bushido_man96

I don't agree with the ATA's black belt policies, but thats not for me to deal with. As far as the XMA goes, the ATA is not the only MA out there spouting XMA. Its just another branch of what the ATA offers to its students, should they want to do it. And it is not the only thing done at their world championships. They do forms divisions, sparring divisions, etc. Also, their "world" tournament is a two-day event, maybe more, now. One day is reserved for the top ten champion competitions for the forms, weapons, sparring, etc. The next day is open to all ATA competitors. So, its not just the cream of the crop, its also the mediocre and poor competition showing up. When you have that range of demographics, then you'll notice differences. I'm not going to say that the ATA doesn't have any bad schools. They are out there. But there are a lot more good ATA schools than there are bad ones. And they are doing things to improve, as well, especially at the higher ranked black belt testings. I'm sure the big whigs at the ATA know what image of them is out there. They may care, and they may not. But I'm saying that the organization, as a whole, gets too much flack, and not enough credit for the positive things that it provides. One of my favorite pet peeves is the "belts don't matter" stuff that's prattled often. I guess it does matter, though, if its a camo belt. It must be a "fake" belt, I guess. My last gasp here is that I have met some great MAist that have come out of the ATA. I've had some great instructors in the ATA that taught me the importance of technique and instructing well. I have a former instructor that is a 4th degree, very good, one time world champ runner up in sparring, and a great self-defense instructor who uses skills learned through the ATA every day in his job as a police officer. I also know an ATA stylist who competed very well in Olympic style competitions. There are lots of good ATA instructors out there, and if you can get a good one, you are in no way getting a bad MA career.

To be honest, although fun to watch, I didn't find the women's US gold Judo match all that entertaining. I could see how they were working and countering one another, but as far as a fun factor goes, I didn't see that one awesome, clean, Judo toss I was hoping for.

Not sure here. Do you mean why do we do a technique to begin with? I'd say its what tends to be useful when attacked. It may start as something reactionary at first, but then as time and training move one, it becomes refined and altered.

i understand what you are saying i was tryng to say that if someone comes at you by complete suprise,you will problably wont use head kicks,know what i mean?its like if you are atacked by complete suprise,heads kicks would problably be something you wouldnt use,since you dont even have time to think it trough I think when you start thinking of kicks in terms of "head kicks" and "leg kicks" and the like, you start to complicate things too much. Instead, just train the kick, and work on finding the different levels and targets of opportunity when they become available. Like punching. No one thinks too hard about whether to punch the body or the head; at least, its not discussed nearly as much as head kicking/body kicking. Another point I'd like to add is in regards to the "instinctive response" you keep alluding to. Instead of asking "would you do" this or that, begin training in response drills, where stimuli comes out of no where, and therefore you react to it with what you know. If you want to train to respond with head kicks, use this kind of drill to do so. If you want to respond with hands, use this drill to do so. Because if you never do drills like this, then your response to stimuli will be most likely crappy, no matter what your train in.

Every technique is a tool. Lots of people are quick to discount head kicks in self-defense. However, given the proper circumstance, one could prove useful. It just depends on the circumstances, and how much preparation has been done in order to make them useful. You used the word "flashy" to describe back kicks and side kicks. I don't view these as "flashy" kicks, but more as basic kicks, along with the round kick. Low kicks are very useful, especially those below the waist, as many people don't have experience defending low kicks. There are also good targets offered below the waist.

Welcome to the Forums, Vengeance!

Welcome back, AikiGuy!

Welcome to KF, nightingale!

I think this is where the rules of the game start to change the martial art into something else. Seems like the Olympic TKD rule book is a work in progress. Yeah, I think they are always looking for ways to make it better, which is good.

This isn't necessarily the case. There isn't any reason one couldn't start cross training in a grappling style early on, especially since the two styles are totally different in focus. In fact, the sooner the cross training starts in a case like this, the better, in my opinion. You are going to base your opinion of a school on the color of one of the belts? H. U. Lee wanted a 9 belt system for the ATA, based on some Korean traditional and philosophical views, so he had to get another color into his system. He went with camo, and it fits in with his view of how the colors changed going up in the tree growth philosophy he had of the belt system. White Orange Yellow Camo Green Purple Blue Brown Red Black (with red/black as a recommended black belt). What color would you have thrown in there?

