bushido_man96

I think that one can study their art to the fullest extent without having to delve into extreme levels of full-body conditioning. The human body is fairly resilient as it is, and proper technique can help to alleviate as many injuries as conditioning can. In fact, I would think that a body tool that has been conditioned to the point of losing feeling or sensation can lend itself to less than favorable technique, because you don't have to worry about hitting wrong; just hitting. One could also loose efficiency in this manner, because damage is what one may be seeking, instead of damage through proper technique. That could be a stretch to an extreme, but it is worth considering. I think that a natural and acceptable amount of conditioning can take place through the natural course of training. Punching the bags, moderate levels of contact sparring, and the like can help to condition the body to the point that it needs to be. Now, the other end of the spectrum is to ask to what extreme do you want to be conditioned? Do you want to be able to kick through 3 or 4 boards with your big toe? Is it necessary to have gnarled and calloused knuckles in order to be an effective puncher? Do I need to kick a bannana tree until it falls over (a la Van Damme in Kickboxer)? Is it necessary to be able to break 2 boards with a spear hand strike, when the likely target area for such a strike is the soft area of the throat or eyes? Each of these questions will be answered by the individual practitioner, and by what that practitioner's wants, needs, and goals might be. In the end, I don't think that the level of body conditioning determines the depth to which one has studied their respective art(s). Grapplers probably don't have much use for punching a makiwara, but to say that they don't have a level of "forged spirit" isn't fair to them, in my mind. Forging the spirit can be developed in many ways, from body conditioning, to physical exertion, to being placed in heightened adrenal scenarios, and the list goes on and on. Their are other things to consider when looking into body conditioning, as well, like career choices. One of the masters at our TKD headquarter school is a doctor by profession, so when he tests, the GM changes his board break requirements so that he breaks with elbow strikes as opposed to palm heel strikes or punches with his hands. The risk he runs in being out of work is just to great for him to risk that kind of conditioning. But, that doesn't have to mean that it puts a limit on how far he can go in the arts, either. Sorry for the ramble...I got a bit long-winded. I anxiously await the opinions and thoughts of others.

Welcome, Tony. I am from Kansas as well. Good to have you here.

I'm not sure what the most difficult would be for me. I'll have to think on it for a while...

5-6-09 Weights Power clean: 165x5, 4, 5th fail Dead lift: 205x10, 225x5 Safety squat: 185x8 Cardio Bike: 25 minutes, 90 rpm/100 rpm/90/100/90, 5 minutes each session. Stretch.

I can see what you are saying here. In some schools, forms can be just a curriculum requirement for testings. In other schools, a form can have much more focus above and beyond technical performance. If you learn a form, and then the bunkai, a form can take an indefinite amount of time to truly come to understand.

As far as conditioning goes, if that's your thing, then I respect that. It isn't all for me, though. Besides that, if you can wear a pair of steel-toed boots....

Thank you for the tip. I will walk through some of my lower rank forms and see what I come up with there. But, some of the lower ranked forms are pretty simple, with a block, then a step and punch, turn to block, step and punch again. Its pretty easy to set up the exhalation per technique.

I enjoy your insights here. Thanks for sharing them.

Very nice, and very good points made. Thanks for sharing it.

Very nice use of the carotid artery strike, tori.

The fact that it was a KO helps. The jumping kicks that he did prior to it I didn't care for all that much. Those two spinning hook kicks (what I would call them) were nice, crisp, fast, and with lots of power. I'm not sure good hands-up position would have stopped either of them. It was pretty, too.

DWx, from reading Lee's book, it doesn't sound like the cross step/side step is very deep, and the weight shouldn't shift from one leg to the other too much. During the step, I'd bet that Lee would adjust his position to be facing the opponent at a slight angle, but I'm unsure how much. Thanks for the replies so far.

Welcome to KF. Glad to have you.

Rest time is when you get stronger, so I would agree with Kuma and work out every other day.

5-5-09 100 Push-ups Week 5, Exhaustion test: 35. This area seems to be my sticking point.

Conditioning the toe might be ok if you are going to inflict that damage barefoot, but many times in self-defense, you will likely be wearing footwear of some kind. With that in mind, I would choose not to condition my toes so much. But that's just me.

In forms practice, with techniques that tend to combo together, I'll exhale within the number of techniques. If the movements are a bit longer, I'll have one breath per movement.

Thanks for the look into history there, sensei8.

Jhoon Rhee stated in his books that each form would be performed a minimum of 300 times before being allowed to graduate for the next rank. But, I would think that quality of the reps would be as important as quantity. I don't know that many schools put a minimum number on reps, or if it is hit in class at least once per night, if not more, and they watch progress and judge accordingly. Also, I think that it is going to depend on the rank and skill of the performer, as to how much work they need in order to be allowed to progress. Bottom line for me is, I can't really tell you what I think a minimum would be. Good question, though.

I guess so, but then again, I don't think I would attempt to teach the layperson, the finer nuances of Pinan Yondan either. But I take your point, and hopefully you understood mine also?? WNM I see the point you are making. I don't agree with it, but I see your point.

Today, 5-4-09, I set up some drills to help my workout partner with the side cutting that we did in class last week. We did some partner footwork drills, mirroring each other's footwork. Then, we moved onto doing the side cut with techniques on the Wavemaster. We did both punching exercises and kicking exercises, and got lots of reps in on the side cutting motion.

Very cool, Patrick. Thanks for sharing it with us.

5-4-09...got a really good session in today... Weights Bench press: 235x5, 6 fail Row: 190x6, 7 fail Military press: 125x6, 7 fail Lat pull-down: 160x8, 9 fail...move up Machine curl: 60x5, 6 fail Triceps push-down: 180x6, 7 fail Safety squats: 185x8 Leg extensions: 175x7, 8 fail Leg curls: 190x10, 11 fail Cable trunk twist: 80x10, 10 Decline crunches: 22 lb ball x 12 Knee lifts: 15 Cardio Bike: 5 min. @ 90 rpm; 5 @ 100; 5 @ 90; 5 @ 100; 5 @ 90; 25 minutes total. Stretch. MA Workout Aikdio: 9:00 - 9:10. I wanted to take time to refresh this stuff, since Aikido class is now finished for the semester. We went over our recent testing material, and I tried to focus on making the connection, and trying to flow a bit smoother. TKD: 9:10 - 9:50. Worked on side cutting again today, with a bit more focus: Partner footwoork drill: mirroring parnter with side cut motions. We did each side, side cutting and coming back to our set position. We finished with a side cut then step back instead of reseting, giving a bit more footwork. This got us warmed up a bit, moving around. Wavemaster bag work Footwork in front of bag: 2x10 each side, just moving around the bag. Side cut and reverse punch (cross): 3x10 each side. Side cut, jab/cross: 3x10 each side. Side cut, shuffle step to back leg round kick: 3x10 each side. Side cut, front leg round kick: 3x10 each side. We really focused on the body position during the side cut, and using the coiled position to unleash a good reverse punch/cross, or a good back leg round kick. With the lead side techniques, we would make sure that the side cut could still allow our bodies to bring power in the techniques. Stretch: 9:50 - 10:00 Good solid workout. Next time, we plan to do a little more bag work, and then do some sparring drills together to work the side cut more, and then into some counters.

That's a great story. Movie stuff someday, maybe.