tommarker

I've been told that by the time you get to 2nd Dan, you have a good enough grasp of the essentials of your art that you can think of studying something else without ending up with a mishmash of technique.

This is essentially what I had in mind, but couldn't describe for some reason... thanks

I've seen a few people perform some very interesting sacrifice jump kicks in this situation. I'm not sure I'd try any of them since there is such a margin of error. But, either way I guess you're going to the ground

I'm sure you're not the first person to be worried about sparring in his class. Don't sweat it. And I'm glad to hear your instructor was open to listening to you.

If I may ask... What specifically attracts you to training in Japan?

You don't have to challenge his ideas when you ask: "Is there anything I can do to overcome my problems with sparring?" I imagine he will just tell you to "keep practicing"

Well, I guess they say it in order to make themselves stand out from plain old, ordinary and boring knife fighting. Newsflash, kids: fighting with weapons - especially ones where you have to get up close and personal, jab and slash a blade into another person, deal with blood all over the place, and the very real possibility of killing someone -- is about as "extreme" as it gets. Using a knife is NOT cool, and approaching it in that vein sounds like an excellent way to work yourself straight into jail or a grave. If you want to do an art because you want to look slick while taking someone out, you ARE NOT READY to learn it. i.e. GROW UP. I'm sorry that I have to bend the rules of the forum here and get a little mean, but this is serious stuff we're talking about here and someone who talks about how extreme and cool knifefighting is needs to re-examine some things, IMHO.

You mean, you've done it THREE WHOLE TIMES and you're still not good at it? Maybe you *should* quit.. BTW, I'm being sarcastic! I don't know what to tell you except keep working on it. You've mentioned that you're scared of getting hurt, which is natural to a limit.. Everyone has hurdles they have to overcome, and it sounds like this one is yours.

extreme knife fighting?? like what? on a hang glider?

bong sul means "staff techniques."

I have bigger problems with the cut of the pants than how the waistline is constructed.

i've always felt that JKD should not be approached as a "style" since that essentially confines it into a set approach that Lee always seemed to go against. Conservative answer: JKD can be used to your advantage upon becoming a black belt. This way, you have a good base.. You know how to do things more or less in the "way" of your style and can take them in different directions.

well, how did it go?

Cathal, I don't know how literally the quote was to be taken, but I would say it's fairly close. 1000 times really isn't a whole lot if you think about it. You have probably done this many repetitions by 5th kyu. 10,000 however will take a little more time. Without sounding like a fortune cookie, sometimes the most simple looking techniques are much more complex than they appear.

well, i didn't exactly take a picture of some random chump doing bit cha ki either

Sounds interesting... can't wait to see the site.

http://wackett.enc.org/~tmarker/images/peetchagi1.jpg http://wackett.enc.org/~tmarker/images/peetchagi2.jpg From Tang Soo Do (Soo Bahk Do) Vol 1. By Kwang Kee. pp 326-328. Sorry about the quality, the images are really close to the binding. Illustrated to show everyone the planted foot.

Hey.... sometimes you have to take a break for real life! Enjoy your newborn child... the Martial Arts will always be there.

what is the old saying... "1000 repetitions to learn... 10,000 to master." exact numbers aside, i think this is what you're encountering. And it means you're definetely doing something right! Now that you're starting to get to the point where you can do the technique without forcing yourself to do so, you can really start to refine and improve the technique.

In what way? I'm not familiar with that particular version of Bassai (so many, so little time!) I think Bassai was a disappointment to me when I first learned it, since I was just like "this is just a really long Pinan!"

Northren Ogre... I appreciate your input on the subject. If you would be so kind... in your experience, how many of the incidents you've witnessed were ones you could see brewing a mile away compared to the ones that suddenly "exploded" Stay safe!

that's the way I learned it to... good illustrations. If it makes you feel better, when new students ask me how to do it, I have to take mine off and do it with them.

Sho-ju, how does it feel compared to the shillalegh you wrote about in the other thread? I thought I read some concerns about weight distribution for those who practice more one hand type swings.

This is an interesting topic to me. I once wanted to write about "Urban American Kobudo" and provide some nice modern examples. Would we look silly doing say, crescent wrench kata? I practice with the staff and short stick, which translates to quite a few things, but I also work with flexible weapons, since I think these are more popular and easily accessible than pool cues, rakes, etc. For example, I ride my bike to and from work, and I carry a pretty thick cable to go along with by bike lock. A lot of bike couriers know to use their U Bolt lock as a weapon against road-rage idiots. In the office, there's always plenty of power cords, phone cords, ethernet cables... ever been hit with a power cord? sweet * it hurts! really short stuff translates to yawara techniques pretty easily... small maglites, pens, pencils, screwdrivers.. etc.

Here's a question I was thinking about: Have you ever learned a form that completely changed the way you thought about the martial arts? I mean, it changed everything you do, drill, other kata, sparring... For me, everytime I learn a new form, I try to take any lessons and apply them to my other forms. But I'm talking a more permanent change. In my case, I think the form was Naihanchi. I think it's had a great influence especially on my sparring. It changed my range and even just my approach towards the fight. Everything I do now seems to have that naihanchi sort of POP to it. Even forms that are a little "bigger" in their performance, like Bassai Dai. Thoughts?