Kicks

I didn't say that I don't like it, I was explaining that sometimes that's the only way I get to compete. It's just a fact of life. At our TKD school that's all I have to spar with too. So I'm quite used to it. No biggie.

AngelaG, I know what you mean. I sit in a lot of business meetings where everybody there has to say something to try to impress the boss. I use a technique that makes it bareable. I'll pay attention for three minutes, then take a day dream break for one minute, then back to paying attention. Of course I haven't mised anything in a minute. Not when they are reexplaining what they just explained the firt or second time. I'll bounce back and forth from paying attention to day dreaming until the meeting is over. In class I'm usually looking to see what kid isn't paying attention to the instructor (even if I'm the instructor). I'll then know who will need help when they have to practice on their own. And yes, I do tell them "You should have been paying attention" Hmmm, I wonder if I just happened to have caught them during a "day dream break"?

You got some good advice and lots of support from the folks here. But guess what...if any of us here were testing for our next grade we would all be nervous too. Most of that pressure would be coming from within, the desire to do good, and not as much from our judges and peers. The Martial Arts is supposed to teach you how to deal with pressure. I think that's why we have formal test (gradings) in front of judges and an audience. You can always try that old trick; when you get in front of the judges just imagine that you're in your underwear. Is that how it goes?

*Joanne Siddall* said: That's exactly what I was looking for, words of expierence. You brought up some good points, as did the other posters. We do teach to avoid and counter. I noticed when sparring him that he would stand there and take the kicks, or try to block them, then step in with punches. But once I jammed him and was chest to chest he didn't know what to do. I had to show how to kick his way out of a clinch. As far as being relaxed, I know what you mean. I still have to tell black belts who have only taken TKD to relax when they spar. That seems to be a hrad concept for some people to grasp. I remember fighting in this one tournament I had a young lady assigned to coach me. She didn't know anything about me or what to say. I told her to just yell three things "Relax", "Breath", "Have Fun". Yep, I won... just by out lasting my opponent.

My personal highlight was winning USTU National Championship in sparring 2003. But my most fulfilling moments were training and coaching my son to his AAU national championship in 2000 and my daughter's AAU national championship in 2004. http://www.livaudaisnet.com/mafit/mafit3.htm

Congrats. Do you want us to keep this thread going?

Myst, My daughter, who is 12 now, has had the same problem. She often fought boys and beat them. Finally some parents complained and now she doesn't fight the boys. Now she fights the bigger girls and some tournament directors treat it like a valid match and issue medals accordingly, and some tournaments its just an exhibition. Shannon would cry when it didn't count. She would rather fight and lose than be given a freebie. I also have to deal with the fact that not many men over 32 are willing to spar (under WTF rules). There was a group for a while that would spar me but they seem to have decided it better to sit and judge. So I often have to fight in the 18 - 31 year old division (I'll be 47 on Jan 31st). That's why I like going to Nationals, there's a lot more guys my age to play with.

There' some, but you'll have to surf the site to find them. http://www.kitf.org

I have a tie between two. When I was fairly new to TKD my wife and I had a sitter come in and watch the kids that summer. One day this young girl decided to be ambitious and do our laundry. She started a small load which included my only gui and some other whites, and a few of my kid's red shirts. You guessed it. I went to class that night in a pink gui. How embarrassing! The other one was when I was running late to class and quickly pulled my gui out the dryer, put it on and took off to class. I had just recently been promoted to 1st dan, so the instructor asked me to warm up the class. I went in front of my peers and wanted to look good, so I had the class do some front kicks. As I demostraited a strong front snap kick a pair of women's panties came flying out of my pants leg right across the front of the dogang!! I hate static electricity!

Great job, thanks for the links!

My point exactly.

The only problem with using a fan on the street is finding a place to plug it in. hee hee, sorry, I just couldn't resist. Actually, we use the fan in our hapkido training as a requirement for 4th dan. We learn 7 combinations using the fan incorporated with blocks, strikes, joint locks, sweeps, and kicks. I think I have a few techniques caught on video. I'll dig through my tapes this weekend and look for you if you'd like.

