SevenStar

it differs in strikes used as well. For example, thai boxers use the roundhouse alot. San shou guys prefer the side kick. There are several threads on the topic already - try doing a search.

pushing down on the tire, if the elbows are kept close to the body, is working the triceps - it would be akin to doing tricep pressdowns on a machine, only with less resistance, as the tire is not as heavy as the weights. As the resistance of the tire cannot be increased, the strength level you can attain is limited.

yeah, I had to read that line twice, then I thought about it.

Honor. You die defending your country - protecting your people.

TSD is less sport oriented and is more similar to japanese karate.

I see your point, but the style itself may not be set up for that. I've never been to a traditional school that offers the conditioning of a sport style, and for a reason you touched on later in your post - a fight is SUPPOSED to end quickly. agreed. Not only that, but I think alot of people misunderstand adrenaline - adrenaline does make you stronger - but it also saps all of you energy VERY fast. even for a short duration, you will tire quickly. that's not quite how it works with boxing and thai boxing. I WANT to take you out as fast as possible. The problem is that you want to do the same to me. If you are less skilled than me, then I will drop you, no waiting for openings, no nothing. But when skill levels are equal, the game changes - this is where more strategy comes into play. disagree. people who don't grapple generally tend to think this way. 1. the grappler is also adept at standing grappling - the clinch. Ideally, I want to take you down, while I remain standing. BUT 2. that may not happen. If it does, and I go to the ground, knowing about the ground will make me better able to get up to my feet more efficiently than someone who knows nothing of ground work. Using your example, two on one, I know nothing of ground work and I go down. While I am wrestling to get up, I get stomped. Or, guy 1 and I are on the ground. I bring him into my guard and control him, holding him close and keeping my head tucked. He is now acting as a shield between me and his buddy. when the opportunity presents itself, I sweep him out of my guard and quickly get back to my feet. Or, perhaps I am able to shrimp out of whatever position he has me in quickly enough to get to my feet safely before his buddy gets to me. nah, it was a good post!

only to a point. the body has physical limitataions that the mind has no control of, hence the need to be in shape. your mind may tell your body to move faster, work harder, etc. but if you are not conditioned to do it, it will not happen. coincidentally, I was in the gym today on my lunch break and a freind of mine was there. This man is 68 and can bench press 275. Today he made the following comment: "I'm getting old. My mind is telling me that I can lift this weight easily, but my body just can't do it; it can't keep up anymore." I think that pretty much said it all.

doesn't matter. where are all of these masters who can fight with it? there arne't many? wonder why? I think the whole "qi cultivation" concept has gotten out of hand, but that is a different discussion. As for wing chun, same thing applies. There are SO MANY people who can't actually fight with it - we actually have discussions about it all the time on another forum I post on. WC guys are pointing out flaws and reasons to why so many people can't fight with it... interesting stuff.

he only asked how much training is necessary to make good progression. he can do that on three days per week. Naturally, ou want to do as much as you can, but that's not really what he was asking...

that's really not true. that can happen regardless of whether or not you punch with gloves. I've seen someone who trains iron palm break his hand while punching. conversely, I wear gloves (most of the time) and have never broken my hands without them. Another thing to consider is the power that mike tyson has. He's taking all of that power and jamming it into a person's skull. chances are, even with iron palm training, he would've broken his hand. boxers wear padding because of the nature of the sport - palms are not allowed, only fists. Their stirkes may be aimed at the jaw, nose, cheek, etc - softer spots, however, there is head movement, resistance, etc. so it's highly likely that the skull will be hit. If they dind't wear padding, you would see ALOT of broken hands in boxing.

the best thing you can do is empty your cup. You are now in a new school - learn it their way. once you've reached a certain level, you may be able to combine what you have learned, but for now, listen to all of their corrections. Once again being a beginner is nothing to be ashamed of - in the long run, you will be better off. As someone else mentioned, at least they ARE correcting you. that's a good sign for various reasons. Keep your head up and keep training!

