bushido_man96

Board holding is a whole other can of worms. I always end up holding boards at testing and demos, and I just hate doing it. I always get the ones that are testing, and are nervous. We hold the boards, then they get ready, then they take 13 freakin' practice runs before they finally go to hit the darn thing, and usually bounce the first time. Then, they are more nervous, so they take 13 freakin' more pracitces, and then they do 13 more for good measure, then attempt again, and BONK! By this time, my arms are dead tired from holding up boards, locking my arms out. And we still have 2 more people to break. These are reasons alone to practice more in a class setting, for both holders and breakers. Holders: proper hand position, board position, and stance. Breakers: set up, one or two practice runs to set proper distance and angle, and break.

I've heard of the baking boards tricks, too. At our school, the instructor tends to buy a bunch of boards up front, and if we don't break them all, then they set in the moist basement until the next testing to be used. So, they tend to gain moisture, and get tougher! It usually ends up being the black belts that he uses to clean up these boards, in demos.

That's cool that you got the opportunity to go train with that fellow, and that he extended the invitation in the first place. Very nice. In speaking of the gi/no-gi grappling, I have read that grappling with the gi tends to slow things down, and ups the technical aspect of the game quite a bit. Does fit with what you know from grappling? Would you recommend grappling with a gi before going to no-gi? 6-6-09 Knuckle push-ups: 3x10 I held the fists horizontal this time, and got an interesting sensation in my right shoulder. I'm not sure if I was sore from lifting or what, but I may give it another go later in the week. 6-8-09 Weights Bench press: 235x5, 6 fail Row: 200x7, 8 fail Military press: 125x6, 7 fail Lat pull-down: 170x7, 8 fail Leg extensions: 175x10 Leg curls: 205x12 Machine curls: 60x7, 8 fail Triceps push-down: 180x6, 7 fail Cable trunk twists: 80x10, 10 Decline crunches: 22lbs x 12, 10 Knee lifts: 12, 10 Cardio Bike: 5 min at 90 rpm, 5 @ 100 rpm x2 for 20 minutes. Stretch

Thanks for posting this up, DWx. I have downloaded the first issue, and plan to get into the others as well.

Thanks for sharing that article, WNM. Very insightful, and I enjoyed the history lesson.

I know that not every style is taught the same way, or has the same requirements. However, I think that some form of sparring tends to be a commonality amid most (again, most) Martial Styles. Be it step-sparring, or full-blown kumite, some form of sparring is going to be an essential part of drawing the "Martial" out of Martial Art. I tend to agree with sensei8 for the most part, that sparring is a very important part of studying the Martial Arts, and learning how to interact with a resisting opponent in front of you is tantamount to learning how to apply different skills in moving and reacting.

I'll read just about anything, but unfortunately, I have to be a touch selective when it comes to buying, due to my lack of sufficient funds. I really like to read on historical aspects of different styles and methods, and I also like applications-based stuff.

Thanks for sharing, Joe. I always find the various applications of the pulling hand interesting to read about, so I'll be sure to have a look at it.

I've seen that floating around here. Nice velocity.

Tallgeese, at the NAGA, did you wear a gi, on no? 6-4-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:30. I slowed down the kicks in basics today, and paid attention to technique and detail. Hand techniques, I have been trying to work on speed with. We also got to do some sparring stations with pads, clappers, targets, etc., and it was a nice drill. One we did was a blocking a blocker while seeing a target to hit. I never did like that kind of drill, but it was ok, too. We finished class with forms, one-steps, and then some combination/light no pad sparring.

I do wish that my school would give some time to in-class breaking. I think it would help still some of the nerves that comes from breaking in testings and demos.

I think someone has already beat you guys to the punch on this one. I don't remember where I saw it, but I saw an ad selling those pre-worn belts. Sorry!

I don't really think that a stance is offensive/defensive. The fighter is offensive or defensive, and he'll likely facilitate his sparring style from either side.

