Sora_Ookami

ouch! i've had my share of shin injuries and *dang* they hurt. i bet your shin's doing better by now, but make sure you ice it next time. i heard you should ice the first 24 hours and then heat after that. also, use good shin pads -- i have permanent scar tissue all up and down my legs from before i got some good shin pads and it kinda sucks especially cause i'm a girl... hope you feel better!

I'm around 6 foot, and i don't know if someone has already said this, but smaller people can have a big advantage sometimes. Think about it, if they're tall, they probably have long limbs, also. If you can work yourself onto the right or left side of a taller oppenent and then get INSIDE their range, just nail them with elbows and knees. It's hard for tall people to defend themselves if you are close to them.

The key to fighting a group is to get them all in a one-on-one fight. There is no way even the best martial artist in the world can fight 10 people at once without being slaughtered. This is the strategy I use most often: Start running. There will obviously be some differences in weight and hieght of the attackers. The result will be that some of them will fall behind and only a few of them will be able to keep up. This spreads out the group until they are a few minutes away from each other. Once the leader of the group is a bit far ahead, turn around and start a small confrontation (don't let this first fight last longer than two minutes at most). Once time is up, continue running. *This technique is quite hard and takes alot of time, energy and stamina. If you don't have much endurance, DO NOT USE THIS TECHNIQUE!!* I have a friend who uses a different technique that I also like: Back up. Back up as far as you can go. Eventually, you'll run into a wall or something like that. That limits the places the group can attack to only three sides or two if you find a corner. If someone comes near you and tries to attack, try to block or dodge it without leaving the wall. Push the first attacker back and prepare for another attack. *My friend who uses this technique is a very big man who has trained in a whole lot of MAs. You should be very careful when doing this technique* If you're lucky enough for them to start circling around you: Find a place in front of a window or any other reflective surface. Most often, the group will only send in a few people at a time to fight you. They will try to send the people in from a blind spot (behind you). If you stand in front of the mirror or glass, you can see in all directions. ONE FINAL NOTE: Use their numbers against them. Here's an example of that: A week ago my friend was testing for a new belt. He had to spar a 3 on 1 match. I was one of the 3. He used the second technique mentioned. The biggest of the 3 ran toward him. My friend blocked his attack and pushed him away. Then another of the 3 and myself came at him at both sides. Our timing was a little off, though, and my attack was first. He blocked my attack and then, to my surprise and dismay, grabbed the sleeve of my gi. He blocked the attack from the other side and grabbed that attacker's gi, also. He pulled us together and we concked heads. That was just a move to confuse us, though. After that he pushed us away and we almost fell to the floor below us. Hope I was helpful! ^^;

Hey! I actually know an answer to this one! ^__^ It seems that everyone of my sparring partners think that they can beat me if they charge or rush at me. They're wrong! One of the first rules of the Martial Art I take is to always get away, then counter. That rule must be broken if someone tries to rush you. Instead of trying to run away, you should use their force and their power against them. I always rely on two techniques. The first one (i don't recomend this one unless you are very sure of yourself) is a double block. You slide your back foot back and, with both of your arms, preform a kind of punching motion in the same direction. If you're in a right stance, your right arm should be extended about level with your head and your left arm should be extended about level with your hip. MAKE SURE YOUR ARMS ARE EXTENDED OR IT WON'T WORK!! An easier technique (and the one I use most often) is just a simple front kick. As the openent charges at you, prepare yourself for a kick. The thing about this technique is that the kick doesn't even have to be hard or powerful. The attacker will simply run into it. From my experience, 2 out of 6 times the attacker will fall over backwards, and if he doesn't his balance is very bad for a moment or two. If it's in point sparring, you just won your self a free point. This kicking technique is also a plus because it doesn't involve any stamina and not very much power. ^____^ Hope I was helpful.