Jiffy

It all depends on what you want to get from the art. Aikido tends to be the most traditional and formalised of the lot. It consentrates on taking the balance of the oponent while maintaining your own. Therefore it has a lot of throws. Kenpo is a chinese Karate. It is a striking art that works at a close range. It is very fast and they multiple strikes. Tang Soo Do is more like Japanese Karate in that it is still a stricking art, but they tend to be a little more linier and fight from a further distance. They concentrate on less more powerful strikes than kenpo. At the end of the day, it will come down to the school, not the style, so visit them and see what you think.

There have been a lot of posts on this and it just shows how many different opinions there are. Me personally, I think cross training is fantastic. HOWEVER, I think everyone should get a good understanding of one art before starting to cross training. I think there is too much to try and absorb to do mutliple styles right from the get go. Do a couple of years (or better still 1st Dan) in one art and use that as your primary art. Then, add other arts to compliment it. Don't be in a rush. The only thing we really have is time.

I still love the old school cotton ones, but these plastic/vinyl type seem to be getting more and more popular. I personally don't like them. On the plus side, they are a lot easier to keep clean.

Definately go the 1 3/4 They look better and are more practical.

Actually, I think it's just above the waist. Eg. give a bit of clearence above your head, then it's halfway from the point to the ground.

Piece of advice. The judge is never wrong. Doesn't matter what you think, whatever they say, goes. If he says it didn't score, it didn't, period. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you'll do well in competition. The art of competition is not about what works, it's about what the judges like. Make it LOOK effective, even if it's not in the street. Hold it for only a moment and get as close as you can to hitting the face without actually hitting. The rest is up to the judge.

Okay, this has been done to death, but I'll respond quickly anyway. It depends on what the individual instructor wants for a BB. Karate took me 11/12 years to BB Hapkido will take me 2.5

I currently study ICHF Combat Hapkido. It is taken from traditional hapkido, but a lot of the whip throws and stuff have been taken out. Pallegrini took out what he felt what not stricktly effective on the streets in today's enviornment and also added a couple of bits and pieces. I quite like the art, but at some stage, wouldn't mind finding out a little more about traditional Hapkido. I'm currently 1st Gup and will be Grading to 1st Dan in December.

I agree that it's in their best interest to stay fit, but having said that, I think you'd be surprised at the abilities of some of them.

Hi There, First of all, forget rank. Look at standard. While you might be somewhat optimistic, it's great to see some people with such enthusiasm. I have now been doing Shotokan for 19 years, and I still love it. As for Bassai Dai, the name means "Storming a Fortress". It's all about invading the emporers castle. As such, it must show tremendous power and stability. It is not about being flashy. In this kata, it's about power (don't mistake power as strength, two different things). Make sure you do the kata with great determination and power. Keep your centre of gravity low and stable. Use the agression that would really be needed to storm a fortress.

The Judo Gi's have no ties because the grappling where lapel grabs are used generally just rip them off. We see this a lot with our Karate guys when they start in Jiu Jitsu and use their Karate Gi until they can afford a Judo Gi. For Karate, the ties are fine. They help to keep the gi nice and presentable. As for tellng the difference, there are a couple of ways. The easiest is of course the ties or lack thereor. Also, Karate Gi's tend to be a smooth texture usually of Cotton or Canvas. Judo/Jiu Jtisu Gi's are nearly always made of Cotton and generally have a "wavy" texture to them. Also, many have a diamond pattern stitched in at the bottom of the Gi. Also, on a Judo Gi, the lapel tends to be a lot thicker.

By the way, Karate practitioners generally don't refer to it as Chi because that is the Chinese term. They usually refer to it a Ki or Zanchin. (same thing though)

I have personally had combat experience. As a bouncer at numerous pubs/clubs and a warden in wards for people with phsycological disorders, I had my fair share of hand to hand combat experience. Martial Arts give you the tools for the job, but the person has to have the attitude to use them. Martial Arts do work if you know how to apply it in real street situations. What Martial Arts schools don't teach you (and can't) is the adrenelin you will feel and the speed at which the whole thing will happen. Forget being able to dance around your opponent like a boxer, in the street, most fights last no more than 30 seconds, and chances are, you would have acted before you even know what you are doing. That's why we shouldn't just teach a skill, it needs to be instinctive. If you spend time thinking, you will most likely spend it on the floor, face down.

