bushido_man96

JusticeZero and DWx both make valid points. When there are as many TKD schools out there as there are, there tend to be bad ones that slip through. Instuctors like to make money, and send out others that aren't ready to teach, and quality starts slipping. However, there are good ones out there, just like with any style. If you do your research, you can find the good ones. Thanks for the kind words, Bob. I appreciate them.

Thanks, GS. I was hoping I wasn't getting too graphic with it.

Totally agree, if as you get better you can use the speed bag for kicking too!!! Like Van Damme in Bloodsport.

My point is that the two begin to reciprocate.

Coming up through TKD, I was taught to punch this way in order to develop power through the body mechanics with the hip movement, and being taught the "equal and opposite reaction" to go along with the punching hand. I'm not saying its right, but that's how I was told when coming up.

I agree with you here. However, when the Boxing punch began, there was no padding; bare knuckles were used. So, I think they tried to do as much damage with a single strike, as well. The arms were kept up for protection from the other puncher, as well. The Boxer has straight-line punches, too. The jab and the straight punch, and the cross are straight-line punches. If done properly, none of these punches have a windup, either. As for power, Boxer's will still generate power in the hips and drive the punch from the floor; they just don't straighten the back leg, keeping a more maneuverable stance. There is still a lot of power in a rear cross. Yes, it was an ancient game in the Olympics, however, even when hand padding was worn, the leather was oftentimes studded. I don't think bout duration was any key aspect of the games at those times. However, the crowd did enjoy the blood and violence of it all, and it wasn't uncommon for one to die from trauma in those games.

A speed bag can help to develop some rhythm and hand-eye coordination, along with providing a nice workout. I always enjoyed it. Welcome to the Forums!

I have to respectfully disagree with you. I'm on the same page with tallgeese in that the MAs, first and foremost, should be preparing you for self-defense. As an instructor, I'd rather have a student tell me he was able to successfully defend himself in an attack as opposed to seeing them win a tournament sparring division. I think that good self-defense should be a part of every MA out there, and I think most of them, even the sport-oriented ones, do a decent job of preparing their students.

I see where you are coming from here. However, I think that knowledge is basically things you learn from another source; whether its being taught in school by a teacher (or MA school/MA teacher), reading books, or otherwise researching a topic. Experience, on the other hand, is gained when one attempts to apply the knowledge one has gained. Experiences can be good or bad, positive or negative, right or wrong. Either way, experienced is gained, adjustments made, and then knowledge is re-applied in the next situation. Then one gains more experience.

Another half-year ticked off. Still going strong! Good job, Patrick!

11/14/2011 Deffley 5x5 Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 290x3x5 Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 245x5,5,4,4,2 Barbell rows: 75x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 155x5x5 Seated good mornings: 105x3x12 Hip thrusts: 3x8 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, seiza, rev. hurdler, butterfly and glutes, seated knee hugs and back twists, toe touches, chest/tris/bis.

You may not want to do anything like this, but you have to remember that there is another guy in the fight, too, and he might want to. So it would be a good thing to learn a bit about it, like MasterPain mentions in his post.

I think you make a good point here. At some point, it needs to be addressed, and I think most people don't either assume others address it to themselves in some brief way, just by accepting their own mortality, or don't know how, or want, to address it in their classes. I think once an instructor starts talking about self-defense, he/she needs to discuss why we defend ourselves. Most likely, its because someone wants to hurt us, maybe bad enough to kill us. Then start the addressing from there. I've heard and seen written many times from Martial Artists the thoughts or ideas that they would kill if they had to. I think to myself, "Really?" I want to break that discussion down with them at times. Say to them, "Imagine yourself killing someone in self-defense. Don't just say it. See that scenario play out in you head. See yourself crushing someone's throat, and imagine the sound it makes. Grab some fruit and squish it with your two hands, and imagine that is your hand on someone's throat, because they were trying to kill you. Now flip it, and imagine those things happening to you. Because that is what a killer wants to do to you, either with his hands, or a weapon." Now at that point, we've got a much more interesting conversation going on. Maybe I got a bit off track there, but I think it meshes with the overall concept of the thread here. I think to maximize training effiency, we have to get to this point. Now, once you get to training, you don't want your students to "lose" in training. We have to have them keep fighting until the criteria of the scenario is met in which they "win," which would equate to "living." But that's another thread, I guess.

I agree with the others here as well. It is bullying, and it doesn't just go away. Action should be taken.

