bushido_man96

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.

There are two parts to that instinct: fight or flight. Many won't fight until they can't fly anymore. I'm not saying it can't be learned, but, by and large, there are a lot of people who just aren't predisposed to committing violence on another.

I thought this was pretty cool info: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/440869/Most-common-subs-in-UFC-history-graphically-displayed

Check out this video of some interesting kicking techiques: I'm not going to speak on the practical applicability of these kicks. Some have some use for TKD sparring, and others look good for demonstration purposes. What I am impressed with is the body control involved with most of them. Especially jumping and spinning, and then kicking with a twist kick in the opposite direction. I was impressed. They would be fun to practice!

Especially if MMA does make it into the Olympics eventually.

Great post, Van. Excellent points! I'd like to add to what you've said in regards to the MMA styles and training. By and large, I think that the consumers of the world are fairly well informed, and with MMA being a popular draw as a professional sport, I feel fairly convinced that most of the consumers watching MMA aren't convinced that it is some sort of "easy quick fix" in learn Martial Arts. Its a lot like watching professional football on TV. I'm a big NFL fan, and watch the Chief religiously. I enjoy it, and get crazy over it at times. But, I'm also well enough informed that I couldn't walk out onto that field and even think I could play. In the same vein, I don't think most of the population watching MMA events thinks they can walk out of the arena, and into a gym, and start competing. It just doesn't work that way. Viewers are aware of the hard work and time spent training that is put into becoming a professinal athlete, whether as a fighter, a football player, baseball, etc. With that said, I don't think MMA is looked at as the "quick fix" to MA training.

Good points cheesfrysamurai. If they check all those points then (in my book) they'd certainly earn my respect. Is loyalty the same as respect? I agree here, as well. These are good points to consider in regards to the school and instructor you learn under. I think loyalty and respect can go hand in hand. If someone earns your respect, you are likely to have some loyalty to them, and vise versa. But, you can have some respect for someone's skills and abilities, but not be loyal them, either because you aren't associated with them, or don't agree with their ideals and thus choose not to associate with them. I do think this is the case at times. In the West, it has never been unusual to seek out someone different if you needed to learn something different, or if you couldn't gain anything further from the one you were learning from peviously. People's attitudes and views on things change over time. General Choi himself experienced this when he made the decision to move into North Korea with the ITF to gain government funding for his TKD. This was not popular with everyone who was a student of his, and it showed when they didn't follow him. Here's another question: does seeking instruction from someone other than your current instructor make you disloyal to him or her? If they can't provide the knowledge you seek, then how is it a question of loyalty? Does remaining loyal to an instructor also mean you should not seek out your own opportunities to expand and grow, and fulfil your dreams, because they feel you should stay under them for your entire life? I don't think so. I think its important for us as people to learn, grow, and move on, just as our children do as they grow up. There just comes a time when there is nothing more for their parents to offer them, other than best of luck and godspeed. But, they are always there for questions and to offer advice.

Ok, trying to get caught up here. Working the night shift now is killing me! Here are vids from Kendall's first tournament this year, 12/21/2013, at Larned, KS. Match 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb7jTiKbdeU His bracket was combined 80 and 88 lbs, with four kids total. He didn't have too much trouble with the weight differences, which was good. He has been trying to do this headlock dance with kids, and we have been working on getting him to stop that, and working more on his takedowns, which are really good when he hits them. This match, he was able to get the kid tied up and taken down, but it was kind of sloppy, and worked for a pin. Match 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A649tptMJD4 He starts off good and low, but ends up worrying about the head and the hands, and comes high out of his stance. He did have a somewhat workable hip toss kind of takedown, which worked for him. He is still working on cleaning up some positional stuff when he gets on top, where to go with his hands and whatnot. Match 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8AmZDJM3eA This one was a tough one, with a kid from our same Wrestling club. They wrestled a lot against each other last year, and it was always tough. Its good to know they can train together. Still more head grabbing than I like, and he gets in some bad spots underneath, not controlling his body enough. He did hit a good reversal. Then he got high, and got rolled over. But, he learned some things, I think. He kept fighting for a half-Nelson, but that kid just is too tough to get it on, and I tried to get him to reach across and get the shoulder, but he didn't understand me. It ended up being only a one point victory for Kendall, so it was tough. He ended up taking first.

I agree with you here. There are times when a compliant uke is important, and times when not so much. In training, its important for the level of compliance to reflect what the goal of the training session is. He showed some good tai sabaki that really helped his techniques, also showing his level of skill and years of experience. My main complaint with Aikido demos is the use of the aggressive, exagerated grabbing motions as attacks. But, they do support the purpose of the demo, so I can look past those from time to time. It was fun to watch. Thanks for sharing it, Bob!