SevenStar

what do you define as flashy - I use head kicks in ring fights. My friend is a black belt in tkd and I've seen him land a jump spinning back kick in a street fight. ANYTHING can work - if you can make it work. I personally can't make a jump spinning kick work in a fight, but apparently, he could.

see above. if you want to fight, don't half step - fight. you can't really FIGHT with people in your gym - that's where competition comes in. sparring is a training exercise, as is bagwork. competition is where you fight. That's not to say that you can't spar hard - you should. but the mentality of that is not the same as the one present in the ring.

good is a relative term... we don't know what you're trying to accomplish - your workout out may me good for something that you aren't trying to achieve. What is your goal? However, right off the bat, I notice a lack of back, shoulder and lat work.

well... are you looking for full contaact gear or point sparring gear?

I like twins. ringside has good eqipment as well.

we used them, though not quite a bit. Granted, it wasn't pure kali (jun fan/jkd) so that could be why. They have silat integrated with it and we would knee with every takedown - if the opponent's body goes down, the knee comes up. We also did low line kicking and had it integrated with several drills. There is a kali group that trains at out club now, and I've seen them kicking as well.

yeah - they are scored like boxing now, basically.

you should definitely look into it. Let us know how it goes. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I don't disagree. My only point is that many parallels do exist. For example spiraling - sport fights spiral on some level - they use listening, following, pushing, yielding, borrowing, etc. but they don't name it like the chinese do. That doesn't mean that it isn't there on some level, just that it isn't named and classified.

as has been said, to get better at kicks, you need to kick. horse stance will not develop your roundhouse.

you guys aree comparing apples and oranges here. Body builders are in shape - but by their standards. They wouldn't last in a ring because their cardio isn't on the same level. On the other hand, the avg mma will not be as strong overall as the avg body builder - two different focuses in training.

good posts, grenadier. On the flexibility issue though, unless you are freaking huge, then that shouldn't be an issue. that myth has been disproved for ages. flexibility has never been an issue for me or a few other big guys in class.

weight will indeed help is power, so long as he's adding usable muscle mass and not fat. speed is only increasable to a certain degree. who punches faster - tyson or mayorga? who do you think punches harder? Why? excellent point about sparring though.

that still doesn't address the point of movement - that is the biggest mistake I see people make on the heavy bags - the don't move, they only strike, standing in the same spot. That reinforces bad habits. I'm a thai boxer... we're about power as well, however, you also must move - see above point about movement. we'll just have to differ on that one. sparring is ALWAYS about skill improvement. it's a training drill. competition is the battlefield. sparring is where you learn. If i want to spar and one person doesn't want to, I find another. There always seems to be at least ONE person. If they are less skilled than me, than I focus on one or two aspects that I need work on anyway and work those.

kali has kicks. and knees. they don't do any groundwork though - or at least we didn't.

perhaps - a lot of the older boxers used to punch vertical fisted - if' you're referring to wc punching. Many boxers still throw a hook punch that way. Turning the fist causes cust, however, which is part of why the fist now turns over. also, the point I was getting at wasn't that tma guys have cross trained western punching, but that on some level, it's all the same anyway. Compare your man sau to a boxing jab...

muhee tie as for the scoring, it's similar to boxing. judges watch aggressiviness, technique, etc. scoring areas are all valid international rules areas and striking surfaces are the fist, knee, feet and elbows (but elbows are rarely allowed in america). Sweeping is not allowed, but you can KICK a person's base leg to knock them down. If you catch someone's kick, you can only take two steps while holding the limb. In thailand, however, you can hold the limb and walk them until they fall. A knockdown isn't scored per se in muay thai, but it's similar to an "advantage" in tennis or in grappling - if we are tied in points, but you have knocked me down, then you would win the decision, because you have an advantage point over me.

it's cardio. check this out: http://www.educom.on.ca/ymca-ywca/2005_leadership.htm "Cardio Kickbox Certification Trainers: Jules Hilliker and Peter Douvris Prerequisite: Group Fitness Certification Cardio Kickboxing is a popular fitness activity that combines boxing, martial arts and aerobics. This course is considered essential for fitness instructors who intend to introduce cardio kickboxing elements to an existing class or create a complete kickboxing program. Designed in cooperation with the National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA, the Association of Certified Martial Artists and Douvris Martial Arts & Fitness Centres, this course emphasizes the development and recognition of proper form and techniques essential to instruct classes effectively and safely, in accordance with industry and national standards. Course fees include registration, materials, manual and exam. $150 Y members $200 participants Saturday & Sunday, June 18 & 19 9 am – 5 pm Metro Central Y "

cool - now let's look at this from a boxer's point of view. I'm moving in, using my jab - yes, one jab - so I can probe this guy - I want to feel him out and set up combinations. Also, by using said jab, I am letting him know something is coming when he tries to close the distance. Now, this isn't a point sparring match that stops when I get hit, no. When he hits me, he will KEEP coming until I fall down, or until I answer back with strikes of my own. here come his strikes - slip, slip bob/weave - throw a few punches back, jab out and disengage. Now, I have to do it again. I'm not fighting an average joe on the street - someone I can just run over fairly easily. This guy is as good as me or BETTER - and that is the key. When you are fighting someone of equal or greater skill and they are throwing hundreds of strikes at you, you WILL get hit - it can't be avoided. Here's an experiment to try though - go spar with a boxer. Go for several rounds. see how many times you get hit. even though he is used to taking those hits, he will likely hit you more than you hit him, as he's used to being punched at repeatedly and evading the incoming blows. How often does that happen? What happens when the first hit does not stun him?

that's different. nothing wrong with that. *speechless*

exactly.

I would doubt your chances of killing anyone with a strike to the temple. it CAN happen, but how likely is it, which is pretty much what I am getting at. you are trying to hit a little spot on a resisting, moving target. I am doing the same. If either land, the fight may end. If you miss my temple, the blow may or may not be enough to still knock me out. My punch to your jaw may miss its mark, but has a better chance of still rattling your brain and causing a KO. Either way though, it's a game of chances. please, don't hesitate to clarify. What is your definition, and what all do you do that is not allowed in any fighting venue?

not their game, their training. adding sparring, roadwork, groundwork, etc. Their game can remain the same.

according to a couple of other san soo guys on this forum, they don't randori at all.

on that issue, I agree with you. I don't have that desire either. You mentioned manners, however, which is different - I'm no less mannerable than I was before I started training; more aggressive, but not less mannerable. training can do that for some people. I'm known of that to happen to some southern mantis guys also.