Alan Armstrong

Principles combined with techniques are a way to help a student to stay focused. I find it rewarding when a student can use a concept with techniques efficiently. I try to make ma principles for students, as if installing good figting and defending habits immediately. Having good habits to start with instills confidence in the student. So many students kick, punch and block well enough but without the whys and wheres luck and intuition play a larger part of their strategy than it should. Tried and tested combinations of kicks and punches, exactly knowing the whys and wheres combined with principles makes for an efficient confident fighter. Using body mechanic principles such as limb control and all controlling joint locking methods are beneficial for all martial artists. Understanding principles regarding muscles and bones will help a martial artist to maintain them better than on the contrary damaging them or prematurely wearing them out A great understanding of knockouts principles will not only help to defend against them but can also be used for offensive purposes also if need be. A way of making or customizing a good principle for a student is to take a major mistake of theirs and find a common denominator idea for that person. For example if a student falls down easily then balance principles need to be perfected and incorporate in to their techniques.

Spiritual knockouts! What might not be so apparent to many is the way (body mechanics) the human head moves on the shoulders. The head twisting left and right as in a 'No' motion and up and down in a 'Yes' motion is normal and making a small circular motion and bending the head on the neck left and right towards the shoulders is normal also. When hitting the head diagonally (as on the cheekbone) the head doesn't twist (bend or twist in it's normal ranges of motion) and most of the force is felt. (We normally adopt this fist resting on the cheekbone with the elbow taking the weight resting on a table or desk) because it braces the head efficiently. Same holds true when hitting the forehead in the direction towards the base of the skull. The head stand (illustrates this method best) works because the forehead lines up with the neck and the rest of the body. Using these two techniques, a slight tap or jolt with the hand (on a person's head) is enough to render a person momentarily unconscious. The brain bouncing and hitting the inside of the skull and nerve in the back of the neck being abruptly compressed, can cause a blackout. Many Preachers do this (light touch) to their parishioners on Sundays, delivering one touch knockouts in the name of something holy.

Personally my sport martial arts aspects are behind me. Focusing solely on reality based ma. There is far more freedom in reality based ma due to the absence of rules and regulations. The use of padding are not needed in RBMA also weapon and surroundings take on a whole new meaning. As surroundings or found weapons can be used to one's advantage. RBMA doesn't relying on sequential time limits and a support system to back you up. Making use of RBMA cam make a SBMA more efficient due to the no nonsense reality training needed to be successful in combat.

It is great to see that others find this knockout demonstrations practice not to be agreeable also. Sometimes it is not considered a knockout (by demonstrators) but called instead a slight 'buzz' My personal concussion gave me dizzy spells for more than 6 months after the fact. Not so much from the crack to my head but from the twist of my neck close to the base of my skull. I was knocked out from the quick twist of my neck, the punch did hit the knockout button on my jaw but I believe it was in combination with my neck being significantly hyper twisted past it's intended range of movement. Also my brain hitting the inside of my skull as I hit ground with my head. For me a four factors knockout: 1. chin, 2. vertebrae twist in upper most part of the neck, 3. brain hitting inside of skull and 4. outside of skull hitting the ground. The demonstration knockouts differ in that they catch the person before he hits his head on the floor. Also these knockout demos don't twist necks. They do however use blows to the skull, chin, neck and arm.

Nothing spiritual or religious in nature. More on how the body can and cannot move related to martial arts. A few examples. Examining and exploring all of the leverage possibilities available to martial artists. Principles of keep the advantage in a situation instead of being in a disadvantages position. No matter the style a person practices the human body stays the same. A karateka nose is no stonger or weaker than a boxers; they both can break just as easy a kung fu master's can. Nothing that I convey to students are vertual. All of my knife defence principles for example work because they are based on real life (military) circumstances.

Have personally witnessed in a ma tournament that the referee was (female) refereeing a bout. The points were even between between the two (male) combatants. The referee awarded the match to her boyfriend. I'm not saying that he (the referee's boyfriend) didn't deserve to win, but how could the referee be able to not be biased in a split decision involving her boyfriend. After witnessing this blatant disregard for fairness in a ma tournament, I never competed ever again. I resigned from the ma club that held the ma tournament. There were more unfairness issues with this ma club, the tournament issue was just the last straw for me.

