baronbvp

I concur with dpreview.com. That's a great photography site with good blogs and forums.

Bushido Man, it's time once again for the annual resurrection of your thread! I like my Hawks this year, and I think the Jets situation with Favre will put the fire back in the disrespected Giants. Now I live in Berlin and I can't even watch games live!

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I would like to see if anyone else has comments on how they have modified their fighting or training technique. I can't believe it's been a year. Time flies.

I get the same type of hip pain from side kicks, either in the illiotibial band or the piriformus muscle. I stopped doing side kicks because my hips aren't flexible enough and it was hurting too much. I also can get a lot more power out of a modified back kick. Try changing your motion on the side kick toward more of a back kick and see if it helps.

I can't even get my hips to let my thighs stretch more than 90 degrees apart! That makes me a knee kicker, not a face kicker. I also finally stopped grappling because I am just no longer flexible enough and was getting hurt. Be careful not to injure your groin or hips just because of some relatively arbitrary goal of doing the splits. That will limit you even more than a lack of flexibility.

I don't agree that most street fighters are shabby fighters. Of course, I don't know most street fighters, but the ones I have encountered or read about are somewhat experienced. Their technique may not be pretty. But when someone has been in a lot (over 20?) of street fights, they have some skills that got them through. 1. Willingness and ability to fight in spite of fear and adrenaline. 2. Knowing about the pain and fighting in spite of it, perhaps even after being injured. 3. Experience in no-holds-barred fighting that may include weapons. 4. Experience fighting in street clothes and on pavement. 5. Possible if not probable experience in multiple opponent situations. 6. If they are intelligent at all, they have modified their technique after first-hand experience in what works for them and what doesn't. I'm guessing that they also don't want to go to the ground, because as others have said, it leaves you vulnerable and it's hard to run before the cops come. I think conflict deescalation and escape are your best options, with stand-up fighting as the choice over grappling the ground. As Cross said, use the ground only to get back to your feet - your getaway weapons of choice.

Nice to be back, Bushido Man. I live in Germany now - who'd a thunk it. Good point about getting them on their back and not necessarily grappling with them. But as an analogy, there are some NFL players that would stand solidly fixed with their feet on the ground, laughing as I tried to take them down. Some lions aren't worth taming. I'm gettin' too old to take a big paw to the side of the head while I'm kicking at some huge guy's knee. Of course, it there was no way out, I'd do my best to go all Jackie Chan on the guy. Maybe get a trophy ear before getting pummeled into the ground.

I ruptured my spleen skateboarding in 1975 at the age of 13 and it was removed. I've led an active life with football, skiing, surfing, and flying jets off carriers for 20 years - a relatively violent living. And I'm not a big guy. I'm 46 now and have participated in martial arts at various times throughout my adult life. My experience is not exactly the same as someone who has an injured spleen still inside, but I have suffered no ill effects with respect to impacts. On the other hand, Chris Simms of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a pretty bad rupture a couple of years ago and has never been the same football player since Make sure you get a pneumovax shot since pneumonia is a risk, and don't go anywhere where you could get malaria. Also, I finally had to give up eating raw oysters and lots of sushi due to increased risk of life-threatening infection. Follow your doctor's orders - but make sure he's a doctor who understands the value of an active life.

Great discussion. I would say the entire argument depends on why exactly you want to fight this larger person. If he has friends around, a ground fight isn't one I'd want to be in - all tied up and working a problem that takes time. If he has big huge tree trunk legs, your ax kick to the knee might work - or just make him mad, especially if you don't execute it correctly under stress. If you are trying to fight your way out of a bad and unavoidable situation, and it's one on one, then the trick is to decide the best way to execute a plan to get to safety. IMHO, ending up with your opponent in cuffs requires a different fight gameplan than your safe and quick exit from an altercation you don't really want to be in. Maybe you just talk all psycho and outrun the guy.

My back kick is one of my good kicks, and my hips aren't very flexible. I know what you mean about Chuck's kick - it isn't what I'd call pretty, but it is effective. He doesn't waste motion or stretch so far as to open himself up for a counter attack. Typical MMA in my opinion: Use what works, don't worry about the pretty.

Figure out the focus of the school, your overall training philosophy. Then you decide details like which arts, kata or no kata, training spaces and equipment, etc.

Five square feet? Where do you work, Bushido, in a guard booth? Aircraft cockpit? That is not much room, my friend. Hard to do TKD.

Great discussion. I would add some darkness periodically, as well as training in confined spaces like a bedroom or car. The more you train in reality, the better you'll fight in reality.

Johnlogic121, if what you say is true, you don't need a poll from an online MA forum to validate a single thing about your art, including whether it should be offered to the general public or not. If what you say is true, I would like to take your eight hour class. After that I would be able to give you an opinion. Whether I could lethally strike someone ten times in five seconds remains to be seen. All that being said, I think each contributor has asked you to validate your claims and you have not yet done that.

I like that idea. I'll try it, Bushido Man.

Yep, my whole body likes the move much better - even my eyes. This assumes I miss the round kick, of course.

I couldn't decide whether to spin 360 or try to stop. I recently decided to spin only 180 and go right into a back kick, which I really like. It is a good move for the way my body moves. My roundhouse kicking leg goes to support for the back kick, and I kick back with the other leg. Bam, BAM!

I usually do, too. The nice thing about his is that it's great for close in fighting. I have adopted this kick after a roundhouse MT kick. I couldn't decide whether to stop my motion or spin 360. Neither felt right. The last two times I have worked out, I tried going 180 and right into this back kick. It works well for me, though I haven't tried it on an opponent.

It's the ultimate in time-sharing and multitasking!

Maybe we'll get lucky and he will.

Classic!

That's what my wife said! I kind of wanted to watch surreptitiously from a distance, but she thought I was crazy and just wanted to leave the area. Realistically I had to agree with her, but I was actually sorry I didn't get to observe more. I never like to pass up an opportunity to learn something. I guess we're all like that? Too funny.

I like my elbows and knees, too.

Great analogy, bearich. I'm like a rattlesnake - I just like to be left alone. If you insist on provoking me, be prepared to get snakebit.

Menjo, I didn't look for any MA schools but didn't see any. These guys were untrained. It could very well be a cultural difference. I also don't mind topic changes, I was just a bit confused as to what exactly was being said and where it was going.