Wastelander

I'm afraid I tend to workout with a very loose plan--I make sure to get in a few things that I feel I need to do, and everything else happens on a whim--so I may not be much help. I can list the exercises I include in my workouts, though. Some of it would fall under "functional" and some of it would not, but I would argue that all of it supports a function of my martial arts. Kata (sometimes Sanchin or Seiunchin while gripping 5lb plates) Makiwara Chi-ishi exercises (several variations) Bagwork and/or mitts (depending on whether I have a partner or not) Push-ups (several variations) Pull-ups (several variations) Dips Lunges with punches or kicks Fighter press (pressing forward while staying in a fighting stance) Punches with resistance bands or weights Sit-ups or vee-sits with punches Weighted crunches or weighted twisting sit-ups (currently a 25lb plate) Kettlebell swings (several variations) Medicine ball overhead toss and slams Squat jumps and/or barbell-weighted squats Barbell rows Deadlifts Overhead press Bench press (sometimes barbell and sometimes alternating-arm dumbbell) Punches with hikite (chamber) on the cable crossover machine

As Harlan mentioned, most Okinawan systems will have him progress from bo to sai. Those two weapons are kind of like partners in kobudo, since they were the primary weapons of the Pechin class. In fact, there are some kobudo systems that ONLY teach bo and sai. There is nothing wrong with kama, if trained properly--I actually prefer them to sai, personally--but most people do seem train with them for their flashiness. If he wants a weapon that builds on what he has learned from bo, then the eku (oar/paddle) would be a good progression.

Personally, I used to do only "functional movement" strength training and bodyweight exercises. I did get stronger than I was, of course, but I have gotten stronger still since adding barbell training (based on StrongLifts 5x5, actually), and I haven't gotten any slower. Now I do a combination of the two, and it seems to be working quite well for me. There might be a point where you get too bulky to move quickly, regardless of whether that bulk is muscle or fat, but I don't think I have the body type to pack on that much muscle and as long as I train to promote fast-twitch muscle fiber development, I should maintain/improve my speed, regardless. I've seen plenty of very muscular people who are very fast, so it can certainly be done.

I practice at least some of my kata every single day--typically, I try to get through Naihanchi, Passai, and Kusanku. Although it may not be as efficient, I just practice things as the mood strikes me throughout the day, rather than setting aside time specifically to practice and make a workout out of it. My kihon I do practice outside of class, but not on any sort of regular basis--I help with 3-6 basic classes per week, and I get extra kihon practice at that time.

Water should be sufficient, unless you are training for a long time (more than 1-2 hours) at a high level of intensity. At that point, eating about half a banana every half hour, or so, will replenish the electrolytes, sugars, and nutrients that you are losing. Natural is better than artificial, if you can manage it . If you have to have a sports drink instead of eating the banana, for some reason, I prefer SoBe Lifewater Zero to the "-aide" drinks.

Great article--thanks for sharing! We are actually in the process of buying a house, so I will get to set up my garage as a training area, so this was well-timed

I previously trained in Shuri-Ryu, which is an eclectic karate style founded in the 1950's by Robert Trias. I still practice the kata that I learned in that system, and the basics gave me a solid base to work from, but I no longer practice the short forms (ippon kumite kata, taezu naru waza, and kihon kumite kata). I currently train in Shorin-Ryu, as part of the Shorinkan organization headed by Shugoro Nakazato. My sensei is very open-minded, though, and has experience in several other systems, so at this point I mostly just practice a more general "karate" and we call it Shorin-Ryu because we still teach the standards for that system.

Sounds like you are making good progress! If you are on the topic of sparring, you have a lot of things you can cover! I think you should be sure to include knockdown sparring and MMA sparring, if you can

A heavy bag doesn't really promote precision--they are quite large and bulky, after all. You can get around that by drawing targets on it, but that isn't a perfect option because there isn't a physical difference between hitting the targets and missing them. A makiwara does require some accuracy, but since it doesn't move at all it isn't the best option, either. Both will strengthen your knuckles and the structure of your punches, but so will knuckle pushups, as JusticeZero mentions. There are lots of options, really, but you have to find what fits you best. For precision on the cheap, a tennis ball on a string is hard to beat. A BOB is also very useful if you are wanting to work on your precision with regards to specific strikes. Focus mitts are a great addition, as well, but you mentioned you don't have partners for that. For developing power, it's hard to beat the heavy bag and the makiwara, but I prefer to use both instead of just one. A makiwara can be made fairly cheaply, and a heavy bag can be found fairly cheaply through online classifieds.

