Sasori_Te

To be honest I've had a serious dislike of the guy since his first UFC appearance. I can't remember the other pretty boy's name that he fought. I do remember that they had an agreement not to pull each other's hair. *L* I will not comment on this thread further unless it directly relates to the original intent of the thread. Sorry about the side line conversation Variance.

Sorry in advance. The timing for this technique looks as if it may have been lost in translation. I was trying to keep it simple. *L*

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of this Indian art? I'm looking for insights that I can't find on the web. Not to mention, there isn't a great amount of useful information that I can find there anyway. It seems as though this style may have been the forbearer of Chinese martial systems. This may have been the art that Da Mao brought from India. Any help in my research would be wonderful. Thank you.

Also, try looking at it in a little different light. This could have come up after you got married. Believe me, better now than later. It's still tough, but you'll get through it. Give her the space she wants. I wouldn't get into the habit of taking her out when she feels like it. That puts you in a worse position than you're in now if it still doesn't work out. Keep your dignity and your distance and enjoy your other friends. Good luck to you.

By all means do what you need to do to keep from becoming burnt out. Good luck.

Thanks. I'll check them out.

I like that analogy White Warlock. I'll use that next time it comes up if you don't mind. Very nice post.

Can I change my position? *LOL*

I think we all know where I stand here, so I won't inflame the situation further. If you want to compete and pay top dollar doing it, I'm sure Guy Mezger and his crew would be happy to accomodate you.

Thank you for your replies. I agree with you all. I've found that organizations are too limiting for me. Fortunately for me, I met some quality folks in the martial arts arena when I lived in Phoenix and I still keep in contact with them. If I need a seminar instructor or just some friendly advice, either is usually only a phone call away. Like you Andrew Green, I refuse to pay someone else tell me what to teach and what my standards should be. Not to mention that most big organizations have way too much internal conflict for my personal taste.

The JPS style works. Jogging, push-ups and sit-ups ......

If you would, please name a kata technique and your favored oyo that you derive from it. I'll give you one of my variations on a Taika Oyata special from Pinan Nidan: 1) Pivot left into a cat stance. Simultaneously the left hand parries a right straight punch to your right and at a slight downward angle as the left arm and hand come across the front of the body and strike the elbow crease to fold the elbow. 2) With the left hand continue pressing the opponents right hand down, rolling the left wrist around the opponents wrist and reaching through to peform a one arm shoulder crank bending the opponent over at the waist. 3) Step into a left forward stance pushing the opponent forward and off balance further interrupting the balance by pressing with the left knee into the opponents stance. 4) Strike to GB 20 at the base of the skull behind the ear with a right reverse strike. Following through the punch, reach across with your right hand and grab the opponents clothing or using the left arm pit for leverage. 5) Pivot into a horse stance from the left forward stance driving the opponent down into the ground at your feet. You then have the option of dropping across the opponent's neck with a knee or throwing another strike, or both if you feel it's necessary. The End

It looked very nice. All the techniques nice and crisp. However, even for elementary bunkai I don't think it was very good. They completely ignored the base footwork and the off-balance techniques that were practically begging to be used. Again, very nice to watch, but not practical from a self defense standpoint.

To be totally honest the foot work screwed me up the most. You don't know how well you know something until you try to override it and do something else. I looked like I was just learning to walk. I never really thought about the easiest thing. I'll get back to you.

Thanks Andrew Green. That is an excellent website!

I don't know if I agree with the over half part, but I get what you're saying. i tend to agree with you for the most part. I was having this argument with one of my students one day. He was an excellent striker. He was a bit slight so he tended to ignore his groundwork since this was his worst facet. I told him it was a bit like building a house. You might be an excellent carpenter and have a really sturdy roof and frame. However a roof and frame do not a house make. I said unless you have the tools and the knowledge to build the rest of the house you're still going to be out in the cold. So I suggested that he find as many tools as he could and learn how to use them as well as he can. If I couldn't teach him then I could recommend someone that could. Striking and grappling are just two different methods needed to build a good solid martial arts dwelling. They each have their own sets of tools. A little cheezy I know but it's still a good analogy.

I agree with Tal on his last point. I don't think anyone wants to get angry. However it does happen occasionally. When it does you need to know how to handle it instead of ignoring it.

Mezger is a former UFC competitor trading on his 15 minutes of fame. I don't know much about the Machado school except that it's another flavor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Do you want to compete or do you want a well rounded art for knowledge and self defense? You said, " I'm not picky as long as the instructors are good." The term good means different things to different people. I don't know what you know about the arts or what you think good is. I do know that Taika Seiyu Oyata is a well respected martial artist and a practitioner of One of the most well-rounded traditional Okinawan styles that I have ever seen. I don't believe that I've ever heard anyone speak ill of him or his skill. His personal students tend to be VERY skillful as well. I was fortunate enough to train with one of them.

I had a BB come to my class once upon a time. He was a sandan in "Sho'in Ruin". At which time I asked if he meant Shorin Ryu and he replied 'Yes, that's it." "It's been awhile" he said. So He and I had a nice conversation about the martial arts and some techniques in "Sho'in Ruin" that a sandan should know. Heck, the questions I asked a yellow belt should have known. He, however, did not know. I explained to him that since it had obviously been a long while since he studied that he would need to wear a white belt until I could evaluate his skills. I never saw the guy again. Oh, and did I mention that his breath smelled of stale beer?

There is no such thing as "most self defense situations". There is no cookie cutter self defense situation in which the opponent A does technique B, so Defender C does technique D to counter. This doesn't exist except in some poorly taught martial arts classes. In reality you have action and reaction. The question is do you have the knowledge and skill to give the proper reaction, whatever it may be?

My point is you need a better base to have the balance and timing to perform these techniques effectively. What I meant by your hips telegraphing your intentions is this. Look at your video carefully. You'll notice that before you execute your kicking techniques your hips twitch away from the technique. Your body uses this motion to power your techniques because you don't know how to generate power properly yet. Don't feel bad. Lots of folks do this. An experience martial artist can spot these little slips and the upcoming technique a mile away. Ask your instructor to observe this and he should be able to tell you more.

If you're using sparring to enhance your techniques, you also have to start getting a feel for whether or not a technique your opponent lands would have a major effect on you if it had been a real situation. Just because you get hit doesn't mean your dead. Remember, the real world is not a game of tag, nor is it an action movie.

Maybe you also need to clarify what you mean by a good school. Do you want a good school to learn a "traditional" style, or do you want a high profile school that will make you look good doing the techniques and possibly get you in some NHB competitions?

I'm not sure that I would label things exactly the way Tal did. There is anger which you can use to focus on a given situation. There is blind rage which can't be controlled, and which will cause you to completely lose your head and do something stupid. Knowing how you tend to react, as well as knowing the warning signs of when this reaction is taking place can help you to overcome blind rage and help you to control and use your anger more constructively.

Try this guy. He's directly affiliated with Taika Oyata. The style is excellent. I can't vouch for the instructor though. He is a member of the Oyata Shin Shu Ho family style as well. This is an honor given to Sensei Oyata's long time students. *Dallas Area RyuTeKan* Jim Bryant 3200 Norwood Dr. Arlington, Tx. 76010 817-784-1853 Dallas Area Ryukyu Kempo e-mail: ryute@excite.com