Cyberclown

Okay,,,,,,first let me say that i wish i could get to these forums more, but alas. Make a bet with a group of your friends (make sure it is for at least $300.00)...That you will allow them to pick out the busiest intersection in the entire area and then you will wait until rush hour, then when traffic is at it's busiest, that you will calmly lay down on your back, for five full minutes, with your legs crossed, right smack-dab in the middle of that intersection! Make sure you collect the money up front and allow a trusted friend who has no stake in the bet to hold the money. Tell all your friends involved to meet you at that intersection at exactly the time you have all agreed it is at it's busiest. Jusat tell them you will meet them there at the appointed time and tell them which corner to stand on. At the appointed time, instead of meeting with them on that corner, simply drive up to the intersection, honk at them and wave, (smile too). Then stop your car in the middle of the intersection, put it in park, set the brake and flip on the emergency lights, (the flashers), open the hood, then quickly crawl under the car, lay down on your back and cross your legs. There will be a tremendous roar as traffic becomes a bit tied up while others drive around you. (cursing as they go!) If a police officer stops and addresses you, simply keep insisting that you are close to repairing the problem. (you don't have to elaborate) Keep an eye on your watch. By this time there will be a commotion. Traffic will have slowed, motorists will have cursed and an irate officer is standing there feeling helpless. The officer could call a tow truck, but if you are telling him it will be fixed in a minute, (just keep repeating that even if the officer wants you to come out from under the vehicle, he won't drag you out), the officer knows a tow truck would take much longer so he will be as patient as can be. All the officer wants is for you to move the darn car and perhaps by now he will wish to write you a citation for blocking traffic. (around 75$ here). As soon as five minutes tick by, slide out and announce you "fixed the problem"........(don't forget to collect) I have done this twice, cited once, but both times raked in the money and more importantly, made them feel foolish for not seeing my trick. (I have many money (by betting) making tricks I do, so NEVER bet me at anything I bring up....*g* The above stunt takes a good bit of nerve, so prepare yourself to stay calm and determined. (Grab the underside of your car should anyone try to drag you out.) Now unless you were in professer Lanier's philosophy class in 1974 this could be a real brain buster! You are driving on a vacation. You come to a fork in the road and need to know which way is the correct way to go. At the fork is a gasoline station. You know this station is owned by two IDENTICAL twins. They dress alike, talk alike, and in no way does their appearence or mannerisms differ in anyway. The ONLY thing you know about them is that one of them ALWAYS lies, and the other ALWAYS tells the truth. When you stop at the station, only one of them are there, and of course you have no idea which twin it is. You can only ask ONE question to find out which way is the correct way to take at the fork in the road. ONE question only! What is the only question you can ask and be sure you get the correct directions? (I'll try to heck back in a few days)

I hear a lot of debate about which a school should focus on. There are many benifits to competing in TKD, learning to apply one's skills being a big reason. However, the differences between what is applicable in the ring and on the street should always be observed. When I am training a competitor, especially a dedicated one, of course I am going to focus on drills that improve their game of "foot tag". Too many non-competitiors seem to think one gains no practical edge by competing but I disagree. Especially with children. They learn to keep on fighting, even when feeling pain or feeling they have little or no chance. The spirit of competition shares bloodlines with the spirit of survival. On the other hand only about 10% of my students compete at all. That is why in my regular classes (not "special" classes) I emphasis three things, Conditioning, Technique, Mindset. With many people, the latter can make the most difference. With my adults (of who very few compete) I focus much more on the self-defense applications that they would encounter. I teach much about verbal manipulation, (not escalating situations, defusing anger, etc;) as well as mental/emotional responses that occur when attacked. (Heart rate increase, narrowing of vision/sound. We also go over scenarios that would apply to the situations they may find themselves in. But "Art"? o many times people compare the "art" of their defense to how well their techniques work in real self-defense situations. I consider the "Art" to be the essence of martial arts that allows a person to grow and constantly struggle to make changes to improve all facets of their lives, not just their physical fitness or fighting ability. The numbers are changing, but for the most part, adult attackers know very little about self-defense. (save for a few common tricks picked up by chance) For the most part all they know is "self-offense". Almsot any fighting art, learned well and practiced diligently will allow most of us to prevail in a street attack. Unless you are running around in a bad part of town where gang activity is high, most others who pick fights have little or no defense skills beyond size, strength or a hard puch and possibly know a dirty trick to get them in. Even a person with moderate boxing skills will usually prevail in an encounter with a ruffian. That is all most men will encounter. For people who must take on armed or multiple attackers more serious training would be a must. Someone posted earlier about a TKD guy getting the heck beat out of him by a person of another style. I don't see that that proves anything. No one style can stand alone and claim to be the style that beats all other styles. There are too many variables, which is excatly why there are so many styles. But IMO, there is only ONE art...."Martial Art"

