bushido_man96

What would this include?

I was just wondering, how many times a week do you train, and for how long?

What kind of hand blocking drills do you do for fast punching?

It sounds like a good time. I have always had great admiration of the coditioning that both boxers and wrestlers have. I know that I am no where close to being in that kind of shape. Incidentally, Cross, why not train both?

Thanks for the infio. I love learning new things about different arts.

You are right, Cathal, this is a common topic of discussion for the MA's. However, what we could talk about is how we could use lighter contact to help us with hard contact situations. Do you think that they both benefit from each other?

When you do the bunkai, do you have preset attacks, or do you make up attacks at random? How much do you modify things? Do you change attack levels, how the block works, or even change some techniques alltogether? Do you start with techniques from the forms, and then add some to finish? Let me know.

Never heard of it before. I don't hear much about seminars in my neck of the woods.

Welcome to the forums!!

P. A. L. is right, your body just needs to acclimate to the training regimine. Try extra stretching on your off days to release some of the acid build up and relax your muscles.

Thank you. I have the article myself...can't bring myself to throw away all of those old magazines away There were some interesting combinations and concepts in that article. I loved the way he put them together.

No problem bushido_man96. You basically perform your kata but rather than being alone you have a few people with you that attack. Rather than sparring you will be only going through the kata so it is very much like a choreographed fight scene. In doing this you will appreciate why a technique is being applied at a certain time, and even have different attacks and blocks when you go through it, which teaches you to be adaptive to the situation. After going through the bunkai several times you will realize you've got a much deeper understanding of the kata and of course its practical applications. Thank you very much!!

Good luck, and have fun

I have read of mushin, but have never been able to achieve it, or meditate successfully. I think I will start trying.

There are always some rude people in every crowd that want to ruin someone else's fun.

Most definitely. I don't think you can truly understand a kata, or it's intent, until you go over several aspects of the techniques and their possible applications. This may sound silly, but can you give me a description of the method of how you do it? I could practice with my wife and my brother.

I like this article! I especially like the point it makes about assumptions. The level of specializations are very critical points as well. I really like the analogy made about the knife fighter. It is also refreshing to know that there are some instructors out there who will tell you that there is no ultimate style to learn, especially their own.

My personal opinion is that there is no single art that is a "beginner" style. They all have there strong points. What you should do is go watch a few classes at some different schools, and see what fits you best. And don't just focus on the physical aspects of the classes; see what their philosophies, goals, and outlooks of the staff of the schools are like. They are just as important.

Although I don't think that full contact is necessary for good training, I do believe that you have to make some more "earnest" contact from time to time in training. It is a good thing to get in some smacks every now and then, so we know what it will feel like. Just putting a little more 'emphasis,' shall we say, on a technique from time to time. Sometimes you block differently when the techniques aren't coming so hard.

Good job of using your surroundings. You have to really get used to that adrenaline rush. I was just listening to some guys at the jail yesterday night get riled up about cell searches, and that got mine going.

How much do you suppose that bag weighs?

Those clips were interesting. One of the guys seemed to just spin all of the time. Not a lot of jabs, but a lot of haymakers. I thought there would be more kicking, but not a lot of combinations. They were fast, though.

We don't do any bunkai training in my school at all. From what I have heard talked about it, it sounds like I am missing out on a lot of fun.

Luck is the residue of design - Napolean

This is an interesting observation. Maybe it is because the full contact guys are so earnest in hitting, that the technique starts to slip. If this is the way they train from day one, then they will do the techniques as fast as they can, failing to learn the proper technique first. By learning proper technique first, and then focusing on building speed and power, you should be able to overcome those who take the other approach. However, better technique does not necessarily make the better fighter; strategy and tactics come into play then.