bushido_man96

I'm not trying to pick on Bob here, but his post brings up a good point, and I'd like to expand on it a bit. I think a lot of people get to feeling this way; all the MMA fights are the same. Well, when you get into any venue, don't they all start to "look the same?" Doesn't one Karate point fight begin to look like the other? Or TKD matches? Boxing? Muay Thai? Wrestling? Sure, every fighter has his own "style" that he brings to the table, but in the end, things begin to shake out and look very similar. So, why this beef with MMA? The others don't get by with it either, not in my book. Edit: I just now read Alex's post. Good thoughts, too, Alex. I had not read your post prior to this. Looks like we were thinking along some of the same lines, at least.

Thanks for clarifying. I figured you meant something more along those lines, and I wouldn't describe it as "mean." I think that would just be good training.

Pretty cool on the unicycle, JusticeZero. I'll bet that's a bit of work. 7-2-09 Weights Seated row: 115x15x2 Seated chest: 150x15x2 Lat pull-down: 102x15x2 Shoulder press: 84x15 Barbell curls: 55x15 Triceps press: 139x15 Gripper: 25x15x3 MA session Combat Hapkido: 8:45 - 9:45. Today, we did our red belt material, but worked on finishing with takedowns and pins, holds, locks, etc. We learned a little, and this was definitely missing from our previous sessions. We shall do more of this. Prior to the session, we watched about 30 minutes of video on MA stuff.

Hehe, thanks Bob. Sometimes, I think I get too tongue tied, as well.

I agree with you here, Patrick. These are actually two very common sayings that float around the MAs: "rank doesn't matter," and "kids shouldn't be black belts." And often these two sentiments come from the same mouths. I think that by saying you are a "mean" teacher, you likely are saying that you are a strict teacher. But if you say "mean," I conjure up lots of different possibilites that a teacher could be, ranging from cruel activities to outright illegal ones. I don't think this is the case with you, but the word "mean" does lend itself to various connotations. With that said, does one have to be "mean" or, for perhaps a term more conducive to the subject at hand, "old school" to be a good teacher? I don't think so. I do think that adherence to a nostalgia (percieved or otherwise) in the passing on of Martial knowledge is a major thing in MA learning and instruction. But, I don't think it is one that is necessary. Everyone has different approaches. New methods of training can be just as effective as older training methods, as can new attitudes and approaches.

That was pretty cool to watch. I wish home improvement went like that around my house.

I agree. But instead of one person pushing the MMA movement, it is coming from many different sources.

Lifting the leg like a front kick would prevent the full hip rotation for a piercing kick, so if it's not a thrusting kick either, then I guess it slips in between the two. My belief is that that means it's probably not maximising power... I may not have been clear here on my motions. I start the motion like a front kick, bringing the chamber up in front of my body, but then, I pivot on my base leg, and shift my body into the sideways position, and try to then point the heel into the direction of the kick. So, instead of doing a large circling motion with a chambered leg, it goes straight forward, and then I turn my hips to the side. If you could imagine doing a knee strike with the back (right) leg, I would be doing this knee strike at almost a 45 degree angle to my left; from there I turn over the hips to get into side kick position. Does that make sense?

This is true, and I have noticed differences like this in my TKD practice. In reading the encyclopedia and books by Cho, I notice differences between the forms they did, and the ones that I do now, even though they are the "same" forms.

I think that this is the big miss here. No one on the street is going to pull a punch, and when your classmate gets attacked, and doesn't realize what it takes to stop a committed blow, thats when MAists start wondering "why it didn't work right."

I don't know if you'll see very many careers in MMA that last 15 years. I don't think you can compare the longevity of MMAers to Boxers. Guys like Couture are going to be the exception rather than the rule, and as the competition keeps getting better and better, the ability to stay on top for prolonged periods of time will lessen more and more. I don't think that this is alltogether fair to assume. Not every movie guy MAist is a nice guy, and you can't know if sportsmen MAist have any personal philosophies without asking them. You might be surprised.

I disagree. MMA is a style all its own. The way training is conducted in an MMA gym isn't too much different than it is done in a Boxing gym, and Boxing is its own style. I do think that learning a style or styles is a good supplement to MMA training, but in the end, it is its own animal. I agree with you here. I do think that with the seeing MMA rise in popularity, we are witnessing the evolution of a style in our own time.

