elbows_and_knees

Leg press?? wow. i can leg press well over 800. Squatting is much harder. I currently squat about 430. I bench 300. I do yoke carries with 600.

I completely agree. I preach our style of training to every ma I encounter. few receive it well. They say our sport training is different from what they are training for... they aren't training to fight several rounds, they are training to end a fight quickly....sad.

playing around with friends is different - the stressors are not involved. I'm willing to bet that his friend does just fine playing with friends outside the dojo.

I think you forget the history of the martial arts my friend. What they are and WHY they are. We've seen bullets kill people because that is how war is fought in this day and age, a thousand years ago it was something sharp or your hands. So do you think those armies slap boxed eachother to death? No, I didn't forget - and I was hoping nobody would bring this discussion here. 1. you can't base what you do now on what somebody else was able to do hundreds of years ago. Heck, look at muay thai. How was it created? they removed ancient, "proven" tecnhiques because these techniques were too high risk and low percentage to actually pull off in a ring fight against another trained fighter. 2. compare a musket to a desert eagle or an mp5. enough said. 3. even if you make that comparison, you are talking about people in a time of war. combat hardened soldiers who had a reason to fight - it was life or death. today, how many of us are in such a situation? the mindsets we have are totally different. There is a thread on another forum about a trained member stating that his friend - who is a higher rank than him - got beaten up and doesn't understand why... 4. are there any records of someone in war getting their throat ripped out by another man's bare hands? who was it? which battle? you likely won't find any evidence to support it, which is the point triangle man and I were getting at. It irks me to no end that so many TMA guys base their confidence in their style on what somebody else did hundreds of years ago or longer. Want to find out if it works FOR YOU - go test it. 5. I think a lot of people over exaggerate how good these warriors of the past really were in many cases. Listen to all of the stories about masters who were undefeated in challenge matches... they can't ALL be undefeated, unless they had far less fights than are claimed. Then, when you see video of some of these "masters", it's ridiculous. There's a clip on the net (I used to have it on my server) of a white crane master vs the FOUNDER of wu style taiji, circa 1954. It looked as if neither had ever had a fight in their lives.

using them in class doesn't necessarily attest to effectiveness. I can pull a lot of stuff of in class that I wouldn't use on the street.

it doesn't mean that your karate is no good. It means that you are lacking in fighting experience. consequently, you can't properly deal with the stresses of an altercation.

real simple answer... adrenaline dump. Everyone likes to think of adrenaline as this super substance that gives you super human strength and allows you to fight forever. In reality, it does not. While it will make you stronger, that is very temporary. adrenaline rush lasts for a few seconds (less than 120), then your body starts to tire at a faster rate. This is also partially responsible for the "fight or flight" syndrome, as well as tunnel vision. When you don't have a lot of fighting experience, you will gain tunnel vision and your body may freeze up - because you are not trained to react in such a situation. Some people may regain control of themselves during the fight - if it lasts long enough. often times, they don't. As for forgetting, that is another side effect. With adrenaline flowing, the brain tends to forget ANYTHING not ingrained in your memory after the heart rate increases beyond a certain point. Think back to your fights - you likely didn't use anything beyond the basics, which are what should be ingrained into you. People without any training resort to what their instinct is - the haymakers and flailing punches that you see. He forgot his training because it wasn't ingrained into him properly. That combinedwith inexpeirenced led to him getting beat up. This is why I advocate that ALL MA enter at least one full contact competition.

to be honest, considering the tight budgest these days, I wouldn't try to get the school to buy pads. I would bring what I have, and require the students to buy their own. My gear would be spare gear, or be used by students without their own. As time goes on, I'd buy more gear with the salary the school paid me. A low cost would probably interest them even more, as they don't have to spend money that they probably already don't have.

this type of stuff is possible. you have to talk with the school board about it. A buddy of mine (my capoeira teacher) teaches capoeira at one of our local elementary schools. There are a few karate schools around that teach after school - they have practice after school, just like the other sports.

they won't do a lot of things, which is why there is so much controvery about "real" kung fu today. Nobody really knows what is real anymore. regardless, I can't even think of any legends I've heard of involving a throat being completely ripped out... TMA who compete have the same opportunity. a boxer avoids fighting on the street as well. testing yourself regularly though, is a different animal, and a missing component from some tma.

