bushido_man96

Spartacus makes good points here, and is spot on, I think. But, I do see OneKickWonder's points as well, and how seeing these things over and over again, and being on the inside of the Martial Arts world and looking out, can be annoying. I guess the way to look at it is that those videos are not for us.

Flawed?? Nope!! Here's why I believe it... https://www.karateforums.com/proof-is-on-the-floor-vt36016.html https://www.karateforums.com/proof-is-on-the-floor-an-addendum-vt41784.html I don't believe in things as the "best" because it's an assumption of the observer. Your hypothetical here still speaks about him, while he's much elder nowadays, he's still an "expert" through his knowledge and experience. Besides, anyone at any age, and at any knowledge/experience and, if we must consider, rank, can dodder into any dojo and stoop over a zimmer frame, and still be an "expert" by the observers interpretation. An "expert" at anything, including the MA, can trip over who knows what. I had once been accused of not possessing any MA knowledge and experience because during a pool game, I missed a lot of shots. This persons reasoning was that all MA should have a keen hand to eye coordination, and I shouldn't miss that many shots. My argument towards that guy was... "I don't know what you know about the MA, but in all of my years in the MA, I never ever once saw a pool table in our dojo...not ever!!" 53 years later, I'm still poor at playing pool, not good at bowling, not good at horseshoes, not good at darts, not good at basketball, well, there's a lot of things that I'm not good at, well, except the MA. I like this answer You could have hit him with the stick, and responded with, "This is what I would use this stick for..." But, that probably would have been rude....your response was better, Bob.

Let's say you have someone who is fairly low in grade, but understands how there's no such thing as technique, just principles from which techniques can be built on the fly. That person can see a hundred different uses for a basic low block for example, and they can put all those principles together naturally as they move. But they can't seem to learn the lingo, and they struggle to remember the sequences of forms. Conversely, you have someone who can perform any form to competition standard. They can speak all the lingo. They know all the history. They can perform a jump 360 roundhouse to head height. But ask them to improvise or gods forbid, actually fight, and they have nothing. Would either of these two hypothetical extremes qualify as a martial arts expert? This can be tough to sort out. Expertise, I think, can come in various forms. One can read, learn, and study up a ton on almost any martial art out there, and with the sheer amounts of information available, one can gain a level of expertise in the spiritual aspects, or the historical aspects, but perhaps not the physical aspects of application and execution. I remember back when I first gain access to the internet, FAQs were a big thing, and I searched out and found every MA FAQ on any style I could, printed them and read up on them. There are even more resources out there now to reference, so learning things and studying them and talking about them are even easier. The more difficult aspect is attaining proficiency in the physical aspects of the Marital Arts. Does becoming expert in this area deem one an expert in totality? The other consideration to make is if there is a difference here in what a Martial Arts expert is and what a Martial Arts master is?

I’ve heard the selfie with a famous person has replaced the autograph. Then again, you could have Royce Gracie autograph your screen Well, I do have a picture with him, too, so that's covered. Its not a selfie, though...I had someone else take the picture.

Congrats!

Same here. None of your videos are staying up.

Yep, still can't see it.OneKickWonder, what you are describing sounds like the he is shooting the same arm as the kicking leg forward, like a hammer fist strike. That is kind of the TKD way of doing it. When I was in the ATA, we did it without that. Now, the style I'm in encourages sending the arm forward with the kick. Just a different way.

Running a school some years ago, I didn't focus enough on the day-to-day operations of running the school, and thinking that it would take care of itself as long as I kept students in. I needed to prepare more and focus more on keeping up the business side of things, and being more confident in myself in doing those things. Live and learn.

4/16/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x5; work sets: 125.5x5, 125.5x5, 125.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x12, 135x12, 135x12. Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics, forms, one-steps, sparring. 4/18/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5; work sets: 127.5x5, 127.5x5, 127.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x12, 135x12, 135x12. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:15 pm. Basics, stretch, forms (Choong Jang), one-steps, sparring. We have been preparing the students for a tournament, and so we worked on some thing in sparring with them. 4/25/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5; work sets: 128x5, 128x5, 128x5, 128x3, 128x3. Lat Pull-downs: 135x12, 135x12, 135x12. Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics, forms (had the newly promoted 1st dans doing some extra forms), one-steps. Talked with the class about the difference between anticipation and reaction, the benefits of both, and the importance of training both.

