Maestro

Well, I hafta start by saying I don't agree with the idea of "don't date in the dojo" because in my school, "intraschool" dating is far from uncommon. One instructor is engaged to a high-green belt, and a lot of various other people have hooked up in long term relationships, all (I think) with the instructor's knowledge. I suppose my school may be more "family-ish" than others--the two instructors are flatmates, lots of dating, we all (including the two instructors) get together outside of class quite a bit, only about 17 regular students. So, I guess it all depends on the school. Mine remains very formal and unprejudiced during class regardless of all the relationships outside of the doechang, but it all depends on how you think your school would handle it. So, like monkeygirl said, definitly you should get the head honcho's views on the matter. I'd say the route of keeping it secret would REALLY suck and be detrimental to training, and maybe even be impossible, depending on how well your other instructors know you. I know I could certainly never keep that secret from my head instructor, he would guess it the first class after the first date. So, I guess the point of this post is it's definitly not impossible to have a relationship inside the doechang, as you can tell from my school, it can certainly work out too, and can be quite a dynamic and interesting relationship.

You're right Shotokan, many schools train TKD as a Sport/Show art, but others do not, so you really cannot judge its effectiveness by that. My school definitly does not teach a "showy" art. Those who don't practice TKD generally only see the "show" aspect of it, because, well, it's the "show" aspect. But you must remember that everyone does not train it as such. As an art TKD can be quite effective if that's what you're looking for, you've just gotta find the right school. Joe gets his butt kicked, by the way, case anyone was wonderin' how that worked out. (but dude, really, can you please fix the "dought"? As an English/writing major it's driving me nuts!)

Oh, I think he was trying to instigate...no, just kidding, you're right, I'm sorry. But Shotokan, one remark still stands, if you say something like that, do rationalize it, otherwise it is just art-bashing, and while we are all convinced our own art is the best, others may disagree. That being said, TKD is the Bomb. So, I'll put us back on topic: Bob, an experienced TKD practicioner, is walking down the street, when, suddenly, Joe, an angry streetfighter, leaps out at him and exclaims "Hey! What'd you say about my Momma?!" Bobby tries to explain that he has never met Joe's momma, and would never say anything bad about her, but the street thug is having none of it. Knowing an attack is imminent, Bob prepares to defend himself, as Joe hurls one last obscene insult and attacks.... Discuss.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions Shotokan, but to simply say that tae kwon do is "just for show" is a very ill-informed remark. Please, at least attempt to rationalize such remarks. And I PM'ed you about "dought," but too late, it has already been used against you! Not without provocation though, I must say.

been awhile since anyone's posted here..."better late than never" Medals are often won by those who screw things up find themselves in a pickle, then fight like h*l* to get out of it. -soldier in gulf war people wouldn't tell you to shut up if you were six foot nine.

To me it is not duality, but relativity. All things are only interpretations by our minds, because of this, we can only recognize the concept of "light" by comparing it with "darkness." If someone was raised in some environment where it never got dark, then "light" and "dark" would have no meaning to them. Cold would mean nothing without hot, heavy without light, etc. The black and the white of the ying-yang curl around each other, separate and opposite, but equal and intertwined. So, IMO, it is not a duality, but a unity. All things signify their opposites, as one would not exist without the other.

Dying terrifies me. I have had a couple near-death experiences and found that I am definitly not ready to go yet. I'm an athiest. As much as I think being a religious person would make a lot of things easier, somehow, as much as I'd like to, I just cannot believe, so for me, when it's over, it's over. That scares me more than anything.

I don't know if this might apply or not but...At least in my own case, I was not usually afraid of a fight in itself, but I was afraid that a fight is going to start before I'm ready for it, you know? Like I pass a suspicious charater in the street then he punches me in the kidney? It could be that that is really what you are afraid of, and if so, it might help to know that that usually doesn't happen, just about any fight is initiated with a dialogue of SOME type--it'd be one audacious bastard who just walks up and punches ya in the gut. If not, and you fear the actual fight itself, then I gotta agree with Kensai, not too much you can do about it except be exposed to it.

