Henry South

sounds like your school uses the traditional belt ranking. i have been to kickboxing schools that dont use belts. its not uncommen that kickboxing schools just think of there art as a sport with no ranking system. much like boxing the school will however be set as light middle and heavy weight. hope i have been some help, Henry South

i love the cresent kick. althogh i think it is better left in the self defence side of the art than the sparring and comp side. when facing someone who knows and is at the same level or higher than you in a fight then the cresent kick can seem like an invitation but to have as an opening move to a street fight it is invaluable first move. more for the look of it and the power you can get behind it than for the practicality of it. well hope ive helped you in some way. Henry South

i would under normal sparring cercumstances respect and take on your point angus but if used in the street most "normal people" wouldnt have a clue what you are doing and the split second guard drop from a cresent kick wouldnt mean much outside dojo. what i find most amusing is that untrained people often try and grab your leg while it is comming down from the axe or cresent kick with a bent arm this will proberly hurt there other arm more than the kick at the arm u have aimed at! be that as it may if you can get a clear shot at there back kick them in the base of the spine with a side kick. all good points and all would work congrats. Henry South

in case you were wondering i am not a police man but i do know one. apparently if you were about to be mugged on the streets or someone challenged you in a drunken or angry manner in the street you have to warn them THREE times of what grade you posses in your martial art and what martial art you practice before you can attack them and for it to be classed as self-defence! anyone else got any unknown laws about martial arts on the streets? yours Henry South

i think that you can learn most not from people around you but from yourself once you know yourself then you can know others. i have immence respect for those who follow the path of deep medition techniques, but i feel each to there own. i would rather leave the universe to its own. i do not meddle with things i dont understand and never will, my humble opinion. henry south

thank you all very much for your replys to my post. it has helped me greatly. my friends are fine just a cople of black eyes and bruses. after my time in japan learning the sword i have leant that your greatest wepon is a good friend who watches your back. at that moment i felt like my friends needed a wepon and i was there. i no longer partake in drinking as i dont like to feel out of control of my body. im sure many devote students and sensais feel.

i find a cresent kick or axe kick to the sholder perfect for the streets. a well placed axe kick to the neck or sholder will take down almost any opponent with some nasty side effects. henry south

hello people, i guess this is were i introduce myself. my name is henry south, i am 18 and have just aquired my brown belt in karate. i have also put alot of my time (and money) into learning the sword in japan. an enlightening experience that i would love to share with people of like mind. from what ive read and the replys i have recived ALREADY i can tell this will be a good place to talk. thanks for the warm welcome and a cool forum. your faithfully Henry South

i find the best way to meditate is being on your own doing something you love doing (to an extent ) and listening to some music that you know will chill you out. there is alot of disiplin in the art of meditation but what the monks that started it were trying to say is CHILL OUT. just sit down or lie down and chill out. or read the tou of piglet. it is the most fantastic book in the world! look it up and read it. yours sincerly henry south

i find if the fight has no rules you can often use the kicks used in TKD to fight from the floor to the exposed legs of the attacker, a knee is a tempting target to a power kick at the same level. and very painful. henry south

well it really all depends on weather you would want to kill your opponent or mearly beat them. for beating i would reach for a good pair of study nun's but to kill someone i would select throwing knifes. they are fantastic and i have become quite prefficent over the last few years. but that raises the question would any of us kill? im not sure if i would. and im not sure i would like to find out. yours sincerly henry south

Dear Joe, i have trained in the sword (practical katana) for several years now along with my karate. i find the sword a very relaxing and forfilling wepon to use. i often use the sword in developing my own type of tei chei the weight is also quite re-assuring. yours sincerly henry south

dear reader, i am 18 and have just achived my brown belt in shotokan karate. me and a few friends from my dojo (rising dragon henley on thames) were celabrateing this the night after at my apartment. we then went to our local to carry on the celabrations, as i dont drink i was quite happy to drive. however several of my friends were drinking and soon got into the typical bar bragging about how i had just reached brown belt im karate, this soon led to two of my friends being pushed outside to be beaten in there intoxicated state. i intervined with two swift round house kicks and the fight was over, i was remined afterwards that whenever you can just walk away a very simple and important rule of the disiplin we study. was it right to help my friends and use my martial art against two others or would it have been better to try and resolve it peacefully. i would really apriciate any advice. yours sincerly henry south