Thruhiker

I thought the same thing Rich_2k3. I was looking at the results and for Offensive and Defensive Punches all the fighers showed 0's not one of them has a point in those catagories. I looked at 8-10 fighters profiles. Seems like a waste to me. The fights I saw the hands could have made a huge difference. Wouldn't it be nice to have a fight where all you had to do was watch the feet.

Thurs. 8/26 CNBC 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM MSNBC 2:00 AM - 7:00 AM Fri. 8/27 MSNBC 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sat. 8/28 CNBC 3:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sun 8/29 CNBC 38/26, 2:00 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 49kg - Preliminaries 8/26, 4:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 58kg - Preliminaries 8/26, 8:30 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 49kg - Preliminaries 8/26, 8:54 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 58kg - Preliminaries 8/26, 9:54 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 49kg - Repechage 8/26, 10:18 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 58kg - Repechage 8/26, 10:48 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 49kg - Repechage 8/26, 11:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 58kg - Repechage 8/26, 11:53 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 49kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/26, 12:05 PM Taekwondo - Men's Under 58kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/27, 2:00 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 57kg - Preliminaries 8/27, 4:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 68kg - Preliminaries 8/27, 8:30 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 57kg - Preliminaries 8/27, 8:54 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 68kg - Preliminaries 8/27, 9:54 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 57kg - Repechage 8/27, 10:18 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 68kg - Repechage 8/27, 10:48 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 57kg - Repechage 8/27, 11:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 68kg - Repechage 8/27, 11:53 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 57kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/27, 12:05 PM Taekwondo - Men's Under 68kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/28, 2:00 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 67kg - Preliminaries 8/28, 4:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 80kg - Preliminaries 8/28, 8:30 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 67kg - Preliminaries 8/28, 8:54 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 80kg - Preliminaries 8/28, 9:54 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 67kg - Repechage 8/28, 10:18 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 80kg - Repechage 8/28, 10:48 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 67kg - Repechage 8/28, 11:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Under 80kg - Repechage 8/28, 11:53 AM Taekwondo - Women's Under 67kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/28, 12:05 PM Taekwondo - Men's Under 80kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/29, 1:00 AM Taekwondo - Women's Over 67kg - Preliminaries 8/29, 3:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Over 80kg - Preliminaries 8/29, 7:30 AM Taekwondo - Women's Over 67kg - Preliminaries 8/29, 7:54 AM Taekwondo - Men's Over 80kg - Preliminaries 8/29, 8:54 AM Taekwondo - Women's Over 67kg - Repechage 8/29, 9:18 AM Taekwondo - Men's Over 80kg - Repechage 8/29, 9:48 AM Taekwondo - Women's Over 67kg - Repechage 8/29, 10:12 AM Taekwondo - Men's Over 80kg - Repechage 8/29, 10:53 AM Taekwondo - Women's Over 67kg - Bronze Medal Contest 8/29, 11:05 AM Taekwondo - Men's Over 80kg - Bronze Medal Contest :00 AM - 12:00 PM

Do as much damage as necessary for you to run away. Kick/punch to the solar plexus followed up with a couple more techniques. Could use a front kick to the solar plexus then move off to the side throw a couple punches at the ribs or kidneys. Another alternative is a front kick and as the person is doubled over or on the way hit them with a crescent kick or an axe kick. Maybe you would like to use your hands and follow thru with a punch or an elbow strike. If you have the flexibility you could introduce your foot to their nose/face. They should be stunned and you will have their entire body as a open target. The sky is the limit!!!

Auto login Usually I look at my favorite topics and branch out from there. I also use the new posts since last visit feature

Hold the phone !! ramymensa says "Don' let Karate take over your life." What kind of advise is that? Karate should be so interwoven in your life you can't tell where it starts and stops. It's not a hobby or a sport it is a life style.

I pay $80 a YEAR plus a Christmas gift. My instructor doesn't see any $$ only the Christmas gifts. The $$ is used to buy lunch for the board on testing days, belts, supplies, etc. My Sabum Nim Gae loves teaching and doesn't want anything in return. It is one of the finest schools around and is very exclusive. I am very fortunate to be apart of this school. Traditional TKD all the way!!

