jarrettmeyer

Man, I must be lucky. I seem to have it all at my dojo. I get to practice self defense, sparring, light contact and moderate contact. I have a sensai who distinguishes self defense and sparring. He's even been known to say, "This is a sparring move. Don't try to defend yourself with this. It only works if the other guy is following the same rules as you." Where sparring helps you develop your fighting skills is made clear. It helps with reaction time. It helps with balance. It helps with control. It helps with distance. It helps with endurance. The broad concepts are the same, but the finer points are not similar at all. I know that I wouldn't open a combo with a roundhouse to the back of the head if my opponent were allowed to grapple my leg or pull out a knife. Then we learn self-defense techniques. They will get you disqualified from a tournament, but are very good at subduing your attacker. That's what they were designed to do. Then we learn light contact. You should have the control to wrinkle your opponent's gi, but not make contact with his skin. For now (still a 10th kyu here ), you go at whatever speed you have to go to make that happen. Later, that will get faster. Then, upon my personal request, I am working with another black belt to up the intensity. This is something that kyu ranks do not do in their classes, but something that I want to do outside of class. (If I were to wait, that would mean the 4 year minimum until black belt.) There is redness, swelling, and bruising at this level. Nothing terrible, but you'll remember that you were hit.

I've been watching this thread since it started. Let's suppose that you are really fortuneate and you have the following conditions being met. 1. You have the time and energy to train, both at home and at the dojo. 2. You have instructors who really care about you doing well. 3. Your instructors know how to teach. (Knowledge and the ability to teach knowledge are two different skills.) 4. Your instructors are knowledgeable about what they do. They point out differences between sparring vs. self-defense, and they teach both independently. My Sensai is very good about distinguishing between martial art and martial sport. 5. You are open to learning, criticism, and improvement. I think that every student will develop his or her own personal style. That doesn't mean that my style is no longer Shorei Goju Ryu. Instead, it means that Shorei Goju Ryu is part of me. No matter how long I train, I probably won't take in the entire skill set of my style. Instead, I will extract the techniques that work well for me. With time, I will get better at those techniques, and I will incorporate more. But I will never be good at all of them. Also, I would love to study a ground grappling style. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been in two fights in my life, both of stupid crap in high school. But in both of those fights, I took the fight to the ground. If that's what I did on instinct, without training, maybe getting some training in such a style would benefit me. Anyway, my point follows something close to Shorin Ryuu. I don't think that there will be too much new to bring to martial arts. There are limits to what the human body can do and still be effective. If I integrate the strikes, locks, etc. from Goju and the ground work of BJJ, I didn't come up with a new style. Instead, those two styles have become part of me. And I wouldn't say that everyone should go out and learn Meyer Ryu. I would say that you need a good striking art and a good grappling art. Get a good foundation, know yourself, and use what works for you.

I love the smell of incense, mainly because it reminds me of Christmas time.

I've always liked this one. An ignorant man never learns from his mistakes. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from others' mistakes. Unfortunately, I keep finding myself somewhere between ignorant and smart. I don't know if it's a motto if you find yourself unable to live up to it.

In my organization, sparring is part of the testing for Black Belt. If you cannot fight effectively, including multiple rounds against higher ranks, you do not pass the test. Therefore, you must be able to fight in order to be a Black Belt. Be careful. You had better distinguish between point sparring and fighting. That'll get a lot of comments.

In the United States, there are currently no federal punishments regulating non-government associated laws. i.e. There are federal laws regarding tax fraud because we have an IRS. There are no national self defense, assault, or murder laws. Even should something so terrible occur as the assassination of the President, that individual would be tried in the state in which the assassination was attempted. States are left to their own powers to determine penalties for the criminal acts that occur in those states. So what might be self-defense in Indiana might get me thrown in jail in Michigan. I may have the right to carry a concealed firearm in Chicago, but it may not apply if I go to New York.

This isn't the first time that I've read that roundhouse is not a true Okinawan kick. It doesn't appear in any of our kata. But, everything I've seen tells me that as far as simplicity vs. effectiveness, mawashi geri is as good as it gets. Also, it was the first kick that I ever learned. Can someone please tell me where this style kick originated? How/why do some styles decide to incorporate some techniques and not others?

I was the only one at my dojo to have done this, and everyone asked me why I did it. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to have done it.

That just teaching, regardless of the subject. I've taught both computer programming and physics, and the same rules apply: talent + skill + training. Some students are naturally talented with computers - they just get it. Most students have decent computer skills these days, but that wasn't the case when I started teaching in 1998. (Of course, most students don't know anything about UNIX, so that puts most of them on a level playing field really quick.) Then there's training. Some students have to work much harder to solve some very simple problems. The time limitation on the semester works against you, though. Some students have got it figured out by week 8. Some students have been working hard but seem 5 weeks behind. The great thing about MA is that you have your whole life to get it. You don't have 16-week semesters. Good teachers recognize this and teach to each student's needs and level, regardless of what belt it around each student's waist. This reminds me of a popular saying in fencing. "By the time your brain figures out fencing, your body is too old to be a good fencer."

