bushido_man96

This is absolutely correct. As for practicing outside of the dojo, I used to practice in the gym, my home, the park..whereever I had a little room to move. Having a place to practice should not be a problem. Motivation to practice can be, but that's entirely up to you and nobody is going to force you to take the time and energy to practice outside of class except for you. That's the decision you need to make. I agree with Montana here. I'm a bit confused though; are you actually able to get to the dojo? If so, then go, whether or not the classes are huge or not. Just pay attention, and try as hard as you can. If you're that worried about screwing something up at home, just use that time to practice what you already feel you have a good handle on. Use it as review time, not learn new stuff time. You've asked a bunch of questions to try help you get confident and motivated, and that is great, but in the end, its your decision alone. We can't motivate you, take the class for you, or learn for you. That has to come from within. I'm a short, heavy-set guy. I'm 5'7" or 5'8", and weigh about 255 lbs. I've always been short, and kind of heavy. TKD is not easy for me. But I do it. I love it. I want to show others what a short, stumpy guy is capable of. If someone wants to doubt me, then that's just bonus motivation for me. Get out there and just do it!

Welcome to KF, LittleW!

Along with the cardio, make sure you inputs are less than your outputs. Check how many calories your taking in, and make sure you burn more off than you take in. If you can't increase your amount of workouts, then you need to decrease your caloric intake a bit more to facilitate losing more weight.

Do you have access to go to a gym to lift weights? If so, a few programs you can look into are Starting Strength and Stronglifts.com. I use the Stronglifts program, and I love it so far. If you don't have access to a gym, then I'd suggest buying a jump rope, and doing something like a Rocky workout, doing running, skipping rope, use a pull-up bar, and push-ups and ab work.

7/11/2011 evening TKD class: Basics, stretch, form, one-steps, sparring. The form came together a bit better this night, and I didn't lose my balance too much. The instructor told me I tend to "hang" after rechambering a kick, not getting the leg back to the ground very quickly. Will have to work on that. Sparring went ok, and I did kick a guy around 6' tall in the head three times. I've also worked with my 5 year old intermittenly on some TKD stuff, but not so much on things like stances, forms, and techniques, but more along the lines of getting off-line from an attack, working an angle to get to the back, attacking, and then moving away. When his attention span permits... 7/13/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 270x5,5,5,5,4 (almost got it) Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 200x5x5 Barbell rows: warmup: 75x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 140x5x5 Power clean: 115x5 Since I have stalled 3 times on the squat weight, its time to deload 10%, and then work my way back up from there. I felt stronger with the squats today, but the spotter I had seemed to be assisting just a bit, so I'm going with the deload.

I think I've seen that somewhere before. It appears that in the case of a takedown, where both go to the ground, the results appear somewhat murky, but it seems to me to imply that if you take someone down, with say a Wrestler's takedown, then ideally they land first, so you have a better chance of winning. Makes sense to me. Even with this in mind, its important to note that having a good ground game or takedown game will help to defeat the chance for someone else to take you down, thus raising your chance of being the victor.

7/3/2011 Tried to stretch out the hip flexors a bit. The right one is really tight. 7/4/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 205x2; work: 260x5x5 Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 115x3, 135x2; work: 190x5x5 Barbell rows: warmup: 65x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 130x5x5 Power clean: work: 95x5; had good pop this time. 7/6/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 205x2; work: 265x5x5 Overhead press: warmup: 45x5x2, 65x3, 85x2; work: 110x5x5 Dead lift: warmup: 135x5, 175x5, 210x5; work: 275x5 7/7/2011 Stretch: seated straddle left and right, butterfly, glutes, reverse hurdler, hip flexors. 7/8/2011 Weighed in today Weight: 254 lbs Body fat: 30.8% BMI: 38.6 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 210x2; work: 270x5,5,4,4,4 - first stall out on squats. Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x3, 155x2; work: 195x5x5 Barbell rows: warmup: 65x5x2, 95x3, 105x2; work: 135x5x5 Power clean: work: 105x5 7/8 and 7/9/2011 Tried to stretch out the hip flexors again. 7/11/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 135x5, 205x3, 225x2; work: 270x5,5,4,4,4 - second stall. Overhead press: warmup: 45x5x2, 65x3, 85x2; work: 115x5x5 Dead lift: warmup: 135x5, 175x5, 205x5; work: 285x5

nice one. reflex kick. wouldn't think you could get enough push off the side of the cage. Ah man, I can't view it right now! Is it a spin hook?

