karatekid1975

Actually, I made a lier out of my post. I kicked someone in the head during sparring class tonight, and almost knocked him out (hook kick). I rocked his clock. I felt so bad I didn't mean it. It just happened. My side kicks are not very high, but I can get loads of power in them. My roundhouse kicks I can get WAY high and still have power. The hook kick suprised me ..... oops.

I have a heavy weight Judo gi for jujitsu (Proforce). I like it. It's great for grappling and throwing It fits well, also. Proforce has always been my fav. They make gi's for a "funky" shaped female LOL. And they still fit hehehehehe.

I think TSD would be a good substitue to TKD. I went from TSD to TKD. I still spar the TSD way (except no hand contact to the head). And I still throw people for a "loop." Just be aware of "some" TSD folks spar with their front leg (like I do). Most TKD people will be suprised by this (this is my experience, anyways). TSD folks do hand contact to the head (but not to the face or groin for safety reasons in the dojang). But it also depends on the school/dojang/instructor. TSD is mainly point sparring, but in class, we did takedowns, grappling, and Thai type sparring. It depends on what the instructor knows and teaches.

I agree. Try it without spacers. With spacers, it's a bit easier. But much harder without them (I should know, I broke my hand trying without spacers ..... not that many either).

Oh wait, I forgot to tell you all about the class .... My first night back was sparring ... Ugh. BUT before the class started, I was doing my forms, and I haven't missed a beat with those, thank goodness. One of the BB's looked at me and it looked like he said "Dang! Three weeks off, and she still kicks butt?!?!?!?!?" Well not really, but my technique was on tonight (I was LUCKY!!! LOL). But with sparring, I was so out of shape. Three weeks off does a lot (or doesn't do) for sparring. Wow! I was tired! I still clocked someone in the head with a hook kick and rocked his clock (a dude with no control), but I also dropped when he hit me during an athsma attack (he should have known I was going down on my own .... ). I haven't had an athsma attack in a year. So that tells me to NEVER stop training no matter what. I was on my game till I decided to take a break. I regret it now .....

Anbu Alex, good advice I got into MA for self defense, but it's the character building that kept me in it. And no, I'm not going to stop. Here's a cool story ... I went to class tonight after taking a 3 week long break. I helped with the color belt graduation (red belts and above are encouraged to help, so I showed up after three weeks off), and then I did class. But the thing was, the "line" I had to lead out to do their thing was Taichi (we also have Taichi in our schools, but they test here at the main school). My really good friend was testing for orange belt in Taichi (congrads to her again for a job well done ). But she is also a 3rd dan in TKD. She was lined up behind me, which I felt akward about knowing she out ranks me in TKD (and I don't do Taichi). But she didn't have a problem with it. But when she changed her belt at the end, I saw the black belt in her. She was the only one on one knee (like they do at BB grads) ... it's hard to explain, but it blew me away. The humble attitude she as and all .... WOW! Then I saw my Master instructor. I thought he would flip out on me for not going for such a long time. But I bowed to him and said, "how are you, sir?" He Bows back and smiles, "Good. Thanks. You?" He didn't even look mad. He was in a good mood. SWEET! LOL.

LOL. Thanks for the laugh, White Warlock hehehehehe

I don't like patches either. I just have one (the school/style patch). If I had my choice, I wouldn't wear one at all (no logo either).

I take TKD and Jujitsu. The styles, I think, work well together. I get to kick, punch ect in TKD. It's more in the "K.I.S.S." (keep it simple stupid) thing, but very fun. I also get the ground work, joint locks, and throws in Jujitsu. This style is more like "do whatever works NOW to get out alive" type training. But neither style is better, but each one has its own way of dealing with any givin situation.

Not at all. Like Mr Mike said, if you are mature about it, it won't be distracting. My boyfriend and I train together. We did meet in the dojang (not this one, but my old dojang in NJ). He didn't train yet, but showed a lot of interest in it. So when I moved here with him, we hunted for a dojang to train at together. We never had a problem. We keep our "personal" relationship outside the dojang. Only a few people know that we are actually a couple (the ones that have been there for a long time with us). As far as training goes, we think of each other as students inside the dojang, nothing more. We have no problem sparring or doing any kind of partner drills together.

italian_guy, No, I don't feel a lack of motivation in JJ (well I don't train in it as often either, because my instructor lives an hour away). But you're right. I may be putting TOO much importance on my test. I have seen people get really nervous and fail. But I also seen people just go in there and have fun, and they passed. So, yea. That is definitely something to think about.

I just remembered a couple. My instructor "kihaps" to signal for the next move in a form or for the next technique. One guy Kihap so loud that we moved. He said, " That Kihap didn't have an accent (my instructor is Chinese)." LOL He says that a lot now hehehehe. He likes saying "What?!?!?!" if we don't kihap or answer him loud enough LOL

MATX1 is right. We have a non-traditional kata (poomse, or hyung in Korean) for white belt. Then we do Taegeuk Ill Jang, Ee Jang and Sam Jang (green belt form). The green belts also learn the first one of two basic forms with a bo (non-traditional also). In Jujitsu, I don't have a clue. I haven't learned a kata yet. In TSD, we learned 5 kata up to green .... Kicho Ill bu, Ee bu, Sam bu, Pyung Ahn Cho dan, and Ee dan (still my fav ).

