CapitalKarate

I'm currently 17, but my goal for quite a few years now (I think since 10 yrs old?) has been law enforcement/military. If I go into law enforcement, I'll either join the K-9 division of a sheriff's department and also join the swat division, or train the officers in hand to hand combat. If military, either I'd go in with the goal of becoming a SEAL, and/or training the navy seals in h2h combat/fitness.

For actual self defense today, wooden. You can more easily control whether or not you kill or injure them and you can carry a 4-5 foot staff around, you can't carry a sword around.

Kettlebells, there's a video on russiankettlebells.com that was designed to help boxers get faster punches (among other things) and also a video for martia artists.

I'm starting to use kettlebells, and I have to tell you, they are one of the best, or the best weights to use out there! Possibly second only to the snatch and clean&jerk. They are joint friendly and will help your joints too. You can start off with one kettlebell, but you'll probably want to go with two later on. Start off with a 16K, that's the average size people start with. Also go onto https://www.russiankettlebells.com and get pavels starter video to get used to real kettlebell movements. I'd also reccommend getting a set of 3 kettlebells from gill athletics (google it) because they have one of the best deals I've ever seen.

It's been proven that ATF squats help dramatically with bad knees. I hurt mine when I fell on it and had pain for 8 months and couldn't do anything. Then a friend told me to do weights ATF squats, at first it hurt, but the next day and from then on my knees never had any pain at all! ATF squat work wonders, but of course ask your doctor first to make sure it's safe. But, if he says squats don't work, screw him and try it with light weight and see how you feel the next day.

For what purpose? For ab strength- if you use weights properly then your abs will be used to stabalize your body, but you can also work your abs 2-6 times a week with perfect form sit-ups/l-sits/leg raises/knees to elbows... etc. If you don't use weights... get some and use em. For a 6 pack- exercises won't do anything for you, unless you do weights incline sit-ups and weights leg raises and even then you'll only see the 6 pack once your BF% gets below 10-12% which won't lower with weights or ab exercises, only cardio and diet.

I believe isshinryu is right on this. But, then again, we won't truly know unless someone experienced in both and knows the history of both comes and explains. If you're asking which to train in, the answer is always both. You don't want to do only body weight exercises, you don't want to do only weight lifting stuff. You want to cross train as much as possible, specifically working on the areas you suck at or hate the most.

Or to make burpees even harder, when you come back up from the squat, don't just stand up, jump as high as you can. Also you want to consider using weights in conjunction to body weight stuff previously mentioned. Power lifts; dead lift, squats. Olympic lifts; snatch, clean and jerk. Also weighted front lunges and side lunges are good.

I just skipped most posts cause it was mostly repetitive stuff. If I'm repeating something someone said, my bad.. First off, the whole 4 pack 6 pack 8 pack deal (no such thing as a 2 pack) ... it's all a deal about your body fat %, if you have an average % then you'll have a 4 pack, less than average 6 pack, low % 8 pack. Everyone has abs, it's all about the amount of fat over the abs, and the fat WILL NOT go away from doing weights, that will only strengthen the abs, not make your BF% (body fat %) go down. The only way you can lower your BF% is through diet and cardio (aerobic and anaerobic). Weights, WILL NOT get it down, they'll work to get the body building looking abs once the BF% is below at least 10% but by its self weights won't work. As for diet, google 'zone diet' and read what you get. As for cardio, for right now work on running and sprinting. If you want more info on good cardio workouts go to crossfit.com and ask how to get your BF% down on the forums.

XMA is flashy, no doubt, capoiera is "flashy" but only because it involves a lot of gymnastics stuff that evidently can be used to create a pretty good self defense art.

Edit, the 8th dans name who trains directly with Dr. Masaaki is Mark Vandehey

How were the training methods not great? Also, if someone who is learning or has learned some BBT could post explaining what the downfalls of the system are, I'd really appreciate it. Also again, the instructor of this school (Corvallis Bujinkan Dojo) is 3rd Dan Dennis King, who studies under an 8th dan, but I forgot his name, I'll get it once I find it, and the 8th daan studies directly under masaaki and make it a point to travel to japan once a year to train with him. Does anyone know of these instructors and if you do how good they are as teachers?