I personally didn't like to put up a lot of expectations in front of me when I try something new. This way I am not so disappointed. When I walked into class the first time I was looking for an exercise program, self defense program, and learn to fight. Little did I know what I was going to get. I got friends, family, exercise, self defense, honor, respect, humility, and much much more. More than can even be explained. One has to experience the Martial Way to know what I am talking about. The entire white belt process was very challenging with regards to balance, coordination, and memorization. My first day in a dojang was hilarious. Getting the class into a front stance was a laughing matter. Trying to get your feet and hands to move in ways they have never moved before and then to have them move simultaneously.

So Coastguard how did you make out with your test? Was it as difficult as you expected?

Way to GO

Way to go TangSooGuy

Azmyth you stated it was a BB testing and then you said you think you did well. You also said it was good to see what you have to prepare for. So does this mean that you were not one of the 4 testing? If so was it not just a BB testing? Either way it's always fun to see a BB test. I was honored to see a 6th dan test for his 7th dan and a 5th don testing for his 6th. That was a long day with a lot of action. The katas were intense and crisp. The breaks were plentiful with 2" ice sheets, 1 1/2 to 3/4" wood, and cement blocks. The best thing about the testing was that it was all traditional. There weren't any gymnastics involved with the testing. Glad you had a good time they are a blast to watch and brutal to participate.

Zero...: i found this link that shows a few people doing an axe kick that might be helpful. http://www.greatwarriorpak.com/events/videolibrary.htm

Skipping meals doesn't really work because a person will tend to eat more before or after the meal that was skipped. Eat 5 smaller meals a day. The body will metabolize the food faster. For snacks try eating some fruit rather than potatoe chips or a candy bar. The way to loose weight is by watching how many calories and fat gram intake during the course of a day. Sugar will turn to fat if it's not burned immediately so stay away from the sugars (regular pop, candy, etc...) Then incorporate some aerobic activity. With a min. of 20 minutes but preferably 40 min. This will burn your calories that you have taken in. Key is to burn more than you intake. For best result don't eat for 3 hrs before going to bed. Get up in the morning grab a BIG glass of water and a towel and start your aerobic workout. This way you are burning fat because your stomach is empty while you workout. Recap: Eat healthy food, stay away from fatty foods, and do some aerobic workout.

There is something to be said about working out hard. You can learn a lot about yourself and your tolerance for pain. However, one of the purposes is to know what it feels like to get hit and how much force you are producing behind your techniques. As far a getting your teeth knocked out I think the individual lost some self-control. The mouth is not a location in which you want to make contact with. The human teeth will cut your hands up if you make contact with them. As a martial artist you would be better off placing your punch or kick into the ribs or the solarplex than in the mouth. The object of full contact is to learn effective placement of your techniques with the right amount of force to do damage.

Well put TangSooGuy There are a few students that deserve their BB at an early age, however the majority of young students do not have the maturity that is needed to hold the BB. It's nice to hear that you had an instructor that truly believes that an individual MUST pass certain requirements regardless of their age to EARN their BB. It's also nice to hear that you are passing along that legacy of bring quality BB up. Keep up the good work

If you have see the movie "The Last Samurai you maybe familiar with the term "mind no mind". What this means is that you are paying attention to what is going on around you but you are not thinking of a way to attack or defend against a certain move. Instead you are watching and your body is reacting to the attack. As for offensive measures you are waiting for an opening and then striking w/o thinking. It's all reflexive. Yes your body has to be trained with the moves but your mind needs to stay out of the thinking business. The same goes for katas. You have practiced your katas for so long that you should be able to do them in your sleep. Take your kata to the next level and perform each kata w/o thinking of the next move. Your body knows the path it must take to complete the kata correctly. Relax and let your body to the walking and allow your mind to soar with the eagles. How many times have you gotten stuck on a kata because another one came to mind and you blended a couple or three forms into one? That was because your mind was engaged when it should have been soaring. Visualization is a tremendous tool when performing katas. Visualizing an opponent will make your katas enjoyable and will assist with answering your scenario training questions. For example, if you can visualize what the attacker is doing that would require you to perform a low block or a high block in your kata, you will understand the purpose of the kata. Another item to consider is to keep your body smooth through the kata. Keep your head and shoulders from bobbing up and down like a bobber on a rough lake. Think smooth and perform all techniques forcefully and accurately. As Karateka said you should have a good sweat when you are done with your katas. A side note: I would suggest reading a book called Living the Martial Way by Forrest E Morgan for some other advise about katas.

