tougher with martial arts training. If your kids stink at physical fitness, the martial arts will make them better. And they can take that better physical fitness and apply it to other sports. Conclusion - find a cheaper school. And allow martial arts training to make your kids stronger, develop more toughness, and give your kids more discipline.

IMO, don't look at the name of the style to see whether one can fit into a dojo. Look at the type of students there. If a dojo has mostly children. The level of training will be toned down for children. In constrast, if it's full of highly testosterome young men, then the level of training will be raised. So when one gets to a Kyokushin dojo, look at the type of students that one will be training with.

I think that the general cutoff age should be about 12 in the United States. I don't live in other countries to make a determination on at what age kids from other countries mature nor the threats they face. And if the kid lives in a tough neighborhood, I'd lower the age a little. If he comes from an upper class neighborhood, I'd raise the age a little. If there's a child molester on the loose, I'd lower the age a little. If there's a lot of school ground fights reported, I'd raise the age a little. And it also depends on the techniques themselves. Strangulations is one thing. But finishing blows to the back of the neck is another thing. There are different levels of lethalities in techniques. The more permanent the damage = the older the student should be. However, sometimes by not showing the lethality, a student can accidentally kill someone. They may hold the strangulation for too long, or stomp on a person's neck.

IMO, we are terribly primitive when it comes to stretching. We have a habbit of tossing safety out the windows. But Youtube has a variety of videos on professionals stretching. Don't laugh but they're ballet people. But you need to warm up before doing any stretching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOC93gtPPLA&feature=fvw

By the way, is a martial artist anyone who practices a martial arts? If that's the explanation, I don't see how Bruce Lee wasn't a martial artist.

I'm a Karate guy with little understanding of Kung Fu. In Karate, there's a lot of hip rotation. Some Karate schools such as Shotokan also promotes extreme weight transfer (foward). They emphasize the M part of F = MxA. Other schools like Shito-Ryu promotes far more hip rotation than weight transfer. They exmpasize the A part of F = MxA. My question is how do one generate power in Kung Fu? I don't see the hip rotation. And I don't see any weight transfer. I see the same theory practice in Kenpo Karate. But again, I never figured out how those styles generate force. What am I not seeing? BTW, the Karate blast uses weight transfer to generate power. I can't think of a school that promotes its use while standing still. It explains why the technique looks like one is running forward while punching.

"Please forgive, too many mind. Too many mind? Hai. Mind the sword, mind the people watch, mind the enemy, too many mind... [pause] No mind"

IMO, limited to teaching only one or two throws per month substantially improved your technical skills & muscle memory on those throws to the point where it's automatic.

Sochin is my favorite. Nijushiho gives me a ton of problems. I like the Heian series a lot too. More so than most of the later Katas.

IMO, the 10th degree grandmasters and the like are equivalent to expert trainers. They have a great degree of knowledge. But they're generally old. Most are out of shape. Their skill level won't enough to compensate for their physical inferiority versus a professional WWF guy, some of which are ex-collegiant wrestlers. On the other hand, the 5th degree guys in their mid-30s are probably the cream of the crop when it comes to fighting. Machida... GSP and will likely dominate the WWF guys of equivalent weight. BTW, to make the transition to real fighting, the WWF guys must have had incredible collegiant wrestling experience. Those who are pure weight lifters learning a couple of WWF moves to get in the ring will get ownz. Not all (few) WWF guys are actually ex-wrestlers.

I thought that he was a great MMA teacher. Not personally a fighter like his fans like to build him up to be. But a great MMA thinker and trainer.

Whether how short or long it takes to earn one's BB, I believe that everyone should be tested at 18 years old for their adult-BB.

IMO, adults and children should train seperately. At the very least, put them on different sides of the room with different instructors. I find that adults tend to be distracted by children. And children tend to be intimidated by adults. Moreover, children require different instructions as they're unable to self-correct.

My vote goes to George Foreman. Not the later overweight, overhyped one. But the George in his prime. And Teofilo Stevenson. Wow, what a cross. And his jab wasn't too bad either.

Are you sure that's not actually a Judo throw? LoL.

I've no problem watching a live autopsy while sipping a latte. But I don't think that I could ever watch a man-woman fight even though I know that both are professionals testing their skills. It's just the way I'm wired.

I lost my mojo for Karate after getting my Shodan. I suspect that it's true for most folks. Looking into most Karate schools, I could see more BB folks spending most of their time talking than actually training. For some reason, once a person gets their dan, they slack. I was no exception. But for the last two years, I found my Karate mojo with Kata. Ironic since I had completely dismissed it when I was younger. Albeit I knew all the steps, I really didn't know how to used it. And I couldn't have understand some Kata had I not moved on to Judo and Aikido. Funny. Learn grappling so that one can better understand Karate. Funny. So ... "Crotty" Kata is my second wind.

Weight class generally takes care of any height equality issues.

I try to lift weight and do cardio every day. 20 minutes of the ellipcal machine making sure my heart is right about 130. Then one light set of weight on every muscle group starting with the core. I don't do the alternating muscle group like everyone else, because my work schedule often takes priority. So basically, I do a full body workout every time I get in the gym. The entire workout = roughly 45 minutes from the time I get into the gym. Pros = more flexibility and muscle endurance, less beefy. Cons = not a muscle monster.

I've been in three fights all my life. Hey... I'm a diplomat. The first was in the 2nd grade. The other two fights were in college. Both were street fights. Both fights ended up looking like a riot. It wasn't even clear who's side I was on. It started when my friend and another guy was 1-on-1. Then it really escalated and looked like 10-on-10. To this day, I had no idea who the other 6 guys on my side was. The other fight was a precurser to a full on riot. In fact, riot police were called out. And they clubbed the hell out of everyone in their path. That was interesting because every just ran.

IMO, we're all wired and built differently. So we're going to get a little more or less from each. For me - Kihon = technique Kata = balance Ipon-kumite = timing Kumite = timing & footwork Heavy bags = power Makiwara = power

I think that the most difficult thing about training with weapons is finding a qualified instructor. But training itself is like any other training. Instruction on techniques, drills, then basic sparing. Re getting your weapon taken away. It's pretty difficult to do so versus a untrained weapon attacker. It's going to be extremely difficult to take away a weapon of a trained person. Re using a weapon. We don't get to pick our attacker. According to the FBI, roughtly 3/4 of all street aggravated assaults are by attackers using a weapon. So on the streets, we're not the ones bringing in weapon. They are.

Eye jabs (not gouges) can be done on a Bob Bag. If one can hit another with a jab, one can hit another with an open hand jab aimed at the eye. Of course, they only temporarily blind the attacker on one side so a finishing technique is required to take him out. Biting. LoL. I give up on this one. But I think that biting vunerable spots are more effective. For example, biting the coratic artery is more effective than biting forearms. Weapons. One can tightly roll up a magazine and it becomes a stick. And now it's really a fight between a defender with a stick and an unarmed attacker. So training should include how to quickly make an improvised weapon, and how to use such weapon. Pen = dagger, etc. Belt = rope. Anyways, my point is that sparing could teach a person many things, but not everything.