Luther unleashed

I just had another thought and also wanted to add it to the topic of using absolutely no kicks. Even in a full contact arena such as the UFC what no particular style is required. Fighters still choose to use kicks for the most part and prove why they are very effective for long-range attacks. Machida shows how great a switching front kick it be. I respect your opinion, but again I just strongly disagree with it.

I have to strongly disagree, I would highly recommend very much limiting high kicks, but a kick is a weapon and to not use it is a bit silly.. Very few people expect a kick also. On a perfect floor in a point tournament i still tell everyone DO NOT KICK. on the street, never kick period. Line up 1000 MA, maybe 10 can actually kick "GREAT". now add some everyday elements jeans, shoes/leather shoes/, polished concrete parking garage, loose gravel, grass, hills, carpet, lighting,confined space,No warming up, no stretching ,etc.... It is tough to KO someone with a kick. A football kick to a person on all 4s works great, but that is just dirty. I understand that you tell them don't kick, but it sounds like you have no faith in kicks. My last instructor used to always say "blocks don't work" in real life. I use blocks all the time, I even do something called freestyle blocking and it's very effective. In boxing and mma they use blocking as well, maybe more of a boxing cover, but it's the same concept for the most part. We are doing karate right, these things are taught to give you more weapons and ways to defend yourself! My point is that people all have their personal beliefs and preferences. My old instructor might not have believed in blocking but I do. Watch this kick in this video, it's my wife's testing and he has a double team of me and another person, she throws a kick that ends my involvement and somebody else eventually has to jump in, so again, I disagree that kicks are not good for the streets. Using these weapons were designed to make you more effective, removing kicks is just not something I can agree with, changing the type of kicks or angles from competition to the streets is A reasonable topic to me. Video: https://youtu.be/3bIOUfg3Vh0

Sensei8 yes, I woul not really see much benefit in doing nothing personally, thanks for the explanation. Jr 137 you know, I agree that allowing only kicks for points seems silly. Although I could see doing that sometimes to really work on some cooking techniques and accuracy, and I could see using only hands to do the same with punches and hand techniques as well, I could not see you doing it all the time though as it would limit your hand abilities over time.

I have to strongly disagree, I would highly recommend very much limiting high kicks, but a kick is a weapon and to not use it is a bit silly.. Very few people expect a kick also.

That is an interesting angle, you know I meet people all the time that asked me what I do for a living. I tell them I teach martial arts. Most of them all think that that is very cool, and they offer up that at some point they used to take a martial arts, 90% of the time they tell me it is taekwondo. You're right, I think there is absolutely no way to figure this out and the number would be consistently fluctuating but I do think it would be an extremely high rate and above half of the population in America at least, that has taken it at some point. The percentage of people that still do it actively, or have at least made it to black belt I would say is much much less, because I think many people try martial arts but not many stick with it with the type of dedication that most of the forum members here have, I think we are part of the few and I think that's why we all kind of get each other even if we don't always agree on particular styles or techniques, we just have something that we all get about each other. I don't think that most people would find discussing the things that we discuss, entertaining LOL

I decided to do point sparring last night. It was the first time ever since I opened that we do point sparring, as we have always done continuous sparring. Went well, everybody seem to enjoy the change, it also had a larger affect then I had thought, on the students trying not to get hit. And continuous barring a lot of them are toff and just take the hits keep coming , in point sparring it's more important to not get hit so I found this is a valuable lesson.

I am not sure what resistance training is?!?

