bushido_man96

I agree with JZ here. There are some clusters that can be hit and can produce results. The carotid strike and the common peronial strike are two good ones. Other than those, I don't see a whole lot more that are useful on drunk/drugged up perpetrators that are dead set on hurting someone, or doing worse to them.

I think if I had to pick of the books that I have read this far, for my outlook on TKD, I would have to go with Stuart Anslow's Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul. I think that his approach to TKD makes a more well-rounded TKD exponent, especially in presenting the self-defense aspects of the TKD as a whole, and the forms in particular.

Welcome to KF, SenseiJ.

Welcome to the Forums, and welcome to the Martial Arts! Enjoy your journey.

I think that this is only natural, as much as we want to attack from the outside, it is natural to move away and defend those revealed targets.

Think of those pressure points, and how they affect you, and then imagine if you were in a fight for your life, and one was grabbed and worked; would it be enough to cause you to stop fighting, and be effective enough to end the confrontation?

I'd say that is just about right, JZ.

10-23-09 Push-up/crunch superset Push-ups: 10 Crunches: 10 Wide push-ups: 10 Crunches: 10 Triceps push-ups: 10 Crunches: 10 Repeated twice Sprints: 2 sprints, along the back fence of the ball park I was at. Sprinted the length, then walked back. My version of a sprint, anyways... Stretch legs. Repeated the push-up/crunch superset one more time. Stretch arms. Practiced a section of Yoo Sin hyung with the waving kicks and forearm blocks. Small section, but I wanted to get the legs and arms synched up.

Great answers, everybody. With the experiences that I have now, I think that the training methodologies and skill set taught, along with how the students perform, would be some of the bigger clues for me to look for when searching out a school. Instructor skill is important, but the way he teaches is important, as well.

After 15 years, I still get to feeling like this from time to time. What you need to do is to try to see something in your training that you feel you do well, and then use that to build on other things. The next thing you need to do is accept who you are; how you're built, what your skills and abilities are, and then begin playing to your strengths. I've long since giving up on having the kinds of kicks that the longer-legged, lanky, taller, skinny guys have. Instead, I have to play to my body style, and become a good kicker in a different way. Take the time to focus yourself, and see which way you want to go. Also, take some time outside of class to do something different with your training. It may help to reveal something that swings your attitude back into training.

Some nice Western additions here, and some that are underappreciated in my mind.

I agree with tg here as well. Respect is there. I think it is earned in a different way, and not through philosophical talks taking place between rounds. When you step into a ring, and can go toe-to-toe with someone for 45 minutes, you learn a respect for one another, just in a different way. And I know of some "traditional" Martial Artists that have many questionable habits in their daily lives, some of which makes one wonder if they have learned things like self-control, or suppressig their ego. But, there is no denying that they are good at what they do.

Hehe, don't worry. The 30's aren't refusing you....

Very nice. Thanks for sharing these, Bob.

Saw this in Black Belt, too, and thought it was interesting: "The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the development of character. Because a winner doesn't stay a winner forever, nor need a loser remain a loser forever." A little different, and a little of the same.

On the back page of Black Belt mag this month, there was a note in the Aug. 1973 issue that Warner Bros. had decided to change the title of Bruce Lee's next movie Enter the Dragon to The Deadly Three. Which do you like better? Do you think The Deadly Three refers to Roper, Lee, and Williams, or Bolo, O'Hara, and Han?

In reading Black Belt mag, this little remark popped up, and thought I would put it to the KF populace for analyzing. What do you think? If you go to a school, and see a phenomenally talented instructor, is that a boon for you to sign up? Or do you watch the students? Or do you watch for the skill set that is being taught?

Welcome to KF, George.

Well, Bill James has some interesting arguements about pitching rotations and such, but I'll let that lie for now. As for Mo pitching extra innings, are they on a day off now? If so, that could be why he pitched Mo the extra innings. On back to back games, I don't see Girardi doing that with Mo.

That's good training there, George. Very nice.

I have found this to be true as well. In our Combat Hapkido training, both my partner and I prefer to get to the outside if at all possible, and we find ourselves heading that way all the time. On drills that do go to the inside, we have discussed our discomfort with actually being there, but it is good to learn some inside defenses, because in all likelyhood, you will find yourself inside like that in a self-defense situation.

Joe, I like your rewording. Very well thought. Bob, I think you are on the right track, but you won't necessarily be arrested. You will likely be questioned, for sure, and perhaps be taken to the police station for such questioning, but depending on how things shake out, you wouldn't necessarily end up arrested. You probably know that, but you kind of went worst-case scenario in your post, so thought I would shed a bit more light there. In the Nov. 09 Black Belt, there is an article titled "Forgotten Realities of Reality-Based Training." In it, the author makes a reference to the need of RBSD instructors (and I think it should fall to all instructors in general) to know the letter of the law for the area and population that they are teaching, and discuss it in classes, and make sure to work into the skill set that they use. He mentions a case in 2003 in which a man involved in an altercation with 2 men with violent histories. Using what he thought was reasonable force, he stabbed one of the assailants with a pocket knife, and was charged for the death of the man. According to the article, the altercation was "alcohol fueled," and the man was unable to justify his use of force. He was eventually found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, and served 2 years in prison. So, it isn't always as clear cut as it may seem.

Agreed. That's why its important to continue to focus on technique work in line with weight training. The combination of the two will increase power.

10-21-09 Dumbell PT and Legs Reverse flies: 15x15x3 Leg sled: 200x10x3 Upright rows: 20x15, 25x15x2 Leg press: 335x10, 380x10x3 Shrugs: 65x15x3 Leg extensions: 130x10x3 Hammer curls: 20x15x3 Leg curls: 190x10x3 Lateral raises: 15x15x3 Hip abduction: 110x10x3 Hip adduction: 80x10x3 Triceps extensions: 45x15, 50x15x2 Calf raises: 100x10x3 Biceps curls: 20x15x3 Stretch

It appears that your rock-paper-scissors analogy here would tend to reflect each or your skills in rolling. If you go to standing up only, I would suspect you would see a different, yet similar trend, based on everyone's skills and abilities. Add another dimension, and the trend continues. I think that the main cause of this, aside from skill, is the fact that you three have rolled together so much that you learn each other's tendencies, and your abilities to play on them is reflected in the "records" that you have against each other. As you guys learn different skills, or different ways to chain together your current skills, you may see some deviations in your "wins/losses" against particular opponents. I think you see this kind of thing when people compete against each other in class all the time. A pecking order kind of falls into place. But I wouldn't let yourself be led into believing that it would work this way against each other if it came down to a life or death encounter for some really bizarre reason; things can change then, especially when the ideas of rules and civility get thrown by the wayside.