bushido_man96

I think that a major component that comes along with the "mental" aspect of fighting is the discipline required to train. That's what drives fighters to get to the gym, to watch their diet, to make weight, etc. And it takes a lot of mental strength to maintain that discipline in training.

MatsuShinshii, that is a very solid post. Great points all around, and I think you nailed the point. Could we split even more hairs on this topic? For sure. But, I think you've nailed it down very well.

I agree, that it is seen across the board in many fields. I would tend to believe that this most often (but not always) manifests in the younger crowd, with the exuberance of youth. I think its quite common, even for youth to start challenging their parents. I think its the confidence that comes with being younger, stronger, and faster (in their physical prime) that causes them to overstep their bounds and believe they know more or know better than they actually let on. I guess I'm fortunate in that we don't experience a whole lot of this at our school. In DT training, I see it show up at times. When questions are asked, usually in the form of "what if?", the system works well enough to answer those questions. In TKD classes, usually after time using the applications in class, the experience comes through and answers those questions.

I'm inquiring what fellow instructor's or student's class schedules look like for their schools. How many days a week does your school offer classes? What times? Any specialty classes? Our school offers classes Monday through Thrusday for adults and kids. Right now, these classes are mixed, and run from 6:00 - 7:00 pm, but can run as late as 7:15. We also have out Little Lions program, for kids 5ish - 8, and that is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:15 - 5:45 pm. We used to have a kicking class, but that has gone by the wayside, as has our black belt classes. Years ago, we ran Combat Hapkido as well, have not for many years now. I'm curious to see what kind of schedules other schools run, and what kind of classes they offer.

2/28/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 112.5x5, 112.5x5, 112.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Barbell Curls: 52x10, 52x10, 52x10. LTEs: 50x10, 50x10, 50x10. Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics, forms, one-steps, and then some paddle kicking drills instead of sparring. Worked on back leg switching front or round kicks, depending on the rank. 3/1/2018 Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics, forms, one-steps, and sparring. Another good-sized class, but the kids sparring group was considerably larger than the adult sparring group.

It sounds like things are going great!

Bob, its probably likely that you've used up the greatest gains (in your case, losses) that you are going to see. Much like strength training, you can make serious gains early, and the stronger you get, the harder it is to make more significant gains. I think its the same with weight loss. You've lost a bunch, and now, the losses are going to become more incremental, and probably not show up as great unless you make some serious adjustments to your diet, which you may not want to do. The other point to consider is that you are a big guy. And I don't mean a fat guy. You are fairly tall, with broad shoulders, and large frame. Which is good, and means that you will be more likely to carry a little more weight than others. But, I think this is good weight, so long as you keep with your diet and exercise. All that said, I think you've done a great job and are on a great track, so don't get down on yourself now that you've plateaued a bit. Keep working at it, and realize that the victories will just be smaller from here on out.

I haven't heard or seen anything since, but I haven't been actively looking, either. Danielle, any updates that you know of?

I think its popular to throw out that 90% number, but I'm not sure how accurate that is, because being in good physical shape is important, as well. But, I do think that the larger portion of the fight is mental, as there are so many mental hurdles to get over in order to actually engage another human in combat.

I wonder if it has to do with the majority of the population in human history being right handed. If you step to your left to start the form, that puts the right hand side, which for most of us, is our power side, back, which is the usual position for generating power with an attack or defense from the right side of the body. Subsequently, it could be that the initial attack from a threat is with their own right hand, perhaps grabbing our left wrist, or left shoulder, or otherwise attacking with their right hand, thus forcing us to defend with the closest tool, out left side.

I have both of these books, and quite enjoyed both of them. I have quite a few of Kim's books, and have found them all to be quite useful. I recently finished reading Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hosinsul: Self Defence Techniques From Ch'ang Hon (ITF) Taekwon-do, by Stuart Anslow. This book is the next in line of the Anlsow series, and he has, in my opinion, become quite the ambassador for ITF style TKD. This book is well organized, and formatted like Anslow's other books, which I like. There are some grammatical issues I've noticed here and there, but those aside, I think anyone looking for some Hosinsul ideas that tie in with the ITF forms for their classes will find some useful ideas here. Aside from laying out various techniques and applications (and referencing movements in the patterns when applicable), he lays out approaches to safely and effectively train hosinsul, from the initial learning and practicing of the techniques to applying them with some resistance. As with any self-defense techniques, some of them make me wonder, "will that work?" But, I'll leave all doubt aside until I've actually worked with the techniques as he's described them. A last note I would make concerns his approach to grappling. Anslow if very clear in this book that TKD lacks grappling, and that this is a concern for the style, and he recommends seeking out some instruction from a grappling instructor to help fill in these holes in TKD's curriculum. I commend Anslow for this. With that stated, he does go forward and provide a few basic grappling techniques for an opponent mounted and choking, or striking, or pinning. These are pretty basic, but are a good starting point for an instructor not versed in grappling. Overall, I feel that the book is a good resource for anyone looking to either add regular hosinsul to their training, or looking to find ways to augment and improve their hosinsul training. I've enjoyed Anslow's other books, and this fits in with the rest of them, and is worth adding to your TKD library.