Monkeygirl, Your article was very nicely written. I am sorry to hear about your untimely meeting with a side kick to the orbital bone. I pray someday your vision and sinuses will be restored and that you can compete in any sport you wish. For now, I would encourage you to continue studying your forms/katas. I read a terrific book called Living the Martial Way by Forrest E Morgan and in the book Forrest talks about how forms/katas create the warrior inside us to grow. If nothing else practice what you know and keep your TKD skills sharp. As far as your instructor goes, I am sorry you had such a bad experience. It seems that people always have good intentions in life but as pressures develop over time people, Earl, get caught up in paying bills rather than passing along his knowledge to create a "legacy". It's unfortunate that Earl had sold himself out rather than staying committed to his students/friends/family. If you look at the Japanese and Koreans their history shows dedication to the Martial Way. These ancient martial artists practiced when it wasn't permitted by law and they traveled for hours sometimes by foot or bicycle to practice with an instructor. The dedication that these people had allowed the martial arts to survive over hundreds of years and we should be grateful that we are privileged to partake in such ancient practices. Maybe one day Earl and Linda will realize that its not about the almighty dollar but its about the lives that you are affecting. I hope that you can get into a school where you can become the teacher that will pass along the "legacy" in an honorable way. You have gone down a hard road but, I believe you have learned a painful lesson. By the way is Sean practicing any martial arts these days? Best Regards, Thru

We had an individual in our class that attempted to break 8-10 cement bricks and the shrapnel fell on his foot and broke his toe.

zerolimitii: MichiganTKD said "1. First, strengthen the leg muscles. This can accomplished several ways: A. Utilize a weight lifting program to target the quads, hamstrings, and calves." Another aspect to weight training is to focus on your abdominals. After all its your abs that lift the leg up and assist on pushing the leg out. As far a developing speed...it comes with time. Speed is not something you want to push. If you push yourself to create speed you will loose your focus of power. Just let it come naturally. As for power... lift the knee straight up and then drive the leg out. Work on your technique slowly. In slow motion if necessary. Then increase your tempo. The power is in the technique not the pushing of the leg. You must first pick up the knee and then drive out the leg.

It helps to have a goal in mind of what you want out of a diet. Are you looking to lose weight, get fit, or bulk up? If you are looking for a healthy way to lose weight I would suggest first removing SUGAR from your diet. Get rid of the pop!! Watch how much sugar you intake. Why watch your sugar intake? What sugar isn't burned turns to fat. After cutting the sugars out of the diet I would seriously consider a very strenuous aerobic workout. Find a program that starts out slow but escalates to a strenuous workout for at least a 1/2 hr to an hour long. You will want to find a program that will work your entire body. Arms, stomach, sides, legs, stretching and anything I might of mist in between. I like the idea of not eating 3 hrs before I goto bed so that when I retire for the evening my body sleeps and regenerates its cells. Rather than working on digesting the food I just ate before going to bed. Another thing I like to do is do an aerobic workout first thing in the morning. I grab a towel, BIG glass of H2O and hit the mat for about 45 minutes. My clothing is usually dripping wet when I am finished. For breakfast I like oatmeal and a big glass of milk. I usually have some sort of fruit around 10ish and then eat lunch around noon then hit the gym for an hour then have another fruit snack after the workout. Dinner around 7 and done for the night. I might even do a little stretching at night mixed with a kata workout. This program will help out those wanting to loose weight and those that want to get or stay fit. God Bless

Thats excellent!! Great to see that you have better than 20/20 in both eyes and the you are doing well. It has to feel great not to wear glasses in class. Thanks for the info.

A great way to loose fat is to change how you eat. If you don't eat anything for the last 3 hours of your day before going to bed and then wake up and do an aerobic workout for at least 30 minutes you should be able to shed some fat. The key here is to really get your body temps up that you are burning off the stored fat. Then of course eat a nutritious breakfast and hydrate yourself by dringing LOTS of H2O. One shouldn't eat for 3 hrs before working out because the body takes that long to break down complex carbs. If you are hungry you should eat some simple carbs within a few minutes of starting your workout. My .02 worth

So tommarker... how are the eyes these days? Did everything go well? I have been thinking of having laser surgery myself. Were there any complications? Puffyness? Soreness?

much appreciated tskimaster:)

Grand Master Chen said [you use what works you hit hard you hit fast and you hit them where it is going to cause pain and give you the ability to live] One more item to add is do as few techniques as possible. If you can finish the person in one shot make it a good one. Get in and out as QUICK as possible