Ti-Kwon-Leap

It is easier for a beginner to use barbell exercises because it takes less coordination. I must take issue with the assertion that dumbells cannot build mass and strength. If you use heavy dumbells, say 60-100 lbs. believe me your muscles WILL respond. Also you will need a bench if you plan on doing exercises for your chest. a bench is also essential if you want to do pullovers(one of the best single exercises in my opinion)

Yes, you can train without weights and gain substantial strength. With strength will also bring size, but not to the extent that bodybuilding will. Let's take pullups for example: do as many pullups as you can so that you are straining to do the last one. Wait a couple days and then do as many as you can WITHOUT straining. Continue this cycle till you can do about 30 pullups. At this point you should be able to chin yourself with one arm. To continue strength gains , warm up with 15 reps and then do as many one arm pullups as you can, using the cycle method described above. This can be applied to calf raises, squats, pushups, handstand pushups. If you do lunges also you will be working every major muscle group in the body. Keep in mind that increasing the amount of reps in a given amount of time increases the intensity of the workout. to increase the intensity of abdominal work, hold a dumbell on your chest while doing crunches or do situps hanging from your knees upside down. As a former competitive bodybuilder I can tell you that your workouts must increase in intensity or you will not continue experiencing gains. Also as you get older your testosterone level will increase and that has everything to do with gaining strength/size. Good luck _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-08 18:21 ]

My advice is NEVER retreat in a straight line. There are two main reasons for this: 1. It puts you at a disadvantage because people are not designed to run backwards. If you do not believe me then try running backwards as fast as you can and see how it compares to running forwards. 2. It takes you out of striking range where you are unable to utilize any techniques. A much better strategy is to sidestep or retreat in a circular pattern this way you are controlling your opponent and not the other way around. Another cool move you can do is to bolt forwards at an angle when being attacked. Most fighters have no idea how to deal with you being right in their face and in a place they did not expect you to be! Don't take my word for it, try these techniques next time you spar. They really really work.

The best thing is to watch actual classes at the school that you are considering. Also, ask about what types of self defense are taught along with traditional TKD. For instance, this monday we worked on nothing but grappling to prepare the students for "parking lot" situations. We are a WTF school but not the type that only worries about winning tournaments. My advice is to check out all your options before rushing in to any school. Go to your local library and do some research. There are several books that are available explaining what TKD actually is. This is knowledge that should help you make an informed decision. GOOD LUCK! _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-06 17:15 ]

You must strive to control your emotions. I don't want to sound like the pseudo-shaman from "MysteryMen" But if you do not control your emotions, your emotions will control you. By choosing to get angry, you will only make things worse. Anger is an offshoot of fear. Fear keeps us alive but anger does nothing constructive. As your confidence in your MA skill increases, your anger quotent will decrease. Oh, and to KickChick: That's why they call me Ti-Kwon-L ...............e .................a .................. p _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-06 16:59 ]

KickChick, you mean to tell me that you can't simply "run" from treetop to treetop? My image of you has just been shattered.

My stretching machine cost me $3.25. It is a pulley and a rope. Not only can I stretch for kicks in a standing position, (which is how you actually use kicks) I can stretch through the ENTIRE range of motion for each kick. Call me practical. By the way, did anyone even check the link I provided??? I am curious as to how much of his book is contained in those 20 articles...

We should be thanking you. I know that there are many things that you guys do on a daily basis that may not be apparent to the average board member to keep this site from denegrating into chaos. Again, KUDOS!

I have been playing drums professionally for around 25 years. I am currently playing the Roland V drums because they have a volume control,

But you know how to bite now don't ya??? _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-05 13:31 ]

Quote: *snap, scream*' :lol: Some of my most painful injuries occured when I was showing off. _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-04 13:20 ]

The jawbone is the hardest bone in the body.

Bon speaks the gospel! If you don't feel like buying the book then follow this link. It is a series of 20 articles by the same author (Thomas M.Kurtz) that appeared in TaeKwonDo Times magazine. I believe most of his stretching principles/exercises are contained in these articles. Just follow the links at the top and bottom of the pages to navigate forward and back. DON'T Buy a stretching machine! http://www.stadion.com/column_stretch1.html

Dude/kid/cougar, A couple of suggestions: Please pick one name and stick with it. Maybe you could keep your number of posts somewhere under the 94 that you posted yesterday. Also, if your comment consists of "gee, I don't know..." please don't clutter up the board with it, it just makes it hard for people to share knowledge if we are forced to wade through endless "non-comments" _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-05-30 09:50 ]

A lot of my early training was very JKD based, so i got used to fighting right (strong) side forward. Most TKDists fight in a left lead stance. So, rather than always fighting in an open stance, I spend most of my time in a left lead stance. If I am sparring one of the black belts I usually switch in and out to keep them off balance. It is really surprising how fast I adapted to using left lead punches and kicks, but like Dragonstyle said you must train twice as much on your weak side to even out the strength and coordination. My first kung fu teacher used to give that advice come to think of it

What makes any martial artist want to test their techniques?? Some sort of of mental imbalance I suppose.. Anyway you can read a small Carlos bio at: http://www.armbar.net/bjj_history.htm

As far as I know, BJJ evolved from when Mitsuo Maeda traveled to Brazil and taught his style of JJ to Brazillian politician Gastao Gracie's sons. BJJ specializes in working from the mat. I'm sure there is someone who is more knowledgable about the nuances between the two...anyone...?

It works like this: Someone who knows how to bumrush, block, sidestep, trap or otherwise intercept a kick can get inside and that is where you have to keep them from pulling you to the ground. Like YODA says: "know your enemy". A basic knowledge of BJJ Aikido, Judo and Wrestling/Boxing is something every martial artist shouldn't be caught dead without. I'm not discounting anyone's abilities here, I'm just saying that not everyone is going to go down just because you throw a kick at them. You could hit some guys with a crowbar and it just pisses them off. Trust me. I never claimed that grapplers are invincible, far from it, but the man with the most diverse abilities has a better chance in the arena of "real world" fighting. ...My opinion. _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-05-27 03:39 ]

Morihei Usheba.

Oh my! I'm sure glad I read this thread! Now I know that by studying TKD, my legs will become slow useless weapons and my arms will become noodlelike appendages hanging harmlessly at my sides, unable to defend me! Oh, the humanity!

YODA is correct as usual. A fighter who trains for "kicking only" is a sitting duck, especially against a grappler who knows how to exploit that split second when the kick re-chambers. A comprehensive knowledge of grappling is the only prayer a fighter has to defend against a grappler. Most fights end up on the ground. Knowing how to avoid being taken down in the first place is something most "kickers" never learned.

I concur. The white is distracting. Please consider putting a black border between the red blocks and red dividing the black. OR narrow the spacing on the horizontal lines to streamline the whole thing... _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-05-23 23:24 ]

Fear, or a derivative thereof. i.e. jealosy, hatred, greed ...uncontrolled emotions basically.

There is only one TKD VS Muay Thai clip that keeps getting commented on and recycled (ad nauseum) the TKD fighter does nothing but a linear retreat. He uses no hand techniques and doesn't block. Disgraceful! _________________ "It is not enough to aim, you must hit." -Italian Proverb [ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-05-21 02:20 ]

Blame society and forget about being responsible for our own actions? Tell me you are joking.