I found a bujinkan budo taijutsu (authentic) dojo close to my house, I've always been fascinated by and interested in BBT and would like to see what it's like. Question is, is it any good for street self defense (compared to the likes of traditional okinanwan karate and muay thai/boxing) and would it conflict with my learning ch'uan fa kajuknbo?

You'd be amazed how many people critisize me for using male terms as opposed to unisex ones when talking about humans in general. I just like using the male terms cause it's easier.

It's a lot like what police train for. Not necessarily knock out but to subdue someone until authorities came, because if it were one on one the person trying to subude someone who's dangerous would have a higher risk of getting hurt than having 1 or 2 other guys with him. (BTW ladies, when I say "him" "he" or male terms for someone, I really mean a person of any sex)

I was thinking the other day about other ways of training that I haven't seen before, and it came to me. What about training as a group of 2 or more people together defending themselves against either one person or more than that, as in training to defend yourselves as a team. Hate to have this kind of refference but, kind of like in the movies how 2 or 3 guys have to take out a larger group of guys and use team work, having one man do a technique on an opponent and having a partner of his back him up with another technique (stuff like that), to subdue them all or knock them all out. Granted you wouldn't train nowadays in a group of say 3 guys to destroy one man out of control, but what about training to be able to subdue him so as to make it so he can't hurt someone or himself?

lets not get into the whole "MMA training only works in cages, you can't eye gouge and tendon rip in the cage" debate...

Ok, nevermind on the more info thing. I just went onto the HQ website and the head instructor said (in order to promote his tapes) that his tapes are so effective, even without a training partner that the results are comparable to training multiple times in a school with a certified instructor. So, I won't be interested in this. The chin'na influence had me quite interested for a while, but once I saw this I decided, no way. I'll stick with the real deal.

My loves other than MA: Christ, drums, soccer, huge fitness freak, personal weapons, i know a hell of a lot about bladed weapons. Outdoor stuff, hope to join a survival school sometime before i'm 25.

Good story, if only more people would be the lion and be humble. O well..

CRKT M16-14M, Camillus CUDA MAXX Bowie (12 inch folder). Soon, when I have the funds and the license, I plan on carrying a firearm of some sort so I can get accustomed to it before entering the police force. Can any of you guys who know about guns give me a link so I can educate myself about firearms? I wanna know how they work, I wanna know what brands there are and which are better than others and which are designed for which purpose. Thanks! And, BTW Cadet Ray, Balisongs are illegal in the state of california.

Thanks, I've decided to go with the MAXX, I've heard too many praises about it to go with something else. I'll tell you guys how I like it when it gets here.

Update: I now have to choose between two knives for my EDC (btw, my edc does not have to be light). So if anyone can tell me what they know of the two knives I'm about to mention I'd greatly appreciate it, Thanks! Camillus 2262 C.U.D.A. MAXX http://www.camillusknives.com/1mainframe.htm?cuda/index.shtml~main SOG Pentagon Elite 2 http://www.sogknives.com/pentagone2.htm I can get the camillus for about 100 and the sog for about 60-70. But the camillus looks like it might be stronger, dno. Any info on either whether it be about the knife design or personal experience or what you've heard would be great, thanks!

That civilian was designed to be a slashing knife, not a penetrating knife, though I'm sure if you changed the angle you had the knife at when thrusted into someone it'd work just as well as any other. But, it was designed for self defense for cops so they wouldnt kill the guy they were using the knife against. If I'm without witnesses and this guy means business, then it might actually be easier for me and my family if I kill him and say I needed to than to stab him and have him testify against me in court.

it might not be a bad idea to get some authentic KM videos to get yourself accustomed to the style. Normally I would say stay away from vids, but in this case it might be far better to get them so you know some one man drills or w/e for when you join.