RIP My wife had heard about it, and told me earlier this evening.

6-3-09 Hang clean: 135x7, 7 Safety squat: 245x10, 10 Bench dips: 10, 10, 20

Cute.

Wow, 22nd level, and it can't be beat. That sucks. Congrats to him on an awesome effort, though!

Speaking of Shin-Kicking...http://www.daeschner.com/skab/index.html I saw a blurb on this on SportsCenter the other night. Thought it looked fun!

The main issue that we have run into here is caused by that little thing we all call RANK! This is where I go off on my little tangent about the advantage of styles that don't use ranks: Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, etc. These guys are truly liberated; they don't have to worry about what level that they can teach up to and certify up to. If they know it, they teach it. And that is that.

Well, for starters, making your forearms bigger is not likely to make your wrists thicker. That's just your body's build, and lifting weights isn't going to change the size of your frame. Now, with that said, you can strengthen your forearms. One thing you could do is take your brick, tie a length of string to it, and then tie this length of string to a dowel rod, broom handle, or something like that. Then, you roll the string up around the dowel by twisting the stick, like reeling in a kite. Repeat as many times as you feel the need to. Wrist curls will help, as well. Hold the bricks or bottles in your hands, palms up or down, and then flex only the wrists in a curling motion. The more weight you use, the fewer reps it'll take to get tired. As far as I know, you can work the forearms quite a bit, because they work a lot as it is; whenever you use your fingers, you work them some. Which reminds me of another exercise....stand with your arms extended out in front of you, locking the arms. Open your hand all the way out, then quickly close them into fists, then open the fingers up again, and keep repeating. To make it worse, er, better, do this in squatting in a sitting/horse stance. Keep doing it until your arms burn.

Thanks for sharing that, Danielle. When I get my other computer back up and running, I may have to look into printing out some of those issues.

Nice clips. Thanks for sharing these.

Thanks for the answers, ps1.

Well, Wallace had some good motivation to kick from his left side only; his right knee was tore to hell, and I don't think he could kick from that side. So, he made his weakness his strength. I do think that you can train both sides, while still having a favorite/dominant side. It just depends on what techniques you are working on. You may not throw a front leg side kick with both sides forward, but you might have a good right lead side kick, and a solid left rear front kick to rely on.

Although I am right handed, I fight southpaw most of the time. One of my instructors early on in my training made the statement that he liked to keep his strongest weapons closer to the opponent, so I kind of adopted that idea early on. Now that I have spent a lot of time fighting right side forward, I find it weird getting to the other side at times. If you switch in these situations, then like tallgeese explained, you end up letting the opponent dictate what you do. You should dictate what you do, and by training against others by keeping your comfortable side forward while they switch will let you work your game better. It'll help you learn what you can and should do from each of the stances an opponent can present, as well. This is going to depend on if you fight with rules or not. In my TKD sparring, we can't strike to the back or below the belt, and we can't punch to the face. So, if my opponent and I are in an open fighting position (I lead with right and he lead with left), then my lead leg is limited in kicking. My options are a round kick to the head, maybe a side kick to the body (rib area), or a lead leg twisting or hooking kick to the body or head, which are tough ones to throw, let alone set up. Now, the back leg here can round kick to the body or head, or front kick, on and on. You can see what I am getting at. Now, from a closed sparring position (both lead with the same side), the targets and attacks can change significantly. So, if rules are what bind you, then which side is forward in comparison to the opponent can dictate your game a bit. So, it is something that you have to prepare for. You should be able to develop your game from your comfortable side, regardless of what side your opponent presents. I agree with tallgeese here, but there is a safer way to get into the opposite stance. Instead of just switching for the sake of switching, switch as a result of a finished technique. For example, if you are in a closed position with the opponent, and throw a back leg round kick and land it in front as the result of a combination, then you have your opposite side forward, but got there as a result of your attacking sequence, and can then work from your other side, if you choose to. It occupies your opponent in a way that "just swithing" does not.