Sasori_Te

How about using your foot to hook his heel, or better yet, wrapping his leg with yours as you off-balance. That way he has less of a chance to see it coming. You also have more leverage from up top if you immobilize the his leg with yours. It's an old technique but it works. If done correctly you land with your forearm neatly across the opponents throat. I can't remember the jujutsu name for the technique though. I'm sure someone here can refressh my memory.

I was thinking of it more from a control standpoint. To be more exact, if you strike someone to hard during an assault instigated by the other party and they die, that could be (could be) construed as accidental. Whereas if you choke them and they die you might be seen as having had more control over the situation. I know a lot of it would depend on what led up to the fatal incident but I'm isolating the incident for the sake of our discussion here. Also, to be more clear, I'm talking about 1 or 2 strikes in an incident vs. a choke. I'm not saying that you're wrong, I'm just saying that I'd like to get a legal opinion on this.

I guess we need to define physical fitness for the sake of this thread. I define physical fitness in a martial trining program by whether or not a person can make it through an entire training session without becoming so winded that they can't continue. I also think that a person should be capable of performing all activities in the class at an acceptable level (up to the instructor). I know this is ambiguous as different arts have different levels of acceptibility not to mention people with physical limitations. Also, a physically fit person's health should not be at risk in class. I know this sounds obvious, but there are a lot of folks running around out there that think they are fit and have health problems that are undiagnosed.

I remember seeing this same behavior in the first tournament that I went to in the early 90's. It was in New Orleans at the USKA World Championships. A guy from The Blue Lions Karate Academy(a very flashy style) was fighting another guy from a more traditional school. The Blue Lion guy hit the other guy and knocked him out of the ring. He got called for excessive contact but by the way he was jumping around and the Blue Lion crowd was cheering for him you'd think he just one the match. The guy that got knocked down just shook it off, shook his head as if to say, "yeah, alright if that's the way you want to play.". He came back into the ring and the match continued. Immediately the guy that got knocked out of the ring faked and put a BIG hammerfist right on the Blue Lion guy's forehead. KO and the other guy was disqualified for excessive contact. He bowed politely to the judge and left the ring. I guess he wasn't one to stand for lack of humility either.

Well, I figured that I would post on my own topic for my all important blackbelt award. Funny I don't feel any different...Hmmm. Maybe now I have super *'ing powers.

I'm going to say that since she was going away to college that you guys are both around 18-19? You both have a lot of growing and maturing left to do. It sounds like to me she knows this and wants to go out and explore and live life a little. At least she was up front with you about it. She could have just done it behind your back. You need to respect her wishes and learn to get on with your life as well. It isn't easy. As for being sex buddies I wouldn't suggest it. It's not emotionally fair to either one of you. Good luck with this situation. I know it's tough.

Sounds like this guy made some mistakes in his past (haven't we all)(maybe not the same ones) and learned from them. Glad to hear that you came around. Living like that will get you put in your place one day, maybe permanently.

After a recent experience I find it helpful to ask an instructor why they do a particular movement if it's very different than the way I originally learned it. I was at a local school not too many months ago and asked the instructor what a particular movement was for. He told me that this was the way he was taught to do it and that's the way he teaches his students to do it. i haven't been back to that particular school. It never hurts to ask if you do it correctly.

Personally I'm surprised that they had good sense enough to use head gear or gloves. When I was younger and living way down South, things like this went on at parties after the tough guys got all liquored up. I don't recall seeing any pads though.

I'm going to agree with everyone else. They may not be the cheapest, but I believe you get what you pay for. Fairtex gear is very good.

Definitely an uppercut bag. Century makes one and so does Everlast.

Perhaps we were being harsh, but I think it was due more to the content of the original post combined with his age and not his age alone. There are plenty of younger people that come to this forum that don't draw these kinds of comments. Why do you think that is? This question is for WhiteWarlock and tommarker.

Kotekite and blindfolding the defender during self defense training. I also do blindfolds during kata sometimes. It internalizes your sense of balance more and allows you to become more sensitive to your surroundings. IMO anyway.

I'm simply asking, is the risk worth the reward? You've brought up some interesting points that I need to research. I'm wondering from a legal standpoint which would be looked upon in a harsher light: someone dying from a blow to the head during an altercation or someone dying from complications from a choke hold. At this moment without further information I would say the choke hold because it would look like you had more control over the situation than simply striking someone coming at you. I want to try and check with a judge and/ or some cops and get back to you on that. Ideally I'd like to ask a judge. I'll let you know. Hmmm.

Yes it was. So was the meridian system. This is not surprising since the Daoists were the men of science of their day. Why do you ask 47mm? Also, before we get into a big conversation, I know that Daoism is a "religion".

Congratulations on your first successful test and good luck with many more. I don't really remember my first test. I certainly remember my Shodan test though. * hours worth of blood sweat and tears. Afterwards I felt like a dish rag that had been run over by a garbage truck. It's a bit like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. It's not a whole lot of fun while it's going on but it sure feels good when you're done.

Excellent post ShorinryuSensei. I couldn't agree more. That's what I told my students as well. I would also like to ad a fact that I discovered the hard way. Just because someone appears to be fat and out of shape doesn't mean that they are. The first tournament that I fought in was the USKA World Championships back in 1992 I believe. After looking at the competition for kumite I decided to compete in the men's heavyweight division as I was right on the border at like 174. I figured by looking at these guys that they were fat and out of shape and I could take them with my superior speed and technique . Anyway, my first match was with a short, fat guy from Brazil who belonged to some Chinese style or other. I got set in my stance and the referee called hajime and I will NEVER forget when this little short, fat guy jumped up, what looked to be 5 feet in the air, and across into my space and kicked me cleanly through my guard. That was the beginning of a very short fight. I learned several lessons from that match that have served me well over the years. The lesson that applies best to this post is that fat doesn't necessarily mean that someone isn't fit.

As foreveryoung said, talk to your tkd instructor after class and see what he says. If his answer doesn't impress you either suck it up and carry on with your training or move on and study the one art. Remember, not all instructors are created equally. You'll get a feel for his quality by the way he answers your question.

Way back in 1993 when I was testing for my yonkyu, which happened to be blue at my school, my instructor asked to see some different upper level techniques that I was not expecting. After my test was over, instead of being awarded my blue belt, I was awarded my sankyu instead. I would like to make it perfectly clear that I was not expecting this, nor would I ever presume to ask an instructor if I could double test. However, rank doesn't mean much to me anyway. I would ask you this. Why do you want to double test? Ask yourself this question and see what you can come up with.

You need a good instructor that understands and competently teaches b and also encourages c. Your martial art will never be "your own" until you can effectively adapt the techniques to you.

How much of a factor is physical fitness to successfully learning and practicing the martial arts. I'm curious to get everyone's opinion on this. I'm not talking about how physical fitness affects your health in general I'm talking about martial arts in particular. I also know that to a degree it depends on the art that's being practiced.

Never heard of him. What type of fighting does he do?

Hello Justin! Welcome to the forums.

Hello and welcome to KF!

Welcome to the forums!