bushido_man96

In the TKD that I have done, by not allowing hand strikes to the head, we avoid the match becoming a boxing match. While kicks can be much stronger, it takes considerably more skill to get good at scoring with head kicks, and they won't usually come in with the frequency that hand techniques to the head would.

I tend to think of a keyboard warrior as someone who tends to talk a lot about either opinions or about themselves in various online formats, and does so in a way that they would usually say things to or about people in such a way that they wouldn't do to them personally. Many can avoid having necessarily good points for their arguments. They tend to be just loud about it, and don't worry about or feel concerned with any repercussion about what they might say or claim.

Congrats!

Well, double jointed doesn't actually exist- its just a term for people who are flexible. Anyways... So heres my two cents on it. Athleticism hinders technical progress rather than helps it. For good reason too. Any reliance on strength, speed, agility, or endurance is reliance on athleticism and less technicality. Many professionals aren't necessarily good in a technical manner but they're moreso merely good at optimizing their athletic prowess. These are usually the guys who wear out after they hit their early 30's. I was one of those guys that was "double jointed" and it wasn't until I got my black belt and reinvented my game that I realized just how much bending in half hindered my progress. The same is true for a guy that's strong. I'll just throw this out there- I recently saw a video of a "guy" explaining how to do a hip escape. Not for nothing, the guy IS very capable and very talented but his technical knowledge of the hip escape wasn't very impressive. In short, he does it like everyone else- hes just such an athlete (and top player) that hes never had to pay the price for NOT having size and strength and being on bottom.... and hes arguably one of the best there is in the game at the moment. I know that "double jointed" doesn't exist, that's why I used the quotes...But, I agree with what you say. The problem with top level athletes is that athletic ability can mask what they lack in technique pretty well. I'd add that speed is another attribute that can have the same effects.

I have the same issue, as I've gotten older, its harder to do jump kicks. My knees hurt too much. What I do is that I just don't jump as high as I used to. With some kicks, like the jumping front snap kick, this is ok, but with others, like the flying side kick in Choong Moo hyung, it suffers a lot. If it were me, I'd do squats with weights twice a week, and maybe a box jumping workout once a week. Make sure to give your body time to recover, as jumping workouts are very taxing on the neuromuscular system.

I can help with this a bit. A high percentage of gun fights (or violence involving a firearm) in the civilian population happen within 3 to 5 feet from the assailant. I'm sorry, I don't have a number for you, but I think its upward of 80%. Maybe Alex has some better stats. In the Police Krav Maga program I've been through, I've trained both long gun retention and disarms and pistol retention and disarms. They tell us up front in regards to gun disarms that these disarms pertain to the type of attack in which the armed individual is using the gun to intimidate, threaten, or take something from you or take you somewhere against your will. So, its the situation in which a suspect puts a gun in your face and begins talking and threatening you for whatever reason. They have other options for those in which a person draws or presents a gun and just pulls the trigger. With all that said, I would say that situations dealt with in the civilian population would be different than those dealt with in the military, especially during active duty. Good to know both. The problem I see with concealed carry, and I tell this to everyone who is even thinking about thinking about carrying concealed, they have to make sure to they know how they are going to carry it, where at on their person, and they have to train on how to draw and get to threat ready position from where they plan to carry it. Its so much more than just learning how to shoot the gun.

Experience is important for an instructor. However, it doesn't have to be fight experience. As long as an instructor can vet what they are passing along, then teach it with confidence. This is the path I take. I've not been in a ton of fights, but I feel that I can teach someone to defend themselves if need be, because of the concepts, strategies, tactics I teach with are sound and proven. This is how I approach DT training classes. I trust the people who put it together, and I trust my ability to pass it along.

Great points, Bob. I think you hit the nail on the head; trying to change all of a sudden is doomed for failure, as we are creatures of habit.

I work varying shifts which rotate every couple of months. This makes it very hard to retain any kind of consistency with a schedule. Right now, I make one night a week at class. My free time is pretty well spent with running kids here and there, helping with homework, and the just a bit of time to relax before going to work. My lifting schedule is on total hiatus right now, which really sucks. I'm hoping I can add a few hours of DT club to the mix here next week, giving me maybe around 4 total hours of training time in a week.

