bushido_man96

I had done some in the past, but I'm not a big fan of it. It is nice for some variety, and if you only have limited time to workout, its a nice package put together.

Especially if MMA does make it into the Olympics eventually.That just might happen because the UFC's a major brand, and it's had it's 15 minutes of fame, so to speak. The IOC is watching MMA; I'm sure of that. Oh, yes, I'm sure they are watching. And if the IOC likes ratings, and they see the ratings of the UFC and other MMA events, then I think they will eventually see the possibilities in the ratings for Olympic MMA.

True; but also true for all kicks, even a simple roundhouse. He is not practicing these kicks for their combat effectiveness. They are to test his athletic ability. This guy can already kick well (as shown by his many other videos) so why not try to push the boundaries and train to do something most people can't? I agree. That has always been one of the challenges I've enjoyed in my years in TKD; the physical challenge of performing the kicks.

Go check it out and see how they run things. Give it a few months, and see how you like it. You can always move on if you don't like what they have to offer.

I enjoy Hapkido, and have trained in the Combat Hapkido system. I really enjoyed it, and hope to continue my training through it soon.

I agree. Learning to close and make space when needed to work to the goal takes time and practice. Good drilling is hard to replace. That is something that forms training can't really give us. We can try guage the space required for a certain technique by looking at how we do it in the form; i.e., we can see that an angle punch in Yoo Sin is tighter to the body than a front stance lunge punch, leading us to believe that the angle punch technique is one performed when closing with an opponent. But, without having someone there to work on this with, doing it alone won't teach us much.So, the big factor in learning how to close and open space when necessary is through realistic training drills involving at least one partner, if not more. Sparring can be a great tool for training it, but its important to keep the context of the type of sparring each of us does in mind, and how it would relate in regards to actual self-defense.

I guess the question is, what is the "core?" If the core is physical, then I'd say yes, because there are only certain ways the body can move and bend. Its different when you start talking about philosophies and ideals.

How so? Fighting has been around a long, long time, and not just in the East. This is not the case. Traditional styles shape traditional styles, not all styles. Boxing and Wrestling were not shaped by any traditional styles.

I think what it has lead to is the fact that the full resistance that is achievable through grappling practice is of increased value in training, providing skill improvement under pressure. I don't think it leads to the view that it always wins. But, there is something to be said about the effectiveness of the training method. What's wrong with continuing to seek rank after a sensei has passed, though? I think we can all agree that the farther we get into our Martial careers, the more important self-evaluation becomes. I think most of us also agree that the higher dan ranks have more to do with things done to perpetuate the Martial Arts (not just the one or two we study) and teaching, and are not soley based on physical testing requirements. So, why is it so wrong that if someone after some careful self-evaluation, determines that they have perhaps surpassed their previous rank, and decide to bump themselves up? Now, I'm not saying that everyone takes these steps to do this with themselves. Some feel a need to do so in order to appear like the high ranking head of a new organization, or because they part ways with a different organization and try to prove a point. My point is, there are varying reasons and approaches to take when it comes to high ranks, and how to achieve them. And they all appear selfish because no one is promoting them, and they are promoting themselves, or seeking a group of peers that acknowledge their self-promotion in an attempt to justify it to the masses that, by and large, won't be accepting of it anyway. It will be an endless debate.

Welcome to KF!

By all accounts, they should have, too. But, that's why the play the games, right? So, who do you have for Championship Weekend? I think the Seahawks and the Patriots.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing!

You need to not be concerned with winning. You need to concern yourself with escaping and surviving. They are not the same thing. That is what I would have you focus on.

1/16/2014 TKD class: 7 - 8 pm. Basics, Yoo Sin for forms, then I got to begin work on my new form, Choong Jang. Finished with a few bouts of sparring, and then some stretching.

Good advice here. A piece of advice I would offer is that as you progress in your lifting, I think you might do your body better in recovery by attending classes on the same days you do your lifting. That way, your off days from lifting are off days from other activites, and you get your full recovery in.

Ouch! I agree with the others to get it checked out. You could check it by holding the finger out straight, and then tapping the fingertip with the palm with the finger straight. My mom told me when I was a kid that if I didn't pee my pants after that, then it probably wasnt broken. But, to be safe, get it looked at.

I wish you recovery here. My wife has been dealing with some rheumatoid arthritis, and it can be painful. She has made some changes in her diet, stays away from certain things, and has been feeling better lately. I hope it goes well for you, and you are able to keep training.

That would be cool. The obstacle to that is finding which part to make safer and which rules to impose or restrict from the regular UFC.Actually, I think it would be safer than Olympic Boxing is now. They don't take as many blows to the head with all the gear that it is believed to help make the sport safer, when in fact, they just encourage more slugging to the head. Of course, not many will actually view it that way, or take the time to research it properly to see which is safer. I think that by and large, the IOC would probably view it as too barbaric as is to allow it into the Olympics.

Mystery solved!

I agree, that's exactly what I saw in those kicks. Such great body control. I'd love to see some attempts at breaking.

I do like his kicking method. It worked out really well for him, and I think disguising the kicks with the chamber like he does has a lot of merit. Not a bad method to emulate, but it shouldn't be the only one, either.

Have a "TKD father" as such makes sense to me, having an instructor that you default towards, and I imagine that most of us do have such an instructor. But again, I say knowledge base is going to be something that has to be considered when you need to fall back on someone for advise. I use the grappling knowledge again as an example. Or, lets say strategy in use of Defensive Tactics. It all will depend on the instructor's knowledge base as to how much you can fall back on them. In this day and age of cross training, I do think that most of us probably have that one instructor that is out of our base or favorite style that we tend to refer to more often than most, and then the others fall in second or third, or whatever. Its good to have that solid foundation you can fall back on.

I've just finished with Tang Soo do after reaching my goal of 1st Dan. Looking to do something a bit different and so for now have chosen BJJ. You are right when you say it is humbling rolling with those guys!!! Even the second belt takes like 2 years (Blue) and I'm amazed at the skill level and how they can wrap me up so easily. Then again I have no grappling skills at the moment. None of the guys I trained with, even 5th or 6th dans, would ever win against these blue belts as they are completely different. They also spend their time grappling and can't progress unless they have proved their skills. Whereas a lot of our time was spent doing forms etc. Although that is true and a very good point, I'd also imagine a blue belt wouldn't be able to strike very well or beat a 5th or 6th dan in a punching and kicking contest. I agree, its all relative. Its only natural that the guys who spend their time ground fighting will excel there, especially against someone who has no grappling experience at all.

Its not so much a Martial tradition as it would probably be more of a cultural tradition. I'm guessing Chinese, and am assuming Kung Fu or the like, since you use the word sifu. Check into Chinese customs to see what would be proper.

Nice. I wish I could have had something like that, instead of really consisting of one full hour+ class and then a testing the next day. But, it was worth it, and I had fun for the most part.