bushido_man96

I hear what you guys/gals are saying, and believe me, you are preaching to the choir here. I want more alive, more realistic, less pre-set, and less "black belt only" stuff. But, we'll see what I end up getting. My guess, is more of the same, with just more talk.

It is a tough kick, no doubt about that. I don't do mine very high; not near like Kee did. Welcome to KF, Boualem Bouderba.

Yes, but you're going to end up somewhere, especially while grappling. Right????

Agreed. If it isn't fun, its harder to stick with. Also agree. I lift by myself most of the time, and its hard to really push myself without a spotter. Another way to help increase the likelyhood of sticking with a workout routine is to work it into the regular schedule, and make sure the scheduled workout time is part of the day. That way, its just part of the day.

Agreed. I would also agree with adding cardiovascular exercise to training. I've heard that heavy lifting can raise blood pressure, but I'm not sure to what extent, and for how long.

12-9-10 Weights: push day: mainly shoulders, machine and dumbell presses, and some abs. No class tonight, helping with stuff at work. 12-10-10 Weights: pull day: hang cleans and biceps and forearm work. Next week, I'm going to get back to logging everything to better track my progress.

Absofreakinlutely right.

I think the conclusion that I, at least, have come to is that it depends on your definition of the word "beginner". I've been a member of our college Aikido club for probably going on 3 years now, but, since my schedule doesn't meet up with the Aikido schedule very well at times, I don't get to practice it as much as I want. So, I would say I'm a long term beginner there. But with TKD, I'd say its a bit different. I wouldn't say that I have amassed a huge amount of skill through TKD, but I have considerably more experience with it.

A nice story. I would just put out there, though, that there are lots of people who have told a story with a meaning like this or similar to many other people. To some, it is something they carry with them forever. And to others, its just another story. Neither of them is bad. It just all depends on how you look at the world, I guess.

I say attacking. I think too much emphasis is wrongly put on the idea that a Martial Artist should never throw a "first punch," and that should always be thinking defense first. It is a gross misconception to assume that one will be able to rely on blocking every attack, and therefore wait for it. Action is faster than reaction, so I don't see how it behooves a new student to be taught to block before striking. I'm not saying that I don't have faith in my ability to block, but I am saying there is a definite disadvantage to waiting for an attack to happen. That is my view as far as the striking arts go. As for the grappling styles, I don't know enough about them, or have enough experience, to really be able to say that reversals and escapes are more defensive in nature or not. Great answer, and great points.

Thank you, sir.

Sounds like you are having fun! Welcome to KF, and we look forward to conversing with you.

I miss the SCA fighting. Realistic, it may not be, but fun, it most certainly is! There is nothing quite like getting your bell rung with a helm on!

What is a snorkel circuit? 12-6-2010 Evening: TKD class. Good review of forms, which I needed, especially if I get coralled back into teaching more often. I did spend time before class focusing on a tough spot in my form, and may have found an anwer for it. 12-7-10 Weights: pull day: lat pull-downs, seated, upright, and bent-over rows, shoulder shrugs, one-arm dumbell rows, and some ab work.

Boy, I wouldn't like that at all. I can't jump very high. Spinning I can do, but something like that just doesn't fit well into my fight strategy.

He mentioned last night in class that there will be some 3-step stuff for the black belts. Why just the black belts, I'm not sure. It sounds like they are preplanned, too, so it may just suck. We'll see. I'm still hoping for a sparring class, but no word yet.

Man, if you are a rookie at TKD, I'd stick to getting the spin side kick/back kick down first. If you don't have that, you won't get a 540.

The changes that the UFC has gone through is what has allowed it stick around for as long as it has. Whether the clothing allowed has a huge deterence on other fighters, I don't know. Plenty of Karate stylists have fought in the UFC without their gi on, and I don't know that the lack thereof effected their performance. I'm not sure about Judoka, as they rely a lot on grabbing the gi. But, BJJ did too, but you see both gi and no-gi BJJ. Judo just needs to adjust. I don't think the UFC has shifted to allow certain training methods to prevail under the set rules. Quite the opposite. Fighters started to realize that they needed to cover certain aspects of the fight in order to compete. So, their training changed. Over the years, a pattern has emerged that has proven successful, and so it has been more or less clinged to by many of the camps. As mentioned earlier, its part of the evolution that we are seeing in which a new "style" may have emerged.

Its not that it can't be done this way. Its just harder to do it this way. But, I think it can be a real learning experience in the end. After learning this way, and then going in front of an instructor, let us know what kind of comments you get. They would be interesting to hear.

I think that all too often, many people will readily tie in "noble deeds and character" to the term "warrior." I think is a gross mistake. A warrior is someone who, quite simply, has made a career out of war, combat, battle, etc. And you have to remember, the bad guys are out there fighting for a cause they think is right, too. It would be tough to make a career as a warrior if those other warriors out there oposing them all of a sudden disappeared. And the key, I think, is the fact that a warrior knows that he/she may have to kill someone to do his/her job. A fighter, on the other hand, may not have to. I do think that fighters may be predisposed to being good warriors, though. You don't even have to be a good fighter to be a warrior, just like to fight.

Yes, all very good points. I think lots of people either forget or don't realize what he did prior to his WWE career.

I don't think that is something that one can assume every time. Not all people punch the same. Some are harder, and some softer. Some faster, some slower, and some will punch in different places. Harry Houdini thought he could take a punch, too. It just isn't worth the risk to "take a shot," when one can eliminate a threat forthright.

Absolutely. Too many bad things can happen in contrast to the positives (if any) that come out of awaiting an attack.

I don't think I could have said this better myself. No, I'm know that I could not have said it better. Especially after re-reading it. So, one thing I do know is that I don't know everything. Sometimes, my wife would wonder if I do know anything...at all... Thanks. The best way to get a visual on it is to make a pie graph and give a sliver of it to the things we know. Next give a slightly larger piece of the pie to what you know you don't know and then the rest of the pie goes to what you do not know, that you do not know. It just makes you aware of how little we know. Which in a sense makes us all beginners to the very end. I think I am just now getting a firm grasp on bjj after ten years. And there is a world of martial arts out there that I know I don't know. And I'm sure there's some I'm unaware of. It will take a very long time to master what I know, if ever. In the world of grappling there are at least four other grappling styles(that i'm aware of off the top of my head) that I could learn and probably will never have time to get to it all. The best I can ask for is to feel comfortable and confident. However I would love to master grappling as a whole. I'm just very passionate about it. Realistically I don't believe this is a practical goal. I will be spending as much time as I can learning the best information I can find and pass it on to the best of my ability. Thank you for your time and attention as this is kind of long for me. That is all. You are so very right about this. Your pie graph inference helps out with the saying you have. And if you are like me, who doesn't want to try to get the bigger piece of the pie?

My Wii Golf scores are much better than my actual golf scores. And the membership is cheaper, too.