iolair

Are you a teacher? This sounds like it's straight out of Dunn, Dunn & Reid's "The Learning Style Inventory". I've found Howard Gardner's writings on "Multiple Intelligences" much more helpful - although there's quite a lot of overlap between them. BTW, one of the "Strategy Advisors" for schools in my region uses "VARK" rather than "VAK" (i.e. Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kineasthetic); recognising that many people can take in information by reading but not listening or vice-versa.

When you ask what is "more effective", it has to depend on your objective in the exercise... 1) Building Strength 2) Building Muscle Endurance 3) Building Power 4) Building Cardiovascular Endurance It's also going to make a difference how fast you do the push-ups, too. Anyway, if your objective is 1) 6-10 repetitions is probably the best... you need to keep the difficulty of these high and not just use body weight if this number is easy to complete for you. 2) 12-20 repetitions 3) more complicated - read up on Plyometrics 4) 20 (or more) repetitions 20 reps, 5 minutes apart will be good as part of a cardio (say a circuit training) routine, provided you are doing something useful inbetween. IMHO, instead of doing huge numbers (anything over 20) of push-ups in a set, it's better to raise the difficulty. You can do this by: i) raising your legs higher than your hands. (this also puts a little more load on the shoulders compared to the chest) ii) slowing the exercise down (an extreme might be 10 seconds for the up movement, 10 seconds for the down movement) iii) adding weight to your back.

Everyone has different ideas about what they want from martial arts, and different demands on their time - so everyone is likely to have a different answer. When I was at University, I trained 12 hours a week - three 2 hour sessions in the Karate club, three 1 hour sessions in the gym, an hour of running or swimming, and a couple of hours privately working on techniques and combos. These days, I have much less free time ... my week is: one 90 minute session at the Ju Jitsu club one 60 minute session teaching Kickboxing (but I don't get much of a work out!) one 60 minute session with weights Three 20 minute sessions with the heavy bag + stretching + technique work This is as much as I have time for - I would like to be doing more, but can't. (Though my Ju Jitsu club only runs the one session a week anyway).

Hey, guess what.... there's a board on this site called "General Chat", with a subtitle "If its not Martial Arts - it belongs here!" Go there!

I agree that you can't really learn a martial art from a book - especially as a beginner. However, kickboxing is (more or less) boxing punches with karate kicks - so taking up boxing and/or karate (or tae kwan do) would be useful steps. However, a good book on Kickboxing is "Kick Boxing : A Framework for Success" by Pat O'Keefe. See here --> http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1840240938/iolairwebroma-21 And yes, there certainly are Kickboxing schools in the UK - I teach beginner's kickboxing in Kent, and there's a club in the same town too.

My favourite is still the good old side thrust kick... Not that I use it that often - I use what's effective at the time. But I just like the side thrust.

Shop around ... you may find somewhere that focuses on Semi-contact (point fighting) or Light-contact rules, if you want that.

Can I come watch one of your classes?

Get to know a striking style AND a grappling style WELL, and train or watch several other styles at least enough to get an impression of them. Try to do some teaching so you get an idea for what works with other people rather than just personally for you. Think about why you want to create a style... (competition fighting? self-defence? hand-to-hand combat? fitness and fun? traditional?) You don't have to have a "well rounded" martial arts style, if that's not required for your particular objective. Look at the many different styles out there and see what else is already similar. Is there a need for your new style, or is there an existing one that is close enough to the niche you're looking at? If there is, you can learn that and save yourself the job of setting it up.

I teach science full time, and teach kickboxing for free at the school where I work... The money's not good in teaching (I took an £8000 pay drop from my previous job in IT) - you have to love your subject and love working with people.

I used to have very little confidence ... so I became a schoolteacher. Can't recommend it for everyone, but it did work.... Well, basically I just put myself in situations where I HAD to be outspoken and in control - that got me used to it.

