elbows_and_knees

Actually, the camo belt goes along with the belt philosophy. When HU Lee designed the Songahm forms in the mid 80's, he created 9 belts with attendant philosphies. Songahm itself means "Pine Tree and Rock", and the belt philosphies reflect the growth of the tree. Camo belt philosophy is "The sapling is hidden amongst the taller pines, and must now begin to fight its way upwards". Camo belt is also the first belt where students are introduced to free sparring. Just because you think it looks funny, doesn't mean there isn't a reason behind it. Aodhan I know there's a reason behind it. When I was younger, a friend of mine gave me a sheet from his school that had the meanings of all the belts. the meaning is irrelevant to why it gets picked on though.

that is the beauty of MMA schools. All under one roof. All a workable price. And you can do it while retaining a life. I have two jobs - web developer by day, bouncer by night. And I have a family. All of that is workable. I don't disagree with that. Any style can be used for self defense, however. I've mentioned before on these forums a recent incident where a thai boxer chased three knife wielding assailants out of his home. Two went to the hospital.

yes. capoeira isn't pure african - it's afro-brazilian. it was created by slaves in brazil and is mostly associated with brazil. There are various stickfighting arts and also empty hand arts, like those taught by kalindi iiyi.

yes, it is. I have an acquaintance who despises that organization. he trains bukti negara silat and capoeira and researches various african arts.

our bjj instructors have placed in almost every national level tournament they have entered in the past few years. our judo instructors both compete on a world level. One of them also competes and places internationally in sambo and has been awarded the title "master of sport". my thai boxing coach is like 15-3 or something like that. Our thai boxing and judo programs are fairly new, but have a good rep across the city. From a national standpoint, our bjj has a great rep.

I think what Sauzin was saying was that what you describe above is exactly what he and I do in our traditional martial art...so what's the difference? We kick, punch, tie up, take down, roll around, ground and pound a little, through in some submissions and then hit people with a stick (we call it kobudo btw) also. There are "well rounded" traditional arts out there, but most people with MMA training believe that all we do in karate (and yes, some systems do this) is kick and punch. Or that all TKD does is kick. That is a misconception. Not all systems of karate or TKD (I can't believe I'm sticking up for TKD! ) are like that. Right, but the rub there is that you don't focus on it as much. When I trained longfist, I didn't train throws very much at all. They were part of the system, and we learn them when learning forms applications, but we didn't focus on them. Same when I was in karate. In karate, we never did groundwork. In kung fu, it was minimal. Styles have multiple facets, but they also have a focus, be it striking, grappling, kicking, etc. TKD has punches, but how often do you see them? Japanese karate has throws, but how often do you see them? Thai boxing has takedowns, but how often do you see them? By cross training, you accelerate your learning curve because you are exposed to a style that specializes in something. I currently train muay thai, capoeria and judo. When I get the chance I go back to bjj, which I have done about two years of. my fight game is MUCH better now than it was in my traditional days because muay thai focuses on striking and judo focuses on grappling. So, I have two solid days a week that it's guaranteed I will work throws and 4 solid days for striking. capoeira mixes the two. With traditional styles, you have too much too learn and in typically shorter durations - 1hr, 3days per week, etc. it's hard to squeeze kicking, punching, kata, throws, locks, groundwork, weapons, cultural learning, bunkai, meditation, etc. into such a short span of time. it doesn't really work that way. What if you trained judo and karate, then you taught me. I learned throws and strikes, but I prefer strikes. Consequently, I teach my students my specialties - strikes. I may throw in a few throws, but changes are they will have less focus. This means that my students will learn less throwing than I did. And their students may learn even less. consequently, systems don't really round themselves out. At the end of the day, karate is still known for it's strikes. After all these hundreds of years, why has it not rounded itself out and become known for more? Why haven't thai arts become known for throwing? you are correct, well rounded does not mean being the best at everything - but you have to train it to even get good. practicing throws twice a month (or less in most cases) will not make you good at throwing. It will increase your knowledge, but may not make you good.

there's a flaw there. Everyone always assumes the well rounded guy will not master anything. Why?

if you find the right school, it's WAY more than dance. Capoeira is all about combat. I'll ask my teacher. I am 5'9 and 230 - picture mike tyson and you see my body type. I have no problems doing the techniques. my instructor says "doing capoeira builds a capoeira body" basically, by training, you will develop the strength and agility you need, regardless of your body type. This applies to any style.

