AnonymousOne

His manuals will answer all your questions and a lot more. If you are serious.... buy his manuals http://www.rossboxing.com/

Umm ... No

The Greeks, Romans, Assyrians and many other ancient cultures were great seafarers and traders. It is thought that the Greeks and others travelled to southern india and taught techniques that came out of gladiator systems. But I believe MA is much older than that. It is also thought that the Romans travelled to China and set up stations there to protect trade routes which may have contributed to fighting systems reaching the Chinese. But the hardcore evidence of this is somewhat scant. Of course Alexandra the Great went into northern India. There is egyptian, philistine and assyrian pottery with pictures of people in MA stances and even boxing positions Karate was of course developed in Okinawa from native fighting systems and chinese systems. Where ever man is/was fighting systems came about in varying levels of complexity. Even in my own country of New Zealand, the ancient Maori developed their own MA and weapon systems, albeit having no contact with the outside world for over 1,000 years.

Hi mate. I work only with dumbells and discs. -V- Is there a reason for that, or dont you have the equipment?

I would agree that the Tekki/Naihanchi Kata are great Kata, but I would not say they are all encompassing. There are many techbiques that are not taught in these Katas. I spent over 10 years training in these 3 Kata alone and I am somewhat defensive of those that dismiss them as not worthwhile training with. With that said, I would also say that in analysing the biomechanics of movement in actual fighting, there are other needs as well. I particularly like that way the hand movements and co-ordination develops practising these Kata and I sure like the message of side stepping it teach's. High repetition of these Katas develops very strong and very fast punching, blocking and striking. Our school takes a very low stance in Kiba Dachi and it also develops very strong leg muscles. Wonderful Kata... immense power is developed after many years of practise!!

You need to examine your source of lack of motivation. It could be over training, doubt, fear, lack of confidence in your training etc. You need to have a long honest talk with that guy in the mirror

Huchi Mama Do is an offshoot of Huchi Papa Do. However Huchi Papa Do was developed on an unknown island in the Pacific by leprauchaun pigmies who needed to climb trees to jump down on their opponents and thus the "tree flying attack" techniques.

There are limitless combinations. This is where you have to be creative

Sanchin has some benefits but it doesnt provide all round fighting skills like other Kata and neither does it develop fast twitch muscular development

Two deadly arts are: Who Flung Dung Willi Fling Mor

When I mean complex training, I mean this as an example Bench press followed immediately by plyometric pushups Squat with weights followed immediately by squat jumps etc In other words, a weight exercise followed by a plyometric exerices a.k.a complex training This type of training is recommended by the boxing coach/mixed martial arts coach and athlete Ross Emanait. Its very hard and very grueling

How does one determine what "great" means in martial arts? Only winning tournaments?

In our school it goes: Orange Green Blue Purple Brown Brown with black stripe Black

The most important Kata to practise is the one that is the most difficult for you to do

This is a good guide for weights http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym3.htm

I agree, boxing is a great art. I particularly like the way the amateur and professional boxers train.... twice daily 6 days per week at least

If you want the very best manuals and guides on setting up professionally designed training routines buy these: http://www.warriorforce.com/ultimatewarrior.html http://www.rossboxing.com/sales.html

Its better to do weights for your whole body at least twice a week, with the eventual goal of complex training. I am a great believer in running 3-4 times per week in the mornings and on alternate mornings to do interval training .. that is sprints and plyometrics combined. The martial artist needs to develop anaerobic theshold levels.

