bushido_man96

Other than some marked clothing, I don't usually pick up on it. I hear that some people can see it in others, but I don't always pick up on it.

Early on in my career, I found that it was something I wanted to do for the long haul. So far, so good!

9/17/2014 DT Club: 1:00 - 3:00 pm. After a warmup of shrimping, pummeling, and some punch defense drills, we worked on a continuation of the punch block defenses, where a bad guy grabs the leg the good guy is trying to kick and defend with, swings it out, and the bad guy crashes into side mount. Bottom guy drills getting back to guard from under the side mount position. From there, we worked the elevator sweep to an eye-peck from mount (part of the women's self-defense aspect) to standing and retreating. After that, we worked armbar from mount, and the Americana some. Focused on making sure the guy on bottom had good hip position. We had open rolling towards the end, and I rolled with an NCAA Wrestler twice. Guy smoked me; I tapped to a triangle choke as I was trying to pass his guard (any help here would be appreciated), and once to an armbar. I started each time in his guard. But it was fun! TKD Kicking Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. All kicking on the TKD Powerline today. Front leg round kick, mid section: 20 (10 each leg) Back leg round kick, mid section: 20 Front leg skipping round kick, mid section: 20 Back leg side-step round kick, mid section: 20 Front leg round kick, hi section: 20 Back leg round kick, hi section: 20 Front leg skipping round kick, hi section: 20 Front leg side kick: 20 Back leg side kick: 20 Step spin side kick: 20 Switch-away spin side kick: 20 Repeating jump spin side kicks: 20 Front leg repeat round kicks: 40 (20 each leg) Back leg repeat round kicks: 40 Front leg skipping repeat round kicks: 40 Front leg double "Olympic" round kicks, mid section: 40 Total of 380 kicks. Stretch.

I think that if you are looking to do something similar to Kyokushin, then Shotokan would be right up your alley. The contact levels won't be the same, but much of the technique and forms should be similar. But, be sure to check out all your options before making a decision.

If you are truly concerned about how your instructor feels about this, then talk to him about it, first. Tell him that you just want to get together with others and learn, and that's your plan. See what he says. Seeing as you are basically just doing an open sparring session, it likely won't be a big deal.

I agree with yamesu. I think you probably be just fine. Keep up with your solo practice of your Shorin Ryu, and you should be fine. It sounds like you have a plan, which is the most important thing.

Just wondering what others think of this. I actually see some validity in it...if one is training at school X where a technique is done a certain way and at school Y where it is done differently, then the student needs to adapt the technique to each school. This is why I think that training at more than one school in the same style would be confusing...but if someone can handle it and wants to train at more than one school then I don't see a problem with it. I have some questions about how this would work. Are you referring to the way a technique might be done, like a round kick? If doing forms, then I can understand an instructor wanting to see the techniques done the way he taught them. But for sparring, I say adaptation is king, and if the way you do a round kick is different, but works better for you in sparring, and still falls into the rule set, then by all means, go with it. Can you elaborate a bit more on this, or am I hitting the nail on the head here?

Reference the bold type in your statement above, I disagree here. That exact reason is a good reason to seek instruction under a different teacher. Perhaps you have a teacher that excels in teaching the technical aspect of the style. This is a great thing, and you will develop good technique from it, which will go a long way in serving you. But what if there is another instructor in the same style who excels in teaching the self-defense aspect of the Martial Arts? Then wouldn't it be worth taking some classes from that individual if you are seeking solid self-defense?

Yes, Bob, I do recall. Some of our one-steps cover these kinds of movements, and we try to focus on this kind of movement in DT so that we can get to a more advantageous position to detain someone. In grappling, we have to be very careful about when we make space, so that it doesn't get taken advantage of.Very good discussion, and a nice article!

9/8/2014 DT Club: 1:30 - 3:00 pm. Worked on self-defense curriculum, then went into some grappling work. The coach showed us a far-side armbar from side mount. Very different for me. It will take some time to get that one down. We also worked on some armbars from the guard. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Taught class tonight, focusing on the basics, forms, one-steps, and sparring. 9/15/2014 DT Club: 1:30 - 3:00 pm. Warmed up, then went into the 4 punch block defenses, starting from the closed guard, then to open guard, then with the feet on the hips. Towards the end of the session, some of the students wanted to do some open rolling, so there were several matches that took place. Good session. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Taught. Testing is coming around the corner, so we did basics, forms, some forms review, and one-steps.

Thanks for sharing this video, tallgeese. Very nice, and very detailed. I can see these videos helping my grappling out in the future.

