Mischievousjoe

orion - that sounds like a pretty intense warmup routine! one thing though, shouldn't one do the dynamic stretching before the static stretching, this is what i've read anyway - bc the dynamic stretch resets the stretch reflex

Thats really nice! I have a similiar experience whenever i'm home from school on breaks, my instructor invites me back and seems happy to see me. He never asks me for money, but I usually give him what I can anyway. It's always nice to see people that you used to spend 5 nights a week training with for several years and to see how everyone has progressed in an absence. Glad to hear of your positive experience, theres nothing quite like feeling apreciated by a teacher you respect and admire.

I'd have to put my money on the tall guy almost every time here. I'm a fairly short person, and in some situations that can work to my advantage against a taller opponent, but in an all out street conflict I think the superior strength of a bigger opponent with less skill could quite possibly overwhelm a smaller fighter. Not to say that a skilled small fighter can't take out bigger oponents. But the timing speed and accuracy of the strikes would have to be quite good.

Hey all, I was just wondering if I could tap into all your years of experience and whatnot. I 've been trying to get my training all organized lately and been trying to design a 3 day split weight lifting routinge for myself. I've been lifting 1 day a week as it is, doing a full body workout but I have easy access to the gym and a 3 dayer seems more effective. thing is... i've gotten a little stuck on what to include in the different days. Also, i usually don't have anyone to spot me so most of the excercises that involve barbells are out. any suggestions for a routine? or excercies that are whole body ones that i might be able to do with dumbells instead ( eg cleans squats etc) much thanks

I don't really think that the idea of ki contradicts science at all. If you look at the advent of things in theoretical physics like string theory, that asserts that all basic components of the universe are made out of the same basic component, a wiggling piece of vibrating "string", then everything is essesntially the same - solid , liquid, electricity etc. Mental activity has also been shown to have electrochemical energy which is no less substantial in it's own way than solid matter. It stands to reason then that with enough focus and direction the mind could alter the physical world - as the line between the two is not truly as solid as it would first apear. my 2 cents

well, personally I've only been to a couple really , but never sustained any notable injuries other than a bruise or two. Training for tournaments however is another story... I broke my big toe during sparring training for a tournament about 2 months ago, and it's just now getting back to status quo..

Mine happenned when I was practicing by myself , but i was doing straight leg front kicks ( for dynamic stretching ) outside , and i'm not sure if i pulled my torso down, or just swung my leg up higher than i thought possible, but i managed to knee myself in the glasses, bending them out of shape and leaving a nice cut from where the frames gauged under my eye that was fun explaining to everybody ....

Unfortunately this seems to be the tendancy of people, to not react and just try not to get involved in this type of situation. There is a famous example of a women who was atacked twice right outside of her apartment building, stabbed and beaten and eventually died of her injuries in broad daylight. No one went to her aid. It's sad but true.

"dont take this the wrong way, but i dont think you know much about fighting. never, ever, ever throw a head kick on the street unless the guy is on his knees or something. if you kick at a standing guys head youre probably screwed. " ..... I find it funny that you quoted my original statement and then neglected to actually read it. I believe I clearly stated that high kicks were not really what I was asking about, I don't believe I ever insinuated to be an expert on anything... and I actually agree with your points except when the topic got off to bashing my choice of style...

right, if you can get both then go for it, but in physics speed is the more important of the two. And if you don't have access to a gym with heavy weights, you can still get pretty good results from minimum equipment i think.

I think some bulk can occassionally be advantagous, but for the most part your right, speed increases your striking power more than size. You'll probly want to do a lot of bodyweight excercises suplemented with light weights. http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=15521 thats a thread that includes a routine I used to use that requires only minimal equipment. Good Luck!

Actually Vito, if you are reffering to the high section juping and spinning kicks frequently associated with tkd, then i'd have to agree with you, probly impractical on the street, especially for me, seeing as i'm below average for a guy. ( 5 " 4) head shots with my feet aren't impossible on a taller oponent, but they are difficult - I think i should point out though, that any good tkd school has a LOT of kicks other than just flashy high ones, and a lot are similiar to MT kicks. I practice low section and mid section lead leg round kicks incessantly, and the front push kick you describe is also taught in tkd. The style is really more versatile than people seem to give it credit for....

After training in styles that use a lot of kicks the last couple of years, it's occured to me several times to try these kicks wearing my street shoes, seeing as how class is always done barefoot. I've noticed some kicks definitely work better than others wearing shoes, and also depending on the shoe your wearing. I'd be extremely interested in hearing anyones ideas on variations on kicks using shoes, drills with shoes, and whether you wear lower cut shoes most of the time solely for the purpose of being able to properly position your foot when and if the time comes. for example, a high top sneaker or heavy boot might be great for a side kick or dropping a heel , but doesn't seem to translate well to a plain old roundhouse kick which is really a staple.