This looks like n old discussion but I find it interesting. When I trained in Taekwondo I cared very little for forms personally. Not dissing taekwondo but as a practitioner I didn't care for them. I enjoy forms from tang Soo do however, or the version of them that I learned which is much less rigid and much more fluid. I also enjoy my hung gar forms, like tiger crane. I still practice and teach a small amount of taekwondo forms, and hung gar although the forms I teach in my system are primarily tang Soo do. Forms in my opinion are a great way to grade students. They are also a great way to break down moves step by step, and often at a slower pace then a fighting situation, or compared to doing a set of attacking combinations with them. That are good for balance, and with some kids In particular they are great for a sense of direction. Forms are a great way to practice on your own as well, sometimes I enjoy private training and forms are a great way to do this, oh not to mention they are a great artistic expression IMHO of the art you study. Forms are great for strengthening and learning to breath properly. Man I could go on and on about why I think they are great, I say this as a student and teacher. I find many useful movements in forms for self defense but they are not literal in most cases, many great techniques can be derived from them though.

I learned this in hung gar Kung fu. I have actually learned 2 ways to perform it. Check out the image. The top is the way I originally learned and the bottom I learned later on. Would I use it? Most likely not, I would be much more lolikly to use Palm, hammer, or fist strikes but it's an interesting technique for sure. http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D4KazVEkH9s/VgJCxZytBkI/AAAAAAABAV0/wRLgSoLRZtA/s1024-no/IMG_0099.JPG

And thanks for that sensei8, the positive words and the name of the movie lol!

I don't think having more student turnover is a bad thing. Especially if the style (like yours) is a bit more rigid or hard, for lack of a better word. The numbers can be very misleading. I'm happy with my numbers as I want to be successful, but it's quite possible to teach an effective program and have low numbers, especially these days when so many lack the follow through and drive to really go far in the world of martial arts. I respect your style very much and find it to be entertaining.

So the biggest problem I see is that there are always different ways to doing kicks. The way I learned was in Tae Kwon Do back in 1996, it happens to be the same way as we practice in Tang Soo Do. I was always told that if our foot did not if it's a full 180° as sensei8 eluded to, and it was not proper. I would say that this thread offer some great ideas on ways to do it but be cautious about how you're supposed to be doing it in your particular place of practice. As in the video posted by the wooden dummy above, the practitioner seems to strike by drawing into the knee and then back out, I would personally never do this, but like I said there are different ways. I made a tutorial that was intended to be pretty much for my students, much of the videos I do work for my students at home to get a little extra out of them... Check it out maybe it can offer something idk!

Solid post!! Resistant must be a constant; heavy bags and the like, provide that resistance!! Yes I agree sensei, in this sense I think striking a sparring partner, air, and heavy bags are all great as training parts together.

Hey thanks for the compliment on her sparring. I have been working with her quite a bit because there's usually just pushing forward. As for the shin clash. You can't tell in the video how hard it was, but was hard. Fo her it left a bruise near the knee, for me middle of the shin. You also can't tell but I was wearing shin guards and still left a huge bruise haha. It's at 2:17ish in the video. It looks like she did do it with the toes up, however I was taught to do it with toes down, to avoid toe injury but I can see what your talking about. Also the outside of the calf muscle tightens up as well, which is the primary blocking part for us. Interesting. Thanks for the comments

So a yesterday I worked on a lot of boxing combinations. I didn't pull any punches because I was "shadow boxing". No pads or bags, just seeing my opponent in my mind, and I was thinking about this. With kicks I think it's even different more so then punches. I think it's easier to punch hard and maintain balance compared to kicking. Also, depending on the kick thrown its not always the same kick, like a roundhouse that the kick goes al the way through and finishes 360 degrees at the starting point. In some ways this can be great to add into your training because you can do it anywhere, and you don't have to worry about hurting your partner. Quick vid of my workout! http://youtu.be/rUAJBkS2uZY

Moving forward I'm still excited to see what I can do for my first women's self defense seminar. As I said if all goes well we will do it on a monthly basis so I'm interested to see. I am always excited anytime I can touch peoples lives in a positive way using my knowledge, because as a man with a wife and three daughters I feel personal about its importance.

Good point. Yes I find adults to be lacking the desire for that "something more" then rank. I made a thread a while back for this very argument, it was something about "perceived rank" and how people don't get the deeper meaning smart times. I think we have also had the talk about kids classes as well. I isn't used to market for kids, in fact my personal dream didn't seem to have kids in it, just adults, but just seems to be my fortune. I have since embraced it as I see the depth of the impact, I hear it from many parents and so on. I certainly have a right to a different approach though, and for me it's been a formula for success so far, I hope it continues though because after 16 years in auto repair and 9 short months running a program I can't imagine doing anything else haha! Time will tell and don't be mad sensei8 but "proof is on the floor"! We should make that famous!

The "traditionalist" will usually see blending as a bad thing I think. I blended because I had such a mixed background that I thought it would be silly to teach one art. At any rate, I think it was stated but the martial arts grow and adapt to society's needs. I think the tradition is important, which is exactly why, although I blend, I maintain a traditional base. I also think evolution and growth is important, which is why I blend other things in. Karate will always have the purists I think, but I don't think we should fear people using it to help their system offer more, I think we should see it as an open minded compliment.

That's true about pulling punches. I suppose my point isn't just that you will hesitate, but that you may have a difficult time maintaining balance and things like that because your not used to the difference. I personally used to fight as a youngan though and I'm pretty sure I can pull it off, and I can't arrogantly assume I'm the only one who can.. I think it's obviously a person to person thing and results will Bart greatly depending on the persons mental abilities. You one of my favorite posters. You always seem to strike up thought about topics within me, often in my own topics. Good stuff.

Ok that good, let me be clear. Yes we can all disagree. I am personally not against or for "completely" women's self defense classes. If you read my post above your first post here, you'll see where I said I was asked to do a seminar, first time ever, and that I was excited because I'd like to see what I can do with it and offer. I have 21 years in the martial arts, have studied several martial arts and used to fight in the streets as a misguided teen so my ideas about martial arts almost always started and ended with real world, and now almost always start and end with respect and how not to fight.. Lastly... IT IS A FREE COUNTRY! What kind of got under my skin was not that you disagreed, because I was not completely for the classes, as I said I'm excited to see what I can offer them. It was that you came on this thread after I expressed excitement saying it was stupidity, and I think that your general attitude was quite frankilly a bit of "stupidity"! You can disagree with anybody, I hav t always agreed with people here, and I'm an outspoken person. The difference between us is, I suppose, that I know how to disagree withought calling people's classes stupid, or things like that. You are free to disagree as am I, BUT you are also free to chose weather to be respectful of have no regard for respect when you post. Thus far it's clear you choose the latter and I for one, am turned off by it. I could care less about the argument itself, I'll always be martial arts first, but I don't care for the lack of respect towards others potential views that came along with it. The first lesson in my class is attitude, you failed sir. I have nothing else to say to you, because if you haven't acknowledged thus far that your attitude was disrespectful, and that you could have expressed your opinion with a greater sense of giving a crap about my views, the. Your probably not going to. I have chosen to be more respectful even after you opened the door for a different conversation, I can live with that. I'm done. LATER!!

