cheesefrysamurai

I think the kamikazes were a vestige to the samurai days. I think it was sort of ultimate sacrifice mentality for honor and loyalty. I think our martial training did reflect part of that attitude. We have a knowledge of what can happen in an altercation and a realization that a fight can never be considered a victory until its over. I think at times, we can see a situation unfold and have to walk into that uncertainty, quite possibly to our defeat.

I used to dread sparring. I hated it. I'm not super competitive and I didn't see it for what it was. I have a better understanding now. To me it's not a competition. It's a tool, it's an obstacle, and the only way to get over the obstacle is by clocking hours in the fight. Now I almost look forward to it, why? Because I know every single time I'm chipping away at something, every single time is valuable training, it might be foot work, might be stamina, might be defending or attacking. It's fun to see progress, to climb that ladder, you get a couple shots in on the right guy, no matter what else happened you feel like a champ

WOW Wastelander you have single handedly consumed hours of my life Thanks for the great resources. Im fighting my way through your list lol

why isnt there a fundraiser or a collection amongst his organization

Does anyone know what rope to use for a makiwara Thanks

Please explain

Impressive technique and focus.

I was wondering if any of you have any regrets regarding your training? Possible examples are long gaps in training, wrong style, wrong school.... I am curious but also it may help some of those young wanderers who always believe there is always more time. I know life gets in the way of training but so does laziness and lack of commitment. I regret walking away from training when I was younger. I always saw myself as a martial artist. And its not like I wear my training like a badge, Im almost private about it, its more how I saw myself. Upon reflection I realized that, in part because my lack of REAL barriers preventing my training, and the amount of years that elapsed i don't fit my own definition of a martial artist and I made up my mind to commit myself again and I am very happy I did it.

has anyone heard about it? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1982058-pro-mma-fighter-booto-guylain-dies-after-bout-in-south-africa?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_t3 I admit i did not read the article but its sad. Modern day gladiators, not athletes. Maybe we can find other ways of expressing dominance in the octagon? Maybe we can more quickly recognize when someone is beaten? I dont know. Do most people consider their entrance into MMA a life threatening activity?

I would have posted this in the general as a TKD person could give a better answer. Warm up well! I bend at waist touching the floor repeatedly. sit on floor with knees bent and feet together in front of you, and bend to left, right and middle repeatedly also in this position push down on your knees splits, or as far down as you can go safely Sit on the mat and spread legs as wide as you can and lean to left right and center repeatedly. standing i sort of do a deep hula hoop sort of movement to loosen the hips. Left, right and around, both directions. I can't stress enough that a good warm up is essential AND I wouldn't attempt a high kick without being warm even if you are comfortable. Ive injured myself trying to do things I was able to do warmed up. hope my 2 cents helps

Ugghhh I injured my knee in august. Got the surgery in september. Felt like my knee was dislocating with the smallest pressure. sucked but only missed a couple of classes!! It happened doing Randori, specifically hiza guruma I couldnt even hit a bag because of the rotation. I did kata with a compromise in movements because i couldnt bend much. I hit the makiwara, but i used a cat stance (which i know isnt proper form) so as not to rotate the knee, chi ishis, iron pole training and some other stuff. GETTING OLD SUCKS. You realize how breakable you are. When i was a kid I was indestructible. Injuries lasted days. Now they last weeks or months. i ALWAYS recommend to young people to do the physically hard work when your young.

ive been told hapkido is an effective art. like previously said - all arts have their focus. cross training is smart, but also forcing someone to fight on your terms is an option. Think of a BJJ guy trying to take you to the floor, that's what i mean. that said: Never fight someone on their own terms. If you are using your art, your life is in jeopardy - hapkido is not a competitive sport so a guy wants to clinch and reaches out to grab your collar, hes giving up that weapon, trap it and attack, if he tries to grab your wrist, break his, he goes for your legs attack the head. I know im over simplifying greatly and brutal but, your training for combat, not points. If you think you are gonna hold your own with someone who spends day in day out with ground work, and fighting their terms and their rules..... I dont think its gonna work. I could be wrong, im a relative novice compared to many many knowledgeable martial artists here.