OMG!! You guys are the best (with your advice and stories). I feel like I'm not alone now. White Warlock, shotochem, and Sauzin, you guys basically said the same thing (some what). But I do agree. I'm listening to others instead of listening to my heart. For example, I was "talked" into testing in July, and I KNEW I wasn't ready. I decided to test a week before. Which isn't enough time to prepare, obviously LOL. But I am preparing for Nov. This time I will be ready, if I can still test. But if I can't, ah well, maybe next time. I'll just enjoy the ride You guys are right. It's something to shoot for, but it's not as important as "enjoying" what I do. younwhagrl, I agree. Listen to these guys

KF is the best forum to me. The mods do a great job. I was even a mod for a long while, and everyone works together to keep the peace, so to speak. I also learned so much from other martial artists, and learned so much about other styles. KF and members helped me to become more open-minded. I can also seek advice on here (which I have done a lot lately LOL), and everyone offers great advice despite rank or style. Thanks all

I agree. I just started Jujitsu a few weeks ago, and those vids will come in handy

Thanks Heidi. I read your post yesterday, and I was thinking about it all day. I even asked advice from a non-martial artist yesterday, and he said the same thing as you guys did ... weird huh LOL? He doesn't know about the belts and the testing stuff, but I told him about my motivation, or lack there of. He said that everyone needs a break, and rethink their motives on working out/training/even careers. I thought about it long and hard last night (couldn't sleep LOL). But my true motive for MA is "character." I need a good swiff kick in the butt mentally and physically. If any of you knew me back in the day, I'd have to be "pushed" to do anything. I was either lazy, scared, timmid, or all the above. MA is the only thing I stuck with. Because I needed that "drive," that confidence booster. But I felt like my test was that "drive" but it backfired (and the tourny right after). But I have a chance to make that up with my retest in November (Hopefully I can still test. I haven't trained regularly in weeks). The above might be part of my lack of motivation. What do you guys think?

I had many talks with Heidi (ninjanurse) on different subjects having to do with my training. She knows most of it (and can probably explain it better than me LOL). I posted on another forum about something similar. One person said that the reason may be because I am so close to BB, and I'm subconsciously "scared" or mentally not ready. Consciously, I am trying to do my best (I'm even getting my Jujitsu instructor involved with helping with the self defense portion of the test .... actually it was his choice to help). Don't get me wrong, my lack of modivation doesn't mean I don't like MA anymore. Because I do. White Warlock, good post. You gave me a lot to think about. It may be "the environment" that is interfering with my training or the other way around. I haven't thought of it like that. Sauzin, to answer one of your questions, I started for self defense. But I continued for the "character building" that I recieved. Which both are still present in my training. Steve_K, no I tested for senior red (high red, 1st gup/kyu). You also brought up some good points. Thanks to all of you for your advice and stories. Anyone else have advice?

There's nothing wrong with tricks, as long as you know they are just for fun, which they are fun I started doing tricks in TSD, also. https://www.bilang.com is the first site a fellow student gave me to check out. I had a few injuries since then so I'm "behind" on learning my tricks. So my main advice is warm up first, and stretch before trying any tricks (been there done that LOL).

My Jujitsu instructor had a really good suggestion when we got into the same talk about push ups. I can't do more them 15 proper push ups (25 on a good day). Like some suggested here, he said do flies with weights to build chest muscles. He also suggested doing push ups on your knees or against a wall. I never tried these. I just did the normal push ups in class. But I am going to try these different methods to see how it works for me.

Hey all. I looked for a topic like this. I saw a few, but it wasn't what I was looking for. Anyways, I have a confession to make. Since my test (in July), I haven't been training much. I was going twice a week at the most (I used to go 3-4 times a week). These past few weeks, I think I have trained twice. I just lost the motivation to go/practice. I thought starting another martial art would spark my interest again, which it did, but not for TKD. There's a lot going through my head right now as I'm writing this. For instance, why? I've trained 5 years, why am I not interested anymore/or motivated like I used to be? It's to a point that if I do go, I have to force myself. I thought about it long and hard, and I can't answer these questions. Can you guys help me or give some advice, please? It makes me sad that I just don't train anymore, but I still don't know why.

I can do a full split with my right leg out (almost on my left). I have pretty mean kicks. But if I kick above my chest level I start to lose power. If I kick someone in the head that is taller, I just end up "tapping" their head gear. It's usually not power at all. It looks nice, but there's no "meat" behind that kick, for me anyways. When I do breaking, I always do kicking breaks at waist (maybe slightly higher) level, so I know I can get full power and full use of the hip into the kick.

EEEkkkk. I didn't even know I had two articles posted in a row (thanks Patrick LOL). But thanks all. It still holds true now, cause I'm still learning the "character part of MA." Ask Heidi LOL

I do TKD and jujitsu. TKD has the kicks, some hand techniques, forms, and general self defense (and some weapons). Jujitsu has the "good stuff" when it comes to self defense. Anything from standing, to ground defenses, to kicking (low), to weapons to... you get the idea. My Jujitsu instructor is even helping me pass my BB test (in TKD) by helping me with my TKD stuff (the SD stuff anyways), so I will be ready to test in the spring. I think that is pretty cool. I feel both arts work well together, but they are also different enough that I don't think I would confuse them (then again, I'm only a white belt in Jujitsu).

I'm 30 and I'm not ready for shodan ....