bushido_man96

Thanks, Bob!

Competition is a great thing, because it offers many students a way to push themselves further and further. But, I agree that it should not be at the cost of everything else the art has to offer.

Cheating at Battleship? Why would someone?

We are back at it, and we've got one tournament under our belts so far this season. Kendall had to wrestle up weight, facing a couple of heavyweights, and won one and lost one, going 1-1 and getting second place. First guy he went into the second period with and ended up getting pinned. The second guy stood up into a headlock, and Kendall took him down and pinned him in the first period. This Kendall's first year in the 12U age group, so it will be an interesting year of facing kids that are already hitting puberty. I think the big battle this year will be trying to keep his confidence up. Kenneth is starting his first year at 8U. Kenneth had a total of 5 matches at the Hoisington Junior Cardinal Classic, and he went 3-2, and got 3rd place, which was great. He also, which is even better, got bumped up from the beginner practice to the intermediate practice, which I think will really help him out more than anything. Kenneth won his matches by pins, got pinned in a match that he was really doing well in until he just got himself into a bad position, and the kid that won was a really tall kid that was a really good wrestler. That kid knew his stuff, and was clearly the class of his bracket. So, overall, a good start to the season, and the next tournament will be on January 6.

As a female, breast contact has never really bothered me. We bump them into stuff and people all day long, so it's nothing new. The sensation of a breast strike is annoying, but not incapacitating like the reaction a man has to testicular trauma. Besides, the nipple area is not really the most effective target. If a man who is doing partner work with me seems like he is particularly targeting my breasts instead of the solar plexus or throat, my first thought is that he doesn't realize he's off target, not "oh that creep" or something like that. This is my view. As for the more central discussion of the thread, I think the phrase "A man should never hit a woman" is most wrong because it is one of many statements about gender roles in our society that disregard the importance of consent and individuality. By becoming a martial artist I consent to being hit. This is my individual life decision to pursue this path, and being allowed to punch me does not necessarily allow anyone to punch other women. Each person's decision on this must be their own. By the same token, refraining from hitting other women outside of the dojo does not necessitate that I not be punched in the dojo. Women, like everyone else, are individual people with separate needs. That, is a well-put post, Shizentai. Great points.

This, I agree with. Young folks should do all that wild and wacky stuff for as long as they can, and enjoy it. There's plenty of time to get old later!

I'm not ashamed of what I do, but I don't bring it up in conversations very often, unless I'm with Martial Arts friends and we are just talking about it. If someone really wants to know what my interests and hobbies are, I might bring it up. Otherwise, I don't mention it much.

For me, at this point in my career, its about knowing what I can and can't do, and adapting the techniques I learn so that I can do them. More important than the techniques, though, are the tactics in which to apply them, and that has become more and more the substance I'm trying to work into my style. I think substance is something that every Martial Artist brings to the table. Take a room full of Karateka at a seminar, for example. Out of 100 practitioners, you are likely going to find close to that number different takes, approaches, and applications of the same technique. That, in my opinion, is where the substance comes from.

I saw that the Cowboys were eliminated. That stinks, Bob. KC on the other hand, has finally won some games and they clinched their playoff berth by clinching their division, and for the first time in team history have one back-to-back AFC West division titles. Now, with the playoff game locked up, KC has announced that they will sit Alex Smith and start Patrick Mahommes against the Broncos this Sunday. It will be fun to see what kind of potential he has.

12/20/2017 Strength Training Deadlifts: 115x5, 135x5, 170x3, 198x5. Incline Bench Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5; work sets: 120x5, 120x5, 120x5. MA Training TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics (lots of switched-up basics tonight, with several drills of repeated back leg kicks, like switch-foot axe kicks and back leg inside axe kicks, etc.)., stretching, form (Choong Jang), one-steps (blue belt and up), and sparring. Sparring was somewhat better tonight, although very tiring. I sparred three matches, all younger, athletic guys. First was a high brown belt, next was a 2nd degree, and finally a 3rd degree. I defended myself much better this go-around, and didn't get pegged in the head. I even switched my stance against the 2nd degree in an attempt to throw him off a bit, which he admitted worked. Win for the experienced guy! 12/27/2017 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3; work sets: 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. I didn't make it to class tonight. The cold weather has really been aggravating my knees, making it hurt to walk, let alone go to a class and kick for an hour.

And I as well. I'll keep your school and his family in my prayers.

