lordtariel

I just recently finished a first aid/CPR training course in my dojo. It got me thinking. We practice a contact sport, shouldn't we all make sure we have some fundamental first aid training? I even feel it wouldn't hurt to make it a requirement in some of the later belts as by then you are often helping to teach. How many of you guys have taken such training? I've been renewing my Red Cross card for years so it was really just brush-up for me, but I found the use of AEDs absolutly facinating. Those things tell you everything. For those of you who don't know, an AED(Automatic External Defibrulator, and I'm sure I'm not spelling that right) is a portable version of the shockey thingie you see in hospitals when they are trying to resusatate someone. You basically stick the pads to the person's chest and the machine analyzes the person's heart rate and determines if they need a shock. If they do, it instructs you when to use the shock. Some of the more advanced ones will actually tell you if you're compressing their chest during cpr hard enough or if you're rythyms off, and when to stop compressions and give breaths.

I agree... it's the hip that fires the punch, not the shoulders or arm muscles. The punch should be more like a whip. Make sure your punches are going in straight as well and not coming in at an arc.

Brave, but it still was dangerous. Still, there's a part of me that likes to see the senior taking out the mugger. Don't mess with old people. They'll give you a good woopin.

Enough said

They wouldn't throw a spear such as the type I would be referring to. Spears that were thrown were smaller and lighter, and usually designed to become worthless after impact.(After all, you don't want an enemy to pick it up and throw it back at you) As far as I can tell, thrown spears were almost exclusively a western method.

On a side note, If you hang out with people who do what you are trying to break away from, it's MUCH harder to break a habit. Not saying you should necessarily give up your friends, just don't be around them when they're doing it.

I wouldn't think you would want to throw your weapon away though.

I agree 100%. I can almost guarantee I will never be in a situation where I would use my martial arts weapons(That's what my gun is for ), but I study them because I am interested in them, not for a practical purpose.

Some senseis wouldn't have a problem, but you're right Sohan... Most of them would tell him he should probably stick to what he's learning. It really depends on the student's skill and commitment. If he's spending adequate time studying his existing kata and wants to do extra, that's ok with me.(Of course I'm not a sensei) Do we know if Kain's ONLY martial arts experience is an orange belt in Shotokan? I agree that he should really be focusing on his Shotokan katas since he's only an orange belt in that system but maybe he's already got a black belt somewhere else. Would you feel as strongly about him not doing it in that case? Second, I feel that modifying katas to fit a different style is not harming the school it's borrowed from PROVIDED he's only doing it to improve his understanding of Shotokan vs the different art. As long as he is not going to teach this modified kata or call it by its original name, I don't feel it's going to corrupt the system. A good instructor SHOULD be able to tell you the difference between art X and art Y.

One time when I was in Judo we had the local news crew come in and do a story on our dojo. I was paired up with a ten year old, and the one shot they took of me was when I had the kid in a pin. I was thinking "Great, everybody's gonna think I beat up kids"

The fastest path from point A to point B is a straight line. Make sure you strikes are going in straight and not curving.

Aw, and you didn't give Best of the Best 2 or 3 a chance? I never made it past the second one. It's been a long time since I watched that movie, but I remember there wasn't much worth remembering. But at the same time, you have to remember the era that movie was released in... there's all kinds of dogs out there that were just as bad. This was just an action flick with a martial arts tournament bent.

I do all my straightening before I actually step forward to enter the ring. Then I walk to the center of the ring on the outside, bow onto the mat, step forward to position, bow again, announce kata, then begin. Typically I give each bow a 2-3 count. We bow to all the judges as a group right before we begin the competition.

We have a "Lack of Defense" penalty when we are competing as well. The ref is watching you the whole time and if you are throwing proper techniques and the other person is acting like they keep getting hurt or faking getting hurt, they can get a foul and give you a point, or in some extremes, be bared from competition.

I agree with what's been said so far. We don't live in a time where there is always constant danger to defend against, so we see everything through rosey glasses. The notions of honor also change over time and distance. What one culture sees as honorable isn't always the same as what other cultures think is.

It would seem to me that someone who has a lot of experience with a staff should be able to use a spear fairly efficiently without any other training. After all, it's just a staff with a pointy bit on the end, and you do thrusts with a staff as well. Experience tells me though, that there's always more to any weapon. Are there any spear wielders out there that could shine some light on the differences between use of the two weapons?

It's good to see that you want to stop. Anything that you truly get passionate about can help to take your mind off of bad habits. It doesn't matter what type of art it is. It should install some discipline and calmness to your life. Good luck with it.

I have to respectfully disagree with you here to an extent. In ring fighting, there's an end to the match, and the opponent is going to be pulled off at the end or if someone is injured. It's a one on one match in a controlled environment. You don't have to worry about his buddy coming up and knocking you in the head. You don't have to worry about your opponent possibly having a weapon and being willing to use it. You don't have to deal with the legal fallout of getting in a brawl with someone. I'll admit that ring fighting will give you some good training(Hey, those guys are really tough to do what they do), and the techniques are really effective, but fighting(where opponents are seriously trying to injure each other, not compete) is chaotic, ugly, dirty and dangerous and something nobody in their right mind wants to get involved in regardless of their training. What "ring fighting" is, is a competition between two people. It's probably about as close as you can safely get to a combat situation, but it's not the same. This is starting to get off topic of the original post however and should probably start its own thread if this topic wishes to continue too much further.

The finger thrust is a strike using a smaller area of impact so it therefore has more penetrating power(The same reason a knife will go through a kevlar jacket like nothing). However, it is much more fragile so it's really only effective in certain areas. Unless you want to spend years strengthening your fingers and then suffer the effects of that training later, I'd recommend using fist or palm far more often than a spear thrust.

Ok... You have 6 black socks, 4 white socks, 8 green socks, and 2 blue socks. How many socks would you have to draw out of the drawer to guarantee a matching pair?

Yep... gonna start upping the difficulty a bit. A man was to be sentenced, and the judge told him, "You may make a statement. If it is true, I'll sentence you to four years in prison. If it is false, I'll sentence you to six years in prison." After the man made his statement, the judge decided to let him go free. What did the man say?

I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for much more than a minute. What am I?

Well, I don't normally do this but I doped myself with every cold medicine known to man and went to my test. It wasn't so bad, but I felt I could have done better. Got the belt though and suppose that's all that really matters.

If you're doing a belt test or competing... make sure you go to the bathroom before you start because invariably you will have to go later and then be kicked repeatedly in the groin.(That's the last time I'm late for a belt test)

That depends on the rules of your governing body. I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you really have it down, but then again, I'm not big into the fancier kicks. I'd ask your sensei to be sure. Good luck in your tournament. Let us know how it goes.