I noticed this as I finished reading your drills, and I agree with you completely. When I train with in DT sessions, I always teach not to go backwards. Too much bad can happen. Very good article, Bob, I enjoyed reading it. I like the details on the use of space. In DT club, we tell the students that there are two things we do with space; we make it, or we take it away. I see the same with your words here. Excellent stuff, Bob!

+1 Recent change from one style to another has taught me that... Honestly, and this is my personal opinion, I think its one of the best reasons to make a switch to another style, or to add another style to one's training schedule. Nothing was quite so refreshing for me as getting into an Aikido class where I was just a student, getting to be the one asking the questions instead of being asked an answering them. It was really nice to get back to being more of a student and less of a teacher for a time.

Thanks, Heidi.

I think this is the main concept that should be taken away with pressure point training. Not all will work on everyone, so make sure they are solid, effective strikes/contacts when you do them, so as not to rely on the response of the point itself.

Thank you for sharing this with us, Heidi. I imagine that many Marital Artists find themselves in this situation during their journeys, and grapple with the choices at hand. I commend you for sharing this integral part of your journey with us! Thank you!

9/3/2014 Defensive Tactics Club: 1:00 - 3:00 pm. Worked on self-defense stuff after warmup; wrist escapes, self-defense, etc. After the class was over, one of the college Wrestlers worked with me on some Greco throws; belly-to-back suplex, belly-to-belly suplex, and an armspin. Good times! TKD Kicking Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Lots of kicking, heavy bag and paddles. We did sets of back leg round kicks middle, then high, front leg round kicks middle and high, front leg and back leg side kicks, sliding away front leg side kicks, spin side kicks, and jump spin side kicks. We also did some continuous kicking (repeat kicking), back leg repeat round kicks, front leg repeat round kicks, spin side kick repeat round kick. On the paddles, we did front leg ax kicks, back leg ax kicks, switch foot ax kicks, and front leg crossover ax kicks. Had a good stretch after class.

I have the same question as Archimoto. I also wonder at what your goal is?Its tough to make the comparisons that you are wanting to make here. Are you trying to make a weight class in order to compete? If that's the case, then look into the competitors of the different classes and see what they are, if that is your plan. Just keep in mind that the heavier weight classes are going to have bigger and stronger competitors in them.

All good posts here. It will be a challenge, but you should be able to pace yourself as you go, and see improvement as you come along. I think the best thing for you to do is take the dive and get started in it. It just might change your life.

Sorry for the delay here; I've been busy lately. The Olympic style of sparring is geared for 3, 3 minute rounds, and although there isn't a lot of punching that goes on, the contact is a higher level, and usually "body displacement" is required for a technique to score a point. Points are still scored, but you can win by knockout, as well. It is a kick/counterkick type of sparring, with lots of footwork as well. Hopefully, that helps.

A very good article, Devin. Your use of the flight plan metaphor is fantastic, and you really lay out the hows and whys of setting goals and objectives. A great article for Martial Artists to read several times throughtout their careers. Well done!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Alex. So much of what I have done and read here at KF has gone into it, especially all the great and talented members I have met here.

Thank you so much, Bob! That really means a lot to me. It was so much fun to train together, and I really hope to be able to do it again soon. The time passes so fast, and we always stay so busy! Where does the time go?Bob, training with you was quite an honor and a great experience, and I learned so much in our short time together. You are an excellent MAists through and through, and its a blessing to me to be able to learn from someone with so much experience.

There are many aspects to each style. TKD is no different. There are many great kickers out there, and there are different styles of sparring for different styles of TKD. Right now, I do more of an Olympic style of sparring, but I do punch quite a bit, because I enjoy being in close and punching. In the Olympics, however, most of those competitors know that the scoring comes with the legs, and that is what they focus on. I think the biggest part of it is the hogu, the large chest protectors that are worn. There is really no point in punching it; it absorbs too much, and you don't get the body displacement that judges like to see in scoring points. Now, that is only the sparring side of it. Not all styles are going to spar like an MMA match would be. If that was the case, then all we would have around is MMA, which might get dull after a while. Danielle, thanks for sharing this article on the hand techniques of Taekwon-do. Its a very good synopsis, and TKD really has many more hand techniques than it does kicking techniques, in my opinion.

Thank you for the kind words. The ATA has a bit of a different testing cycle and curriculum than many other styles, so earning the black belt rank that soon isn't as uncommon in the ATA at it is in other styles. Looking back, it probably should have taken me longer, and I probably would have benefited quite a bit from it if it would have. I can relate with you being a white belt multiple times over. It is kind of a refreshing feeling, in a way, and I gained much from the experience.