SevenStar

jabs are kind of a funny thing - some people have a stiff jab, others don't. I am heavy handed and have a hard jab. The good news it that it really doesn't have to be hard - the jab is mainly a probing tool - you use it to feel your opponent out, set distance, set up other strikes, etc. rely on your power shots to do the knocking out.

If you don't mind taking a ride to the south side, check out miguel torres. I'll ask around about the north side.

no, not kenpo. Triangulation is merely angling the strike downward upon impact, adding a little extra "oomph" into the strike. It can be done with most strikes, not just the hands. Ever see how some thai boxers angle their leg kicks down just after impact? that cutting in of the kick is where triangulation comes in. triangulation is one of the seven steps involved in power generation in thai boxing.

I wouldn't say it was about point scoring, otherwise you would not see knockouts. It's more about safety - more padding, less dangerous strikes... point sparring is non-contact. american kickboxing definitely involves good contact, but the safety level is higher.

the forum doesn't know/care what belt you are - it's based on posts. This was your first post, so you are a forum white belt. vito - have a training partner drop a medicine ball on your stomach as you are in the exhaling phase of a crunch. Do this for 5 mins. throw the medicine ball at eachother. Don't just outright catch it though - let it hit you first and catch it as it begins to bounce off. spar.

don't worry about it - you don't have a fight in a month, you are only beginning training in a month. The class will get you in shape. I have met WAY too many people who say "I wanna come train with you guys, but I have to get in shape first" - no you don't - the class will take care of that for you. Just show up. Anyway, that's enough of my rant. your biggest problem will likely be conditioning - start roadwork - runnig 2.5 - 3 miles per day. you can also do various calesthenics - pushups, lots of ab work, lunges, frgo hops, etc.

there is a natrual style - I believe it's called tzu jan men - I'll check. I don't think what's been posted about it here so far has been accutrate either - I'll check on that too

it's called dog boxing. There are a few bits and pieces of info about it on the net, but not many.

muay thai vs kickboxing MT allows knees. Not all sanctions allow elbows. And of those that do, they are usually to the body and not to the head. These are called modified thai rules. in thailand, elbows are allowed fully. kickboxing will allow leg kicks if you fight under international rules. If you fight american rules, it must be above the waist. in international and american, clinching is not allowed and will result in a break. kick catches are allowed in MT and in international, but, with international if you catch the leg, you must drop it immediately. In modified thai, you can take three steps forward (in an attempt to trip him) before you must release the leg. In thailand, there is no limit - you can push him all the way across the ring if you want to. you generally see a wider variety of kicks in kickboxing. thai fighters tend to stick with the teep and roundhouse. The next most used is probably the back kick. real thai punching involves angling the punches downward upon impact, adding a triangulation effect. This isn't seen in all gyms, however. thaiboxers don't bob and weave as much as kickboxers or boxers - they don't want to mistakenly run into a knee.

there are more subtle diferences than those. kicks, for example - SS guys tend to prefer sidekicks, whereas MT guys prefer roundhouse kicks - it's purely tactical as to why.

[quote name="Drunken Monkey in the u.k' date=' san shou isn't that big. could be cos of the big time kick-boxing/muay thai gyms in central london. what's it like over in your part of the woods?[/quote] It's not big here either, but it is growing. It's not only trained as a side activity at cma schools only, however, it is taught that way. There are several schools that focus only on san shou.

"The West-Wind student is trained in every aspect of unarmed combat known to mankind; karatedo, kung-fu, jujitsu and boxing all share an integral part of the West-Wind curriculum" that came from the west wind site... based on that, I'd say that this guy isn't teaching bak fu pai at all, but some hybrid mess that he created.

I have an issue of karate/kung fu illustrated from 1986 that I picked up in a old mags section of a local MA store - it's got a bok fu pai write up with a master of the style - I man named doo wai.

sounds like you have never blocked a shin kick to the leg with your shin vito's right - kicking a tree is dumb...all you need is a good heavy bag. The thais got away with it because the bark of a bananna tree is soft...

in which direction are you losing your balance?

not really. not from the outside. you can move with it and bend the knee - that's just how the knee works. how often do you hear about damage to the knee from a roundhouse to the outside? you don't. Because you do more damage by hitting it straight on or from the inside. Now, a roundhouse to the inside? sure it can be devastating. I got my meniscus injured from one.

go for it. find a good gym - There are three bjj black belts sacremento - Mario Cerezo, david terry and and cassio werneck. Check them out. find a good striking school too, and you will be set. give yourself time, and then begin competing in local events.

not really. it depends on technique. a roundhouse to the outside of the knee won't do too much damage at all. However, a roundhouse to the inside of the knee can. A front stomp or a side kick directly to the front of the knee can do damage, provided the knee is not bent too much. When using the side kick or front stomp, however, you have to consider target size, as that's a small target to aim for and is pretty easy to miss. with the roundhouse, you are working with more area, as even if your aim is off, you may still do damage via hitting the calf or the sciatic. my two main leg targets are the inside of the knee and the sciatic.

first question - what is your goal? We really can't tell you too much about your program if we don't know what you're trying to achieve.

think about the mouth - fish hooking... it's actually quite painful.

There are schools that teach san shou only and would disagree with that statement.

SS is nothing like muay thai. Different strategies, different tactics, etc. The only real resemblence is that it's full contact and in a ring.

Who do you train bjj under? most bjj schools don't have yellow belt, only white, blue, purple, brown and black.

I've always wondered about this one... alot of traditional artists make that claim, but they are actually more of a jack of all trades than we are. I spend all of my time doing two things - grappling and striking. TMA are doing striking, forms, weapons, throws, iron body (our conditioning is a byproduct of the training) your one style comprises of so much that you still fall under the "jack of all trades" label, IMO.