isshinryu5toforever

The only time I have heard of being intimidated by a kiya was when my first Taekwondo master, heard Grand Master Dong Geun Park practicing forms when he thought there was no one around. Apparently, it sounded like a sound that could only come from a wild animal. That would be something to hear. Personally, I'm not an easily intimidated person, but I also don't try to intimidate opponents. It doesn't seem like it's worth it. That basically makes it sound like I'm lazy haha.

tomoe nage is difficult to perform in that particular position. The best way to get around that would be to kick an attacker in the head once you've made his head your belt level. There is no real reason to kick someone in the head if you can cripple them with a leg kick or a hard body shot. Head kicks look nice, and they can be devastating, but they are also extremely risky. Once the leg is caught, if your opponent knows what to do with it, you're at his mercy. If he doesn't you lucked out, and can try one of the above mentioned ways to escape.

Korean martial arts have a history that extends back over 2000 years, their development is independent of China (maybe) and mirrors the history. Problem is, none of these martial arts exist anymore. Koreans, and yes I am one, try to take back their history by extending the history of present day martial arts, but as noted very few are older than 60. Tang Soo Do may be the oldest, but even that came from China during the Tang dynasty, thus the name. Taekkyon in the modern form is newer, but in the ancient form was a game. The rules survived, and have been kind of put into TKD (points for head contact and trunk contact with the feet), but the true art of Taekkyon was lost a long time ago. The modern incarnations are: Taekwondo Hapkido - and its variations Tangsoodo - Soobakdo falls under this family now I believe Yudo - Korean Judo, a little more aggressive than Japanese Kumdo - Korean Kendo, but much less rigid and far less aggressive than Kendo Taekkyon Kuksulwon - although some will argue the validity of it as a martial art Hwarangdo There may be a few others, but these are the main ones with TKD being the headliner

Well, I can give the point of view from someone who went from Karate, and we do bareknuckle full-contact style competition, to taekwondo in college. The Karate made me a much tougher competitor. It also made me much better with my hand work. When I punch someone, they know it. Also, the full-contact aspect made me more aware of the way the body moves. Olympic-style sparring has also given me some things. It gave me a different style of fighting. It made me rely on my speed and mobility more than my ability to stop someone before their momentum gets going. It gave me a game farther away than within arms reach. It made me look at things differently. The kicking variations matter less than the fighting insight it gave me. I think training in two striking styles that are so starkly different is a good thing. It's definitely given me things that I wouldn't have if I had stuck strictly with full-contact karate.

The 4th Dan testing in Korea, through a university, is a little different though. They have to pass a written exam as well as pass the actual physical test. Once you are a 4th Dan in Korea, you are authorized to open a school and teach, but not before. To teach, you have to have done your testing through the Kukkiwon I believe. In the US, your 4th Dan test could mean just adding one more form and doing some extra breaking compared to the 3rd Dan test. And people with 3rd Dan, sometimes lower rank, open schools in the US. They're just two very different systems.

In our Karate school usually 5-6 years. I have seen people in Taekwondo get to 1st dan in as short a time as one year.

The only Okinawan Karate kata I know with a round kick in it is Sunsu in Isshin-Ryu. I know that Taekwondo has one Taeguk form with round kick in it. As for the answer to the posted question, I use all different kinds of round kicks depending on the target I'm attacking and the situation.

Approach your instructor respectfully after a class when he is there and discuss your concerns. He should definitely know when his students are upset, and why. He may have very good reasons for being gone quite often. Perhaps you caught him at a rough time during life. Family may be of a concern, or something else. His own health may not be as good. You never know a person's circumstances, and life happens to everyone. So, try to sit down with him personally and discuss your concerns.

I think the "able to come out with a 3rd or 4th dan" is only for those who come in with a first or 2nd dan. It's still fast, but not unheard of. If they run it like they do in Korea, it should be audition only. That said, I know in the US this won't happen. So yeah, a 4th degree black belt in 4 years...not much to say about that.

It's my final year competing for NYU's TKD team and I am going to buy all new equipment, because my old stuff is over 4 years old, and some of it is welcoming retirement as we speak. I am thinking about going with either Adidas gear or Mooto gear. Adidas seems to be THE standard out there. I have seen a lot of Mooto gear around too though. I of course need to try on each set, but I can't exactly take it for a test run. I have worn Adidas headgear and I definitely like the feel of it. It's light, breathes well, and barely feels on. The hogus are the big thing. I want to know what people think of them. I come from a full-contact bareknuckle karate background, so hogus aren't exactly my specialty although I have learned a lot in the last four years. Just looking for opinions really Mooto vs. Adidas

I do both Isshin-Ryu and Taekwondo, and i have to say I love the Isshin-ryu forms. The Taekwondo forms just don't do it for me. I would very much like to meet Grandmaster Tae Zee Park. I have been able to meet Park Dong Geun kwonjunim, and I must say that he is a very unique man as well. Extremely powerful and fast. He is my master's instructor.

