spinninggumby

Yeah this is something that I kinda wanted to talk about. My sah bum nim wants me to participate in tournaments but I really do not enjoy WTF sparring too much. I am used to self-defense and regular non-tournament sparring with no gear but everything is legal but obviously in class we pull all strikes to the temple and head area. If we didn't, there would be no way they would let me work front desk anymore at my office. The fact is that I went from a traditional practical school to a sport-oriented school, and I am quite happy with everything, since it is the quality and enjoyment of the actual day to day training that matters to me most. However, the WTF rules have just changed. Punches to the body hardly ever count unless they produce shocking impact, like always. But kicks to the head are now 2 points, and kicks to the head which knock people down are 3 points. I dunno but a kick that is strong enuff to knock you down would make me barf. I've been clocked in the noggin several times and even though I didn't go down, the shock and jarring impact left me wondering if I should have taken up sewing instead. Although it's just fine to pretend like you are trying to take the head off of the rubber dummy in your dojang, I am not quite comfortable with not pulling all the head level kicks considering that, quite frankly, a sharp and accurate leg slammed into the side of your head hurts like a biatch, not to mention one that is powerful enough to knock you down. I talked to my instructor about this and he said that was the way the rules were and I would just have to push myself and not care if I broke the guy's nose or jaw. Once again, I do not enjoy the WTF sparring much even though I am entitled to go to sparring classes every week. Just thought I'd let it out here, LOL.

Seven different types of round kick?!! Hey Yoda wow when u have time I would like to hear your perspective/insight/knowledge concerning that, hehehehe. I only can think of four specific ways and that is even me being creative

Side kick and Jumping kicks too? Hmm I was not aware of that. Actually I remember reading somewhere that Muay Thai has spin kicks in its repertoire but I couldn't be sure. I just always thought that the practitioners tried to stay out of the air and omitted any risky impractical kicking maneuvers (although what is not used in matches does not necessarily mean that it does not exist in the style). I suppose that the opportunity can arise for any type of technique in the ring, if you are able to anticipate or see it.

Here is a chance to display my incredible ignorance Is there an official definition for kickboxing? I mean, is it a standardized or rooted style with specific ways to throw each technique as well as specific drills/forms, etc. or is it just a term that refers to freestyle punching and kicking and maybe grappling from people of various martial arts backgrounds in the ring? Granted in these kickboxing matches, nobody is really flailing since they all have some traditional or maybe not so traditional credible training, but it is my understanding and observation that the techniques are not all the same because we have fighters from many different backgrounds. I am sure that this question has been brought up before, but I just feel the incredible urge to be re-enlightened _________________ "Being able to move in and out of styles, movements, and rhythms with ease is the highest skill." - Donnie Yen "If you have to resort to violence, you've already lost" - Rising Sun "The finest steel emerges from the hottest furnace" [ This Message was edited by: spinninggumby on 2002-02-23 11:16 ]

Whether you are standing up or on the ground, I was always taught that the head is a person's weak spot no matter what. Once you are on the ground, ultimately a good idea is to get control of the guy's head. Once his head is in a lock or in a compromisable position, the rest of his body isn't going anywhere or will be virtually helpless (especially if it hurts to move or resist). Try to keep his/her head in control and try to keep a position in which you face his/her back/behind/rear. There is obvious reasoning behind this and this probably belongs in the general grappling tips section but oh well :razz:

I am not an experienced Muay Thai person by any means, but from what I've read there are only two major kicks in Muay Thai that are primarily used (although I am sure that there are a variety of other variations and low sweeping type kicks to the knees, legs, joints, etc.). I am also pretty sure that flying kicks and spinning kicks are almost nonexistent in Muay Thai, either that or they are pretty much nonexistent in all matches. Once again I hesitate to make sweeping statements. Those two primary kicks would be the front push kick and the roundhouse kick. The front push kick can be used for defense as well as to gain distance between yourself and the opponent (kind of like a front thrust kick, not snap), and the roundhouse kick is not chambered and instead is just brought straight up from the ground into the side of the opponent like a battering ram. The kick carries all the way through and after the peak the arc follows a bit downward after the leg (stretched out) has passed (either hit or missed) the target. Once again, this is from a Muay Thai layperson's point of view

