LOILOI44

I just went to https://www.tsk.com. I have to say it's a slick website. If you have a high speed connection, you have to watch some of the early propaganda, sorry I mean promotional videos. That dude had a great perm. I love watching guido karate videos. Seriously though...I had to say I was pretty impressed by the dojo in Manhattan. I train in Manhattan and 20,000 square feet is unheard of for a martial arts school. That in itself is impressive. I can't say I have ever personally trained with anybody who studied TSK. Aside from the girl I knew with the life time contract(she needless to say signed the contract and stayed with the school for only 3 months), the only other time I heard their name mentioned was a father I knew was upset because instead of teaching his child; the instructors played dodge ball. He was upset and felt it was a waste of money. I can't say much about the style because you never hear anything really about it. If I think it's a mcdojo...Well let's put it this way; with 25 locations I would ask if I could super size my black belt for an extra 39 cents.

If you are willing to invest the time, you will get alot out of Aikido. I don't know that much about the Yoshinkai style of Aikido. For the most part the styles are fairly similar. Goshin Jutsu means the art of self defense. Aikido seems to have all the things you are looking for. When done proficiently it is quite graceful and can be beautiful. It almost looks like a dance, a very painful dance.

One thing that has not been mentioned is that there are several different types of Aikido. Some are more combat oriented than the traditional Honbu style. Tomiki Aikido does have randori (real time free practice) in it. Kensai I know you're not a fan of Tomiki Aikido. But I think it shows the self defense aspect of Aikido. O Sensei kept trying to evolve Aikido while he was still alive. Prof. Tomiki kept the evolution going.

Johnny like I said earlier we will just agree to disagree. We have different views on the subject.

I will agree with you, in perfect conditions(ie. the person did not try to defend, they were against a wall); you could kill a person by punching them in the throat. I just feel that the chances of this happening are pretty slim. When I was a kid there was the urban myth that you could kill somebody with a palm heel to the nose. If done correct, it would send shards of bone from the nose into the brain killing a person instantly. I've broken my nose more than 2 dozen times and I am still here. Aside from that the nose is made of cartalidge. In theory can you crush somebodies larynx with a punch and kill them? It is possible. Is it likely? I don't see it. I have a friend who is a doctor and a martial artist. I will talk to him and see what his take on it is.

You can die from being hit in the throat. Nobody is disputing that. The chances of it happening from a punch are pretty slim. In the above examples the injuries are caused by baseballs and a hockey puck. Having been a goalie, I can tell you that being hit with a hockey puck and being punched are two different feelings. Baseball pitches can reach near tripple digit speeds, and a guy like Al McGinnis has been recorded with a 102 mph slapshot. I would have to go with a frozen puck hurting more than a punch. I feel that a well placed punch to the throat will effectively stun a person, but I doubt it would kill them.

I was always curious why Ryan parker, one of dillmans top students was not able to pull off any of these techniques while he was being choked out by remco pardoel at UFC 7. I had heard that Ryan Parker lost the match because he did not really train specifically for a UFC enviornment. I also heard that Remco Pardoel was urinating blood for a few days afterwards. Sounds like Parker lost the battle but won the war.

I personally would tie up with the person and then I would jerk him quickly in a direction. His natural instinct would be to pull back in the opposite direction. I would then follow through and use his momentum against him to put him on his back. In the future though I would ask my teacher to show me some techniques for this situation.

I had asked a person from Japan about this same issue. He told me that actually there are several different accepted spellings. Japanese has three different alphabets and things do not always translate dirrectly. This is also why you will see various techniques spelled differently.

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I don't think strength is the main factor in being a good fighter. I can't speak for other martial arts, but in traditional Jujutsu it's about using what strength you have in the most efficient manor. I always found the more strength I put into a technique the more the technique would feel wrong. Don't get me wrong, strength is a factor, but not the main factor. There's an old Japanese saying: If two equally skilled men fight; the bigger, stronger one will win.