Gene Labell wears a pink gi

Elvis Stojko - former world champion figure skater trained kempo karate from the ages of 10 to 18, received black belt at 16, started Chinese kung-fu when he was 17 1/2 David Akers - kicker Philadelphia Eagles does Kung Fu

It would be better to go to a local martial arts shop. This is just because for what you're looking for you could order the "same" product twice but get two different bos from two different places. It's better to just go find one. Unless you're looking for something custom like from crane mountain weapons, I don't think online is the way to go.

Chain linked weapons, ie. the nunchacku and the three-section staff, are illegal. So you really can't bring them in legally. I'm not even sure if there is a way to get a special permit for them.

They whole point of those gloves and odd foot pads is to eventually put electronic sensors inside of them. This is what I've heard. Then the scoring will be more like in fencing rather than with the joystick system. This'll be good for people who compete in TKD after they have extensive experience in more punch oriented martial arts, which would be pretty much any other martial art. Sounds good to me

He likes to drink, so sake is one option, but I feel like that's a very easy fall-back option. Also please refrain from calling him my sensei. I'm not being mean, but he is an instructor I train with, my sensei is the man who has been teaching me martial arts my entire life. The custom caligraphy sounds like a possible idea. Thank you for the suggestions keep them coming.

I am basically an extended visitor in the dojo I am from. The instructor's birthday is coming up and I am looking for something to get him. I was thinking possibly a more traditional gift such as a case for his bo. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm kind of looking for cool stuff, like traditional Japanese pipes, things of that nature. Sake sets, tea sets, etc. I feel are done to the point they are impersonal unless very fancy or requested.

PlasmaShock, you may call it disgusting, but that man would call it patriotism. Japan tried to wipe out Korean culture from 1910-1945. They weren't just colonizing Korea, they were trying to commit a cultural genocide. Koreans were forced to take Japanese names, they forced Korean women to become "comfort women" (look up the term if you don't know what it is), and they began schooling children in Japanese without allowing them to speak Korean. If someone wanted to become educated they had to learn Japanese and travel to Japan. Sorry, it's a big subject for me, and I'm a history major so... And Tang Soo Do has been around since the Chinese Tang Dynasty in the 6-900s. It was brought to the Shilla dynasty of south-western Korea. However, Korean martial arts existed long before that. The cultural purging by the Japanese nearly destroyed those arts. All that is really left is the game Tekkyon. It's more like a dance than anything resembling a true martial art. Korea's history has been found to parallel China's and predate Japan's. That's right Japan came after Korea. TaeKwonDo came from Shotokan, but the Taeguk poomsae have been created to eliminate the Japanese influence, although the techniques are primarily Japanese. If you look at ITF however, their patterns are a little more unique. They are also named after Korean heroes, events, and ideals to invoke a sort of patriotism.

Van Damme was in a movie called Monaco Forever in 1984 He played a homosexual hit man or something like that

What's all the info? location, registration time, etc. Thanks

Is that open to only AOKA students?

Ask around campus, they might have a martial arts or TKD club. Some schools, such as NYU, even have competitive teams. Go to the gym there and inquire about the different club teams and classes offered. You might find something.

Does anyone know of events happening in the NYC area? I am trying to keep updated on all this stuff, so if you know of any appearances, tournaments, seminars, etc. going on in or around NYC, Jersey City, or that area, let me know. Thanks

I think it depends on where you are a little too. I have heard discussion that some of the instructors in Asia don't see the black belt as being important so they are more apt to award it quickly. Beyond that level however, is extremely difficult to achieve. I could see some of them finally viewing you as a beginner once you've reached 1st dan. I don't think people should be allowed to reach 1st dan in less than a year, but it happens and there's not much we can do about it. Most people would say I am far too young to have the rank I currently do. It's always about proving yourself. There could be some people out there who just simply have a knack for the martial arts, and they are able to pick up all the physical stuff, as well as understand the concepts very quickly. You never know, but we shouldn't simply discount someone's ability because they got a rank quicker than we think they should have.