Yes, I agree that music can only help get you pumped up and ready for whatever workout you are about to partake in The type of music doesn't matter as long as it works for you, hehehehe. Although hmmm that is a somewhat sweeping and risky statement for me. One day I walked into this taekwondo school that is fairly close to mine. This facility was very roomy and high-tech, and sure enough, going with my favorite the-more-run-down-and-dirty-the-dojo-looks-the-better-the-training rule, the students seemed to be warming up to 'Genie in a Bottle' by Christina Aguilera blasting out of the majorly expensive and hi-tech stereo in the corner. What irked me even more was that it wasn't even time for aerobic kickboxing Oh well, whatever floats your boat I guess! hehehehehe

If you are currently taking Muay Thai and it is indeed doing nothing for you, then by all means I feel that you should try Wing Chun. Just because Muay Thai has proven to be quite effective with many people doesn't mean that it will sit well or mold well with everyone. Who knows, you may find Wing Chun to be more of your liking and taste, and your body may adapt to it better as well. Plus wing chun seems to be a bit deeper than Muay Thai (although not necessarily more effective, effectiveness of the art is primarily up to the practitioner IMHO for the billionth time ) so you will have more to work with (more drills, techniques, etc.) when you begin your study and training. All I'm saying is that it can't hurt to try, especially if you do not feel you are getting any or much benefit out of the martial art that you are currently taking. Don't limit yourself. The only way you get better is by making changes and decisions

Oh crap! LOL Thank u for reminding me. I forgot about Prodigal Son. That is definitely one that I forgot to list on my Top 5. The handwork in this film was so fast and impressive (and yet the camera is not undercranked or sped up) that on a technical level it probably beat out most, if not all, old-school kung fu choreography. I did not get to check out Warriors Two yet. Maybe I should, haha.

Obviously, someone who dedicates himself/herself to becoming an excellent fighter and trains hard for it is a definite plus, but that being a given, I feel that developing and refining the ability to adapt to the situation at hand and to change or somewhat alter what you are used to doing in order to fit your needs or immediate necessities is the most important thing. hint hint crosstraining, LOL Also, it probably wouldn't hurt to have that gung ho mentality that it's ok to kill or maim somebody. Regardless of whether your martial arts 'style' supports the taking of the life of another, I feel that being an effective practical street fighter has nothing to do with this type of thing.

Man, it is so hard to pick one. I like a ton of them but if I were to pick a martial arts film based on technicality alone, it would probably be one of those old-school 70's Kung Fu Theater movies (without all the wires and the flying stuff) with those old guys like Hwang Jang Lee and Delon Tan and all them. However, surprisingly technique and spiffy moves alone don't do it for me unless the story and premise supplements it well (which they didn't, the plots were horrible and so was the voice dubbing for that matter, hehe). So nowadays we have more gun fights and the fight scenes are a bit shorter but the plots can 'sometimes' be somewhat better. So putting those two important elements together, I would have to pick Fist of Legend, even though I feel that many individual scenes were better in Drunken Master 2 (end fight between Jackie and Ken Lo) and Iron Monkey (no shadow kick! ) and many others. Also I would like to note that my experience with martial arts films has been limited to either American ones or Hong Kong/Chinese films. I haven't had the chance to get my hands on any Korean or Japanese or any other material that may have more to offer so perhaps I could be a bit biased :razz:

whoa whoa i think i need to calm down it's all good no hard feelings to anybody here! :grin: Peace and love, man