I prefer to either 1) if I can anticipate the kick, use a stop hit to their leg (usually with a side kick) 2) side step the kick or turn so it either misses or glances off the target. 3) if possible, combine (2) with a catch and take-down

I think "code of conduct" might be a better phrase than "natural laws". But, generally I think they're good - and if we could thrash out a code that settles out the areas we're not sure of, it could actually be useful in teaching/learning self-defence. I'm not sure about starting with a "soft response" before building up to a severe one. If I think someone really wants to hurt me, I'm not convinced it's sensible to push them away and see what they do next. They may flatten me before I have a chance for another action. Once (in my judgement) a physical attack (of whatever severity) seems inevitable, I should carry out sufficient (but not excessive) action to remove the threat... But not a light action and wait, which seems to be inviting injury.

Why are you seeking our approval for a decision that, inside, you've already made. Learn to trust yourself.

Yes, I've used a few of them... they're good cardio workouts, and a lot of the exercises use the same muscles etc as you'd use in kickboxing or similar styles. The techniques are adapted to make them safer for exercise, which reduces their combat viability. BUT it doesn't claim to be a fighting art, it's a workout - so that's not really a problem. I think Tae Bo is a useful tool for helping get into shape or stay in shape when you're away from your training hall for a while.

I know a few people here have been involved in real self defence situations, so here's a few questions about your experiences to give others information that MIGHT be useful in preparing against the same 1) Where the attack happened (e.g. club, street, pub, alleyway, ...) 2) Time of day (day/evening/night/early hours) 3) Number of attackers 4) What the attackers were armed with (if anything) 5) Were there other people around (noone, a few, crowds) 6) What was the first sign you noticed that there was going to be trouble?

Gronds are some of the most difficult opponents you can face. Personally, I'm nervous about fighting with a grond at all, let alone multiple grond.

Fencing ... and in particular Foil.

I'm a good distance fighter (strong kicks, long punches), and can keep most people at a distance. People that come to close range quickly are the ones I need to look out for...[/u]

The surname worries me for a start...

Yes guys, I understand about fight choreography - it makes it so much easier for the martial artist when (as in Equilibrium), the bad guys barely bother to fight back. But, I thought the MA in this movie was interesting enough to warrant some discussion. I wasn't suggesting it was some new super-style that would supplant everything else..... OK, in retrospect I should have posted this in the movies forum on here...

King: at the moment just describing the martial art from equilibrium (which is called "Gun Kata"). Personally, even though it is from a film, I think it has some interesting concepts which are worth looking into.

OK, to start with (if you've not encountered it before), Gun Kata is a martial art created for the film "Equilibrium" - I don't know how developed it is but I guess it's not a fully rounded fighting system. Right, that said I've just seen Equilibrium, and thought I'd let you know what I think of the martial arts in it.... 1) Gun Kata is designed primarily for fighting with pistols (with or without ammunition) and defending against multiple attackers with firearms. 2) It also incorporates empty handed techniques - we see the following - cross / reverse punch - wrist lock - knee strikes to the face and arm - deflections of incoming hand attacks or hands holding weapons (lots of these) - side kick to the knee - grabbing the hands or arms of your opponent (but only as a prelude to a follow up strike) 3) A heavy reliance on footwork / body movement. Strongly outmaneuvering your opponents. Some minor acrobatics movements are used to prevent armed opponents getting a clear shot (rolls on the floor, one somersault) 4) Techniques for dealing with multiple opponents: - Hit them hard and quickly. Even if it doesn't eliminate them immediately, it gives you a second or two breathing space to worry about the others. - Get in close if possible - this nullifies the effect of distance weapons - Know how long it takes a trained gunman to aim and fire his weapon. Never stay still for this length of time or longer. - Know how to use your own weapons (be it guns, swords or whatever) effectively in all directions (without having to turn round - aiming with your arms or hands is faster than turning your own body) 5) Economy of Effort. - Use the most direct and least complicated techniques or movements possible to achieve the desired effect. 6) The (fictional) practitioners we see in the film are meant to have practiced this art for many many years - there's no implication that the style would be quick or easy to learn or apply. 7) The fight scenes use stuntmen, but no CGI or wirework. Everything you see is at least physically possible (unlike many modern films with martial arts in!) I'd recommend anyone with an interest in martial arts movies to see Equilibrium, as it does genuinely offer something unique.

I'm personally more concerned with strength rather than the look of the muscle - I don't care how large or small a muscle looks as long as it'll do all I need from it!

Fighting 25 guys at once is EASY - anyone can learn to do it. Surviving the experience, now THAT'S hard