bushido_man96

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.

On the same page as Bob is, though, I think he means that by the journey being perpetual, you keep setting new goals, and keep striving....therefore, avoiding complacency.

If this is done like you say, then I think it can be a good thing. I think that too many people view it as teaching kids to fight, though, and I'm not sure the mainstream would fall in with that too well.

Toughening the body over time is beneficial, so long as it is done properly. When bone becomes denser, this is a good thing, especially in the later years of life. But, things like shin kicking trees until you can't walk, and deforming knuckles, would not be along the lines of what I would consider doing at my age.

One would hope, at least.

That's why a more gradual conditioning would be favorable. Not the kind that tends to deform the look of the fist.

I think his study was in the Japanese styles, but so where those of Hwang Kee and General Choi.

I'm familiar with what they are, but never followed them. I did know of a guy that did fight in the PKA, and was an instructor in the ATA.

This has been my experiences in my TKD training, as well. There is usually an acknowledged "respect" for kicks, especially when they are pulled off to the head, no contact is made. Sometimes, students will ignore this, and the next kick may find its mark. What I have also seen is that this kind of sparring can allow practicality to go out the window, giving way to the "flicky" stuff that you mention. No, but I do think that it is a good instructor's job to make it a by-product of the training.

11-4-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. It was good to get back to class tonight.

Well, it depends on what you want out of your training, too.

That's a good thought to consider. But Wrestling, like many other styles of today, is a specialized Martial Art, focusing on takedowns and grappling, essentially. Styles like Karate and TKD are more specialized in stand-up; TKD especially with kicking. And Boxing is the pinnacle of hand specialization. Wrestling's western heritage has brought it up in a more competitive aspect, like Boxing, than Eastern styles have.

This is a nice post, with lots of good thoughts to consider. I do think that complacency can become a problem in the Martial Arts, and many other endeavors for that matter, especially when one is not challenged on a regular basis. I try not to become complacent in my training, often times to the point of constanly wondering if I am good enough at all. The best thing for complacency is a reality check, I would venture to guess.

I think that risk of injury is higher, yes, depending on the rules used, and the safety equipment. Kids using MMA gloves and hitting each other in the face is not good for them.

It sounds like they value expansion, too. Not that it is a bad thing, but asking to recruit other experienced MAists to farm them out, sounds a bit fishy...

I have to agree. back in earlier eras, certain conditioning had to be sought. However, not everyone can be conditioned or have positive results via conditioning as another. In other words, conditioning may not help certain people. There are long term detremental effects from conditioning, that in present society, is not warranted in a social norm. As an example, there is a 5th dan at our headquarters school that doesn't do hand technique board breaking, because he is a doctor by profession. He can't afford to mess up his hands on a board break, so, he is allowed to other techniques.