bushido_man96

4/14/2013 TKD with Kendall: did a half hour of work. Did single, double, and triple punching in a sitting stance, then moved into a front stance for down blocks, and stepping punches. After that, we did some focus mitt work: jab, cross, jab/cross, jab/cross/BL round kick. Then we had to take some time to try to fix his left leg round kick. Not so coordinated on that side. A good mix of basics and combinations work, I think.

My experience with it is that you start class with stretching, then rolling/breakfalling, then work into techniques, being both tori and uke. The test I took included more than just ukemi. I had to demonstrate 3 or 4 different techniques, along with the falling and rolling. I say give it a shot.

Good point.

I don't think it is this way as much as people say so now.I also think JusticeZero makes a good point. We tend to have revisionist history of what was awesome way back when, and there was nothing ever wrong with it. Things just weren't like that. Its like the idea that the "old school" was the better school. Not always the case. I also like the term "hipsterism." And I see it every day, and dislike it. High school is a place I see it sprout from, and these kids follow like blind beggars to struggle to be "hip." Such a waste of valuable time.

Sometimes I do think Bruce did like the sound of his own voice. He was a very strong personality, with strong opinions. This statement is that.

Many, but not all, MAs have developed a sporting aspect. People like to compete, so style/organizations look for ways to bring in the students they need and keep them interested. And that's ok. There will always be those who like to compete, and those who do not. It won't stop either person from pursuing their goals, though. And that is the great part. Not every person into MMA is doing it to get into the UFC. I'm sure that many are, but not all. I would do it just to train and learn. And not every TKD school teaches only to be good at Olympic sparring. My school is basics and forms first, and we very much focus on teaching for our testing requirements (which I don't care for so much, but it is what it is). I think those who choose to focus on sport get a bad rap all to often. Yes, they fight with rules. But that doesn't mean they can't defend themselves. Olympic TKDers are hard kickers, and fast. Those kicks can work on the street, if done right. Likewise, an MMA fighter can probably take care of themselves on the street, as well, being as well conditioned they are, and how much they work on knocking people out. It isn't a bad thing, like I mentioned above. Its just a thing. Its up to instructors to fill in the holes so that self-defense isn't neglected. Not every style has to have a forms system to be a good self-defense system, either. Neither does the presence of a forms system negate any self-defense, or sporting, skills, nor guarantee their presence. Some styles just skip the forms and teach self-defense. I think we can all agree that fighting outside of the ring is not good. I don't think many of us want to be there. There are those individuals out there who do like to fight, and will go looking for them. But that's an issue for that individual to deal with. I don't think competition-focused styles fosters this kind of behavior, though. My son Wrestles, but doesn't see the need to try to slam someone on the pavement at school. In the end, its just a different outlook on training.

I'm not sure you can measure Budo and Self Defence on the same weighing scale. As for whether our training meets a minimum standard? - Well that's kinda the point. Budo is all about getting better, so no, I guess we don't often hit the sweet spot - but it's all about the trying. There is only training! K Why not? Budo is "warrior way," correct? So a warrior's way would include some effective, efficient self-defense, right? Hard training, whether in self-defense or "budo" arts will forge many of the same traits through training; hard work ethic, respect, discipline, etc. They just tend to come about in different ways.

I still slip and call our "sitting stances" middle stances from time to time. My original organization didn't use the Korean terms, so I only have experience with the terms my current organization uses. Which is good, because I'd probably botch them badly, too.

Who has done that then? K. I think he is referring to the comments of those that practice "a little of this, and a little of that." However, there is nothing wrong in doing that; there is something wrong in marketing it improperly.

3/29/2013 Taught TKD: 6-7 pm. Small class of mostly kids, with a few teens thrown in. Got through most things, and got some sparring in. 4/2/2013 TKD class: 6-7 pm. Yoo Sin, and white and orange belt one-steps review. Then did kicking drills on the clapper/target pads. FL front kicks, 10 each. BL front kicks, 10 each. FL round kicks, 10 each. BL round kicks, 10 each. FL switch foot round kicks, 10 each. FL outside axe kick, 10 each. BL outside axe kick, 10 each. FL crossover axe kick, 10 each. I managed to pull both my hamstrings doing the axe kicks, so that was a great note to end the class on. But a few days of some rest and muscle rub helped them out a lot. 4/5/2013 Wrestling with Kendall: worked take-downs, stand-ups, and switches. Then we worked on round kicks together. 4/7/2013 Solo work, did 20 minutes of work on the Yoo Sin segment of inside crescent kick to hand/consecutive side kick, on both sides. If I keep that up, I might get good at it finally. 4/8/2013 Taught TKD: Class was a bit slower paced, as the students that got promoted were learning knew forms.

