bushido_man96

I like that. It gives me some thoughts on how to use my legs to keep someone from getting to side mount on me, which happens a lot. Do you have any suggestions on modifications for no-gi?

To train hard, to discover yourself.

Sounds like a good opportunity. Enjoy!

This is sad news, and he will be missed. RIP Stuart Scott. I saw the speech he gave when he was awarded at The ESPY's. It was great. He was such a good speaker. I heard not long ago listening to some ESPN radio programming, that after the speech, he went behind stage, and had to lie down, it took so much out of him. But you never would have noticed it. A great example of a pillar of strength.

Very nice explanations. It would have been nice to see the footwork, though. But I like the explanation of the use of the center line and turning the hips to strike. Very nice, and a good point I would likely have overlooked had you not explained it. Thanks for sharing it.

You have plenty of time to work on your techniques. You don't have to grade each time the opportunity to grade comes up, either. Lay off a few gradings, and take the time to improve. Its great that you have the judgment to see so early on whether or not you feel you should grade, too. Keep this in mind as you progress. For you roundhouse kick, start practicing using a chair for balance. The more comfortable you get with it, the less you use the chair. Keep it near you when practicing at home so you have that safety valve, but try to do more and more without the chair each day. You will see progress. Also, check to make sure you have your body properly aligned while kicking. If you tend to bend or lean over while kicking, that will throw your balance off. Use a mirror to check yourself if you have one available. Welcome to KF, and welcome to the Martial Arts Journey! Please keep us posted as to how your training is going.

Crazy! I'm curious as to whether or not she reported the initial threat of the other man. His would probably have been more likely to happen. I'm surprised she reported you, who offered to help her.

Alrighty, I believe we are ready for 4th gup forms..... ATA Purple Belt form, In Wha 1: 44 moves, and this time, the form traces two squares next to each other on the floor. This is the first form the ATA student sees the "square block" or "double block" as it is called in our school. Instead of chambering both hands at the hip, like I do now, it is a crossed-arm chamber, which I like better, as I think the applications for it are better. Knife hand blocks, elbow strikes, and also a scissor type of double block, low/inner forearm block is added. Vertical punches are also included. Also of note are the kicking additions. Inner and outer crescent kicks are added, and we also see a "consecutive kick" combination, a back leg front kick that is rechambered and then a side kick is executed to the 90 degree side. The kicking leg remains in the air. This is a tough form, indicative of what GM Lee thought the skills of the intermediate ranks in the ATA should be. TTA 4th gup, Yul Gok Hyung: I call it 37 moves total. In this form, we see the square blocks again, but open handed this time. Elbow strikes are also added into this form, after the bending ready stance and side kick (which we touched on earlier). The form also starts with some slow punches, which we do at about a 3 second count, with tension. We also replace the hooking blocks with knife hand blocks, and we do them at a 3 second count with tension as well. We also see the popular double punching after a front kick. Finally, we have what I like to call the "power back fist" towards the end of the form, where the student bursts forward into a cross leg stance and strikes. We kihap on this move. I have always liked this form, as it always felt really powerful for me. I also like the challenge that the turning to block in a bending ready stance, then side kick, then rechamber to land in the elbow strike. I like the power in this segment, and it forces the student concentrate on their core and balance while executing powerful techniques. When we do this form by count, we don't make the students hold the bending ready stance as a count; they go right into the kick. When we get to Choong Moo, we have them hold the stance as a count. Palgwe 6: 29 moves. What I notice is some front foot shifting from one stance to another. Not every move is done with an advance. This helps develop power in a different way, I think. I also see a knife hand high block/palm strike double move. I also see the "power back fist" in this form, and the familiar wedging style block, followed by back leg front kick, then double punch. I also see an interesting combination where there is a back leg front kick, followed by a high block, then a shift of stance before a back leg side kick. Taeguek 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcYNB-tJ3fc 31 moves. We see the palm blocks again, in retreat this time, along with general backing up in stances, too. At the beginning, we see an advance to a front stance, a back leg front kick, and then sat down behind into a different stance, the back stance, followed by an outside block. Also new appear to be the reverse hand blocks, in this case knife hand blocks, and we also see the round kick added into the form. Also of note is the slow, deliberate ready stance performed in what appears to be the middle of the form, in a tension movement. After the palm blocks is an immediate reverse punch, a good application.