I remember being quite proud of myself when I passed my yellow belt test in judo, but I also wasn't nervous about it until I stepped on the mat . If they are having you test, then you know all the material--the real trick is connecting the Japanese terms to the techniques! I remember training with a guy who was really good, but it took him a very, very long time to get promoted in rank because the instructor would call out the technique to demonstrate and he would do the wrong one because he didn't memorize the names. Good luck on your test! I look forward to hearing how it goes--and maybe you can get someone to record it for you!

While I have a background in judo, and I am definitely a proponent of learning to fall, I can't recommend our method of falling for JusticeZero. His martial art does just fine at dealing with falling, even if they go about it differently than we do--check out some videos and you will see what I mean!

I highly recommend researching Dillman's history and claims. With pressure points in grappling, they can be useful against some people, although since BJJ doesn't allow striking, for the most part, you are a bit limited. I routinely use the pressure points of the calf, inner thigh, ribcage, and neck during grappling. They aren't fight-finishers that are going to make your partner tap out, but they do help get them to move where you want them and create openings.

As I understand it, Fallon Fox has been on hormone replacement therapy for over 10 years. That is a long time to be on female hormones and blockers for male hormones, and it will have a significant effect on the body. I remember seeing a progression video of a young transgender who underwent a change from male to female, and the difference in just a few years was astounding. There are a few things, such as greater lung capacity, that may linger after such hormone therapy, but I doubt that the muscles are getting enough male hormones for that to be a factor. As long as she continues her hormone therapy as prescribed I have no problem with her competing with women, but if she tests too high for male hormones she should be punished just like any other female fighter would be. The Olympic committee already has rules in place for transgender athletes that would be applied in boxing, wrestling, judo and taekwondo, so I see no reason they can't be carried over into MMA. I completely understand where sensei8 is coming from with women and men of all sizes being able to defend against anyone, but I see combat sports as a totally different thing. When you choose to be locked inside a cage or a ring with another, similarly trained fighter, it is meant to be a sporting contest and there should be some sort of level playing field for such a thing.

Well, a lot of the stuff I want that is related to martial arts these days costs more than $20. That said, I would most certainly find a good book that isn't currently in my collection. Most of the stuff that you can buy may be helpful, but it isn't generally necessary. At some point, additional knowledge is necessary to continue your training effectively, and sometimes a good book can provide that--or, at least, it can provide some insight or inspiration to help you along the way.

Welcome to the forum! I'm looking forward to learning from you in the discussions we have here--you have listed Wing Chun and Krav Maga in your "Styles" section, so you may have quite a different perspective from many of the folks here.

Kyusho is a great addition to your martial arts repertoire, although as others have mentioned, it is not something you can rely on without the support of the rest of your training. It is also not an art unto itself, because it is just another set of techniques, so I would avoid anyone claiming to have a rank in kyusho--that would be like having a rank in kicking, or in joint locking, which is just a bit silly. Kyusho also isn't mysterious or magical, and if you see any demonstrations that look magical, they are probably the result of mass hypnosis. People can be made to believe so strongly that these things work that their body will actually react the way it is "supposed" to for the demonstration. Pressure points are simply places where nerves end, cross, or branch out, or where a large nerve or bundle of nerves is relatively unprotected, and they are particularly sensitive in those areas. Some are susceptible to being struck, some to being rubbed on, and some to simply being pressed, depending on the nerve and its surrounding environment. For the most part, they cause extra pain and not much else. Some can cause the nervous system to "short out" (for lack of a better term) which results in legs getting wobbly, arms going numb, or a "flash knockout" where the person loses consciousness for a short period of time, depending on how the pressure points are used. Also, remember that kyusho includes sensitive targets, not just pressure points, so the liver, spleen, kidneys, groin, and base of the skull are all part of it. Basically, employing kyusho enhances the techniques you are learning by providing you with extra knowledge to make your karate more effective. If you miss or the kyusho points fail to work, the technique should still be sound enough that you will not be put at a disadvantage by using it. For example--a solid strike to the neck feels pretty terrible, even if you don't hit the vagus nerve, and it puts the striker in a good position. Hopefully this helps you out a bit! @ bassaiguy - I actually took a seminar with Vince Morris, the founder of Kissaki-Kai, earlier this year. He was an interesting character and his techniques and principles were good. They also included the use of kyusho as I've described here, so he and my sensei are actually on the same page in that regard, despite their differences in style.