I'm sure you can find some guys who want to up the contact level. If so, then you have your chance. As for the original post, since when were knees allowed in point sparring? thai boxing does not have belts. If his belt said "karate and muay thai", then he is in a karate school that has a kickboxing program. They tend to do that.

you don't. The only time I've seen someone KNOW when they were gonna KO someone was in anime... In real life it doesn't work that way. I may ba able to KO you with one hook punch. justwarfuldog may have a stronger chin and shake be able to shake that punch off. you can't predict such things. combinations become predictable when you use them repeatedly. If you use the same combo every time, fighters will catch on and train to defend that combo.

muay thai is NOT a traditional style. It is a modern sportive style created in the 1920's. The tradition you do see in muay thai came not from muay thai, but from previous muay arts. That said, there are schools outside of thailand today who teach these things. The school I currently teach/train at does not, however, my previous school taught me the wai kru, ram muay and various other things. About the only tradition we use at my current school is to wai before and after class, and to our partner before and after drills. IMO, a lot of westerners have this fascination with the culture of the east and how it relates to the arts. It's not at all necessary to the learning process and in some instances, can hinder it...

being comfortable in sparring/fighting can NOT be attributed to age. I was comfy when I was 17 and I am comfy now that I am 27. It's an experience thing. Your first several sparring sessions, you will have gitters - that is natural. Once you start to relax, the gitters go away. This just comes with experience. There is no exact amount of time - it varies from person to person. When you get in the ring for the first time, you will likely have gitters - even though you spar regularly - the situation is different and thus the stress is different also. In time, you will get used to the situation and you will not be unable to deal with the gitters.

These will not apply to a thai boxing class. Some things to think about: you say he's produced several champs - if you don't wanna compete, do they try and force you? is the training different for the competitors and non-competitors? If so, then how? watch a session and determine what you think of the training. Most important, talk to the students. An instructor may tell you what he wants you to hear in order to get you to join. The students will be less biased.

Bobbing and weaving is not supposed to work against knees - it works best against hooks and other arcing attacks. The reason you don't see bobbing and weaving in muay thai is not necessarily because they use knees. If you bob correctly, you are not low enough that you are ducking straight into a knee anyway - you are only moving low enough for his fist to graze the top of your head. If you ducked into a knee (which I have done as well), either you ducked too low or he was flexible enough (or had long enough legs) to knee that high. When you think about it, when was the last time you saw a hook punch thrown in a thai match fought by fighters from thailand? it's rare. They favor straight punches. and those are considered inferior to the kicks, elbows_and_knees.

he's taller than you - staying close up is NOT within his range. His ideal range is his arm's length. since his arms are longer, he's not going to be able to infight as well as you. Tyson in his prime was a perfect example of this. What you need to do, as has been stated, is use your footwork to get inside of him. Once you are inside, go to work. Getting inside is harder than it sounds. LOTS of head movement and great footwork are necessary. Neither are instinctual to most people, so it will take a lot of work to make it second nature. Also, make angles on him - don't just stand in the same spot.

1. you should always wear wraps... I won't get onto my soapbox about that one though. 2. If your figered gloves are like mine, then you scrape your knucks on things like hook punches. open finger gloves do nothing to protect the middle knuckles, so they can be scraped and torn. I've never had any problem with the hitting knuckles tho.

It's ALL martial art...

blanka in street fighter does it as well.

in the case of liddell, it's really not a traditional style. He is more kickboxer and wrestler than kempo...

Not really. Judo was created post tokugawa - it is was style created during peacetime. This, by definition, disqualifies it as a koryu style, giving it the 'do' instead of 'jutsu'. So, kano ryu jujutsu is actually kano ryu judo.

you can find us on bjj.org too. My coach is a brown belt and there is a link directly to him... http://bjj.org/a/people/ferguson-david.html When I say combined, I'm referring to the three styles of jujutsu he studied - tenshin shinyo, kito ryu and one other. One specialized in ground work, another in throws and another in locking, if I remember correctly.

from what the guys tell me though, it wasn't organized too well last year. A few of our bjj guys went and placed well. I may go next year, but if I do it will likely be for san shou or something, not bjj.

speaking as a big guy - I'm 5'9 and about 233, so if you imagine the way Tyson looks, that's about my size - and that is not a factor for me. pressure point / joint lock sensitivity differs from person to person. There are some that simply do not work on me. on the other hand, there are others that work extremely well. so what happens when the big dog has just as much fight as you do?

Why do people always assume strength = big? One of the strongest powerlifters I know of only weighs 135lbs... see above. honestly, do you think tyson would be incapable of hitting de la hoya? the problem with the speed issue is people try to compare speeds that just don't happen in humans. a mac truck going 15 mph and a ferrari cruising and 140 - sure, the ferrari has more impact and the mac truck could never catch nor impact it... But in HUMANS?? We don't move that fast or that slow. you're not gonna find a heavyweight fighter that is incapable of touching a lightweight fighter. Like I said, when skill levels approach an equal level... then why bother to have weight classes? it's not about the bulk itself providing more power, although that plays a part. Due to the weight difference, it will be A LOT harder for the little guy to KO the bigger guy based on his size alone. I know that fist hand as I am ALWAYS the smallest heavyweight in my division in EVERYTHING I compete in. and when you have both, you have a distinct trump card.

what is your rank? If you are of an advanced status, you can start a training group - get a group of guys who want to train, and teach them. The problem is that you will be better than them, so you will not have much in terms of your own training. It will, however, keep the techniques fresh in your mind so you do not forget them, should you choose to train in something else. Also, check out the thai school. It will be closer to your kokushin in terms of intensity.