elbows_and_knees

If I'm not mistaken, most of the old chinese schools either had no forms at all, or only had one or two. shuai chiao is an example. styles having multiple forms was something that happened later down the line.

chuck doesn't mind the ground - that's what a lot of people don't know. in addition to training bjj for about 8 years, he's also been wrestling since he was a kid - he was a division 1 wrestler all through college...that means he's an awesome wrestler. It's his knowlege of grappling that enables him to win his fights, as that's where his takedown defense comes from. If it wasn't for that, he couldn't keep the fight standing so that he could KO people.

muscle does have something to do with it. why? because it's dense. it weighs more than fat. let's say I weigh 225 (which I do) and am mostly muscle(which I am). I dunno what you weigh, but let's say you are 140. if we both have PERFECT technique and strike with all of our body mass, I will still hit harder than you, for the simple fact that I weigh more. This is part of the reason there are weight classes. Also, properly trained muscle makes the body more efficient at what it does.

not sure if this has been said (haven't read the whole thread) but, 3 things about chuck: 1. his angles 2. he's just naturally heavy handed. If you're familiar with boxing classification of fighters, he'd be labeled a hard puncher. 3. timing

nah, at this level, that experience is invaluable to him. You have boxers that fight 50 + amateur fights before turning pro. Then, once they turn pro, they fight low level guys that they can easily beat. Why? it's a transition period. Same thing with bjj. it's not about winning per se, it's about transitioning to another level. the experience he gets by competing at white belt will help him to stay relaxed when he's competing against the sharks at blue belt level. Not only that, but he's now learning to compete within the ruleset and seeing how tournaments play out, how long they last, what to eat, how to train, etc. all of this will be invaluable to him when he moves up. to answer the topic question, competing helps you progress immensely. if nothing than for the fact that it gives you the drive to train harder. you HAVE to be at a different level to be competitive. even higher if you want to consistently win.

interesting. looking at it that way, what of the okinawan kata? are there hidden things in their arts? who were they hiding from, the chinese? what about chinese arts? who were they hiding from? indians? and whom where they hiding from? I don't think it's a case of hidden technique. maybe refusal to teach a technique, but not necessarily hiding it. take for example the chinese technique "shoot the bow". it looks as if you are redirecting a punch upward as you shoot into a horse stance and punch them in the midsection. It very well could be. But, another application of it is a fireman's carry. If I didn't show it to you, who knows, you may miss it. Since I don't like you (for example) I'm not going to show you. Years later, someone else examines the posture deeply and says "hey, that's a fireman's carry!" was the application hidden? No. I just had not shown it to you and you taught they technique without ever knowing, so when someone did "discover" it, it seemed like something hidden.

isometric training has a few drawbacks when trying to get stronger 1. there is no progressive resistance. You can only dish out what your body or the object pressing against can offer up. this leads to muscular endurance training 2. isometrics only build strength in the area of the static resistance and not throughout the full range of motion. 3. in the realm of specificity, isometrics don't help you much, as the exercises performed are not mimicing the motions performed in your MA training. this leads to less efficiency in your training. bruce was great, but it's no secret that he wasn't the most knowledgable about exercise - he just liked to do it. anyway, if you would like to check out a book with such exercises, check out "Dynamic Strength" by Harry Wong.

this may have been said here already, and I've also posted the same thing in other threads. IMO, the best way to deal with reach is to make angles. You have to circle and sidestep in order to get around his offense and into your striking range, otherwise he will simply keep you at bay with long range attacks all day. A perfect example of this in action is mike tyson. He was a master of slipping inside and making angles on his opponents. someone said earlier that speed was a big factor here. I disagree. what's important is timing. speed implies reaction. you are reacting fast enough to his punch that you can step offline, for example. timing implies proactiveness. you are reading your opponent and your timing is such that you are moving just as the strike it launched.

bingo - perfect example. that's what I was referring to about the weakening that follows an adrenaline surge. As for your mind being clear, that's just something that comes over time. However, being perfectly honest, you may NEVER reach this sate. I would actually argue that it's a bad thing, depending on the situation. It's always good to consciously think during an altercation, competition, etc. contrary to what some say. there is a difference between thinking and anticipating.

the no sex before a fight myth holds no water... recent studies actually show that sex before your fight or whatever competitive event may actually help you. the thought was that sex weakens leg (notice the weakened feeling you sometimes have just afterward) - that the feeling would last for a while. This is false. The other thing is psychological. sex tends to relax aggression. If you are not a very agressive person to begin with, then sex can decrease that agression even more. In the case of athletes who are OVER aggressive, this may actually be a good thing. As for adrenaline, it can indeed make you stronger, but what a lot of people don't realize is that a typical adrenaline rush only lasts for a minute or less - just enough for you do get done what needs to be done. Afterward, your body is sapped. This is why some people feel completely exhausted after an adrenaline surge. When you are in a ring fight, you aren't fighting on adrenaline the whole time, like some people like to believe. When you street fight, you may or may not be, depending on how long the altercation lasts.

