bushido_man96

You could talk to the instructors, if that really bothers you. But in the end, I think its your choice to decide which you want to do and which you don't. I think instructors get possessive of their students, and instead of a "cultural" thing, its an ego thing.

Don't forget that the "blocking" hand is ALSO suppose to prevent the attacker from re-engaging, thus, the attackers hand(s) are out of position, which stalls the attackers transitions and the like. These are good points to consider, as well. Thank you, gentleman.

You learn, you train, you analyze, you train more, and thus, you learn to train, and train through learning. To talk shop and philosophy is a good thing, I think. But forcing others into an ideology is not. Regardless, through training and personal experiences, along with individual values, morals, and ideals, everyone really puts together their own on the way.

You are very welcome.

Well its good that you have a leg up, then. Most people don't realize how much is out there.

Yeah, that really is too bad. I'd almost be inclined go confront the guy about it, just ask him exactly what it is he tells his students about your school's program. I'd do it in a professional manner, after hours if at all possible, but I'd be interested in hearing what he would have to say.

Thank you, Patrick! This is really a great thing going here, and its so great to be a part of it!

Hello everyone. I wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday to Patrick. He's always done such a good job of making sure to recognize everyone that does their part in making KF such a great place to visit, and he's always so good at deflecting praise and credit away from himself, so I thought he deserved this mention on his birthday. Thanks for everything you've done here for us, Patrick, and I hope you have a Happy Birthday!

I think about the defensive capabilities a swordsman would have, as well. As opposed to a block and counter, from what I've read, most of the blocking motions are a cut at the same time. At any rate, a strike with a solid stick like that would hurt. You are talking about half-swording here, right? That looks like a lot of fun. It also looks like some of the quarterstaff style I've read about, just with shorter sticks.

I'd be nervous about it to, but I also think it would be worth checking out, just to see how it works. Who knows, maybe one could glean some new scheduling ideas from it.

The problem is that most people don't realize how much of themselves they put out there. If you have a navigation app on your phone, then you are broadcasting your location via GPS. If you "check in" everywhere you go on Facebook, then you are basically advertising your whereabouts all the time.Google yourself or check the phone book, to see if you are in there. Its interesting what you can find out about yourself on the internet.

I can see why your instructor did what he did. Kind of clever, too. Didn't change a thing, except some belt finagling. At the same time, its too bad he decided he needed to do that because of the other dojo. As an instructor, I have never tried to convince anyone that they should come to our school as opposed to another. I'd kind of wonder about the other instructor if he is spouting that stuff to the other kids, or if its just the kids coming up with it on their own. Just remember, talk is cheap.

Thanks Bob. Its good to see you again. I hope you are doing well! If I recall right, the word uke actually means "to receive" rather than "to block." Just with this nuance in mind, it alters the way I see some applications happening that I was using blocking for.

This what I am inclined to go with more than a two-arm blocking action. There is actually a segment in our Yoo Sin form where we X-block low, bring it up a high to an open-handed X-block, and then we twist the open hands around the wrists in a grabbing motion that would seize into a wrist lock. From there, I'd be inclined to look at the level the X-block goes to, high or low, or mid section. So, I'd be inclined to think that a high level X-block may be indicative of a lock like Shionage, where the attacker's arm is taken over the shoulder, and a mid-level or lower X-block may indicate something more like Kotegashi. Those are just some thoughts, though. I will keep this in mind, too. In Rob Redmond's book, Kata, The Folk Dances of Shotokan, he makes references to this idea of kata using similar movements to link back to each other. I also try to consider the moves in front of and behind a move, and also any kind of turning motion involved. Lastly, I really try to reference guys like Stuart Anslow and Iain Abernethy who really spend a lot of time on this stuff. Thanks, tallgeese. I will try to do that. I hope I really get to work on some of this a bit more, at least maybe before class with some other students so I can kind of test it and work with it. If I ever run a school again....oh, the changes I'll make!

Good job to them!

We don't do Sam Il, to my knowledge, unless its the 5th or 6th dan form; I'll check when I get back to the gym. How you describe it makes sense.

I haven't heard that term, but I have heard of "Menkyo Kaiden," which is a certificate of transmission. Is this what you are asking about?

Good points, both of you. A softening motion, so to speak, would work well with some angled footwork. Danielle, you are right about not meeting force on, with a front kick or a side kick. But a round kick, you really don't have that choice, unless you soften it and move at an angle, like JusticeZero mentioned. Sweeping style blocks, that would catch and lift the leg, I think would be a better option, like some we see in our forms, like Won Hyo and Yoo Sin. I do start to think that the Thai style leg check is probably one of the better options for low kick defenses.

Modern Arnis: The Filipino Art of Stick Fighting, by Remy Presas. I picked this up at a used book store, too, under $4. Its a typical Ohara publications book, so those familiar with them know the format. It gives a brief history of Presas' journey and style, and then gets right into it. It covers 12 main angles of attack, and 12 ways of dealing with the attacks. Stick and empty hand applications are demonstrated, showing how this style works off the same principles and movements with a weapon in hand or without. It also covers some flow exercises called sinawali and rodonda, as well as some disarming techniques. I liked this book. Short, sweet, and to the point.

I've been pepper sprayed. It can't be that bad.

TKD has done well evolving as a fighting art, I think. One of the main things lacking is low kicking.

I still really wonder about actually blocking low kicks with the arms. You have to get low to block them, and you are blocking a much stronger limb with a weaker one.

Welcome to KF!

You make an interesting point here. Martial arts often teach weapons such as a sword due to tradition, or in my case, because one could not really understand how to defend against a sword until they knew how to use it. I think the interesting point here however, it the correctness. Despite a sword being the easiest thing to emulate from a stick found on the ground in a confrontation, it is starkly differently from handling an actual sword. It causes me to wonder if sword fighting has fallen into the realm of tradition or if there is practical purposes. Face value I would argue for both. One finds that the control over their own bodies increases as you learn to make something an extension of said body. Reference the bold section, in some of the materials I've read, some weapons systems started with the quarterstaff, and moved on into sword techniques, and most of the techniques behind each were transferable. There are some nuances when using an actual blade, to be sure, but the concepts behind each were very similar. Thanks for the vote of confidence here, ShoriKid. Most of my knowledge just comes from reading and referencing. The ARMA is an organization that looks at the applications of techniques in actual combative sparring, and not recreationally like the SCA or others. I think HEMA is pretty close to the same as the ARMA, having study groups that work to interpret the texts and apply the concepts in sparring. I'd take to hear what Zoodles says here. He appears to have the actual experience through classes and studies.

It sounds like your school has quite a curriculum. Can you tell us what your testing consisted of? Either way, congrats on your promotion!