Jiffy

HAHAHA. Funny but no. Some Martial Arts are more about the art than the warfare (Martial). Yes, they are worn primarily for tradition.

Recently, I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm the first to admit that while I've done some reading and had some sideline instruction on pressure point, my knowledge on the subject is limited. So here is the conclusion I've come to so far, for myself, but I'd like to hear the opinions of others, particularly those with significant experience in the topic. I guess the conclusion I've come to so far in regards to pressure points is that they work, but not as well as they are made out to by some practitioners. My belief is that rather than some magical key to the inner depths of a person, pressure points are the study of science, not magic. I believe that pressure points are weak spots in the body that are vulnerable to pain. These are generally those on tendons or in joints. I also do believe that there are some that may trigger some neurological activity in some cases. I believe that these can be useful in combat in that it is an easier place to inflict pain. What I do not believe is that pressure points are some magical thing that has been passed from generation to generation and can be used to totally overcome an enemy, regardless of their size or prowess. I've seen many movies and various footage that try to portray this ability, but I am yet to see any credible sources. The link below is a good example. In this example, he could get his students to react, but no-one else. His defence is that natural athletes are able to handle the type of energy, and yet, his students are athletes too, so that blow that theory out of the water. In this scenario, I think it is nothing more than power of suggestion. His students believe so strongly in what he is saying, their mind makes it happen. I do not believe that it is magical at all, what I think is that in the time period where these were discovered, anything we could not explain was considered magical. (including a spherical earth). Stories have been passed down as such, but in reality, we know now that it was nothing more than biomechanics. Unfortunately, there are those that do believe strongly, just like those in the video, and therefore, they pass on the information without consideration of time or context. Video: http://www.infectiousvideos.com/index.php?p=showvid&sid=0355&o=0&idx=7&sb=id&a=playvid Sorry, I'm rambling here, so I'll finish up. I believe that pressure points work in that they are a vulnerable place to attack the body. Nothing more, nothing less. What do you think??

I must admit I have found myself in similar situations to you. I am now 25 and have been training 19 years. I have also studied various arts. I too have recently reached this point where I am starting to question many things and come up with different theories and principles to what I was taught. I guess the one thing to remember here is no matter what any of us come up with, it's highly unlikely that it's anything new, so don't try to market it as if it is. Almost everything we come up with or feel, someone has been through before us. Remember, the arts have been around for a long time. The important thing is to remember where you come from and see the value in it, but not to be bound by it. Liberating yourself does not mean forgetting your past.

The cane master system is quite comprehensive. As someone mentioned previously, the main advantage to a cain is it is perfectly legal. If you think of it as a legal weapon as opposed to using a stability aid as a weapong, then it can be a very effective system. And to those who don't think it is effective for those with leg issues, I do recall one of their black belts has a lot of mobility issues. Got a video of it somewhere. Not perfect, but I guess you have to work with what you have been given.

That seems a little narrow minded. First of all, these are worn for TRADITION and RESPECT. They are not designed to be the most practical attire. Secondly, in a way, they are a fantastic thing to train in. The way in which they move is similar to a dress or baggy pants. No point learning how to fight in nice comfortable thai shorts or gi pants if on the street you always wear a dress or baggy pants.

Generally speaking, the term "combat" put before the name of a style means an abbreviated version. The idea behined this is that in combat, we want less choices so that we speed up the thinking process, therefore, the style only looks at what is extremely effective in likely combat scenarios. In the case of Combat Hapkido, all techniques that are in it come from traditional Hapkido, but many from traditional Hapkido have been eliminated in the thought that their effectiveness is limited or the likelyhood in the scenario where they would be applied is slim.

It's not just kung-fu. That's just the name of the competition. I don't do kung-fu and I got into the finals, so you could too.

