Aodhan

Basically, the modern form of ninjutsu (As people have noted) is bujinkan taijutsu. As with anything that has jutsu in the name , there is a lot of joint locks, ground fighting and grappling type things in it, as well as weapons and striking. Basically, the modern guru, Sensei Hatsumi took a lot of the different "schools" of ninjutsu that existed, and collated them into one art. Each year, they emphasize a different type of their curriculum. I went to some introductory classes at a school near me, and I saw a lot of roots with judo, aikido and jiujitsu, with a very big emphasis on flow and fluidity in movements. Aodhan

Are you completely sure that your Master won't let you train at another school? That sounds pretty stifling to me, you may want to talk to him. If you are bored with it, then you won't last much longer as it is. (At least that has been my experience, soon after boredom comes abandonment.) Talk to your dad as well. You can always go back to gumdo, and your training won't have been wasted, some of it will cross over. Talk is highly underrated, talk to your master, the new school, and your dad and figure out what you want to do. Your dad (and hopefully your master) will be impressed with the maturity it takes to know what you want to do and to approach them with it. Aodhan

Use- I got an email back from the Master of the school, and I will either be going over to check out classes tonight or next Tuesday. I'll let you know how it goes! He seemed to feel that I should pick up a lot of things quickly because of my background, and that I would enjoy the variation. Seemed like a really nice guy, I'll talk to him more when I go in. Aodhan

I would say that either TKD or wushu would be your best bets. Both have a lot of kicking and aerial content, although TKD is less oriented that way than wushu is. For the flashy stuff such as 540's, flips, x-outs, etc. then you should fine a school that has a demo team that does such things, or a TKD school that supports XMA adjunct training as well. Almost any art will have some aerial techniques, how far you take it is up to you. Aodhan

Uhm... I thought there is some debate about whether capoeira was brought with the african slaves to south america, or whether they created it once they arrived? Aodhan

Shins and knees tell me that the padding in your shoes is not enough for your running style, and/or you have something different such as pronation/supination going on. If you haven't been running in a while, you WILL need good running shoes. I recommend going to a runners store and having them look at your running stride and recommending a shoe. That way you can get one that fits your stride and foot plant pattern. As far as the energy bars, for a mile and 1/2 run plus the rest, it won't really have an effect. They are great when you have time to digest and process them (such as a long, 4 or 5 hour bike ride), but for anything less than an hour, not much use. Actually, the meals you eat 3-4 days before the test will help the most, this is when a lot of athletes "carbo load". And, when you get close to the test, gradually cut your training back for 7-14 days before the event, and work light speed type things. This will help your body recover and be completely refreshed for the test. Aodhan P.S. Get rid of the cigarettes.

One of my favorite ways is the "V in V out". It's a little hard to describe, but here goes. As soon as he raises a leg, you diagonally step forward away from the kick. As soon as you touch on the sidestep, come right back in with a side kick or other appropriate technique depending on distance. Also, if you have the speed, I really like reverse kicks. I have fairly good speed and upward flexibility in the back, so I can get my head down and out of the way and bring a reverse kick up into their chest. Aodhan

IIRC, hands are not disallowed in WTF/Oly sparring, but to score a technique you have to demonstrate power (i.e. move them or dump them). That's hard to do with punches, and if you don't score with a punch, you are in close for a grab/sweep. I'd like to see it added (As I would in our style, we don't allow punches to the head, although we do to the body), as I think it would add an extra dimension. Aodhan

Oh please. Empire Strikes Back, early in the Dagobah swamp before Luke has found out who Yoda really is. "I'm looking for a Jedi Master." "Oooohhh....Yoda. You seek Yoda." Aodhan

How old is your daughter? If she is stroller age, then you can get a running stroller and take her with you when you go run. You want to build the speed and endurance for both the physical stuff and the running, so you can kind of use the same principles. For pushups/situps, you can interval. Do 10 situps or pushups as fast as you can crank them out, rest 10-15 seconds, do it again. Repeat this 8 or 9 times. Do this maybe once or twice a week. The next few days, do your regular 30-20-10, or you can do 30-20-10-10-20-30, and one day a week, do a couple sets of just as many as you can do. Same thing for situps. This will build both the strength (More of the slowtwitch fibers) and the speed (Fast twitch fibers). Same thing for the run. When I ran cross country, we did a couple days of average distance (6-8 miles), a day of fartleks (440 yard sprints, minute rest between) with about 2 miles each of warmup/cooldown, and a day of hill sprints, and one day of a long run (10-15 miles), and a day of total rest. Mile and a half in 12 minutes is 8 minute miles, so if/when you get a treadmill, you can set it for that. For insurance, I would try to get down to 7 1/2 or 7 minute miles. That gives you a little leeway to compensate for adrenaline, etc on test day, and the difference between treadmill running and track/outdoor running. One last thing...you don't mention what you weigh, or if this is a problem. A couple extra pounds can add up to 20-30 seconds a mile. Oh, and stride length. Run with what is comfortable for you. If you want to run faster, increase your turnover, don't increase your stride. Your stride will naturally increase a little bit, but if you deliberately try to increase it, it will be too long and will actually hurt your progress. Drop me a PM if you want, and I can help you come up with a good running program. Aodhan

