bushido_man96

I think MP sums it up well. There are those who will always point to the ranks given out willy-nilly to the undeserving, and those who promote by rank will always have to defend themselves as though they do the same thing. Its unfair, but it is what it is. What we must do as instructors who do promote rank is to make sure we are allowing the floor show us the proof, as you say so often, Bob. If we do this, and continue to improve what and how we teach and promote rank, then we can be comfortable with the fact that we promote, and that we do the best job we can with our students.

I agree with the others as well. Building your name recognition will be a good thing.

High kicks are good for one thing IMHO and that's for flash. Which I'm totally against in the martial arts. I agree that flash is not good. High kicks can be basic though, and a well-placed, well-timed one, can be beneficial. I won't argue that it isn't a "high percentage" move for self-defense. But when you do get down to the brass tacks of what self-defense is, you can strip around 90% of the techniques any style has, in my opinion.

Very nice, very well written. I like the concept of the spiral as opposed to a circle, denoting increase in skill and knowledge.

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you on board!

Yeah, that Halloween game was something else. Of all things, a Center/QB bobble gives them back the life their offense squandered throughout the night, and it was just enough. What a game. I was working, so listened to it on the radio. Still good, though.To be honest, I'm worried about the Dolphins this week. In the past, it seemed when a team needed a win, the Chiefs were the one to give it to them. And I'm still worried about the Chiefs offense, as it continues to sputter at times. Need more consistency, especially in the running game. But still, first place was not where I thought KC would be after week 2. Good stuff, and I'll take as many wins as KC can get! Ugly or otherwise!

Working with a partner would be helpful, especially to work on specific strategies, and timing different counter and such. If you don't have a partner, doing some good solo work with angles and attacks will help a bit. Timing would be a big thing, and that's hard to work on your own. See if you can find a partner to throw some things at you to work on.

Way to go!

I would. Its good to be open and honest with your instructor about these things, and it can lead to a good evaluation of what happened, how, and why. A good learning experience in things such as what to do differently, what to work on, how to avoid the sitution in the first place, and other facets of the fight you may not have thought of.

I've never done it (I don't own a school currently) but have heard of it, and heard it worked fairly well. Just depends on your student base.

I stretch after I do squats at the gym, and stretch when I'm warm after some TKD stuff. I haven't been to TKD for the past few months, so I haven't done the kind of stretching I like to do. I stopped worrying about trying to do the splits years ago. I just try to keep my ability to kick my head level, and anything else is a bonus.

We did something similar a few weeks ago. We worked on "countering an ambush," and fired from positions like being seated in a restaurant, after being knocked down, starting from the ground on our backs or bellies, and on the run, etc. Really good stuff. 10/31/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 275x3x5, 315x1 Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 240x5x5 Barbell rows: warmup: 75x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 175x2,3,3,3,3 Stretch: standing/kneeling quads, seiza, front/twist/side bar, reverse hurdler, butterfly and glutes, seated knee hugs and back twists, toe touches, chest/tris/bis. 11/1/11 White belt material: ATA and TTA forms and one-steps. 11/2/11 Switched to a different gym routine, and now do dead lifts on Wednesdays. Dead lift: warmup: 135x5, 175x5, 210x5; work: 360x5x3 Wow, did that feel good, too! My grip was good the whole way, and really felt like I had good work on dead lift. I may have to stick with this plan. We'll see how the other days go, as I will be set on the lifts I do on each day, instead of each switching each session.

I don't think a bunch of bobbing and weaving will help you in most situations. Just like throwing perpetual front kicks won't help you either. I'd recommend one bob or weave used in conjunction with an entering strike or takedown attempt. While you're down there you might latch your hand or teeth around his reproductive organs - it's pretty useful. Like a different type of Tai-Sabaki. Good idea. I think bobbing and weaving likely evolved more as Boxing continued to evolve, and therefore, doing extensively is more for ring strategy, where as in self-defense, it can be of great use, on a smaller scale. But, I think you see some similar things happen in Karate when you look at how Karate competitions are fought. You see strategies used there that you wouldn't see to the same extent in self-defense.

Thanks for asking. The term has a couple of meanings. Generally it means "finishing blow". It can also mean something more along the lines of "disabling an attacker" but "finishing blow" is the more common intent. I train traditional Shotokan. Nishiyama school. The goal is develop the ability to go from zero to kill at the moment of kyo and do it every time. Maybe it isn't the best thing for the streets. Doesn't matter to me. Its the art that keeps me coming back. That and the fact its at the top of my list for lifetime activities. Thanks for the clarification. I think the idea of a finishing blow is a valid one, but, like tallgeese, I'm also a proponent of the idea of combination striking. I think each strike should be performed as a finishing blow, but never singularly. I want to finish the guy with this blow, and this blow, and this blow...and so on, as tallgeese mentioned, until the threat is neutralized. I think of it the same way I think about a lethal force situation involving a handgun. I'm not going to shoot a lethal threat once, and then check to see if he/she falls down. I'm going to keep shooting until the threat is down.

I agree with what you say about getting paid in Muay Thai/MMA as opposed to paying to fight in Karate and TKD tournies. You mention the popularity of Karate compared to MMA now. I'd be interested in seeing a study of how many Karate schools are still out there in comparison to MMA gyms. Perhaps Karate hasn't lost too much popularity, in as much as it has just lost some attention?

I think I read somewhere that the first influence of a roundhouse style kick may have been from Fillipino styles, but I'm not sure.

That's pretty neat, too. Did you get to meet Barnett at some of those fights?

GM Chae Sun Yi, Master Scott Biskie, Me. I'm not sure who taught our GM; I think he was WTF before he branched off on his own, so I am unsure. My ATA lineage is a bit tougher, but if I take some time to look back at it, I can come up with something on it.

I think kicks are good, and are most valuable, when used below the waste. I do think, however, kicking above the waste can be useful, and beneficial, but like anything else, it has to be done right, timed right, and strategized right. Its a particularly tough skill to aquire, kicking to the head, and speed is the best friend, next to technique. Like I said, its especially tough to get good at, but, it can be done.

Congrats!

Congrats to the Cardinals! And to La Russa, going out on top. A great career.

You will have to fill me in on what "todome" is. I'm not well-versed in other languages.

Can't wait! I'll see if I can get it approved by our department.

My point is that squared of with an old master gloves off no rules winner takes all I honestly don't think a bunch of bobbing and weaving is going to do you a hell of a lot of good. He'll be out to punch you once and go home and probably will. Poking him a few times would just help him get his bearings. "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth."

Let us know how you did!