bushido_man96

I agree wholeheartedly with you here. We must empty our cups from time to time to look at new and different ideas and ways of doing things. Otherwise, we stagnate, and that is never a good thing.

Some people do have a tough time getting those toes back. That's why when I do board breaking, I make sure to angle myself to the boards a bit, that way when I make contact, its the ball of the foot, and not the toes, making first contact.

Mine came back as 50% linguistic, with the rest being in the 30 or 20 percents.

In Gen. Choi's Encyclopedia, he talks about a round kick with the ball of the foot being used from the opponent's "flank." I think this is due to the way the ball of the foot is exposed when the toes are pulled back. By flank, I think he means being at an angle to the attacker, so that the ball of the foot contacts, and the toes do not. Just a thought.

Great post here. Not much to add, really. I do think the various targets and how high the kick is going also lend to the determination of the orientation of the kicking foot. Higher kicks tend to be easier to pull off by kicking with the top of the foot, with the reach advantage. A shin kick to the head can work, but I think its tougher to pull off. I like to use my shins when I kick low, into the legs. A ball of the foot kick can work well in a classroom setting with bare feet, but with footware on, its a different monster altogether. But, if you have steel-toed boots on, orientation like a ball of foot kick provides a nice weapon that can be used to the body, or head, if you can get it there.

It would be nice if it worked like this all the time, but it doesn't always. Sometimes, the parents will come and ask, as is their right, when things concern their children. If a parent would have questions for me, I wouldn't have a problem with answering them. After all, if their children are in the class, then the parent really is the consumer. So, its important that they be informed if and when they ask. I won't allow them to sway my decision, but I wouldn't have an issue with explaining my decisions with them.

Sounds like a great weekend, Alex. Just awesome. I look forward to the video. 12/6/2013 TKD Pre-Test: 6:30 - 7:45 pm. Started with basic punching exercises, and then did our "black belt basics," Do-Kangs 1-4, which are terribly draining for me. Then we did forms, starting with Jung Gun, then up through our own rank. So for me, it was Jung Gun, Toi Gye, Hwa Rang, Choong Moo, Kwang Gae, Poe Eun, Gae Baek, Se Jong, and Yoo Sin hyungs. We had a short break between each form, because the class splits in half to allow enough room to perform without having to adjust positions. Next was one-steps, which we did only briefly, and I got through white and most of orange belt. Since I was testing, I got asked to do Do-Kangs 3 and 4 again, and Yoo Sin again. Last was a round of sparring without pads, for which I was gassed out. My wife and I went to eat, I drank 3 gallons of water, showered, stretched, and slept. 12/7/2013 TKD Testing: 10:30 am - 1:00 pm. Did forms Se Jong and Yoo Sin, all one-steps, 30 total, not counting the fact that some basically consist of doing the same one-step twice, mirroring them on both sides of the body. After a short break, I sparred a match, then went on to board breaks. Breaking went well, except for the spin heel kick, which really made my heels feel wonderful afterwards.

Yes!! Unless they've got something to hide! However, keep them roped off so that they DO NOT DISTURB the testing cycle in any shape, way, and/or form. I agree here. We allow anyone to watch our testings. Usually, its just the parents or family that shows up, but I think having it open to the public is great for advertising the school. Let the public see what we do, and let them decide if they want it to be something they would like to do.

Thank you, everyone, for all the luck and well-wishes. It fealt good to have so much support in mind when I was performing! Testing actually consists of two days, one night which is a pre-test, and then testing the following day. I also had to write an essay, which I had to read aloud on the day of testing. That will appear as an article here on KF in the future. On Friday night, we had class from 6:30 - 7:45 pm. This class consisted of a warmup of Do-Kangs 1-4, which are referred to as our "black belt basics," which are required to do prior to testing. Next were forms, doing Jung Gun, Toi Gye, Hwa Rang, Choong Moo, Kwang Gae, Poe Eun, Gae Baek, Se Jong, and Yoo Sin for me. Next, we did one-steps, but we only did them for a short while, and I got almost through the orange belt ones. After one-steps, Grandmaster Yi asked to see hands for who was testing, and I raised mine, along with 4 or 5 other black belts that would be testing. So, I had to Do-Kangs 3 and 4 again, followed by Yoo Sin, again. Then came one bout of sparring, and class was over. There were a few comments on some of the forms that I made sure to take heed, as I think he was referring to me....so I noted it for testing the next day. On Saturday morning, starting at 10:30 am, was testing. I did Se Jong and Yoo Sin for forms, then all the one-steps, straight through. I was pretty tired after that, and my the muscles in my upper legs and hips were burning. Next came a bout of sparring, which I did with a 4th dan, and then board breaks. Board breaks consisted of a back leg round kick, and jumping front snap kick, a spin heel kick, and a flying side kick over 3 kids bent over. All the breaks went great, except for the spin heel kick, which I just had trouble with for some reason. I felt like I was kicking hard, and my heels sure did feel like it, too. But I bounced several times, until I finally got it on my 4th attempt. I was really frustrated with myself for this, and I kicked a guys finger while he was holding the boards, which really made me feel crappy. Other than that, I thought the testing went well, and I fealt really good about my performance, other than that bad break. I do have a few videos my wife took at the testing: Here was my sparring match. Not too much to write home about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD7WSCcX3SE Here are three of the board breaks, even the one I botched terribly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wYR-mMZxU8 My wife forgot to video the flying side kick, but I got that one on the first try. Thanks again for all the support; you guys are the best! I will keep you all posted as to the results. I should find out towards the middle of this week. All my preliminary inquiries lead me to believe I did pass, but will confirm soon!

