bushido_man96

It is important to practice and have a plan for when one gets taken to the ground. Good footwork can help to defend takedowns. I also agree with MP that there are a core set of moves out there that it would behoove most Martial Artists to gain an understanding of for the purposes of self-defense.

Yep that was what I meant pulse the leg by gripping the muscle to raise it. Ah, ok. I see what you are saying now. Didn't mean to steal your idea there!

That would put up red flags for me, especially if there is a timeline attached to it. Bad? Bad how? Can you elaborate a bit on it? Was their technique lacking? Did you feel they did not spar well? Fail to break boards? What were the testing requirements? This is true, and I also liked your observation that exams should be taken only when one is ready for it, makes sense. If this is the case, then most schools that follow a protocol such as this are not likely to have many test failures. So we kind of go from one end of the spectrum: "schools are lacking in integrity and standards are slipping because no one fails tests,"; to the other end of the spectrum: "its good practice to only allow those who are ready to take tests, this way, there are fewer to no failures." The truth of the matter, in my opinion, is that the possibility of a test failure should exist, not that students should be expected to fail. With this in mind, its important to take into consideration what criteria is being tested on, and what weight each piece of the criteria holds in regards to the entire test score. I disagree in the use of tournaments and competitions in being a part of a test, or using tournament competition performances as a sole qualifier in skill and knowledge. Tournaments and competition are not everyone's thing, and not all great tournament players are good at conveying their knowledge to the next generation of students (as has been discussed in other threads). Now, I make this arguement with some bias; I am not, nor ever have been, what I would consider an athlete. I don't have a treasure trove of natural talent or God-given physical abilites to work with. Along with that, I'm not ashamed to admit that I have had a very lack-luster tournament career. I've done ok in my share of forms competitions, but sparring was never really my thing. I can bang back and forth on people in class without problems, but when it comes to scoring points and the like in competition, I've never been good at it. Perhaps that means someone holds me in less regard because they know me, sparred me in competition, and handled me well. That's fine with me. But if they would want to tell me or convey to me that I am not really my rank because of my tournament results, well, I think there could be a fun discussion to come out of that. So what is important, then, is defining what the rank "should be." I would be interested to see this expanded upon. I've seen some ranks with technique I thought was poor compared to the rank they have, as well. But in discussing this, its important to have an idea of what we view of as "the standard" in mind.

Sounds nice, DWx. Was it terribly pricey?

2/13/2012 Deffley A Squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 245x2; work: 295x2x2 Box squats: 230x3x5 Bench press: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 245x5,5,4 Barbell rows: warmup: 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x2; work: 187.4x3x5 Hip thrusts: 3x12 Glute-ham raises: 3x6 Assisted chinups: 3x10 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, toe touches, chest/tris/bis. Curse you bench press!!!

I've failed tests before. Its not really a big deal. I've seen others fail, as well. We just pick up and keep on.

Also very little lateral movement. All forwards and backwards on the platform.

Excellent advise. It is ok to ask for some lightening up in sparring. Hopefully, the higher ranks can usually see this, and can adjust it themselves, but at times, it may not seem as bad as it is to them. We are always taught that if we want something, to ask. Sparring shouldn't be any different. Years ago, I had a TKD instructor who liked to just overwhelm people when he sparred, no matter the rank. If you were a younger, lower rank, he'd do it with speed. As you got higher in rank, he did it with speed and contact levels. Honestly, it sucked. If you slipped a point in somewhere, it was game over after that. Not a constructive learning environment, especially when your a short, chubby kid with esteem problems anyway.

We did make that tournament a few weeks ago. I thought it went well, although he didn't win any of his matches. He competed against some kids with several years of experience, and I ended up putting him in a weight class above what he should have been at, and I could see the difference there. That all said, he fought hard, stayed off his back, and avoided getting pinned. All his losses were by points, but he fought like the dickens to stay off his back. I thought he did a good job.

I think that's a great idea, LP, especially for someone like me who isn't entirely confident in fighting on the ground, to nullify the attacker until help shows up. I've seen some of this demonstrated, and I think it is a most valuable tool to use. What I would work on in training is that if you are at that point, if you are going to draw your weapon, then there is no question as to what happens next; it gets used. That would be the most important point to get across, I think. We didn't do much rolling in our gear, but did do some. That stuff on the belt can really affect how well you move and work for position, that's for sure. Do you find that people get banged and bruised up more from training with the duty belt on? It would definitely be helpful in excessive force arguements. Reference the highlighted portion; just remember that in law enforcement, you almost always are bringing a weapon to every fight. That said, I still think the idea is a sound tactic.

All good advise by tallgeese. This last paragraph here is one that may be the easiest for you to add in. You don't need a partner for it, and it will benefit in the long run. Another thing I would add along with the shadowboxing and other methods tg mentioned is to use some visualization training, as well. Picture an attack coming at you, and then defend it. Then picture the same attack, defend, and then perhaps alter your defense during the scenario due to some change in the event, or perhaps because the previous one didn't work, or things like that. I'll admit its tougher to do, but it may prove helpful.