From one newbie to another.....Hi ya!

Thank you all for a warm welcome. It is nice to see a place where the martial arts spirit is so dominant! I look forward to learning much from this forum.

Good advice with the sand. Be sure to wash your hands after pounding it. No sense in getting an infection. It sounds like your arms are powerful, but it's a good idea to condition your wrists as you condition your knuckles. It is my feeling that anyone under the age of 16 s-l-o-w-l-y condition knuckles. The bones are still growing even then and care should be taken, and patience.

If you cannot go to a doctor then surely stop hitting anything at all. Your hand could be injured to the point of permanent damage should you continue punching. I'll admit that I'm curious as to why you cannot see a doctor, but that's your business. Perhaps your instructor's (or others they may know) have seen your particular problem and can at least tell you what is wrong with it? The "swelling thing" you are talking about sounds like calcification of the knuckles and is one way to develope large knuckles that are even somewhat insensitive to pain. There are safe ways to develope all the striking surfaces of course. I sincerely suggest you at least seek advice perhaps from a master or grandmaster. (for your hand)

I see your point. I have overweight students but I've been fit all my life, weight never being a problem for me personally. I have had only two students, (both ladies) whose weight was a great hindurance. One of them was 340 pounds. (and she is my age!) Her ankles and knees would not allow for any real movement. Her doctor ordered her to lose 100 pounds before he would recommend that she train in taekwondo. I urged her toward water aerobics but she found a few regimens(sp?) of her own to follow. Right now she still has 30 pounds to lose, but she is very determined and I'm sure I'll see her back in class early next year. I want to thank you for your own perspective. I always try to put myself in any of my students places, and your statements help bring me back to the greatest art of all......listening!

Sorry all, I did not spot the introduction thread until now. Hmmmmm.........I guess I could state my martial points.... I hold a 4th dan blackbelt in Taekwondo and cross-train in a few other arts...(mostly hapkido). I first began my martial arts journey in 1975 when a guy I worked with wanted to check out my fighting skills. I grew up in a slum (big time) He invited me to class and we sparred that first night. He showed me what street techniques were solid and which were not. He showed me the hard way! In those days he did not use a ranking system, we simply wore the white belt we began with. I trained with him for almost 2 years before moving to Texas. There my training became intermittant, (mostly due to a lack of funds) I was able to train with friends, though the training with them tended to be "tough guy" tactics. I became a serious student about 18 years ago, studying under the same grandmaster for well over 10 years before becoming (and by becoming I mean learning) how to be an instructor and in fact ran a branch school for some time before starting my own school 6 years ago. I am a very odd ball in the world of martial arts. I am very high-profile in my circles because of who I am, what I have accomplished and what I am on the verge of accomplishing, (literally martial arts history!) I am truly a pioneer in the world of Martial arts, by chance. I see I was even mentioned (briefly) in here about a year ago. With a small bit of luck, anyone will be able to read about my life and my accomplishments in Taekwondo Times", hopefully around october or so. Obviously I like to cause a bit of mystique. I cannot get away with that anywhere but in cyberworld, as my appearence belies who and what I am. I am 50 years old now. I plan on turning the school over entirely to my wife in ten years and in the meantime I am working towards my next project/career/passion, (of which I will not be mystic about). I am a self-taught (with a little help from my friends) blues-guitarist who's riffs tend to follow the likes of Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King, etc. I plan to launch my own blues band in the years to come. My pet peeve? "My kung fu is better than your kung fu!"....(I hate to hear that)... "Cyberclown" is a charater I created that kept several chat rooms rolling in laughter due to my wry sense of humor and quick wit....(most of which will not be apparent in a forum such as this......here I don't go for laughs..) Anyway, I hope to learn and contribute what I can in this forum for so long as I am welcome and have the time.....