I used to get this often, but it was during my middle and high school days, although I did get it once when I was at junior college. I don't hear it anymore. I think as we get older, more mature individuals don't ask that question as much. Nope, not gender specific. Both genders get it. Although I imagine in mostly comes from males asking, not females. I could be wrong, but I've only ever heard it from males. My favorite response is, "Probably, its not that high off the ground."

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you here!

Strength and flexibility are both physical attributes that have some limitation based on genetics. Those who are "double jointed" have an advantage over the rest of us, just like those who are more explosive naturally have an advantage. It is true that both can be increased over time and training. What this means to me is that someone who is both strong and flexible will likely have even more advantage as they learn to become better technically.

Muay Thai is pretty much like that. Punching, kicking, elbows and knees in the clinch....

Yes, coffee is bueno.

In football, special teams used to use the wedge blocking scheme during kick returns. The other team had a wedge-breaker; his job was to run down like a crazed maniac, and break the wedge be flying into the top of the wedge and collapsing it. They don't run the wedge anymore. Doors have two options available to them: be open or be closed. Interestingly enough, this wedge of yours can be used to facilitate both: wedge the door open, or jam it closed. Another thing I noticed in your analogy is that the wedge does its best work by not moving. However, we as Martial Artists need to be able to move in order to do our best work. An interesting discussion, to say the least.

I've seen a similar tool posted before, and I think it would be an awesome bit of equipment to go along with other equipment, and of course, a good sparring partner.

Just because. Its something our GM wanted to do, so he did it. I don't get to be the one to approve such things, I just wear the uniform they give me. The uniform I wear right now doesn't have an instructor patch on it. One that I do have doesn't fit.

You are right, TJ. Strength and flexibility are just two physical attributes, and they tend to be noticed in those who have more of it naturally than those that don't. I agree that it does seem like the "strong" guys always get hated on more than others, as though strength isn't and shouldn't be a valued asset, when it truly is. For some reason, it always ends up getting touted as a hindrance to performance, when other attributes are not. My thoughts is that one should try to be as strong as one can. The body wants to be strong, so we should try to make it so, I feel. We all want to be as fast as possible, and as flexible as possible, but when we start talking about being strong, many MAists erroneously think that one shouldn't try to get too strong, as it will inhibit other attributes. That really isn't the case, either. One can be as strong and as fast as their genetic potential will allow them to be. One just as to push the body to that limit. Ok, off soapbox now. Good topic, TJ.

Mayweather won that fight before anyone ever got into the ring, because he was taking McGregor away from his strengths and bringing him to his. Its really as simple as that. If Mayweather would step into the MMA ring now, we'd see that the fight would go McGregor's way, probably fairly easily. Anyone who knew McGregor's fight career knew that he only went the distance, 25 minutes total, what, one or two times? Mayweather knew that he could box with McGregor for the first several rounds, until he got tired, and then he would be able to open up on him. And that's pretty much what happened. I didn't even see the fight, and I had it figured out beforehand. This really wasn't a mystery that was difficult to figure out, in my opinion. And now Mayweather will stay retired, 50-0, and McGregor will go back about his business. Or will McGregor step into Boxing full-time?

I think nature knows plenty of divisions. The carnivores and the herbivores, the sky, the land, and the ocean. The jungles and the deserts. And on and on. The animal kingdom just doesn't discuss it over coffee like we do. Sucks to be them, really, not being able to drink coffee....

I've never heard a principle called "the wedge principle." Perhaps that's just not a name we use for it, or perhaps its just part of what we do, and don't need a name for it. If it is what Bob describes, then yes, we practice using angles during our defenses. I think most styles do.

We have two fairly simple patches, one for each side of the chest. One is the Traditional Taekwondo Association patch, and the other is the Sun Yi's Academy patch. On the back is the Korean symbol for Do, with Sun Yi's Academy Taekwondo on the back, too. Some of the instructor's uniforms has an Instructor patch on it, and some of the Master Instructors have a patch that denotes that.

Hello there! I'm in Hays, America.

Very nice!

Words of wisdom and encouragement are all well and good, but at some point the student needs to see the successful application take place. That is when confidence will be built.