bushido_man96

I said to Heidi earlier in the thread I thought it odd that competitors were split only by age and not by dan rank also and that competitors had to learn all poomse. ITF tournaments work a little differently in that the ages are split off but dan grades are all separate categories too: 1st dans vs 1st dans, 2nd vs 2nd and so on. You also have to perform your form from your grade. I wouldn't say it's uncommon to see the higher dan forms at our tournaments. I agree with Danielle's assessment here. When I was in the ATA, they were always good about having tournament rings divided into appropriate age and rank categories. One thing the ATA also did was start their "Top Ten" black belt rankings, where competitors would score points for placing in regional and national/the world tournament. I don't recall what each placement scored, but if you double placed in tournaments, it was good for helping your score. It also helped tracking results for each age/rank group. I think other systems could benefit from this kind of setup, as well. I think that's why ATA students always got a bad rap, especially when others would claim that they only compete in their own tournaments. Really, they gain more within their organization to do so. They have a standardized rule set, trained judges, and their own sanctioned tournaments, so why not? Its not that they were not allowed to compete in other tournament systems; they definitely could, and I know of one instructor that used to be in Colorado that actually competed in some old PKA fights. Some ATA students compete in MMA now. But for those that like the ATA tournament circuit, its really one of the aspects of the ATA that is setup the right way.

I'd agree with your assessment here. I know I've got a book on various Karate kata at home, and I'll look into that and see what information I can find. But I just don't recall a weapon component to it.

Agreed... Picking and choosing which "battles" ("spare time shenanigans", as you put it ) to engage in is the key. (And, D&D has become an "odd" thing, too, IMO... up to 5th Edition; our group sticks with a blend of the old 1st and 2nd Editions...) I played 2nd edition and a bit of 3rd edition under a great GM. If it just wasn't so damned time consuming...

I agree, but is it necessary to always learn from a "master?" There are lots of good teachers out there that aren't masters, and I think its a shame to pass them up if one has the chance.

Personally, I prefer to spend class time working on technique and applications. I have a gym membership, and I have got back to strength training now. I like to use my MA practice time to develop my MA skills, not running, doing push-ups, and crunches until I'm too tired to do any decent technique work. Our basics session of class provide a pretty good warm-up, without doing any kind of other calesthenics, and I prefer it that way.

5/19/2015 Defensive Tactics Club: 2:00 - 3:30 pm. Worked on some of the GRACIE material, starting with UMPA with swim and trap mount reversal. After that, we worked on the elbow escape. After working those techniques, we did a series starting from full mount and reversing with the UMPA w/swim and trap, then passing the guard to the mount, and then setting an Americana or an arm bar. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. First time back in a loooong time. Basics, one-steps, and sparring. Basics were tiring, like I thought they would be, but I did alright. Flexibility has gone away some, so I need to stretch it back. I haven't done a good job of keeping up on my form, so I didn't do it tonight. Did get some one-steps in, and then sparred. Sparring went ok, but I'm rusty. It felt good to be back.

That's pretty cool. Do you think the GM called him out to scout him out? I agree with the difficulty of the jump spinning target kick. Not a technique I'd look forward to doing.

I see no reason to employ a sword technique when there is no sword to employ it with. And from what I know of Karate forms, I don't think they were ever performed by the Samurai. To me, it doesn't make sense. There were weapons, they just weren't openly practiced. The samurai completely over powered the island for centuries. How can you say their fighting techniques would not have influenced the ryukyu? Especially around the time of conception of this kata. Who is credited with the creation of this kata? Does it have Chinese roots, like many of the others? Was the creator of the kata skilled in the use of the sword? I'm just curious, to see if this helps line up with the idea of the technique.

Interestingly enough, at about the 2:00 mark, this is actually one of our school's blue belt level one-steps! Our school website is down, but when its back up, I should have a link.

First off, top shelf of you to let your guy that taught class for the week take over the video segment here. Very cool. He did a great job of explaining the demo! For what its worth, tell him that from me, too, if you would. I had not seen the elevator sweep from the guard position, but I like that a lot. It definitely seems dependent on him making the right mistake to let you set it up, but for self-defense, I think it really makes sense. After all, a Wrestler may try to stack you, and he would start to stand up by doing that, I think. I've tried to utilize the elevator sweep along with the elbow escape to get to the guard; instead of getting the second leg over to lock up the guard, I keep the hook in on the inside of his leg, and elevator over to get to the mount I like your variation here, and I think we might play with it some next time. Thanks for sharing it, Alex.

Here is a video I watched just the other day on youtube, where the poster discusses the honor code. I think a lot of what he says hits spot-on, and is very applicable to the realm of Martial Arts, and the kind of camaraderie that is developed by its practitioners. I think there are lots of good points made here. A Man's Code of Honor, from The Art of Manliness youtube channel: I think it relates to women just as well as to men. Thoughts? Anything you view differently?

