baronbvp

Beware the Seahawks...

I used a backfist the other night in Muay Thai and was questioned. Although MT uses the spinning backfist as its own technique, my use of it as a straight technique in the middle of sparring close-in, without the spin, was a bit frowned upon. To me, it is equally valid as any other technique regardless of style. If the target is open and I can hit it with the back of my fist - stand by for impact. "We don't do that in ___ art" is a ridiculous answer.

I guess all is right with the world. Except for the poor Bears fans. Chicago's defense fought hard but its offense was horrible. What a wacky game.

I use a training journal and agree it's a "force enhancer."

He is obviously very talented. But except for the last guy, almost everyone was just running at him to be thrown. There's a reason BJJ is the hot grappling art right now and Aikido isn't.

Fight's on and it's a wild one already! God I love football.

Very nicely put.

I'm considering joining a new school, kind of expensive: 1. $125/mo for a 1-year contract in any one style; $180/mo for two styles; $215/mo for unlimited. Prices are higher for shorter contracts. 2. Styles offered: a. BJJ (lead school instructor Pedro Sauer) b. MT by two very experienced Bangkok MT fighters with 420+ professional bouts between them c. Krav Maga d. MMA/UFC e. Kali/JKD 3. Four times per week each style 4. I've never seen a mix of arts in one school with such qualified instructors. A very fit MMA guy could spend four hours a night in there and get BAD.

Congrats on an improving situation. Everything happens for a reason. Look for the lessons in any adversity, and take any hidden gifts you find to make yourself a better person. Sounds like you have done just that.

My Shorin Ryu instructor wore light MA shoes but I went barefoot, as did most in the dojo. To keep the dojo clean, he wanted no outside shoes in the dojo. Those who wore shoes wore them only there. My Muay Thai instructor wants everyone's feet bare since competitions are conducted that way. Also, putting the shin and instep guards over shoes wouldn't work right with the ones we use. We'd have to switch to the more expensive strap-on instep guards. I like the idea of shoes, though.

I posted before, but now I go twice a week instead of one a week for the same price: $112 for 10 weeks, so about $45/mo for Muay Thai.

I agree with you, but there seems to be some sort of "anti-shoe" view in most dojos and a stigma associated with it. I know it's hygienically better and prevents athlete's foot, norovirus, etc and floor abrasions that could lead to blood on the floor and infection. Does anyone out there train MA in shoes, and is it because of your training surface or hygiene, or for realism or some other reason?

I couldn't agree more. KB is about learning to fight. Karate is about learning to know yourself. Each has aspects of the other. I like both.

If you want to learn to fight, I recommend kickboxing and BJJ regardless of your body style. KB is more effective fighting than karate, and you should learn to grapple. If you want less contact and more belts, go with karate.

So far the consensus seems to be hardwood, except for grappling. My son takes a indoor soccer class at a school where the gym's basketball floor is some new kind of commercial carpet. You can play basketball on it but the lines and everything are silk screened right into the surface. It felt as though it might work, but it probably burns like any other carpet even though it's smoother.

Wow. That's also a mean roundhouse and some mighty fine knee work. He doesn't use his hands much, but I'd say he does just fine fighting MT the way he does.

Of course, you'll need $10K worth of new furniture to go with those walls...

I'm not new to MA but I do need to stretch more. I have always stretched some since I lead an active lifestyle. I was stretching for awhile using Bob Cooley's The Genius of Flexibility, but that ended up hurting and my hips would be locked up some the next day. His big thing is resistance stretching. Guess I just need to suck it up and do it, and take what it gives me over time. I sleep on my side, so that can tweak my hips a bit. Maybe I pulled too many G's for too long in my career. My daughter found out this year she has that. It never affected her MA training but certainly keeps her from running without pain and fear. The inhaler just allows her to increase her pain threshold. Seems like everybody's got something! Thanks guys.

I have a interlocking mat in my home gym, but I agree that it could come undone and be dangerous. I have gotten carpet burns on my feet before, and on my extremities when grappling. I have also trained on aircraft carrier non-skid on steel which I don't recommend! I would think the nicest surface would be something like a lightly padded chamois material. I also know people who train on concrete or asphalt to better simulate street fighting. They wear shoes. I'm not opposed to wearing light martial arts shoes on carpet. Seems like some dojos are moving that way for hygienic purposes.

Impressive! I'll bet you go through the ibuprofen, though. I know I do.

SSNNOOWW! Great job by Lovie and the boys.

I have trained previously on commercial carpet or mats for the most part, but now I am doing Muay Thai at a beautiful new local rec center in bare feet on a laminate floor. The kickboxing classes are only one part of a martial art my instructor put together he calls "Jung Su," a combination of Tang Soo Do, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, karate, and weapons. I plan to take classes in that at some point. See http://www.jungsumartialarts.com/page2.html My question is, taking a fight to the ground on laminate doesn't look too fun. I believe we'll bring out the mats for the ground stuff, but the footwork changes a bit from laminate to mats. For instance, rotating on the ball of a foot during a kick or shuffling the feet around is way different. So, I'm not sure if we'll start by standing on laminate while we do the striking and then move to the mats, or more likely do it all on mats. Either way, neither surface is perfect for both things. What floor surfaces are out there that people like and dislike and why?

Or http://www.mmawarehouse.com/MMA-Gloves-Training-s/23.htm. I like their stuff.

As usual, Bushido Man makes good sense. Sounds to me as though you are an MMA trainer who would be called a striker. If you want to get even more "mixed," do some more grappling like submission grappling or BJJ. Your own answer may become more clear (assuming you care that much) as you train on the ground. Good on you for training cops and the military. We can use it! Thank you for your service.

As I reread this, I didn't make it apparent that you rotate into the kicking leg if you are going to spin him to the ground. It keeps the rotational flow of motion in the same direction. So, if he kicks with his right leg to my left side, I step in with my right foot, grab his leg with my left arm, and move my left leg behind me to rotate us both counterclockwise as we go to the ground with me on top. The flow is clockwise for his left leg to my right side. I'm left handed, so the setup looks different for a rightie sparring a rightie but it works either way.