Drew

The most difficult thing about fighting taller people is their kicks, or their jab. If they have a good sidekick or teep, or even a side teep, they’re very difficult. Whether it’s punches, kicks, or both, as the shorter person you have to commit to the idea that you might have to spend a lot of time evading and otherwise defending. You might have to do that for a while before you get a chance to attack. And even then, if elbows and knees are allowed, they can instantly respond unless you’ve accounted for that.

The tonfa kata I saw was very information dense. The boat oar kata looks practical for the most part, though you’d hope while rowing your boat people wouldn’t be trying to fight you. The sai kata looks like it’s about switching which leg is leading, checking kicks to the lead leg, when to combo, and countering the overhand. Not bad.

They seem convincing

Same, though I occasionally fail catastrophically 😅

Oh how about that! I did not expect that. I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed my contributions!

Do angles figure into your style of BJJ or do you tend to focus on other things? It gets chaotic out there. A few good well trained moves help a lot.

Hey everybody, I was just looking at these old posts and noticed, other than some spelling and punctuation errors, that I'd left out something important. First, Jack Slack likes to call the southpaw vs orthodox situation "open stance," and anything else "closed stance." He's written a lot of really great material, I'd definitely recommend all of it. In open stance, when someone looks to counter your southpaw left straight with their overhand, you can feint with the left straight and block the overhand with a high block. Simultaneously throw a lead uppercut (almost like an upside-down jab). That's the equivalent of a 1-2 counter against the overhand in closed stance. However, general principles seem to work better in the long run than this or that counter, and depend less on open/closed stance as well. Instead of looking for counters like these, it's a lot easier to try to fight from angles using attacks that begin with the jab or lead leg. And when you do see an opportunity to counter strike, you'll be in a better position with less risk of your counter being countered. Any defensive option, like parrying, blocking, or head movement, will be much more effective from an angle as well.

Thanks for sharing

To me the article is indicative of outright unwillingness of many LEOs to commit to this aspect of their lives. I get it, you're tired, but you need support to even be safe, let alone keep others safe.

Did stances and techniques change with the anthropometry of the sensei? Likely. But generally, forms and stances have more hints about imbalances in flexibility and mobility than literal techniques to do in a fight. Tai Chi alludes to pinched nerves affecting the arms and legs with several of its postures, with such subtle gestures as putting the hand over the thigh when pressing forward with the other hand, or raising the leg very gingerly, a simple thing that is very challenging if there's something wrong with your lower back. Karate does seem to have a ton more moves in kata which are directly applicable against a kimono specifically, so exactly where you reach/how you stand in bunkai might not match the kata exactly. A low zenkutsu dachi can happen if you're on stairs, but you could also be said to be in zenkutsu when throwing a reverse punch to the body. I always view stances as something which are very rarely static, but are transitioned through on your way to implement your gameplan. There're some notable exceptions for me, like cat stance. If someone is taller and moving towards me quickly, I tend to use cat stance to wait a moment before they're in range for a teep. It's telegraphed, but it does give the promise of where things will develop from if you continue down your current path. And you don't have to throw a teep, you could do many things from there.

I will mention though that it seems that my older messages seem to be broken, so that you can't see the entire conversation, just your own most recent reply.

It was surprising to type in 'karateforums.com' and then see that the site had changed in any way!!! It's never been different since I was a kid lol. Glad we're still here!!!

Honestly, some of those really conditioned folks have the thickest adaptations, and I definitely wouldn't want to get hit by them. But personally, I already deal with so many random pains at the ripe old age of 32 that I can't see myself seriously pursuing those conditionings.

Well, if they were yelling for help, that'd be pretty good. But yeah the screaming can be a little distracting.

I don't think that it's so much that the spazzing white belts are going to make a black belt tap. However, white belts have little to no control and are just trying to get out there and prove themselves. My CI always says that when sparring you're far more likely to get injured when sparring a white belt than a black belt for that very reason. I've often been more comfortable sparring black belts than low ranks. They have much more control and don't need to prove how tough they are. Some white belts are about a half step above the drunk in the bar who throws wild haymakers. White belts only do what they know!! In time, the white belt begins to harness their control. I love to see a white belt get a technique in on a black belt due by their inexperience, and their lack of experience can be difficult to a black belt from time to time. I don't disagree that white belts, due to their inexperience, can be unpredictable when sparring or rolling. But I don't scared to spar with them. Sure, they might tag me, but that's on me. In all likelihood, I'm not going to have a major problem in sparring with a white belt. Hey all I think I meant to type "a lightweight spaz against an unprepared black-belt can be dangerous." I'm actually not sure what that mess I typed is, lol. I know I was trying to say though, that someone who takes a cheap shot always has the initial advantage, and the sneak-attack could be enough by itself. I think it's pretty rare for white belts to get taps without other big advantages, I've never actually seen that in person. Though, one of my Judo coaches said, that he saw a guy's toe get torn off between the tatami during randori. Said it was hanging on by just a bit of skin. Nearly toe-less Nick, they should have called him. They sewed it back on, but apparently it was pretty bad because this coach kept ne-waza pretty short, in my opinion.