Fat Donkey

Both r great but people tend to goof around when they shadow box, u gotta have a plan and a system behind it. I mean start slow and from the ground up ie good stance good footwork. Good technique for everything and not just speed. Doing it fast and sloppy with unrealistic combos can be fun but detrimental to your overall technique and progress

Welcome and Salutations I would definitely skip trying to read any instructional books on any kind of MA. The history and philosophy of MA's r completely different story. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi and "The Tao of Jeet Kun Do" by Bruce Lee r all must haves for any serious Martial Artist. Good Luck

Hey Martian, It really becomes relevant when your fighting someone with fast hands There r a million techniques u can argue against but everyone here probably believes in one rule PROTECT YOURSELVES AT ALL TIMES The basic boxing/MT guard is probably the best guard out there and applies to every form of MA. You can't lose by learning it

The danger is very limited as any kind of hard contact sport is inherently dangerous to some extent. Believe it or not the sport with the highest rates of concussions and most sport related injuries is soccer/football. It beats out boxing (MA's weren't ranked). Also the more variety of attacks thrown against u the better a Martial artist u become. Some styles simply don't think of it as a legitimate target just as KK doesn't allow punches to the face. I think we pretty much all agree that a MMA style format is probably the closest test we can have for the strenghts and weaknesses of a particular MA.

All good replies, but constant motion of the arms help too. Don't hold a rigid fixed position. Your guard should be constantly moving in an unpredictable fashion which shares the strain amongst different muscle groups and never gives your opponent time to figure out your guard and work around it.

If u only got a couple of weeks then skip the weights and work on cardio. I mean do sprints, run, swim and plenty of intense pad drills. Skip the heavy bag if u have someone to hold pads. Lots of core work too ie abs, with medicine ball and someone punching u in the guts. Work on only 2 or three of your best techniques, as a couple of weeks r not enough to get ready. 3 months is what u need if u r serious. What's your weakness? What techniques do u have trouble countering? FIND OUT Then have someone attack u with that technique. NO SEX, even with yourself . It actually does increase your energy, and even if it doesn't you will feel the urge to hurt someone very badly Huge breakfast, protein, carbs and veggies fruits. Then healthy small meals all day (4 to 6), then light dinner. Meditate every day and good luck

Well said BadV, it reminds me of the old "I am rubber u r glue etc...." I was taught in MT to use the other guys attack as the springboard for your own. Flat feet means if u get hit it's gonna hurt, bent knees and balls of the foot mean u can absorb and spring back

Dude, I eat Thai style. Rice as a staple with lightly cooked or raw greens and herbs with some fish, beef or chicken on the side, fruit for desert. And TONS of garlic, peppers and fish sauce Feel great, tons of energy. Eat a good meal about 2 to 3 hrs before u train and then a light meal afterwards. Why does the doc want u to quit

I'm going to jump in on Kravs side even though I quit The President of the North American chapter is a Assistant DA in LA. They have dozens of videos of people being attacked with knives, some of whom r killed. They used these videos in updating their knife defenses. Not a lot of MA's can say that. The Krav scene in most places is pretty yuupiefied right now, because it's popular and well advertised. But u can LEARN the technique in 5 minutes, but it takes hundreds of hours to perfect it. Unless your a Moron it probably only took u less than five minutes to Learn a basic punch, but like most of us you haven't Perfected it yet.

Well, since you've only done 1 martial art it's hard to judge The crossover from 1 MA to another can be pretty hard. Example: The punches, kicks and stances I learned in shotokan were useless in everything else I took. The kicks I learned in TKD had to be drilled out of me in Muy Thai. To the guys in those dojos I looked pretty crappy Again this is where hard contact MA's have another advantage. If u can land the technique and it hurts your opponent it's a good technique. U cant' judge this on bags or pads but only against a live opponent. Example: a spinning roundhouse is a good technique for TKD tournaments but suicide in the MT ring. Fight her and then judge.