Just out of curiosity, how is the above statement quantified? Are there numbers to sustain the claim? How was the conclusion drawn? What are the other 2 styles that are deadly? I don't know if you were told this is the case, or read it somewhere, or if it is merely an opinion, but I doubt the statement can be backed up by pure fact.

You may have to just rest it for 6 weeks, so you don't cause yourself further injury, thus taking away more training time. Your feet get used a lot in Karate, in pivoting and gripping the floor to drive power, change stances, etc. All that is likely to affect that broken bone. In the grand scheme of things, 6 weeks is not so much time that you can't get it back. Be smart. Rest it, and return at full strength.

All good advise. You can also hold the leg out in an extended kick, and do what I call "pulses," where you raise the leg up and down about 6 inches. I think that is what DWx is describing, but I do it without grabbing the leg and pulling it up; use the muscles to do so.

I chose physical. I do weight training 3 days per week, so that takes up most of my solo time. Reading comes in at 2nd place.

Hopefully not like groin sparring a la Ameri-Do-Te. 2/6/2012 Evening TKD: 6-7 pm Basics: the usual. tried to ease into it, being my first night back in a while. Stretch: splits left, right, and center; seated straddle left, right, and center; butterfly and glutes stretch; toe touches; bent over hamstring stretches. Form: Yoo Sin hyung. Felt pretty good. Still have that hitch at the slap-hand-with-foot moves. One-steps: white and blue belt. Sparring: Sparring went pretty well. I felt like I still had my legs under me by the end of class, which is something I had not felt in quite some time. I was able to move decently, and keep attacking. I have to credit the squats for that. This was my first night back to class in quite some time, with my work/family schedule being all up in the air. After a bit of pre-class warmup, I was able to get my kicks back up around head level. My legs and arms got tired during basics, but when sparring rolled around, as I mentioned, I was still strong and felt able to move better than I had in the past. 2/7/2012 Forms practice Yoo Sin hyung, working on moves 56-59 (waving kicks section of form). 2/8/2012 Deffley B Dead lift: warmup: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3; work: 345x5x3 Push press: warmup: 45x5, 95x5, 115x3, 135x2; work: 162.4x5x5 Rack pulls: 390x3x5 2/10/2012 Deffley C Squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 245x2; work: 290x2x3 Box squats: 225x3x5 Overhead press: warmup: 45x5, 95x5, 115x3; work: 131.2x3x5 Incline bench press: warmup: 45x5, 115x5; work: 140x3x5 Front squats: 140x3x5 Assisted pullups: 3x10 Seated good-mornings: 135x3x12 Glute-ham raises: 3x5 Stretch: standing quads, front kick bar stretch, toe touches, chest/tris/bis. My back started arching with the overhead presses again. Going to have to keep an eye on that.

What's wrong with gyms? At any rate, you might try some narrow width diamond push-ups. Dips are also good for overall chest development.

I don't use this kick much. My legs are fairly short, and its a kick that takes some time to get up. We don't kick low in our sparring, so we have to go waist or higher with a kick. Some of the longer-legged guys in our school have used them well. They just don't work well for me. Now, a spinning crescent counter is a bit more usable for me.

I've taken one of those in the chest once. I didn't get thrown back that far, but it really took the wind out of my sails. I had to stop sparring and take a breather. Good times. And of course, there was an audience.

I don't necessarily agree with the my GM's visions of our TKD org, or even the instructor of the school I attend. I think this is only natural, too. We all tend to grow and learn a bit differently, and we are all affected differently because we have different experiences. I think its a pretty natural occurrence.

I've seen both kids and adults quit after achieving their 1st dan. I think with kids, it has quite a bit to do with burnout. I think there is also the idea to the kids, and parents, that its the end, and nothing really to do afterwards. I can also see how remaining in one rank, like a JBB, for an extended time can some younger participants to lose motivation. Its important to make sure that the classes are kept fresh and that the students are always learning and growing.

I don't think you should feel bad about doing something like this. Not at all. Sometimes, people need put in their place, and if it means eating some consequences along the way, then so be it. If its worth while to you, then I don't think you should get too worked up over it.

I hope things continue to smooth out for you, Bob. Sounds like a lot of distraction for you there.

Great fighters don't always make good teachers. Teaching and coaching is hard to do, and I think an important aspect of effective coaching/teaching is being able to.adapt and adjust how you teach. But look at someone like Bill Wallace. Good fighter, and I've heard nothing but good things about his seminars. Some can do it, others not so well.

Its an example of how learning things like how many people will posture to be tough, and what to look for in the differences between someone posturing, and an eminent attack. As well as environmental awareness and the like. I don't think trying to teach "middle ground self-defense" is the answer, either. That will just end up getting someone hurt at the other end of the spectrum. The main thing is making sure self-defense training is all-encompassing, dealing with not only the physical attacks, but the events and situations that lead up to them.