bushido_man96

Cut down on the number of classes you do per week. In the classes you do attend, do what you can to maintian your technique. Slow the techniqes down, and work on proper form and strength. If one knee is giving you problems, work with the other. My knees give me fits, but I notice it more with the stances than with kicking. Another thing: keep stretching. Even if you don't warm up, very light cold stretching will help maintain some flexibility.

Better hope no one like Mike Tyson, Bob Sapp, or maybe a hundred other professional fighters decides to challenge you for you dojo.

Personally, I think that there would have been a gun pulled instead of a beating in today's society. With that aside, I think it is a poor indicator of martial arts training. How many well trained, non-professional fighters would have a great chance of escaping two attackers like that? I don't know, but I don't buy it.

This is a case of ego taking over. The only bad thing about the belt a practitioner wears is that it can cause ego. People need to be humble and open their minds.

I agree with you completely Isshinryu5toforever. If the captain can hold the team together and get them to victory, then he is doing a good job. Sometimes just common sense prevails. I feel that our society is too stuck on "legitimacy through certification." What I mean by this is that every position in life and work has to be certified to be accredited. Like mechanics, for instance. If he's not ASE certified, then he isn't any good, right? Wrong!! It is the same with instructors and teachers and coaches in any and all levels. My dad has never achieved a black belt in any style of martial art (he has come close), and due to personal reasons, had to stop training. Later in life, he rejoined me in my school, where I outranked him. However, I always asked him more questions then he would ask me. He knew so much about the arts, and fighting, and all kinds of things that still take me aback, even with 13+ years of experience. I still get advise and help from him. If the captain has the knowlege and experience to not only win, but to teach valuable lessons to his pupils, then in my book, he is acredited.

I started in TKD because that was the only thing available to me. I got my first taste of it at a young age when my dad would take me to his classes. I never got a uniform, but the memory of it stuck, and I was hooked for life. I might have been 6 or 7. Later we moved, and had a layoff. A friend of mine in 8th grade said he got started in TKD (it was an ATA club), and got me to go. I ended up staying, and he quit. I love TKD, and would probably never give it up. I would like to spend time in other styles, but that option is not available to me. When I started, there wasn't a whole lot of advertising for the club. It was just word of mouth that it was there. And there was no sign of the UFC around yet. I could catch boxing on TV, but could never learn it. I also liked to watch Chuck Norris movies with my dad when I was young. Eventually watched Van Damme and Segal.

I think this is a childish action, and egotistical as well. That's what tournaments are for, and the MMA's.

I have been making more head contact in sparring latley, so it is getting better. In forms and heavy bag work, I do throw hard kicks, high and low. I think my problem comes from one-steps (or two-person work?) training, in which I will crank some kicks, but stop them a few inches before striking. I have good power; my favorite board break is a 4 board round kick. So it is there, just have to get there is sparring, without hurting anyone.

Amen. Very simple, and inspirational.

When I spar in class, I have noticed that when I want to kick someone in the head, I am automatically pulling my kicks, so as not to hurt someone. Not that I don't have good control....it seems to me that I have trained to control everything so much that it has actually hurt me. Are there others that have this problem? Is it just me? I have gotten to the point where I am making head contact now, and people are definetly noticing. I think too much control (ie light contact styles) are a detriment to themselves, and to the art and what it hopes to achieve in the end. After all, you fight like you train, right? What do you all think?

I notice a lot of post about the Olympic style TKD. I agree, there are not many more traditional style TKD schools out there. The one I go to is not very Olympic oriented. We do a lot of basics, forms, one-steps, and maybe 10-15 minutes of sparring per class. I think having some harder contact sparring would be a good thing (without protection).

Anything new is worth learning. I think you will be pleased with the way the kicks are taught, and the speed drills that some schools do. It is also good for timing, reaction time, and countering abilities (if it is at least somewhat Olympic style). Hapkido would be better for holds, locks, etc.

Just an update. Been noticing some good things. I am trying to be more mobile, and it is paying off. I have also noticed that some guys don't like getting close to a big guy throwing a spin hook kick. I did some round robins the other day, and on my 3rd fight, my feet went dead and I got my head kicked about 3 times, not to mention the body shots. That torqued me off. Got to keep the big body moving. Keep the good stuff comin'. You all have been a big help.

Ok. I have a 2nd degree black belt in two differnent TKD associations. The first is the ATA, who has their own system, the Songahm forms. The second (and my current system) is the TTA, which does the Chun do kwan style forms. For those that may have the experience of both, which do you like better? If you have only experienced one, what do you like about it? I like the ATA system because it seems to have a technique advancement system to it. It also has more kicking. I like the Chun do kwan style, because it seems to be more oriented towards power. However, this could be more related to the stage in my training that I am at. There it is....lots of info, lots of questions. Tell me your style, and what you like about your forms. (Karate or other style forms always welcome.)

I understand, I would be offended too. And I have a lot of appreciation for all martial styles, new, old, eastern, and western. Most of these guys are right, no need to get too worked up over it. You have to ignore the idiots, and there are a lot of them.

You are never too old to learn something new. That's and old cliche, I know, but it is true. At 15 here is what you got going for you. Young enough to still train and improve your strength, flexibility, stamina, etc. You are mature enough to learn the physical and mental concepts involved in TKD. You are also old enough that you should be able to get around any age requirments that might exist for certain ranks in your organization. Out of curiosity, which association are you affiliated with? When I had my own school, I had a 57 year old student start out at white belt.

I own a copy of Authentic Tang Soo Do, by Chun Sik Kim and Joe Goss. What do you suppose the differences are? Can you tell me if these names are familiar to you. This book is well put together, and a great read.

A good instructor should be able to do several different things. Teaching is an obvious one. An instructor should be able to aptly demonstrate techniques for demonstration purposes. One does not have to kick high to kick proper. An good instructor has to be able to relate to all different kinds of people. Kids, adults, and even older adults and those with disabilities. Everyone learns differently. An instructor must have good teaching methods, and be able to alter them when the situation arises. An instructor has to be able to help everyone "get it". Good instructors have to be able to think on their feet.

Aodhan, where is your ATA school located?

One of the major downfalls of a young black belt is that they tend to burn out. I hate to see potentially great young carreers peter out due to boredom.

The sparring has definitely changed. With all the safety epuipment and rules and overcautiousness, it has allowed the genre to open up more to children and women, who would usually be opposed to harder contact with no padding. I remember the good old days...two lines down the middle of the floor, facing each other, no pads, no refs, low ranks getting pummled by high ranks, and on and on. Oh yeah, there was also that concrete Armory floor. Good times.

My instructor tries to get the idea across to the students that 1st dan is not the only goal, and that if they quit after they achieve it, then they can't really go around saying that they are black belts; they could say that they were black belts.

Sometimes when I think about the time I have in-rank, I think, "man, I could be a 4th degree by now." Oh, well. No big deal. I just keep on pluggin'.

Don't chase. Good idea. What if they find out I am not chasing, and they don't chase me?

Own it and read it. Others that are recommended are Master of Defense: The Works of George Silver, The Codex Wallerstein, and Medieval Swordsmanship.