thaiboxerken

A weapon is useless if you can't use it.. This applies to training and also to where the weapon is. If it's at home, you can't use it, so it is useless eh?

Well..I was in the Navy for 10 years, a nuke EM2. And from my experiences, it is usually the Navy wives that will cheat on their husbands. Enough of that though. As far as "black belt" goes.. I don't really care to tell people that I am or not, because in society today, "Black Belt" means nothing. I will wear my knowledge, wisdom and skill instead and be proud of that.

Yes..Iron.. there will be different things a person will learn in JKD "concepts" but that is why Dan doesn't really certify people in "JKD". He will certify people in Jun Fan Gung Fu and other martial arts.. As for JKD, it is a philosophy rather than a system. I personally believe a person should not claim to teach "JKD" unless they have a good understanding of Jun Fan Gung Fu. As far as Wing Chun vs Karate.. you can train both and be better off than just training the one system. You'll see that Wing Chun isn't all that much different than other systems. Karate has the block and hit at the same time type of movements too, as does Muay Thai, Silat and Kali. It's just the emphasis are different. I personally don't like most Karate systems. Wing Chun is ok, but I like the other systems I train better. Trapping takes a long time to become proficient at and too many people forget that the purpose is to strike your opponent. Too many Wing Chun people get too caught up on "trapping" and not striking. If you just remember, it's all about striking, then you'll be good. A Wing Chun saying: "If they don't block my punch, I hit them.. If they do block my punch, I still hit them"

Hey, you were in the Navy too, eh? Most Navy wives don't know the meaning of "being faithful". I guess most black-belts don't know the meaning of their belts either.

If a KO is a disqualification.. then it isn't full contact. It is merely a "semi-contact" bout.. heck, even a well timed and placed "soft" punch can KO a person. It doesn't make sense.. oh well. I think they only call it "full contact" for marketing purposes, even though it isn't.

Strength plays a small part. But what really gets the power into the striking is control and speed of the hips, not so much strength of muscles. Of course, the strength and power of the muscles that control the hip help. But being able to squat 600lbs or bench press 400 might help a little, but there are guys out there that aren't very strong but can kick with much power.

Kickchick is correct. Also, if you want your shins tough, don't worry about conditioning them.. just keep kicking the heavy bag and you'll develop "harder" shins. Really... you can't make the bone too much "harder" the real goal is to make the nerves less sensitive. But there isn't a point to that either, because pain isn't much of a factor in a fight due to adrenaline.

You are never too old to train in Muay Thai. It is up to your coach and you to figure out how to ease you into it.. but that's true of anyone just starting out into Muay Thai. Heck, if you are in good shape, you should be fine. Strength is a very small factor in the Muay Thai training, we don't use the power of muscle to destroy the opponent, we use the power of body mechanics. I'm sure you'll find that training in Muay Thai is very rewarding and fun. Just don't do crazy stuff like kicking wooden poles, or rolling bottles down your shin or anything like that.. try to keep it real.

"In addition, Jeet kune do fighter will never reach the skills of Bruce Lee because they lack "core" which is Wing Chun with all its important concept." This is a typical response of a Wing Chun practitioner. I feel that it isn't true. If Bruce Lee trained in a different martial art, he might have still become very great at fighting and do the same things he did. Bruce Lee's strength was not his "core" art, but his determination and "obsession" with becoming the best fighter. He trained a full workday almost everyday of the week. I think it's only this reason that he could make the Wing Chun actually work. I personally think that the Wing Chun isn't as efficient as the other martial arts I train in, it takes a very long time to develope the sensitivity to do the trapping and "nucleus" fighting. Where as boxing and thai-boxing are very easy to learn and apply, which means to me that it is more efficient. But hey, to each their own, you have your "style" and I have mine.

I think the heavy bag represents a person more than a board does. Plus.. you break the board.. then you have to go find another, set it up and break again. With a heavy bag you can just keep on striking. I really don't see a good training method in breaking inanimate objects.

