Aodhan

Can't top it, but my mouth did a similar thing. After a midterm about a year ago, I was overheard by someone (That never admitted it) saying that I thought the 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 sparring was a little weak. Next midterm, Master Lee (6th degree, school owner), Mrs Lee (now 6th degree and 4 time world sparring champion in the ATA), and Mr. Nguyen (Our sparring instructor) walk out for my 3 on 1 section. Aodhan

Yes, anyone that learns an art is learning to fight, hence the word martial. However, there are levels and intricacies to it. Take an overweight 45 y/o, put him through classes where he learns his forms, and does everything well enough to pass, but doesn't practice until they are second nature, doesn't change his lifestyle, etc. If he gets into a confrontation on the street, I would have doubts about his ability to protect himself, despite his training. Now take another 45 y/o, who starts training in his art, recognizes the deficiencies and strengths, supplements his training, gets in shape, practices until moves are second nature. He will probably be able to handle his own in a fight. Both may be the same rank, but one will be able to use it much more effectively. Also, many people debate about the completeness of an art. Karate, TKD, many of the upright striking arts get knocked because of the saying "All fights go to ground". A grappler or MMA (Mixed martial artist) will many times claim that their art is superior on the street because of that fact. Arguments and discussions rage ad infinitum about the effectiveness of various arts in different situations, but it all basically boils down to how prepared you are personally. Aodhan

The most acrobatic styles will tend to be wu shu, capoeira, and possibly TKD. XMA is more a way of applying gymnastics and athleticism to an art you are currently studying. What colleges are you planning on possibly attending? If we know that, we might be able to recommend some schools in the area, or what you can study now that will help when you transfer. Aodhan

As have I, but we both speak from much experience in the martial arts. I was thinking more along the lines of Betty Smith who comes in to enroll her son or daughter, and the first impression of the school. If I had no experience in the MA, I seriously doubt if I would have stayed to watch the class. Aodhan

It was at our Worlds competition last year, and he went through a full testing to come into the ATA as a fourth degree. There is also some debate in the ATA about making parts of our competitions open. Irregardless of that, I don't think that the ATA will ever exclusively "own" XMA, since any school that wants to can order the DVDs and material from his website. Aodhan

XMA is eXtreme Martial Arts. Basically, there were some practictioners that were having success on the open circuit doing poomse (kata) with a lot of yells, flips, 540 kicks, 720 kicks, side twist aerial kicks, flips, things of that nature. For weapons, it was trickier handling, release moves, things of that nature. Mike Chat (Actual last name is something like Chatarantabut), took all these techniques and made a series of DVD's and ways to teach them, and packaged it with sparkly uniforms and weapons, and called it XMA, and that has become the general term for the flashy, showy aerial stuff. Aodhan

http://www.hapdosool.com/aboutus.htm It looks like another codified (consolidated) art, where they pick and choose pieces to make their own art. I do have issues with a couple of the claims on the site, mostly the last paragraph - "Meditated for four years on combining techniques". While that may be true, phrases like that always kick up an alarm for me. http://www.hapdosool.com/techniques.htm Like I said, it looks like a codification of a lot of different pieces. I'd watch classes for a while before I committed, just to see what it was first. Aodhan

Hey all- I've been starting to look around for a grappling/in close fighting art lately, to help complement the work I do in TKD. Last night I went to a class of Bujinkan Taijutsu. Let me preface this by saying that I currently train in a commercially successful school. We have two large rooms, a lot of equipment, nice padding in one room, card racks, our own pro shop, etc etc. There are times when students get put through that probably don't deserve it, but on the whole it is a very good school. I walked into the training room last night, and it was small, somewhat dimly lit, with a few tattered gymnastics mats scattered on the floor. The instructor was in a cut off T-shirt, black pants and tabi boots (The ones with the split toe.) I was immediately kind of put off, because of the appearance of the room, instructor and students (Most were dressed similarly). I stayed, and about half way through the class I realized that there were some seriously good martial artists in the room with the beginners (It was an intro class). I was thinking about my perception and instant prejudice against the school because of the appearance, and I am somewhat ashamed of it this morning. So, I was wondering how many of you that did a lot of searching ended up not choosing a school because of the way the school or the students/instructor looked, before judging the value of the art? Aodhan

