miguksaram

Thanks for that info Thai. Gcav...have you ever been to Japan to confirm this. BTW...If these techniques are effective in combat...I mean a free flowing resisting opponent type of combat then that is great. However, what I can't stand is all the mystic crap and made up history that tends to follow when someone is ninja.

Thank you. I appreciate it. We are looking forward to a nice tournament. We have added some wushu specific divsions for advance/black belt wushu people. There will be a sword tournament taking place there as well. I am currently in the process of helping some people from Armenia to come over and compete, not to mention we have some delegates from India, England and France coming. So yes we can boast a true "world" final.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever traveled to Japan and gone to the general public and asked about ninjitsu? Have you seen any ninjitsu schools in Japan, I mean outside of hanshi's school? With respect, Jeremy

It has come to our attention that there are a couple of rumors floating around about our upcoming event October 29 & 30. So please let me take this time to put a stop to them. First rumor- Only WSKF and AKA members will be allowed to participate in this tournament. - WRONG!!! This tournament is opened to anyone and everyone from any and all circuits no matter rank or style. Second rumor- If you are a non-WSKF member and you win the grand championship, you will not be considered the true world champion. - I can't even begin to tell you how stupid this rumor is. Why the hell would we have a World Championship but only allow WSKF members to win it? That is simply ridiculous. If you are NASKA, NBL, PKA, WKF, whatever, and you win the grand championship, then you win a world title. Simple. I am not sure who started these rumors. I will tell you this, it is my personal opinoin that if the person who started it, did unknowingly then he/she is an idiot. All you need to do is contact us at 630-369-8055 or Sharkey100@aol.com or martialscience@hotmail.com if there were any questions like that. If the person did this maliciously, then it is my opinoin that not only is he/she and idiot, but a coward as well. Sensei Sharkey has done a lot to help and support many promoters and competitors from all circuits. To have someone start a rumor that could result in a very poor showing for our event is nothing more than a act of a dishonorable coward. So, if there are any questions concerning this event do not hesitate to call or write us. We will be glad to give you the real information. Thank you for letting me rant. With respect, Jeremy

Chinese Wushu Taiji Academy 709 ½ South King St. Seattle, WA 98104 Attn: Sifu Yi Jiao Hong 09/22/04 Dear Sifu Yi: I am writing you to personally invite you and your team to our 40th Annual AKA Grand Nationals / 1st Annual WSKF World Finals to be held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Friday-Saturday, October 29-30, 2004. The AKA Grand Nationals is a Chicago-based martial arts tradition, growing in prestige and recognition throughout the years. It is no small wonder that we would also host the 1st Annual WSKF World Finals in combination with the AKA Grand Nationals, the oldest tournament in the United States, promising an exciting, fun-filled event. This is sure to be a historic occasion! This year we have added Contemporary Wushu divisions to our lineup in response to the many Wushu athletes that are now emerging as part of the competitive-marital arts makeup here in the United States. We would like to welcome Wushu athletes into our family of martial artists at this significant event. We feel that the presence of Wushu athletes will inspire growth and prosperity to the Wushu community, creating a stronger, more diverse martial arts kinship. In addition, this would give your school the opportunity to showcase & introduce to many others the beauty and skills of Wushu through the talents of your athletes while rivaling against other Wushu athletes from across the country. We will have a Wushu-sized arena for the contemporary divisions, and will host an array of events such as short, long and flexible weapons routines. We hope your students are up to the challenge of participating and competing against other top notch athletes at one of our country’s most intense tournaments, thus, making a good showing for your school, in representation of your city and the sport of Wushu. We have listed only black sash (advanced) divisions, but all skill levels are welcomed. Please contact me in regards to the registration process of novice and intermediate. If you should have any questions or need additional information, please let me know. We hope to see you there! Sincerely, Sensei Sharkey

The three gentleman that the featured, Mike Chat, Matt Mullins and Craig Henningsen, are from the school I attend.

Who is it teaching the kicks on the dvd? What kicks are they teaching? I don't mind learning from tapes or dvds so long as you have a firm grasp of the basics that will be needed to build you kicks. Needless to say it is always better to have an instructor to view your progress. With respect, Jeremy

