bushido_man96

Bingo! Also, how many of these masters followed the "go train then drink sake all night" vs the "keep the body a temple" philosophy? Putting up an average age does not mean there is any correlation. I agree as well. I don't think there is enough data here to make draw that kind of a conclusion. There are just too many other variables that aren't taken into account to determine whether one activity caused them to live longer or not.

I agree. Contracts aren't necessarily a bad thing, and just because you hear the word "contract" doesn't mean you should not consider the school. When I was at my first TKD school, my instructr did contracts mainly because he didn't want to be a bill collector. And that doesn't bother me as a student, either. I have an ongoing contract at my current TKD school. I know I'm not going to quit anytime soon, and I'd rather not have to worry about getting a check in on time every month. The amount is withdrawn automatically every month, and I don't worry about it. Its a good tool if used correctly.

I do agree there is a systematic difference. I wouldn't necessarily say that Kung Fu styles "flow better," but instead tend to flow differently, and an observation I would make is that they appear to have more continuity between techniques than do some other styles.

I would just check with the instructor of the school I would be attending. Take both, and if you don't get to talk to them prior about it, just don't put a belt on until you talk to them about it.

I've never put a form together for that kind of purpose before. To be honest, I don't think I could put a form together like that. My mind just doesn't really think that way, I guess. I'd just rather have a partner to work on the stuff with than make a form to practice on my own. There are plenty of other forms already out there, and I really think there are better ways of transmitting that kind of information now than there were available at the time when forms transmission began. Not a bad topic, though. I'd be interested to see if anyone else has tried it, and how they decided to put it all together.

I'm confused as well. I'm not sure where you will be able to find a bunch of like minded individuals who like to beat the crap out of each other with no rules involved. As mentioned, there will be some level of rules around for sparring purposes. You could look into a Boxing gym or an MMA gym. Perhaps Muay Thai? Those might be up your alley. However, they do have rules to their sparring, as well.

Hehe, I guess in Tae Kwon Do, at least you get what the name implies; way of the hand and foot. Nice summary, MasterPain. I'll ditto your shenannigans.

The problem is figuring out where the information is actually coming from, and who or what claim those putting it out there have to do so. I could start a blog or something like that, but it wouldn't likely have as much clout as one like Iain Abernethy's or some other published guy or gal. It would also be the difference between just a guy blathering about his classes and a guy who has done some research and experimented with different training ideas. In the end, what makes for "good" Martial Media (nice term, but the way) is going to depend on what the extent of you knowledge is, your style, and whether you want to learn or be entertained. In my mind, I'd prefer to be gaining some knowledge on whatever subject matter I'm looking for at that time. Also to consider is the quality of the production itself. It has to be well put together as well as informative.

Thanks for the link, ps1. Good read, indeed. Lots of good information in there. I like the idea behind the Gracie combatives, and it sounds great for those who aren't really looking to get into any kind of competition. The explanation of Helio's philosophy is helpful in there, and relating how he used it to beat "giants," the sparring scenario with the blue belt lady, and how he talks about the scenario of fighting someone like Lesnar. Very good stuff. Thanks.

Have you got that video up and going yet? Also, are you currently under the ATA, or in a different school? If ATA, who is your instructor?

Well, its that time again. The BoSox got off to a bad start, but have since put things together. The Indians are surprising, as have been the Royals. Maybe the AL Central will be up in the air this year. How is your team doing?

Bruce Campbell rocks. Hail to the king, baby! Shop smart, shop S-Mart! I really am looking forward to seeing this movie. A bit different from all the other alien movies, I hope.

I'm not sure we can help you, Bob. Just kidding. Now, what you need to do is just get yourself to a NASCAR race and get all desensitized.

I watched Hellbound a while back on Netflix, one Chuck Norris's straight to video deals. I had seen it before, but wanted my family to experience it, too.

In our school, the senior students, usually those who have just attained black belt rank, usually teach the orientations for new students. At times, they'll be asked to cover a class if need be.

5/11/2011 SL 5x5B Squats: 150x5x5 Overhead press: 50x5x5 Dead lift: 100x5x1 No day of rest in between, but I wasn't going to get 3 days in this week otherwise. We'll see how the legs feel tomorrow. I'm really liking this Stronglifts setup.

I'd check with your instructor and senior students at your school. They may have a preference, and may be able to cut a deal if they have some kind of an agreement with a certain company.

TKD is considered a hard style, although there are some organizations out there that practice light contact sparring. Its not the sparring necessarily that is indicitave of how the style is labeled, but the way the techniques are performed, linerar/circular, etc. I do see what you guys are getting at, though.

I think that sounds like a damn good idea for training. Our TKD setup is just about the opposite; we spend more time focusing on getting the techniques done right, so they have good power and proper technique, and then learning how to apply them, when it wouldn't necessarily have to be done that way. You've missed the boat on this one. It's been around for several years now. The process is far more difficult than you may expect. There are several videos online about it. It's not uncommon to fail the process many times before getting it right. Until BJJ schools are a dime a dozen like most other martial arts, this is likely to exist. I begin to wonder if the resistance to the use of video examination like this has more to do with the desire to be tied to the old way of doing things than anything else. Its kind of like the way Major League Baseball has been slow in adopting the technologies available to help the umpires make the right calls. Instant replay has been good for the NFL, and they are exploring more options with cameras on the goalline for plays of such nature. The thing is, we have great technologies available to us, and I don't see why if good instructors take a good system and do it the right way, like the way ps1 mentions that the Gracie's do it, is why not take advantage of it? Most of us have already taken the many advantages technology offers our lives already, why hold it back from MA training? No, you still can't replace a good instructor from a good school. But if there are no schools or instructors available, then what do you do? So sorry, no luck for you? Bah! I have technology to help me learn! The other arguement will be the "factories," or I guess what we could call a McVideo black belt, or something like that. Well, we can't even stop that from happening to actual schools, so that arguement doesn't really hold water. What remains is to search out the options of what's available, find the good stuff, and go with it. Don't reject technology!

Wow. Bad case of the "I wannas" there. I also think its funny how lots of people get upset that MA training costs so much, but are willing to pay out the wazoo for other things without batting an eye. Take dance classes for girls, as an example. My MA school isn't nearly as costly monthly as the dance schools are around my area. But we have 3 or 4 dance schools, and they are always full, whereas our TKD membership is never as full as we would like it to be.

Agreed. Different styles just tend to do it in different ways. Like in TKD, we put a lot of focus in our basic kicking technique, along with all of the advanced variations that come along with them. Take Boxing, on the other hand, that focuses so much on punching techniques and body and head movement. Both would likely be considered hard styles, but with different emphases.

5/10/2011 Afternoon/evening Heavy bag: I did woverine uskf's punch routine on the bag, which can be found on this thread: http://www.karateforums.com/just-started-boxing-vt39255.html I totaled up 1050 punches. Nice workout. Taught Little Lions class: 5:15 - 5:45. Between classes: Yoo-Sin, Se-Jong, and Do-Kang 3. Taught TKD class: 6-7.

Thank you, Sycron! So now, I shall vote Shuri-te.

Yeah, and we all see how that ended up for Bruce...

I don't think Kung-fu involves a greater deal of focus on movement, flexibility, etc over Karate. It does have a different way of moving, probably more circular type movements, where as Karate styles tend to be a bit more linear and emphasize hard striking.