bushido_man96

Its definitely a lot more circular and spherical motions than I've experienced in TKD, and even in Hapkido.

I like your references here, brickshooter. I like what Aikido can give me in regards to what I can already do with my striking ability, and as opposed to cling to the Aikido ideology of absorbing and using energy and all that, and not being offensively aggressive, I choose to look at how I can make the two work together, like using strikes to lead into Aikido concepts and techniques, or, putting a strike or a kick into some slots in the Aikido movements.

I've run over small trees in a HUMVEE. Let's see your Caddy do that! I need space for me, my lady and a few guns...that's it. I would try to cobble onto one of those Chevy Suburbans that are refitted and modified to be security escort vehicles. I would especially try to find one with the gattling gun that pops out the top. They would suck on gas milage, but I'll take firepower over MPGs any day!

It depends on the extent to which the style was studied before the techniques are "taken." Several styles can be studied for years at a time, and then the Bruce Lee motto of "take what is useful, discard the rest" can be applied. So I'd say this can vary.

I haven't seen any of them, so I wouldn't know for sure. I've heard mixed reviews on them. It probably has more to do with finding the right Systema instructor.

I think you can plan a trip to train at a Shaolin Temple in China, if you do some looking. Keep in mind, though, that its likely to be more like current Wu-Shu training than what the Shaolin monks of old would have been doing.

Sorry I'm just getting back to this. Got side tracked a while back... The "gaps" can be filled in relatively well by studying through live training along with the translations. No, its not the same as having it passed on, and its a shame we miss out on that, but its still an effective way of finding out how it was done. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to realize that in a fight, using common sense and not getting hung up on fanciness or complications will lead to the effective way of combat.

I agree. Even though restraunts have to follow certain rules, you still get a bad experience every once in a while. Same with Martial Arts schools. Its up to the consumer to do the research into the product they are seeking. Its getting to the point where people don't want to do their legwork anymore, because its expected that everything will be good and plentiful in the land of milk and honey. The problem is that this is not the case, and milk does spoil over time. I don't like what McDojos and mail-order black belt courses do, either, but I know enough to understand that they are likely a scam, so don't fall into the trap. Its something others have to figure out for themselves. And likewise, they aren't a threat to me, because I believe in the product I can provide, and therefore, feel that is all I need.

The problem here is that you either have to standardize everything, or just make the only way of knowing who is legitimate fight. Winners go home and teach their thing, and losers don't get to teach anymore, and have to be students of the winners. That may sound extreme, but I'm not sure how else you could do it. What kind of written test would an MAist have to pass? Not all styles have the same history or criteria, or goals, so how would it be possible to figure out a way to find common ground? I have studied in 2 TKD organizations, and they both have different ways of doing side kicks! As for the government, I'm for the government being involved as little as possible. The standardization of Martial Arts is not something that we need to pay the government to get involved in. In my opinion, it would likely kill the creativity of those Martial Artists who can legitimately break off and put out a good product on their own, without organizational oversight.

02/11/2011 Weights: Push day: Bench press: 175x10, 185x8, 205x6 Incline dumbeel bench: 45x10, 50x8, 55x6 Legs: Hip sled: 405x10, 430x8, 450x6 Angled standing leg press: 110x10, 130x8, 150x6 Abs: Thera crunch: 25x12x3 I wasn't feeling especially good this day, and to top that off, I twinged my back on that angled standing leg press. How that can happen, I'm not sure, but I was able to find a way to do it. Now, the two days after, my back hurts, and moving is slow going. It sucks. But, I now realize how much I bend over and do things with my back. I also see now how much I could be using my legs, and working them out more just on a regular every day basis.

Part of the reason you see more grappling now is because of the increased popularity of it; it has to be dealt with. Also, LEOs tend to grapple more because we aren't allowed to strike in a Karate or Boxing sense unless we can justify it through the use of force curriculum. So if we can't strike, then be necessity, we are relegated to standing joint manipulation into arrest and detain positions.

That front kick was awesome! So cool to see a nice basic kick like that in a fight.

Agreed, on all points. Make sure to breathe in as much as you breathe out.

