thaiboxerken

For footwork you can do some skip-rope. It will help you to become lighter on your feet. Stay on your toes when shadow-boxing and always use footwork in any drill. To get a great "teep" kick, try kicking a solid,stationary object. Working the heavy bag like you describe is pretty good, but instead of just stopping the bag from swinging, try to kick it so hard that it folds. When I teep, I like to hop with my support foot, this adds alot of power. Also, I like to turn my hip over and my teep "screwdrives" in where, when it lands, it almost looks like I just did a side-kick.

To train alone will be very hard indeed. It will be a challenge, but you can do it!! You have the basics, and that's all you need. Write down all of the goals of your body mechanics and work on them often. Don't worry so much about power, but work on hip movement. Set goals, number goals are best when training yourself. Kick the heavy bag 150 times in 2 minutes, for instance. Shadow-box, and if you can, do it in front of a mirror sometimes, so you can check your own form. Heck, if you have access to video equipment, video-tape your sessions. A good thing to do might be to find a partner to train. Sometimes it might be someone that you'll have to teach the basics to also. But teaching, in itself, is a very good training method. Good luck!!

Two of my former instructors are in Black Belt magazine this December. Frank Cucci and Pedro Sauer!! Check it out!

It took many, many years, but Kung Fu has finally grasped how to fight against Muay Thai. They are learning, which is great. I feel that the Thais learned a lesson, and maybe they'll finally start paying more attention on throwing techniques. I still feel that Muay Thai has some of the most effective striking techniques in the world, they just need to realize that throwing makes a totally different game. If the rules were Muay Thai, then the results would've probably been different. This illustrates the need to cross-train in more than just one art.

Dude, come on up to Phoenix and I'll show you why pressure points are over-rated.

I like the switch-step lead knee myself. It's just like the switch-step lead round kick.

That's a pretty decent training aid, you can learn how to slip with it, bob and weave may be a little harder to do because of the string that might stop you on the bottom. This is more of a timing drill and it takes getting used to. Remember to keep the training "alive" by using footwork and keeping your mind in the training.

Sure, I wish more businesses would sponsor martial art schools and events, this would help promote the martial arts in the USA. There is that draw-back though, the McDojo's would probably get more exposure than good schools because they are better at selling their crappy systems in general.

It doesn't matter what gender my partner is, I respect their ability to take pain. If I see that I'm hurting my partner, I will take down the intensity. Use a little common sense when sparring and gender becomes a non-issue.

Many fights end up on the ground. Yes, it should be avoided, but alot of times it CAN'T be avoided. So, the ground is a good place to learn to be comfortable on. If you know how to fight on the ground, there is a good chance you can position yourself to get up off of the ground quickly.

Hey all, one of my instructors, Guro Inosanto is featured in the November issue of Black Belt magazine. Check it out, you'll get insight into the world of JKD and Bruce Lee from the man that helped Bruce Lee develop JKD. Erik Paulson is Inosanto's dummy for the technical pictures. It's a great article.

The rope, sarong or chain is a very good weapon. Ladies can use purses in the same way as a sarong. It can be very versatile to use anything you carry as a weapon. Just think how suprised a mugger would be if you used the purse to choke him out?

I'm an equal opportunity ass-whipper. I don't care if they are man or woman, I'll lay the smack-down on their ass if they attack me.

Well yea.. that's the idea. My description is on how to lock your arms around. Hands on top of the head, elbows down and in to lock the neck in. If you don't have your hands above the ears then you don't have as much leverage and they can lift their head up.

Ideally you are supposed to intercept the intention of the person you are fighting. If you know they want to fight, you try to strike first, strike hard and keep striking until the fight is over. If the opponent decides to attack first, you are to intercept the attack and keep striking until it's over. Of course this takes much timing, so the parries and blocks are taught. And the timing is trained so that a person may learn to intercept attacks. There is more to JKD than what people understand. JKD is an internal journey whose paths are created by the practioner. That's why there are those JKD people that do more Muay THai, like me, and those that do more Jun Fan. It's all about finding out what works best for you and being bound by no particular system.

Keep your elbows cinched up around your opponent's neck and place your hands on top of his head, above the ears. Keep him off-balance and spin him in random intervals while throwing your knees.

At karate.. i wouldn't know. At un-armed fighting, men are generally better. That's just a reality. Women tend to be better with weapons though. In combat all together, men seem to have an edge, that's why there are more men in the military.

According to Sifu Dan Inosanto, JKD is: “A series of guidelines to lead you to proficiency.” “JKD is finding the right art for the right time and place.” “JKD is the process of developing the “discerning mind.” “JKD is not an end unto itself, but merely a byproduct. JKD was to serve as a means of self-discovery.” “JKD is a byproduct of Jun Fan Gung Fu… without Jun Fan Gung Fu there is no JKD. “The motion of change is essential to JKD. The concept advocates learning, experiencing and evolving above all things.” “Learning comes from all of your contacts, experiences and facets of your life.” “The assimilation of learning is called knowledge. The proper use of knowledge is called wisdom.” “I think it is important for an instructor to always remain a student at heart; to constantly seek better ways of training and execution. It is important to be creative and experiment, and to seek help in areas where you lack expertise.” “The efficiency of a style depends upon circumstances and range of distance.” “Martial arts, like life, are a constant unrhythmic movement as well as constant change.”

I feel that children don't really understand what the martial arts are really about. It's about combat, some adults don't understand this either. Very mature adolescents and teenagers start to grasp it, but children are there just to have fun. Personally, I don't think teaching kids martial arts is doing anything but paying the bills of martial art schools.

I wear whatever is cheap but durable. White does tend to turn into different colors, especially if you are grappling in it. I want a blue one, but the white ones are the most abundant. I think I'd like to wear one that is teal, as it would bring out my eye color and match my nail polish. It would make me feel thexy!

Why jump at all? What does that have to do with fighting? If you really want to jump around, go outside in the grass. You can jump inside also, you just have to learn how to absorb the impact of the landind so you don't bang on the floor and disturb your neighbor, in other words, land softly.

Lee did his one-inch punch for demonstrations. It does have an application in fighting. For demonstrations, Lee would punch a person and make them fly away. It was more of a push that he did for the demo's to dazzle the untrained crowd. When he really trained the punch though, the power would penetrate into his opponent and the opponent wouldn't fly away. The point is to do damage and if you make your opponent fly away, you have to chase him down to hit him again. The one-inch punch has application in fighting because from trapping hands a person shouldn't have to "cock" their hand back to develop power when hitting. When doing traps, there is very little distance to hit, so the 1-inch punch is developed.

You can learn how to use it in the Kali system. Basically, it's used just like a knife, you can rake (slice) with it or poke with it, or you can use it as a fist-pack. It is really nasty when used to poke bony areas of the body, like the face. You can also use it to destroy limbs as they attack you.

I've been told to aim 3" above the knee. The aim is to crash the thigh. The siatic (sp?) nerve runs through the thigh, that's a good target, it is about 45-degrees outside of the center-back of the thigh. If that is hit, it's really great. If not, then the power of the kick will hopefully cause the thigh muscle work less effectively.

That fighter was non other than, Royce Gracie. The man that brought grappling to the highlight of the martial arts world.