Obviously, when it comes to demonstrations, I'm an oddball. I do not allow a demo team. If you do I highly suggest that those on that team understand humbleness. many times such a team can alienate other students that for reasons not their own, are unable to make the team. (Parents commitment being #1) When I do a dem in public (in other words not to a specific audience such as high school students), I show the entire realm of my course. I show begining students who know little more than to stand at attention and say "Sir!" really loud. They demonstrate their newly discovered discipline. I cannot fathom how many mothers approach me afterwords and want me to teach their child to behave likewise. I always show intermediate skills before bringing out the big guns and doing some very impressive high level techniques. Sometimes, they may make a small mistake. No big deal. I think it is important in public displays to show: A. That even small nervous children benifit quickly from my course. B. That no one starts out as an expert and they can see the progression a student makes as they continue training on their way to becoming an expert themselves. C. That we have a strong program, exhibited by everything from small, confident, disciplined children, through students still in a "transition" mode all the way to experts demonstrating techniques that though are awe-inspiring, also show civilians that if they stick with my course, that they to, can accomplish much (if not more) than they got to see that day. I never use music in my demos either. In fact, there are periods in my demos where I get complete and utter silence from the spectators in order to rivet them in anticipation of what they are about to see. I find that the transition from complete silence to thundering applause is a good way to bring the demo to a high point. Of course I always give the "Don't try this at home" speech which also leads to people wishing to train seriously as well as earning the trust of the parents watching the demo. I am about to do a high-level demo in St. Louis this month for a national audience. Since it is out of my market area, I am only inviting particualr students, not based on their skill level so much as simply who ther are. It will be a show-stopper.....*g*

Good advice all around. (Okay, except for the one involving hanging them on hooks!) I employ many of the methods I see here. Children do not train like adults, so don't expect the kind of cooperation from children as adults. It all comes down to motivation. If you are not motivated it is near impossible to motivate anyone else, regardless of age. If you lack that motivation then take it as a challenge to yourself to find a way to energize yourself.....and be patient. Be very animated when teaching children, it keeps their attention. Make sure that what you are teaching is applicable to their young lives and that the subject material is not over the heads.....and remember...........they're kids!

I have debated with a few from that website on the viability of their course. I do not accept their outlandish claims, which are for the most part, a "pill in the bottle" approach to self-defense. ANY claims that say they can enabale ANYONE to perserverve ANYTIME over ANY attacker are taking your money. They claim they can enable a 90 pound (or there abouts) women to defeat even the biggest meanest male attacker every time. They also make the same claim with someone in a wheelchair successfully fighting off several advance students at once.(not MY advance belts!) Since I happen to be an expert in the field of disabled self-defense techniques I can profoundly state that their claims are over the top. One can learn eye-gouges, throat jabs and even weapons from a civilian. I personally never believe any claims that one style/art/approach to self-defense makes all other styles/arts/approaches null and void. If self-defense came in a bottle, everyone would be an expert. There really are no fail-safe defenses that work EVERYTIME in EVERY situation against EVERY and ANY attacker. Just think about that claim....