I was numb - overexcited and nervous. In truth, not everyone passes BUT you must understand that your instructor sees you every class and would not have invited you to grade if they didnt think you were ready. practice the hell out of your forms and kihon, really everything he asks you to perform and do your best to make things look clean and sharp. you'll do great im sure

There is no shortage of forms on youtube. You MUST make sure that the performer has a similar style to your specific school and is qualified to show the correct form. I train Goju Ryu. There is a lot of variation. My teacher likes to emphasize the explosive power of the GO and the flowing nature of the JU. its beautiful and there are plenty of practitioners who train that way. BUT there are karateka, prominent ones that BLAST through everything, its all GO GO GO. Make sure what you see on youtube looks like what your instructor teaches and if its different - always side with your instructor

I train Okinawan Goju Ryu. Chamber is high and tight (as my teacher says) Obviously when we fight, we are in a fighting position, hands in front defensive yet ready to strike I guess you can say a chambered punch is a perfect punch - but theres no room for that in a real fight and I firmly beleive it was never intended on being the punch used in real combat

Yesterday it was taekwondo. There are still good taekwondo schools out there from what I hear. Today's flavor of mcdojo is MMA. Instructors jumping on the bandwagon, taking some classes, getting moderatly proficient at groundwork, changing their logo and taking off their Gis.

Sorry to hear about your issue. I think it's reasonable to explain that the art means a lot to you and if he can give you a break for a while on the dues or ask f you can come once a week for half the dues. I think many proper instructors expect to, at times give back, or have desire to teach for the sake of teaching. I also train goju and I also would prefer it. One thing I know is that you can progress with home training in addition to dojo training. If you have to stop, then train kata at home (if you know it well enough) and pop in periodically and pay a mat fee to get corrections and then go home and wrk the crap out them. Good luck

Nice read. Good Job!

In japanese jujitsu, like previously said, we had many of these techniques and certainly the same principles. To me, proper Aikido is as good at the techniques of harmony (the essence of the Ju of Jujitsu) as BJJ is on the ground. The problem with many of the moves in aikido regarding the uki is that most of these moves are endgame moves, simply put... finishes. the uki goes to prevent the pressure of building up in the joint. In japanese Jujitsu we often used strikes to force the breaking of balance, like an eagle claw to the throat for instance to bring someone back. We capitalized on the momentum we created with a strike, they take it a step further and use what ever you give them. It looks fluid because it is fluid. Ive been the uki where i felt like i was literally being sucked in.

Welcome! They said it all. When i first started i was the same way. I didn't understand how it would ever come together. It didn't seem to make sense. After a lot of practice, things seems to start to come together. The progress in karate, whether kihon, or kata comes from repetition and internalizing, not only the movement, but the rhythm and power of the movements. A type of focus develops which i couldnt have understood before good luck

Congratulations!!!

I didn't undertand wht u were asking at first. My bad. They all look good. You probably just got me to order one of these books. lol I'm probably ordering the inner art

Living the martial way When I first read it, blew my mind. Opened me up to a different perspective. I consider this a must read. I read it every few years. I am due for another read.

Sounds to me like your very lucky. He sounds open minded and confident. Respectable traits. His actions obviously motivate you to respect him and justify you loyalty.

No! No! No! Why? This isn't 1600 Japan/etc!! I agree wholeheartedly with this. Also though loyalty and respect are very different like said before they do go hand-in-hand. You cannot be loyal to somebody if you don't respect them. But it's absolutely possible to respect someone you're not loyal to. In this day and age I don't see Cross training as an issue of loyalty. Loyalty today mean something very different than it did in the old days. I'm not sure what it means now and I will probably start a new thread with that very question but nobody is committing Hari kari for their senses anymore. There is more value placed on the student today as opposed to 1600s japan. I think today anywhere senseis consider themselves lucky to have good loyal students where as in the past the Sensei's were more the commodity