I agree that the kids that young should be seperated. This isn't always viable, but if there are enough of them, then they should be in their own class.

Welcome!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to KF, Richy! Glad to have you here!

This is craziness. Sorry to hear about all that. What point are they trying to make through this legislation? Trying to prevent injuries? I'm guessing they don't really understand what is going on in the ring, and have never trained thus.

Thank you! I am not hating on BJJ because I would actually like to try it out but I just wanted to capitalize on what you said because it seems like everybody I talk to thinks that BJJ did not come from JJJ, and when I type in JUJUTSU on youtube or google all the searches that come up are brazilian jiujiutsu and it kinda bothers me seeing traditional martial arts being sort of swept under the rug by all the newer MA's Its not just the popularity of BJJ that brings this about; it is popular because it is so effective. Yes, it did come from JJJ via Judo, but, the training methodology is different, and is what brings on its effectiveness. Just like randori was for making Judo training more popular than JJJ training, BJJ's ground fighting focus has done the same thing.

I'd like to stick with my TKD training, and add in some BJJ.

JusticeZero makes good points. Slow down, and don't overwhelm yourself with a sense of training with one guy who might be greater than another due to reputation. It seems you are easily swayed by the grass appearing greener on the other side of the fence. Now, you should discipline yourself to follow one set of protocol, and stick with it for a time. This will benefit you more in the long run than trying to run between two different schools and teachers.

I like this ethos, excellent, thank you my friend Thank you, Dobbersky!

I don't think there is anything wrong with asking. If they feel insulted, and tell you to pack sand, then I think that answers your questions for the most part. If they have no ego, then they should feel no problem with openly discussing their training background and the like.

So WTF TKD? Have you started any sparring yet?

I like Lee's idea of strong side forward, and sparred that way for a very long time. I still do from time to time, but now I try to work with my strong side back more often, because its a better habit for defensive tactics usage when I am at work. My strong side is my gun side, so I want to keep my gun side back away from the bad guys as much as possible.

Our forms are part and parcel with the testing requirements. Each rank has a form to test on. We don't do a lot of applications, unfortunately, as it really isn't in the nature of TKD. There are some applications there, and some instructors have made a point to draw applications out of TKD forms to add to the student's experience; which I think is a good thing. However, by and large, I don't see it much in TKD. The forms have more to do with technique development through advancing ranks. One thing that I can say about the ATA forms is that they are made with a clear goal of advancing technique in mind. The ITF forms do this as well, but to a lesser degree, I think.

It sounds to me like the "flight or fight" response kicked in, and that you haven't trained under those conditions much. Look into what is called adrenal-stress training. Basically, what will help you out here, is getting you training environment set so that you are pushed into this "feeling" you had when you had your fight. By doing this, you will learn to better control yourself when this happens, and override your body's natural response a bit.

I agree. Hit that tire!

6/27/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x5, 160x3, 180x2; work: 245x5x5 Overhead press: warmup: 45x5x2, 55x3, 65x2; work: 100x5x5 Dead lift: warmup: 65x5x2, 115x3, 135x2; work: 255x5 Wow! The dead lift was really tough! Squats really wiped the legs out, too. Basketball in the driveway, 1 on 1 with my daughter. She won, 5 to 2, but it was fun. Stretch: seated straddle, left and right, butterfly. 6/29/2011 SL 5x5A Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x5, 160x3, 180x2; work: 250x5x5 Bench press: warmup: 45x5x2, 115x3, 135x2; work: 185x5x5 Barbell rows: warmup: 65x5x2, 85x3, 95x2; work: 125x5x5 Power cleans: 75x5 I decided to add the power cleans to the routine. It fits the other types of lifts (compound, barbell exercises), and I've always like it. Starting light to work technique. 7/1/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: warmup: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x5, 160x4, 180x2; work: 255x5x5 Overhead press: warmup: 45x5x2, 65x3, 75x2; work: 105x5x5 Dead lift: warmup: 115x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 265x5 Stretch: front and side swing kicks, toe touches, standing straddle, left and right. The work set of dead lifts was hard to hold on to. I did some reading, and I am going to switch to a mixed grip on the work set from now on, to see how that changes things. I could lift the weight, it was just hard to hold. 7/3/2011 Stretched out the hip flexors today. I don't get sore from squats anymore, but my legs do get a bit tight.

Its great that you've found something to start in now. Keep at it, and let the results come!