I believe we can have both reality and sport martial arts. Just be aware that what is supposed to be a sport, some belive it to be a licence to kill. Don't be fooled for one minute in to thinking sport karate is 100% safe. At one tournament I was reversed punched in to the chest with full power, I wasn't wearing any chest protection. I was totally floored. Instead of disqualifying my opponent, I was given the option to continue or forfeit the match and give it to my opponent. It was supposedly a light contact tournament. After getting my self together I continued the fight and won. I won with anger and not at all proud of the fact. The previous fight I was hit so hard on the arm that it went in to a uncontrollable spasm, flopping about for approximately 10 seconds. I won that fight also. This (loosing) opponent was so upset that he lost to me, that he wanted a real fight with me outside after the tournament was finished. He was about 8 inches taller than me and outweighed me also. This tournament matched up competitors with belt ranking and nothing to do with hight or weight differences. After these two tournament fights I was very paranoid, the judges continued letting me get hit with full power techniques while I was still fighting with light contact. Judges were not accepting my light contact points, so I switched to full contact mode. Unfairly I was disqualified for using full contact. The biases in the eyes of the judges were not in my favor, perhaps because they were favoring there own students. The point I trying to get across is that conflict/fights no matter where they are on the street or tournament, reality based or sport will never be exactly fair.

Personally I don't judge anyone's worth by their ma style; reality or sport based. Each individual has personal choices to make with their chosen ma style. Some think that ma sports are also reality based, it is difficult to tell the difference for some and not for others. The difference is one uses a point system while on the other side no points are counted or awarded. Both however can involve a judge, one in the ring and the other in a court room.

Sharing martial art principles (to martial art students) is my way of transmitting the most amount of information (efficiently) in the shortest amout of time available. I believe that martial art principles will improve a student's progress more rapidly and profoundly than just constant physical repetition. To challenge the student's strategic intellectual mind and combine it with new physical martial art abilities. Also exploring and practincing with some of the similarities and differences of the most popular known or major MA styles. For a martial artist in this day and age to be fixated on just one style could have disastrous consequences for that individual. One principle I like to use more often than not is body mechanics. Also how to use (leverage) the human body as a crowbar. There are plenty (hundreds) of martial art principles to be learned, some of my martial art instructors neglected to share this aspect with students. Perhapse instructors due to there own 'none' willingness to share principles is a way to keep students coming back for longer! Or as a way to continue to dominate and keep a student on a lower level for a longer amount of time. Most of the martial art principles that I have been fortunate to learn have been of Chinese origin. The Japanese and Koren MA styles that I have been equally exposed to have fallen short in this topic of learning principles. Ironically 'The Karate Kid' movies/films were full of wisdom and principles... did the owners of dojos forget this aspect... the principles learned from these movies is the reason many parents sent their children to learn karate! Many parents have sent their children to dojos for many reasons, most likely to help them become better people and eventually benefiting from the experience. Kicking and punching while screaming without principles equals in my mind a kicking and punching screaming kid.

Are you clear about your martial art style as if it is reality based or sport based? Can you divide your reality and sport MA aspects efficiently? Do you expect your teacher to supply both reality and sport MA aspects? Does the sport aspect of your style interfere with the realities of your self defence needs? Are you a martial artist that feels let down by your chosen system when it comes down to defending oneself from potential attackers?

Seems to bother me and perhaps you also, when teachers knockout their students in demonstrations. These instructors emphasizes how dangerous these knockouts are and do them without considering the dangerous consequences or potencial of causing long term injuries to students. There is sufficient film or video footage that confirms these knockout techniques work very well, without the added need for more demonstrations. Personally I have been knocked out cold. Also had head traumas due to accidents. Literally seen stars going around my head, just like in the cartoons depict them to be. Nothing gained from being knocked out only aggravating potential future brain damage. These teachers that knock students out should not be allowed to do so. I put this type of practice on the same level as testing products on animals.

Had problems mixing my Karate with TKD. As any type of grabbing or takedowns are not allowed in TKD. Also the fast kicking in TKD is a bit tricky to avoid and retaliating with my fast punches wasn't much appreciated either. Learning safety rolls and stretching/kicking techniques have always been appreciated from learning TKD. The empty hand self-defense and knife defence techniques wasn't emphasized enough in the TKD class.

