tufrthanu

Not to throw a wrench in the works or anything but from a legal stand point choke holds as a means of self defense are a really bad bad idea unless you are in certain life threatening danger i.e. someone has a knife or gun. It is too easy IMHO with an adrenaline rush going to choke to hard or too long. Remember with an air choke it's not difficult to crush the larynx in which case you are screwed. And with a blood choke the difference of a second or too can determine whether someone passes out or gets lasting brain damage. My two picks would be either arm locks like the hammer lock or wrist locks like the S shape lock or the outside wrist lock. These give basic control of the entire body both through pain compliance and body mechanics. The also take out of the fight one more limb that an attacker can use against you.

Did you just ask this same q in the Korean Arts Forum?

Well thats not entirely true Shorinryu. A heavy bag is used for building muscle in a dynamic way. So kicking a heavier bag unless you are hardly moving it will give you more muscle....which in turn could give you more mass. However I agree that you want a heavier bag. I have an 80 lb one that I love that I can't currently use because there is no where to hang it in my house that is safe. I would personally recommend getting a vinyl covered bag instead of a canvas one though Groove. The canvas is only a little stronger than the vinyl but the vinyl will be much less hard on your skin...causing usually only brush burns if you hit it wrong. However, I feel you should use bag gloves anyway.

OK, I think I see the problem. Traz, your Hook kick, is it basically a spinning move with a generally straight leg? The hook kick most of us are thinking of is the TKD style one where you shoot your leg out like a side thrust kick then let the lower leg hinge back at the knee to strike the side or back of the head. In my Hapkido class though they taught a differnt hook kick that basically involved a straight leg while spinning. If this is the case isshinryu is correct in that it will never be real fast. That is a power hook kick not a fast one. About the only thing I can think of that will help you with that is 1. Practice your spin or step behind pivot whichever method you use and 2. Remember that a loose limb travels faster than a tight one. If you are flexing the leg alot when you kick it will go slow. So try and keep it loose until right before impact.

The only thing I have ever known a Low Horse Stance for is for building muscle in the Quadriceps. I have never been able to go very low with my horse stances...supposedly the optimal position in TKD for horse stance is legs at 90° and toes pointing forward...unfortunately due to my weight and bone structure this is almost impossible...usually I end up with my legs bent 45° at the knees and my toes angled outwards. As far as I can see the horse stance serves no practical purpose in actual fighting. From the front it leaves the body open to numerous attacks. From the side it does not give your hands and feet good access to a target. And in addition to which the depth of the stance makes you highly immobile.

Sparring in karate usually ranges from no contact to medium contact empty hand fighting. The gear usually used includes hand and foot pads, a protective cup and a mouth guard. Other optional gear includes head gear and shin and forearm protectors. Personally I like to use backfist/ridgehand. I also like hopping in with a front leg round kick and finishing with my hands or else starting with my hands and as they back away throwing some kicks.

Reverse side kick is used as a counter. I agree if you led with that technique you'd have to be very fast to get it off.

Depends on the type of sparring so let us know which type you do. I find the reverse side kick can be very sneaky.

Perhaps you can gain more speed by only half cocking your leg, shooting it out and snapping the lower leg back. Remember to hit with the heel...it will make a lighter kick have more of an impact. An excellent person to look at for a fast hook kick is Bill Wallace. See if you can find any videos of him around.

OK cool ive heard of canadagua.

Lol ninja i appreciate the feedback and am glad to see im not the only one to think those mats arent great. BTW where in upstate ny are you from...i was born in roch.

Howdy all, just wanted to get your thoughts on the different types of mats out there available for the dojang. My soon to be former instructor recently installed the interlocking kind like proforce sells and I hate them. They were super greasy originally and people slipped all over. Now they have so much friction you cant wear MA shoes on them...which for health reasons is a problem for me. So I figured ok I will go without shoes just until I find a new dojang. Unfortunately I got my little toe stuck in between two of the interlocking mats just as I went to do a back leg round kick and ended up spraining my toe which has since turned purple. These seem like hazardous mats to me. So what do you all think of this type of mat and other styles of mat out there?

As far as I know NASKA rules are how traditional TKD spars. They used the same rules as karate for a long time until the WTF and ITF. Alot of TKD schools still do.

if its been a couple weeks and it still hurts or if there is discoloration you should get it xrayed. Heels can be broken. otherwise just icing resting and compressing it works best.

Traz you should find out what sort of curriculum the TKD school teaches. I have a friend who teaches traditional Ji Do Kwan TKD and as part of their curriculum they have to learn Ho Shin Sul...which is very similar to the self defense aspects of hapkido. If thats the case the TKD might be a very close fit for you.

You may also have weak knees...try doing some light resistance training to build up the support muscles for the knees.

It's on monday's at 10 pm central. I think there is also a replay later in the week...like saturday or sunday.

Thats how alot of instructors teach.

Well personally I have seen people come from this type of teaching where the instructor shows the class and then has everyone try it...and most people can't figure it out. At our hapkido school we worked out with the instructors...so they told you immediately what you were doing wrong and needed to correct it. I don't mind someone showing the technique then having others try and duplicate it but then you have to go around and further instruct them if they aren't getting it...you don't just say oh well you'll figure it out eventually. The problem I see with teaching two new people a technique and then letting them try it is that niether one has any idea what its supposed to feel like...and since niether one of them has the knowledge necessary to correct improper form you reach an impasse.

Kara Te Do = Tang Soo Do Originally kara meant china but the founder changed it to empty.

I think you misunderstood me matty. 2nd dan 1 year after reaching 1st. 2 years to get to 3rd from 2nd. So in other words if you were there every day at most of the classes you could be to 3rd dan in 4 years total.

Well I am not a fan of the supposed "reality based" martial arts so some of what that article said I think is * but...I think what you fear isn't actually the person but the unknown circumstances. You should definitely take some sparring as that will get you used to fighting different people and get you used to using your techniques. And of course as hard as it is to do the most important thing to remember is to relax. Whether you end up fighting or not you will be much more effective if you are relaxed. If you use your hand strikes and leg strikes and all that stuff even if you are smaller you should have good odds on an opponent...especially if you dont announce before the fact that you know martial arts.

I think the only real "set up" as far as brick picking is concerned with is that different bricks have different levels of resistance...like pine is an easy wood to break...mahogany will turn your foot to pulp. I think certain bricks are easier to break...grey bricks are easier than red bricks or something to that effect. They are still normal bricks...but the type is what determines how hard it is.

One of my hapkido instructors used to go there...he said it was pretty good but the training was kind of hands off. They would show the whole group a move and then just have them work on it for awhile. They have Dan Inosanto up a couple of times a year though I think.

Well at the school I went to they only had 6 belts: White Green Blue Red Brown Black Dan ranks are for black and above. Below that they are called Gups. I only took it for several months but I was promoted to white/green stripe.