Wolfman08

1341, Engineering Equipment Mechanic (heavy equipment mech)/Tan Belt Ninja.

Quoted for win. The only thing I can think to add is that speed breaks really do test your speed, and water breaks are just plain evil. Alot of it has to do the physics of the break. Doing one board (for the average person) isn't a problem. Push on it and the thing will break. Two boards with spacers is basically the same thing. Two boards without spacers becomes a different animal all together. At the second board without spacers you're basically testing how precise you are, because if you don't hit in the exact right spot, you're not going to break the board. The third board is testing your timing. If you're not extended at the right time, you're not going through even if you're hitting the right spot. At four boards you're basically testing everything you have. Are you hitting where you're aiming? Is your timing right? Are you moving fast enough? Is your attack moving in perpendicular to the target? Is your technique correct? After the fourth board you aren't generally going to be demonstrating anything new, except for how dumb you are (it starts to get fairly risky in the long term after four). People break glass, ice, roofing tiles, cement blocks, coconuts, baseball bats, and numerous other things, but all basically test the same thing as a regular break, or are just the person doing them trying to show off (like the guy breaking glass Ps1 mentioned). Can you test the same thing on a heavy bag? No, not really. Bag work develops the needed skills for breaking boards, sure, but it does not test them. With a bag you can lie to yourself and say you hit more accurately then you really did. You can hit and push instead of actually hitting. And you generally can only measure your progress on a heavy bag by how long you can go on it before your knuckles start to hurt. Which might be the same amount of time as when you started if you continuously hit harder.

Google. I was a different forum but decided that for my own mental health I should leave. Which is a nice of way of saying I was about ready to tell three or four of the more well known members to go do things that would make Jesus cry. The moral of the story is I get really 'irritated' ('irritated', yah, that's the right word) when people decide to start insulting me because I'm defending a style (while assuming I even do that style), and then start insulting my actual style on the grounds that it's eclectic. Cuong Nhu and MCMAP. I'm generally too lazy to say much more. 8 years and 2 and a half (resp). Long story, and the MC part is my job. Running, reading/writing, and psychology. We're back the MC part of MCMAP.

I noticed most boxers have a guard high enough that it opens their legs up to strikes. So, he'd learn to defend his face, but open his legs up (a point in some TKD branches, and generally a bad idea in the real world). Really any alteration to your guard that protects your face will open your legs up, and vice versa. A guard that protects your stomach will open your ribs, a guard that protects your ribs opens your back and your stomach. A guard that protects your left side will open your right. The best thing you could for your opponent is to try to protect one specific area with your guard, because it tends to open everything else up. The best thing you could do for you is to use a guard which protects your chest and upper abdomen. Shifting your guard (or moving your hands) will protect the rest. A boxers guard held with your hands about level with your chest and elbows about one fist away from your floating ribs is ideal. To protect your head from here you just need to drill your rising block (use your lead so your rear can counter). To protect your stomach close your arms in and bend slightly (watch boxers, they'll drop their elbows on top of their opponents hands/wrists) or use a downward forearm block. To guard your floating ribs bend to the side being attacked and drop your elbow on top of the attack. And liberally apply low blocks and shin blocks to guard your legs. Pair all of this with lots of body movement and footwork. To work this is kind of a four step process. Step one is just to do it alot to the air. Start out with just running it static and slowly work it into shadow boxing and bag work. After getting comfortable with this move to step two: Pad work. Start with simple drills where you defend and then attack (half step back and do a high block, then pop back in and either do a cross to the head or lead leg round kick to the floating ribs). Then move to you feeding an attack and defending against the counter attack (lead leg round kick to the thigh and then sink your elbows to guard a belly shot). Once this comes naturally to you move to step three: 50% sparring. Basically, sparring, but going about 50% your normal speed and using 50% your normal force on impact (or use no contact if you're do light contact sparring as it is). Generally you'd want to start doing this with you primarily on the defensive, and move to your primarily on the offensive, and finally move to 50% regular sparring. This helps to wean you into it, since most people have a massively easier time learning to defend then to defend against a counter. Step four? Step four is fun: regular sparring. Have fun.

That's generally the hard part. I never really know what to say when people ask me about myself. Honestly, I normally give them a blank stare and tell them to try again.

I'm new. I never know what to say on these things, so I'll just answer questions, I guess. Questions, comments, concerns, funny insults? Serious insults will be ignored.