bushido_man96

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?

This is a fantastic article, and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you!

Congrats, stonecrusher!

I shall have to look this up. I've always enjoyed watching Machida fight.

Harkon makes some good points, but if I were you, I'd give each a try, and see how they treat you. You might find one to work better than the other. With BJJ, you have more positional options to go with. Being on your back might cause issues, but working from mount might be ok. You might also be limited in how much actual rolling or randori you could do in either style. I will say this: figure out what you can and can't do, and then which ever route you go with, listen to your body and adjust your training to fit what you can do. A good instructor should be able to work with in this aspect.

12/20/2014 Football Workout: Kendall and I watched the San Francisco 49ers play the San Diego Chargers, and did some reps along with each score, after PATs were completed. We did push-ups, then crunches, then squats. So it looked like this: SF-7: 7 push-ups, 7 crunches, 7 squats SF-14: 14 push-ups, 7 crunches, 7 squats SF-21: 21 push-ups, 21 crunches, 21 squats (San Diego's lack of defense was killing us by this point...) SD-7: 7 push-ups, 7 crunches, 7 squats SF-28: 28 push-ups, 28 crunches, 28 squats Half-time score was 28-7, and we stopped there, as we were both getting a little jelly-muscled. That comes out to 77 of each. Then I sat and stretched. With the bowl season coming up, I think we will try to do this some more, too.

Sound advice, I often advise not to worry about height, better to deliver a good technically strong low kick. If you try high kicks against someone fast then you will soon be on your backside. A lot of the best applications of Kata involve kicking low or disrupting an opponents leg/knee. Also the end position of a kick can often be just that - the end position - it hit the intended target on it's way to being head height. A lot of people misinterpret Kata Bunkai by looking at the end position. This is a good thought. The kick could be a head kick, after you've dropped the opponent to his knees....