delta1

You need both, trained realistically, as well as some physical conditioning. And if you plan on using it much it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least learn first aid, maybe even an advanced healing art. Ballance! Ballance! Ballance! For the street I'd give priority to stand up fighting, for the following reasons: *No matter how many fights you believe go to the ground, they almost all start standing up. *On the street, he has friends, or you may have other enemies. And it isn't unheard of for a bystander to just step in and take a cheap shot to a downed fighter. *Street fighters have weapons until proven othrwise. Go down and roll, he may pull a knife, and you probably won't know it till after he uses it. Most seriouse striking arts are incorporating a ground game in case it goes that way, and grapplers do know how to strike. And most arts teach some kind of joint locks and throws. If you are seriousely training for self defense, learn them all. And get your first aid card updated, just in case you still aren't invincable!

If you have the time and energy, do it. But remember that for every hour of class time you need to spend at least two hours (more is better) training on your own. If they are both good instructors and you can only do one, I'd do the Kali. It is better rounded, and any FMA I've seen includes joint locks and throws. Kali will condition you better and is far quicker to learn and build your reflexes. From your post I get the idea that this is most important to you. But either way you go, if the class is good, you can't loose. Both are excellent arts. And if you can do them both I strongly suggest you do it. I study an internal and an external art at the same time, and get a lot out of them both. They provide a ballance in my training and undrstanding. Kali is an external art, very aggressive and brutal. Aikido is internal, yielding, doing no more harm than is necessary. Both are extremely effective.

What the heck are hindu pushups? If you are talking about the ones where you spread your feet and roll forward then back, alternately arching and swaying your back, I'd say they are better. They complete a circular path, which is better for your overall health and works more of your body. Regular pushups isolate your arms and shoulders and build more muscle there, but can eventually lead to joint problems in some people.

Those are good general guidelines. But I'd qualify them to add that you recognize their principles and concepts, as well as their techniques, to be valid, practical and useable under extreme force. By that standard, some might qualify a little sooner than 3 generations, some a lot later, and some will only ever qualify as good marketers of basic fertilizer.

Do you have the same problem when practicing basics or techniques, or sparing?Get your instructor to show you some relaxation and breathing exercises, and maybe some meditations that focus on breathing. If you can find someone to show you some basic qigong (chi kung) it would probably help.

When you come to, do it again and remind yourself to breathe.

In our culture, Cain would have been the first martial artist. He taught himself, then slew Able, but Able didn't know anything. Today, your opponent is liable to be a little more sophisticated. I started out trying to teach myself. It doesn't work. You need an experienced instructor to correct you and to explain the principles of what you are doing. There are a lot of fine points that make or break a technique. Also, systems are structured so that you progress in a logical manner, learning new skills as your base expands and improves. I'd say go find competent instruction in a style that suits you. If you can't find what you want, take something else until your situation changes.

My wife once told me the starter was broken on her car. I asked why she thought it was the starter, and her reply:"Because it won't start!" (Fuel problem, in case you're wondering)

I'd go with the bag stand if you can. All that pounding and jarring can eventually work nails loose in your floor. You could also rattle things off shelves upstairs. The longer the span of your joists, the worse the problems will be. If you do hang the bag from a joist, the least I'd do is strong-back the joist you hang it from. Run another joist full length alongside the one you are hanging it on and nail the two together along the entire length. Shim the ends if necessary, and put the new joist in with the crown up.

No you don't- you're here!

WC and American Kenpo are an awesome combination! Also goes good with Silat and FMA's. I'd guess it would go well with most arts. JJ should go well with any other art also. A lot would depend on your ability to mix or transition between the principles of the two arts. Km- not very well (IMO). The rest depends on you, your preferences and capabilities.

That is too bad. Whatever happened to the concept of ballance? It seems to me that both extremes, the one this author describes as well as the one he espouses, are destructive to both the martial arts and to those who practice that way. Fortunately, judging from the responses, this type school seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

I have to agree with Tibby, based on the KM I've seen. They lean way too far forward and give up their ballance, sometmes to the point that their opponent is supporting them. And trapping knife hands in the crook of your elbow is a really good way to get seriously cut. I've heard that there are a lot of bad schools and very few good ones for KM in the US, so I'll qualify my remarks by admitting I may have seen McKM and there could be some good stuff out there. But until I see it, I'll remain a skeptic. I spared a Shotokan guy tonight. I killed him when it was just hands, but when they said to use feet too he started connecting and setting up his hand strikes too. And he had excellent control. Good hard blocks. I've only ever worked with a couple of Shotokan guys, but they were good. Based on that limmited experience, I'd say it is a good art for those that pefer a hard art. Jiu Jitsu is an excellent, well rounded art. One of the best. I've only seen a little of it, but it was impressive. And it has an excellent reputation. Wing Chun- good bridging and in close fighters. They'll tie you in knotts. Good flow and no wasted movement. I'd about as soon take a freight train head on as a WCer. But step in at @15' and you can get them, if you are quick. Let them dominate your center (one of their specialties) and you are toast, though. I've worked with a few, and they are good. Good art. If I had to choose between these arts, it would be between JJ and WC, and the school and instructor would be the main deciding factors. Not to short Shotokan, I just prefer a style with soft moves.