Thank you for sharing! I think you are on the right track with your (chain punch) theory. Chain punching is traditionally done (making contact) using the two bottom knuckles, not a popular concept for many martial artists.

Integrity and role model go hand in hand. Cannot have one without the other. If a person's integrity is seriously wrong with not much hope in showing any redemption, then you continue to participate with that person, you will be lowering your own integrity. Martial arts and integrity go hand on hand. Cannot have one without the other without causing problems to those that don't deserve it. Martial artists without integrity will try to take advantage and corrupt those that do. As much of ma training is transferred bad attitudes lacking integrity can also be unnoticeably be transferred. There are ma instructors that don't have integrity and the students will ultimately suffer. Lack of integrity might not be as easy to spot because of the being cruel to be kind stance some instructors adopt. Personally I believe being cruel to be kind is not an excuse to be cruel. The 'Karate Kid' movies try to get the (lack of integrity of students and teachers) message across to potential ma students and teachers.

This is a very complicated and subjective topic to comment on. MA heroes and flavor of the month styles continue to create interested for new students. It has always been this way and at times we may not see the forest for trees. The truth about martial arts (pros and cons) are hidden in the open; just seems more obvious to the experienced martial artist that's all. As good as or as bad is a thing, the majority is fooled most of the time (and as this forum shows by some of it's members) but not all are fooled all of the time. Judo, Boxing, TKD, Karate and MMA all mentioned about and have their strengths and weaknesses all hidden in the open. Should any ma style be reduced to a sport? In the past and still in some places in the world martial arts is a blood sport! The point I making is that, It is easy to create controversy and not so easy to find solutions. Personally I believe in this day and age for martial arts, it is a great time to be in. All the changes and ma information available is nothing less than incredible. Some belive Martial arts is being reduced to a spectators sport, so some show business is bound to creep in to improve the money flow. Money makes the world go around and the best fighter doesn't always win. While on the other side of the story... Traditional ma styles are becoming living dojo museums, holding on to and preserving an art or something of human value that is worth more than money for future generations to appreciate. When traditional ma styles were openly disrespected in the past, those responsible would have been delt with severely; today it's just controversy. Is the Olympics a money making organization? Are those that are martial artists that compete in the Olympics really the best fighters in the world? Or are these fighters primed from an early age to score points? None of the fighters I train will ever learn anything about (Olympic) point fighting from me. They will however learn a different type of point system (the original point system) in attacking vulnerable human pressure points. Ironically (My TKD teacher was an Olympic competitor and Olympic captain) therefore I know the difference between scoring points and pressure points. As so few are chosen to compete, the realistic choice on what to focus on is obvious. Are words (in this day and age) mightier than the sword? Samurai's had their day and now it's the MMA and Greek Olympic methodology. How much TV revenue is generated from the Olympic coverage? The Olympics is doing the capitalizing not the people running gyms/clubs, kwons or dojos.

What ever exercise you practice start off slowly. Pushing one's limits too quickly can cause pain, discomfort and downtime due to injury. Age, agility, and over all health are contributing factors also. Listening to your body's reactions to exercises is important also. Exercising with quality is far better than quantity. Not forgetting that Karate is also an exercise!

A Muay Thai kick boxer showed me his method of loosing wight, some 40 years ago. He wasn't anorexic skinny he was however totally toned. He was a gymnast also. Should rephrase a bit about the last sentence (not so much loosing weight but more like getting toned) He had the tightest skin (totally fat free) around his mid section that I had ever seem. His method or secret was to work out wearing garbage bags, like a T-Shirt. I use this similar method if I want to loose weight. I will wear ten T-Shirts with garbage bags on top. Cutting out a space in the bag for my head and arms to fit through. Also I add a few waist sweatbands (around my waist) adding to the desired effect. I wear this large amout of T-Shirts as a gauge, to see how many layers that I can soak through while exercising. It is also a motivating method of losing weight, because I try harder to soak as many T-Shirts as possible. I have lost many kilos with this method. It is said that all that sweating will be instantly replaced once a person drinks water. This is not my case. Cutting down on my junk food intake is a contributing factor. As well as combining the "after effect" exercising theory has helped me also to lose unwanted weight. There are sports shirts that are supposed to do what I do but I don't bother with them. Also more professional methods than what I do, but my method is very cost effective.