I think this should go back to how the instructors run their schools and teach their students. This kind of thing has happened with TKD, especially with the Olympic styles. If Olympic sparring is the focus of the school, then it tends to attract those athletic students that are looking to compete, and they focus on that, and not so much on self-defense, because the success of the school and the instructor are built on their tournament success. I think its important as an instructor to not fall into this temptation to focus the school this way, because that's what we end up with.

I wish I knew what that was. I'm learning this more and more as I get older, especially with young adults in the room that I have to spar with. They are just too fast and athletic for me try to play keep-up with them. So find myself blocking a lot more, moving when needed, and throwing strikes that will land.

I've always wondered about this, and if people think this of me. I don't think I move any differently, really, but I probably wouldn't, either. I just don't know if people watch me and think that.

Coincidence. You also have to consider culture. What some cultures consider to be taboo or bad luck, others don't. It could be that Lee didn't grow up believing breaking mirrors was bad luck.

I respect your opinion but disagree a great deal. I do agree it’s not always needed just as you pointed out people hitting hard without full body rotation. However I was also taught to perform a roundhouse with my heel pointing at the target for maximum power, because of the hip rotation. Obviously it’s not always needed but can be very effective, and this is how I see the reverse punch. Where I really disagree is when you say it doesn’t generate power better then other methods, I mean I agree that it’s true, but I disagree with you throwing it out based on this. Perhapse the methods you use to generate power with your hips in your style aren’t any better then other methods as well but you certainly don’t disregard them as very useful! As I said I learned and tech many techniques involving movement of the feel and whole body where using the pulling hand to control or even pull, won’t be as effective. At any rate, I believe this was a real intent in this technique that you have echoed it being overlooked. This was kind of my point in my post, so not shocking. Hope Mr Poage is ok, I know he’s not, but I hope he will be! Take care. I didn't mean that the body rotation wasn't important--just that pulling the hand to the hip to accomplish it wasn't necessary. I'm not necessarily "throwing it out," but I don't really emphasize that usage of hikite when I teach. I mention it, but find the other uses to be more useful, so I emphasize those instead. When teaching students to generate power, I'm much more concerned with the legs, hips, core, and shoulders than the hands. Thanks for the well wishes! I hear you. In terms of a fight is use mostly a higher hands like a boxer anyways but there are some attacks that I practice in which the traditional approach suits me. In most cases I would throw out traditional techniques that produce power for overall protection as in a box in guard. I was just interested in seeing what the overall view was on this. As I said for most of the 90s I saw these techniques as a way to generate power and it wasn’t until I got into Tang Soo Do techniques that I really learned applications because it’s application heavy just as most Karate styles are. I see both sides of this. As a lower rank, I spent so much time using both arms in the motions, learning to generate power. As I got to higher ranks, I was able to generate the same power without using both hands at the same time. So, in essence, its a learning tool early on. But, I do think the use of the pulling hand in grabbing and pulling in an opponent can't be overlooked as an application, either.

This is what I reference it to. I've also been told the off-hand pulls back for the "equal and opposite reaction" aspect of the technique, which I heard more now that it perhaps isn't that applicable in that sense.

Different things at different times. Right now, its the will to carry on so that I don't lose everything that I've built up to this point. By this time next year, there may be a totally different motivating factor in my life.

I'm not a hyper person, nor do I really consider myself "high-energy." But I wouldn't say that I'm calm all the time, either. I'm pretty laid back, but have been known to get amped up at times, too.

That's cool! I have no suggestions to offer, other than to have a fun trip!

I feel that way, too, JR.

Yeah, that's the kind of mess I don't need to be wrapping myself up in. Too much to worry about, and then worry about not admitting it, so that I won't jinx myself. Its a vicious cycle...

Well, its a bit late digging this up, but let's check in and see how things are going! The Chiefs have been inconsistent. The offense has been putting up numbers, but the defense has been porous at times, and quite frustrating to watch. If anything keeps the Chiefs from winning in the playoffs this season, it'll be that defense. How's everyone else feeling about their team!?

I like your style!

Ok, a couple of ways to look at this. I think that from day one, a student should probably be learning something that can applicably help them in some self-defense situation, be it lesson on environmental awareness, or a simple choke defense. The student should take something away from that very first lesson. Now, becoming proficient in anything just takes time, training, and experience, and it varies for everyone. What's important is that the instructor can teach the system in an efficient manner that allows the student to be able to begin applying it. Again, this all takes time, and all students are not created equal. So, that said, its a tough question to answer, especially in a concrete manner. I would hope that within at least six months training time a student should be confident enough to be able to defend themselves in a situation. That doesn't read "win a fight," though. That reads "being able to get away."