bushido_man96

Welcome to KF!

Sparring and fighting aren't always the same, and the feeling one has when sparring and fighting aren't always the same, either. Berserker mode can actually work well for some people, as long as they rein it in when the bad guy goes down.

I agree with tallgeese and Zaine. It depends on if the value you can gain from them is worth putting up with their character flaws. If you really can't take associating with someone that you have problems with their morals and ethics, then its time to part ways.

I'd recommend scanning more, as well. With decreased range of vision, it may help to track more, to take more in.

12/17/2012 Warm-up: rowing 2 min. One-steps: 1 - 30 Do-Kangs: 1 - 4 White belt: Chon Ji, one-steps 1 - 7 Orange belt: Dan Gun and Bo Chung, one-steps 8 - 14 Green belt: Do San and Won Hyo, one-steps 15-21 Blue belt: Yul Kok and Joong Gun, one-steps 22-28 Brown belt: Toi Gye, Hwa Rang, Choong Moo, and one-steps 29 - 30. 1st Dan: Kwang Gae 2nd Dan: Poe Eun and Gae Baek 3rd Dan: Se Jong and Yoo Sin. Left hand knife hand strikes on BOB, 4 sets of 5. Working on focus and technique for board breaking. Stretch

Well done! Way to stick with it and persevere!

Thanks, everyone. I will keep his progress posted here as the season wears on.

That's a really good point. Not many athletes go into their 40's and 50's still doing hard contact sports. Martial artists are different in that respect. I'm also willing to bet that a lot of pro football, basketball, etc. players would have similar problems if they continued on the same level of activity. I was told by a co-worker and avid football fan that the average NFL player only had a career of 5 years. May have been 3 years. Either way, most people competing at a pro level in sports are done by 30. I've seen several writers talking about pro boxers passing their "peak" at 30 and if they aren't in title contention by that point it's time to hang up the gloves. We keep pushing past that point, accepting injuries and moving on. It isn't about poor development of basics or a lack of proper warm ups/stretching. It has a lot more to do with the whole body nature of the training. I take throws, sweeps and take downs on as a regular part of my stand up training. Along with joint manipulations and locks. I get kicked, punched, elbowed and kneed from my hair line to my feet. Then I put on a thicker gi and get tossed, locked, twisted and stranged for ground work. It's rough on the body and it builds up over time. I agree with both of you. Many adults aren't active after they get out of high school, and then more after being done with college. Injuries sustained in the younger days end helping us become predictors of the weather as time goes by. Its just the nature of physical activity. I won't quite, I know that.

Martial Arts in general is rough on the human body.I'm not a fan of negating foundational basics. Sure, it's boring, but important enough to bust out every class. It's also surprising how much farther you can go in a shorter period of time because of basics. Basics and foundational exercises are always important, and I don't think many schools really slack off on them. Not that I've seen, anyways. As far as adding more physical activities, like ballet or yoga, to already doing the current physical activities, will probably just put more wear and tear on the body than anything else. Its just the nature of physical activity to sustain injuries through overuse after some time. It just happens, and the best way to avoid injuries of this type, is to not do anything at all. But then, you run the risk of sedentary, and all the risks that come with it.

I agree Bob. That's what's great about this book. It doesn't give hard and fast applications of kata, and then says they are "the one." What it does is layout a process for those who are wanting to delve into kata bunkai to do so and come up with applications that are efficient and meaningful in regards to the methodologies, strategies, and tactics of the style they do. Since these two authors have lots of experience with Goju Ryu kata, that is the framework that they use to get there points across. But any stylist practicing forms can benefit from the process layed out in this book.

"My friend here, he's a little bit country. I'm a little bit rock'n'roll."

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you!

The Way of Kata by Lawrence A. Kane and Kris Wilder. I have quite a few MA books, and will read just about anything on it. But, there are a few authors that come along that I read, and just really think hit the nail right on, and do a great job of presenting their material, writing books I just have to get. These two are some of those authors. The Way of Kata is a great guide for those who study forms/katas, and are looking for ways to evaluate the applications that can be found in them and really make the most of them. They lay out a set of principles and rules to follow when studying what they refer to as kaisai no genri, the method of deciphering bunkai from kata. They also talk about making sure the applications line up with the strategies and tactics of the style, thus making sure everything lines up well. They present a lot of material for consideration, and do a good job of organization and presentation. They cite various authors like Rory Miller, Iain Abernethy, and Loren Christensen, to name a few. After laying out all the principles involved, they show some ideas of deciphering some different moves using some moves and applications from their own katas as examples. They also include a checklist to make copies of and mark off the components of the applications discovered to see how well they line up with the rules, principles, and strategies and tactics of the style. Forms aren't for everyone. But for those looking for ways to find out how to dig deeper into their forms study, this is a great book to look into.

