bushido_man96

AGREED! To me, a black belt symbolizes the skill level of the person wearing it, and that person should be able to handle themselves against the majority of people they should encounter on the street This includes ADULTS! Under that definition (MY definition), a 6-15 year old kid wouldn't qualify except under an extremely rare circumstance. And I don't see anything wrong with your viewpoint. I think that when one makes this decision, one needs to be on one side of the fence or the other. Playing a middle ground doesn't really help out anyone.

Sounds good. You have to use what you've got. Its also known that Lee changed his training ideas many times throughout his career. Aside from that, what is stated there is Lee's opinion, and not something that I think is derived from any kind of research study. Nor does it mean he is right about it. If you don't want to kick a heavy bag, that's cool. But its one of the best ways to build the strenth in the kicking muscles through resistance training.

9-24-10 Another day of Hapkido training...finished orange belt and started on blue belt. I forgot how fun some of that stuff is. Weights: push day: shoulder presses on machine and with dumbells. 9-27-10 Weights: push day: bench press, incline bench, triceps push-downs and overhead push-downs. DT club session at the college. We worked on 4 punch defenses on the ground, 1 from the guard, 2 from the closed guard, 3 from the opponent standing and keeping them at bay with the feet in the hips, and 4 was from the opponent disengaged, and me lying on the ground with a leg up matching the opponent's lead leg, and then defending from them coming to side control by getting the leg up across the hips and getting back to guard. From there, we added an elevator sweep from half butterfly guard or full guard. Lots of fun, and I learned a lot. I felt like I had a lot of good reps in, but wanted more!

Good luck! You're a better man than me!

Gosh that is refreshing to hear. Accountability seems to be one of the things becoming lost in the world.

Good to hear you got it figured out. Hopefully soon, you'll be back at it.

I agree here, too. Many people will instictually protect their face; it may be with a flinch, but they still try to protect it. Then, if you get someone with a movement skill set, it gets harder to get to. I think its a common misconception that it is easy to hit to the head. Its natural to try to do, but it may not always be that easy.

That's why its always better to just use your native language to describe things. I wish we sparred this way. The only head shots we see from hand techniques are in one-steps. And defending in one-steps and defending in sparring are two different things.

I wouldn't know about the sources, but I suppose something like this could be true. As mentioned, its probably not a likely thing to happen. But, with most things, especially physical activities, there are risks involved.

Very nice, Bob. JJN, I like the quote!

Some will stick around, and realize that they are getting so much more than the movie offered.

I rarely do it "on purpose." Usually its just a reaction to a technique at a place where I just naturally shrug down into the position. Of course, there are times I have used to get a point across...

Good job.

Congrats on your performance. Also good that your mom understands things better now, too.

This week is getting interesting. I guess Vernon Davis has promised a win against the Chiefs this week. I hope he is proved wrong.

Winning changes for everyone in any given situation, too. On the street, "winning" may mean just surviving, or it may mean taking the bully, and stomping a mud hole in his face and then walking it dry, because you've had enough of him. In the ring, it could be going three rounds with the champ, and going to a decision. I guess this would be the concept of personal victory, and it is different for everyone, and every circumstance.

Excellent.

9-22-10 Side kicks: 15 each leg.

Nice idea. Richard, thanks for the video. Very insightful.

I'm not aware of a definite "royal family" Karate. There may have been some practitioners who were royal guards and had Karate knowledge, but I think that is the extent of it.

If you are talking about kicking or punching fast, you are talking about time, not timing. Its like running a race, and then checking how fast you did it. Its not the same thing as timing your techniques with the interaction of another's techniques. And as far as distancing goes, unless you're pretty good at jamming your own techniques, then the only thing you are really doing with distancing in forms practice is looking at how long your arms and legs are. The repetitive nature of "looking at how long your arms and legs are" while doing kata builds spatial awareness that allows the mind to calculate distances in relation to persons or objects in the environment. Given enough time it becomes automatic and thus enhances timing and accuracy. This same effect can also be accomplished by practicing "step sparring" with attackers of various heights and proportions. I don't disagree with you. But after 15 years of forms and basics, I think I've derived all the spatial awareness that I can without having a partner.

Cool, thanks, all of you guys. I would love to just be able to train BJJ. The DT club here at the college is starting back up, and they do some rolling at times, so I am looking forward to getting into some of it. Tallgeese, the guy that runs the DT club has shown some things where he gets to the gun when in bad situations on the ground, and how to shoot so you minimize the danger to others around. Very valuable knowledge when rolling in a ditch and thinking about getting home to the family.

I think ps1's reply might ring home a bit. Like some of the others have mentioned, I can understand where her discomfort comes from. Its a natural thing, and parents will be protective of their kids. My daughter has joked about going out for Wrestling. I told her to go for it. Just be ready to work.

I agree. I also agree with DWx...those elbows have a tendecy to get in the way at times. It is a pretty natural reaction to body shots, and is very reliable. I can't think of any style that has specific rules against it in sparring.

I started around 15 years ago, when I was in the 8th grade. My dad was into Martial Arts when I was younger, and so I had been exposed to it. I liked it, and when it came time that a friend brought me along to the TKD school, I was hooked on for good. Now, I'm in a different TKD organization, and have also had exposure to Combat Hapkido, Aikido, and various self-defense systems. I don't imagine ever not doing it.