rmurray

The jury is not out. Ask any board certified physician whether or not they recommend you use headgear while sparring. Headgear is even more effective in other martial arts than it is in boxing because you expect a blow to the head from a variety of hard surfaces (elbow, forearm, foot, shin, etc.). The world wide web can support literally any position on anything so let's spare eachother the links. First; The distributors of headgear routinely play down the effectiveness of their products on labels and advertisements to reduce their liability and not imply any warranty against concussion. This prevents lawsuits. Second; There is an agenda behind removing headgear from amateur boxing. The motivation is to increase the popularity of boxing which has been on a severe decline for 15 years. Removing headgear increases KO's and creates excitement and might make boxing more popular again. Boxing promoters can't come out and say they want to sacrifice the athletes health to renew interest in their sport so they take a back door approach and attack the effectiveness of this valuable safety equipment. Fortunately USA Boxing (Governing body of ameteur boxing in the US) and the International Olympic Committee rely more on science and their accredited doctors and don't buy the hype. But regular people like you read it, they beleive it's true then they post it here, and other people read it and they beleive it's true. People begin incurring unnecessary injuries because they aren't using adquate gear because they don't beleive in it.

I get your point Dave but I don't think you should say "that's not true at all". It's not a stretch to think that the elements that make up a guy before he becomes a great Muay Thai practitioner might also make the same guy a great TKD artist.

I'm so glad I have all of the "cold hard facts now". A lot of young men get really enthusiastic about their training and tend to think that what they are doing is "best" and nothing else compares. It is common for teenagers and guys in there twenties to think they have it all figured out. I think you need to be on the planet for at least 30-40 years and if you are wise at all; you will realize how little you know, and how much you have to learn. That's why older guys make less powerful assertions. We're aware that we could be wrong so we hedge our bets a little bit. The "style" you train in is way down on the list of factors that will determine the winner of a no holds barred fight. athleticism, strength, mental fitness, timing, confidence, speed, chin, heart, determination, flexibility, any number of God given talents, a little luck, etc., etc. The man wins the fight not the style. Every art produces some dangerous fighters. But those guys would have been dangerous no matter what style they learned.

If you have multiple attackers who wont allow your retreat than a blade might be you best friend. That's a pretty big mental hump to get over before you start sticking bellies and slashing throats, but two or three guys can cause you irreversible harm pretty quickly. I'm glad I've never had to go there. I'd say once you committed though; go nuts and spread the love. There's no benefit to holding back. If you pull a blade and still don't win; you can bet you wont be walking out of there when it's over.

I think the biggest advantages are the mental preparedness and repetitive practice of proper techniques. People really overestimate the competition out there. An average untrained fighter is totally one dimensional. They're wading in, leaning forward, cocking their fists back, rolling their shoulders forward or throwing hooks at your head. They don't have the balance to do anything else, it takes practice. If a regular guy is ready to fight you, chances are he's 1. scared to death, 2. mad as heck, 3. Impaired. Or any combination of the three. If a trained martial artist can remain calm enough, most fights are easily won with one or two techniques. The hard part is staying calm and being confident in your training. The truth is: Martial artists make short work of untrained street punks with frequency. This is universal. Don't pay attention to martial artists who can't overcome their fear and insecurities and try to give you doubt about your abilities or training.

This might be a longshot and I certainly don't know your whole situation, but have you considered moving to a bigger town? You're an adult now, it sounds like you're struggling, maybe you could use a new start. You could definetely make more money in a bigger city. We have so many dojos in Portland; senseis compete to keep good students so there classes don't get too small. Lots of the schools are not for profit. There are a lot of good schools where you can train for $20-$40 a month. Go west Young Man.

This is completely untrue. Headgear very much protects the brain from trauma. That is a fact and should not be marginalized. Adults may elect to spar without headgear, but should know that wearing it significantly reduces the risk of brain injury. Do you think football players wear helmets because they are worried about cuts? Do you think motorcycle helmet laws exist only to prevent cuts? Headgear is a wonderful, effective sparring tool. Children should not be allowed to spar without it.

I think most Karateka agree 100% cotton is the way to go. I don't know how important brand really is. People prefer different weight gis for different reasons. Make sure you are hanging your gi to dry and not putting it in the clothes dryer. If you wash in cold and air dry, your cotton gi will stay pretty much the same size.

I think it's awesome that good solid Karate techniques are winning big stage fights. GSP and Machida both holding belts in two weight classes was pretty cool. I respect all martial arts, but admittedly was getting pretty tired of hearing all these guys that train in a BJJ/Muay Thai gym for a few months acting like Karate is a complete waste of time. All martial arts deserve respect. If Karate has to flex a little in the octagon to get that respect, that's fine; I'll be enjoying the show.

We were just practicing bear hugs and discussing the bunkai of the first techniques in Naihanchi Nidan last night. This is a defense against a bear hug but seems far from perfect. Proper form is bending at the knees and dropping your weight down and raising your elbows only as high as your shoulders. This frees up your arms and hands but realistically in practice it left the attackers clasped arms around your head or neck. I think in theory the kata supposes you are superior to your opponent and you'll be in the clear if you're able to mobilize your hands and start the next technique. Or maybe the theory is your attacker will give up his grip once you start to give him the slip. I think in a real mismatch with a large attacker you might be making your situation worse. Being in a bear hug is bad and can lead down an ugly path, but it is still safer than being in a rear choke and possibly going to sleep. I think maybe the only real defense a small woman has against a bear hug from a large male is never letting it begin. Manage your personal space and run away when you need to.

"Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand." I know I wont have any trouble seeing a westerner demonized.

I've heard it said that you learn more from the losses. I tend to beleive that. Better luck next time.

I've only seen the first one and I loved it. I'll see if the other ones are on Netflix. I've had trouble taking reviews from here seriously because everyone loves "Best of the Best" hahaha.

I have what you describe as warriors hands. I think I got a headstart because my knuckles are naturally large and well defined. A decade of hard boozing and smashing them into all kinds of things enhanced them even more and scarred them up. Those days have passed, but now I do pushups on them and they get plenty beat up doing farm work. I'm pretty fond of my hands. They look like dangerous weapons. I wouldn't want to see a lady with hands like mine though.

It suits heavyweights well because the higher stance is alot easier on the knees than shotokan and other styles that require you to get lower. I'm pretty sure I wrote "not exclusively" somewhere in my post just to avoid this argument though. Any fighting style is reliant on power, weight and reach. People have to make do with what they have, but you can't reinvent the wheel. If two people with identical training and experience clash, the bigger, stronger fighter will almost always win.