bushido_man96

A no-change does happen from time to time. My thoughts are that if there isn't a chance of a failure, then it isn't a test. Its just a formality. No one likes to fail, but it seems that our society is trying to pamper everyone so much by removing the chance to fail that no one knows how to deal with failure anymore.

That's great that you're doing this, Bob. I think its great for those in the organization to see the higher ups coming around to visit them, and really make the time for them. Kudos to you, Bob! When do you visit my school again....

10/17/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 330x3x5 Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 235x5,5,5,4,4 Barbell rows: warmup: 75x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 165x5x5 Power clean and jerk: 165x4,5,5 Dips: 5x5 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, seiza, front/twist/side bar stretch, toe touches, reverse hurdler, butterfly/glutes, seated knee hugs/back twists, chest/tris/bis.

Cayuga Karate: You've poured a lot of information into your post, especially in the differences between kata training and effective fighting. With that in mind, I quote you below: With this in mind, then does it ever make you wonder why to continue with kata when it has so little in common with effective fighting? Would you feel the time spend on kata could be better served in working on more effective fighting combination work, reaction training, etc? It seems to me that more and more of the lay person sees these things on their own. They watch a match on TV of the last MMA event, and then maybe see the local Karate school students doing their forms practice through the window walking down main street. They see the difference, and make their decision that way. Just some thoughts. Thanks for your post.

Thanks, Bob. Danielle, I do agree that most schools do overlap into a few of the models I have mentioned. But what I tried to do was look at what the majority of one of our classes focuses on, and went that route. Like I've mentioned, although we do Olympic style sparring, our school is far from being categorized into a Modern Sport-oriented school. Some schools with more class time than ours probably can shade more into each of the areas, though.

Very well written, and very informative. Thanks for sharing this!

The Muay Thai question has been pretty well answered. As for the JKD question, it can be tough to figure out if what an instructor teaches is related to what Lee actually taught. There are a couple of factions out there, and they both claim they are following Lee's precepts. And then there are some who latch onto JKD for name recognition, and don't really teach anything of it. Doing some research on the matter will help you decide what you are getting at a school.

Congrats on your accomplishments! And having fun makes it all the better. I agree with you about all the yelling, and think its a bit annoying. As for the weapons, I think those three tend to be the most common. The ability to twirl them about is what I think makes them so popular; people just like to twirl their weapons around instead of really figuring out how to strike and block with them.

Wow! Great ending to that story, shy of the bad guy being caught. I hope they find the individual. Good job for her, and keep that training up!

Yeah, I hear ya. Even as good as Luck is projected to be, I don't want to endure a really crappy season just to get the chance to draft him.

I agree with Montana's idea. Keep in mind that things like this take time, so you need to be patient. Good luck to you.

Thanks for sharing this experience with us, Shizentai. Very cool.

10/12/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 330x3x5 330 was tough. Thought I was going to stall out. Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 235x5x5 Stalled last time, got through it this time. Barbell rows: warmup: 75x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 165x3,2,3,3,3 Power clean and jerk: 165x4,4,4 Dips: 5x5 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, seiza stretch, progressive front/twist/side kick bar stretches, toe touches, seated knee hugs/back twists/rev. hurdler, chest/tris/bis.

That kata is a lot like our white belt form, Chon-Ji hyung, minus the high blocks, and add a few more punches, and some middle blocks.

I respectfully disagree with you here, Dobbersky. With diligent study and using feedback from training partners, "internet training" can become so much more than "monkey see, monkey do" training. You can get good physical feedback from using mirrors to compare what you do to what you see on the videos, and from just feeling what your body is doing. Is it the long road to hoe? Yes, very much so. Is the presence of an instructor always going to be better in the long run? Yes, very much so. But, it doesn't mean it isn't possible.

Thanks, tallgeese.

10/11/2011 TTA one-steps and some light stretching.

Thanks, Patrick. For what its worth, your team is ahead of my team now in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes...