I'm just curious, at what level does your school allow students to begin sparring, and what levels of contact do they start at and when--or do--contact levels increase? My school begins sparring immediatly, even before whitebelt testing. At first there is no contact, at whitebelt level, light contact, yellowbelt and above, either light/medium contact or nearly full contact, depending on the instructor's mood. White belts cannot aim at the face, but at yellow belt, anything goes.

We use elbows and knees in my dochang, and beggining at red belt level you learn joint locks, joint breaks, throws. We even have classes dedicated exclusivly to SD--we skip forms, kicks, etc, and go straight to practical SD.

kchenault's right. I used to think breaking was a waste of time, but then i began doing it. Sure, boards don't hit back, but where else are you going to see how your techniques get the best snap and power without killing all your sparring buddies?

well.... This is a very complicated question, it all depends on what YOU are looking for, what is it that you think you need to work on? The thread "Comparative Styles>your style strong/weak points" has alot of discussion on the pros and cons of specific arts by the people who actually practice them. Very honest stuff for the most part. If you can take an honest look at your own abilities and determine what it is you need to work on, I think that would be the first step. Of course, I would recomend arts that complement each other by focusing on different things, IMO, traditional Tae Kwon Do plus Ju Jitsu would be an awesome combination, but then, I'm quite biased.

Exactly, Fighting and Martial arts are different. Well put.

I think G95champ is quite right. Almost any MA will always have some advantage over another in SOME area, be it actual combat or not. But some MA's--like gung fu's, karate, and TKD--were not intended to be exclusivly combatitive arts, and so should not be judged as such. Even if we were to say that one art produces better fighters than another (which I'm not about to say about any art, as it is never wholly true) that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a better art overall. It all comes down to personal preferences and goals.

Once I walked into a class at the beginning of the semester, and wouldn't you know it, my TA was wearing this white outfit with a brown belt. Of course to me, they weren't normal clothes at all, it was a doebuck, so without even thinking I just bowed, full out, right in front of my new classmates. Even worse was that I was wearing a backback, and almost fell right over. Ah, what a day...

My dad did TKD for many years until a shoulder injury dropped him out. When I was younger I was always amazed at how fast he was even after years without training. Today I'm still amazed, I strive to be as good as my old man was. One of these days I'm gonna be too good to spank, maybe in a few years, when I'm 30. So, first, following the family footsteps I guess, after that, well, I just plain love it. sniff..

Shoot I broke it. Anybody know how to re-open a poll? SaiFightMS?

LOL saifight. Yes monkeygirl, this and some other recommended good stuff can be found at: http://users.binary.net/thomcat/Stupidma.html

