karatekid1975

I would say, for me, it's a 540. But it's not pretty yet. I can do 360 really well. I usually do a roundkick or something like that leading into the 360. But nothing fancy ..... yet.

Withers, I noticed that, too. People in my school thought I was crazy because I wanted to break with a ridge hand. Even my instructor. Why is everyone affraid of breaking with a ridge hand? So, I used the excuse "I did it before in my other school." (which was true) hehehehehe It worked. He let me

Training to me, is going to class everyday (or every other day) and getting better at your chosen MA. If you "train" (practice) hard, you'll get better at whatever you do.

When I started MA, I would have to say the hardest kick I had to learn was the side kick, then the back kick. I praticed them the most. Now they are my best kicks The hardest hand tech was the punch (no laughing, yes I said the punch ). I used to punch "like a girl" (that funky girly punch ..... I think the gals know what I'm talking about).

I was in one fight (after starting MA hehehe), and it was with a guy that wouldn't take no for an answer. He followed me and took me to the ground (with my back on him). I backfisted his nose, and elbowed his tummy and hammer fisted his ... ummm.... you get the drift. He still got up and followed me. So I side kicked him. I broke his ribs. He fell and didn't get back up after that

Thanks Monkey girl. I know how to do the 540, I just can't get my body to do it right. Steve Terada is awsome too.

Both of my schools (the TSD one and the one I go to now) teach both. We also have a "skip" side kick. It's like a step side kick (without crossing), but ya put a little "hop" into it. I'm a kicker, so I pretty much like them all.

My new school doesn't allow NO ONE under 21 to teach (unlike my last school), regardless of rank. We do have people under 18 that "help out", but you have to be taking the LI (leadership instructors course) to do so. Part of the course is to assist the instructors, at least, one class a week (for experience). But you have to wait till your 21 to become a full instructor.

Short term: Heal (pulled hammy) and be flexible. And heal enough so I don't have to postpone my green belt test again (and pass ) Long term: Be the best martial artist I can be, and teach MA.

540 for me. Both my feet wanna land together, but it's not supposed to be like that ..... gggrrrrr. Oh and the 540 hook kick (can't get enough "spin").

There was 3 or 4 junior instructors in my last school and two assistants. The one assistant was 19, but he was an awsome teacher. He was a natural. His brother (also an assistant) was great at teaching technique. The other three (18, 17, and 15) were ..... well ..... not naturals. They taught good on somethings, but they would argue, show off, ect during class. It got so bad that if they taught an adult class, there was a line of adults ready for the door (including me). We would not take class if they were teaching. So my master instructor taught all the adult classes or got one of the two assistants to teach (if he was out). So, it depends on the person. If you are a good teacher who is humble and understanding, go for it. But don't be a "kid" (play around) while teaching. It's hard for an adult to take a junior instructor serious if all they do is "play around", chat with "friends", show off, ect.

Pacificshore. Good post. It got me thinking about a school I looked at a few months ago Mamutti made a very good post too. If it's a really good school, it's worth it to travel. But then again, I go to a school now that is 20 minutes away. They are kinda on the steap side ($$), but it's worth every penny. Very good instructors, and they offer more than most schools around here. And everyone is helpful and friendly. So it depends on the school, not the location

I loved that, 360. It is so true

Technique is a very important thing. Make sure each technique is sharp, clean, and focused. What I did when I competed in forms is, I do a technique making sure it's sharp, and clean (not just poppin my arms and legs out there), pause for a second or two (just long enough for the judges to "see" your technique) then move on to the next technique. Focus on what you are doing. Show power when the form calls for it and/or show "fluid" slow motion when the form calls for it, ect. "Define" every move. Also, some people believe that "speed" in a form is great. I don't agree, because if you go too fast, the judges can't see your technique, and you might get so ahead of youself that you mess up or forget where you are. Like I said above, I think technique is the most important thing. Make sure you have strong and good techniques.

I agree with Pacificshore. It does sound reasonable. Go for a intro class to see what ya think, and to check out the instructor's teaching method. Wow! Pacific. You traveled 5 hours to train? How many days a week? I was thinking of traveling 2 hours for a TSD school, but decided against it, because upstate NY (where I live) gets a lot of snow in the winter. Bad for traveling.

LOL G. I like doing jump kicks and stuff, because it keeps me young. I feel like a kid again when I do them As far as Bill's saying, I'd have to agree (if it was outside the dojang).

I'd pick Hapkido because (depending on what style Hapkido), it's got a little bit of everything from strikes, kicks, ground work, locks, ect. From the little bit of Hapkido that I learned in my last school, I think it would be effective as self defense. Plus, I think, it would be a good addition to TKD.

Jack. That was right. My Tang Soo Do teacher told us that also.

Hey, G, Ya forget a few hehehehe. I know the average martial artists doesn't do these but here's a couple that weren't mentioned: 540, flash kick, ect. Oh and the "flying" (running, jumping) kicks the Tang Soo Do is famous for. Bon mentioned the flying side kick. There's the flying roundhouse, front kick and back kick (which is hard for me to do in the air gggggrrrr). And the famous tornato kick, which is a 360 roundhouse and/or cresent. Oops, that was mentioned.

Hiya Blade. G95 had some great advice if ya wanna go back to the beginning of the forum. Anyway, it's been a week and two days since I pulled my hammy. It actually feels pretty good. When I first did it, and a few days there after, I couldn't do ANYTHING without pain. But now I can kick (hip level), walk normal, ect. The only time it hurts is when I forget about it and try to kick too high. What I did is I soaked it (sat in the tub in HOT water that was just short of burning me lol) for a half hour. I warmed up the muscle in my leg, then stretched it lightly (see advice in this forum). But I would advise that you ice it for the first 24 hours.

I had a bad experience with those. They tend to leek, if you fill them with water. But, if you have to fill it, use sand. It makes it more "heavy" and takes more abuse, in my opinion. It's worked well for me (with sand).

What kind of challenge?

I like that G95. I like "digging" into forms to find out different ways to use them. I did TSD, which has the same forms as Shotokan (different names, though), so the more I learn about them, the better. Thanks, man

LOL. Sounds like Phantasmatic watches too much TV hehehehehe. You guys are too funny

I used to be a campus cop, so I got into all the cops stuff (Cops, NYPD, Law and Order, New Detectives, ect). Plus my best friend is an EMT, so she got me into the "blood n' guts" stuff on TLC (Code 3, ect). I don't watch much TV anymore, but I still manage to see Cops, and Code 3. Me gots a sick sense of humor .... hehehehe _________________ Laurie S. Yellow belt/green stripe TKD (formally 5th gup blue belt TSD) [ This Message was edited by: karatekid1975 on 2002-05-03 15:41 ]