Good luck!

Congrats to all of your students! Your nervousness for you students shows your concern and passion for their learning. I think thats great. Keep up the good work!

Way to go! It should feel good, so enjoy it!

Sounds like a fantastic class. Was it an instructor course by chance? Please, let me know where you find these trainings, so I can get more material for DT for our department.

12/2/2013 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Basics, with extra stretching kicks and front snap kicks, forms, which I just did my form, but did some stretching while others were practicing forms. One-steps, and then sparring. Sparring felt a bit off. I felt like I really couldn't get any movement going. 12/3/2013 Defensive Tactics class: 10:30 - 11:30 am. Helped the students review for their final. Went over the wrist grabs, choke defenses, and some positions on the ground, and discussed a bit of concepts to consider for fighting multiple attackers. 12/5/2013 Defensive Tactics class: 10:30 - 11:30 am. Final. The students were taken to a gym where they had to run 2 suicides, and then brought into the mat room where they were attacked by one or two guys in red man/Blauer suits, and they had to strike effectively to get away. Then, they were put into bad positions on the ground, full mount or side control, and they had to reverse, strike, and get off and away. It went well, and it was fun! The students all did a great job, too.

Very nice. Thank you for sharing. I notice the way you blocked to the bicep. The way we learned to block in the GRACIE course was to block at the biceps like that, and then hook to control. Very good block, and gives you good control. I liked your description of waist power or waist energy, too.

Nice concepts there. I like the analogy of the spring. I'd like to see some more on how you apply it, too. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thank you! I'll give an update as soon as I can.

Good points here. Effectiveness and the ability to execute become better as we apply them through our experiences. Therefore, the more experience we have, the more effective our execution can become.

I think everything has its limits. We as people, and any activities that we partake in. There are lots of different activities that we do as people throughout our days in order to complete our lives as we go along. As much as we enjoy the martial arts, they are limited, and therefore, we have to fill our lives with other activities, as well.

I hear that a lot as well. Mostly it's a lot of enthusiasts who just love that period of time. You see a lot of scholars and people who just like to swing faux swords at each other (for good reason, it's a lot of fun). You have a a handful of EMA people and fewer WMA but from all reports it's a great time. It is fun. A group of guys around here and I used to do it weekly. Lots of bumps and bruises to end up talking about, but it was a great time. I don't have any practice experience in WMA, but it is a point of interest of mine, and I've done a lot of reading on the subject. The Association of Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) has a nice website that has information on searching out or creating study groups. It seems to be more available in larger metropolitan areas, though. Please, keep us posted as you progress through your WMA practice!

I agree. There are those who learn better visually, and those who learn better by being read to and then answering questions, and I'm sure there are a lot of layers in between. I think part of being an instructor is being able to learn to read yours students, and figuring out how they best learn, and adapting your curriculum to them so that they can learn. That said, with so many styles of learning, its important to be exposed to so many styles of teaching, which can be difficult. If you take the flip side of the coin here, that people can learn in different ways, and have trouble adjusting to different modalities of learning, then teachers that teach a certain way may have trouble adjusting their teaching style to accomodate certain students. This isn't a bad thing, and it shouldn't be viewed as a "its better or worse" thing. Its different. And the exposure to different ideas and ways of doing things is how we learn what our preferences are and how we choose to approach things. Great share, Alex. Thank you.

I have never had the opportunity to do Yoga, but it sounds like its great for flexibility. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to retain my flexibility. Perhaps it would be something to look into.

I think "a-ha!" moments continue as we continue our journey, but the more we learn, I think it becomes less and less often that we experience these moments. And when we do experience them, I think they tend to be more subtle than they were when we were knew and young and fresh to the Martial Arts. I think early on, they are "a-ha!" moments. They are very striking to us, and we really see the difference between what we did and what we now do. As we move up in the number of years and experiences we have in the Martial Arts, they become less like "a-ha!" excitement, and more like "aah," or "oh, yeah..." moments. This doesn't take away from the importance of these moments, either. Far from it. I think that the higher our skill levels become, then the finer and finer the improvements are. Our knowledge and experience also bring us more into control of ourselves, and our reactions to these moments.

I'm going to our Traditional Taekwondo Association headquarter school in Topeka, KS, this weekend to test for my 4th dan. I have a pre-test black belt class on Friday evening, and then testing on Saturday morning. I haven't tested since 2007 in TKD, so its been a while. Wish me luck!

Gene LeBell is a legend in the Martial Arts community, and has been involved with mixed style competition long before it was popularized by the UFC. It would be amazing to sit and listen to this man tell his stories: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/440075/Gene-LeBell-reflects-on-50-years-of-mixed-rules-fighting/