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. Every year many people sign up for a martial arts class, looking for a new experience. But, why do they sign up and how many of them actually know exactly what they are signing up for? Self defense? Exercise? Self improvement? Aside from these questions, what are their assumptions? Do they assume that all of these will be filled at every place they go? Perhaps they view every school as essentially the same in goals, methods and tactics. Perhaps not. In light of these questions, I have decided to evaluate the state of my own Taekwondo school, using two models of evaluation. In the first evaluation method, I will use the "Three Models of Taekwondo" outlined by Simon John O'Neill, in his book "The Taegeuk Cipher." The second evaluation criteria I will use can be found here on KarateForums.com, in a thread titled "Role of the Teacher," authored by JohnC. The former model will evaluate my school form a narrower overview of Taekwondo schools, where the latter model will evaluate my school in a broader definition of martial arts analysis. Three Models of Taekwondo In "The Taegeuk Cipher," Simon John O'Neill lays out three models that today's Taekwondo schools tend to fall under: 1. Hard-style Taekwondo: for self defense and physical education 2. Modern sport Taekwondo: for tournament fighting and physical education 3. Pattern-based Taekwondo: for self defense (pp. 14) The author states that most Taekwondo schools fall under these three categories, but it is not uncommon to find elements of one incorporated into the other. Hard-Style Taekwondo According to O'Neill, this style most closely resembles the art taught be the original kwans and was characteristic of Taekwondo into the 1980's. Power striking, hard blocking, backed by rigorous drilling and conditioning led to the use of percussive techniques to defeat opponents. Grappling and vital point manipulation were somewhat neglected (pp. 14). Basic technique drilling with attention to body position (shoulders, hips and feet) was paramount. Powerful sweeping blocking motions cleared obstructions for direct, linear strikes. Knife hand and hammer fist strikes were common as well, especially for self defense. Kicking was a bit more rudimentary, consisting of the more basic front kick, round kick, side kick and spinning side/back kick. The more complicated footwork characteristic of the sport styles had not yet come into vogue. Modern Sport Taekwondo In order to differentiate Taekwondo from the Okinawan and Japanese styles that it sprang from, associations began promoting its vast kicking inventory, especially of the jumping and spinning variety. As the style began to internationalize and move toward sport, safety became more of an issue. This was approached by either limiting areas of contact (not punching to the head) or limiting contact levels (light to medium contact sparring). The push for Olympic recognition by both the International Taekwon-do Federation (ITF) and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) led to the establishment of sport-based rule sets used for international competition. As a result, many dojangs will dedicate much of their training time to drilling tournament techniques and strategies, with forms and "traditional technique" training becoming relegated to grading curriculum. Self defense is an occasional novelty (pp. 16-17). Pattern-Based Taekwondo This Taekwondo model is pure self defense, "devoid of sporting adaptations, based on the concepts and techniques shown in the patterns," (pp. 17). In this model, the pattern is viewed as a textbook from which information is extracted, studied, and then put into practice (pp. 21). These concepts and techniques are then put to work through various levels of partner and scenario drilling to explore practical application. JohnC's Martial Evaluation Models In the thread titled "The Role of the Teacher" on KarateForums.com, the author of the thread, JohnC, lists four initial positions to define approaches to martial learning. 1. Martial Exercise: focus on health improvement and fitness 2. Martial Sport: focus on competitions, dependent on rule sets 3. Martial Way: focus on a "traditional" aspect of training 4. Martial Art: focus on effective self defense Martial artists tend to use this breakdown in classifying the approach they take in how they teach and/or learn the martial arts and in a sense, it describes the general make-ups of various styles and schools. The descriptions for the four classifications below are provided in the thread, by JohnC. Martial Exercise This is for people wanting to get/maintain a level of fitness without regard to the practical/competition applications of the movements (Taebo, Cardio Kickboxing and most McDojos fit here). Martial Sport This is for people wanting to compete in rule based scenarios without regard to the street/combat applicability of the techniques. Martial Way This is for people wanting to focus on traditional techniques/weapons/methods/etiquette/spiritual development without regard to whether those things are currently applicable or can be improved upon via modern approaches. Martial Art This is for people wanting to be/become "street lethal" without regard to style, tradition, etiquette, etc. In both of the aforementioned models, it is important to note that each of the authors feel that the breakdowns are not totally exclusive of each other and that there does tend to be some overlap. Bearing these models in mind I will now address the layout of my typical Taekwondo class. My Typical Taekwondo Class To borrow some Karate terminology, a typical class at my Taekwondo school follows a kihon/kata/kumite type of format that is common to that of many traditional Karate schools. This is not surprising to me, considering Taekwondo's roots in Shotokan Karate. Basics This would be the kihon section of the class. Each class opens with basic techniques. These follow a set format that is the same for every class, save for those times when an instructor gets an urge and changes things up a bit. We start with hand techniques and work towards foot techniques, followed by combination techniques. Basics are done in prescribed stances to prescribed target areas, advancing and/or retreating along the floor. Although monotonous at times, they do mimic most of the movements, targets and stances associated with the techniques when done in the forms, lending consistency when learning the forms. The chief and assistant instructors of the school are fond of stating that basics form the foundation of everything else that we do and everything else builds from the basics. That is why the basics are done first. Forms Following basics is the forms (or kata) portion of class. Forms are typically done in rank order, starting with the lowest ranks and working up to the higher ranks. There are usually two run-throughs; the first at the instructor's count, to make corrections and the second at the student's pace. My school practices most of the ITF patterns. Basics lead to forms, which is why forms follow second here. Sparring Sparring (or kumite, in sticking with the 3 K's analogy) falls into two categories in my school: 1. One-step sparring. These are prearranged defenses to a right hand face punch. They follow a down block/attack/defend pattern and are touted as "self defense techniques." Some of the lower ranked techniques have promise, but the more advanced segments contain higher level kicking combinations that would be much more difficult to render into a self defense situation. However, even the more applicable one-steps lose their self defense value if not taken beyond the down block/attack/defend layout. 2. Free sparring. This is done last in class. We follow the WTF/Olympic rule set as far as target areas and legal techniques are concerned, and also wear protective gear in accordance with those rules, which includes foam headgear, chest protector and fist/forearm and shin/instep padding. Contact levels are moderate in class, but body displacement is emphasized. Knockouts are acceptable for adults at competition. At times this class segment will consist of sparring drills and these are geared towards the sparring rules. This segment finishes out the class. Character Traits My school and organization are also characterized by principles of etiquette, consisting of answering up "yes sir" and "no sir" in class, showing respect to high ranks and instructors with bows and bowing in and out of class and on and off of the dojang floor. Training is also done barefoot, wearing a uniform called a dobok. Technique performance is determined by set parameters for what is considered right/wrong or good/bad technique. Evaluation I will now use the layout of my typical Taekwondo class to evaluate the state of my school using the classifications listed in each of the models. According to the "Three Models of Taekwondo," my school is shaded by two of the models listed. With the heavy emphasis placed on basics and forms, my school falls under the Hard-Style Taekwondo model, but more towards the physical education aspect and not the self defense aspect. I also shade it a bit into the Modern Sport Taekwondo model, because of the sport-based rules of sparring. I would like to emphasize that I shade lightly into this model, as sparring is not a priority in my school and rarely occupies much more than one third of the class time. Evaluation of my school using JohnC's categories also falls under two of his models. The first model I lump it into is the Martial Exercise category. This is mostly due to the aforementioned physical education aspect of the Hard-Style Taekwondo model. The second model I would classify my school under is Martial Way. This is because of the "traditional" makeup of the class, adhering to traditional techniques in basics, forms and one-steps, the rank-and-file order of the class and the emphasis on respect and discipline in regards to high ranks and instructors. Conclusion My goal in writing this article is to simply be honest with myself; to honestly present the makeup of my current Taekwondo school and evaluate what it does and does not offer as a martial art. I hope that by writing this article and using my Taekwondo school as an example, that I can also provide other martial artists with ideas for evaluating not only what they may be getting out of their own current training, but also how they may be able to seek out whatever else they may be looking for in their own martial journey. Sources O'Niell, Simon John. "The Taegeuk Cipher," pp. 14, 16-17, 21. JohnC, "Role of the Teacher," KarateForums.com.