I actually had never done anything special with my rank certifications until my most recent one, which is framed in my office hanging below my 1897 map of Asia. Up until that one, all of my rank certificates went into a folder. My most recent certificate was for Nikyu in Shorin-Ryu, and it was my first rank in that system, so to commemorate that I actually requested a certificate from Nakazato Shugoro. I got the certificate from my sensei, of course, but he had his sensei request one of the fancy, hand-written ones from the hombu dojo in Naha for me. It marked an important moment to me, so I framed it. I will likely do the same when I reach Shodan, but I think I will mount it to a plaque instead of using a simple frame.

We incorporate kyusho into our training, but I definitely wouldn't call it "pressure point karate." Pressure points are simply another tool that we use in conjunction with our strikes, joint locks, and takedowns. Did you have something in particular that you wanted to know about the use of pressure points?

I am not particularly fond of the idea of Olympic karate for a couple reasons, although I understand where people are coming from with wanting karate to be an Olympic sport. There is a great deal of exposure to be had, and we could definitely use that momentum to help spread the art the way taekwondo and judo (the two most popular martial arts in the world) have done. This is a pretty controversial topic, so I won't go into great detail on my opinions here--I'll write up something for my blog instead--but I will give a brief overview of my thoughts. I think that putting karate sparring into the Olympics doesn't make much sense because the non-martial-artist public can't tell the difference between it and taekwondo. I think that kata competition in the Olympics would promote showmanship and karate as a performance art rather than a practical martial art. If they could figure out a way to make effective karate an Olympic sport, I would be all for it, but I'm not sure how the would accomplish that.

Lupin1 is absolutely correct. For better or worse, there is no governing organization for the martial arts world that prevents anyone from starting their own style. Personally, I don't necessarily have any problem with people founding their own style--if your training and experience has caused what you train to develop into something unique, then you've created your own style whether you name it or not. That said, I can't stand people granting themselves ranks, because it's highly disingenuous. I personally know someone who founded his own style, but he only claims ranks that he was given by his instructors, and that seems like the best way to go about it, in my opinion.

First of all, welcome to the forum! The rest of the techniques in karate are far from useless! Generally, though, clinching with your opponent and throwing a shovel kick to the inside of their knee before dislocating their elbow or dropping an elbow on the back of their head is frowned upon in kumite--it's a little messy, ugly and dangerous In general, karate was intended for use against an untrained attacker that is threatening your life/health/safety. This is generally done at close range with committed attacks, and so the techniques of karate deal with those situations. Some techniques carry over into modern kumite, and more, still, carry over into open formats like MMA, but a lot of them just don't really fit into competitive fighting with another, similarly trained person. Over time, you will probably see the concepts of the techniques when you watch sparring, rather than seeing the specific techniques.

In my opinion, the belt system really isn't all that interesting--as PS1 and JusticeZero explained, it was created by the founder of judo as a simple way of signifying who you could ask questions and who could be used for demonstrations. Personally, I think it would be better for you to study the development of your martial art--who taught who, what martial arts did they study, where did those arts come from, etc. Tang Soo Do is an art made up of Shotokan karate (so you have a LONG history to dig into regarding the karate roots of your style, if you wanted), Chinese martial arts and Korean martial arts, so you have plenty of material to choose from. If you wanted to do your report specifically on another style, I recommend choosing one that is related to the development of your art, just so you can have that piece of the puzzle for later

I filled out the survey--you had some very interesting designs on there! Thanks for involving the martial arts community!

Squats, squats and more squats, plus some deadlifts. From there, throw in some pushups and weighted ab work. Google can provide a wide array of great ab exercises--just make sure you include exercises that work your obliques, too!

A mouthguard is definitely vital for sparring! I hated the boil-and-bite type, but I couldn't afford a dentist-made one, so I went with Gladiator Guard. They send you a kit to mold your teeth, which you then send back and they use it to make a custom-fitted mouthguard like you would get at the dentist, but for about half the cost. A nice bonus is that they keep the casting of your teeth, and if you ever need a replacement mouthguard you can order one for half the original price because they can use that casting they already have. If I ever wear out this one, I may try one of the other custom brands, or a dentist-made one, but after using a custom-fitted mouthguard, I'll never go back to the boil-and-bite ones.