Kicker Chick

Anyone know where they sell posters or photos of the U.S. taekwondo team (individually or together) going to the 2008 Olympics? I'd like to hang some in my dojang to help inspire my younger students, but am having trouble finding a place to actually buy them.

I like "Taekwondo" by Marc Tedeschi. It's the size of a coffee-table book, but has lots of good information. Most importantly, it has tons of photographs to clearly illustrate stances, kicking, striking, blocking, etc. As well as the palgwae and taeguk forms, WTF black belt forms and ITF patterns. It's the best book I've seen to teach forms.

I've heard this term most recently. What are the best uses of flow drills, and can anyone recommend useful drills?

My master recently suggested that I try using an Iron Arm conditioning rod ( which I think is also called a maki stick in Japanese). He specifically recommended it for use in toughening my feet because I suffer from plantar fasciitis, but also for overall conditioning. Anyone had experience using an Iron Arm for conditioning, and if so, can you recommend the best way to use it?

We do drills where you execute a right-leg kick (e.g. front kick), and then without putting your kicking foot down, you turn 90 degrees to the left and kick, turn 90 degrees to the left and kick, turn 90 degrees to the left and kick, turn 90 degrees to the left (this is your starting position) and execute one final kick. So basically you're turning counter-clockwise and kicking at the 5 times without putting your kicking foot down. Repeat this 5 - 10x, then switch to left-leg kick and do the same drill, but this time turning to your right (clockwise). Another drill we is to line up at the far end of the mat, and each student has to perform the prescribed kick (e.g. side-kick) the full-length of the mat without putting your kicking foot down. So, you kick and then hop on one leg about 2 feet, kick again, hop, kick, etc. To make this more difficult, we do this drill around the full perimeter of the mat. The object is to keep your kicking foot off the mat at all times. At the instructor's discretion, he may make a more advanced student who puts his foot down do push-ups or sit-ups.

I agree with Tufrthanu about Mark Tedeschi's book. It has a good explanation of both WTF and ITF forms, history, strikes, etc. Although it looks like a coffee-table book because of its size, it has some great information. Shop around for prices, because I've seen it for $50 up to $70. Another less comprehensive but good book is "Taekwondo: State of the Art" by Whang (pub. 1999). It is particularly good for WTF forms, kicking, striking, and drills -- and the paperback version only costs about $15.00. As you may have seen from other threads on this forum, however, there are several different Korean translations and pronunciations. No book will really help, but if you surf the Web, you'll find different sites that have pronunciation help.

I fear that my dojang's standards are starting down the slippery slope . . . I've studied TKD at the same school for 5 years, and achieved my black belt just over 1 year ago. Through the years, testing days meant that all students who were testing for a particular belt level get up before the assembled students, families and instructors, and demonstrate the techniques as called out by the master. This year, the master has instituted a new testing procedure: The dojang is divided into stations that are manned by 2 black belts each. Each station is a different requirement, e.g. forms, kicking, sparring, etc. The stations do not need to be visited in any particular order, provided that the student show on his testing sheet that he has visited each one. The black belts at each station rank the student 1-5 on his test sheet for that particular requirement. Anything below a 3 requires a re-test. I really don't care for this type of testing. Perhaps I'm too much of a traditionalist and prefer the large scale testing before the whole school. Do any of your schools test like this? What do you think?

Congratulations!

Best of Luck Drivr! Rest and ice that ankle --

Granmasterchen offers very good advice! Slow and steady stretching, lots of practice, and breathe -- try to relax into the stretch. Don't bounce while stretching! Try stretching with a partner -- while lying down, extend one leg up to the ceiling and have a partner gently stretch the leg toward your head. Hold for several seconds and release. Repeat this a few times with the partner applying a little more force each time. For a greater challenge, perform this same stretch in a standing position, with your leg on your partner's shoulder -- the closer you stand to your partner, the greater the stretch. A favorite time to stretch for one of my instructors is while watching TV. He uses the family room coffee table to brace a sitting v-split. Finally, you can stretch your kicking ability by actually kicking. If you have access to a heavy bag, put strips of tape to mark off low - mid - and high kicks, and practice hitting those marks. When the highest mark becomes easy, move the tape a little higher. Granmasterchen and others are right - you don't need to do full splits to have high kicks.

I'm interested in expanding my study into some weapons, however my TKD school does not have the curriculum other than nunchaku. Can anyone recommend a good DVD for bo staff techniques and forms? I've learned some of the rudimentary moves and one bo form from one of my instructors, but his experience with the weapon is limited. I own both a traditional bo and a competition length, and am interested in DVDs on either style . . . until I can find a school!

Thank you for your help!

I've recently increased my running on days when I'n not in the dojang, and have been plagued by a particularly nasty case of plantar fasciitis. I wear orthotics in my running shoes, but am barefoot in the dojang for 2-3 hours at least 4 days per week. Any suggestions on treatment? Any thoughts on whether wearing the martial arts shoes would help?