...started with its first tournament today (12/15/2012). He Wrestled his first year last year, and had fun, but an early arm injury held him out for 4 weeks, missing a few novice tournaments we were going to hit. But, he came back and finished the season working hard, which is what was important, and had some good matches, and a win. Today, his second season began. He is Wrestling 6 and under again this year, and he was at 70 lbs. He had 3 matches at this novice tournament, 4 kids in the bracket, and they did round robin style bracketing. First match was with a kid in our home town Wrestling Club. I hate it when they have to compete against their buddies, but such is life at times. Our club had the most kids there, so it was probably inevitable, and will probably compete against this kid a few more times this year, which is cool. He won his first match on points, going all 3 rounds, and won 14 -5. Second match he won by pin in the 1st round, and 3rd match, he won by pin in the second round. He did a great job of listening for one thing, and working hard for another. I told him I just wanted to see him give his all, and work hard, and no matter the outcome, I'd be happy. He shot good takedowns, worked half-nelsons, and did good at staying chest to chest and staying heavy on the other competitors. He needs work on keeping kids from standing and escaping when he is on top, but, all in all, he's got some positives to build on. Being the proud dad that I am, I'll probably keep updating here as the season goes along. We plan to hit some open tournaments as the year goes along, so he'll get to Wrestle some more skilled kids as well. I told him there will be days when he won't win them all, but its important because he will still learn some good things, and he'll still be Wrestling.

Well then you aren't immortal....

I agree with you. I still have trouble wrapping my head around the sickness of this whole thing. I feel so sorry for the empty Christmas that many of these parents will have this year. I was talking to a few guys tonight about how these parents must feel. If this happened to me, I don't think I would ever be right again. I just can't imagine how they feel, but I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

Nice! Thanks for sharing that! Really made my day...I'm still smiling...

If I counted right, that's 16 miles? I think its doable. Have you checked the kinds of running times people tend to average for your age group? Have you done running in the past? If so, you should be able to get some idea of a realistic time you can expect to complete it in. The uphill slope would be a killer, along with the altitude. But, I think if you focus and train hard, you can do it. Good luck and yes, keep us posted!

12/14/2012 Elliptical: 17 minutes, 1.6 miles total. 1 mile forward, 10 minutes. .6 mile backward, 7 minutes. Light stretch.

What version(s)...huh? Sorry, maybe I wasn't being very clear, which of the Seisan videos on that page best match what you do yourself? Maybe you could post a video of you doing that kata? We don't do any version of it, and I haven't learned a version from Bob yet . But I did like seeing the Tang Soo Do rendition thrown in there. It shows the Korean roots in Japanese styles, with the Korean flair.

I despise cardio, as well. I've been doing more of it lately, since I still can't lift. I don't think I'll ever grow to like it.

As with any athletic endeavor, the body is bound to wear down and have injuries over time. My knees bother me after every TKD class and workout. What has helped my knees over time has been doing heavy barbell squats. My knees don't usually ache after them, and they helped my knees to feel less pain over time. At any rate, the Martial Arts being athletic endeavors involving some kind of contact for the most part, can cause injuries to occur over time. Its also part of the risk/reward of studying a Martial Art. The only way to not get injured, would be to not do it, I think.

My long-time DT partner messaged me today, with a goal of testing for 1st dan in Combat Hapkido for 2013. So, I'm adding it for certain to my list of goals for the year. Time to get it done!

12/13/2012 Technical session today for Yoo Sin. I broke the form into segments and worked on pacing, timing, and breathing. Segment 1 (moves 1-19) x5 Segment 2 (moves 20-40) x5 Segment 3 (moves 41-55) x5 Segment 4 (moves 56-73) x5 Yoo Sin x1. The floor space was needing to be used by the tumbling team, so I only got one run through. I did slow the form down and pace it out a bit, but I didn't sync my breathing up as well as I had during the segments, but that should come with time. Stretch Gen. Choi's Encyclopedia shows Yoo Sin having 68 moves. There are some subtle spots in the form that I counted as separate moves, mainly being the spots after the high X-blocks where the wrist grabs are, and then we have two additional low side kicks in the form, one before each of the U-shaped punches.

Just don't lose your head...do I hear Queen in the background?