You need to be careful with the big guys. I'll assume that you're not talking about fat as in so fat he needs a stick to go to the bathroom. For that guy, you can just walk to the end of the block and he'll never catch you. For someone a little smaller, you want to use any speed you have to your advantage. Big guys can be explosive and powerful. One hit and you may not get back up. They are built like football players. But that can work to your advantage. With mass comes momentum. That means straight lines. That means you need to learn all about angles. Big guys do a great job of launching attacks, even series of combos. But they must maintain their momentum. If you can force them to break that, then they must spend more energy to change that direction - energy they may not have available.

Asking "why" a technique works or is performed in a certain way is always allowed during class. (Apologies for not being clear.) You can use the same words and ask two different questions. Asking questions for the purpose of learning and making yourself better is allowed. Asking questions for the purpose of criticizing or creating conflict is not allowed. (The internet does a very poor job of translating tone and inflection.)

We are similar at my school - no weapons until Shodan. When I asked my Sensai, he said something close to: "Weapons are an extension of your body. You have to learn to use your body first." Then, if you decide to continue with weapons training, you start all the way over at the beginning - pinan shodan no sai. I was really excited. "Man, I can't wait until I get to BB and can start learning sai and tonfa and jo and nunchuku." (Seems weird for a 26 year old, doesn't it? Sounded like I was 13 there for a moment.) Then I saw a student knock himself out with a nunchuku to his own temple. "Nevermind. I can wait."

Anyone who learns a "free-style" fighting technique designed to actually cause injury will beat any olympic fencer out there. Fencing is a very "proper" sport. There are too many rules about right-of-way, valid and invalid point areas, etc. And the modern day foil, saber, or epee that is used by fencers would not stand up to the slightest parry from a thrust or swing designed to actually cause damage. Fencers are not taught to defend themselves with a blade, they are taught to fence according to FIE rules and regulations.

Man, I hear that. Perfectionism is a nasty trait to have when you're working on MA. I've sparred so long that I've fallen over - not from being hit, but finally running out of energy. My body said, "You will stop now." Apparently after a good, strong 1hr15min, I'm done. Back to the post.... Everything is talent + skill + training. Some people are just talented at sports in general: baseball, basketball, running, waterpolo, etc. (Not me, though.) Some people have some key skills that make them better at MA: splits, good judge of distance, muscle memory, etc. Then there's the time and quality training that you put into it. Since it's a summation, the lack of the prior two components can be overcome with latter.

Wow! First of all, I don't know about you, but I would never publicly say anything negative about my Sensai, assistant instructor, or another student. Don't the students know that isn't their place? Questions and criticisms are to be handled privately at my dojo. I've never even seen it done publicly.

To answer this, you need to know about the two types of muscle: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch muscles are lean, aerobic, endurance muscles. Fast twitch muscles are thick, anaerobic, power muscles. If you want speed, you must build up fast twitch muscles. If you want endurance, you must build up slow twitch muscles. If you're a mesomorph, your body is perfectly balanced between the two muscle types. Unfortunately, like so many other things, your body type has a lot to say about how much speed vs endurance you will ever have.

Caeteris Paribus. (latin translation: "all other things held equal") You're not holding all things equal when you compare de la Hoya and Tyson. To do damage to anything - bodies, wooden boards, concrete slabs, engine blocks - you have to produce more stress than the receiving object can take. We all agree on that, correct? Below is the equation for stress. (Mass) * (Distance) / ( (Surface Area) * (Time)^2 ) Having not been there to actually see the testing, all of the following is assumed. de la Hoya is faster than Tyson. Time is in the denominator, so a smaller number (less time) makes that equation larger. But is he fast enough to counter Tyson's HUGE increase in mass? I would guess that at that level of competition, the speed improvement is actually quite negligible.

My favorite part about MA is the physics. I am constantly amazed by the dual nature of the complexity and simplicity of MA. I'm new at this, so I might not be able to do everything correctly, but one thing I can defintely do is explain why things work correctly. (Hey, it's the engineer in me.) So, what makes a punch really work? (1) Speed. The faster something gets there, the more damage it does. If I hit you with my car going 5 mph, all I will do is make you really angry. If I hit you at 20 mph, I will bruise you and make you angrier. If I hit you at 85 mph, you're dead. Same car. Same mass. Same road. All speed. (2) Alignment. If you strike correctly, all of your bones from your knuckle to you scapula will be in alignment. A small amount of improper flex at the wrist can cause serious damage to you when you're trying to hurt the other guy. (3) Penetration. Make a fist. The front of your fist looks like it is about 2" x 4" = 8 sq. inches. In reality, we want to strike with a much smaller area. I have been taught to use the first two knucles. When we punching a bag, only two knucles should be getting red. If all 4 are getting red, then you are not properly aligned. Penetration is important. A very important concept in physics is that force is force is force. All 3 lb objects traveling through the air at a constant 25 mph all have the exact same amount of force. Imagine a 3 lb ball made of wood and a 3 lb ball made of lead. The lead would be a smaller ball. Without any knowledge of physics, your brain already knows that you would rather get hit with the ball of wood. Why? The smaller object will penetrate and cause more damage. As far as using your whole body goes, this goes into control. Yes, you want to throw yourself into your punch, but not so much that you're off balance. We define balance quite simply: keep your shoulders above your hips, and keep your hips above your feet.