My feelings on child black belts has changed over time. It will depend a lot on what the curriculum of the school is. In our school, kids and adults follow the same curriculum, so if both are doing the same, then why should there be a difference in how they are promoted or ranked? At this point in this discussion, I like to introduce the arts that don't use a ranking system: Wrestling, Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Boxing. The practitioners of these styles don't have to worry about this. They show up, they practice, and their skill level is recognized by everyone in the gym, whatever it may be. Limits aren't put on what is taught, just on what they might be able to retain, depending on their skill level. As far as schools being "crap," that is going to depend on what you expect out of an MA school. Some schools may be curriculum based, and others may be sport focused, and some may be self-defense based. So, each one will likely have different results. And not all students are created equal, either. So, do you base levels off of independent improvement, or compare to other students? Lots of questions to answer, and none of the answers seem simple.

Not too strange, really. Some magazine did a pole one time, asking what people's number one fear was. #1 was public speaking. #2 was dying. People would rather die than get up and speak in public! So, it isn't really all that odd to be a bit jittery about something like that. Most of us MAists will step inbetween some big dudes fighting to break it up, or stare down someone trying to intimidate us, or stand and face a drunk wanting to attack us or our family.... .....but if a wasp comes flying by, I do that slapping-the-air-and-skipping-away jig....

Welcome to the Forums, Dave.

RIP

I agree as well. I think it is important that respect recipricates. There is a difference between earning and demanding respect, and earning it is far better, in the long run.

6-30-09 Helped a student with some hip rotation issues today, and also got to do the first orientation for 2 new students. Its always kind of fun to get some fresh minds in there. I worked with them on a few stances, walking in stance, and then adding in some techniques.

7-1-09 Combat Hapkido: 8:00 - 9:00. Worked on more trapping drills today. While we were warming up, we were moving from one trapping drill into another, and we stayed really smooth. The pracitice is paying off.

Ah, well, that adds to the confusion for me a bit. I think I'll just call it side kick. Its easier that way.

Thanks for sharing, Bob.

Katas do tend to have variances from place to place, so it is something to be expected. Right or wrong, I don't know. I do think it odd that your instructor taught you a brown belt level kata as a white belt, but, as mentioned, it may be just a one-time thing, and afterwards, he may take you back to the earlier katas.

I agree. I didn't take up Martial Arts training for internal aspects of self-improvement, or to become a better person; I like to think I was a pretty good person already. I wanted to learn how to fight/defend myself, and everything else is just a bonus. I do, however, agree that leading by example is important, but not just for Martial Artists. Its important for society as a whole, and I think it is the responsibility of society as a whole to lead the younger generartions in the right way. I don't think it is the responsibility of Martial Arts training, or Martial Artists to head this parade; its EVERYONE'S responsibiltiy.

I think that there are a lot of people that feel this way, but I think that it is getting to the point that it isn't necessary. Take Boxing as an example. If you want to learn to Box, you go to the Boxing gym and take it up. I think that learning MMA style fighting is getting closer to going the same route. If you want to learn MMA, you can just go to the local MMA gym and sign up to learn. Most of them have the coaches needed to for the various areas of focus; Boxing, Muay Thai perhaps, and some kind of Grappling. Obviously, there will be elite gyms, and then more mainstream gyms, but I really think that this is the way it is going to be going in the near future (if it isn't already).

I would have to agree with tallgeese on this one. MMA fighters are sharp, and fast. They also wear gloves that are a touch thicker, so they won't do quite as much damage as the cloth pads that the Shotokai competitors were wearing. I practice what I consider to be a hard style, and we do all the hard blocks in every class. But when we spar, opportunities to use those blocks aren't that frequent. They work well against circular kicks and hook punches, but otherwise the zoned blocking that redirects more than damages gets used more. You could view video clips of the Olympic TKDers and their kicks, and think that they could dominate in MMA as well, but it just doesn't directly translate. Those guys, and those in the video above, might win some matches, but without the specialized training regimine that serious MMAers go through, they wouldn't get to a very high level of competition. Take Lyota Machida, for example. He has done a great job of taking Shotokan into the MMA ring, but do you think that he appears to fight like those of the video clip, as far as the speed and quick tagging goes? He has some similarities, for sure, but he has modified his training to fit the MMA mold, and has also supplemented groundfighting to boot. But, if he got into the Shotokai ring that those in the video were fighing in, he might not do as well as them in that venue, because he hasn't focused his training to it. I think that what your focus is will have a big impact on your sparring.