Rick

Yeah for sure, it's always the bad minority that ruin it for everyone. Interesting enough though, i used to be really reserved and quiet, and got picked on heaps. One day i defended myself and suddenly all the guys who were picking on me thought i was cool, and i really liked it. So i guess i went from being bullied to being the bully and i loved every moment of it! Now i look back on it and shiver. Rick

Yeah it's really good for speed training too! U get to practice techniques and try to do them faster and faster! It's awesome! Rick

Yeah well that's right, as well as the type of insurance that the owner has. Here in Oz insurance has gone up 800% from what it was 4 years ago in the martial arts industry. My last dojo had to make us wear full TKD style armour when we sparred, and even then it was semi-contact with hardly any pain. RIck

Yeah i agree Bad_Vibes, it's a ridiculous time that we live in. I have no idea how we came to be in such a way. Rick

Oh god no man, i am most certainly not the same as i was. I was back then everything that i hate and despise now. It was a few years ago and i've matured a fair bit since then. You're right to have a go at me though, it was a reckless and idiot thing i did an d i'm lucky i didn't kill the bloke. To add to the story though, my Shihan did find out and i was in HUGE trouble and was almost kicked out of the school. I had to mature and do a lot of work to get back into his good books. Sorry for making u angry dude. Rick

Yeah, add that extra weight to the bar, or do that extra 100 crunches or punches or something... Make it harder for urself when u find it easier. There's nothing worse than hitting a plateau. Rick

Metallica Baby!!!!! YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Nothing gets me pumped like metallica! Rick

I reckon it depends on how u feel. but say if i did 10 push ups, i would wait 20 seconds before doing more. 20 push ups i'd wait 40 seconds etc... I think it's just something about the lactic acid getting out of there so u can go again. Rick

I reckon grappling is okay for u, but yeah ur doctor might say no but then again he might also be right when he says it. A little bit of boxing and grappling isn't a bad combination. If it's free and it's good man, hell yeah go for it on the grappling side of things. Rick

Yeah for sure... It sounds mean but i hope someone really hurts him one day - i'd love to see that. I guess it really is his gimmick isn't it... Ah well. Rick

Hahaha stop it dude, ur killing me! Rick

Nah no offense taken dude, questions are cool with me. You know, i have no idea how one becomes a certified Muay Thai instructor. I know he had a certification certificate from some organisation, i just started training there when i was 7 or so and it seemed pretty good what he was teaching so i stayed. The name was Andrew Percival if i remember correctly. It was always 'SIR!' to us. Rick

Nah that's cool, at least ur going to a dojo now so u can compare ur individual style and techniques with everyone else. I'll be honest and admit that i have no idea how u trained to a good amount of skill without outside instruction, but then again i haven't got much of an idea about most things. Rick

These are some pretty good responses, thanks peoples... It really is a nightmare being attacked with weapons and yeah we all have to be really careful. It might sound odd, but i have a friend in Sydney (Australia) who is infinately more talented in the MA's than i am, who told an attacker that if he got the knife off him he was going to ram it up his *rear end*. Anyway, Randy got the knife off this bloke and shoved all 5 inches of the blade into the guys left buttock. I know he got charged but i think he got off with a fine or something weird, something about he told the guy the consequences if he were to attack with the knife and he was in front of witnesses when he said it. Strange huh? Rick

Well dude, before u go on doing Muay Thai u should perhaps first find out how much chop your tibia is. U don't wanna break that baby again. Perhaps instead of the Muay Thai ur friend could more teach u the boxing/elbow side of the martial art as well as the grappling. It definately sounds like a good thing to get in to though man. Rick

Cool, thanks guys. Rick

Welcome dude, i was on just before when u registered - so i expected an intro soon. Well i'm Rick from Australia, welcome to the boards. I've been here before but only recently signed up under a new name. I'm a bit of an old hand at martial arts, i look forward to chatting with u man. Rick

