JKN Dean

Thanks for the good words! It was fun competing, and I always look forward to this tournament. There were others that fared even better than I did, and they won the HUGE Grand Champion tropies there... Next year!

My results from the tournament, 1st Dahn, (45+ age group): Traditional Forms (Gum Moo Hyung): Gold (1st) Sword Form (Jung Gum Hyung): Gold (1st) Board Breaking: Gold (1st) Staff Sparring (Bong Dae Ryuhng): Silver (2nd) Staff Form (Joong Bong Il Hyung): Bronze (3rd) Alas, I didn't place in techniques or Sparring, but it was a good day nonetheless.

Curling is like shuffleboard on ice... only I don't ever see the "Curlers" holding a beer in their hand while playing.

I admit it, I totally get into the competitions... well except for the men's figure skating, hehe. But I'm glued to the tube when the women figure skaters are out there! Sadly, Michelle "Ultru Hot!!" Kwan won't be competing... http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/olympics/2006/01/27/kwan.cleared.ap/p1.michelle.kwan.ap.jpg Dang, gonna miss her! I hope USA hockey gives a little payback to Canada this time around! Hehehe. Anyone else into the Winter Olympics?

I think the aesthetics part of staff sparring comes down to how much practice you've had with your partner and how much you trust them. It takes LOTS of practice with a partner to learn their rythm and tendencies. Heck, even professional stunt artists need camera angles and other wizardry to make their stunts look "real". The first time I ever visited Universal Studios and saw an action performance, I was mildly disappointed at how "contrived" it all looked. All in all, I think the particpants in the video were pretty good with the only glaring "oops" being near the beginning when the one defender in the foreground is expecting an overhead strike, but his attacker momentarily loses his grip on his staff, causing the defender to be stuck in his "pose" for an extra second.

I can't comment on "why" it's in there, other than perhaps it adds an element of a defensive, evasive move, but I can tell you that it isn't your ordinary cartwheel. With your typical cartwheel, you usually start into it with one foot in front of the other - going in a sideways direction. The cartwheel in the form, when done correctly and properly, is started from a horse riding stance, and the cartwheel goes in the direction you are facing while in the horse riding stance. If you think that's easy, just try it. To accomplish it you need strength, body control, and flexibility. Not to mention that it is towards the end of the (long!) form when you are getting tired. Thus it is definitely one of the BIG torments, but just one of 108!

My take? The guy grabbing the wrist won because he was simply bigger and had the smaller guy intimidated, not because of any "technique". He would have won that fight if he just threw punches standing up. If you think that grabbing someone's wrist is a good way to start an attack, then you'd better hope that all you're fighting are smaller, wimpier opponents that don't know how to fight like the poor schmuck in the video, because anyone that knows any half-decent defenses against wrist grabs would have left the grabber with a hyper-extended elbow or dislocated shoulder in two seconds. Heck, even when the guy took him down, there is a BIG opportunity to guillotine choke his attacker that he let get away. There's nothing in that video to be impressed about, unless you like picking on smaller people that don't know how to fight back.

Your cousin has a very vivid imagination, but that's all it is,... her imagination. There have been some controversial executions that drew some rallies, but those are the exception, and I've never heard of a riot happening over one since I've lived in this part of Texas, which is ~25 years.

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!! Houston Astros win the NL Pennant, and are in the World Series!!! Way to go 'Stros! I'ts Chi-town vs. H-Town!!! Let's get it on!

If you want a specific name of a school, then Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas is reputed to have a VERY good criminal justice college.

GO ASTROS!!!!

Kuk Sool Won is Korean, but doesn't put rank stripes on the black belts. We do have formal "Generals" uniforms that signify a group of ranks, but even then you can't tell exactly what rank a black belt is, and they're not for every day working out, but rather for formal events such as demonstrations and promotions.

Do college class rings count? Mine is BIG, has my degree on one side (BSEE), the year I graduated on the other (1988), with a diamond on top sitting in a BIG Texas Lone Star, with the name of my school all around the crest (The University of Houston). To get an idea, go here: College Class Rings Mine looks like the third one from the left, top row, only like I said, with a .25 ct diamond in the star, and it's a rounded rectangle, not an oval on top. You don't wanna know how much it cost, but ya, it was worth it!

Yes, Soo are the grappling, joint locks, and throwing techniques taught in KSW. As far as kicks, because of the scoring areas, they will need to be medium to high kicks (chest or head height). But it's really up to each individual whether that works for you. If you can become adept at setting up high kicks to the head, you will be pretty hard to beat. I've seen some sparring matches where each opponent displayed amazing kicking prowess, and I've seen others that looked like boxing matches. Many times I've had to adjust my tactics against taller opponents versus shorter opponents, so I wouldn't say there is any one preferred way to spar in KSW (kicks vs. punching). Now, I've not seen spinning kicks used... probably because a spin kick is a speed kick and you can be disqualified for excessive force. KSW sparring is not fighting, it's a contest of control, balance and quickness.

IOW = In Other Words Soo is Korean for "techniques" (roughly). Allowed targets for kicking and punching: Top of head, sides of head. Chest and sides down to belt. Non-allowed targets for kicking or punching: back of head, back, below the belt. Kicking other persons legs isn't disallowed to my knowledge, but you won't score points hitting those areas. Still, I've set up a kick to the head or other legal target by faking a kick to the thigh. Sweeps are not allowed. I think that pretty much covers it.