A lot of this kind of advice will depend on what nutritionist you listen to. I know a lot of trainers and nutritionists that advocate drinking the protein shakes within 30 minutes AFTER a workout, so that you have the most protein available for rebuilding. The most common agreement is that breakfast and lunch should be larger than dinner, don't eat within a couple hours of bedtime, and that you should "graze" or snack a little every couple of hours to avoid the "3 meal" binge type eating habits. Read a lot of the literature, try different things and see what works for you. Every person is different, and there are no "hard and fast" rules for diet and training. Aodhan

Hey, Sam- Just a momentary hijack: Did you ever get my PM about the ATA school in England? Just curious... Aodhan

Yeah, it was published in one of the better journals (It's listed, don't remember which one.) I was lucky enough to be pointed to it by a newsgroup that has sadly fallen into disrepute and troll infested. Aodhan

That's just a difference of opinion, I guess. I have MUCH more regard for someone that has enough confidence and self esteem to not have to prove his abilities to every yahoo that walks through the door bragging. But, hey, if it works for you, more power to you. Aodhan

Ah, sorry, I hadn't seen this question despite the thread bump. No, the way it works in the ATA is when you get to 6th degree, you are ELIGIBLE for the title of Master the next year. There is basically a year long prep after you pass your 6th degree testing before you can test for Mastership. So, it's 5 years between 5th and 6th (Minimum plus other considerations), and if you pass, then it's another year before you can test for Master, but you are still a sixth degree. It's I believe a minimum of 6 years between 6th and 7th, plus other considerations. Aodhan

Personally, I think that accepting "challenges" from random people that walk in the the door is a bit childish. We have that on occasion, and we always decline, but let them know that if they really want to spar, they can sign up for classes. Accepting challenges serves no purpose. If you win, nobody is impressed, because after all, you are the master. If you lose, then you lose respect from your students. Also, if you beat someone that holds a grudge, then they are liable to wait in the dark with a bat or worse. It's just a no win situation. Aodhan

I like some of the "iron man" suits. Not really good for grappling some joint locks, since the pads are way too thick, but they are really good for being able to hit someone full strength or be hit full strength. There is a HUGE difference between hitting someone hard in sparring, and laying an elbow or shin across the midsection with everything you've got. Last time I did that, I was able to move a 195 lb man backwards 5 feet with a whippish style round kick from in close. Aodhan

Ok, heres the link to the article: https://www.copperdragon.org/tkdhist.htm It's a good read, and gives a lot of excellent references in the bibliography. Aodhan

A good general rule of thumb is to move up about 5% in weight, every 1-2 weeks. So, if you pyramid bench press starting at 100 lbs, the next time you move up your pyramid would start at 105 lbs. The next move up should be about 7 lbs, etc. You can also gauge it by your sets. If you can finish your current set with not much problem, you are ready to move up. You should just barely not be able to finish the last rep of your last set in each exercise. Aodhan

It's not outside the realm of possibility in our art either, but to also have 2nd and 3rd degrees in at least two other arts by 25? That's the part that I'm having a hard time swallowing. Aodhan The thing that you have to remember is that often time rank progression is sped up since they don't have to learn the basics from ground zero. I realize that, and it is still within the realm of possibility, but just barely. I'd still have to see his techniques in each art to judge for myself. Something like that just doesn't ring true. Aodhan

I've got a fairly nice essay stored somewhere around here, I'll see if I can dig it up. It's (mostly) correct, although with anything, there is room for debate. Aodhan

A lot of the slamming of TKD comes from the Olympic sparring, which is what most people see, and comparing to Okinawan/Japanese styles. Most of the J/O styles have much deeper stances, so when they look at TKD and their more upright stances, they giggle. As with all practicioners, it depends on the school. I've been in TKD schools where I would be ashamed to call it martial arts, more like dance in fancy pajamas. I've also been in TKD schools that would put most arts to shame (Blood on the floor almost daily). All depends on the instructors approach. Aodhan

Actually, Gilbert is just a couple miles down the road (I'm actually in Mesa, a suburb of Phx, but it's easier to say Phx than have people say "Mesa?!? Where's that?"). I'll check it out, thanks! Aodhan

For your question, I would say that it depends on the dojo. Some teach the pretty punches, some teach the maim them philosophy. Our school teaches a middle road. Do what you can to avoid/get out of a confrontation, but don't let yourself be a doormat either. Part of the danger is the litigious nature of society anymore. If you get accosted, and "take him out", if you didn't wait for him to throw the punch, you can get sued/arrested in return. Then it's up to the judge or jury to decide if you acted with prudence or if you are at fault. If faced with that situation, I'd let them throw the first punch before I reacted (Assuming they aren't armed, of course). Aodhan

It's not outside the realm of possibility in our art either, but to also have 2nd and 3rd degrees in at least two other arts by 25? That's the part that I'm having a hard time swallowing. Aodhan