I went home and slept. I was buggered. I have another two black belt tests at the end of this year (one for hapkido, one for Karate), so it will be interesting to see what we'll do then.

In part, it was Bruce Lee's death that made him so famous. Don't get me wrong, Bruce Lee was a briliant man, but his major fame came after his death. Only speculation can guess if that is because he died shortly after making his best ever film or because his death caused such an uproar in the world and held him immortal in his brilliance. Bruce himself said that he was scared of growing old because he knew he could not keep what he had obtained. He has been noted of saying that if he died on any certain day, he would not be sad because he had achieved all he wanted to and would be immortalised as he was that day. To a large degree this is true. Bruce has been maintained as the brilliant man he WAS, whereas those that have lived past him are being remembered for what the ARE. For example, people know Chuck Norris for what he is today, not what he was in his prime. Just like Chuck, Bruce's physical ability would have decreased. His knowledge on the other hand would increase. His life would have been affected by change and his focus would have changed, just like any other person. Bruce was a pioneer of free thinking and allowing nature to change, so I don't think he would have stayed static and got left behined, I think he would have kept up with modern principles and kept studying. Today, I think Bruce would be idolised for his knowledge instead of his movies, provided his cocky attitude had disapeared with age. However, if he had lived, I don't think he would ever had achieved the status that he had and still has. Perhaps it's better to remember him for what he was than what he could have been. The candle that burns for the shortest time, burns the brightest.

Having said all that, it's great to see that most people seem to agree with the main point which is, nothing is a miracle. Everything takes time and effort.

Thank you for providing an example of those that entirely miss the point. I didn't say that all styles are equal, I said the person makes them good, not the style make the person good. In your second paragraph, you say this yourself. You mention that for some things Tai Chi is great, but for self defence, it's not good. I hate to burst your bubble, but all styles have something they are not very good at. For you, the definition of "Good" might mean it's self defence qualities, but it's not the same for everyone. Tai Chi is a good style, it just depends what you are looking for. If you ask a Tai Chi practitioner what they think of boxing, they might think the same as what some might think about Tai Chi, that's it's not that good. That's because what the Tai Chi practitioner is looking for is not what the boxer is looking for.

Okay, if you've opened this, you are either the audience I'm targetting or you've felt the same frustrations I have. I've been on this site for sometime and invariably, every day I find some deluded individual that wants a miricle method or cure to something. I thought I'd jump on and drop in some cold hard facts of Martial Arts. 1. It takes time to achieve competence 2. It should take competence to achieve black belt. 3. It takes tremendous effort and persistance to get either. 4. No art is better than another, it is what works for the individual. 5. The art does not make the fighter, the fighter makes the art. 6. You cannot bulk up without excersize 7. You cannot increase strength without strength training. 8. Both of these take time. 9. You need to rest if you want your injury to heal. 10. If it keeps hurting (not aching), you're doing it wrong. 11. The style does not make a good school, a school makes the style good. 12. ALL styles will compliment another style you are training in. 13. You are never too old or too unfit to start. Something is better than nothing. 14. Persistance is the key, not time!!! Post your thoughts either for or against.

I think what you describe resembles more shotokan then goju. The stances in goju are not that long and the movement are both circular and linear. It has powerful hard techniques and soft block-and-grab techniques to initiate grappling... and it's not even completely Japanese it is mostly okinawan even if there is also Japanese GoJu. Thank you for picking out the minor inconsistancies in my reply. I was however, trying to give an BASIC OVERVIEW for a beginner. While the stances are shorter than shotokan and it is less linier, Karate as a whole (including Goju) has longer stances and straighter movements than many other styles. FYI - Most Karate styles derive from an Okinawan background, but are often referred to as "Japanese" due to the origins of it's early practitioners.

I have personally met Jeff a couple of times. Here's a pic of me with him about 6 years ago. http://users.esc.net.au/~aacd/images/photos/shawn_jeff.jpg He is a really nice guy. So humble, yet sooooo good!! He studied directly under Mr Parker and was one of the most senior students. He took over Mr Parker's school when he died, but due to politics, the various top students went their own way. The Ed Parker badge was never used again, but Jeff now uses a similar one. Jeff also has a 6th Dan (I think) in Karate. (Japanese) A real idol of mine!!