It really depends on the school you train in. Some schools will prepare you well for street fighting and others dont. Having survived countless street fights in my youth, I can testify that often what is taught and how someone attacks you in a street fight are often not the same. Street fighting is often the reason which leads people into the martial arts. This is certainly the reason that led me into Karate when I was aged 7. I simply wanted to be able to defend myself. Its true that I have been in countless street fights when I was younger. Its not something I am proud of but I can draw from my experiences. To my shame, when I was young, I was happy to get into fights to test my growing martial art skills and also learn. I didn’t walk away from fights, I openly encouraged them. When I was preparing to go to Japan for the first time back in 1980, I worked in the mines in Western Australia, to work and save money to get to Japan. Being very isolated in location and from the law, there were gambling fights over bare knuckle boxing, no holds barred system. I entered these successfully and found there is not much difference to this as to street fighting – anything goes. Of course these activities were never disclosed to my Karate school because I feared I would be kicked out. But I got involved in them simply because I wanted to experience the reality of actual fighting. I will also admit that at those times I had been training in Karate for some 16 years or so and was becoming very confident in my abilities. I guess pride was a factor for me. I was once a weak sickly child that became somewhat confident in my skills. What I did wasn’t noble, but that was me in my youth. I can tell you that these fights were vicious, fast paced and sometimes scary. Albeit, I was always able to defend myself and rarely got hurt. I personally believe in simulation type of training. That is .... practice exactly what happens to you in a street fight. This means putting on protective gear and gloves and being attacked like your opponent wants to take your head off. Firstly you have to identify all the ways in which you may need to defend yourself. You should be able to learn this by experience, asking your teacher, talking to other martial artists, searching the net, buying books and so on. From my experiences I found that in 85-90% of the street fights I had, people attempt to hit you with a hay maker to your head. But you need to be prepared for all sorts of attacks like groin kicks, head butts, mid section punches, grabbing, arm locks or whatever. Once you have identified what you need to defend yourself against then its time to develop defences and counter attacks. You will be taught things in your school and that’s great. But I am a great believer in empirical evidence that things work. Get a training partner. Find someone who is willing to work with you and has similar goals in training. A bit of healthy competition is good. Let me outlay what I did years ago. I trained with a friend called Ben. Ben is a short guy that is built like a brick wall. Ben is very strong and powerful. His body build and height is very similar to Mike Tyson. Ben was an excellent martial artist and we used to get together at home in the garage or some outdoor location to practise together. What we used to do was to simulate actual attacks. I don’t mean in the pace that you see in most dojo’s, but as close as possible to a real life situation. Ben could be mean, fierce and very intimidating to his opponents and I was fortunate to be able to have him for a partner. We would decide on an attack lets say a haymaker to the head. Ben would wear gloves and I would wear head protection. Ben would attack me at full force and I can assure you that he was doing everything in his power to get me. It was a bit of a joke between us and as to who got the other and how often. To the bystander it may have looked liked we were really fighting. We endeavoured to simulate actual attacks and their real life onslaught as closely as possible. Naturally you will soon learn how capable you are under simulated conditions. We would stick with one attack and one response over and over and over, until we were exhausted. We would take a short rest, then we would change roles and it would be my turn for attacking. Whoever got hit the most that day had to buy lunch or dinner depending on the time of the day. Another thing Ben and I did was to mount a boxing glove at the end of a 5 foot pole. While I was practise defending an attack from Ben lunging forward at me with the glove/pole, Ben would practise his footwork. We also bought a tennis ball shooter, adorned ourselves in protective gear, stood close to the tennis ball shooter and attempted to block the balls as they were shot at us. My mother used to go crazy with all the tennis balls everywhere until we got a net. In later years, I got a computer programmer friend of mine to make a software programme to control the delivery of balls, plus a new electric motor that could be controlled by computer. This allows an unlimited variety of deliveries. Its excellent training for developing reaction speed. You can block, side step, body weave and so on. The machine I have can deliver balls at speeds up to 150 mph. You can adjust the speed for your personal abilities. This may seem a radical approach, but its excellent training and a lot of fun too. We used to go over the whole realm of attacks and counter techniques. Ben was a great lover of take downs. He just loved seeing his opponent sprawled all over the ground. In fact he got so dexterous at it that, despite knowing many break falls, we had to put an old mattress down on the garage floor to stop us getting hurt. Simulating actual attacks at full force and under the most realistic conditions possible, I cannot recommend highly enough. In fact my training with Ben over about 15 years, was a key help in preparing me for the real fights I encountered. In fact some of the fights I had were far easier than dealing with Bens onslaught of attacks. So my recommendation is to make your attacks faster and more vicious than what you might encounter … if possible. But when you start this type of training, build up slowly and add more speed and force as time goes by as your reflexes and technique grows. This is not only excellent training but it can be a hell of a lot of fun too. Find someone who is easy to get along with and understands the principle of “true simulation”. Have full discussions on what you are trying to achieve, make notes if need be and work hard. The rewards are astounding.

If you are fit enough, try complex training. That is: One set bench press reps One set of plyometric pushups One set bench press reps One set of plyometric pushups One set bench press reps One set of plyometric pushups Rest 2-5 minutes .... yes 2-5 minutes and repeat This type of training is to develop explosive power, its not designed for aerobic endurance. Always ensure good form. Quality here is more important than quantity. This type of training will ensure your muscles are really bitten into. When you do the weight reps, put emphasis on speed and explosive movements, then immediately follow up with a set of fast plyometric pushups. A dose of this type of training twice a week will pay big dividends. However make sure you have a basic level of fitness and strength before beginning this to avoid injury.

I have lived in Japan and well understand the Japanese reaction. You have to understand the customs "before" you go there to get through, otherwise you are just considered another rude, arrogant, westerner (Gaijin).

Bruce Lee said himself that JKD is a concept and not an actual art (I have this statement on video) When you do a thorough analysis of JKD, there is nothing new in it. Bruce used eastern kicks, western foot work and western punches. There is nothing new, just packaging.

No it isnt and I have never heard of him sorry

Having clearly defined goals and the reasons for self motivation for training understood is very important. I cannot think of a finer way of setting up a self training programme than having a set schedule to work to. For me personally I have used audio tape self instructions for over 20 years. I simply record on tape exactly what I need to accomplish and follow it I would as if I were in my dojo under the sharp eyes of my demanding teacher. As I develop and grow in various areas, I simply make the tape commands faster and longer. Today I have a computer in my dojo and make mp3 files for the instructions. Doing it this way ensures I have an intense training programme and it gives me something that is very measurable. I spend a lot of time planning and working on my schedules in a never ending desire to continually develop and stretch myself to greater heights. After having been doing this for over 20 years, dojo lessons become very easy simply because it was always my intention to do more work at a greater pace than what my school expects of the students. If you are focused, commited and work hard you can reach outstanding results. It takes commitment and discipline to organise yourself and follow a demanding schedule but we are not mere men, we are Warriors!!

After having survived countless street fights over the years, in my opinion point sparring has no relationship to actual fighting. As for hitting first, that doesnt always work on the street especially if you are being attacked by a drunk maniac or someone on PCP who cant feel the pain. How people attack you on the street, unfortunately, is not organised and orderly like a kumite match or point contest. Any fighting that has rules is limited. Train for a no rules situation 100%