Well I'm guessing that almost every tkd instructor worth his/her salt will tell you these basic important concepts but in order to kick well you should always remember: 1) open hip and loose shoulders (full or close to 180 degree pivot of supporting foot in all kicks requiring centrifugal force as well as side kick 'yop chagi'). Even with front type kicks and crescent kicks, it is necessary to pivot ur supporting foot a bit so as to open up the hip and put your waist into the attack and maximize the power of each kicking technique 2) waist and hip torque is where the power originates in a kick, leg muscles, although important, have less to do with it. Strong inner thigh muscles are important for the supporting leg. During a kick, there is a slight static stretch for the supporting leg and a more dynamic stretch in the kicking leg. 3) stretch and strengthen your back muscles and spine. lotta people neglect this part and think that they only need to stretch the legs in order for high and powerful leg techniques 4) for kicking height, do dynamic stretches (leg lifts to front side and back) about twice a day, but don't do it if ur muscles are tired, take a rest for a day. Don't do heavy static stretching until after a workout or after your muscles are warmed up and you are not going to work out anymore. Light static stretching throughout the workout is okay, i suppose. For quicker results do hard-core isometric stretching maybe 2-3 times a week. Although static active or static passive flexibility is not important in dynamic kicking, it can only strengthen the muscles in your legs, hips, waist, and back overall and give you more control with your techniques 5) Chamber before each kicking technique and rechamber quickly after each technique. In order to focus on speed, think of retracting faster instead of snapping the leg out faster, for some reason this seems to work. There is debate as to whether or not actual chambering is practical or faster than a kick that is just brought up and swung around like a battering ram (i.e. muay thai) but I just like it this way b/c it seems a bit harder for me and a bit more aesthetic. Some say that chambering and rechambering is effective so the opponent cannot grab your leg as easily and you are not vulnerable afterwards, but others say that it is slower and sacrifices power and speed, but hey I'll let everyone else decide 6) Maintain balance (this is probably just improved by doing or repeating a technique over and over again) and keep head in and try not to lean torso too much. This might just be a WTF thing though b/c my instructors always tell me to try to minimize the lean as much as possible, to keep your hands/guard up while kicking instead of letting your hands flail, and to keep the head in. I know that WTF is more about upright stances than deep stances so that's just a matter of the opinion of ur teacher/master/instructor or your affiliation or whatever Well these are some of the things that I always try to keep in mind, although feel free to criticize or correct or offer your own points of view. There are times when I can be really misinformed but hopefully this was halfway helpful :angel:

I see learning martial arts almost like learning to speak a certain language. When you start earlier, your muscles are more fresh and have not learned to move, stretch, or contract within certain limits. Therefore, if you build a very solid foundation early in life, then later in life even if you stop training for a while, much of the muscle memory will still be retained. However, that is not to say that an older person can not become skilled, although it may be harder because the more mature body cannot respond as well to new and foreign movements. A young body is better at adapting overall. However, kids have this thing called extremely short attention span which means that they probably will also run into problems with learning unless they have good discipline (something that many schools in the U.S. here lack). Look at those little Korean or Chinese kids do tkd or wushu in those demonstrations. They are amazing, but only because they have stuck with it and have been heavily disciplined by their instructors. Here in most kids classes we play games b/c we only have them in class for a few hours a week so let them have fun and don't push it otherwise either their parents will complain or they will lose interest. So like learning a language, your body (in this case, your tongue I suppose) will adapt to it better the earlier you start learning, but that is not to say that anybody over 30 or 40 could not ever become fluent in Japanese. It's just that when you are older, your experiences are embedded into your mind, which in turn may interfere with new information that is brought in. When you are young, you have a much blanker slate, which much less to interfere and/or compare to when new stuff is taken in, not to mention more natural flexibility and muscular endurance. But once again, this is just natural predisposition. The body can do wonders if you push it. Sure, a 20 year old can 'naturally' have an easier time doing backflips. But so can a 40 year old. The 40 year old just may have to work harder. That's all.

My first martial arts training began when I was six in Aikido, and that was because I was fortunate enough to have parents who wanted to expose me to as many different activities (such as piano and painting ) as possible so that when I grew up I could choose and keep the ones that kept me so happy. My focus has jumped from aikido to the more hard but still somewhat soft traditional kung fu with circular movements to modern wushu and acrobatic and WTF taekwondo. Although there was a period of time when I did focus on self-defense and street-smart application, my main focus now and probably til the day I die is now health, recreation, and because I think it is so damn fun. At the same time, the training instills in me discipline and perseverance as well as giving everybody in the world respect until they prove to me otherwise that they do not deserve it. I love doing all types of martial arts because it is fun and exhilarating. Every movement, every technique is a verse of kinetic poetry, and there is expression and a story behind every kick, punch, jump, throw, lunge, etc. When I train or practice, the martial arts is an extension or expression of my soul and/or inner self. Some people train their bodies so that in the event of an attacker, the muscle memory and years of practice will enable them to react and diffuse/deal with the situation immediately with no hesitation. I train b/c to me martial arts is just like playing the piano or writing poetry. It is a way of expressing oneself and displaying beauty in a form that which is channeled from what you feel inside. But that's just me! hehehehehehe Everyone's reasons are valid as long as it makes them satisfied and fulfilled with what they have accomplished. Idealistic bast@rd am I, no? :angel:

Um a lot of you probably have already known this for a while but if you want quicktime or real player videos of ITF or WTF poomse or hyung you can go to http://www.carbonecho.com. They also have short clips of basic techniques (WTF though I think). Just thought this would help Oh and this site isn't restricted to taekwondo it has video clips for many other styles too. Just thought it would be a good reference for those tkd practitioners who are visual learners who are looking for assistance or refinement of their forms.

