Ripper

It's a long time ago I got my high school diploma (the equivalent actually). Do you want to take it away from me, because I haven't been there for a while? At a certain point you do an exam for something and you earn your diploma. That diploma is for life, no one can take that away from you.

but if you would fit this description, would you want to be adressed as master, sensei or sifu?

Bones cannot get harder. Maybe you can get your skin a little bit tougher, but it is impossible to get your bones harder (well, maybe one bone.... ).

For heaven's sake, why you want to do that? I don't think someone with a shattered skull will find breaking beneficial!! I also don't think it will be very beneficial to you..... spending the rest of your life in prison!

There is a difference between the way a lesson is taught and the way it should be taught. If you want to learn a kata well, you should do only one kata in a lesson. The reason why most lessons have more katas often comes from the variety of students and because of most students get bored by doing just one kata. Furhermore you have to ask yourself what your goal is while training katas. Is it to get the next belt, is it because you want to know as many katas as you can or do you want to really understand a kata? With the first two goals you can train different katas in the same time. If your goal is the last one you probably should train only one kata for a year or maybe even more (didn't Funakoshi train the Tekki for three years?). In that period you train, besides technique, also a lot of bunkai/oyo. That way you will really understand a kata.

Wouldn't you have same effect when your opponent strikes first and you defend weak?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by structure. Do you mean the position of your body behind the technique? Like the example of Jerry earlier in this thread about how to push a car? Isn't then structure the same as proper alignment?

I wrote this on page 4: An example: First stand in a deep forward stance and punch a makiwara or a punching bag with your backside arm (for karate: zenkutsu dachi and qyaku tsuki). Now do the same thing but as you punch, lift your front leg up and hit the bag. Land your foot afterwards. Then feel the difference in power. An even easier example: do the same thing but instead of punching you push your fist against a wall. then pull up your front leg again. Notice the difference. Those are examples of putting more mass in the technique. If you are punching and merely shifting your center downward you are directing energy vertically. When you are punching you need to have the energy horizontally. So that way you are losing power.

Now where did I say that? Offcourse you need to be grounded. I agree with that. I'm only saying that the ground cannot give you any MORE power than you put into it. I'm saying that you cannot get MORE grounded. You can shift with your point of gravity, but this doesn't mean you are more grounded. It is true that the more power you give, the more reaction force you need from the ground. The only reason you need the ground for is as a reaction force or your motion wouldn't have much power. You need the ground to get the maximum of your power. Again, where did I say that? As I said above you need to be grounded. And I also agree it should be 100%. If it was less, let's say you slipped, your power would be reduced. To sum it up; you need to be grounded but you cannot get more grounded. Can we agree on this?

OK, then my question is; why do people call them masters?? You don't do that when you are talking about Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis or any other athlete. That would sound kind of ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Exactly, that's all I was trying to make clear. I'm glad you feel the same. I hope others also feel this way.

You are giving the answer yourself in the next paragraph.

Then why are you on this discussion forum if you don't care about other people opinions......? So now all of a sudden it is we? Does this mean you are the spokesman of everyone else? That's the attitude I was talking about. You are saying that I can come up with any valid argument and I still remain wrong, just because I don't agree with you. I'm here on this forum to discuss certain topics so I can learn from others. And maybe I can give a little insight to others. You don't have to get grumpy if I don't agree with you.

Offcourse you need the ground. If you are not grounded you are either flying or in space. Like you said; all of your forward action generates a reaction. You need some force that goes against your action....the ground. The only thing I'm saying is that you cannot get MORE power from the ground. It can only give you what you put into it.

I don't know where you are from, but if you are from England, you might have seen the serie Fighting school. If you have........need I say more???

I have done the same in similar cases, Neo. Does this mean I'm a master and in harmony with my mind and body?? I don't think so. Did I do that way because I've trained karate for a zillion years?? I don't think so. It's just a part of my character. And no, I did not get that character because of training in karate. Karate does not necessarily perfect ones character, at least not more than for example baseball. That character largely comes from my parents, the people I grew up with and my upbringing.

Both of you dissapoint me. I'm giving some basics and reasoning here on this forum to show how you can get more power. You are only saying go see someone and you will find out. That's just too easy. It reminds me of discussions I had with my parents, and at the time it was obvious I was right, they would say I have a big mouth and they were right just because they said so. Or at people in the dojo that can't find an answer to my question saying....just train more and you will find out. If that's all you can come up with.....

if you want to go that way...I know someone too....... (that someone probably is suffering from the intoxication ) Absolutely right, I was saying the same. And there is where you go wrong, my friend. You cannot get more grounded; the only thing the ground can give you is the power YOU give to it; as you agreed it is a REACTION force. So you cannot get MORE power from the ground.

OK, then show me some evidence those 'masters' have reached that level.

No, your muscles, technique, speed and gravity are the only sources for giving more power. The ground is a stable factor. It doesn't change. You can't get more power from the ground.

This only shows that you need the ground as a reaction force; not to generate more power. When you stand up high, offcourse you are not as stable; it's because your point of gravity is higher. It doesn't mean you can generate more power in your technique. Look at my previous posts to see how you can generate more power. The only reason you need the ground is, as I said before, as a reaction force.

Yes, you can. I don't find Bruce that special; his films are even worse. He was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. When I look at his movies half of the time the camera is so close you can't even see what he is doing. And that noise he always makes.... And in answer to the original question of this thread; none, because I don't think there are any 'masters'. That word has a meaning of someone being supernatural and no one is. There are however some people who are very good at their sport, like Shirai for example. And yes I don't say martial art either because that too has a meaning that makes more of it than it is. It is just a sport or hobby what we are doing. It is nothing special like the words MA make of it.

At that time I decided not to go full force, because I didn't feel it was necessary. I only wanted to stop the fight. I didn't want to beat the crap out of him. There is a saying in karateworld that might be appropiate and that's something like; hurt someone rather than maim, maim rather than kill. I agree with you on the heavy bag. I think that's a helpful tool to go full force and to get the feeling what happens if you are really hitting someone. Even more for this purpose I like the cushions (don't know the English word for it) where one person holds on to it and the other can punch or kick full force.

That can be a good thing also. A friend of mine got in a fight once and I helped a little by punching a guy in the face. I only punched him a bit so he looked a bit dazed; enough to stop the fight. He didn't have any injuries. If I had gone full contact he would have had a broken nose and maybe a concussion and after a while I would probably looking at a lawsuit.....

Could you ellaborate on that? How does that give you more power? What are iron-body effects and how does that work in being rooted?