KnifeHand

You might think that would be true about the adjusting for kicks. If you are tall, it probably would be true. The bag actually works at a level where you can practice high kicks and mid-level kicks. You of course can't practice kicks to the knees, shins, or feet because you would be kicking hard plastic. Ouch. The XXL is probably better suited for a lot of things, but the original does work.

SnakeEyes, hands down. The coolest GI Joe of all. Stormshadow was cool, but how effective could he be with that hood in the way? Yeah, for real don't mess with SnakeEyes' girl either... bad news. Remember what Sgt. Slaughter always said - "Knowing is half the battle."

Alright, I'm learning Kempo, Jujitsu, and weapons, but I kind of want a strictly self-defense oriented supplement. I was thinking of the series of Krav Maga DVDs. Anyone have experience with this series? Also, my girlfriend wants to learn basic self-defense, but can't afford to take classes, so these DVDs would be for both of us to use together. I know that video is not the ideal way to go as far as learning techniques, but I feel like I could use my knowledge of other arts and training to effectively learn the techniques. Also, having a partner to work the techniques with is much better than trying them on imaginary people, don't you think? Let me know what you think of this, or if you have any other ideas I would be happy to hear them!

I'm not a fan of crazy printed gis. They remind me of "Rex Kwon Do" in Napoleon Dynamite. I prefer plain black or white, and I hate dumb patches. This minimalism may come from my Zen-like beliefs in intricate simplicity. Uniforms don't make the fighter, though, so I guess it doesn't matter what you wear if you can kick butt in it.

I experience this every week. The same guy thinks he's so big and tough, and all he wants to do is punch me in the face. He doesn't use proper technique, no control, and he NEVER uses foot techniques. At first I would get really frustrated, especially after a couple bloody noses and a dinged up eye. My instructor would constantly tell him to watch his control and mix up techniques, but he always charged with flying fists. I wondered why my instructor never really stepped in to stop it, even when I was bleeding or obviously furious. I finally figured it out when I outsmarted the big punching doofus by side stepping his charge and throwing a strong roundhouse to his gut. Stopped him dead in his tracks. Nowadays, he's a little more reluctant to come charging at me. Afterward, my instructor mentioned that he had been waiting for weeks for me to teach the guy a lesson. Overall a great way for both myself and the big guy to learn. Moral of story: out smart the guy and use his size against him. Make him look like a lumbering idiot and every once in a while, when he's hitting you a bit too hard, hit him back - at least just as hard.

Class 6 days a week for $50/month. Private lessons are $15/hour. Sounds like I've got a sweet deal going on! I study Kempo and Jujitsu, as well as some Kobudo.

I think previous athletics experience has really helped me in my martial arts training. I participated in track, golf, cross-country, powerlifting, basketball, and marching band (which is more athletic than people may think). They have helped as far as general physical condition and in learning how to control your body. Most of all though, I think they have taught me how to pay attention and listen to a coach or instructor, and then make my body do it. I can pick up new techniques very quickly, partly because I have experience learning how to move my body. Sometimes I do have a relapse into an old sport or something, but overall athletic experience helps in martial arts training. I would not say that having no experience in athletics hinders martial arts training, however. Good topic!

I'll agree with the previous post. There is a college-aged male at my school that always pushes the darn thing over, and we have Wavemaster XXL bags. He thinks he's so tough and awesome, but really he is just pushing the thing over after he strikes it. Wavemasters should not fall over.

I have: Heavy bag Weighted bag gloves Sparring gear Ankle weights Pilates DVD (It works) Tanbo Bo Sai

Oh my, what a topic. As far as modern games, I would say Soul Calibur II. Mortal Kombat Deception is a close second. As far as classics go, Ninja Gaiden was great, as well as the Double Dragon games. All of the Street Fighter games were solid. It's too difficult to choose just one.

I have a Wavemaster, and it serves me well. I'm in college and living in a dorm, so it's nice to pull it out of the corner and be able to push it back without taking much space. Any sort of heavybag is useful if you know how to use it. I recommend developing a workout of some sort that you can stick to. I think it's good for bags to move a bit. How often do you hit someone and they stand completely still? Anyway, as was said before - any bag is better than none.

I agree that most of the things they do in their forms and katas are useless in a real confrontation. But I sure as hell wouldn't want to pick a fight with a dude that could flip upside down while kicking and fling kamas around faster than the eye can catch. Every system starts with the basics. You learn a front kick before a crescent kick or hook kick. I'm sure these guys understand the basics, they just expand on them. What I'm saying is that there has to be some amount of practicality in their art - they just exploit the "extreme" portion of it. I watched the Discovery Channel thing, and found it very entertaining. I noticed that in the sparring competitions, no jumping, flipping, diving, or spinning was used. It looked to me like they used very fundamental scoring techniques. Anyway, I'm not a huge XMA fan at all, but I do feel that these guys are very talented and have something to offer to the martial arts world.

One of my professors has a doctorate in a single verse of the Bible - 2 Corinthians something or other. Pretty amazing that you can research, analyze, and get a doctorate on one sentence. I think the martial arts philosophy one would be sweet. I'd like to know what universities offer it.

I'm in college, a music education major. I have class all day and ensemble rehearsals in the evening. I've found that by making my training a priority like my other classes I rarely miss them. I realize that sleeping is difficult too. Eating right and exercising when not training makes you feel less fatiqued. I guess my only real suggestion is to try to form a schedule that works, with a little flexibility. Good luck.

I also recently got a heavy bag, and I posted workout questions on here, with some really good answers. I have now formed my own workout that I find works really well. I work the bag every day that I am not in class, for a half hour. Here is my workout: 5 mins stretch 1 min backfist 1 min reverse punch 1 min front snap kick 1 min roundhouse kick 1 min other kicks 1 min knees, elbows 3 min of backfist/reverse punch combo with intensity 5 min sparring combos, all techniques for rhythm 3 min sparring combos all out with intensity (this is where you get tired) 3 min kata review (to cool down) 5 min self-defense techniques, stretch out This works great for my style and my dojo, and of course you can substitute things as you find necessary. Doing a single technique for just a minute straight really develops the form and power of that technique, making it more applicable in a real situation. Some days I also do weapons work (bo, tanbo, suntetsu), using foam weapons. I just like to use this as a basic and flexible guideline, and it's a real workout. I also use weighted bag gloves and ankle weights for the entire workout. Needless to say my speed is improving...