Hello all- I've been a striking arts student for a long time (Close to 10 years), and am currently a 2nd degree in ATA TKD. I do train for both point and full contact type sparring, and our art does encompass basic joint releases, locks and takedowns, although we don't progress too far down that path. I've been interested lately in finding a good art for takedowns, joint locks, grappling/in close fighting. I went to a class of bujinkan taijutsu last night, and I did find it interesting. They divide their focus into nine different ryu, and the current one is...gyokku ryu, which looks to be a lot of aikido type "don't be there" movements with strikes and joint lock progressions. What art would you all think would be a good complement? I live in the Phoenix, Az area, there are a couple of JJ schools, and one or two aikido schools, as well as a wide mix of traditional (Didn't see any judo), and a couple of MMA/extreme fighting type schools. Any suggestions? Aodhan

Yeah, we have two classes a week just for people that want to do the XMA, and that's it. Everything else is still the traditional. Oh, and if you enjoy the aerial, the gymnastics will help, as it will teach you to control your body in space while in motion. Only a few of the techniques will transfer straight across (Handsprings and flips), but they will make it easier to adapt the rest to MA. Aodhan

Squawman is right, 5-10 year olds is a very wide range of ages for that young. Out Tiny Tigers are from 4-6, then it's 7-12, and even that can get trying. The class should be no more than 30 minutes. That's about all you're going to get from the younger ones (5 and 6). Also, instead of trying to make it a martial arts class, it's more of an activity class with a martial arts theme. Here's an example of one of our segments we use a lot in our TT class: "Okay, everyone, we were taking a plane trip! Make two laps flying around the class and come back! (They run around like mad with their arms out making buzzing noises....cute as anything).....OH NO!! We've crashed in the jungle!!! We've got to run out of here! Everyone start running in place!" "LOOK OUT! THERES A MONKEY IN THE TREE! We've got to block him! Ok, everyone HIGH BLOCK!......Another one! Block with the other hand!!...OH NO....Theres a LION! Everyone get ready to kick him! Ok, front kick! Great, there he goes! OH NO! A SNAKE! Everyone get ready to low block!" Cheetahs run fast, herds of rhinocerosososososos, etc, etc, etc. Lots of movement, very little time to get distracted. If you stop and say "Uhm" for more than 5 or so seconds....you've lost them. Aodhan

Ah....gotcha. Aodhan

What makes it "extreme" is calling it extreme for the marketing. Basically, when Mike Chat was going through and competing on the open forms circuit, they intoduced and made almost standard the aerial kicks (540's, 720's, flip kickouts, etc.). When he pretty much stopped competing on a regular basis, he took everything that he learned and used, and created a way to teach it from the ground up, and how to present it. He packaged it all and called it XMA. It's not a style in and of itself, it's more a way to take your current style and adapt/further it for use on the open circuit. It can be applied to any style out there. Our school has purchased the XMA program, and when it first started, we had 30-40 students per class. It's sinced ebbed back, now we get about 10-15 per class. I think it adds something, but I also think it should be just used for more advanced students, the beginning students have no reference, and you have to stop and teach every time there is a new kick they haven't learned yet. One other note, I recorded the 2004 ISKA US Open, and in the open forms competition, about half of the top 3 in the categories they showed were doing traditional forms, the other half were XMA styled, and I wasn't all that impressed with a lot of them. The weapons was mostly XMA, and only three weapons. Bo staff, kama and sword. The sword competitors were pretty darn good, I have to say. You probably won't see too many escrima, nunchaku, tonfa, sai weapons in the top. What really seems to score in the top forms is speed of the weapon and the ability to release the weapon and grab it again, which doesn't lend itself to those weapons. (Although I have seen some pretty impressive nunchaku routines.) I'm in the process of getting a video capture card, when I do, I can transfer them to DVD for people if it's wanted. Aodhan

My father was a graduate of one of the first classes to graduate from the AFA. He flew medivac helicopters in Vietnam. I think he is on one of the plaques, he died in between his third and what would have been his fourth tour. Aodhan

Uhm...excuse me? TKD has much the same blocks as karate. High block, low block, inner and outer forearm blocks, palm blocks, knife hand blocks. I started in Shotokan, and when I switched to TKD, about the only difference I found was in the terminology. Aodhan