Yes, that's the book. I have it as well, and really enjoyed it, but you are right about the photos. Really small and that makes it tough to discern things. You really have to read the fine print! I have seen that he has a DVD out now, which might prove to be a great supplement to the book. I'll try to expand, but its pretty much the way it sounds. When I teach, I try to emphasize keeping the back stance (or L stance) base in tact, and turning the hips as far forward facing as possible. I know it sounds odd, and it feels that way at first. We also do this with the three reverse punches in Hwa Rang from the back stances. Doing it this way, I feel that I can really generate power from him hips into the strike by turning them forward facing. The main problem I see is when teaching is the one you mention; its more natural for the back stance to have the body at a 45 degree angle, and striking at that angle. But, we end up with bodies at a 45, and the strike going to the front, and its really short. So, I spend time fixing this. I noticed this discrepancy when I first got General Choi's encyclopedia set, and when I saw the pictures and the descriptions, they really made a lot of sense to me. I hope that helps. Why we do it that way, I'm not sure. I'm guessing because of the power from the hip twist, which our GM is really big on.

Never heard of it, either. Looks like just another organization trying to get into the mix. Not sure how many more we need in TKD.

Things are going ok so far this season. Kendall had his second tournament this past weekend, and got first there. Kenneth, on the other hand, hasn't got started yet, as we've missed a few tournaments due to inclement weather. Hopefully, we've got past that, now. Practices are going pretty well. Kendall has been learning some new things, and a new coach with some great technical insight has been really doing some great drilling with the kids.

I loved watching "The Last Dragon" as a kid, and I occasionally watch it again. When I was young, my dad watched quite a few Chuck Norris movies, and I always enjoyed them.

Thanks for the wishes, and welcome back to Karate! Hope to see you around soon!

Welcome to KF!

I've not heard of the style, either. But, there are so many out there. Can you please fill us in a little more about it?

So very smooth. Thanks for that.

Agreed! Very cool with the fireworks in the background.

I have never heard of this style! And this is almost exactly what i'm thinking, except i'd prefer no equipment other than a mouth piece and cup. I'd also have sweeps like in shotokan and add leg kicks, though leg kicks would not score any points. Do you know anything about this style other than the rules? If you go with just a mouthpiece, you'll be looking at suffering multiple concussions, and then not competing for several months after the event.

Hey, finally something I recognize! We do a flow drill where we try to set a Kimura from the guard, and the other blocks the Kimura by sticking their hand to their thigh. From there, we posture up and do this hip bump sweep. But what you show here shows me where I can clean some stuff up. I like how you describe the position as not static, and I think that's a problem I've had in the past with it. I can't find anything to do from it, but just hold it. Now, I know I should start trying to move around a bit in it. Thanks, Alex!

Yeah, didn't enjoy the grip of your paws! At my first GRACIE course, one of the guys there was a BJJ brown belt, and I asked him if he crushed rocks with his hands before he got into his profession. He had a nasty grip, too.

He did. I'm just not sure when he did so. I don't think he got started with BJJ until the 1980s, but may have had his Judo black belt before then. Didn't Lee also do some training with Judo Gene LeBelle?

I think building strength is important. Muscle helps protect the body, so having some strength is important. Also, some explosive, anaerobic exercising would be good, too, which would allow you to explode in short bursts with attacks, and if those are powerful enough, it gives you a window to get away.

I can't even begin to imagine what its like to experience this, nor have I ever had to experience this in the class setting. Thanks for sharing this information with us.

Pretty cool. How are you liking it so far? What presents the greatest challenge? This is the year that I tested for 4th Dan. Absolutely brilliant, biggest challenge is to keep on top of all paperwork and ensure everyone has the right insurance, book, new belt, certs and info. If they are happy and training hard then I am winning. Hardest moment is to tell some they are not good enough to grade yet as I have set high standards. I am determined to be true to Karate, MA and tradition - at the same time I am also free to explore new (old) Bunkai and introduce anything I think is relevant to good Karate and self defence. Well done on your 4th Dan and to everyone who has posted their achievements, good luck for 2015! It sounds like its going well. Running a school is hard work, for sure. It sounds like you've got some good standards, too, and don't feel bad for not letting someone grade. After all, you are doing them the favor.

It sounds like things came out well. You kept yourself safe, and used what sounds like a proper amount of force. Now, the other question is, could the whole situation have been avoided to begin with?