JKD concepts evolves the art. The Nucleus guys want to teach the "original" art that Bruce Lee did. Here is the problem.. Bruce Lee's "JKD" was constantly evolving and changing. He kept changing the curriculum of his schools and the way he trained. So, if these people say "original JKD", they are fooling themselves. Yes, I think a person should learn Jun Fan Gung Fu if they want to claim that they teach "JKD", that is the very basic structure of "JKD". Now after that, it gets to be individualized to the instructor and the students. JKD is about finding out what works for you, hence the "self-expression". I cannot, as an instructor, tell a student how to express himself, I can only be a guide and show them different paths to take. Dan Inosanto's "JKD" is much different than Bruce Lee's "JKD" and my "JKD" is different than both of them.

You can jump higher if you want. It just takes training, like anything else. You want to do plyometric exercises, this will raise the "power" of your muscles. Best thing to do is to look up "plyometric" on the internet or find a book about it at a store. Here are a couple of exercises.. squat-jumps standing broad jumps, jumping on and off of an elevated platform. Check it out, you'll find that with training and determination, you'll be able to get the hang-time you need to do the fancy stuff.

If I disprove it, then millions of people will know the truth, instead of just assuming the truth. Hey, maybe in my efforts to disprove it, i'll find out that it exists and end up proving it, then millions of people will still know the truth. "Try it before you judge it". I'm not homosexual, but i'm not gonna try it before I say I don't like it. Hey, I have goals, which is more than many people can say.

UFC is a good game. My favorite games are the tekken series. Virtua Fighter series has alot of great and real techniques. DOA 2 is awesome also.

there is already a thread about this.. "favorite weapons and... " check that out.

That's one of the hardest things to do anymore.. check a person's credentials. I guess the best thing to do is to check what a person is actually teaching and make your decision from that. It's really hard for a beginner to do. Oh well, I rarely take anyone that calls themselves "master" seriously anyway. Most of the "masters" i've trained with never call themselves such, it's the students that give them the title.

Hmmm.. lol. there is another thread in another forum here that has advice on throwing the hook.. just take a look for it. I will tell you this.. keep your arm bent, make sure your wrist is straight and that your elbow is behind your punch.

I dunno about masters.. but I am adept in several systems of martial arts to a "black belt" level or higher. I train them all in conjunction and many times, i don't even know what system I'm in when I am using them. It's all blended into my being and, in a way, i have created my own "system". That's what JKD is all about.

I think there is a place run by Yamasaki there. It'll be called Yamasaki's something or other. They have a decent Muay Thai program run by Mike Moses and you'll get lots of other training also.

" If a 16 year old black belt is at a competition, then they have the right to order a 40 year old orange belt around. " Belts don't give anyone the right to order ANYONE around in any place. I'm sorry, but if a 12 year old kid or a 45 year old adult tried to order me around, black belt or not, I would smile at them and tell them where they can go. Since when did belt rankings give anyone a right to order people around? I didn't join another military when I started training in martial arts. No one at the places I've trained orders anyone around except the coaches that train their fighters. I think a "black belt" that is trying to order a person around should go back and look at the virtues of a martial artist again... respect, humility, determination, integrity, discipline and modesty.

A person should be light on their feet.. I tend to keep my wieght on my toes and shuffle around, not so much bouncing. If you are bouncing in a rythmic patter, then your opponent can time when to kick you while you are in the air and you'll have no way to defend. So if you are going to bounce, do it erratically and don't keep a rythm and don't bounce too high in the air. It's better to shuffle step around than to bounce.

Hmm.. what I want to do is to open up a martial arts academy. Disprove the existence of "Chi". Build a house. Share a bed with a dozen women at once and get a picture of it for all my buds to see.

Well.. you can cause pain, but pain alone won't stop many assailants. Better to learn some leverage techniques and how to use improvised weapons.

Sparring is very important, but only if done correctly. It's not about speed or "who can tag who first". It's about learning and trying to put into application the things you've learned. Too many places don't spar in a productive way and it is actually detrimental at these places. So, for most schools I guess sparring should be left out.

I'd say 90% of the people that wear "black belts" don't deserve them. 99% of the children with them probably shouldn't have them. Who cares though? It's just an accessory to hold up the pants, I treat "black belts" like anyone else, with no more or no less respect.