I've watched some of these competitions on ESPN. Personally I don't think they would fare that well. Carrying an anchor doesn't give you any skills other than a good resume for salvage work. Most of the competitors can't put their arms down(because their lats are so big) and probably don't have too much flexibility. I'm sure if they landed a puch it would break bone, but the punch would take a minute to get there. They'd probably have a better chance in the sumo circle than the octagon.

A girl I know paid a large amount of money for a life time contract. I am put off by a place that doesn't think it's product is good enough to stand on it's own, and that you must sign a commitment to them. I find that people on the aikido mat usually have less to work out emotionally that people in mcdojos.

I like to think of a martial art as a tool. It's only as good as the carpenter using it. You can defend yourself with Aikido. It takes many years to do so. Aikido is taken dirrectly from jujutsu which was proven on the battlefields of feudal Japan. Aikido is strictly a defensive style. I don't believe there are any offensive techniques taught till the higher dan ranks. As far as the 60 year old woman example, I think in it's true form aikido can be for any age. O Sensei looked like a stiff wind would have knocked him over, but he could still perform aikido. As far as the breakfalls go, they should be done no harder than sitting down in a chair. Aikidoka by nature don't boast and brag about their style. The whole philosiphy of the art is not about that. Litterally translated it means "The Path to Spiritual Harmony." I think Lao Tsu summed it up best when he said "To be better than someone is to be worse than everyone."

Sorry Johnny, We have to agree to disagree. If I am working with somebody then they are my responsibility, and I am their's. In the dojo, I like to practice the golden rule. This way everybody goes home intact. As far as soreness goes, joints when cracked bad enough, and often enough never work the same; even after surgery. When you hit your 30's and 40's you don't heal like your teens and 20's. Also people's joints have different thresholds and tollerences. I just don't see the need to crack any of my classmate's joints. We are all on the same team. On the street that is a tottally different animal. It's just my oppinion, but I don't see any upside to cracking a classmate's joint. If you feel there is, then please let me know.

Traditional or Japanese Jujutsu was the first Japanese martial art. It was the martial art of the samurai. All other Japanese martial arts (aikido, judo, karate,) are descended from Jujutsu. It encompases all aspects of martial arts (kicking, punching, throws, chokes, joint locks, and ground fighting) At higher levels there is usually some sort of weapon training. Brazillian JJ was created by the Gracie family in the early half of the 20th century after learning a small amount of Judo and Jujutu. In BJJ your object is get your opponent to the ground and use a choke or joint technique. I hope this answers the question.

Maybe I'm just an old man, or maybe it's that I study a traditional art; but I see a serious problem with breaking a person's arm because they refused to tap. If had a properly executed arm lock and knew I had my opponent and then "cracked" their arm, my teacher would throw me out of my school. From your signature you seem to have high ranking in your styles, I would think that you would know when a technique is applied correctly without having to execute it full force. I always thought martial arts were about learning and not hurting classmates. I don't mean any disrespect, but I like the idea that there is a good chance I am going to walk out of class in the same condition I walked in. The scenario of "cracking" somebody's arm seems like it has no upside. Nobody gains anything from the event.

Do people really dislike their classmates that much that the talk of purposely breaking bones and hyperextending joints come into play? Accidents happen, but do we want to potentially permanently disable somebody for life to teach them a lesson or "make them take responsibility for themselves?" That's just my feeling.