A lot of it goes by the "reasonable and prudent" principle. It's similar to what medics (EMT's, paramedics, etc.) face. You are bound to do what a "reasonable and prudent" person with the same training would do. So, say someone comes at you with a knife and you break his wrist disarming him. You probably won't get into much trouble. Most people with MA training would probably do about the same thing. Now, say that after you break his wrist, you knock him down, kick him in the ribs a few times, and grind his face into the pavement. Now you are up on battery charges, and rightly so. You can do what is necessary to safely remove yourself from the situation. Anything more than that, and you better hope for a sympathetic jury. BTW, just in case, the distinction between assault and battery. Assault is telling someone "I'm gonna kick your butt!!!" (The threat portion). Battery is the actual kicking of the butt. Aodhan

I'd have to say that this was my favorite Batman of all the movies, it stayed truest to his origins as a tormented person, and allowed the dark side to show through. He IS called the Dark Knight for a reason. I also like the way they set it up for sequels (Gordon is still a Lieutenant, for example), and how they explained the scarecrow origins. I also thought that Michael Caine made a pretty good Alfred. I was surprised to see him though, I hadn't seen a cast list before I went. Aodhan

Yes, but it is all registered to Mike Chat. Century is merely the outlet for the gear, they still license the "XMA" stuff from century. Regardless, they have several good demos out on the net that I've seen. I downloaded one and burned it to CD to use as fodder when I coach our demo team. Aodhan

I'd do a google search to see if there are any maestro's in your area. However, I would suggest possibly waiting until you have achieved a dan ranking in your current style. It can be confusing to try to do two very different styles as a beginner. Aodhan

Yes, women do have testosterone, just as men have estrogen. I agree, women will not get as bulky as men do, however, they will get relatively bulky when compared with other women. Even a little bit of bulk is anathema to some women, however. Agreed. I was speaking in the broadest generality, as I stated. I didn't feel it was necessary to overburden her with the minute differences between the styles. I know that powerlifting is core movements, bodybuilding is isolation, etc. What interests us, bores other people to tears. Good advice. Also, people need to be aware (Not sure if I stated this already in the thread or not) that ROB is right, spot reduction is a myth. Fat comes off first from the last place it was put. So, if you put on fat on your thighs first, butt next and face last, it will come off from your face first, then butt, then thighs. Aodhan

I had a bowflex, and sold it quickly after I got it. It wasn't easy to maintain a flow for the workout, always having to stop and adjust for the next exercise, the cables always felt unsteady, the bench was flimsy. The rower never worked right (Although I did get it used), and it just seemed unstable in general. Free weights and dumbbells all the way. Aodhan

I prefer the middle weight doboks (gi's) the most. I have two 100% cotton canvas doboks that I absolutely hate, they are hard to wash, extremely hard to iron, and are hotter than anything (Especially in Phoenix in the summer!!!) Middleweights wash and wear well, and you can iron them with a little starch and really make them pop at tournaments! Aodhan

Unless it is a really cheap aluminum, I can't see anything wearing like that in 6 months unless there was a mounting or manufacturing defect. You should be able to go to almost any hardware store and pick up a replacement part. Take your bag down, take the worn link with you and ask them what would be a good replacement. Aodhan

You can probably do just about any style you want, as long as you have an instructor that understands and won't force you to do things your body might not be capable of. We had an 83 y/o guy get his BB a year or two ago at one of our styles schools (ATA TKD). Most styles that strike with a closed fist are termed "hard" styles, and the open hand styles are the "soft" styles (In general). I know a lot of people swear by Tai Chi, you might be able to try that until you get your body limber and used to training again, then branch out and add another "hard" art. Try em all, see what you like! Aodhan

Moo duk kwan will readily lend itself to TKD and some styles of karate, so you would pick it back up faster than if you did a kung fu/wushu or capoeira type style. What kind of competition do you want to do? Open forms, breaking, point sparring, full contact kumite, NHB? This will dictate more of your options. If you are thinking olympics, then you will most likely want WTF style TKD, that is the Olympic "path". ATA TKD, while closed to non ATA members, is another excellent point sparring style with a lot of fairly large competitions. It all depends on what you want to compete at. Aodhan