I'm about to write something that has been bugging me for years. It was back in my Kickboxing days just after i received my 1st Dan and i was all big into showing people how good i was and i was always looking for fights and all that sort of stupid teenage thing. I got into a fight with a bloke bigger than i was, and i had him beaten after a bit of wrestling, and he was pretty much out on his feet after i punched him in the nose. So there he was clutching his bleeding nose, bent over in range of my spinning heel. I knew there were my mates and some girls watching, so what did i do? I threw the spinning heel and luckily hit his hands (which he put up to defend himself) and crashed with the remainder of my force into his head with the arch of my foot. Not good technique i'll admit, but it knocked him out cold. I won the fight, but the thing that bugged me was that i had won it before i did that showy finishing move and i've always hated the fact that i didn't show him the same kind of mercy that i would have liked to have been shown myself. Have any of u ever had an experience like this? Do u use spinning kicks in real fighting or heavy sparring? Rick

Proper technique will get rid of these errors. But most importantly u need to wear NO gloves at LEAST 50% of the time so u can get your wrists used to the impact as well as your hands... Most of my training is done with small knuckle gloves that offer like 3 milimetres of padding (so i don't rip my skin off which is a pain if u wanna train all of the time). I've broken my fingers and strained my wrist heaps of times when i used to do full contact sparring. I agree with the hard/soft/soft/hard principles also... As well, a usefull tip, aparently there is a pressure point between our index and middle fingers that effect breathing, so when u punch with the two leading knuckles in a 'karate punch' u may actually be affecting ur breathing (according to some chinese thing i read somewhere)... That's why in wushu and kungfu etc they learn vertical instead of horizontal punches. Just thought i'd put that in. Rick

It's agreed then, febreeze gets rid of more odour for longer... Is this a commercial? Am i getting paid? WHERE THE HELL IS THAT KID WITH MY DANISH!?!?!?!?!? Rick

Shadow boxing... How many of u do it? Do u find it beneficial in any way? Personally i love shadow boxing. Get in front of a mirror and just go hell for leather while metallica is playing in the background. It sure is a good workout. I mean, it's no substitute for bagwork, but what else are u gonna do when it's raining out, or it's cold (like winterish in Australia), or too dark or something? It's also good IMO for those wanting to pick on themselves on the technical side of things. Rick

There's nothing really wrong with having a 'go to' move or something like that... I think everyone has favourite moves that they set up and employ a great deal of the time... But yes u must be well rounded... And i don't really think he was bragging either... But nobody likes braggers, that's true... Take it easy guys, it's almost my bedtime... Rick

Yeah the tao is okay - but it's not gonna solve all of your problems... JLee - If your not too concerned with muscularity then don't worry too much about weights training - but some pushups would really help. What u need to get your dad to do is teach u the basic Jab, Cross, Hook, and Uppercut - then spar spar spar.... that will get u a great amount of skill in the shortest amount of time... Although having a proper system of lessons with an instructor would be more beneficial u can still learn quite a bit of everyday boxing by getting taught the four main moves and then practising and adapting them. Hope it goes well for u mate. Rick

I agree with gcav and sevenstar - gaining knowledge from books and videos is and excellent way of broadening your horizons but u must take everything u read and watch with a grain of salt and there is ABSOLUTELY NO SUBSTITUTE for the training that one can gain within a Dojo, Dojang, or any area where you are being taught skills by a professional. I have many martial arts books and videos (Including Danny Lane's Champion Karate Video Series based on Tang Soo Do) and i refer to them often, mainly for inspiration or to test a few new things with a training partner. I do have a question for u JeetKuneDo. U say that u have done a few years of intense training without stepping foot in a dojo, but have u had professional instruction from someone qualified? Or have u taught the moves to yourself by reading and watching? Not trying to cause an argument because u may indeed have an enourmous amount of skill, but don't u think that u may be learning techniques incorrectly and perhaps doing yourself a disservice? Rick

Has anyone here ever been attacked by someone with a weapon... I've had knives pulled on me twice. First time he put it away and the second one he was trying to kill me... He didn't obviously but i spent 2 weeks in hospital cos his mates stomped on my head really bad. Rick