elbows_and_knees

you sound like me. I have a second job as a bouncer now. customers tell me all the time that they like me because I am not hotheaded. I end most altercations through talking, but of course, sometimes that just isn't possible.

UseoForce wrote: To me, hitting the air full-power sounds like a great way to hyperextend a joint. I think that supports mine. And agreed on the hotheads thing. I go to several other forums and moderate one of them. I see it all the time. I'm not saying bags are the only way, but yes, I am saying that kata is not the way. I don't think kata is useless - reading several of my previous posts in other threads show that - but IMO, developing a full power strike is not one of those things they are good for. Strong stance? sure. footwork? of course. solo training? definitely. ki/qi development? sometimes. creating application drills? certainly. Developing a powerful strike? No. kinda. flexing muscle can strengthen it to a point - but only to a point. You stop getting stronger when you can no longer contract your muscles harder. then it becomes an endurance exercise. look at guys who train mostly dynamic tension - they are cut, but they are little. Why? because they are building neither mass nor strength (I know the two are not mutually exclusive) they are training muscular endurance. Also, with tension, you are not punching full power - you are punching slowly. The initial argument was against doing kata at full speed and power.

actually, you misquoted me. I said that hitting the air at FULL POWER is useless. What is it building? there is no resistance, so you aren't getting stronger or more conditioned. You may be hitting fast, but you can go fast without full power. Not only will you improve speed, but it's safer on the joints. and Several people have hyperextended something punching full power. I am one of them. I had a ring fight once where threw a straight right and he slipped it. The arm hyper extended... felt like I got arm barred. it's not that uncommon when hitting full power against nothing. As for shadow boxing, watch them - they are not punching full power - not even pros. power is not the purpose of shadowboxing. even going back to old days, you had guys conditioning and building power through hitting things - the makiwara, the mook jong, iron palm, huge sand bags, banana trees etc.

that's not completely true. shuai chiao, judo, boxing, wrestling of any form... none of these were created for self defense, although they can be used for such.

good post and thread, but I would consider those rules of engagement, not of self defense. IMO, the number one rule of self defense is awareness - looking around when you walk, walking a few feet away from corners so you can see around them before you get to them, looking under your car as you approach it, getting your keys ready BEFORE you get to the door, car, etc. This is what's important about self defense - the ability to avoid / predict a situation before it happens. When I teach self defense seminars, this is what I focus on.

that will depend on the style you are training in and the training ethic of the school you are at. On average though, boxers have better conditioning and spar more often.

agreed.

you train with straight blast gym?

I don't assume anything over the net, nor do I take offense to anything over the net. My reply to your post was merely directed at that - your post. I've been training since I was 6. I'm 28 now. It doesn't matter if a person has been training 20 days or 20 years, that doesn't mean something they are posting is correct in everyone's opinon. Now that that's out the way... heavy bag training is done in rounds. I never do more than 5 in one session. Anything involving impact to the joints like that stands to damage them eventually. Look at what running can do to the knees. lol, fine. 99.9%. either that, or 100% until the submission. And, what if you are non-submission wrestling? you can goo 100% as you are not looking for a tap, merely position. I don't advocate getting KOed at all. I do however advocate training with an intensity high enough to produce one. like I said, I don't take offense to anything over the net. UseofForce was agreeing with me though, not you... notice that what he quoted was my reply to you. my reply is under your quote. He agreed to my reply.

bingo.

according to police stats, yes. that's where the propoganda started. However, that's far from the 'point' of bjj. 1. two words - vale tudo. brazil had access to several MA. and as said above, bjj came directly from judo, so how can it not have the 'marriage' of which you speak? Gracie realized that his strength was in groundwork, so that is what he placed his focus on, as opposed to the judo throws and takedowns he had learned. 2. capoeira has several takedowns also. consequently, even if capoeira WAS all they had, they would still have access to takedowns, elbows knees and headbutts. what? two words - vale tudo. brazil has a history of fighting and MA. Don't think so? Visit Rio. Heck, even amongst their own groups, it's not uncommon for disputes and fights. I've heard of several disputes amongst capoeira groups. Then there are sometimes style rivalries, like capoeira and bjj. there is even a capoeira roda song about a capoerista that KOed a BJJ guy in a vale tudo match. what mixture of arts was taught to the warrior classes of japan? their empty hand training was jujutsu. period. They had weapons training, horse training, etc, but empty hand was jujutsu, and nothing else, AFAIK. a mixture of empty hand training didn't make a lot of sense for a warrior because he ideally would always have a weapon on him. consequently, weapons were their focus.

1. stretch daily. 2. let the training take its course. you're still new. be persistent with your stretching and you will become more flexible. As you age the progress will come to you slower, as you started later in life, but it will come in time.

home is also the perfect place to condition. warm up kata shadow boxing pushups squats jumping rope dips pull ups footwork training (only - no strikes, as with kata) heavy bag training take the above and put together a training program based on the time frame that you are working with.

In all actuality, they probably burn about the same. Sure, throwing a kick burns more, but when shadowboxing and hitting the bag, a lot of people tend to throw more punches than kicks. this means that they won't be too far ahead of the pure punchers from a calorie burning perspective. However, you guys are dwelling on that, and that wasn't even his original question. The question was which will build more stamina. IMO, the boxer, just off pure training ethic. Your average boxer trains harder than pretty much any other athlete. Neither are very cardiovascular, if you are training them right. Your average ring fight is 70 - 80 % anaerobic and 20 - 30% aerobic. I would give pro level boxing an advantage here though, because they fight more rounds than a kickboxer.

a full body workout once per week is not the proper road for more power. When you do lift, which exercises do you do? how heavy? how many reps?

there's not much benefit to hitting the air at full power. if you want to hit full power, get a heavy bag. that will benefit you more and injure you less. if you are grappling, yes, you can go at 100%. sparring, you can get close, but you shouldn't do it any more than a few times per month. If you go more often, only go about 60-70% - still enough to KO someone,making it realistic. I'd rather spar 60% daily than go 100% on air.

I've thought about that too. And for wrestling, both eastern and western are void of them. Judo and jiu-jistu do forms right (albeit with a partner?) But I guess partner forms are a different matter entirely... When I said wrestling, I actually wasn't referring to them. By asian wrestling, I am thinking more along the lines of sumo and shuai chiao.

complex? do you mean compound? as far as relation to MA, I would say deadlift, as it involves more muscles working as a group than the others.

I don't like it either... what are you trying to achieve?

I've thought about that too. And for wrestling, both eastern and western are void of them.

confidence in what? I'd say you get more confidence from sparring...

agreed.

slugger, boxer, counter puncher. which would you consider yourself?

no. kicking the bag builds explosiveness in the legs, just as punching it builds punching power.

are you referring to running vertically up a wall - as in to flip off of it, or do you mean jumping between two walls in order to get to the top? if you are referring to the second one, look into le parkour.