Modern wushu is very fancy and not good/designed for practical application even though it looks incredible and requires a massive amount of practice and skill. The movements are combative in nature however, and are taken and modified from many different styles of traditional kung fu and used to create a dynamic sport with some similarities with gymnastics and acrobatics. Modern wushu consists of all forms with either open hands or with various weapons. Most modern wushu practitioners do not train or spar with partners and instead work on repetition and refinement of their forms/series of movements/patterns. Traditional wushu (The pure meaning of the word 'wushu' means 'war art') refers to all the other hundreds of styles of traditional Chinese martial arts, all or probably most of which are intended for at least some type of practical application. All types of wushu, whether they be modern or traditional, are excellent for health and physical activity.

Mortal Kombat the only REAL fighting game??!!!! I would have to totally agree with you, but only if I was on CRACK! and also knew absolutely NOTHING or had absolutely NO COMPETENCE in any type of coordination or fighting game imaginable. OMG if you hate fighting games then you should hate MK the most. All the characters have absolutely no variety and have the same looking basic techniques (hey remember that ultimate uppercut move that wiped away like 25% power?, oh wait, everyone had that!), and the blood and gore is just some stupid marketing bonus used to sell copies of the game (the effect is so awesome that it lasts for about 12 hours before you rip out the cartridge from the deck and start wondering if it would make a better paperweight or coaster). Sure MK is great if you just want basically the same exact looking people with different costumes fighting each other and then getting a cheap thrill from ripping someone's scrotum out when you win. But for a much more deep and impressive fighting game which takes more skill, maybe you should look elsewhere. It's not always about the blood!! ARghhh but I'm assuming that what I'm saying here is pointless anyways since you really don't care for fighting games in general. Aaaa but please just don't say that MK was the first REAL fighting game. That game sucked!!!!!!! It's not even worth the shrink wrap that the actual cartridge comes with. At least with the shrink wrap you can use it to suffocate yourself when you've realized that you used your hard-earned lemonade money to buy this piece of god-forsaken piece of dookeycrap :P :weirdlook: :angel: _________________ "Being able to move in and out of styles, movements, and rhythms with ease is the highest skill." - Donnie Yen Don't give me credit, I am only the result of my education. [ This Message was edited by: spinninggumby on 2002-02-20 11:42 ]

Blatant discrimination in a school would be a huge and accurate sign that the instructors or the organization is narrow-minded and ignorant. Ignorance and prejudice is closely tied with the inability to adapt to new methods or ideas, as well as the unwillingness to receive or accept innovation and/or improvement (whether it be referred to one's outlook on society or one's outlook on where his/her style stands). For this reason alone, I would pack up my bags and jump ship.

SSBM is most definitely an awesome game. All old-school Nintendo freaks will agree with me, even though I don't consider it in the same league as a fighting game as Street Fighter. Random button pushing gets you nowhere unless you like 3D games like Tekken. Mortal Kombat was garbage, sorry, but JMHO. I don't play many PC games just b/c my favorite kind of games are platform adventure and fighting. I suggest all you Everquest people go make a trip to SuperCuts real soon :angel: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I think there is some effectiveness/truth to toughening up one's shins in the process of Muay Thai training, since your shins will form calluses and when you have calluses it's like having an extra crusty layer and at the same time you are more numb. The idea though, is not to hit or condition them to the point of injury or um massive hemorrhagial bleeding but probably just up to the point of when the skin is almost about to break (kinda like stretching and flexibility, I think). I think conditioning is good as long as it is done slow, persistently, and under good control. Of course, having some nice powerful callused shins might ruin your chances of becoming captain of the cheerleading squad, so if you have any plans to go for state or district I advise you stay away from this kind of training. Also on a much less important side note , those supercharged ultimate shins of death might give you trouble as you age. Muay Thai definitely is more suited toward the young in my humble opinion and it is hard to keep up your skill and/or proficiency in MT when you reach 50 and beyond.