Well I am lucky. My soul-mate is my wife and my partner in all that I do. HOWEVER, I always tell my single students to keep the love-life outside the dojang. I do not allow students to hold hands, arm around each other, etc, while in the dojang. I find that by not letting them display overt affection for each other then I do not have to worry about the (almost inevitable) spat when the relationship goes south, since they are also not allowed to display dis-respect for their fellow students. I also strongly caution my single blackbelts not to use their influence in the dojang to "score" points with an admirer. They have a responsibility not to take advantage of a starry eyed new student. We have plenty of extra-curricular events throughout the year that they can become more familiar with each other without compromising their position in the school. The martial art community is a wonderful community to meet new people who share like values, I have seen several marriages over the years. HOWEVER, any student while in the training hall, should be thinking about one thing for that hour or so, their martial arts training.

agreed....ANY art will give a woman some advantage over an unsuspecting attacker. Choose an art that you feel most comfortable with to use as a platform. I teach TKD and hapkido, however I also employ a multitude of other techniques from several styles and teach them to my adults. I'd be extremely wary of any "classes" (not courses) for women's self-defense. Self-defense training, whether through a traditional school or not, should be part of one's regiment. Just like jogging keeps you in shape, ongoing training is a must for optimum self-defense. My wife, (also a 4th degree blackbelt) carries a 6 inch carbon steel ribbed bar on her keychain. In class she has developed many techniques (with my help...*g*) that she now can do as much from reflex (muscle memory) more so than having to actively think about how she uses it. What most civilians (non-martial artists) do not realize is how much simply being in good shape and training in response conditioning will benifit anyone who finds themselves in a confrontation. If self-defense could be sold in a pill, everyone would be an expert, since it does not, train hard!

Often times too much is made out of bowing. At tournaments even within a particular style the bows differ between students from other schools. Competitor "A" may have been taught to bow without making eye contact, while competitor "B" may have been taught to maintain eye contact. I have seen many competitors (especially blackbelts) who will bow and then reach out to either offer a quick handshake or "bump" knuckles in a spirited way. What we (Americans) should realize is that bowing is basically the equivilent of a handshake when we are speaking of competitors in the ring. Would you shake hands with a weak grip or extend a limp hand? Most likely you would use a firm grip to grasp the others hand and look them in the eye, often with a smile. My students in the dojang always break eye contact when bowing to me, as I do my grandmaster and other grand masters. However, I do not chastise anyone for not doing something the way I think it should be done so long as whatever they did was intended as a show of respect and nothing else. My advice is not to sweat the bowing so much. Do it with a respectful attitude and how your instructor has shown you and no one will be upset. EXCEPT........I have judged many forms competitions and how someone bows into and out of the ring, as well as to the judges table is always considered in the score. BUT.....I do not use MY views of what is proper bowing. Instead I simply observe whether or not the competitor IS making the effort to show respect for his/her art and the seriousness in their attitude. I often get asked "when" should a student bow? Aside from the obvious I simply tell them if they have any doubt, bow!

A couple of things. IMO, those stretching machines are not worth what they cost. I have been through several models with my students and not a one of them do anything that cannot be improvised for free, While your stomach may indeed be an obstacle to sitting on the floor and touching you toes, I have many slim students who have the same problem. In many cases, it is the lower back, and not the legs that are stiff. Try standing up with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, (use a solid bar, doorjamb, chair,etc. if needed) and try keeping your knees straight as you grab your legs (or your pant legs) and slowly pull yourself downward, strecthing your lower back. If you still cannot get close to touching your toes then slow progress in leg stretching is surely required. One method is to stretch only one leg at a time. Dance bars, (no not a tavern I mean a wooden railing) are good to focus more on one leg than another. Switch often and warm up first. Another good way to stretch is usually in the kitchen. Many kitchen floors have two items making it easy (and safe) to stretch. Either tile or linoleum floors that are slick. (sometimes using small rugs that slide easy can be used if the floor is not slick). Then get up against the sink-counter where you can get a very good grip that will allow you to use your upper body to stabalize your lower. Put on a big fuzzy soft pair of socks, (not neseccary if using slick rugs) and carefully and gently (as you control your desent) ease yourself down and allow your feet to slide apart. It is always best to do some warm up exercise and mild stretching before attempting to improve your stretch. Also, it is generally easier to attempt front splits as opposed to side splits, although both should be employed. I would like to point out though that it is not at all neseccary to be able to do the splits in order to kick to the head or higher. I never could do the splits but never had a problem kicking to the head and higher. Weight reduction, should be the bigger goal, the splits can wait.....JMO