tommarker

Before you talk in class. Think about it, and then think about it again. Then shut up and train

Probably because those guys have been training since before the mullet was cool... Some guys have real problems changing their haircuts.. next thing you know, you've got a 20 year old mullet because you always tell the barber "same as last time!"

aefibird, Many Korean styles use both, and they mean different things... Here's how it works in our system: Cho Dan Bo (Sho Dan Ho): Jo Kyo - Instructor Trainee Cho Dan: Boo Kyo Sa Nim - Class instructor Ee Dan: Kyo Sa Nim - Head Instructor Sam Dan: Boo Sah Bum Nim - Chief Instructor Sa Dan: Sah Bum Nim - Master Instructor etc.. O, Yuk, Chil, Pahl, Koo Dan (traditionally no 10th dan in TSD) Usually these correspond to Cho Dan, Ee Dan, Sam Dan, Sah Dan, etc. But not necessarily so. An Ee Dan with little teaching experience may only be, at best, a Jo Kyo. So in my particular style, the "nims" are instructor rankings, and the "dans" refer to the stripes on your belt. Can't speak for Kuk Sool Won, but I think this is fairly standard. To pick a nit, I believe Dan more accurately refers to "level" than "degree" but I'll leave that to the linguists. That's why an Ee Dan Ahp Cha Ki (Nidan geri) is a 2 level kick and not a 2 degree kick... I'll ask a Korean expert I know to clear that one up.

never heard of them.... but you may wish to try http://www.swordforums.com/ as they are an extremely knowledgable group. Give them as much info as you can, and I'm sure someone will return the favor.

that's cool. and it's also a cool book (had to look for abit to grab it at a reasonable price.) i don't agree with everything ed parker says, but hey he had a great perspective and was a very intelligent man. i hope you got an autograph.. I saw Bong Soo Han in a hotel bar once, and was equally thrilled

i have come to the conclusion that one can completely master the art as it now stands without really giving a flying frig either way. If I want perspective on Jindo, I'll look at Gankaku, then Chinte, and some Shaolin White Crane, and maybe I'll change it. I'm sure in the past, all three have played a role on each other. Who cares if someone thought of it first? I'm sure the first wheel Grok carved out of a piece of stone was a real turd compared to a Goodyear radial. And on the flip side, there are some things that were made 100 years ago that will outlive the shortsided cheaply produced crud of today. If someone wants to think that their art was handed down to them directly from boddhidharma in an unbroken 3000 year old chain, how does that affect your training? If someone wants to remain ignorant, it is certainly their choice, as the truth - in all its varying shades and degrees -- is out there somewhere.

Like everyone is saying, it is a personal choice. Personally, sparring gear drives me NUTS, and I think that it's only good for padding the person's hands and feet so they don't hurt themselves on your skull! That and I get major tunnel vision when wearing gear, and my sense of hearing is greatly diminished. This one is interesting, since people also say that when your body goes into an adrenaline dump, the same things often happen physiologically... so perhaps wearing sparring gear is an interesting way to train for this phenomenon? If you only do no-contact sparring, or lite contact with no allowed contact to the head (accidents do happen) I would say that you're safe 90% of the time w/o any gear. If you're turning it up a notch, and you feel better wearing it, go for it. But as to whether you should because other people are either too wimpy to not wear it, or too macho to wear it..... who cares what they think? Do what feels best for you

One of my newer covert self-defense tools has been a "Super Sharpie" permanent marker. It has the fine writing stylus, but it is a very thick pen, much like a yawara. I also carry a small flashlight: the Surefire E2e. That, and a good belt, and a nice pair of boots.

404'd!

You mean, there's no Olympics coverage in the UK? I mean, I know the brits have some crappy TV, but...

It could just be a form your instructor made up. Of course, without any clues as to which style you practice, with which group, etc... it is very hard to help you.

I wasn't super impressed with her nunchaku skill, but that is some impressive static flexibility. Her kihap at the end could break glass though, I think!!!!

You can often catch Sumo on ESPN2 as well. And this month, you'll be able to see tae kwon do, judo, boxing, wrestling, archery, fencing.....

ahhhh, the student doesn't pay that price... that is what it costs, as an instructor, to bring the official XMA curriculum into the studios. Assuming this turns into the next tae-bo/cardiokick thing, this would be a potential gold mine for the profit-driven instructor.

tsd not applicable to naginata?

Ahhh, the famous pirated "blue videos" strike again. I don't have a problem with people taping themselves and putting it on the internet, but I believe these are copyrighted. Having said that, I've downloaded each of them at one point or another, so there you go Buyer (or pirate) beware!