I wish that we had something a little harder at my dojo. We do have sparring, requiring full sparring gear: headgear, punch, kick, shin, groin. We also do light practice with cup only, but this is really, really light. The good news is that I have managed to find a few partners that have increased their definition of light, but only a little. That's extended into kata no bunkai, as well. I've got more bruises from kata than from sparring.

Kicking has little to do with splits due to the two types of stretching - static and dynamic. (Okay, they're related. But not as much as you'd think.) Kicking is a dynamic activity. I walked into my first karate class able to kick over my head. It has more to do with balance than the splits. I still can't do the splits. There's a lot of body physics there, and I don't know how to explain all them, but your hip structure and muscle composition has already decided whether or not you will ever be able to do the splits.

I might have missed it, but I don't think that anyone answered what it means to "chamber" your leg. Just like punches, kicks have a chambered position. For a mawashi geri, the chambered position is standing on one leg, leg out to the side, heel beside your butt. When we learn this move, we learn that there are two kicks that take place - top of the foot to the target and heel of the foot to your own butt. As we progress, we learn to kick as long as we can while standing against a wall, fully chambering each kick. We start off at 1 minute, then 2, etc. Your hamstring will burn. I'm up to 1m15s before my hamstring is on fire. As for boucing, we are learning all things in moderation - like the balance in all things Goju. You want to stay mobile, but still able to move. If you're too low, then you're too planted. It will take too long for you to react. If you're too bouncy, then your opponent will strike when you're cresting. That's the point where you have the least control over your body. Don't think "bouncy". Think about trying to always stay in that middle part of "bouncy".

I'll respond from my wrestling background, since I've only been at karate for a few months now... It sounds like you are at an appropriate level for 1 year of dedicated practice. You see openings; you know your techniques; and you know how your techniques apply to those openings. There are 3 phases of mental state in combat. 1.) Action: "I am going to do this technique." It takes about 1000 repetitions of any technique before you learn it well enough to use it effectively, correctly, etc. Depending on your physical ability, you should be able to reach this level pretty quickly. 2.) Reaction: "I see see my target is giving me this opening, and the following techniques apply." There is an analysis phase going on here. This reaction time drops with practice. Slow sparring, fast sparring, and freestyle are all utilized to develop your mind and muscle memory. 3.) Proaction: "I have such a knowledge of my opponent and my abilities that I CHOOSE for my opponent to present to me the following openings." Now this is just speculation. I can personally say that I have never met anyone this good. Not when I wrestled. Not when I boxed. Not since I started karate. I've been told that Hanshi Herb Johnson can fight at this level. These would be the all-time greatest fighters. (Please see other posts regarding this topic.)

Most techniques directly to the largest part of the gut are ineffective. The belly is just not that vulnerable to bludgeoning trauma. As earlier said, go a little lower, just below the waist and above the groin, or go higher to the solar plexus. Remember that any strike reaches it highest velocity at about 90% extension. As others have said, if you're too close, then the point of impact will not be the fastest movement of your strike. Your opponents body will then act as resistance, slowing your strike even more, and keeping you from reaching your damage potential.

We have throws, standing work, and ground grappling at my Goju Ryu classes. The throws are quite diverse: arm throws, hip throws, and sweeps. The groundwork includes both people on the ground and one person on the ground (either you or your opponent).

There are two types of muscle fibers, and your body type helps to determine which you may be dominant in your body. There are slow-contracting and fast-contracting fibers. And you need them both. Slow-contracting fibers are anaerobic, and they burn blood sugar slowly. These are critical for endurance. Think marathon runners. Fast-contracting fibers are aerobic, and they suck a lot of sugar out of the blood. These are critical for force. Think 100m sprint. Marathon runners make for very slow fighters, but they can last longer than their opponents. Body builders are very dynamic fighters, but after about 2 minutes, they're sucking wind. I've heard that those who are really fit can alternate days lifting weights and jogging. Two different muscle types, so you're not working the same things. I am not nearly this fit, so I cannot personally testify to this workout regimen. When you work out, you are purposefully damaging yourself. But when you heal your body overdoes it, so the result is stronger than when you began. To reduce healing time, make sure that your body has what it needs to heal. That means sugar, vitamins, calcium, potassium, salt, protein, sulphur, phosphorus, etc.