Some churches might be willing to help out. You might check them out. Some schools may allow you to start an after-school program and use their gyms.

I feel for you, Patrick. The Chiefs pulled off another win this week, albeit against another winless team. Although Cassel may not be the most talented QB in the game, he has really taken on a leadership role, or it appears that way to me. He gets fired up on the field, and he had been making good decisions. He'll make some mistakes, for sure, but I love the intensity and leadership. Bowe is being awesome again, and I'm impressed with Breaston. It will be interesting to see what Baldwin offers when he finally gets on board. And congrats to Jackie Battle for a great game this week. I imagine its his first 100 yard rushing game in a regular season game. And for Berry being out on defense, the secondary is really playing decent. Hali and Johnson are beasts.

I was kind of surprised that the Phillies got eliminated, but the Cards are too good a team, with too much talent, to count out. The Brewers are looking good, and Braun has become quite the post season player now.

I'm going to dress as a Sheriff's Deputy and...oh, wait, nevermind. I'll be working... My boys are going to go as robots. My wife is going to be working on their costumes.

I used to play Magic the Gathering every chance I got, and when I wasn't playing, I was just trying to build decks. Still love it; just don't have time or money for it. New sets come out to quickly. I absolutely love to read with my free time now. Lots of novels, but I also keep up with my MA based reading. I'm hoping to build some shelving in my basement for my library. Weight lifting has become a renewed passion for me lately, too. I also love video games. We have a Wii, and it has been fun to play. What's great is that it has allowed me to play old NES games again, and I have downloaded most of the Mega Man games, and a few new ones.

The Incredible Hulk is probably my favorite. Also enjoy: The Last Boy Scout Demolition Man Tango and Cash (could watch that for hours on end) Big Trouble in Little China is always worth sitting through for the millionth time. Action Jackson Any Die Hard movie. I also have a special place in my heart for The Cannonball Run movies (first two). Just about any MA flick, too. I remember growing up, watching the B movies on Saturday nights on HBO, with stars like Ken Norton, Lorenzo Lamas, Cynthia Rothrock, Kathy Long, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, etc.