Like Anonymous One said, it is hard to draw the line between 'traditional' and 'nontraditional/modern', although maybe you could speculate that perhaps there is a definite line when people participate in tournaments and wear those big Smurf shoes and helmets and those big chest thingies that say 'hit me'. But 500 years down the road, who says that tournament karate won't be seen as 'traditional' karate. I think this applies to every other style as well. What is seen as traditional or old-school changes because obviously new ideas, practices, etc. become old as they uh, get older. It was my understanding that the roundhouse kick (mawashi geri, dolyo chagi, cetan tui, mantela/misteka, depending on your style) did not exist for a long long time in all styles until somebody (I'm not sure who, I will have to look it up) came up with it one day and people start liking it and capitalizing and refining its effectiveness. The 'traditional guys' back then thought that this was 'nontraditional', but now we have a 'traditional' roundhouse kick versus a new one (usually by those damn WTF guys who try to make everything complicated by modifying everything for tournament sparring ) but anyways yea that's all I wanted to say haha

Um well I know this is an old post but I think I'm going to respond to it anyway, haha. Usually I just listen to my body. When I first began kung fu I was always under the impression that more is better so eventually I blew myself out after 5-6 hour training days. My techniques became sluggish and I was just more tired and not feeling too well. Eventually after a few months I cut it down to 3 hours every day and that seemed to work out okay. However, I always took a day off once I realized that my performance was not as great as it was the day before. I dunno, I just try to think of it as reaching one's peak performance, and then pushing yourself a little past it (but not quite going or training til failure), and then once you do that you take a rest. The next day or two days afterwards, I have always come back with increased coordination, strength, technique, and flexibility due to probably the healing of all tissues and supposedly a chance for all the muscle memory to sink into your brain without the added stress of extra and detrimental additional training. I know that there will always be those people out there who can train 6-8 hours every day and still keep happy and maintain or increase their skill or competence. But I don't think I'm one of them. Actually right now instead of doing 3 hours all at one time I split it up into two 90 minute intervals so that each time I am training with a more refreshed and less-tired body (as opposed to 90 minutes in good condition and the other 90 minutes being slightly tired or exhausted which will naturally put you at less than peak potential output). However I have never really taken a week off. 1-3 days is perfect if I am recovering from extremely sore muscles or a punishing workout otherwise often times a break is not even necessary. Sometimes we feel like crap and don't feel like lifting a finger on some days, but when we finally push ourselves to go through the warmup we feel just fine again

I don't feel that everyone is a racist, even though I do believe that everyone has perhaps had information that is either prejudicial in nature or somewhat stereotypical (generalization of certain issues, ideas, opposite sex, ethnicities, etc.) hammered into their minds as children. It is natural human tendency to pigeonhole and make generalizations b/c it is so much easier for our minds. I don't believe that having these thoughts makes you racist. This point is obviously debatable. But I feel that everyone has preconceived thinking about the opposite sex and many will act differently towards the opposite sex than towards the same sex (different/preferential or non-preferential treatment). I don't think that it means that everyone is sexist. Once again, that is debatable, but it is just my two cents. I also think that there is a HUGE difference between harboring those feelings and letting those feelings affect you in a way that motivates you to act upon those feelings (often resulting in open hostility, hate crimes, etc.). However, I also feel that it is not the hate crimes which are the biggest threat but those feelings of prejudice which remain uncovered. It's kind of hard to explain. I guess I would have to say that having feelings or thoughts which may be prejudicial in nature does not mean one is 'racist'. More on this later if necessary

Hey um on a side note I was just wondering out of pure ignorance, what is the importance that the specifications and measurements and placement of the hands (those things that stick out of the dummy) be measured and followed accurately in the blueprints? I received your mail Yoda thank you very much. Just wondering though, would it matter if I just found a big log and then stuck or hammered three smaller thingies into it as long as the height level is good and the thing is sturdy? I mean, an arm is an arm right. Of course what do I know, I don't know beans about the history and significance of the evolution of this training tool. I am not the best assembly handy andy guy. When I was little I experienced great frustration and anger with Tinkertoys :uhoh: