bushido_man96

I side with the others and recommend seeing a doctor about this. I don't know if it could be some kind of exercise-induced asthma or something, but definitely look into it.

I'm not a Karate student, so I can't offer much in the way of advise. But, I did see nice hip movement in your hand techniques, which gives you good power. The only thing I thought was that it looked kind of like you were rushing through to finish it; you might experiment with different pacing on some of the combinations, but that's just a thought. Nicely done!

Nice rundown, especially with getting out of a bad position. And I like how you are always pressing about moving up the "positional ladder." Its just not enough to say, "don't get caught in this position," because its going to happen. Great stuff, Alex.

Man, that was quick! I'd love to work in that kind of coordination. I'd like to see it broken down a bit more, then I could try to drill it.

Nice. I've seen some concepts like that before, using that point on the arm. I don't recall the name of that pressure point, but it can be useful at times. Its such a small point to hit, though.

I think that it just depends on each person. True, most people are right handed, and when they design drills, this will play a roll in it. But, I don't think this necessarily means the left-handed are at a disadvantage in performing. Where something might need tweaked, though, is where the right hander drills with a right hander, and then moves into drill with a lefty. Its important, I feel, to let the lefty drill on his comfortable side, so it would be important for the drill designer to have a lefty handy to work his drill, and see what things would work differently for them. I think where the lefty is caught in a disadvantage is when they have a right handed instructor whose only solution to answer all lefty questions is to say "just mirror it" or "do it the same on the opposite side," when the solution isn't always that simple. A good instructor should be able to work and explore more with the lefty experience, so that when the challenges arise, they are better prepared to work with it.

You're welcome. Again, I thank you all for this wonderful gift!

Congrats, cathal!

I think I was the only person here with two underscores in the username....

Welcome to KF!

3/25/2015 Defensive Tactics Club: 1:30 - 3:00 pm. Put full pads on and did a bit of sparring. Working head punches and kicks. 3/26/2015 Defensive Tactics Club Special!: 12:00 - 3:00 pm. The defensive tactics club had a TACP Air Force crew come in to talk with the students, and one of their guys was a gentleman named Dean Johnston, who is their combative's instructor. He Wrestled since he was 7, did some TKD in my association with my instructor years ago, and also has some pro fighting experience, and he was a great guy to work with. In the first session, he covered some ground fundamentals, working on passing guard, and then switching and working on keeping the other in the guard. After working these, we had to compete with each other, trying to pass guard or retain guard. In between sessions, he put on some Thai pads, and I got my first taste of Thai pad working, which was a lot of fun. He worked leg kicks on me, too, which was different, and something I will work more on defending. Here's a video of part of it that one of the club members took: In the second session, we worked on the standing clinch and weapon retention. We worked to double underhooks and pushed the bad guy away, then drew the weapon. He also showed us a gun disarm with the pistol held to the head with the hands up. It was a good disarm, and although it was different than some I've done in the Krav Maga system, it was still a good technique, and followed the same principles. He also showed a standing Kimura for retention in the holster that finished with a takedown and control. It was a great training session. Its always fun to learn from someone with experiences like that.

Yikes, this is becoming a pattern....but funny!

I'm just guessing, but I'd bet its because its that rank where you are transitioning from being a beginner student to an intermediate student, where more will be expected from you, and the visible improvements you make will start to become less and less. When students don't see as much improvement as they had before, it can make things tougher on them, and some don't accept the challenge very well.

Nice, short and sweet, and to the point. I like it for use on those quick combos. Thanks for posting it.

I would echo Danielle's post here for the style of TKD I do. We don't allow head punching, but head kicking is allowed in our sparring, so we do high kicking in sparring. In self-defense, however, the role of kicking changes a bit. Many times, we will deliver a kick that is lower level after securing an arm or wrist in some sort of lock. Or, the lock or restraint could cause the attacker to bend over, making a lower level head kick possible to end a confrontation.

Those are some big numbers! The numbers on the kids were quite revealing, as well.

Fantastic! Loved the Darth Vader/Emperor touches at the end.

Thank you, Bob! I probably won't sharpen it, with the boys running around and all. But I will enjoy it immensely! An understandable point about the boys. CAN the sword be sharpened, I wonder? Look forward to see its resting place of honor, and hopefully, you'll post the pic!! I will, Bob.Here is a picture that should work: http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/bushido_man96-sword.jpg

Practice getting to the chamber position, and then pivot the foot and the hips at the same time, then go back to the chamber position and neutral foot position. The back leg side kick is a "long" kick, and is not one usually used on its own as an offensive kick. Its better in a combination of moves. Perhaps use a reverse punch from a front stance as a set up move to help you get into the side kick position. Perhaps you could post us a video of your kick, and we could provide some better feedback to you?

Thank you, Bob. We finished up the State folk style tournament this past weekend, March 28 and 29. Kendall went 2-2, and his 2nd loss was in the match that would have sent him to the medal rounds. He won two matches by pins, and lost his first match to the national qualifier that has been popping up this season. Kendall lost 4-0 to that kid, if I remember right, and that kid went on to win the state championship. His last loss, he lost 3-4, and really could have won that match. He was getting ready to turn the kid and would have been able to rack up the back points needed to get the win, but the ref stopped him and was going to penalize him for an illegal move. But the coach went out and contested it for him, and after another ref was brought in to interpret the rule, the coach was right, but the damage had been done. The ref had stopped him from completing the move, and Kendall was turning him at the time. After they were reset, the kid was on bottom, and he turtled up and stalled for the rest of the period, but the ref didn't call any stalling. So, he could have won that match. Now, for the follow-up from the week before. After both of his losses, even after the last loss that the ref had a hand in, Kendall came of the mat like a little man. He was upset, but he held himself in check until he was off the mat, and then I met him when he came back to our seats. I embraced him, and I told him how proud I was of him, throughout the whole tournament. We cried together, and talked about it, and we got all the emotions out. In the end, Kendall had a fantastic season, and he wants to keep learning and improving. We plan to hit the gym in the offseason, and he is all in on going to the Freestyle/Greco club, so that will start up soon, as well. So, onward and upward. I'm so glad to be on this ride with my boys.

Have not heard of it, but it might be worth a look. Many times, hearing that its someone's own style sends up red flags, but its not always a bad thing. They may have some solid experiences that they have built the system on, and could be worth a look. Let us know if you check it out!

Thank you, Bob! I probably won't sharpen it, with the boys running around and all. But I will enjoy it immensely!

Thank you, cathal, that means a lot!

Hello, all! Sorry, I've been busy with work, and we spent the last weekend in Topeka with state wrestling, and I ended up sick on Sunday to boot, so I've been off-line a while. I wanted to jump in here though, as a forum thank-you is well overdue. I was very, very surprised when I saw this package on my doorstep. At first, I actually thought it was something our daughter had ordered and had delivered to our house! But when I pulled it inside and started opening it, with the help of the boys, of course, I was just kind of dumbfounded, trying to figure out what it was. I got it opened, and I was shocked to find a very beautiful longsword with what looks like kind of a Templar theme on it. The only way I knew where it came from was with a simple paper printed with a knight on it, stating, "From Your Friends at KarateForums.com." I just could not believe it, and I totally did not know what to think! I posted a pic of it on Facebook after I got it opened, and then the replies coming into my Facebook feed started answering my questions. Here is the picture from my Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155354908745585&set=a.10150735836615585.710966.707435584&type=1&theater When the responses started rolling in on the Facebook feed, I viewed the link to this thread, and also the video of Patrick, sensei8, wastelander, and tallgeese on it. All I can say is that I was and still am truly touched by the kind words in that video, and how truly lucky I am to have met the friends that I have at this forum. I feel like this forum has given me so much in my life and Martial Arts journey, with the people I have had the privilege to converse with and even meet with over the course of my time here. I can begin to thank you all enough for the support and this wonderful gift you've given me. I've rambled on now, so I'll close this post with a simple, Thank, you, to all of KarateForums.com. You all mean so much to me.

At the school my son and I attend, we start off with three basic (kibon) forms before we study the Taegeuk forms -- and these basic forms primarily use front stances. I remember when I first started learning the Taegeuk forms, I felt the same way as you do. After a while though, I came to really enjoy the short walking stances. Specifically, I came to enjoy the transitions from the walking stances to long stances, especially in Taegeuk 2. One thing I do like about the transition from the walking stance to a technique in a front stance, like from moves 1 to 2 in Taegeuk 2, is the power I can build in the punch driving from walking stance into front stance to punch. That is one place where I see some nice use in the transition. But when I transition from walking stance to walking stance, like in moves 1 and 2 in Taegeuk 1, it doesn't feel as nice, and I feel like I am choking my power potential. But, I also know that in self-defense, one won't always have that kind of room to work with, so moving from short stance to short stance and retaining power is an important concept to develop. Reference the bold, I agree completely. Thank you, I appreciate the compliment. One of the more satisfying things for me in forms practice is learning the body control with the techniques.