I hear you there, MasterPain. I have that problem with trying to work with my son, who is 5. I want him to do TKD with me, but I would like to get him into Kids Wrestling first. Its great to hear that your child is getting into MA, too. Its great when its a family affair.

Thanks for throwing that list up there. In the few times I've checked into the DT club at the college, I haven't seen that they have covered much more than what you have listed there, and I don't think it is mere coincidence. Most of what the DT instructor teaches is geared for more of a RBSD curriculum used by LEOs. And for me, I'd be more concerned with trying to gain that knowledge of being able to transition and apply those moves more than trying to attain any formal rank. Thanks for that post.

It is always easy to make a demo look good.

The "everytime" is where we run into problems. I think that what it comes down to is that the one-hit kill didn't or wouldn't happen often enough to warrant serious consideration. If it does happen, it probably has a lot to do with a lot of contributing factors, coming from both the striker and the recipient; things like strength, overall health and fitness levels, etc.

GSP is just flat out a great athlete. He'd likely be the posterboy of effectiveness in any atlletic endeavor he partook in. I think he either tried out for the Canadian Olympic Wrestling team, or was going to but could not due to other committments. The man is a great athlete. Taking one extreme, a guy like GSP, and then comparing him as the Kyokushin prototype to the more run-of-the-mill types like myself, that try to get in two days a week of TKD, along with working a full time job and raising a family.....well, I'm not likely to measure up to GSP.

You should do some research into what they are all about. There are many different opinions about what Dillman does, ranging from studies backed with test results, and the more easy to find blatant put-downs that are out there. Look for some things with comparisons and studies backing them, and judge for yourself.

2/10/2011 Kicks from fighting stance, 5 front then 5 back, then switch: Front kick: 20 Rounk kick: 20 Side kick: 20 60 total.

Footwork is important in most styles, I think. In TKD, we use footwork quite a bit, too. Footwork is actually one of my weaker spots, and it shows up when I spar. It is very important in fighting.

I've expressed my feelings with this scenario in an article: Martial Arts "Monogamy". I think that if an instructor is going to try to restrain what you want to learn, then you should consider finding an instructor that would not mind you doing this.[/url]

Split kick is tough. I'm can't do the kick worth a darn, mainly because I'm not that flexible. However, I do think I know enough about the mechanics of the kick that I could teach it to someone with the ability to do it.

Yes, it is a sad fact that McDojos are out there, and will continue to be out there. One thing the McDojo discussion does is continually generate awareness in what we do as a whole, makes us continually challenge ourselves as to what we do and how we do it, and drives us to ask how we can be better. Would I like to see them gone? Yeah, sure. But once they are gone, instead of talking about how McDojos suck, people will instead attack the next rung up the ladder, those with schools who although may be teaching good stuff, just aren't as good as some others out there. So, the ones that may get dubbed as "elite" establishments may talk down on those who are not as well established, or have different criteria or credentials. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I would see happening.

I don't know about this one. When I do forms, I max power each technique.... if your justified in striking someone, then strike them as hard as you can. No sense in playing patty-cake.I'm going to counter this one. In some places, I have techniques where while setting up, I have limbs moving toward choice targets essentially by accident. I didn't go there to do it, but while i'm there, it seems a shame to completely ignore that little elbow snap that would do a light stinging groin slap, even though it comes out of an intermediary position as part of a more decisive attack. In the other hand, I didn't go there for the slap. It's just a cutely wrapped package laying by the side of the road on my way to the technique i'm doing. Not going to compromise the main technique to abort to a strike. I understand what you are saying here, but at the same time, these "little" techniques you are mentioning don't sound like they are planned techniques. If they were the intention, then they would probably more likley be full-powered, wouldn't they? On the other hand, I do see the point some of the others are making in using moves and techniques to set up a singular focal technique used as the money-maker. I think this is good in competition and sparring, but not quite as useful in self-defense settings. In my Combat Hapkido applications, those "distraction" techniques are already a part of the entirety of the move set I am doing at the time, and to me, forgoing max power on a strike because I want to attempt to lock someone up, doesn't make sense to my end goals, which is self-defense/get away if I can.