It's not really grappling, so much as it is pinching/pain compliance, but if you look at the program released with the Orcutt Police Nunchaku you might find a few interesting items. From what I've seen though, it's mostly extraction techniques on passive resisters, which can just as easily be done by grabbing dude by the lip or ear I own a pair of Orcutt's and while they say they are designed more for locking than striking, you could knock someone out cold easy. I have to say that they will really sting on the locks though. Good luck finding a pair, as they are more or less "for law enforcement only." there is another type of "nunchaku" that looks more like a pair of scary ice tongs which is useless for striking, but you can pinch like crazy with them. These are called the "TR-22." A far cry from the police nunchaku Monadnock made in the 80s that felt like two pieces of rebar attitudes change, i guess If your local library has "Journal of Asian Martial Arts" look for Volume 9, Number 1, Page 41 (2000.) I have spent the last 4 years working on the more practical aspects of the nunchaku, and it is the rare student who will stay interested in such techniques. I personally don't trust more than 1-2 of the locks I know how to do, and have just gotten to a point where I'm starting to feel comfortable with my range on a few of the ballistic strikes. About once a year, I get to work on the traditional aspects with someone, so my development is slow. That's OK. Joseph Hess wrote a book entitled "nunchaku in action" which I think is designed for law enforcement (for those few who are still able to carry nunchaku on the job) and it does a good job at introducing a person to the "short game" but there is also some real crud in the book as well. However, between that and Sakagami's "nunchaku and sai" book, I can't think of two better books to own. Both are out of print, so I'd check abebooks.com I admire your sincere approach to the "pure" aspects of the system, but as S.S. said, it is an uphill battle on your own, unless perhaps you already have a strong foundation in hapkido or jiujitsu. Mmmmm, babbling on about nunchaku edited to change the name of the police nunchaku, and to add a reference

In class, I tend to drill at about 60%kick/40%hand. However, the hyung are about 80/20 in favor of the hands. In sparring, I see a lot of people who spar 80/20 in favor of the feet, though I tend to favor close range, and I'm about 60% hands. I've seen some schools that are very kick oriented, and other schools which are more upper body work... Most of those guys tend to come from Shotokan backgrounds or were boxers. They also tend to be big guys... though I know a few "big guys" who can do jump spinning kicks quite gracefully.

Illegal to buy or own? You could always make yourself a wooden pair without much effort. I personally am not a fan of foam nunchaku. They just don't feel right, probably due to the weight (or lack of) which means you generally have to swing them a lot harder, which means losing some finesse.

I love how every once in awhile, someone on this forum reads for the very first time something about korean MA history, and has to come here shouting it from the mountaintop as if they were the first to discover it Akima, you might find someone willing to talk about history with you if you would cut the attitude.

No, NO, and HELL NO! The last thing I want is some beancounter finding out that I teach really nasty stuff, play with knives, teach my students to go for the eyes, how to conceal weapons (legally) and how to improvise weapons! They'd have me on some enemy of the state list, or have the ATF sniffin around! And yeah, then you've got the problem of forming a (God forbid) committee! Can you imagine some committee biased with head-in-the-sky aikido hippies (sorry aiki folks, but aikido and tai chi seem to have the most spacy hippy people per capita, not a knock on the art) telling me that I can't teach a certain skill and should be focusing on aligning my enemy's spirit with that of the universe instead? Extreme example, I know... but politics these days seems to be either one extreme or the other. And once something is regulated, it is very difficult to be de-regulated. Giving up control, you know. Regulation = Good teachers going underground. I know I would.

Yeah, I don't see an option for nunchaku either. I don't think I have a favorite. Though I enjoy nunchaku, and I have an OK understanding of Sai. I always return to the staff, but I don't know if that necessarily makes it my favorite. I think Musashi said something about not having a weapon preference, but that isn't really guiding my ambiguity...

A friend of mine in High School recieved his black belt at the age of 13. He could also bench over 200lbs, slam dunk a basketball (5'8") and was a star running back. Him and his brothers were freaks of nature, and spent a good amount of their teenage years working out, doing pushups while watching TV, etc. So even in 8th grade, this kid was in greater physical shape than most adults I know. That was almost 10 years ago, and kids are only maturing earlier and earlier. Watch out

Look at his instructor... where do you think HE got it from? All joking aside, I think there are some very real situations in which walking away from a fight could be more harmful in the long run. Especially in a psychological game where someone is trying to establish dominance over you. Think of prison or school (in some places this isn't too different.) In some cultures, walking away from a fight is a sure way to be viewed as a punk who can be walked on. Would you rather put up with that, or put it to a stop at the beginning? This is NOT the same as fighting to merely protect your ego. I'm talking about a fairly rare (for most of us, probably) occurance.

I read it for the first time about 2 years ago. Still haven't set foot in a McDs. I don't know if they have Chipotles (giant burritos) in the UK, but they are owned by McDonalds, and i feel a twinge of guilt everytime I go there