Ya but it was a JO staff not BO. In fact it was the founder of the JO (short staff) style depending if u ask a JO stylist or a kendoist he either won or lost but they both agree the confrontation did occurr and it had to be memorable if it was recorded. Sorry can't remeber the guys name?

Sorry Jerry, I disagree. Practising combos can be divided into two parts, basic building block combos and kung-fu movie combos. Its FUN to practice weird, stylish and highly impractical combos because u sometimes get sick of doing the sensible stuff. Heres a couple of mine that look good but will probably get u killed. step back and spin kick, double jumping knee attack, uppercut elbow. front kick, jump front kick, low full sweep, roll to hammer fist Get warmed up good first because this acrobatic stuff is good for ripping muscles u didn't know u had.

:-?Whats your schedule? Whats your budget? The best cardiovascular training is swimming because it exercises the whole body, controls your breathing and doesnt wear down joints and muscles (like) running? If your broke (like me ) then u should concentrate on your core ie abs and skip rope. For MT and Kickboxing core is essential and skipping helps footwork and stamina.

Yeah, why go for such standard characters and weapons Why not give them exotics like hook swords, monks spade, tri-sectional staff etc.

Oh My God! I think that the first sign of the apocalypse is upon us when Delta1 agrees with me. And hey Shane no problem. To clarify my point let me ask u what the army did for u: Was it the techniques they taught u or the confidence they inspired in u that made u dangerous?

Wrong again dude, gave up traditional MA's long ago! Also what did I say to tick u off? I agree with everything u said in terms of techniques but my point is without the proper psychological state of mind behind those techniques they r like bullets without gunpowder. So easy on the condescension and heavy on the conversation.

Yeah but didn't u forget the two most important ones a: Situational awareness/state of mind. and b: conditioning. I mean as a soldier didn't they teach u how to behave first (ie follow orders) and get u in shape before they handed u a weapon. I've been meeting a lot of MA's crazies lately from modern dojo's who've never learned how to behave but train in everything you've listed. They're the rude invincible types. Next r the fat black belts who know every technique in the book but can't climb a flight of stairs. Also, isn't the intent/motivation of the warrior the weapon and not the techniques/arsenal. Example: who would u rather face, a 200lb Green Beret or a 110lb woman who thinks you've kidnapped her baby?

The Art of War: The combined editions of Sun Tsu and Sun Ping Anyone ever see a movie called "Ghost Dog: Way of the Warrior" with Forrest Whitaker. In it he qoutes this Samurai book which I would really like to get a hold of. Also some of the quotes from kill bill, where can u find stuff like that.

Skip the Karate and join a Muy Thai gym, some of the best r in TO. You'll thank me

Yeah I'm 33 and it's tough. What u should be worried about though is that there r 12 yr old blackbelts. Sounds very McDojo to me. U should look around now that u have the MA bug and try some differnt styles before u settle down. It will be well worth your while.

I asked the master about this and he gave me the shock absorber analogy. Besides the extra power, being on your toes allows u greater manuverabilty and the ability to take a push or strike from your opponent without falling on your bum

I disagree with Shane and Jerry. U identified one of the few weaknesses of your style and r trying to correct it. Good for u Also u can't really get a better Cardio workout than a good boxing routine. Finally, boxing is probably the hardest MA's to acheive proficency in. So the earlier u start the faster you'll get there.

MUY THAI! Listen u got the grappling and u think u got good kicks, try MT which will give u boxing, knees and elbows to add to your arnenal. If your strong in one area shouldn't u try to improve the others

Yah! It's all relative. I smoke and I hate it but my master also smokes (Thai guy) and he says 3 to 5 cigs a day with 2 to 3 hrs of workout r okay. I will never give up drinking although I have given up getting smashed Sociable!

Yeah, some dojo's r offering "fusion" classes for kids where they learn 6 MA's in 3 yrs. U can buy the instructional video for $3000. The guy who made it is making a killing and the people teaching it r ripping kids and parents off