5/18/2015 Defensive Tactics Club: 12:00 - 2:00 pm. Worked on the heavy bag, doing some low round kicks, jabs, jab/cross, jab/cross/hook. Also held the clapper for one of the guys to work on crescent kicks, both inner and outer. Strength Training Squats: warm-ups: 45x5x3, 135x5, 155x5, 180x3; work sets: 225x5, 225x5, 225x5 Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 101.5x5, 101.5x5, 101.5x5 Deadlifts: warm-ups: 135x5, 165x5, 190x5; work set: 285x5 Probably could have jumped up 10 on the deadlift, but that's not a big deal. With the two day rest period, I thought I'd start out with 5, and move up 10 on Wednesday. We also received our fractional weight set today (after we were done lifting...), so next time I'll have a better idea of what we are lifting, and not just estimations from the washers I was using. I'll also have more control over the incremental increases, which will be especially good for Kendall's progress.

This is good advise. Especially for women, the escape part is the most important, I think, because it doesn't behoove a woman to stand toe-to-toe any longer than necessary with a larger and stronger opponent.

I think yes, most of the time when dealing with those who are new to the world of Martial Arts training, seeing the credentials will be a helpful factor in determining where to obtain membership. We see this in life with many things as consumers, so Martial Arts will be no different. Many of us know, however, that it isn't always the case that the person with more credentials hanging on the wall happens to be the best instructor available. But, these things can only be learned through experience.

Congrats!

Ready for some 7th Dan forms. WTF 7th Dan Poomsae, Cheonkown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpcEm3JNauU 26 moves, in an upside down T pattern. The form opens with a series of blocking and then grabbing motions, moving into tension punches following the grab and withdrawing hand. There are a lot of circular movements in this form, so I'd guess more blocking and grabbing techniques, perhaps with the possibility of applying locks or breaks of joints. Through the "stem" of the pattern, there are a lot of double hand blocks in a row, with a double knife hand low block, then shifting forward and doing a scissors type of block. We also get a jumping, spinning 360 target kick. The form ends slowly and in a concentrated fashion with some knife hand diamond blocks (I call them hi/low blocks), and then some pushing palm blocks, which tend to follow the flowing, circular motions of this form. It ends like it begins, with the circling of the arms into the ready position. ATA 7th Dan Poomsae, Chul Joon: 97 moves, and again, like 6th Dan form, there are a series of 31 "freestyle" moves in this form, so I've shared a few links. The core of the form seems pretty straight forward, with advancing moves mixed with some retreating moves, with the retreating going into cross-legged stances, or spinning away in a cross-legged stance. An interesting tactic, but not one I'd be likely to teach anyone to use for self-defense purposes. This form also has some interesting circular motions in both striking and blocking with the hands. So there we have 7th dan forms. Anyone with experience with these forms, please chime in on anything I am overlooking, since I don't have any direct experience with them. All comments appreciated!

Yeah, I truly think that ship has sailed, it won't return to dock. But, at the same time, its nice to see what each organization has to offer.I think they are too diverse for that now. Almost completely different styles of martial arts now. Personally I'd love to have a unified ITF. Since the General's death it just seems to be getting more and more fractured and fragmented. I think the best that can be hoped for is that each organization just begins to recognize the others, and they come up with a way and means of allowing each to compete with the other.

I see no reason to employ a sword technique when there is no sword to employ it with. And from what I know of Karate forms, I don't think they were ever performed by the Samurai. To me, it doesn't make sense.

I will do. I have been to many dojo's and I have made the same fundamental mistake every time; I have tried to continue from where I left off. With this one, although I have told the sensei of my background in Shotokan, I aim to start from the beginning and see where sensei thinks I should be. Good call. Just go in and train, and see where it takes you.

I think it really depends on the time one has to put in. If I only have 2 classes available per week for TKD, and have the other days available, then it wouldn't be taking away from TKD class to take up another, like BJJ, to shore up ground fighting skills. This kind of cross-training would be quite beneficial. Taking up a Shotokan class, on the other hand, although enjoyable and certainly valuable, would probably not yield as high of returns.

That's great! Sounds like you've got some great students that really support and respect you!

Yeah, I truly think that ship has sailed, it won't return to dock. But, at the same time, its nice to see what each organization has to offer.

Sounds like a great opportunity! Keep us posted on it, please!

This is interesting. But why put a weapon-based series of moves in an open-hand form? There wouldn't seem to be any cross-over in applications.

That's a good idea, Alex. Thanks for that, I'll try to play with that idea a bit.