bushido_man96

I don't think you can subtract skill in the first place. It would be safer to assume the presence of a skill than the absense of it. And even if skill is absent, you still have to take physicality into consideration.

They may not be as practical as other moves, but they do have their pros as well as their cons. There have been reports of them being used in fights, too. It may be rare, but it does happen at times.

There is something to learn from everyone. Sounds like some good training.

I would agree with that.

The sempai called me the other night to fill me in on some announcements for our Aikido club, and I thought they sounded like a pretty good deal to me. 1. There will be two testing per year, and everyone will be invited to them. We will either test, or do a pre-test where Aikitaiso movments and rolling/breakfalls are evaluated, and then advised on what we should focus on. I thought that this was great for all involved. 2. Saturday class will be devoted to weapons work; bokken, jo, or tanto, and their defenses. That should be a fun class. At times, Saturday is the only class I make, so learning material might be slow at times, but I don't mind. I look forward to seeing these changes implemented.

I think that an individual can explore what he learns as a Wrestler, and then add those things in.

Well, not necessarily. I know Bob fairly well, so I can kind of guess what he is getting at.

I think it is. But, what I am saying is that if you do some form of contact training, you will develop some conditioning. Like kids who play football up through high school. Physical activity will help to condition the body.

Nice play. Subtrefuge is a part of the game.

Yah, yah, congrats.

Definitely the super hero staus...

Lost in translation...

I think a figure 8 is probably good against some inexperienced attackers as a form of intimidation with the weapon. You can hit with a figure 8 attack, but it will stop the figure 8 after that. More conventional methods of striking would work better, I think.

The only problem with running is that most dogs have a prey drive...and if they are trained attack dogs, they will have a high prey drive. And unless you can get to cover REALLY quick, you make matters worse.

I agree with you here, but the teacher can't help the fact that the student may just have a bad day. Sometimes pressure will get to people...it just happens. They may have been just as prepared as they had for previous tests, but this could just happen.

No, but, if one is skilled at employing these aspects in a combative, competitive environment, then they will be a boon to them in physical confrontation.

They are a group of drills, but they start out with each having a weapon, knife, gun, or stick. You put your hands out in front, like a fence, and go hand to hand with the partner. One breaks contact, and then it is a race to see who draws. From their, you work different strategies to get the upper hand.

He was a hard worker, no doubt there.

A head kick is a tool, like anything else. With careful planning and setup, it can be a valid technique. I do agree that it is not the highest percentage of moves, but it can be used, if trained properly.On the other hand, high kicking is a wonderful and rewarding physical challenge.

That is what I have read. He came up with the design for them..but I don't recall if it was the foam dipped ones, or the cloth ones with padding.

No, I'd say that there really isn't. What the Koreans did do is really take kicking and make it their own. But to claim 5000 year lineages to TKD....nothing to substaniate that.

Yeah. Those were the "blood and guts" era, wasn't it?

If your primary focus is self defense, then you shoud focus primarily on self defense. I agree with Bushi that an instructors job should always have this as a priority, but its not the main reason. Self improvement is the main reason. WNM When I signed up for TKD, I wasn't interested in self-improvement. I was interested in self-defense. I still don't go to TKD for self-improvement purposes. I do get physical self-improvement out of it, but I don't really take away anything spiritual or cultural. In our Aikido classes, there is more of that, but I don't put a lot of credence in it. I listen to what they have to say, and then make my own judgements.

Well, it depends on what you want out of your training, too.Well said, but I had tried both, and it maybe the instructors as well, but I think one had better combat applications than the other. Not that I am putting one down. I am stating a preference from my observations. I agree with your observations, too. I prefer my Combat Hapkido applications to my Aikido ones, but still enjoy the Aikido training.

I think the specialization came about for the most part when jutsus started being replaced by "do" in the East. In the West, sports diversified. Boxing, which used to be more of an all-inclusive style, added gloves to be safer, and eliminated the throws. Eventually, you see the introduction of the Queensbury Rules, and the establishment of weight classes. Strikes were eliminated from Wrestling for the likely reason to make the sport more competitive and athletic.