I used to have the same limitations ( no accesss to a gym ) and this routine worked pretty well for me , requiring only minimal equipment squats 3 sets of 20 - 30 flat pushups - 2 x 20 incline pushups 2 x 15 triangle pushups 2x 10-15 leg lifts 2x 20 crunches 2x 30 leg pushes 1 x 50 oblique crunches 2 x 25 ( per side ) and some cheap equipment - go get one of those mountable pullup bars at a sportinggoods store there cheap, and a 15 20 or 25 lb barbell ( also cheap) 3 x 10-15 curls per arm 2 x10-15 triceps extension 2x 10 underhand pullups 2x10 overhand pullups I did that twice a week in addition to classes and stuff, and it was pretty tough to get through it all by the end, i think weights are probly slightly more effective , but i definitely got pretty strong doing this routine. hope it helps!

I had just about the some problem with my right shoulder a few months ago, I think it's just from overtraining. ( It was for me @ least ) it took almost a month before I could really do more than a few pushups on it. I was doing a heavy lifting routine 2 a week plus 4 classes of karate and a morning warmup/stretching routine, since then I cut one of those lifting sessions out, and try to not overdo the number of excercises involving the shoulder joints when i do workout, and it hasn't really given me a problem again so far. It's really easy to overtrain when you go to a lot of classes , seeing as they usually involve a punch of pushups and things that are tough on your joints, your body really needs a bare min of 1 day a week to heal, but i try to give mine 2 ( seeing as how my sleep is pretty much nil during the week. )

It's already been said, but i think it depends heavilly on what school you are at. In my original school we started every single class reciting the tenets of the school, modest, courtesy, integrity , indomitable spirit, etc.. and if we ever didn't shake hands after a match we'd be in trouble. I have unfortunately seen other schools were this is not the case at all

You said it kicks - being in highschool during the mid to late nineties , that was basically the image that was being pushed by media etc. The popular thing to be was an individual.... but only to a degree.... and went beyond just cliques in school ( sorta ) i mean , reallly i think it started with the whole Alternative music thing becoming mainstream music, and as anyone in highschool remembers,the music you listen to pretty much defines who you hang with in highschool, ( or in mine at least )

let's see, odd things that I do involved with training... I guess for calf strength i'll walk around on the balls of my feet for long periods sometimes, go up and down stairs at a maximum rate ( skipping multiple steps - i'm on the 3rd floor , so i use a LOT of stairs ) Other than that just the usual weight and stuff. Some of my friends are amused by my habit of practicing kicking walls and such with propper foot positioning whenever I have a free moment..lol oh, and I used to play with my roomates 2 year old and do a monkey jump similiar to plyometric drills - she seemed to get a kick out of that( " Hop James Hop it!!!" ) not sure how much benefit i really received by leaping from a crouch across the room tho.

wow.... thats something else alright. I live pretty close to Niagra falls up here, I wonder if I should pop over there some weekend and see if I can arange a lesson for myself...

exactly TangSooGuy, sorry if i offended - I was just refferring to the extreme right that tends to jump down the throats of just about everything.

yeah, that is the hand positioning that my new school uses primarily, seems effective for blocking, but throwing a jab when my lead hand is so low doesn't feel natural quite yet. ahh well, maybe another couple thousand practice jabs and i'll get it.

Honestly for me It's transformed me so much that It's like reading a pageturner - I can't put the book down until I know what comes next

This is indeed an unfortunate view of the martial arts cummunity to say the least, sort of reminiscent of the christian right. But I would think that most people reading it have the intelligence or experience with the martial arts at least on some vague level to seperate the truth from the bunk. I know that in my original School there was a large childrens class that i would often see finish up right before the adult class, and those kids were some of the spunkiest most fearless 8 year olds ( male and female) that i've ever met. And many of the parents started lessons along side them in the adult class to see what it was about. I think that anyone who has enrolled their children in a good school, with a teacher who can relate well to children will see the benefits of the training plainly and quickly. or at least we can hope.

Hey all, been reading some of the posts on this forum for a while and finally thought of a question of my own, so here goes : I'm a purple belt in ITF tae kwon do and recently started taking goshin jutsu karate as that is what is available when i moved for schooling recently. In my new school the stance that is encourage during sparring is mostly the same as in tae kwon do, except that the forward hand is supposed to be kept low , covering the torso more whereas in most pro fights i've watched, and tkd the lead hand is kept more or less up near face level, and I'm used to thinking of this as being a protective place for blocking. So I guess i was just curious what you all prefer when you spar, and which advantages each might offer over the other. or possibly other variations of basic fighting stances .