Spartacus Maximus
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Everything posted by Spartacus Maximus
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Most films featuring any kind of fighting, or martial arts show something that is meant to be flashy and specacular. It is all for entertainment after all. This is why my original question is a challenge to answer. The are very few films made where the fighting scenes are realistic. For that there has to be a very good choreographer preferably someone who has knowledge of how and why techniques work. That is a difficult job because realistic is often chaotic, hard to observe and not entertaining enough for the masses. It is also easier for a spectator to evaluate what is shown if said spectator is familiar with it. Interesting choices so far, keep them coming.
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Anyone know if these nunchaku are good.
Spartacus Maximus replied to chrisw08's topic in Martial Arts Weapons
I don't practise weapons anymore but when I did, I was always recommended to use a heavy weapon for practise. The idea is that heavy practise weapons allow the learner to develop fast, strong and controlled movement. This idea is frequently used throughout history and is universally known. I have read historical accounts of warriors and soldiers training with practise weapons that were slightly heavier than the actual weapons used. For any wooden weapon I would prefer a dense hardwood like maple, ash or hickory or oak. -
What is in your opinion the movie that shows the most accurate and realistic depiction of a martial art? My choice would have to be the Karate Kid series. Besides a few exceptions techniques are simple and not fancy, closer to the way karate would be used in reality. The movie also mentions several truth such as quality versus quantity and the role of kata in training. Besides this there is a very accurate dialogue on the moral and philosophical aspects. Please evaluate your choice according to: Realism of techniques depicted and their effects Training depicted if any Martial art theory of attack/defense. Moral/philosophical aspects of the art depicted Ok go!
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Practising karate kept me away from negative influences in my life since I was about 10 years old. Without my involvement in karate I am certain that I would have been I serious trouble. Focussing on karate training and going to my dojo helped me overcome bouts of severe isolation and depression in my teenage years. That is also when karate and martial arts became a part of my life I have never given up to this day.
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Arthritis as a result of conditioning is one of the arguments often given against the practise. The same thing is said about makiwara use to train the hands. The truth is that there is nothing to prove conditioning causes arthritis. If this was true, all karateka who engage in this practice would have arthritis in their hands and feet. My sensei has absolutely no cumulative damage to his hands or feet/toes after decades of daily conditioning. I believe there was a research that was done with Mas Oyama's hands showing the same results. The key is to not overdo conditioning and not try to rush trough it. Toes take longer than hands and must be done slowly and gradually. It is also very dangerous without proper guidance and learning correct form from a knowledgeable and experienced teacher
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Starting over in same style
Spartacus Maximus replied to Spartacus Maximus's topic in General Martial Arts Discussion
If your are in my situation where you have been taught before but with important explanations missing, then there will be flaws. I am speaking from that point of view. It is only after starting over in my style with a teacher who could tell me what I was missing that I realized I had been taught techniques without learning how they would or would not work and why. If you come from a completely different system then it is probably much easier to start something new. Thinking with a novice attitude frees the mind to focus on what is being taught without distraction and avoids confusion. The first step for me was to realize I was doing things with subtle parts missing. -
I never was a big fan of it either. I just did it because It was like a dojo code but it still felt weird and a bit silly. I still picked up that habit after years of karate before setting foot in a Japanese/Okinawan dojo. Now my first okinawan sensei's attitude towards it has rubbed off on me. I have come to see it the same way he does. I would at the very least find it annoying and disruptive when other people are OSSing at everything and each other while I'm trying to focus on my practise.
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Respecting the art
Spartacus Maximus replied to pittbullJudoka's topic in General Martial Arts Discussion
You already do as much as possible from an attitude point of view. As for the rest, just be honest and open about your skill level in each system you practise or teach. That is the main difference between a fraud and one who teaches or practises for the love of their martial art. If you cannot perform a technique or explain it because it is beyond the depths of your knowledge, be ready to point the interested student to someone who can. Or invite that someone to help you teach. That shows respect for yourself, your students and teachers and the arts you practise. -
The only time I have ever slowed down was when I could not get up out of bed or when I was throwing up. Strangely I have always felt better after training through sickness. During colds I breathed more clearly and felt decongested. Fevers also went down a few minutes after I finished. I never worsened in any way and I could rest and sleep better afterwards too
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Does anyone else still train as usual when sick with a cold or fever? For the sake of my teacher and fellows I don't go to the dojo but not training is out of the question. I practise and train without slowing anything down even when I have a cold, a fever or whatever else. I have even done it with the flu last winter. The only difference I make is in how much water I drink . Training five or six days a week no matter how I feel seems to be working because since starting this routine I have quickly recovered from anything I caught. My family thinks I'm nuts for not slowing down and resting but I feel worse if I just lay there and wait to get better. Another reason is that if I ever have to defend myself I will not be choosing what condition I will be at the time.
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Sensei8 At 56 you are not even close to being a old man. I can tell you that I have seen many karateka who are that age or much older who could mop the floor with their young 20 something whipped-snapper students. Whip em and snap em My own sensei is in his late sixties and he can still outperform the fittest people less than half his age. If you don't ever change your training intensity and rythm since you were younger your body will adapt and follow. I have seen living proof of this many times. Unless you have some sort of very serious degenerative disease it is possible to prevent and overcome most of the age problems that slow down average sedentary life style people. I have a lot of admiration and respect for people like you and my sensei. People who have spent decades of their life training and tirelessly trying to improve one part or another of their mental or physical beings. That takes a while lot more self discipline, focus and determination than most have.
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I spent most of my time in karate going through formal type testing for each kyu rank. We knew when the tests were going to be and who was going to be tested. There was even time to prepare but when I think about it I don't remember anyone ever failing. In my actual dojo tests do happen but they are not at a fixed time. Sensei just usually gives somebody compliments on the improvements he sees. Those are usually clues that mean the candidate is ready to be recognized as a new rank. Finally on any regular day he will tell that person that he or she will be formally evaluated for their new rank during the next general evaluation, seminar or dojo event. Formal evaluation is based on basics and fundamentals as well as understanding and performance of kata with oyo kumite. Also included is breaking exercises. After the evaluation we continue regular training and at the end new belts and certificates are handed. Lastly comes the beer and or sake. Whatever's is in the fridge.
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Wastelander you are correct about it being considered crude and rude outside the military. Oyama was in the military in his youth and he may have transfered that to his kyokushinkai and then assigned it a meaning for his purposes. In japan I have heard of students being yelled at for answering their teachers at school like that instead of the usual polite reply. I also picked up on the fact that the okinawan dojos discourage the use of it due to its association with kyokushinkai and their attachment to the okinawan identity and origin of karate. Just like older Okinawan folks who would rather call themselves Okinawan than Japanese. Also kyokushinkai doesn't have a very positive popular impression for a lot of folks. Blame it on yakuza movies and earlier kyokushin competitions.
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Starting over in same style
Spartacus Maximus replied to Spartacus Maximus's topic in General Martial Arts Discussion
The best part of starting over was to take a closer look at everything I thought I had learned and understanding why I was doing it wrong and how to do it right. That way of looking at a technique that I am now being taught will help me refine my skills and help me when I become the one who has to explain them. The more difficult and discouraging part is realizing that I may have gone through the ranks too quickly before. It's hard to think like a complete novice when you are already familiar with all the kata in the system. Even if you want to with all your heart and mind you are still stuck with a past baggage of flawed techniques and bad habits that you do unconsciously. -
He stopped because he stopped seeing it as something meaningful. The conclusion of his many decades of training was that it was wiser to master empty hand skills and principles. He believes that the principles of empty hand techniques are transferable to almost any weapon or object held in the hand. Weapons will move as extensions of empty hand techniques instead of accessories. The only way he can come up with that is by having practised and used weapons I am not certain he would be able to say that if he had never touched weapons before. It is hard for me to explain because I don't have his experience or knowledge. Another reason he briefly mentioned is that there are too many kobudo kata without logical bunkai or oyo kumite and kobudo has become too much like a weapons dance where the meaning is either lost or never properly explained. Even on Okinawa many dojos just have it as an extra gimmick because demand for it is so high.
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The virtues of board breaking
Spartacus Maximus replied to Archimoto's topic in TKD, TSD, Hapkido, and Korean Martial Arts
It is so true that boards hit back. That is the very principle in the design of a makiwara. It is possible to break a board with raw power but the value is in using correct body mechanics and focus. With a mechanically correct technique it is relatively easier to break boards than doing it with just muscle. A trained eye can tell the difference and that is why I had to re do a my break twice for my 3 kyu test Even though I broke the boards each time. I noticed a difference my self when I did it correctly. When I failed I felt a sting and mild pain in my fist when I struck the board. When I did the strike correctly I went through the board easily and felt almost nothing. -
Each person in my semi private training session got to experience a light poke from sensei's toes or at least what sensei considered light for at least a week after each of us had a small but deep nasty little bruise exactly the size and shape of a big toe. Nasty...I definately don't want to get hit with a kick from a dude who can litteraly stab you with his feet.
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The only weapon that is studied in my dojo is the knife. We train to defend against common types of knife attacks but it have not done anything like that myself as I am new and it is reserved for shodan and above. My sensei has stopped practising kobudo and does not teach it.
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The point about shoes is valid and I can appreciate that it has played a role in the decline of the toe kick. I'm not sure that the average student of karate today would be willing to go through the training it takes to become effective in kicking something with their toes. Bumping a toe by accident is painful enough. I like the idea of being able to kick effectively barefooted AND with shoes on. That is one of the reasons why I like the toe kick. I remember practicing outdid with shoes on and trying to kick with the ball of the foot. With regular running shoes I could curl up my toes to hit with the ball but it was hard to do because the rigidity if the shoe. Kicking with the toes was possible but it still hurt my toes inside my shoe. I reckon that if my toes were conditioned for barefoot toe kicks then I would also have a powerful kick with shoes on using the point of a shoe.
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The very idea that styles can be effective or ineffective is nonsense. Techniques are just movements and nothing more. Effectiveness depends one hundred percent on the individual's ability to apply them. This ability comes from knowledge of proper form, repeated practice and experience. If there really was an ultimate style, then it would work for absolutely everyone using it 100percent of the time regardless of the adversary. If taught and practised effectively any system will work. If taught or trained inefectively any system can become nothing more than gymnastics or dance. That is why there is a McDojo for every single martial art you can imagine(and yes it includes BJJ). You name it, they've bastardized it somewhere to make a profit.
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Makiwara in small space
Spartacus Maximus replied to Spartacus Maximus's topic in Equipment and Gear
I like your idea of building the board into part of the room. Unfortunately the space I want to set up and use my equipment is also used by other members of my family including my 2 year old son. I have to be able to store it away to have the space for other uses. I have some idea for the material but it's the base holding it that is most difficult. I want a round, post type makiwara -
Thanks for your reply. Do you practise Okinawan karate or Japanese karate? I looked at nearly all ryuha originating on mainland japan and none of them have the toe tip kick. As for me I only recently started to learn it and it is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Especially since I have always been taught to use the ball of my foot! Before joining my current dojo I had seen it done and there was no doubt it as to how fearsome it was. it just looked like one of those amazing feats that I could only dream of doing. At least now I have an idea of the training and time it takes to be able to kick like that. Does your school teach it from the start or only at a certain level? I'm expected to kick through an inch thick pine board with a front toe kick for my shodan test. Does your school have you perform it as part of a test?
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The answer to this question is not as clearly defined as the question. In a defense situation, reaction time is more important than how fast you can do a technique. If you are trained to read an imminent attack you only need to be quick enough to meet it or avoid it. Once you have done either of those the only limit is your imagination. Power is also relative to the specific situation. Personally, my idea of defense is to hit with all the power I can muster and keep hitting until I have an opening to run or until my attacker can no longer threaten me. Whatever happens first.
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Makiwara in small space
Spartacus Maximus replied to Spartacus Maximus's topic in Equipment and Gear
Well I have a little bit more space than just enough to shrug my shoulders. My biggest challenge is building something that can be easily set up and moved so that I can stash it somewhere where it will be protected from wear when I'm not using it. It should be usable indoors and outdoors.