I strongly dis-agree with this attitude. Your attitude is exactly what mine used to be, but some things happened that made me change my mind. When I was looking for new schools to cross train in, I was only looking for people that as you say had "learned everything they could about the art". I soon realised that this quickly lead to disapointment. There was either none around, they didn't have a good personality or were just too expensive. What I later realised is I didn't need to be someone who knew everything about the art. I just needed someone who new more than what I did. I say go for it. You are not looking to create a school of students who worship you, just to pass on what you have learned. That doesn't mean you have to stop learning, and by the time any students are up to Dan grades, you should have learned sufficient to keep them going. I co-founded a new school when I was 17 years old and only 2nd Kyuin Karate. That same school will this year celebrate 9 years in the running and we would have trained hundreds of people in that time, including retaining some students for over 7 years, and.... all of our grades are government recognised and recognised by the AKF (Australian governing body for Karate) and WUKO. (global governing body for Karate). As well as that, we also now teach 3 other styles of Martial Arts that are recognised by various governing bodies. In my books, that's pretty successful, well, I'm happy at least. So sure, it can be a little harder for those with a little less experience, but it is possible. The other thing to consider is, a grade doesn't necessarily indicate the skill level. At the end of this year, in Karate, I will grade to 3rd Dan. I have been doing Karate for 19 years. I had been training for about 11 years before I got my 1st Dan. In Hapkido on the other hand, I have been training for only 2.5 years and will have my 1st Dan by the end of the year. If you want some help setting up your school, drop me a PM.

The most common cause of this is definately locking the elbow. The joint is not designed to lock at high speed. This hyper-extends the joint and also puts great stress on the tendons. Also, make sure you are rotating the punch. This is not done just for power, but also protects the joint and tendons in the arm.

The doc is the best one to speculate. My guess would be a pinched nerve or hairline fracture. The body is an extremely complex thing, it can play up without any apparent cause, and waiting is not a good idea.

Your intensity is a little high, but sweating and heat are normal. Perhaps just back it off a little or speak to your doctor. You should be working at about 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. Anything over this is actually counter productive. Here a simple figure to work it out.... 220 - 35 (your age) = 185 (your maximum bpm) Ideal workout = 111 to 148 bpm Here's a rough test you can do while you're training. The talk test: If you can talk fluently, you are not working hard enough. If you cannot say two words between breaths, you are working too hard. If you can speak broken sentences, it's about right.

I see a lot of these questions and get asked the question a lot. I will offer the same standard answer to everyone as follows. (this does not apply to people who have a diagnosed medical problem that directly causes weight gain) CONSUME LESS ENERGY THAN YOU BURN It really is as simple as that. Either eat less energy or burn more, or both. People that are gaining weight often complain that when they diet, they always feel hungry. Duh! Before trying to loose weight, deal with the reality that you are going to be tired and hungry. If you don't want to be, don't pretend you're trying to loose weight. Once you have that out of the way, you have completed 90% of the battle. Weight loss is not a battle with food, it is a battle with discipline. As mean as it sounds, that's the hard truth. If you can get the discipline down, the rest is easy. Generic Tips for Weight Loss 1. Educate yourself. Search the web. Find out what is good and bad for you. Find out what the labels on food means. Use the information you find! 2. Eat breakfast!! If you don't, your metabolism will be slow for the day and you will not burn the energy as well. 3. Do not skip meals. Just limit the portion size. Remember, it's about metabolism, not just volume. 4. Eat more fruit and veg. 5. Eat less red meat, sugar, simple carbohydrates, caffine etc. 6. Be realistic. Allow yourself treats, but just keep them very limited. 7. Keep a food and excersize journal. Keep track of what you are eating, when and the same for excersize. Record your weight each week. This helps with tracking, but also with discipline. You feel more guilty for picking up a chocolate bar if you have it written down. 8. If it's not good for you, don't buy it in the first place. Discipline is easier to excersize at the supermarket than the fridge. If it's not in your fridge, you can't quickly grab it. 9. Excersize. Set out a realistic program. 10. Goals. Set them. Make them realistic and write them down. Most of all, you need discipline. Set your game plan and do not deviate from it. As I said, weight loss is a battle with your inner self, not what you put in your mouth.