DLopez

Oh come on. That wasn't a personal attack any more than you saying I have no skill, or your insinuation that what I wrote isn't truthful, or saying I'm shoving my foot down my throat was... or did I misinterpret your intentions behind what you wrote? Besides, didn't you see the smiley? Very well, I apolgize to the list for my part in the direction this discussion has taken. BTW - I still haven't seen a half-decent explanation of why weight training for strength is bad.

Just because it takes everyone in your "bad neighborhood" a mere 10 seconds to knock you out, doesn't mean the rest of us are pushovers. You da man!!

There you go again, confusing two different issues - now you're confusing strength with balance, and implying that one cannot separately train for balance either. Can't you see that you're simply talking about just another way to train? Which is fine by itself. Most of us here realize that's all it is - just another way to train - except for you. You keep insisting that it's the only way to train to get results, while ignoring all the evidence that shows otherwise. Do you just need to feel like yours is 'the best' or something?

I haven't been in a fight in years. I am beginning to wonder how often you get into fights. In fact, it almost feels as if you just challenged me... over the internet. I bet you never once in all your 'glorious' battles in the streets, never timed one with a stopwatch, so if you insist on stating such stuff so matter-of-factly, please give me hard data, not more exagerations and generalizations. BTW - Last time I fought, it lasted more than 10 seconds (believe it or not, despite your omnicience). More like ~5 minutes, although it felt like hours. Hmm... I was probably doing it wrong if I wasn't out of breath after 10 seconds.

In fighting you use all your muscles, yes. But I said to strengthen them, you don't need to exercise them all at once. I hope I don't have to correct your reading comprehension all the time, as that can become pretty annoying. BTW - What's the difference between sandbags and metal weights? Hehe! Silly you! You've been weight training and didn't even realize it. You must be a body builder.

Your right cymry, that's what i've been saying all along. I guess these people just believe their technique will last long. Within 10 seconds?? You know, despite all your exagerations, generalizations, and unsubstantiations, you're a funny guy.

WW, that's cool! Thanks for the heads up on the link. Photography is one of my hobbies, especially since I bought a Canon EOS 10D camera a year ago. I have Photoshop, but I only know how to do a few things, and find myself overwhelmed by it's capabilities sometimes... okay, most of the time. I'd love to get more proficient with PS.

Golly! It sounds like there's a notion floating around that if you train like Bruce Lee, or whoever else didn't train with weights, you'll become Bruce Lee. I prefer to use training techniques applied by the vast majority of professional athletes around the world, rather than the handful or two exceptions, but that's just me and it works for me. However, can someone please explain to me how no other exercise can train the 'other' muscles besides your triceps and pecs, that pushups do? It's silly to think there aren't any! You don't have to train all your muscles at the same time to make each of them stronger. All this talk about wearing a weight vest is kinda funny. No doubt it works, but why go through the hassle when there are other simpler but equally effective ways? And like Sevenstar said, who's going to wear a 300 pound vest? Just because someone can bench (or pushup) 300 lbs. doesn't mean they don't have explosive power or agility.

No, it's not animosity, at least from my side. It's just that I took the time to read some of the info on the website, and that is my opinion of that school based on what I read. If they worded their website wrong, that's their problem. The instructor sounds like he has something to prove, but he never actually defines what it is - at least on his website. If he wants to train and teach Karate like that just to be able to say he's the "baddest mofo that ever walked the planet", then more power to him, but if he indeed is the baddest mofo to ever walk the planet, isn't it better to have others say it about him instead of himself tooting his own horn? Until now, how many have actually heard of this guy before? Hmm.... Like I said, if folks want to train that way, that's fine. But it just sounds like he's spouting the same old hackneyed opinion about how full contact is the only way real men train. I dunno, maybe I've just outgrown the need to prove my manhood to the world. Again, like I said, just my opinion.

Is Tim Sylvia is as big as he is by just doing pushups?

"Functional lifts"??? Sounds like you're talking about the one elevator in my office building that actually works. If I didn't have access to weights, I'd probably improvise by doing pushups and stuff, but I do have access to weights, so I can better build up muscle strength as well as endurance by doing cardio-specific exercises. It's not rocket science.

Foot down my throat? Heh. You listed 6 people. Just one football team alone easily triples that number of people that benefit from strength training. Bottom line is, you can train how you want, but please don't try to sound like an authority on the subject by pulling a few names out of your butt to support your weak position. Not to mention, you didn't even say what is wrong with strength training since you're so against it. You trying to make us think you're going to be the next Rocky Marciano or something? Sheesh! Why you gotta get all juvenile?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with strength training. Strength training does not equal body building. If you don't believe me, just look at your average professional football or basketball player. Most of those guys look like they're chiseled out of granite, but they have endurance and agility, to go along with their strength. Why? Because they do strength weight training as part of their overall training regimen. It's no different for a martial artist either. I strength train with weights, but I don't ever want to become "muscle bound", and I believe as long as I perform flexibility and endurance excercises, there's no reason why I can't have big muscles and still be quick and agile, and have stamina. In fact, that's what keeps me going some days, is breaking up my workouts into cardio days and strength days.

The quality of the Karate taught there may or may not be genuine, but I find myself just scratcing my head asking "what's the point"? No fight rules and no weight classes?? Sounds like 'Fight Club'. Seriously though, I wonder what would someone's motivation be to enter into that kind of training, and what is the purpose of that kind of training? I guess the second paragraph helps explains it: Not knocking what other folks find pleasurable (?) or fun, but this almost sounds cult-like.

