Maestro

(Bar Fu is already an Art, I have seen it in action many times. ) Fancy-Restaurant Do. I mean, you've got like four different forks at your disposal, as well as three knives and three spoons. Who knows what you could pull off with all that hardware.

looks like the "any or all"s have it!

The TKD style uses the "lean" because as people have mentioned you can kick higher, and you utilize the hips more. But what no one has mentioned is that in leaning you also utilize action/reaction physics. When you punch you draw the opposite arm to your waist. It's the same with the TKD sidekick, but since you can't draw the other leg back, you draw the whole body back. This, combined with the hip chamber is what makes it so powerful.

Also a good point. Sometimes you simply must fight to protect your life.

hooho, yeah that's a good one BKJ. No Pro, it's what do you think could make a good art that is not.

I agree, just getting Saddam would be the best route. Technically, once war is declared there is nothing stopping us from not even sending any troops but instead just going after the leader alone. If you all remember, our very first attack was to go after Saddam. The bunker that he was suspected to be in was the very first target hit. So, we did try to just take out Saddam. Unfortunatly we either failed, or there are too many other people in Iraq that wish to carry on his regime.

I think that the main reason many martial artists can be beaten is that they are not prepared for it mentally. As Martial_artist said, most schools do not (and in some ways cannot) prepare students for the pschological factors of real combat. Regardless of how you train in the dochang, you still are always aware of the fact that you are in the dochang, not on the streets, so you never really reach the physical state that you would under conditions of an actual attack. If you have ever been in a bad car accident or nearly so, you know what it is like to have a high adrenaline level (don't confuse with the shaky andrenaline withdrawl afterwards). Physically you will probably feel very strong and fast, but whether you are aware of it or not, you are less coordinated, and you are not thinking as clearly or quickly as you normally would. This is somewhat like the jolt to you system you would encounter in a street fight. But the point is that very few people ever really feel this regularly (or at all) in their training. As much as you may like to think you could remain calm in a fight situation, the initial adrenaline jolt is practically impossible to avoid as it is completely involuntary. Regardless of the physical fitness of a martial artist, if they are not prepared for this, they are in trouble. It is not enouh to simply know that it will happen, because when it actually does happen you will forget that it's supposed to happen. Once my instructor surprise-attacked me when I was walking home from class. THAT was a lesson, probably the best he ever gave me.

Lukily I have not had any experiences with the carnivorous dojo bunnies, but sometimes doing TKD helps me out. First, I'm in great shape, but then there's a funnier element too. (or at least I think so) I'm a very calm and quiet person, and sometimes I think girls see me as a little too aloof or something. But then if she finds out that I do TKD she assumes that I am the way I am because of TKD and's like "Oh, I see, it makes sense now." Like it's only logical that Tae Kwon Do would turn me into a meditative monk or something. Oh well, whatever, it works in my favor.

Any racism at my school would go over VERY badly, with myself especially. We have a very diverse but also very close and family-ish school, about half of the students are of a minority, the assistant instructor is a black woman. Any overt and serious racist comment would result in an immediate a$$ kicking and removal from the dochang. So anyway, no, I have not encountered it.

Well, there're a lot of topics here already for general stuff: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2142 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6494 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1967 Probably my biggest suggestion would be to try to stay relaxed. In your first tournament that will no doubt be hard, but it is essential. If you are tense and preoccupied you will be slower and more unnatural. Be aggresive too, but have a stategy. "Think relaxedly." My zen for the day.

I only have one nice 3.5 inch lock-blade knife, but watch out, 'cause I know how to throw it! I also wear flip-flop sandals a lot, and I have perfected kicking them off, sending them flying at someone's face. (no joke)

Well, one of my professors assigned a crazy paper for next week that I'm really hoping he will announce as a joke tomorrow. Also the professor in my first class of the day told us that no one had gotten above a 74% on the last test. That scared me for a couple seconds. Professors are mean!

This whole knitting thing gave me an idea. What do you think would make for the funniest, weirdest, or most strangely effective martial art? I think knitting might not be so bad, also Lacrosse could probably produce some good techniques.

Anybody laughing at my pink feather boa just doesn't get it. Martial arts is not a way of life, it is a way of getting beat up, legally. Sometimes I see you dead in the rain.

Tommarker, I must commend you on the most off-topic post I have seen in a long time.