even within kung fu - shuai chiao, for example - doesn't have "forms" per se. there forms are nothing more than single movement technique drills. fighting skill is built through use of these drills, traditional weight training (pulley, rock pole, etc) and free sparring. no long forms, no "hidden" applications...

capoeira is traditional. wrestling is perhaps the most traditional style on the planet. Every civilization since the beginning of recorded history has had an indigenous wrestling style. bjj came from judo - in a lot of judo schools, you don't even start learning kata until brown belt, because you aren't required to know any of them until brown... As jussi said though, there isn't anything hidden in kata. forms were created to catalog the style and provide not only a means of self practice, but a way of easily transmitting the system. the intention was not to hide applications. and more realistically speaking, with all the weapons technology we have today, I don't think we EVER have to worry about the government banning MA practice.

go to rossboxing and order his books. go to google and search for scrapper's workouts go to crossfit.com

IMO, that's still basic training. whether I front kick / reverse punch in a kata or frount kick / right cross while shadowboxing or on a bag, I am still drilling basics, just in a different manner. I think the issue here is that some of you are referring to basics as precticing the same basic kata or standing in a horse stance and punching. This is not so. basics can be trained in a number of ways.

that depends on exactly what you refer to as a kata. wrestling, bjj, muay thai, capoeira, etc. have no kata. they practice technique repetitively, but that's not necessarily kata...

IMO, that is why kata isn't very good for teaching fighting. people tend to think that the kata will hold answers to a specific attack. That, IMO, is the wrong way to look at it. Kata itself will NOT teach you how to fight. All it will do is perfect your form. BUT, if you break the kata down into singular movements, then you can put together technique drills that you can use in fighting. These are general guidelines - principles of your style. once you understand the principle, you can apply it thousands of different ways. once you are doing this, your kata will be helping to improve your fighting.

umm... you are practicing those basics every time you write and drive. Also, those are VERY different animals. use closer ones - how often does a basketball team train basics? a football team? a soccer team? They work them all the time. Why? because a running back has to have the plays ingrained in him. He has to know which routes to run and exactly how many yards he should be out before he cuts. these are things that cannot be preacticed enough. when you fight/compete/spar what is typically used? basics. those are your bread and butter and cannot be worked enough.

this is incorrect. that type of training is referred to as muscular endurance training. it increases muscle endurance, not strength. muscles are lazy by nature. They only get stronger when they are presented with a stress load that is hard for them to handle. to gain strength without mass, lift HEAVY. 3-5 reps, 2-3 sets. by doing this, you aren't breaking down your muscle tissue and forcing it to get bigger. you are actually training the neuromuscular system - you are training your muscles to contract harder. you get stronger without the added mass.

it's not a deformity - merely stunted growth. at your age, it would be better to stick with bodyweight exercises - pushups, burpees, pullups, dips, etc. That said, I started lifting when I was 13. I kept everything in the 8-12 rep range for every exercise I performed. while you're training, don't forget to lift those grammar books...

nothing new. there is a lot of speculation as to whether thai boxing originated in cambodia, thailand or burma. this stuff, thai boxing and bando all look similar, which is natural, considering their proximity to eachother.

simply practicing combos- especially the same ones repeatedly - will not help your sparring much. It will help you get used to throwing those combos, but what happens when it's countered? especially using the same ones - your opponents will read and time you. the way to get better at sparring is to spar. Ask your sensei if he will spar with you. If he will not and all the seniors refuse, then keep sparring with the juniors - it's better than nothing, as you are still sparring. when you spar them, pick something specific to work on and focus on using it. that will make it more of a challenge for you, as instead of merely winning, you are focusing on a specific thing to use. For example, if you want to work sidestepping a reverse punch, make a consious effort to sidestep EVERY reverse punch that is thrown at you. naturally, you won't be able to sidestep them all, but you will have plenty of pracitce. each time you spar, have a goal like this. You will improve. As a last resort, approach other clubs. find a boxing or thai boxing gym to spar at - they spar and will likely be glad to have you spar with them.

with hip inflexibility, when you try to roundhouse, your kick is brought back down prematurely, preventing you from getting height on it. He could very well have a flexibility problem. sit in horse stance as deep as your hips will allow with proper form. Also, sit on the floor in a seiza position. Now, spread your legs apart so that the insides of your knees are touching the floor (kinda odd to explain). Hold your hands out in front of you. both of these will help limber up the hips a bit.

you're not too old to start training - you never are. Now, realistically, you are to old to become a serious competitor on a boxing level, but within the realm of mma and kickboxing, you still have a decent chance. Go for it.

I wouldn't worry about it so much then... you have a LONG way to go. keep training hard - you will be fine off what your parents are cooking. At your age, I wouldn't try to make any really drastic changes to anything, as you still have plenty of growing to do.

the first thing to consider, and I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it, is that you are young. Exactly how old are you? at a young age, diet and weight training can stifle your growth.