Read these and see how many apply to you. Remember, acceptance is the first step towards beating an addiction. But if you do more than five, sorry it's hopeless, you'll just have to train 'till you die. You're addicted to MA's if... * you say to the salesman in the men's store, "Nice pants, but I don't think I can kick in them." * when you say "I'm sorry," and involuntarily bow. * you go to the shoe store to try on shoes... -Instead of walking or jogging around the store, you practice pivoting, sweeps, stances and kicks. -You check to see if the shoe has a sufficiently hard striking surface and whether it protects the toes well, or that it is soft enough to use your natural striking surfaces. -and lastly, you don't even care if (and they probably are) the other patrons are looking at you funny. * Now when every time you pass a wall you start to wonder:'Is that structural or drywall?' THEN you know you've gone overboard. * When you hit your head on a low doorway or ceiling and kick it in anger and _damage_ it. * "GAK! NO! The *left* side of the bathrobe goes on top...." * "What was I doing in my office when I was spinning around and flailing my arms and legs? Ahhhhhmmmmmmm....." * when you're practicing your arm blocks while driving down the highway, notice someone in another car staring at you, and suddenly turn your block into vigorously fanning away an imaginary fly * when you use various strikes to turn lights off and on; * don your clothing with kicks, thrusts, and punches * open and close doors with spinning kicks * find yourself idly doing iaido and kenjitsu moves with the plastic knives at the fast food place * can't walk by anybody else from your school without casually exchanging a flurry of mock strikes and kicks * haven't gotten over the phase of seeing everybody walking around with a blanket of little red cross-hairs on all their vital spots * leap to your feet and shriek with indignation while watching "Kung Fu", "Walker, Texas Ranger", and "Highlander" at home * deliberately go to see martial arts movies in the theater so you can leap to your feet and shriek with indignation during the movie, out in the parking lot, and with all your friends the next time you're at class * find yourself practicing bo staff techniques in miniature with your pencil during dull meetings * try to backfist the correct floor button on the inside of the elevator, based on your memory of the button's location, before you get in far enough to see it * notice you never stand with your arms crossed or your hands in your pockets * tend to keep at least one flavour of martial arts weapon close at hand by your bed when you sleep * buy shoes either because they're particularly flexible or have steel toes * have at least one fantasy where you are a martial arts hero and end the fight by saying something *so* cool that you make Arnold Shwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood look like nervous chatterboxes * have begun to master the reflex to commit a very messy homicide when, directly after someone finds out you practice martial arts, they immediately ask "Are you a Black Belt ???" * feel an urge to bow every time you enter or leave a room * Often address a profesor or boss by "sensei" or "sahbumnim" * When standing in line you find yourself practicing some stance from your art * When you bow going into and out of the bathroom * When you don't use any tools while splitting firewood. * When you are introduced to someone and you bow to greet them. * Whenever you see some wood or concrete, even things like stools or tables, and get excited while you picture just how you would go about breaking it. Then you get funny looks as you feel it and give it a look of hard concentration, then maybe measure off a few times.

No long long-term studies have been conducted. Short term results and studies have had good results, but you never know. Use at your own risk, I say.

Hi everyone. Well, I do lot's of stuff for speed, including weights, sprint starts, plyos, constantly, but I've been doing it all for a while, and I'm beginning to get bored and find things getting easy . So basicly I'm just looking for varieties of speed exercises here, you know, creative, fun stuff. Not looking for generalizations here like "do plyos, plyos are good," 'cause I'm extremely familiar with that stuff, but like, specific excercises that you do and enjoy. Enlighten us all! Thanks!

well, if you saw a specialist, you might want to see a second--no MA's for 2.5 years is seroius enough that I'd say it warrants a second opinion. Your post is a bit unclear, but it sounds like your regular doctor said stop, and the specialist said continue with caution? I would guess that your regular doc is being overly cautious, but you should be SURE that you know exactly what the possible consequences are before continuing.

I would say you might as well stick with it for the time you're in for already, for the excercise only, if nothing else. You can check out other doe-changs at the same time. But yeah, definitly you could work on really perfecting the basics while you're there, they'll help you no matter what art you end up in. Of course, I'm biased in the extreme, and would recommend a better TKD dojo since you've started it, since I basicly had the same xperience as you have: I was bored in the first two months or so (we train 11hours/week, so it's about the same), but then I got back into it. You gotta like working on the little things, but man, there's nothing like the feeling of getting a new kick perfect for the first time. I dunno, I guess I would just hate to see you drop TKD after a year thinking you don't like it, only to find that it was the school, not the art, that you dislike. yo, $50 for a belt test is nutso!

Actually, I find a full facing, sitting stance to be most effective. yeah, right, I'd get knocked on by butt... I dance around a lot between a and c, never use b, I find it ineffective for quickly launching anything off the front leg except a sidekick or inside swing kick (crescent kick to many of you i guess), and it limits the options and power for the rear leg. I dislike the cat-stance myself, it's tough to zip backwards quick.

Personaly I don't like shin blocks. Like Kirves said, they never really stop hurting. I prefer blocking with the foot at the knee. (below the knee in practice, lest you throw their knee out of joint. ) It's effective if your opponent throws a back leg kick, but if they're launching off the front leg, you gotta be dang quick to block this way in time. I prefer dodging over shin-blocks any day.