Experience, to me, would be what is gained when applying the knowledge you learn. The nice thing about experience is that it comes from successes and failure. It can come from within or without the training halls, as well. Knowledge is what you gain through learning, I guess. More or less, what you are taught by peers and teachers. I think it would usually come from a structured learning setting, but I suppose could come otherwise, like the "school of hard knocks." Rank is simply a denotation of seniority amongst peers, whether that is decided by tests that display a knowledge level achieved, or through something like an election process, or simply through the veneration of age, as some cultures place high value on. I think knowledge and experience really kind of integrate with each other. You use your knowledge when you encounter tasks to perform, and your experience builds from what you learn via the results. Then, you evaluate your experience, and gain knowledge from it. Rank can be more of a visual decoration, and is not always indicative of one's experiences or knowledge. Does that all make sense?

Yeah, you are right, Bob. I guess things could be worse for me!

Hehe, swordchucks...

I agree that everyone will learn at a different pace. There are naturally athletes out there that will pick things up quick, and there are those who are much more raw, and will require more time to ingrain things into muscle memory. Reps, reps, and more reps will be the call of the day, but, they have to be proper reps, and add speed and little things here and there as time goes by, when they feel they are gaining levels of comfort. That's my take, anyways. Hope that answers the question well enough.

First off, we don't WANT you to change your style, or are we telling you to do so. We are merely offering suggestions that might help you see your training differenly, and expose you to different things. Barring that stuff, if you want to train for those practical combat applications, then there are some things you can do. Like tallgeese mentioned, get some like-minded individuals together and help you out. They don't even have to be a member of a club or school; they just have to be willing to work with you and help you out. Next, take the kind of things that happen when you are actually in a fight, and work scenarios to train how to realistically deal with those things. You will see what works, what doesn't work so well, and you can drill things from there. It will be interactive, and involve a partner who is actively resisting what you do, which adds realism, and hence some of that pressure to test things out. And you'll get more used to working under that pressure.

Snow will make running the bleachers more challenging. It will prepare your legs better for that heavy feeling they will get as you wear down towards the top.

11/9/2011 Deffley 5x5 Dead lift: warmup: 135x5, 175x5, 210x5; work: 365x5x3. Not as many reps per set, but more sets overall, so volume increase. I love it! Push press: warmup: 45x5x2; work: 95x5x5, 115x3x5. I added the push press to Wednesday's workouts, to get more shoulder work in. Stretch: standing quads, front/twist/side kick bar stretch, toe touches, chest/tris/bis. 11/11/2011 Deffley 5x5 Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 285x3x5, 320x1 Overhead press: warmup: 45x5x2, 70x5, 90x3, 100x2; work: 145x5x5 Seated good mornings: 100x3x12 Hip thrusts: 3x8 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, seiza, front/twist/side bar stretch, toe touches, reverse hurdler, butterfly and glutes, seated knee hugs and back twists, chest/tris/bis. The seated good mornings and hip thrusts are posterior chain accessory exercises, hopefully to help get my back stronger so I can stay more upright for squatting heavy, and to help with my dead lift lockouts. So far so good. I've noticed that my weight lifting has helped me feel stronger in TKD classes, too.

We don't, although there are some departments, usually bigger ones in bigger cities, that do frequent fitness requirements tests. Its not a bad thing, really. It would make me stay in better shape, that's for sure. Training to the test tends to be popular when those test scores are all that's evaluated. To me, it can make training a bummer, because instead of training what and how you want, you end up only training what you need per the test. This is a negative, I think, especially when improvement is a necessity every time. For example, if a mile run in 15 minutes is the requirement, I'm sure I could eventually hit that. But to be required to put forth a better time each evaluation, would be tough for me, because I despise running, and will do it as little as possible. Training would not be fun for me.

It sounds like you might have been having an anxiety attack, but I'm not sure. If this persists, go back to your doctor. Get well soon.

I can see your point here. But, I don't think that just because one spends times in multiple styles means that their overall skill level is being diluted. Yes, it does become tougher to devote more time to one of the styles, but, like tallgeese has mentioned, one's goals have to be kept in mind when doing things like this. As to answer the OP, when I do TKD, its easy to just do TKD in class. The curriculum, and the adherence to it, makes this pretty easy. But, there are times when I'm working on something, and I can see a place where something I've learned in DT, Hapkido, or Aikido, might be good in a transition, or in facilitating a technique or finish. I think as one continues to grow and learn, its only natural for one to become his own style, and to apply things thus.

I think that would be a really good time. I'd love to be able to learn some stick fighting. I really like how inclusive they tend to be, and basically do trial by fire. Good stuff.