SevenStar

At my school, the main coach, a purple belt, also trains muay thai, so when he teaches a self defense technique against a strike, we are doing it against a properly done strike, as opposed to the many striking schools that show defenses against a "double leg" that is attrocious because the teacher has never learned the proper way to do one. It actually does matter, because the situation, defense, etc. is different. As for being subjected to learning the strikes - no, we're not. It's a grappling system. If it's an nhb session, then yeah, we'll go over strikes while on the ground and such, but the grappling itself and the self defenses do not rely on strikes. In the example you gave, I would lower my level and shoot in. From there, I have several takedown options.

a heavy bag would definitely do him some good, however, he may not have an area to hang one. There are some things you may or may not need for the class - things you should own anyway, IMO, regardless of whether or not the school has them: jump rope gloves thai pads focus mitts head gear things you will eventually HAVE to get: mouthpiece cup If I was limited to $100 and had to get some things now, I'd get gloves mouthpiece jump rope cup I make it a must to have my own gloves - I air them out and clean them. Too many sweaty hands have been in the gloves at the school, and they don't get aired out. Consequently, they smell like buttcrack.

see above.

For the record, Bozteppe has backed away from a few challenges...

fixed it. And by telling you that I fixed it, I upped my post count also.

My bad!!! I usually don't make mistakes like that when I am bolding. I post that way because it's easier (IMO) for people to keep up with my responses to multiple points if I post right under them.

you. When I look at your posts, it now says 607.

evaluate yourself - you said you are the weakest. Why? Is your defense bad? Are you too slow? Identify the holes in your game. After that, think of a plan to fix them, one at a time.

dude... how did you get 585 posts in one week??!??!

There hasn't really been a resurgence of it, IMO. Back then, it was japanese jujutsu. It's brazilian jiu-jitsu that began to gain popularity in the 90's. The two are quite different. As for the term "fad", it's relative. The fad these days isn't jiujitsu - it's combat. collectively, the "fad" is MMA venues - UFC, Pride, etc. It just so happens that bjj and muay thai are the two most commonly seen styles in these venues - byproducts of the fad. If I had to make a timeline of fads, it would be similar to yours, but I would remove jkd - just lump it in with kung fu. A fad in my eyes is something that the majority of the people are flocking to. jkd didn't have that, only MA were flocking to it. If you ask the avg oe, they were like, "jeet what?" but they knew what kung fu was and who bruce lee was. jkd was a semi fad of sorts. In the 80's everyone wanted to be a ninja - I would put ninjutsu before tkd instead of after it.

Guess it's time for someone to be different. I pick grappling, even though I am primarily a striker. Contrary to angela, I've seen several fights go to the ground. Now, some things to consider: 1. most people who are untrained are poor strikers. Between movement and keeping your guard up, I put my odds on the grappler taking the untrained fighter down before the untrained guy manages to land something solid. 2. This is something that people tend to overlook - the term grappling does not imply groundwork. I am a judoka before a bjj exponent - I like to throw and sweep. Even though not all fights go to the ground, many of them end up in at least a clinch, and all of them are in such close proximity that I can initiate a clinch. From there, I can throw, sweep, etc. Also, by having that contact with him, I know where he is and can control him - in the case of a multiple attacker scenario, I may be able to control him enough to keep him between myself and the other attackers. I may not have that luxury from striking distance. 3. the possibility that you do get taken down. So let's say the impossible happens - you end up on the ground. Now what? with grappling, I know how to get up quickly and efficiently if I want to. A striker does not have that luxury. That skill alone will prove invaluable in multiple attacker situations. 4. tactics - If I am standing against a striker, I can cover when strikes come in. Also, since we are standing, I have free range of motion, unless I'm cornered. All things considered, we are on equal ground. You have all of your limbs and so do I. You have a chance to run and so do I. Even though you are the striker, I have a chance of landing that lucky shot that knocks you out. On the ground, the odds are in the grappler's favor - no equal ground there.If I have you controlled, you can't move. It's a lot easier to land a lucky punch than it is to land a lucky arm break, choke, secure pin, etc. 5. environmental factors - crap happens - it's murphy's law and a fact of life. people love to bring up the "glass on the ground" argument. you have similar hazards while standing - you're in a bar and there is broken glass on the floor. You're in a bar, remember, so that glass had to have some liquid in it. You slip and fall. Crap happens. We are in the same bar, and you are backpedalling and trip over a bar stool. Crap happens. That same bar has a nice wall that I think would be even prettier if it had your blood on it, so I slam it into said wall repeatedly. Crap happens. You can't control the environmental factors involved, regardless of whether you are striking or grappling. 6. weapons - we all hate to deal with these. But, as I said, crap happens. If I am facing someone with a knife and have no choice but to fight, I WANT to be close to him - as close as possible. If I am close to him, I have a chance to control him. If there is space between us, I can't control the weapon hand an am more likely to get cut. In the case of blunt weapons, I still want to be as close as possible. weapons like that require space to build enough power to produce a damaging strike. The closer I am, the less power he can produce with the weapon. Grappling offers alot of benefits in a street confrontation - maybe more than many people realize.

True. However, that's really know different from the styles (typically CMA) with unverifiable stories, like their styles founder was undefeated in over 300 challenge matches. It all equates to notoriety, which in turn brings more money.

That will vary from instructor to instructor. The marines have a program called MACMAP that has a loose outline, but varies depending on the instructor. My frient was learning basic chin na, basic bjj and some basic striking as well.

Not with shoes on. Besides, one my instructors could kick through material with his toes!!!!! Its all in conditioning (same as Chi demos) shoes are like padding, unless you are wearing steel toes. a shin is harder. Also, it depends on the shoes. If you have on thin dress shoes, for example, it will still hurt ifyou kick an elbow. toe conditioning was a common thing in okinawan MA and also in various other MA. I wouldn't advise it though. It takes alot of conditioning to be able to toe kick with effectiveness. More conditioning than probably 95% of MA endure, and for what? I can thrust kick with the heel or ball of my foot - don't need to use my toe, and there is less change of breaking something.

I agree - not one is best as far as styles go. like I said - it's the training methods. not the person or style.

right on.

disagree. Pronunciation: 'mär-sh&l Function: adjective 1 : of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior 2 : relating to an army or to military life 3 : experienced in or inclined to war : WARLIKE Actually, IMO, most of the sport styles today fit this term more than traditional styles. Sure, back in the day, many used MA on the battlefields. How many do now? There really aren't any warriors anymore - other than those that are in war, and they are using guns, not MA. The closest to the ever-fighting warrior moniker these days are sport fighters who are training for a fight. TMA today train for a possibility; sport fighters train for an inevitability.

you really need to check out some classes first - you may miss the 5 week session, but that's better than being scammed. not all schools are created equal. You should visit each and find which is best for you.

anything can counter anything. the key is to train not getting taken down. for example, by crosstraining with grapplers and learning how to sprawl, you now know the best method to defend a double leg. Now, from the sprawled position, can you knee him? If you circle around him as you sprawl, are you able to follow with strikes, etc.