Good job!

Its nice to get things changed up from time to time. Our one-steps are pre-arranged, but we never do them backwards, although I think it would be very beneficial.

Thanks, pittbullJudoka!

I'd disagree with that. It has a lot of self defense use and skills in it; it is functional in the wild even if it was never designed to excel in the octagon - it's not LESS suited for use in the wild than MMA is in any case.I agree with JusticeZero here. I also tend to disagree with ps1 in that I think MMA, as in the sport-style that is used in various competitions, culminating in the octagon of the UFC, is really becoming its own Martial Arts style. In its early days, it truly was "Mixed" styles. Now, with how its evolved, MMA has an outline to follow, more or less. I think there is a lot of disagreement on my stance here, and that's ok. Change is always slow to take. But, I think it has grown to the point that it has earned its own title.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to KF!

95 moves. Loooong!

Ok, its about time I got this wrapped up. Here are the videos from our annual local tourney, the Western Kansas Classic. We had over 1100 kids come to this tournament, so its always a fun day! Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frl9JSqXt3w Kendall wrestled this kid more than anyone else this year, but this was by far his best match against him. He started the first round off on the wrong foot, getting tied up to high, but worked through it. There was also a near-bad incident towards the end of the first round where Kendall heard the wrong whistle and got up too soon, but it didn't end badly. He was able to work from the bottom in this match, got some points on reversals, and got good back points, too. He won this match, 18-3. Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KM5HAAPK3E This match was against the same kid who won the state tournament the week before. We knew this would be a tough one, but, Kendall handled it well, taking the loss, getting pinned in the second. This kid is just flat good. Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBymduqmu4 Win by pin. Early on, he tied up early, but disengaged to work something better. Match 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVTnHrOJ9cQ The other guy we seem to wrestle every meet, a guy from our own club. Kendall wrestled him tough all three rounds, and the score was tight the whole way through. He had an escape and a decent sprawl in the first round that gained him some points. He has always been able to work really well on top against this kid, usually keeping him from being able to reverse or escape, so I had him on top for the third round, which helped him seal it. Match 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3M_1WISEYk This was a kid who liked to headlock and toss, as well, so I tried to keep Kendall convinced to not tie up with him too much. He got tripped one and recovered in the 2nd period, and then got headlocked and flipped, but rolled through it, ending on top, working for back points. In the 3rd, he did another good job countering a throw. This kid was tough to keep on his back, though, so no pin, but finished with a win. Overall, he took 3rd place, losing once and then working he way along the back side of the bracket. I was very proud of him, seeing all his hard work come together this season. On 4/7/2013, we had the awards banquet for the club, and Kendall took home the award for most 1st place finishes for the 6 and under age group. We also learned that there are practices for free-style available now, and Kendall is going to do that now, too. I'm just excited to be doing more Wrestling!

There are a lot of assumptions flying around that there are so many schools teaching a mix now. But do we know what the numbers are, really? The school I attend is a TKD school. No mixing or add-ons. We did have the Combat Hapkido curriculum we were using for a while, but this was an extra that some of us students did after our TKD classes. I see nothing wrong with it, either. If I had my way, I'd still be doing the Combat Hapkido alongside my TKD training, and if I opened my own school, Combat Hapkido would be part of what I do, because I think it is very useful. My students would advance in rank in both styles, TKD and Combat Hapkido. Now, would this make my school one of those, "a little of this, a little of that," schools? I say nay. My school would be teaching two things, and I would make sure they worked together. By the time a student tests for 1st dan, he/she would attain a black belt rank in TKD and Combat Hapkido. So I am curious how this detracts from the "traditional" side of what I do? I'm curious as to why MMA is not a "true" Martial Art? Simply because it is tagged as a sport? As mentioned above, many, many MMA practitioners don't go on to compete at a high level. So wouldn't that imply that perhaps those individuals are practicing MMA for something more than mere competition purposes?