It sounds like Funakoshi was familiar with the benefits of following the stress-recovery-adaptation cycle. Wise man indeed.

I agree here. Rest can help out a lot, giving your body time to recover. I also agree with changing up the routine. This is easy if you are the instructor in charge of the classes, but a little more difficult if you are the student with no input into class activities. I find that taking some time to do some reading and research really help my motivation.

I try to explain as much as possible in as brief an explanation as possible. Too much talking and not enough doing doesn't help improve technique, nor practice application. Brief explanation, then do and do and do. Explain a little bit more to correct something here and there, and then do and do and do some more. Shade in a little more correction and keep on doing. That's my philosophy.

I'm a member of the WTSDA so the late GM JC Shin, who was a student of GM Hwang Kee. Very nice.

I'd disagree that Krav Maga is not self-defense, because I've trained and used aspects of Krav Maga for self-defense and for defensive tactics. I can kind of see how what you mean when you reference "styles," but I don't really agree with it.

Those are rather advanced kicks, so it sounds like some good work to me. I'd love to get that kind of bag work in every class.

I saw your other post. But it sounds like its starting to feel better, which is great news! 2/23/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 105x5, 105x5, 105x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Barbell Curls: 47x10, 47x10, 47x10. Lying Triceps Extensions (LTEs): 40x10, 40x10, 40x10. 2/26/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 110x5, 110x5, 110x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Barbell Curls: 50x10, 50x10, 50x10. LTEs: 45x10, 45x10, 45x10.

Excellent!

From what I've read and learned, Aikido and Hapkido are two separate branches from the art of Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. Whereas Ueshiba delved into a very spiritual aspect, the founders of Hapkido (and a name slips my mind, I'd have to check on that) did not go that same route. That's why you see Hapkido be a lot less circular and spherical than Aikido.

Your Tang Soo Do is likely practicing what is closer to Hapkido joint locking techniques than Aikido. If you are looking to really focus on striking and kicking techniques, then the Shotokan class will probably offer plenty of what you want, along with some different perspectives on the same forms, which could make for some interesting comparisons. It would be a great study, for sure, comparing the two. What lineage does your Tang Soo Do follow from?

Because it's not formalised as one. It's quite literally close combat. There is no lineage of former masters that dictated what it means. It's literally just the Israeli army close combat. Every army has its way of training for the eventuality that a soldier mat fund himself unable to fire a gun to neutralise an enemy. They all call that part of training various things like unarmed combat, combatives, hand to hand combat etc. The Israelis call there's krav maga, which just means something like close combat in their language. I agree with your definition of the words Krav Maga, but it is very much still a style. It may not follow with the same kinds of traditions and lineages of Eastern styles, but it is definitely a style.

This, this, this. I have toiled with this for so long. To answer Bob's question, its the will to keep working through things, to persevere. Those bumps in the road pop up a lot. But its still a road, so keep travelling it!

It takes careful planning and practice to come up with techniques that you will feel confident that they will work. I think that's the key, feeling confident enough to execute them. Let's take a very basic technique. The punch. We all know the punch can work. But the key is, to what extent? A well placed/lucky punch could result in a knockout (a glass jaw on the other end can help, too). But should we consider this the norm? No, absolutely not. Same with any other technique we attempt to apply. I can kick to someone's knee in the hopes of breaking it, but at the least be confident that a solid landing kick there will at least break their balance, buying some time for a follow-up or an attempt to flee. Another important point to keep in mind is that when developing self-defense curriculum, its important to build around solid principles, and make sure to fit the techniques to the principles. If someone tries to choke you, then you need to think escape, and any technique you do from the start should have the sole focus of affecting that escape. Anything that doesn't lead to that end is going to be faulty in that situation. Following this, its practice, practice, practice. Its important to develop a practice method that allows resistance to the technique, in order for the student to learn to adjust to that resistance and work through it. This is also where the principles come into play. Keep the principles in mind, as opposed to certain techniques, and use techniques to work through the principles. So, to answer the initial question in this thread, the answer should be, "I am confident that this technique can be effective in self-defense."

This is such a good book. I can't recommend it enough, to all TKD practitioners. I recently picked up the revised edition, and look forward to checking out the differences.