Some would say the system I study is Kenpo. It becomes a style when I personalize it, as in my 'style' of fighting. But it's all semantics, we all know what we mean whether you say style or system or the way I get out there and hit him.

This author was an English proffessor at (I think) Berkley in the '80s. The main thrust of his book seems, at this point, to be to convince us we are all evil for wanting to do martial arts as a martial art, and convince us to work just on spiritual developement and health. Nothing wrong with those aspects of the martial arts, but by themselves they make an incomplete art. This is the attitude that almost ruined Tai Chi- and he pushes the watered down version of Tai Chi pretty strong. It's too bad, because he had some good points up to now. I think I'll just take this one back to the library.

For $60.00/mo you should get a minimum of three classes a week, with a decent facility and really good instruction! Karate class won't typically be the most relaxing part of your day. But the instructor should be able to give you some relaxation exercises and tips on meditation. Karate should help you physically and mentally as well. As to fighting, if they teach it as a true martial art, probably. Depends on how they teach. There is one thing to look for if this is what you want- do they spar with contact? Have you considered sports? At 15 you probably have free access to one of the best introductions to martial arts around, which is your wrestling team. It is great conditioning, and even if you want a striking art later a good ground game is important. Also check out boxing programs, which develope some excellent skills that can cross over to martial arts later on. Good luck, whatever you decide.

No truer words could be spoken..., excellent point!

You don't have to get him hurt. But nothing humbles you like going up against good fighters at your own level who don't play by the same rules. Too often we can fall into a comfortable rut, sparing the same people who fight just like you do and who you can almost predict before you start. And nothing builds true confidence like comeing back and figureing out how to handle that same fighter later. But it is confidence built on humility and respect, not false bravado built on abstract theory and routine. And, as we say in Kenpo, "Without contact, there is no reality!" (SGM Ed Parker).

I tried Red Bull once. It had me wired for quite a while. I pretty much stay with the Sobe when I use them now. They are more mellow, but still give you a boost.

I'm reading a book on qigong by John Alton (Living Qigong), and in it he describes his experience in the external arts. "By the tme I had earned my green belt (Shotokan), however, I began taking pleasure in beating other men, especially if they were coky. Later, in my thirties, with a blackbelt in another style, I had added youthfulnes to my reasons for wanting to beat an opponent, a kind of recompense for my own aging. ... In the dojo, we bowed politely before drubbing people we didn't respect. We lived like aging gunfighters, ceaselessly challenged by testosterone-oozing eighteen to twenty five year old males. At the same time there was the next level of the pecking order to teach and police: less developed men, women and children, who either beat up one another or competed through katas... As though enough adrenaline wasn't involved, there was sexual intrigue: attractive young women seeking power through Karate, only to become cheerleaders or concubines for the more libidinous male black belts. ... it is rare that an instructor has the charisma and physical stamina to sustain a large student enrolment. I have belonged to three American schools where the instructors were able to maintain large, steady student bodies, and I have observed several others. In all cases the schools resembled cults or abusive families. Nobody said anything bad about what went on, and any one who quit was immediately condemned. The schools were closed societies..." There was a lot more, and he paints a pretty grim picture of the external arts in America. I've trained with a lot of styles and in a lot of schools, as well as just getting together to train, and this has absolutely not been my experience. I've allways found comraderie and genuine respect after a hard bout. Very seldome do I feel someone doesn't mean it when they congratulate their opponent on winning or tell the looser he did a good job. Very few people push up the level of intensity or contact past what their opponent is capable of handling, and no one denigrates those who don't want to go at it hard. As for cheeerleaders or concubines (I wish!)- I've found some of the women to be really sincere when they tell me I didn't do all that bad. And every school I've been to or worked out with allows parents and other interested parties to watch the classes. But, what about the rest of you? Have any of you come across this type school or training? Do you think there's any merit to these statements? Up to this point the book was pretty good reading. But this sort of blew me away.

Take him to a boxing gymn, or work out with some grapplers or MMA types, maybe a good FMA school in your area. Go any where they do heavy contact and the rules of engagement are different than he's used to. After they rattle his brains a bit, you can straighten out his thinking!

Bag gloves. Get a padded and an unpadded pair. They are inexpensive, and you'll probably use them both. If you have problems with your wrists, get wrist wraps too. You can go at it bare fisted, but don't over do it while you are conditioning yourself.

That's not what I heard it's like in London. But, if you say so... Personally, I think we should all go out today and kick a lawyer (solicitor) in the groin. It's good practice, and a public service as well! But try to get the sheisters, there are a few good ones out there. Can't afford to loose them!

Confidence doesn't kill. In fact, it helps make you better. It is one of the many bennefits to studying martial arts. Over confidence, on the other hand, will usually land you in deep doo-doo. It is one of the pitfalls of studying martial arts. Either, as gmchen said, he'll get knocked around by some lowlife and develope the humility that he also needs to get good; or he'll decide martial arts are ineffective and give it up. About all you can do is warn him about the latter and encourage him to stay with his training when it happens.

I'd like to get your thoughts on these new energy drinks. I've tried them out lately when I was planning a long and hard training session and they seemed to work pretty well. Have any of you tried them? Do any of you know of any bad effects? I don't like to artificially jump my metabolism to train all the time. But when I've had a hard day at work and plan to double up training, these things really help. What do you think?