Originally written by Richard Plowden The World Sport Karate Federation is the new league in 2004. It's till in its "learning" phase but so far, the first four national events of season have gone well and the WSKF is gearing up for its first ever finals - to be held October 29-30, 2004 in Chicago, IL in conjunction with the AKA Grand Nationals. As a new league, the WSKF has the freedom to create its own structure, and the following announcement was received by SportMartialArts.com which shows just how creative the WSKF is striving to be. Check out the new team sparring structure announced for the WSKF 2004 Finals. The World Sport Karate Federation is delighted to announce a new innovation to be unleashed at the 40th American Karate Association Grand Nationals and WSKF Finals World Championship. At this event a new four person black belt team category featuring three men and one woman vying for a first place $4,000 cash prize will debut. "Ask most fans of sport karate and they will tell you that team sparring is one of the most exciting components of a tournament," said WSKF president Richard Plowden. "Usually the teams are all male or all female, although in recent years we have seen the 'Battle of the Sexes' take off with one member of each sex. Well, we think that this 'Ultimate Team Challenge World Championship' will be one of the most exciting things to hit sport karate since the creation of protective gear." The team challenge also will bring with it a format that rewards teams that have a history of sport karate excellence. "We are not like professional wrestling where we can ignore the existence of those entities that are the true superstars in our sport," Plowden said. "Anyone that follows sport karate knows that Team CJB has been the top team in the world for the last half decade. They even enjoyed a winning streak that has some of us saying that they could be the best three man squad in sport karate history. Anchored by Jason Tankson-Bourelly, who in my estimation is the world's greatest athlete not in Athens this month, Team CJB has to be a favorite. " "We are seeding three teams into the semi-finals of the Ultimate Team Challenge World Championship," Plowden added. "Thus far, Team CJB has accepted a position as a seed. Team IDC who has also enjoyed tremendous successes over the last couple of years has accepted a spot as well," Plowden said. "The coaches of CJB and IDC have shown that they are just not guys who stand on the sidelines and scream 'go', they are truly coaches, teachers instructors. The third team is yet to be named and a fourth team will be determined based on Friday night competition. One team will win on Friday night to join the three elite seeds for $4,000." Each team is being mandated to have a female fighter in order to participate adds an extra wrinkle to the process according to Plowden. "Right now Team Victory has a solid woman's fighter in California's Marielle Elliot who can beat anyone on a given day," Plowden said. "But you literally have free agents out there like Claire Cocozza, Regena Thompson, and Nancy Price who can be a huge boost to any team's roster as their female representative. This is going to be an exciting event." So who's up to the challange?

Well do you know if the TKD school offers the XMA program seperately or do you have to belong to the school in order to take the class? If you can do it seperately then why not have the best of both worlds. You can practice you kenpo as you tradtional base and go the the TKD school for the XMA training. We have many people from all over the US that come to our school to train in our XMA program. This weekend we had folks that came from AZ and TN (btw...we are located in the Chicago suburbs. ). Every weekend we have a group of kids coming in from Wisconsin and Indiana to train strictly for the XMA program. So hopefully the TKD school will be open to that idea. Does your Kenpo school compete in tournaments? If so have you ever asked your instructor to look into the XMA program? If you find out that the TKD school will allow you train, then go to your instructor first and let him/her know that you wish to train in the XMA program along with your Kenpo training. Always show the proper respect above all us. Jeremy

We do an XMA program at our school during the weekend (3 hours on Sat. and 3 hours on Sun). We run through a lot of basics and warm ups. I would say that you want to work a lot of plyo's to strengthen your legs. Some examples would be tuck jumps (jumping up in the air bringing your knees to your chest), we would do 3 sets of 50 and toe raises (feet together raising up on the balls of your feet and then setting back down), we would do 4 sets of 50. These will help build some of the strength in the legs for your jump kicks. As for the tricks, well everyone tends to learn different tricks at different times. I am now working on simple things, due to the fact I'm 33, such as butterfly kick, butterfly twist, 540 and ariel. With respect, Jeremy

The flyer for the 40th Annual AKA Grands and 1st WSKF World Finals displaying all information (divisions, price, hotels, etc) can now be downloaded when you visit the the AKA website at http://www.akakarate.com. We have now added 12 extra divisions exclusively for black belt Wushu players, and, as an added bonus, we will be hosting the US Central Region Swordsmanship Tournament. Don't miss your chance of being part of this historical competition. With respect, Jeremy

Hello to all. I have just finished putting together the Vendor and Sponsor package for the AKA Grand Nationals. A few of you have contacted me from this list and others and expressed interest in being a vendor or a sponsor. If those people, and others are welcomed as well, are still intersted please send me your address and I will mail the programs out to you by tomorrow. Thanks. With respect, Jeremy martialscience@hotmail.com

Craig Henningsen and Chris Brewster.....Team AKA all the way.

What you will find in the competitions is that people find one form, regardless of the rank of the form and do it on a consistent basis. That is the one they focus on the most. So choose a form and practice it daily. A trick we do is that we break the forms down into three sections. You run each section seperately 5 times each. Then you break it down into halves and do that 5 times and then run the full form 5 times. What you want to do is focus on your stances and techniques when you do the sections and then the moment and flow when you do the halves and full form. This has been a very successful formula for us as we have created a couple of world champions, not to mention some regional champions by doing this.

