bushido_man96

That's great to see. More needs to be done about bullying, that is for sure.

Awesome!

Ok, I saw some of the others responses on the 3rd page, but, when I read this, I guess that we are to put ourselves as the person being choked, and discuss how to get out of it. That said, I think the first thing I would do is try to stand up. The power of my legs should overcome his arms trying to hold me down and choke at the same time, so I would try to stand. Once up, I would commence hard striking on any and every target available to me, including the arms, if none else is available. Perhaps multiple kicks to the groin would convince him to use his hands for some other purpose.

Not a flaw. Just a different mindset than about 90% of the people out there. Definitely not a flaw.

Welcome to KF, flatfoot! You're not a cop, are you???

Welcome to KF, Andy! I wouldn't worry about getting ranked fast. Worry about training hard, and what you are learning. The quality of what you learn is more important than the quanitity of ranks you can accumulate. Find out if the school is into competitions or not...not all of the do it or support it, and therefore, won't train for it.

Never heard of it. Sounds interesting, though.

I think that is a good pursuit, too. Its good to know many things, that way, you can do your few things well to counter those many things.

All true.

WTF fighters fight to KO, as well as points. They are fast, too, and are used to sparring with contact. That's why they wear the chest protectors...because none of them want a caved in chest from taking a spinning side kick counter. So, yeah, I'd trust it.

At 13 in the ATA, a junior student is elegible for the junior trainee instructor rank (or they were when I was still in it). I think the age requirement for full instructor is 18, and week long attendance at the ATA instructor certification camp in Little Rock, AR. Before going to the cert camp, a trainee instructor (after reaching age 18, I think) has to accumulate 1800 hours of supervised instrcution or assisting signed off by a certified instructor, along with making a demo tape to send to ATA headquarters demonstrating the ability to implement the 10 class management skills into the training session. The trainee also has to write a thesis of at least 10 pages, I believe, on a Martial Arts related topic, and send it to ATA HQ, as well, to be read and kept on file at ATA HQ.

We bow in and out of class, bow on and off the floor, lower ranks bow to the black belts, all bow to the instructor when he comes into the room. Line up in rank order. Answering up "yes sir" when instructed, or when asking questions. I like this set up. Perhaps its because I've put up with the rigidity of the "traditional" styles for so long, that I like the idea of something a bit more laid back, where there doesn't seem to be so much ego trapsing about the room.

I have trained in parks before. It can be fun, especially on those humid summer mornings. I'm not much for barefoot in the snow, though. Training outside can be fun, but I prefer to not have an audience.

I enjoyed this book very much, too. Definitely worth a second read, for sure. Its nice to see something that is not fabricated for Korean MA history, and although some of the motives behind the evolution of TKD weren't that good, its still important to know and understand where and why it developed like it did.

7-7-10 Jogged mile in 10:28, with most of that time at 6 mph. Made 1.43 in 15 minutes. TTA hi orange belt form and one-steps. ATA yellow belt form and one-steps. Stretch. Back on the weights today, too. Did chest and tris, but nothing spectacular. Just trying to get back into the swing of things.

I think everyone who has chimed in has given good advise so far, and you can't go wrong with trying any of these ideas. I think that starting out slow, and trying to feel where the tensing is will help as you begin to speed up. Kuma's technique, then speed, then power idea should help with that.

Welcome back!

Welcome to KF!

7-2-10 Hour and a half of Aikido class. Lots of basics and rolling exercises.

Good luck with that, and keep us updated on your progress.

I agree, Joe. Adults aren't going to change. And I think Bob is right, too, in that it is the parent's job to get the kids going in the right direction.

Too many things can go wrong in a fight. I would do what I could to stop the fight, break it up, as soon as possible. It isn't worth stroking someone's ego to let a fight go like that. Real life isn't like the movies.

Good post. Its tough to get past that point where I feel tired, like I can't do anymore. But, along with getting through that point, is pushing the training more and more so that I can go farther each time.

That brings some reality to the fore, doesn't it?

Congrats!