bushido_man96

I believe Tony Blauer's training systems are based off honing these natural instincts, isn't it? I remember reading a bit about it, and you're right; it just makes sense to work on honing these ideas instead of training them out of us.

Thank you, ps1.

Cool, thanks for the info. I did see a few of them for the push-ups and sit-ups, and I think squats. They were free, too, which is a bonus.

Yeah, its just semantics, really. He did technically jump, although not very high. So, you could call it jumping, or just skipping. Pretty much the same kick.

Ah, ok. That helps a bit more. I had never hears Master Thor talk about teaching in such a way, and our school never did that. We always broke up into rank groups and worked on the forms for our belt, and the instructors would make the rounds to help and teach. I kind of like the way this sounds. In my opinion, you can never work too much on the sparring aspect, and two months is more than enough time to dedicate to forms, since there aren't any applications to learn. And the extra two months gives more time to straighten out all the technical aspects of the forms as well.

I agree; not many of us like to be hit. Along with upping the intensity as time goes by comes the knowledge and experience for the student to learn how to recognize and intelligently defend the attacks that begin coming in harder. It is a process, and throwing students to the wolves won't yield very good sized classes, and fewer training partners.

I hadn't really thought about it this way, but you are right. We practice some brush/trap/strike in Combat Hapkido, and do a similar block/pass/pin with our DT work, and it always starts with a block that allows for a different follow-up.

Sounds like a good book. Reading your explanation here, I'd have to say I agree with Renzo's ideas of phases instead of ranges; the reasoning behind the explanations just makes sense, and its obvious that striking and kicking aren't necessarily limited to the "ranges," like you mention above with your examples. These phases make more sense and actually do a better job of defining the possibilities in combat.

Thank you, sperki and Alex.

Ok, still confused. By block systems, you mean the two month testing cycles they did? Do you have a different testing cycle now?

I think the reason Posada isn't catching anymore is because his legs probably can't take it much anymore. Either that, or management is being proactive about getting younger guys in there to replace some of the older guys still around. Let's face it, Posada, Jeter, and Rivera are all getting up there in age, and their time with the Yankees is probably more limited now than one might expect.

Good call...thanks Brian...you saved me!! Gentlemen...start your engines!! This made me smile. Sweet. I got to help two people in one post.

Sorry, I just saw this, but tell her congrats! That's a great deal.

Getting off the line is important not only for weapons defense, but also for weaponless defenses. One of the things our one-steps do teach is getting off to an angle for defense. We try to do that in Combat Hapkido as well. I try to do this in sparring as well, since I am a shorter person and I can't win the length battles with taller people if I fight them "straight up." Part of getting off the line is related to your surroundings, too. Therefore, it is good to be able to defend when you can't get off line, too. But, if you are going straight in, then you have to be moving the attacker's weapons off the line.

Hehe, I got over being a runner a LOOOONG time ago. 5/17/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: warmups: 45x5x2, 95x3, 115x2; work weight: 160x5x5 Overhead press: warmups: 45x5x2; work weight: 55x5x5 Dead lift: warmups: 75x5, 3; work weight: 105x5 The squats felt heavier today, but I'm hoping it was just the time off, and Thursday goes a bit better. Still finished all the sets. The only problem I've noticed is I am squatting more than dead lifting, because of how I started the program. Oh well, it'll get there. Stretch: bar stretches for hams and quads, stretched hip flexors on the floor. Hip flexors were screaming at me today. Edit: forgot to mention that I checked my BMI and body fat last week. Kind of bad, though: body fat at 31.7%, body mass index at 38.6.

Thanks, I'll do some checking. How do I know which ones are the right ones, though?

I agree. He is still a phenomenal Martial Artist and athlete, and I'm certain he could still compete at some lower levels with great success. Maybe we'll all get lucky and he'll do some more movies, and let his career go that route. But, if he chooses to keep fighting, then more power to him.

I've dabbled with this beer mug down method on the bag. After I strike, I had to leave it there a few times to make sure I was getting my hand turned over. It was different, that's for sure, and I'll keep playing with it and see how I like it.

Every time I hear non-contact I imagine a BJJ class run that way. Picture someone doing the BJJ wormy dog butt-scootin boogie and butterfly sweep while someone across the room practices holding base. What's next? No touch armbars through chi projection? By the Holiness of Gene Lebell's Pink Gi I hope to never see the day. Thats a good way to look at it. I think some contact is mandatory in sparring. We don't have to be taking knockout blows, but knowing how it feels to get hit is good for when it happens for real.

That's good news. Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your improvements.

The problem there is that you don't always have the choice in the matter of whether or not a fight goes to the ground. The fact of the matter is it may happen, and its best to be able to deal with it when it does. I had an incident at work about a month ago, and I had no plans to end up on the ground, but with multiple sets of hands on someone and struggling, combined with a Taser deployment mishap, I ended up on the ground. Not by choice. It can happen, even if you don't want it to. Best to be prepared when it does.Totally agree. Please re-read the last sentence of my post. I didn't take your post out of context, I don't think, anyway. What I was addressing for the most part came from your use of the word "cope." By coping, I would guess you are talking about being able to get back up to your feet after being taken off of them. I agree that this is a good strategy to have. But by knowing how to grapple, one can know better how to get back to his feet after being grappled. That is the point I was getting towards.

I think trapping has its place, just like many other things in Self-defense. We train trapping in our Combat Hapkido curriculum, as well as out DT curriculum. I do think it has some good uses, but its important to not get caught up in the idea of trapping just to trap. Its a great tool to use, but in the proper spot.

Thank you for the kind words, Bob and Danielle. All you guys and gals here are the reason I keep coming back!

I think I will when I get the chance. It looked pretty funny.

I agree that offering to be a training partner would be a great way to help out. You'll likely end up learning something yourself along the way. Think of it as bonus training! Best of luck to your friends. It sounds like a tall order.