Heard and experienced are two different things. The ATA has a lot of good things in the style. I'm an ATA black belt myself, and I can't recall any bad training that I have received. The ATA gets the McDojo reputation because it is a big organization, and it isn't afraid of being a big organization. Yes, its true that they have some kids programs that they cater to. Its also true that the ATA isn't afraid to try to implement new thoughts and ideas into their curriculum to get students interested early on, and to allow black belts to specialize in later. Also, since the mere size of the ATA is what it is, you see a greater disparage in skill levels. I was never a tournament winner, or a top ten contender in the ATA. I'm not much of a tourney competitor at all, for that fact. But I don't think I was ever a bad representation of what the ATA is, or for any of the instructors I had in the ATA.

Good luck!

GM Chae Sun Yi - Master Scott Biskie - Me.

This brings up a somewhat counter intuitive point; don't most of us train in bare feet most of the time? How many schools train in shoes? Other than Boxers and Wrestlers, I think most train barefoot.

Could you elaborate here, Jissen? I'd like to see your rationale.

I think this could be a good thing. But like DWx, I don't really see how grappling can come into play. But, I guess its up to them how they want to market the event. Sounds like a good cause.

This may be my new signature!!! Go for it! I'm glad you like it. It must be my general stubbornness and tendency to be spiteful that brings these things out at times.

Thanks for sharing that video. Lots of movements there. I'd like to see it applied in a two-man drill; it might make more sense that way.

I see this a lot, but I don't think its necessarily a good thing. A black belt should be pretty proficient at what style they are in, and not just having the basics down. A black belt should be a good representation of the style, and although not a master, they should be getting close to having some expertise in their style. A black belt, in my opinion, should necessarily be just a really, really good colored belt.

I disagree here. Lots of styles practice for "tourney" rules. Boxing, Wrestling, even MMA and Thai all train according to the rules they fight for. I think what you are getting at is point sparring. But, just because schools train for point sparring, doesn't make them a McDojo, either. Anymore, that term gets thrown around a bit too much, in my opinion. Go to an MMA gym, or a Thai gym, or a Boxing gym, and I can guarantee you won't see a whole lot of full contact action going on. You lose training partners if you give them all concussions. But, what you will see, is a lot of pad work and sparring with gear on so that certain targets can be struck at higher, yet still controlled levels, of contact, based off the rule set they fight with. Commercial schools also have things to deal with like insurance and the like. That's why ATA schools have added chest protectors and helmets with visors to their sparring requirements. It didn't always used to be that way, but things change from time to time, and in order to have their schools covered by insurance, that's what they have to do. I'm sure that the ATA isn't the only organization that does things like that, either. I guess to sum up, I wouldn't be so harsh as to judge schools that don't do full contact, knockdown, in your face, Cobra Kai Martial Arts. If you want a higher level of contact, then I don't blame you for looking into Kyokushin or something like that. But don't shelve all the other styles for the lack of it, though.

9/13/2012 One afternoon and one evening of home rehab, 25 minutes each. 9/14/2012 Physical therapy at the clinic in the morning for 45 minutes. One session at home for 25 minutes. 9/15/2012 Home sessions, 25 minutes in the am and pm. 9/16/2012 More of the same. Its monotonous.

I think the spiritual side of a Martial Art is more up to the person studying it than anything else. Personally, I have no use for the spiritual aspects of any style, because I already have my own outlook on such things. I'll listen to someones ideals or whatever, and then consider them if I like them, but overall, I'm my own person when it comes to such things and I don't really think I need to change much there. What I want is good self-defense stuff.

I will play devil's advocate here, and say that I think you can train your katas for both. You just have to decide what you are doing that day, and focus on it. Just because someone has a nice competition kata doesn't mean they don't know any self-defense applications for it. That said, look at what the competition does, and scout things out. See what is bringing in the scores, and try to work things that way. Also, talk to judges! I think you'll find that they won't usually keep secrets from you, and will likely give you an idea of what they look for in scoring. Then its all about focused practice.

I've not done it much. Personally, I like the fact that we've evolved and discovered ways to keep ourselves warm in the winter months, so I try not to endure too much more cold than I have to.

Train with this guy once; you won't be considering the weight. I'm the guy on the right, and I'm no lightweight, probably pushing around 260 in that picture. But, I can kick to the head, break 4 boards with a round kick, and do a flying side kick over 3 people. I'll tell you this; its hell getting old. I don't consider myself too old yet, but I've found that when you don't have time to work out 5 days a week, things tend to change on you. Kids take more time, spouses like to have you around, too. Workout time starts to slip away. And if you're like me, you don't miss meals. So, its tough sometimes to keep the weight in check like when you are younger. I'll say this, though; don't judge that book by its cover. I've seen some quick big men before. And the ones that aren't quick, lots of times are very tough, and when they get a hold of you, they are very strong. Instead of seeing their weight, its important to check out what kind of experience they have, and then see how it goes in classes.