Thanks for the link!

All of our requirements are written on poster sized paper, framed, and hung on the walls of the dojang. There is also a binder at the front of the jojang that has a detailed (step by step) description of each technique. We also have handouts of the general requirements for those who want to bring one home. At any time, anybody can get a copy of the detailed document of their requirements from the owners. There's no reason anybody shouldn't know what they are required for the next rank. Also, most of our classes are designed around learning the required techniques and combinations and practicing them.

Hey, MA weapons are good, but when all else fails... Remember the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones was confronted by a large Arab guy with a sword? Indiana just took out a pistol and shot him. You know why he shot him? He was actually supposed to do a long fight scene, but Harrison Ford (Indiana) had diarrhea that day and wanted to make it a short scene. Spielberg said the only way it could be shortened was if Indy were to pull out his gun and shoot the guy. The crew laughed and that is how they filmed it. And that's how legends are born.

When I first started taking my kids to USTU national tournaments in 1999 I noticed that falling down was a very popular strategy for kids ages 8 - 16. They would score 1 point and the rest of the match (2 rounds) they would do a really bad attempt at a kick and fall down every time the opponent attacked them. This would stall the match and time would run out. The USTU finally put a stop to that several years ago and made falling down a warning penalty (half point deduction).

There's some punching, or jabbing, in there. I'm thinking that maybe they respected each other's defensive kicking abilities and that they didn't want to chance getting in too close, or maybe they just couldn't because of the other's ability to cut them off with their kicks. The legs do have a longer reach than the arms.

That's why I placed the pads on the floor. The kid didn't want them, but I was responsible for him. And don't try this on a door, especially if there's a chance someone could open it while you're running up it!!!

ninjanurse, Thanks for the reply. I had him attend my class, which is strickly a WTF style sparring class. I had him work out entirely with my son (4th dan) on drills. We also went over scenarios of when to use the techniques and did partner, as well as pad, drills. He picked up the techniques quickly. I think its just a matter of adjusting mentally and developing a different mind set. However, what ever good techniques and skills he learned in his Shotokan training I wouldn't want him to lose. He just needs to be able to seperate the two when competing under different rules of the game.

My sons saw Electra Sunday night and they were disappointed. Any other reviews?

Between me and the kids: 6 pair Nunchaku 2 pair Sai 2 Bo 1 Fan 2 .30 caliber M1 carbines 1 12 guage shotgun 1 .22 rifle 1 .38 S&W handgun 7 military & survival type knives and bayonnets 2 Bows with arrows 1 angry hampster

tufrthanu, I'll agree to an extent. We have our Master instructor demonstrate the hapkido combinations to the class with several black belts. Then we pair off and he and the assistant instructors go from pair to pair and assist the students.

On another thread someone asked about the "wall step" or "wall walk" trick. I knew I had a video I made several years ago of a few of my students doing it. I dug around and finally found it. So here it is: http://www.livaudaisnet.com/mafit/videos/wallwalker.wmv That's my voice you hear. My son Ross (at age 12) is the kid in uniform doing the chasing.

Well, I posed this situation to my kids at dinner. What would y'all do if it were the three of you together in this situation. I have: an 18 year old son who did TKD from age 6 - 15 (is A.D.D); a 16 year old son who has been actice in TKD since he was 4; a 12 year old daughter who's been active in TKD since she was 4. My 16 year old said he would want all of them to go back to the theatre and report the car to a cop or guard. My 18 year old didn't have an answer. My 12 year old said she'd do whatever her older brothers said to do since she wouldn't know what to do about it. We discussed it and they agreed that Ross' decision was the best, and they all understood why.

I'm WTF. This video was my first exposure to ITF sparring. Very interesting: http://203.252.46.194/~osthein/ITF_TKD.wmv