three60roundhouse

I have never seen it in my school, and my instructor probably wouldn't allow it. I've never trained in the far east, either.

Interesting argument. Too bad it is gassing. Anyway, it seems to be getting into a traditional "art" vs. modern "art" war, here...even if it is indirect. I am of the humble opinion that you perform to the absolute edge of your physical abilities - an no further. I am a stretching addict. I know that even though I can kick about 6 inches over my head, I still view doing the splits as a physical milestone. And do you know how I've been helped? Not by having an instructor sit on my back like they did to my instructor (risking stupid injury for a goal I don't even have to meet). I've been helped by reading articles on stretching and going, like angus said - until I feel a burn, but never sharp pain. I think this is my year ...I'm gonna do a split. Anyway, I still don't understand where this post is going! The original post was about A FEW black belts who have had watered-down training. So what? What does that have to do with modern martial artists in general (especially on a forum for people who are very dedicated)? NOTHING! And let's go ask Helio Gracie what he thinks of traditional training methods and arts. I think he would have interesting input.

I like back kicks - you ust have to have a little more time. I also like roundhouse - they re extremely quick. But, all in all, I think the most effective are front and side kicks.

Linkin park writes the same idea over, and over, and over again reworded along with one or two powerchords and a good DJ.

What do you mean by "vale tudo"? I suggest first seeing which schools in your areas teach which arts...if I was you I'd look for wing chun, muay thai, or brazilian jiu-jitsu or another grappling art, or a combination.

Hehe. I got back from class only five minutes ago - and here's a story! I guess on of our standing heavy bags (the really tall ones) was getting a little weak. We were doing front kicks and we heard a huge crack! and the bottom of the bag snapped and the top canvas part came tumbling down like a big tree that had been sawed. Everyone looked at me and cracked up and the instructor pretended to beat me with a bo. It was funny, but a little embarassing. Luckily, I just broke a plastic part that my instructor had a replacement for!

OOH! ME! I'm a girl but I don't fight like one!

I think I'm one of the youngest...I'm 14 and in ninth grade.

That's like calling Keith Richards "alive"

I'm 14, but welcome anyway!

Honestly, I'm not trying to take a so-called "chicken answer" - but it really depends on what you want when you start an art. I really started becasue I needed something that could last all year long and would therfore be in the basketball offseason and also, my brothers were starting and I was just sitting there in ythe lobby doing nothing, so why not? So mainly, it was physical for me. Not to say that I haven't gained a lot of internal stuff, too. I have such a difrent outlook on life. I, like many of te eleven year olds who decide to take up tae kwon do, wanted to "beat people up" like on TV. I have matured so much due to the martial arts. Then again, the two arts (TKD and BJJ) that I study are very modern, so there is virtually no spirituality, we just learn basic lessons in common sense and morality.

N/A...I think a lot of martial artists give a bad impression of martial artists, well most of them - in a martial art movie you are either a sport practitioner or a guy who speaks in proverbs. Just my experience in general

:mad:Drugs=bad! Why can't stupid people just understand that! I mean, how many ALIVE heavy heroin users do all of YOU know!

There is, but I love music anyway....here's a few of my favorite artists... Incubus, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Tool, Megadeth, Nirvana, Tupac Shakur, Iced Earth, Creed, Dream Theater, Goo Goo Dolls, Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath.

Usually a black belt has a great amount of skill, while a white belt may have some degree of ability, it is usually not fine-tuned or harnessed like that of a black belt. This is my martial arts rule of thumb. A white, yellow, red belt may be better than a black belt, but the expectations are higher for a black belt and therefore experience and skill is required to a higher level. What I;m saying is, there is of course an exception to every rule, like the black belt loses to white belt, but a black belt being skilled is pretty much a constant in the martial arts.

It sounds barbaric and pointless, but then again that was before or during the time of gladiators and a lot of religious sacrifices. Hell, we still have those matadors!

I stay up to maintain good balance. The only thing I would vary in sparring and self defense is that in sparring, with pads and lighter contact, I go for a little more flashy or risky stuff, I also experiment more. Self defense is a place made for ugly, basic kicks - front and roundhouse kicks to the knees, groin, kidneys, etc. and punches to the face and head. Other than that, I always was taught to keep my back straight...even when ducking or crouching I only move my knees. As far as the side kick, yes....even when you see demo teams do kicks a foot over their head, they must lean back - not far enough for a non-martial artist to notice...but it is essential for a high kick. I find that it isn't necassary for lower kicks.

I'm really new to grappling, started BJJ about a month ago,but what do you do when you have someone in a really good, let's say, choke, and they are turning purple and refuse to tap? I mean he was only 13 (I'm 14) and he wouldn't tap. I don't want to make him pass out!

We don't usually "bow" our heads, and we believe that it isn't an inatimate object, that it's a representation of Christ, or whatever.

Pro wrestlers are closer to Brodway then to ESPN. They are performers and entertainers who can lift a lot of weights and pop a lot of steroid pills.

I totally disagree. I have very strong relationships with many of the instructors at my dojang. If you are respectful and give 110%, any instructor will enjoy having you in their class, whether it has 5 students or 50.

Are you saying that someone who knows how to kick well, punch well, and block strikes, even if it's used in sport, is useless? Are you saying that if you took two clones, one trained in TKD and one not, that the one trained in TKD wouldn't have the SLIGHTEST (note your use of the word "useless") advantage? Hmmm....that seems kind of like saying that a boxer has no street defense advantage.

I think I train becasue the martial arts combine everything I love - healthy competition, nice people, good excercise, physical challenges, fun, definite goals (ie. black belt, kicking this high, doing a split), and another reason I train is becasue to me martial arts is a big puzzle, a simple game. when I spar, what will happen if i do this? And if I'm grappling, what do I do if he does this? They say that the next best thing to training is visualizing a fight that you are in. I enjoy sitting there and visualizing my opponent, smelling their stench, feeling my dobok, feeling the opponent's strikes, and thinking of what i will do back. It's kind of like chess to me, one big brain teaser.

My dojang is pretty large - there is one large room and one smaller room. I like training in the big room with a large class as opposed to being in a smaller environment. This is probably becasue I like haveing the energy of a large class. I think size definitely can affect how one trains, and I seem to be straying from everyone else's thoughts.

Angus, "GJJ" is what some people use instead of "BJJ" GJJ=Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. You're not always right, you know.