bushido_man96

I think this is a pretty good way of looking at it. Somebody can be very serious about their training and yet not be very talented. This can be a tough one. There are a lot of people who can't dedicate as much of their time as they would like to their training. Yet when they do train, they take it very seriously and work hard at improving. I think that person could still be considered a serious Martial Artist. I only get to the dojo twice a week, for 2.5 hours total. But when I’m there, it’s definitely not casual. I'm with ya there. I get two classes in a week right now, and one of those is spent teaching, so I don't get much of a workout in.

Lots of good points being made here, and I tend to side with most of the others here in regards to instructors and students. There are good students, bad students, good and bad teachers, and there are incompatibilities. I like having different teachers of the same subject (like different TKD instructors on different days, if possible) because you get a different style out of each of them, and each has different nuances and idiosyncrasies. This is good for reaching all kinds of different students. I think each student will naturally gravitate to a specific instructor if you cornered them and asked them which they like better, but its good for them to be pulled out of their comfort zone and exposed to a different instructor so they get a different approach.

I think this is a pretty good way of looking at it. Somebody can be very serious about their training and yet not be very talented. This can be a tough one. There are a lot of people who can't dedicate as much of their time as they would like to their training. Yet when they do train, they take it very seriously and work hard at improving. I think that person could still be considered a serious Martial Artist.

I hate that advise. Then they can get you for tampering with a crime scene. The "old" way saved them paperwork. Now the crime scene guys would get their undies in a bunch. If deadly force was justified in the living room, it will still be justified when he bleeds out on the lawn. I agree; this is just bad advise. Was it perhaps said in a joking manner?

After this is all said and done, the talking and articulation begins. This is what will likely make or break you in the eyes of law enforcement. But it depends on the agency and who you get. What could happen is you get detained for a time, explain your side of what happened, they hear the other side of what happened, and then they decide who, if anyone, goes to jail. Or, citations could just be issued, and you have to come to court. It just depends. Having good witnesses always helps. What could also happen is that cops show up, see two guys fighting, and they step in and arrest both parties. Then you get to go to the station to write up your statement. Hopefully, there are some witnesses they get statements from that corroborate your side of the story, and you come out without charges. Here's a third scenario. No cops are involved, so you avoid that aspect of it. But they guy you fought ends up going to the hospital and gets treated for injuries, however serious, and then wants to try to stick you with the bill. If there is nothing criminal being filed, he's likely to come after you in civil court, at which point you're looking to hire an attorney and have to pay those fees to defend yourself in a whole new fashion. So, there are a few scenarios to mull over. If you have further questions on one or more, please ask away.

Congratulations!

Congrats!

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. I get that there are subtle differences between styles. Incidentally in tang soo do in forms, side kick is often accompanied by a hammer fist as you describe. But it's what the other arm is doing that would concern me more. Well, I'd have to see what his other arm is doing. The videos still don't work.As for me, when I'm kicking, the other arm either comes up by my cheek, gets pulled to the ribs (usually only for forms/basics), or gets held somewhere around my gut (especially if I'm tired). I try to make sure it doesn't dangle downwards.

Well, if you squash enough grapes, you can make some wine...!

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...