That is true to some extent. However modern top boxing coaches are now against too much aerobic running and cut it back and add in anaerobic running, such as included jumps, obstacles etc as well as sprinting. Here is an excellent article on running and boxing: "You'd Better Do Your Roadwork" http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym1.htm "Running and bag work will not prepare your body for the vigors associated with a grueling fight. What a running program WILL do however, is enhance your ability to sustain more intense sparring sessions. If you take a boxer who goes to the gym every day but never runs, and match him against an evenly skilled fighter who does his roadwork religiously, I'm willing to bet that at least 9 out of 10 times, the winner will be the boxer who has been running" I was getting ready to post about that. How much running you should do is under debate in the fight world. I definitely wouldn't recommend 5 miles per day - maybe three at the most. Anyway, good article.

I don't think that that is the goal of ALL martial arts, actually. I think that is the goal of the MA that were heavily influenced by some sort of religion - like shaolin. I don't think the pre-shaolin styles had that goal. There is no spiritual aspect to shuai chiao, for example. what about savate? pankration?

because of it's track record. muay thai is a fighting sport that's been successful both in and out of it's own venue. you can't really say the same about alot of other styles, as many don't have such well established competition records, only alot of hearsay. I disagree. It is your style's fault. part of the reason that bjj, wrestling, thai boxing, boxing, judo, etc. have the respect that they have is because of the training they offer - they get you in fighting shape. If a style does not do that, then IMO, that style is flawed.

a few things to consider: 1. what you are looking to get out of a style. 2. the quality of the school. 3. the environment you are looking for. Visit each school, ask questions, participate, etc. make your decision based upon that. I personally would lean toward thai boxing, but then if I visited the school and the quality of the training was poor, I'd look elsehwere.

you do know that alot of the qi demos you see on tv are parlor tricks, right? Matter of factly, there was a challenged issued a few years ago - A well known internalist was supposed to prove how qi could be physically manifested and used - he failed the test. As far as having huge muscles goes, that is a preference of the lifter. it's possible to push heavy weights without gaining significant size.

I haven't read this whole thread yet, but I have a hurley stretch rack. I've never had any problems with it. However, they can be pricey. I only bought it because I got a good deal on it. If you've got money to blow, sure, you can get one. If not, don't worry, as they are not necessary - just stick with your normal stretching routine.

I'm gonna go against the grain - body definitely matters. Mind tells the body what to do, yes. But here's the rub: if the body isn't well conditioned enough to do what the mind tells it, then you will not be able to do it efficiently/effectively.

which would eventually happen. Also, economically speaking, a 100lb vest is a waste compared with free weights. Also, I'm betting that the one arm variation is more of a tricep exercise than a chest exercise, which isn't what the poster was looking for. there is no way around it - trying to use calesthenic exercises to gain size is completely inefficient.

good post.

I agree with that, but a person evolves (both physically and mentally) during its life, and what can be good today may be not longer good tomorrow... and this for several reason, when you are not longer at the edge of your physical capabilities you may ( I use the word "may" and not the word " should") look for something which have more aspetcs then just the physical aspect. This is what I mean by "richer". I understand what you mean - by saying that, I was saying that it has no place in my life. I'm of the oppinion that MA are just that - martial arts. for philosophy, I have books, school, etc. I go to church at least once a week - my spitiruality. I think those are to be kept separate from the martial arts.

ANYTHING can be cross trained. whether or not an individual is ready for it, however, is a different issue. matter of fact, there is discussion on another forum I post on about the benefits of combining wc/wt and boxing. Some share your oppinion, but others think it's very valuable. several of them have done / are doing it.

no, it's not. when you're a teacher, it helps you more easily determine who knows what - especially if you have people that only show up sporadically. Instead of having to remember who all has learned what techniques and principles (assuming you have a combined class, since the number is so small) then you can look at their rank and not have to think about it. Also, visitors to the school want to know who to watch. They are naturally more forgiving of a beginner than of a senior. Also, it's motivational. It's no secret that in this day and age, people tend to want some type of gratification for things they do. ranking is a way to provide this. On a wider scale, if the ranking system is standard for the style, then if you visit another school, the instructor has some idea of what you know, how to pair you up, etc. For example, in my thai classes, we don't use rank. If I go to another school, they really don't know what I know, so if I'm their to train, they have to guess what to show me. In judo, I am a 3rd degree brown. judo ranking is fairly standard, so I can go to any school in the country and they will have some idea of what I know, and consequently what I have / have not learned.

that statement would lead one to think that you don't understand the usefulness of ranking systems...

sounds like what we call a medicine ball. If so, I am a fan of those.