I'm a pretty avid supporter of using hand techniques. I think probably you have seen people who don't do TKD saying that there are no hand techiniques, but I think most everyone here who actually does TKD would disagree. (not trying to start an argument here folks, I'm done with those, just saying that's the way it seems to go) P.S. Stop by the introductions thread, near the bottom. And check out http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6198 so you can tell us what you like about TKD too!

Stretch forearms by simply pulling your fingers (with the other hand) towards you elbow, either above or below your wrist. Stretch the chest: Hang from something like a pullup bar with your palms facing away from you and hands right next to each other. Relax and let your shoulders take your full weight, lay your head forward towards your chest and bend your legs behind you. Or, put your hand and forearm on the wall, palm on the wall, about chest level. Turn your body so that your arm is going behind you, keeping your elbow straight. Abs: lay on your stomach and push up with you arms, leaving your hips on the ground so your back is arching a lot. This may or may not help, depending on how flexible your back is. To hit the obliques right obliques, twist to the left and lean to the left at the same time, and vice versa for the other side. That's all I can think of for now, hope it helps, if not, I'll be back.

Flanking is excellent strategy, but in case you should ever find youself in a situation where it's just not practical, I would recommend working on your striking skills, specifically work on re-directing your power on the fly, like three powerful hits in rapid succession but in completely different directions. This would be extremely helpful if you're forced to fight multiple opponents. The main thing I work on is heel-palm blows to the jaw, since they are plenty fast and will knock a guy down like no other. Master this and you can possibly drop two or three opponents in your first attack, even if they are not all standing right in front of you.

Try doing it outside on a slight hill, with your legs on the lower side. This will alow you do get the feel of it, then you can move to level ground.

We have class on Monday night, Wednesday night, and Saturday at noon. All three classes are two hours long. We start with 45 minutes of intense calisthetics, then move into combinations and techniques, then teaching, then forms, freesparring, and meditation. We also have a highbelt class on Sunday that is an hour and fortyfive minutes, followed by a one hour sparring class. Like Tommarker, my class is a small university club, so many times it depends on how many people are actually in class. We only have about 8 people who are truly regular students, but there are many others that show up here and there.

I agree with monkeygirl. Try to find a gym with somebody who can kick the crap outta ya.

Could be. I've certainly never seen it on tv in the U.S. Either way, it's darn funny!

Technically that is not true, like wolverine said, there is no special clause for MA training--you never have "less rights," but you must remember that any criminal trial wil involve a jury, which consists of human beings who, intentional or not, will allow their feelings--conscious or unconscious--to enter the courtroom. Jurors may be inclined to think that force was unreasonable in the hands of a martial artist. But this doesn't just apply to martial artists. If someone who doesn't know MA's injures or kills someone in self defense they could be prosecuted as well. The difference is that a jury is likely to be more critical of someone who knows martial arts. The line of "reasonable force" becomes blurry, because a juror or judge might assume that a martial artist is more capable of deciding what is reasonable and necessary in a given situation, and that an untrained defender is not. I don't know what the laws are around me about having to tell someone that you know MA's, but I would agree with BKJ1216, that's just ludicrous. It will most likely just aggrevate the situation, and besides, do you always have time to say "hey, hold up a minute, do you realize that I know MA's, and that by attacking me, you are possibly committing suicide? Please sign at the dotted line and submit this to my lawyer if you accept said conditions. You may now procede to attack me." By that logic you could never use MA's on someone who attacks you without warning. Ludicrous.

LOL, hilarious suggestions all around, but on a more serious note... I would generally advise against going for the head of someone considerably taller than you, but if you have to do it, I think the most important thing is getting it set up properly. By the very nature of the distance you have to cover, high kicks are, of course, generally slower techniques, so be sure you opponent is sufficiently discombobulated to allow you to kick and withdraw without getting socked. If you just launch a high kick when your opponent is in a prepared defensive stance you are in for trouble. You need to get him flustered and off balance first, then go in for the kill. Use high kicks at the end of a rapid combination aimed to overwhelm and distract, then POW.

Personally I hate the stuff, I've never smoked it and I know too many people who have been harmed by it. It impairs judgment and so is NOT safe. People call it safe, but that is only in relation to other drugs, it doesn't mean it's safe in comparison to an un-altered mental state. All that said, I think our current penalties for it are far too harsh and do more harm to society than legalization would. It is unfortunate that people will abuse it, but it is not something we can prevent, so we might as well minimize the damage.