When doing basics, techniques are called out in Korean, for the most part, except when we start doing the combinations towards the end of basics. When doing forms and one-steps, we usually end up using English terms for the techniques, but at times, the Korean. I've also noticed the Korean terms we use for some of the techniques are different than those I see in various manuals to describe the same techniques.

The first instructor I really gained and still have a great amount of respect for did so by being genuinely interested in my journey, and helping me along and being as helpful and up front as possible with me, sometimes to the point of being very blunt. We still talk often today, and his advise still means the world to me.

I wouldn't call you a TKD outsider Brian. You know a lot about TKD and martial arts in general and discussions with you have definitely helped broaden my knowledge and views. TBH even within the style I do often people don't understand stuff anyway. Thanks, Danielle. JusticeZero: usually, the base leg is supposed to be slightly bent. Also, usually, the base leg is directly under the hips for balance, except on some kicks where the stylist is trying to achieve a lunge to close some distance. I hope that helps.

I really don't think "traditional" MA is going away. There are more MMA style gyms popping up, and I think that's a great thing. I also think there is a misconception that these arts we call "traditional" don't change. Shotokan isn't all that old, and is a modified version of what Funakoshi learned from Okinawan masters. Aikido comes from Aiki-Jujutsu, and the spiritual aspect is nothing more than Ueshiba's spiritual and philosophical outlook on life. What makes what he did "traditional" when it wouldn't be if I took what I've learned in TKD and applied my own spiritual and philosophical outlooks to it and passed them on to my own students? Is it because the pictures of my school aren't in black and white? I really don't think so. The bottom line is, people grow and change. I've been exposed to the belief systems of various instructors, and while all have been wise and good teachers, I've come to realize that I just don't see eye-to-eye with them all the time. So, instead of agreeing with things I don't agree with, I choose to have my own opinions and approaches to teaching the MAs. Everyone does this, I think, to some extent or another. No matter how much we respect and admire someone, I don't think anyone really ends up being exactly alike that person. I respect and admire the hell out of my parents, but I am not the exact same as them. Its really no different with the MA instructors of my past and present. The last thing I'll mention in this post is the approach of these spiritual and philosophical aspects in regards to "traditional" MAs, and where they come from. Many of our MA experiences come from Eastern-based styles. As much as I enjoy my Eastern-based, Shotokan-derived TKD style, I was born and raised as a Westerner, and have Western beliefs and ideals instilled in me. I think a good example you can see in this is how many BJJ schools tend to be much more laid-back and informal in comparison to it's Eastern ancestors, Jujutsu/Judo. And there is nothing wrong with that. I don't want to try to be Korean, although I am learning a Korean MA. Honestly, the Koreans doing TKD over in Korea are going to do a good job of maintaining their Korean beliefs and ideals in TKD over there, so I don't really feel an obligation to conform my students to Korean ideals. And I don't say that as an insult at all. Its just the differences in cultures, and I think its a good thing. Ok, I rambled there for a bit, and I'm sure there will be some different points of view from what I've stated, but hey, that's what makes it great.

I agree here. We all have our "bread and butter" techniques. I think our body type and tendencies/habits tend to tailor these "bread and butter" techniques to us. From there, its important to learn how to apply the "bread and butter" to various scenarios. I like straight arm bars, so its important to be able to learn how to apply them from various angles and entries. From there, its important to know a good counter for them, and also a good "switch to" move, in case one thwarts the move on the way to locking it in, like a wrist throw/takedown. From the "bread and butter," its important to learn others so that you have other options to choose from. You never know when injury inflicted during a fight/combat might render a limb of less use, altering what it is you can or can't do. Screw drivers, wrenches, and hammers are good tools to have in the tool box; they get used a lot. But its nice to have a torque wrench on hand from time to time, too.

Well....thanks to the likes of La Salle and Wichita State, I have to pretty much set my bracket on fire and let it kindle the fireplace, because I'm pretty sure it isn't worth the paper its printed on, now. I had Gonzaga as a Final Four team, and Indiana, with the Hoosiers winning it. KU was working for me, though, until the last 3 minutes of that debacle against Michigan. What a mess this year!