bushido_man96

When you do your forms, is there a method that is preferred? In all of our forms, the round kicks are done with the toes pulled back, ball of the foot used as the striking tool. Same in one-steps. But when we spar, its pretty much our choice. Is there a right or wrong considered for your forms? Edit here: scratch that last thought; I just read your last post. I guess I'm just used to the idea of round kicks being in forms.

Thank you, Bob!

Looks like this was a fun one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv4OaByw2bU

Pretty cool achievement: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/440159/Rousey-makes-Times-30-Under-30-list/

I'd try to step in and stop it, but that's kind of my job, too. Its tough for us to know exactly what the people who saw this going on were thinking; if they viewed it as serious or not. However, I do think the video drives home a point. Our society is more likely to watch than to stand up and act. As the saying goes, evil thrives when good men do nothing to stop it.

I'm not familiar with anything like that, but I hope you get better soon.

Here's an article citing 10 reasons why kids should get into Wrestling: http://fortiuswrestling.com/10-reasons-why-kids-should-wrestle/ I have to agree. Its a great sport for kids, and is a great Martial Art for them, as well.

Well, I agree with you guys on the price, for sure. I hope I can catch the results sometime. Either way, perhaps it will be a notice to MMA fighters that think they have good Boxing skills. Or, perhaps Jones will surprise us and hold his own rather well. We shall see, that's for sure.

I didn't get through all the article, but he had some very good points and input into his thoughts on blocking, and how gloved fighting styles affect one's ablility to use traditional blocking methods. Thanks for posting that for us. Very informative.

Here is a short article I found rather interesting in regards to the words we use in describing what we do, sometimes out of context, and how we view what we would like to train in, and how it differs in what we probably should spend our time training, especially when it comes to hand guns: http://www.gunnuts.net/2013/05/16/you-are-not-an-operator/ Thoughts?

""If you're going to be a martial artist, don't criticize, learn." -- Gene LeBell Those are good words to practice and live by in the MAs. Rusty, those are good points. We should take advantage of these opportunities, while we still can.

Well, if you are getting attacked low, then you need to defend low. Both hands aren't going down at the same time, from what I could tell. One was still up. And once you block, you bring it back. I think it would probably work ok. But if you fight an experienced fighter, then they will have an idea of how to set up certain things to work around some of your defenses. Just keep training!

Cool, thanks for elaborating on the finger movements. I also appreciate you taking the time to put up your videos. They are very informative.

I really liked that video. You make it look so simple, so easy. Thank you for sharing this.

That sounds great. I'd love to see more. Thanks for taking the time to make and share these videos with us.

Good idea. I will make a follow up video on it. Cool! I look forward to seeing it!

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!