mkdaggy

Welcome!

Beautiful techniques! Also loved his early leg kicks which totally shut down Ward's foot work.

I have been working hard over the last year to improve my flexibility, spending at least 20 minutes six days per week stretching on judo mats in my basement. My goal is to get my side kick higher for kata. While I am no where near doing a full split, I have improved greatly. I've pretty much been doing a general stretching routine and add three sets of side split holds for a minute or so. In addition, I have continued to lift weights - something I started when I was about 13 years old. My main lifts are bench press, front squats, weighted pull ups, and standing military press. I usually weight train 3-4 days per week, stretch 6 days per week, and get to the dojo at least 3 days...plus 5 or 6 days of meditation for 20 minutes or so. Trying to keep things as holistic as possible. I do not feel my weight training is hampering my flexibility at all. Also, I believe the stretching is having a positive impact on my strength training, so I'm going to stick to my current plan, although I will continue to tinker to keep the muscles guessing.

Congrats!

Awesome! Thanks for posting that. I checked out her YouTube page and watched a few of her fights. She is a warrior!

In my experience, it depends on the gym and those training in it. I would suggest watching how the regulars spar and asking them. I would usually spar with anyone but mainly those who were preparing for a fight, as they wanted to get work in and weren't throwing every punch with knock out intentions. It wasn't "powderpuffing" and it wasn't 100% all of the time. If someone went in and tried knocking people out, they would usually be labeled and people would either avoid them or give them a beating. My approach was to be respectful to all I worked with and I never had any issues and got plenty of great sparring in. If I hurt someone I would back off and make sure they were ok to continue. Again, it really depends on the gym and who you are training with. One thing I noticed was that newer guys would sometimes start out going very hard and then gass in the second round. And guess what, they would then get what they dished out and more. Ask those at the gym and be respectful and humble and you should be fine...all things considered.

Me too! They did a great job with him in Daredevil. Should be a good season!

Absolutely, when Macaruso was training for his come back fight he brought in a Mauy Thai trainer. He knew the game was changing. Also, the shin was padded in American Kickboxing. I know when I fought I had the one piece shin and boot pads that Macho use to sell...they were decent but tended to rip at the base of the shin/top of the instep. I have great respect for the fighters who crossed over to Mauy Thai, such as Rick Roufus. That takes a lot of hard work!

I would recommend watching a few of Jean Yves "The Ice Man" Theriault's fights. Most of his fights took place in the 80's and early 90's. My personal opinion is that his boxing skills, along with extremely powerful lead leg (he fought orthodox) kicks, which he threw mainly roundhouse and front kicks, set him apart from the competition. If you watch his fights, you will notice he also worked the body a ton...liver shots like Bas Rutten. American Kickboxing evolved over the years (again, I'm talking 70s through 90s), and many of the successful fighters moved away from the bladed stance often seen in earlier years. I had the opportunity to spar with Dan Macaruso back in '95 for his come back fight. I had watched some of his earlier fights (on VHS tapes) and expected to see the bladed stance and more lead leg side kicks. Instead, he really worked his hands and changed his stance and footwork, similar to how Theriault fought. Like most things, if one aims to be successful they must learn to evolve. Duke Roufus had made some statements back in the day about leg kicking, and how it didn't take much technique. Today he is one of the top trainers specializing in leg kicks...change is inevitalbe, and he was smart enough to recognize it. I miss watching the old PKA and ISKA fights, but have grown to love watching Mauy Thai, and MMA. I still hunt around for American Kickboxing rules figthts, but they are few and far between, and usually on the undercard of local Mauy Thai and/or MMA figths.

Many thanks all!

I have had some experience over the last decade with the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program which was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the UMASS Medical Center in Worcester, MA back in the late 70's. If you are looking for a book you could pick up Full Catastrophe Living, which Zinn wrote. It takes quite a commitment to follow as the recommendation is to practice meditation formally for 40 - 60 minutes a day, six days per week. There was a Bill Moyers special on mindfulness back in the early 90's which you can still find on youtube, it's called Healing from Within...very informative. The focus of MBSR is insight meditation (focusing on the present moment experience, such as the breath, sounds, physical sensations, or even thoughts (just not getting caught up in the thinking). I haven't followed the MBSR program for a couple of years, and just meditate for 20 minutes most days. As others have stated, there are so many ways one can practice meditation, not just seated, or laying down. My meditation has assisted my karate practice in a number of ways, from better attention, quieting my inner critic, and becoming more attuned to my body. My wife says it makes my less reactive (agitated)! There are a ton of resources on-line. Good luck on your journey!

Hi all, I have been lurking since March, and finally decided to introduce myself. I began training in martial arts (TKD) when I was a teenager in the early 80's. In college I was able to start training in Shotokan with a friend from school who was on the USA Junior team. I enjoyed competing in traditional tournaments in both kumite and kata, and attained 1st Kyu rank in the early 90's. I had always loved watching PKA kickboxing on ESPN, and decided to give kickboxing a try. Unfortunately, I stopped my training in Shotokan to pursue kickboxing more aggressively. During the mid '90s I fought 6 amateur kickboxing fights and a couple of boxing exhibitions. My last fight was at the Hampton Beach Casino in October 1995 where I scored a third round TKO, after being dropped in the first round - and getting a pretty cool looking black eye. I had hopes of fighting for an amateur title, but twice the fight was cancelled, and I decided to give up my kickboxing goal of becoming a professional. I started weight training consistently after my wife and I bought a house in '99, and dabbled in judo, BJJ, Uechi Ryu, and Tai Chi for about a year with each style. A little over a year ago I decided to return to Shotokan. Although my first Sensei was no longer teaching, his Sensei was, and he remembered me, as we tested with him. I have been training hard, went back into competing in Kumite and Kata, and even did weapons (Bo) in one competition. Although I often wish I had never stopped training in Shotokan, I know I can only move forward. In my 20's I wanted to do so many different things, now closing in on 50 I feel my Shotokan training has become one of the most important aspects of my life, and I am so happy to be back in the dojo. Thanks for reading! Mark