bushido_man96

I just finished reading a book about the jo staff, the Japanese short staff, measuring about 4 feet long. Why don't we see this weapon very much? Who here trains or has trained with it? It seems very simple, but has a lot of great applications. I think that it would be a geat weapon to learn.

Me and some friends get together every so often and spar with wooden swords, wear armour, and stuff like that. We have a bang-up time!! They are not quite traditional weapons, unless you were in medieval Europe. Eventually, we are going to start quarterstaff fighting.

Good article. Finding even 20 free minutes is enough to get a little sweat going. Does anyone else do kicks during commercials?

If you are having trouble finding a partner, try at the local high school wrestling team. See if some of them would work with you a few nights a week. They will have some idea of what you are doing. Also, if they don't wrestle after high school, maybe they would be interested in continuing their training.

I don't study either, but I have several books on BJJ, one on small circle jiu-jitsu, and one on Kodokan Judo. What are the major differences in judo and jiu-jutsu? Is it throwing, locking, philosophies? I don't notice a lot of choking in judo, and I know it is more often than not trained as an Olympic sport. If you could please help me through my dilema, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

My style of TKD is traditional. We don't do a lot of throws or locks in our traditional practice. We have one one-step with a takedown, and 5 or 6 that have some arm twisting in them. Not much else. We have some ho sin sool techniques, but we don't get to them often.

I have to agree with all so far on jujutsu. Standing up fighting and groundfighting are always a great combination. As a side note, I have always thought that learning caporiea would be so COOL. It may not look like it would have as many practical applications, but it looks like a load of fun, and the kicks are very strong. And I may be wrong about the applications. It may be more practical than I realize.

I firmly believe that the arts of TSD and TKD do not have any foundations in any ancient Korean fighting styles. There just isn't enough evidence out there to substantiate it. A few years ago I remember reading a section in Dragon Times about how the history of TKD was embelished, and that it is indeed one of the newest forms of martial arts created. When I read this information, it kind of upset me that some of my previous instructors had filled me up with that stuff. Oh, well, I guess. It really is OK that TKD and TSD don't have ancient roots. That fact does not demean their effectiveness as martial styles.

Here is a simple equation that correspondes to learning the MA in general: Learning a style - no instructor = no chance at success.

With your dance background, you might look into caporiea, or maybe another kicking art, like Taekwondo. However, any art will benefit you, if you can find a good instructor.

Some of the differences in the stances comes from the people who took the art, and then modified it to suit their needs. Shorter peoples tended to shorten their stances and use less knee bend, in order to look taller, or to fight taller. The way the TSD and TKD forms look now, compared to the older Okinawan styles is a wonderful display of the evolution of these martial styles. One could learn a lot of why and how different peoples from different regions did things the way they did them. The climate, and terrain, and other factors such as these all contribute to why things end up being done the way they are done. There is always a deeper meaning than "because that's the way my instructor did it."

I think this is a good idea. I would love to buy shirts from my school, and it is kind of a nice promotional tool.

In my classes, we don't really get to do any "bunkai" applications of forms. We do our onesteps, but I question their capabilities at times. I like the sound of the bunkai training that you guys do, and I would like to try it myself.

This is an excellent video. It proves some points of a lot of things that we go around about on the forums... 1. High kicks can be effective 2. Punching is always effective 3. Everyone should learn some grappling This is great. We can learn how to be effective with high kicks, and what not to do with them. We can learn to mix kicking with takedowns. We also see the effectiveness of low kicking, and striking is always at the forefront of effectiveness.

You make a good point. The Karate Kid was a decent movie in showing what it took to learn the martial arts, the work ethic required, and things like that.

I guess you would have to look at the history of Shotokan to see what they mean. The "mother art" that Shotokan came from was a "life protection art". Meaning that it was a complete art that contained grappling, joint manipulation, inside fighting and was focused on protecting ones life above all else. When Funakoshi brought this art to Japan many things where changed some things, like the the meaning of Karate (China hand) to Karate (empty hand) were political, other changes such as stances and hand positioning where for aesthetics. When these changes took place the art evolved more towards a sporting aspect. This does not mean that a Shotokan practioner cannot defend him/her self on the street but it does mean that they are far removed from their roots, and have lost much in the process. MMA and full contact fighting is not combat. You do not fear for your life. The person you are facing is not intent on killing you. If you lose you get banged up, but you will survive. Now before everyone starts flaming me, let me say that I have great repect for these ATHLETES they take a beating, but so do boxers and we consider boxing a sport not combat. I believe that Shotokan is a sport form of Karate BUT that does not make it a "McDojo". The quality of the student is what determins that. I would like to make a point relevant to the one you have made here. The same thing that has happened to a lot of martial styles, like shotokan, can be releated to the likeness of what happened to fencing. It is in no way like its combative counterpart of the 15th to 16th centuries.

I would prefer to learn the quarterstaff (European/English style), and the escrima stick.

I like the extendable batons, because they are easier to carry, and are more resiliant. Just a note, I see several posts saying security guards should not carry batons/extendables, but in the same post, that person admits to owning some. Why shouldn't they carry one?

I wouldn't worry about a specific stance. Take an athletic position with your knees bent, legs not too far apart, and get a good burst into your jump. Do plyometrics twice a week, and build your leg strength. Also, make sure you have mastered the kick on the ground before you go flying through the air to do it.

I get this all of the time, being in Taekwondo. I understand how it makes you feel. Our sparring is controlled with rules, but we practice a lot of basics and one-steps as well.

You said the first was a fake side kick. Was it just a chambering motion, or did you actually throw the first kick?

I think that other sports practitioners can learn a lot from the skill development that martial arts provides, especially in balance and footwork. In response, what do you think martial artists could learn from playing sports like football and basketball?

Keep practicing hard, and don't do anything out of character. Let the GM see who you really are. Work hard, and try as hard as you can. The best advise is .... good luck!

Sumo is taken very seriously as an art in Japan, and I hear that Japanese women idolize them as like rock stars and pro atheletes.

Here's another idea..If I could identify a leader, I would lock on to him, and just go straight to punching him and following up, like a blast I guess. If you can take the leader out, you may be able to diffuse the situation.