It is belived that martial arts started in Indian and spread out in to China then Japan and so on. Flexibility exercises for martial artists or ways to improve a persons range of motion differ from one country to the next. If India is the birthplace of martial arts, how do they deal with improving flexibility? In the west martial arts is generally related to Korea, Thailand, Japan and China. Maybe aspects of martial arts in India have been overlooked from Westerners' The aspect I'm referring to is flexibility. Straight away and is normal to do so, is to think of flexibility with Yoga with India. There is Yoga martial arts, but this is not the direction that I want to steer you in. I'm more interested in the 'How' and not the 'Who' in regards to improving flexibility. I believe there is still martial art secrets to be found and the question of improving flexibility for martial artists has not been fully answered. Yes; the young are flexible. Yes; some people are more flexible than others. Can flexibility issues be fixed or is it a loosing battle? I believe just because some of us live in a concrete jungle, that we don't need to become inflexible also. I have come to the conclusion that to find an answer to a question is to never leave any stone unturned. Being involved with many martial art styles over the years. Flexibility exercises have not been existent in some of these ma styles and progressively from style to style it becomes more important; depending on their importance for kicking. Taekwondo and Hapkido place more emphasis on kicking so more stress is put on flexibility. What they do differently from other ma styles (in my own experience) is to work in pairs, one student helping another student to be more flexible. This working on improving flexibility in pairs, is the answer. The reason is because of the contradiction of stretching and relaxing at the same time. This is why incorporating ankle weights or weights on pulleys compensate as the missing exercise partner. 1) As you relax the other person stretches you. This can be done while sitting on the floor or leaning against a wall. This is where PNF is used extensively. 2) This should be done on a daily basis. As you relax the other person walks on the back of your legs. This other person holds on to ropes or a bar, to suspended them selves because their full bodyweight could be to much for you to bear. Massage oil is used with this practice. Thailand use this massage technique also. 3) With a bunch of bamboo canes tide together. While gently tapping your body's muscles will increase circulation and help to relax tense muscles. These are some of the techniques that are used in India to increase flexibility for martial artists. Hope this information will be helpful for you. Share your flexibility secrets or concerns, the answer could be more closer to solving than you may think! YouTube should have some information on these useful (from India) Stretching or flexibility techniques.

Mistakes may be a good thing as perhaps things don't turn out as expected. Creative pursuits utilize mistakes to add new ways of doing and looking at things. Many inventions started out as mistakes and now benefit everyone. Mistakes are truly something we can call our own!

Grappling styles don't generally do much stretching. Same holds true for boxers. Doing stretching exercises to improve flexibility for kicking is normal. How about stretching to improve your kicking. All of the kicks you are doing are also stretching muscles. What would happen if you reversed the idea of stretching to improve your kicks, to practice kicks so as to improve flexibility? Same idea once again, but this time practicing techniques to improve your own hyper extended range of movement. You just might find that your forms or katas have a new zest or vigor about them. There is alot of information on stretching from people that are flexible already. We were all flexible when we were younger and gradually gave up this natural gift. To regain lost flexibility is a stumbling block for many older martial artists. As the human body seems to get stiffer with age. I believe older martial artists need to look at stretching in a different way than it is usually seen or practiced. I believe many martial artists that stretch muscles for gaining flexibility could be on the wrong track. This is because there stretching routines are intended for the younger student and not for the older ones. Many years ago I witnessed how a side of beef was tenderized. It wasn't massaged or beaten. It wasn't pulled or stretched. It was however electrocuted. I am most definitely not suggesting electrocution to stretch muscles. I am however suggesting in my own flexibility routines the use of (firstly) tensing muscles (as hard as possible) (secondly) relaxing muscles (as deeply as possible) (thirdly) stretching muscles (as gently as possible) Building up each three sections starting from 5 seconds. Adding an additional 5 seconds each time. The muscle that is being stretched will gradually start to get tired. A test for yourself could be done by using the simple butterfly stretch, while laying on your back with the soles of your feet brought together. Focus on tiring the muscle with (tension) (relaxing) and (stretching) This methodology has nothing to do with anything but these three things. I don't believe that heat is the main reason muscles become more flexible when warm, but is only a contributing factor with a tiring muscle. Muscles need plenty of oxygen and water to promote flexibility. So coordinating contributing factors will enhance your results. The word 'flexibility' can get over used and loose much of it's meaning. 'Pliability enhancing exercises' might be more interesting. How about 'Hyper extension movements' Or 'Reaching beyond normal boundaries' Perhaps your flexibility has been conditioned out of you, from conforming to sitting on chairs or not playing children games, or simply moving like an adult and not like a child. These are just a few things to consider why your range of movments are not what they once were. Martial arts practice is about being as far as possible away from comfort zones. The more difficult and challenging your exercises are the more benefits you will gain from them. You are as limited as your willingness to push your personal boundaries. Willpower and determination are a martial artist's greatest assets; these are the things that can take a man or woman and turn them in to a master of martial arts. Flexibility, pliability, elasticity, every movement you make during your day will enhance or reduce their capabilities. It's your move...