those aren't really "designeated" they are just things that have been used over time. There are chinese variants of those. - filling the clay pots with water. - chi ishi is like shuai chiao's rock pole. shuai chiao also uses a double ended rock pole. - ishi sashi are equivalent to the chinese stone padlocks. - the makiwara's equivalent is iron palm in addition, there are iron rings, heavy weapons training, etc. the list goes on.

pilates is great. I have done yoga in the past, and may restart soon. Rickson gracie is known to practice yoga as well. I also lift weights, which can be considered non ma related. running, swimming... all can enhance your training.

lee really wasn't any type of authority when it comes to weight training. He dieted, worked out and was one of those genetically gifted people. That's it. as far as getting stronger without getting bigger, any decent strength training program can do that for you. The goal is not to train the muscles, but to train the neuromuscular system. you want to train yourself at a neuromuscular level to contract your muscles harder. the harder the contraction, the higher the output. Heavy weight with few reps (less than 5) and few sets (1 to 2) is the way to go here.

the inclusion of striking. the ground fighting I've seen in the TMA that I've trained has been mainly stiking from the ground, with the intent of getting back to my feet by incapacitating them, knocking them down or just gaining enough space from them that I can safely stand. Ground grappling is part of what happens when you are both on the ground. TMA, IME tends to address you standing and opponent on the ground, or you on the ground and opponent standing, but doesn't have a lot of focus on both parties being on the ground.

they make sprays for this. Or, you can buy some febreeze and spray them. DO NOT leave them closed up in your bag overnight. The smell will only set in on them. Unfortunately, if your gear already stinks, you aren't going to reverse it. you can stop it from getting worse though. The next time you buy gear, make sure you keep them sprayed and aired out.

same here. between that and competition, I get plenty of real application time in.

right, but what I was saying was that regardless of the type of strike, hitting a small, moving and protected target can be difficult. don't you have to do at least some initial striking to form a bridge so you can close the gap? having grappling in a few forms and actually training it are different things. The grappling I have run across in CMA has been vastly inferior to what I've learned in judo and bjj, but rightfully so, as cma isn't a grappling style. On the same token, judo striking is inferior to cma striking. And I'm not talking about shuai chiao and chin na. That is indeed in most major systems in some aspect. I am referring to ground grappling. not ground fighting, which is different. dude... do you have any idea whatsoeever how big amateur fighting is? they don't get paid for that. And even at pro level, the pay is small, unless you are a big name. money really isn't the motivation. said competitors are among the most humble people that I know. I've trained with guys of great skill, like yang jwing ming. Regardless, I doubt they could rip a person's throat out, despite how conditioned their hands are. Have you ever SEEN them do this? you changed your scope. I'm not talking about tearing muscle. I'm talking about ripping their throat completely out. that's what you initially said.

unless you pick an occupation where you will legally be able to test it - security, body guard, cop...

and therein lies the uselessness. thinking about what you said, I'm able to see a series of throws, the first being ippon seionage. BUT, the hands are not correct, and the footwork isn't exact, meaning that you would have to play with it in order to get it right. you are reinventing the wheel. Why? Also, seeing it in the kata is not helping you perfect it. You still need to drill it and work it in randori. you save yourself a lot of time and needless experimentation by learning ippon seionage, drilling it repeatedly and working it into sparring.

yes it did!

I lucid dream frequently. It's weird. It's like part of the conscious interrupts the subconscious, and says "you can control this" I can't control it all the time, but when you can control it, you know... it's hard to explain.

When you think about it, the style dictates how you train. Sure, you can say "If you train like this on your own..." but let's be real - most people go about their normal lives after they leave the school. They WON'T do the extra training. In a typical sport fighting class, the very nature of the training will get you in competition shape (or close to it) for that event. It's part of the style. With the exception of capoeira, I don't see many traditional schools that do this. Consequently, yes the style does make a difference.

depends on the kick and the target area...Ideally though, you don't want to be there. For example, if a tiip comes at you, either scoop it, parry it down or shuffle back so you are just out of its reach.

gan sau - "cutting hand" when used to block a kick, it's sometimes a double gan sau - using both hands. My WC experience is limited, so I'll let some of the WC guys explain the actual technique.

pants sagged to the butt level won't impair footwork - they can move. The problem comes in when they try to raise the knees - running, kicking, etc. The lowered crotch seams won't allow them to do it. I've only seen a few situations where the pants actually fell down.