If you haven't heard of this, and you love martial arts, I suggest you take a look. To put it really breifly, the K-Star Competition is a little like American Idol, but looking for Martial Artists to star in Martial Arts movies. Yesterday, the chinese group came to australia, so I quickly decided to travel the 800km to the venue and compete. This was an AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!! The competition was very hard, but was an absoloute ball. The first round consisted of forms. The second round was acting/improvisation. The third round was forms and fighting. Here in Aus, the competition was narrowed to 12 contestants who would then go through to the final. The final would leave 3 contestants that would then go on to train in the Shaolin Temple in china before competing for the ultimate prize.... a movie deal. I made it through to the final 12. I was really happy with this!! (well, one pulled out, so it was the final 11) It didn't however, make it to the final 3, but I'm still very happy with the result. For some more information, have a look at some of these sites. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=k-star+kung+fu+competition&meta=

If you've got nothing to hide, don't hide it. Always a good rule to remember. I personally encourage my students to cross train, but, if a student suddenly was training less, and then I found out elsewhere that they were training somewhere else, that would annoy me because i would feel like they had tried to hide it from me. If on the other hand they were up front and explained that they are wanting to cross train, this would be fine.

The kick works very well if executed properly. Here is a pic of me doing the kick during full speed sparing. In this instance, I threw a low line punch the draw the hands down and open up the target. Just so happened it worked. http://users.esc.net.au/~aacd/images/photos/shawn_high_kick.jpg When doing the kick point the knee past the target so then the leg can be brought back. Don't over do it though. It does take a bit of practise. As you can see from the pic, rotate the supporting foot to allow better push from the hips and to prevent injury to the knee from sideways deflection. Lean over slightly to counteract the weight of the kick (although in this pic, I have probably leaned over a bit too far). This kick also works well for the back of thighs/knees and also for kidneys when in front of them. If you want to do damage, or in particular are kicking to a small area, pull the foot back towards you and kick with the heel. If you want to be nice, point the toes (as in the pic) and kick with the flat of the foot.

Try contacting the military. They may be able to assist you.

There are only a couple of things people will get immediately kicked out of the school for. Anything else would have to be an accumulation of problems. Deliberate violence of any kind, in or out of the dojo (this included mallicious intent only, not defence) Deliberate disrespect of students, instructors or anyone else associated with the school or martial arts in general.

Not really clear on what you are after. Could you perhaps specify further?

That's absoloutly discusting! That is not the act of martial artist. The attitude stinks. I don't care what the circumstances, you don't march into someones dojo and have an altercation infront of their students! If I was a member of this GKR, I would be completely ashamed.

Both are good for their intended purpose. Snap is not intended to to smash ribs or knees like a thrust is, but if anyone has ever had a good snap kick delivered to the groin or pressure points under the arm-pit, you will know they work.

Essentially, you can take it to what is needed based on the situation. If a hold is enough to stop the threat, then you just hold them. If it requires you to break an arm, then so be it.

First time I've come across it being called Kenpo, I've always heard of it as Kendo

Definately not. I'm a 5'9" meduim built redheaded dude. Can't think of anyone that looks like that.

20 years since I started training, but have been training in multiple arts, so not sure if that counts for more than 20??

^^ that is correct, but aside from that, pulling a kick is not excersizing control. Control is being able to choose where it lands, not landing it short for safety. Although it sounds funny, what you have is actually lack of control. With time, your distance and timing judgement will increase with your skills and you'll be able to get closer and closer at full speed and still know that you won't hurt them. That is control. Then when the time comes, the difference between safety in the dojo and effectiveness is just choice. Stick with it, it will get better over time.

Our reason was really simple to start with, my Father wanted to run his own dojo under his previous instructor, but due to his ego problem, he didn't want anyone starting their own dojo under him (despite the fact that my Father ran the school for about 6 weeks of the year). So, he decided to find his own way. We've now had our school for 9 years.

Generally speaking BJJ is the way to go if you want to do ground work. There may be some in hapkido which has the advantage of also being Korean like TKD, but certainly not to the level of BJJ. Randori is essentially "Sparring" for grappling arts. It is a free excersize where opponents try to apply what they have learned and in the process, learn more.

I would have to agree that Jiu Jitsu would go well with Kenpo.

Kenpo/Kempo is orignally chinese, not Japanese/Okinwawan. What was the purpose of changing the spelling in the American System?

Just wanted to say, well done for writing to your instructor! AS you would know, people come and go in Martial Arts, but very few have the courtesy to say goodbye or explain their resons for moving on. For me as an instructor, this is crucially important, it gives us an idea on how we are going.