Good luck with your new class. It was 20 years ago when learning Tai Chi; still today I appreciate all that I had learned. The bonus material while learning Tai Chi was being introduced to chi kung. My (chi kung) specialty is rejuvenation. I can fool people to think, that I'm 20 years younger than I really am; ironic how it was 20 years ago when I learned about it!

From a 50 plus ma point of view, not with stiff joints. Having listened to every stretching theory, and tried the machines, stretching exercises books and videos, gimmicks, fads, sports medicine pnf. something to keep in mind when stretching. There is alot of talk and help about stretching but the information might not be so accurate as one might expect. Warm up before stretching and cold stretching; such a contradiction! How about tiring the muscle out before stretching it. This has nothing to do with hot or cold muscles. More to do with over tensing a muscle that has difficulty staying tense and the only option it has left is to relax. Then you can stretch the muscle because it hasn't the strength to fight your will anymore. Stretching is more like trying to tame a wild stallion, once it stops fighting with you and you with it, there will be a mutual understanding that the both can live with. Personally I use and wear heavy weights (while laying flat on my back) to wear out the muscles that I want to stretch, others use weights, cables and pulley setups attached to ankle straps; same difference. Springy flexible trees and vines attached to ankles was how it was done in the past and not the torture chamber stretching machines used today. Good luck!

Yes it was unfortunate to not be able to continue with JKD. The JKD club was using a community hall room, so it wasn't actually a full time gym setup. There are dangers in being self taught and also just as many dangers in a club environment. I also have a neck injury while practicing one step sparring in a TKD club. The other person changed the technique that he was supposed to be doing, and landed a hook kick to the back of my neck. This happened 18 years ago, it still has caused me neck issues till this very day. Martial art clubs can suffer from excessive contact, from students as well as teachers. Personally I try to be careful not to hurt anyone while training, not everyone thinks this way. I don't allow myself in ma clubs to be subjected to bullying that is disguised as sparring. Some teachers can put a blind eye to this and let it continue. I have had real fights in clubs due to this issue. Self taught martial artists need not worry about club bullies.

Aikido makes more sense to me when introducing swords or knives. Using them in offensive or defensive ways. It is the empty hand self defence and attacking scenerios that look or seem unrealistic. Having stand up experience sparring with Aikido practioners (minus weapons) it always seemed very strange. Strange in the way that they had no stand up fighting ability's with fists and feet or utilizing elbows and knees. However attack with a knife or sword and they adapt instantly. It seems as if you need to be highly dangerous to get their attention. A mugger in the street with a knife would get their attention! Fighting or sparring against Akido people needs to be intense because this is how they train. Subtle kick boxing jabs and kicks work against them beautifully, because they are not conditioned to fight this way. As the samurai is a part of the Aikido way, it is better off being in the hands of a martial artist that promotes peace and harmony than the alternatives.

WCD can be adjusted for height as all opponents are relatively, small, medium or tall. A WCD is a solitary tool to practice on, if there is no other partner to train with. It is not however to replace a sparring partner. As a person adjusts the WCD for comfort right, how can this be right? Opponents are anything other than comfortable. So much (over) practice (on a WCD) can be misleading to a student. This is why so many of them (students) can get beaten up because they loose the reality check chip. Now if a WCD was kicking me from time to time, then I would be up for getting one. Or if grappling arms on a WCD surprisingly appear to grab the back of my legs to throw me down to the ground, while doing a dummy form; that would work for me also. WCD or punching bags that are arm less and leg less also headless, can seem a little pointless from time to time. As martial artists we are all still evolving; well some of us think we are...