The American Karate Association is proudly hosting the 40th Annual AKA Nation Championship, along with the World Sport Karate Federation's 1st Annual World Championship, in Chicago Illinos on October 29-30. We are currently signing up vendors who would be interested in displaying their products at this huge event. This is a very significant undergoing as it marks the 40th anniversary of one of the oldest karate tournaments in America as well as it is ringing the first world championship for the youngest national circuit to explode on the sport karate scene today. We are very excited about this upcoming event. We would like to invite your company to participate as one of the vendors and possibly a sponsor. If interested, please contact myself or Sensei John Sharkey and let us know which avenue you would be more interested in pursuing and we can send you the neccessary information to look over. Or if you have any questions please feel free to contact myself or Sensei John Sharkey at 630-369-8055. We thank you for your time and consideration for this event. With respect, Jeremy M. Talbott

Sweet. I look forward to my defeat. Though you will know you had real competition. BTW...I see you are from Chicago. Which school do you attend? With respect, Jeremy

Ok, are any of you tournament guys sponosored? If so how did you get sponsored? Does anyone have any information on this subject. Looking to try and get a couple of the kids sponsored for their tournaments that are out of state. I can't find the original topic that was posted about this before.

I'll be there. Already have my arrangements made. If any of you make it, perhaps we can get together.

I just got a pair of these for my son's use and they were very well made and inexpensive. I thought I would send out their information for those who are looking for competition nunchakus. Dux Chux — Custom Xtreme Martial Arts Weapons Home of MatchStyx ™ , BoStyx ™ and E-Styx™ MatchStyx™ are custom-crafted tournament-grade speed nunchakus designed to deliver the highest level of martial arts weapons performance in competitions. No other commercially available nunchakus match the speed, responsiveness or eye-catching flash of MatchStyx ™. Each 10” pair of hand-built MatchStyx ™ is created from ultra-durable precision cut PVC. Slim and light, MatchStyx™ are both easier to grip and offer a faster slash than standard-grade wood chucks. Each pair is precisely matched, balanced and weighted, coming in at a lightning fast 3 ounces per pair. The specially developed internal weighting system virtually eliminates grip rebound while providing the proper heft required for competitive control. MatchStyx™ are hand-tied to an ultra-fast 2 1/4” span with high-tensile strength braided white nylon, tripled corded for strength and flexibility. All exposed barrel edges are safety milled to eliminate sharp ridges and wear points, greatly extending the life of the hand-tied cords. MatchStyx ™ awesome flash comes from a layer of holographic glitter film permanently bonded to the core, which can then be covered and sealed with a protective clear layer for practice durability and improved handling. Available in a wide array of colors and finishes, MatchStyx™ can be special-ordered with team colors or designs for competition Demo and Xtreme Team use. Specifications 10” barrel length, 2 1/4” cord, 1/2” diameter, approximately 22” overall. Customization available. No metal parts. Made in the USA. No weapon is indestructible. While MatchStyx™ are designed to be highly durable in regular tournament competition, common sense should be exercised and care should be taken in their use. These nunchakus are intended for martial arts practice and forms competition only. They are not designed for sparring, fighting, hitting stationary objects or hitting other chucks, and serious user injury or damage to the nunchakus themselves could result from using them in this manner. Match Styx™ are intended for exhibition use only. Practice-grade MatchStyx™ can also be ordered with a polyfilm surface layer that will greatly extend the life of the holo-film while protecting it from the wear and tear of daily practice. Nunchakus cannot be shipped to: AZ, CA, MA, Canada. Purchasers will be required to sign a form indicating their agreement to use these nunchakus solely in the performance of their martial art and not as an offensive weapon. Dux Chux, Duxall Inarow, Inc. Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 53590 DUXALLINAROW@mac.com

Actually they are holding them in November or December, possibly a New years thing. March they have the AKA "members only" Tournament. Whenever they have them, will see you then. How far is O'fallon from Chicago?

Sensei John Sharkey Jr. is my instructor in Shorei-ryu and is part of the WSKF. We have a couple of our students heading to this match in March. I will be doing mostly local tournaments since this is my first year back in the circuit since 1988. I will be at the AKA in March so if anyone is going to that one let me know and perhaps we can hook up.

miguksaram, could you describe these awsome TKD schools a little more? How are they like? How is their overall technique performace? Do they use punches during sparring? Do they allow leg grabs and leg sweeps? Everybody is critising TKD so that I wonder what a real good TDK school is like. The schools I have seen in the past have kept their kwan roots as well as stayed current with modern development. With that in mind they practice that which was known as Korean karate and that which is considered TKD. They practice kicks, punches, some throws and locks. Their sparring would be both Olympic TKD sparring as well as full contact (hands to face) sparring.

Agreed...The original question was why do some people call Taekwondo TakeOne'sDough. That has been answered. TKD does not have a monopoly on this. There are many arts who do this, but TKD is just the most popular and henceforth the easiest target. I have spent 19 years in TKD, both traditional and sport. I have seen awsome TKD schools. I have seen total McDojang TKD schools The same goes for Karate or Kung Fu. Just remember the golden the rule. It isn't the style, but the individual that counts.

Simple, the majority of the TKD schools out there have become belt mills. Where as you will pay a high sum of money and receive your belt regardless if you deserve it or not. Most likely you will receive your belt within two years if you test on your regular set time (every two months). No, TKD is not the only system that does this, but they are the most infamous. Plus Taekwondo sounds very close to TakeOnesDough.

You nailed it. That is exactly how I would have handled that situation.