The idea isn't to train like karate, and give a life like situation! The idea is to give them information, and help to spark something in their way of thinking. I find your general attitude to be disappointing about it. In general when somebody posts their excitement about their oppertunity to reach others, especially those with no experience, I think it's best to post our opinions with less of a salty taste, and more of a supportive nature towards our forum friends. I also find your opinion that women training with women for a self defense situation for a man, a bit of a sexist statement. You know, when we train In martial arts and do drills, am I to feel my drills are not worth it because my attacker in the street is probably nothing like the more humble, and possibly nicer person in front of me? I happen to feel this way of thinking g could easily be called "stupid" IMHO! It's highly unlikely I'll face a person in the street who know karate, so it's a waist of time to defend against karate drills as well I suppose. Why do we bother at all? IMO...If you're taching a womens "self-defense" class aimed at women learning to protect themselves against men, it's rediculous to have your practice "attackers" women. Very seldom does a woman "attack" another woman like a man will. Very seldom does a woman grab like a man will. Very seldom does a woman have the strength or aggression that a man will. I don't know what kind of martial arts drills you do in your class, but in mine the emphasis is on the attacker attacking hard, fast and strong..not tossing out punches, kicks and grabs lightly. I emphasise realistic attacks, not wimpy attacks. Take just about any woman who has taken a couple weeks class of a womens self-defense program..wait about a week or two afterwards, bring them back and give them a man attacker that uses mid-level force in his attack, and I'll give you GREAT odds that that woman will FAIL to do anything in her own defense..anymore than she would have without previous training. I have trained in different styles so there's not one way of doing drills I can say I do, as iv done different drills from different places and styles. As for "wimpy attacks" I don't see the point of somebody attacking hard in every situation. I teach kids, older people or anybody who wants to learn, I'd like to stay in Buisness as well as respect others health. My goal is to teach respect above all else which is something your post lacks. My complaint about your post was the harsh words used like "stupid" and so on. As for what a class like women's self defense could do I'll say this. You are making your observation on how it won't work because they don't have a male to attack them. I personally have seen some great material on video and in books that I have tried in class to spice things up. Some hasn't worked well, but some has. There was no attacker to show it to me, learning doesn't need to always be accomplished from somebody attacking you, half of the defense is mental approach and self awareness. Nowadays everywhere I go women (people actually) are on their cell phones rather then paying attention. There's nothing wrong with helping people or women to understand how important some of these things are. The issue is not weather I agree with your opinion, it's that you sounded like an agressive person with no respect for others who think differently, and rather then appoligise for your child-like harsh view, you continue to defend it. Im pretty sure you talking about this type of class the way you did is no different then telling me my hung gar Kung fu is stupid, because in your opinion what ever it is you do is better, and I take offense to your agressive verbage. It's a shame. Respect towards others views is essential in creating a place we can all feel welcome.

Yeah I agree with full contact being the most brutal, that's why I don't do it. I do not agree that it's ineffective for the streets though, which is full contact. Bruce lee used to fight with heavy gear an padding, because he used to say that you train your self to pull punches if you don't go all out... It's true IMHO. You will perform as you practice. In my video I had a good time with my daughter and it was not serious, so not the most fight like situation, but it was fun and karate shouldn't be all about fighting or we have lost some core principles in my opinion as well.

The idea isn't to train like karate, and give a life like situation! The idea is to give them information, and help to spark something in their way of thinking. I find your general attitude to be disappointing about it. In general when somebody posts their excitement about their oppertunity to reach others, especially those with no experience, I think it's best to post our opinions with less of a salty taste, and more of a supportive nature towards our forum friends. I also find your opinion that women training with women for a self defense situation for a man, a bit of a sexist statement. You know, when we train In martial arts and do drills, am I to feel my drills are not worth it because my attacker in the street is probably nothing like the more humble, and possibly nicer person in front of me? I happen to feel this way of thinking g could easily be called "stupid" IMHO! It's highly unlikely I'll face a person in the street who know karate, so it's a waist of time to defend against karate drills as well I suppose. Why do we bother at all?

That's actually really funny lol!

Tallgeese really nice. I have 3 daughters and a wife so I focus on things for my family to focus on that they can learn easily, quickly, and without much consistent training. A guy who does tai chi lives in my neighborhood and found my info from another neighbor. He teaches at a library. Long story but he hit me and asked if I'd be interested in doing a women's self defense seminar. I accepted. I'm set for December 5th and if numbers are good it will be monthly. It's free for everybody, and the library cuts me a check. Pretty cool. I feel that although I'm not going to teach them deep and agressive technuiqes I am excited to have a positive impact. I want to get them mentally focused on this type of situation possibly happening where they may need to protect themselves. Who knows what can be sparked in their minds, and I really feel there's a real mental aspect to self defense that I can help them focus on. Real excited.