Why can't you have both? I'm muscular, and weight train, but I do cardio excercises (actully, Kuk Sool Won hyung works great for that) also as I understand the benefits of endurance. To have to choose one or the other seems too limiting. That's like asking, which is more important, lungs breathing, or heart beating?

You know, when I have to spar against others less experienced due to their rank, I like to make it a helpful, learning experience for them. I let them take some clean shots just so they can get used to looking for the opening and put combos together. It doesn't do me or my opponent any good to wail on an inexperienced white belt. Sheesh! Anyhow, one thing you might try is to feint moving into their kicking range so they can commit to throwing a kick, and work on countering with something else like a roundhouse or even a lunging backfist to the head. Also, like Luckykboxer said, don't be afraid to block their kicks. Deflecting their kicks takes some practice to get the timing right, but blocking doesn't have to be just absorbing the kicks. If they aren't wearing shin pads, then one thing I like to use is just a simple palm strike to the shins on a front kick or even on a roundhouse kick sometimes. A couple of those and it makes them think twice about throwing it as hard next time. Good luck.

"They" claim the odds are one in 47,784,352 of getting all six numbers correct. Here's a link to all the lottery games we have: Texas Lottery Games I think this drawing went over a month of twice-weekly drawings where no one picked the correct numbers. Now it starts back over at $4 million. Hehe! But there is another lottery in Texas that's shared across several states (not sure exactly which ones, but the drawing is held in Atlanta, Georgia) that is estimated at $150 million, but the odds are even higher against winning it. Heck, I'm still gonna splurge and play $5 on it though!

A single ticket in El Paso got all six numbers correct. Boggles the mind how someone could get so lucky. 145 mil... that looks like this typed out: $145,000,000.00 Lessee... with the "cash option" payment plan, the present value is $72.5 million, subtract ~30% for taxes, and you're left with a measly $50,750,000.00 all to one's self. (sigh) Hardly worth the $1.00 that winning number cost. Dumb me, I forgot to buy a ticket last night and missed out on all the suspense.

man, I'll say one thing... find me any grade schooler, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, even a top dog 6th grader, and I bet you I can kick his azz!! Don't get all mad at me, just seems to be reality.

I'm looking forward to attending one of Kuk Sa Nim's seminars in Houston. Just have to wait a month... I looked at the schedule, and didn't realize he was starting off his seminar tour in San Antonio, at KSN Braun's school. I probably would have made the trip over there to get one in early! I got the pleasure of training there a couple a nights last year just before the World KSW Championships Touney, and got to meet KSN Braun. She was very hospitable and welcomed me to stop by for some training any time I'm in San Antonio in the future.

Interesting point of view, however, the one thing I probably wasn't clear about, was that I am physically bigger than her - it wasn't like I couldn't defend myself. Imagine her throwing a punch (no joke!!), and me blocking it and her hurting her hand. How easy would it be for her to say I hurt her hand and the authorities would have no problem believing it. In the eyes of the law and society, I would have been portrayed the abuser in a typical "guy beats girl" spousal abuse case, not a woman abusing a guy. I think cases of the latter are extremely few and far between for a reason.

I almost forgot you were referring to a TV show... Come to think about it, I don't know what the legal rights are of someone being on a "reality" show and getting into a fight. Couldn't that be construed (or even part of the contract) as just part of the entertainment, and therefore, by agreeing to do the show they waived any rights to sue the other if a fight breaks out? Dunno. I'm sure it makes for good ratings when a fight breaks out.

I'm not trying to pick on you Delta1, but your recent post of how this guy should have been able to put the other guy away, and concluding that he couldn't because he didn't train with heavy contact is a little bit of a reach. Why isn't the reason that the other guy didn't quit was because he was just a tougher hombre than he appeared? "Occam's Razor" - the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It's kinda late now, but this debate about training for real-life begs the question: If "real-life" training is the only way to go, then why, as has been hinted at by KSN Doug, don't we all train in a suit with our dress shoes on, or even jeans and sneakers? I am beginning to understand more of what Shawn said earlier about it just being an ego boost to some, being able to say that they train with heavy contact and then go around like the originator of this thread and proclaim that the rest of us are wasting our time with light/no contact training and are in denial about it. Someone even mentioned that the reason I don't pull my kicks when I kick the bag even though I practice light contact sparring is it's because I kick a bag. To that then, I say "Whatever works!" Because, even if it were true that light contact teaches you to pull kicks, evidently all I need to do is kick the bag and those bad habits go away. So again, where is the need for heavy contact? Anyhow, I don't think that anyone is going to change their opinion, so I guess we'll all have to agree to disagree.

You know, this is going to sound sexist, but this is my own experience speaking... Maybe I just dated a wacko... Anyhow, I believe that (western) society has it ingrained in our psyche (and laws) that hitting women is wrong. I believe it and hold to that. However, and here is the part that might sound sexist, I think women know that if they can get you to hit them in a fight, then they have you by the youknowwhat! I remember having huge arguments with an old girlfriend deteriorate to the point where she would corner me and start pushing me, or try to slap me, trying to push my buttons to get me to hit her back. She'd even continue the prodding by calling me a wimp because I wouldn't fight back - stuff like that. I finally had enough when she started breaking my belongings, so instead of hitting her, I simply left her. I was afraid (and rightly so, too) that if I'd even given her a teeny little scratch, I would probably have ended up in jail. So, I guess in taking the long way to answer it, yes, I still think it's wrong to hit a woman. It's a no-win situation, even if the girl deserves it.

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