TJS which tournament was this and where did you hear this story? It sounds like an urban myth to me. I'm not saying a wrestler with no Judo experience couldn't fare well, but I doubt he can win a major tournament unless he was playing only white belts. There are major differences between Judo and wrestling. I have wrestled (collegiate, greco-roman, and freestyle) and I have played Judo. It's my feeling that wrestling will only go so far on the Judo mat. In wrestling, you only require 1 second to pin somebody. In Judo you need 30 seconds. That is a huge difference. Also there are no submissions in wrestling. I'd like some more details about this story please.[/b]

First of all the best way to get good at a throw is to practice it. The more you do it, the better you get at it. As far as ippon seionage, I find it's easier to do when I drop to the ground. I weigh in at a whopping 160 lbs, so I don't have much weight behind me. By dropping to both knees I can use the little weight I have more efficiently. When you do drop make sure that you drop between his legs. You want to be as paralell to your opponent as possible. Also make sure that you pull your opponents arm tight to your body, and be sure to support it in the crook of your arm. It should be on your bicept, not your shoulder. If you choose to do it standing make sure that you get your belt lower than your opponent's. With tai-otoshi, it is what is considered a hand throw. Don't worry about the legs (your's or your opponents) it is not a sweep. You can blow out a knee by doing that. It's also important to break your opponents kazushi (balance) as much as possible. Personally I have never considered tai-otoshi a basic throw. I've always found it to be a fairly difficult throw to execute with a willing uke, let alone a resisting opponent. I would concentrate on a throw like Osoto Gari and become good at it before I move onto tai-otoshi. That's just my feeling

According to Prof. Kenji Tomiki (founder of Tomiki Aikido) in the later half of the 16th century there were 179 different juijitsu styles in Japan. Now there are probably 100 times that. As far as which style is best, that depends on you. The styles have changed over the years for practical reasons. People no longer wear armor, and things like floral arangement (thought to have taught battle field strategy) don't have a place in modern juijitsu. A good jujitsu school should have a well rounded cirriculum. They should teach strikes, throws, joint techniques, chokes, and ground fighting. You should find schools in your area and watch a class. See if it is good for you. I think it boils down to location. It's what ever style is accessible to you geographically. I'm sorry I wasn't much help, but it's impossible to say which style is best for you.

A little known fact is that Jigoro Kano the creator of Judo used to allow his students to train in short Gi's. They had no sleeves and short pants. With the exception of a few chokes and maybe one or two throws, the majority of Judo techniques can be used with out a gi. As far as ranks go, the Kodokan (the school where Judo was created and now governing body for Judo) recognizes 6 kyu (non black belt) ranks and 10 dan (black belt) ranks. You will find different schools do their rank structure differently. It is usually white, yellow, green, brown, and black. Higher dan ranks are represented by red and white, and red belts. Often blue and purple belts will be used in kyu ranks. Venezolano, understand something also BJJ is descended from Judo. A good school should stress equally Nage Waza (throwing techniques) and Ne Waza (ground techniques.) You shouldn't feel like a fish out of water. Your question about the time it takes to become proficient...well that basically is on you. Provided that you go to a competant instructor, it's all about how hard you work. You have a background in BJJ that will only help you. Also leg locks are not legal in Judo. Hope this helps.

As far as the whole drugged thing goes, all rules go out the window. I once saw a man who was high on angel dust get shot with a tazer gun. If you don't know what that is, it looks kind of like a flash light but it shoots two darts attached by wires. It then sends about 10,000 volts at a low amperage to the subject. This gentleman started squirming when he was hit with the juice. It wasn't because he was in any pain. He said he was being tickled. He then proceded to rip the darts out of his chest and go about his business. Halucinagenic drugs throw all the typical rules out the window.

There is a problem with a night stick or baton as they are technically called. Night sticks are only carried at night. The typical baton that is carried by most large departments are one of two types. The first is the cokabolla, or wooden straight baton. The second is the pr-24 or tonfa type, usually made out of a heavy plastic. Both these designs are extremely heavy and I found not ideal for combat. I always felt that the arnis or kali stick were better suited for that. Most of the times officers would leave their batons in the car to reduce weight. The majority of the time I would carry my metal flashlight. It was smaller and more manuverable. Also I always thought that the truncheon carried by some Brittish police officers was better than the two baton designs carried here in the U.S.

I've been sued, and had to appear in front of a grand jury to justify my actions. Trust me it's not the game you think it is. As you get older each action has an outcome to it. You might not like the outcome if you don't think before you act.