Its the discipline side of things, so I think it figures pretty heavily into mindset. "Everyone has the will to win, but not everyone has the will to prepare to win."

The hand positioning is not bad. I'd try to turn the lead hand over so the knuckles are up, and pull the other hand back tighter to the ribs, but they aren't that far off. Those little tips are for style points more than anything. Otherwise, the kicking leg looks good, and you've got a nice tuck with the base leg. I wish I could still do that...

The video isn't working.

I don't know why you think its a weak kick. As was mentioned, its a still photo. You can't see anything as far as power or speed goes in either his or yours. I'd be willing to bet its not a weak kick at all.

I don't think it is. Just from the way each of the chambering methods feel when I do the kicks, I tend to notice the difference.

It's a pretty laid back environment. Most are very open to what new students bring to the table. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to just embrace the different training methodology. I second this. In my experience, its very laid-back and easy-going. Not the same kind of structure you see in most Eastern-style schools.

Just stop in and say hi...

I agree that anyone at any age can do Judo, but the older you are, the tougher it might be on your body. Getting thrown down a lot and getting up can be rough on an older body. But, don't let that stop you from at least giving it a try.

I think the "weight class" fighters tend to a deceptive example. Those guys usually walk around at least 10 lbs heavier than they fight at (if not more). So yeah, a guy like McGregor is strong for his size, but we are deceived by his size because he walks around at a heavier weight than he fights at.

But not carrot cake. That is as wrong as pineapple on pizza. No, both are awesome! I think I got burned out on carrot cake in my teen years. Mom made it a lot because it was a "healthier" option. Now it makes me want to hurl. I am not against vegetables in cake, just suspicious. I like zucchini chocolate cake. I am a good cook, so I probably could design a better carrot cake (to my taste anyway) easily, I am just not motivated to do so. I hear you on the food burnout. That happened to me with bologna sandwiches as a kid.

When I was in the ATA, I tied my belt with your second method. In the TTA, we use the first method. I don't mind the cross-over in the back. Just for fun, here's a few more ways to skin that cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3cIdbSU9Pk

I'm a book guy. I like to the format in general. I do enjoy seeing things on video, but for me, books tend to be my go-to. I enjoy going to the shelf to pull out some reference material. I have a book authored by Royce Gracie, and I've had him autograph it for me. Can't get his signature on a youtube video...

Stances are supposed to be transitional in nature, and not static the way we often train them, or at least how we look at them. If you're looking at executing a trip or a standing sweep, then you might extend your back leg straight back and pivot to pull them over it; like stepping into a front stance. There are other examples out there, but this one makes the point, I think. Take throwing a reverse punch as another example. If you throw it in class from a front stance, you are working on getting the hips to drive the punch. You may not go into a full front stance in self-defense, but if you snap your hips forwards when delivering the punch, then training that stance has served its purpose.

Sure it counts! Shoveling snow is no picnic! 4/9/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 55x5, 75x5; work sets: 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:15 pm. Basics, forms, one-steps, and some sparring. Been trying to hit some different sparring drills before ending class, to give the students some things to try the next time they spar. 4/11/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 120x5, 120x5, 120x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:15 pm. Basics, stretch, forms (Choong Jang), one-steps, sparring. 4/13/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-up sets: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5; work sets: 122.5x5, 122.5x5, 122.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10.

A few things could be at work here. He could be doing a side snap kick, which is a totally different kick. The backwards lean of many side kicks is related to the height of the kick and the person's body style. One should not lean back in order to kick high, but when one does try to kick high, the body will end up leaning back. It is ok if your body leans back on its own when high kicking, but it is not ok to lean back in order to try to kick higher. Hopefully, that all makes sense. The kick in that picture is not subpar. From what I can tell, his kicking foot heel, knee, hip, and shoulder are all lined up, which makes for a strong kick with good body structure behind it. Another mistake I often see when people try to kick higher than they can (or just don't understand how to do the kick yet) is that they tend to bend inwards at the waist, not towards the kick, but towards the direction the front of the body is facing. This is not good, as it breaks the structure of the kick, and you end up with very little reinforcement behind it.

I agree, start with low kicks, and work your way up. Your snapshots show a way of doing the round kick, but its not the way I teach it or do it. I have the chamber more parallel to the ground, and bring it around, which I think adds more power, but can be a bit slower.