bushido_man96

If you look to the right resources, you can find some of the applications of TKD forms.

What, in your view, is the intended larger purpose for practicing katas?

I like most of the choices there, except for Croft; but, I never played them much....maybe she did have an impact. For Nintendo, I think I'd have Mario, MegaMan, Zelda, Samus Aran (sp?). For overall video gaming, I think I would have to go with Mario, Master Chief, Ryu, and I guess Sonic.

Cute.

Yeah, I think that they could do something more informative as opposed to comparative. Now, if they wanted to get into comparing actual battles in history of different cultures, then I am cool with that; it actually happened. But an Apache vs. a Samurai wouldn't be very adaptable, I don't believe.

That would be a good approach. I think that even though the game itself would violate any laws, you have to think about cerfew violations, if applicable, and how the game would look to passersby....they may view it a suspicious behavior, and call it in. If that did happen, and you followed JusticeZero's advise, then I think nothing bad would come of it.

Good show, WNM. I'd say we are on the same page there. I do like the term "block" when speaking in generalities for learning a form, as it simplifies things.

I'm not a throwing expert, but I think that the ones listed in the article kind of comprise a set of basics that allows one to build into other throws. Like Joe mentioned, you get an inner and an outer leg tripper, and the others give you variations on entries, depending on what is presented by the opponent. I think that they make a good starting point, and may be enough to be sufficient for self-defense purposes.

Thanks, Throwdown. The idea behind the drill is pretty basic, and once you understand the setup, you can really apply it to different techniques on both sides. Experiment, and see what you find...

That was a nice comparative video. Thanks for sharing it. I'll dig up that bit of information when I get a chance.

Nice usage of the bag to find your answers, Joe.

I agree with JusticeZero. I would only strip a rank if something very, very bad happened in a class, or wtih a student outside of class that reflected heavily on the school and myself. When stripping it, I don't know that you could keep it, but what you do is make an example of them in the class. That is where the lesson lies, I feel.

That was....brief.

Here you go: http://www.earthworks.com/martialart/canes/ And for a more European flavor: http://www.elite-fighters.com/library/rarebooks/fighting_cane/cane_fighting1.htm

Thanks, everyone. I'll keep you posted as I go along. I plan on really hitting technique hard these next few weeks, to work out the kinks.

Joe, you've got a good attitude for training there. Its good to see that you consider what means to be at the rank that you are at, and that you don't concern yourself with being ready for the next testing in the cycle. I do think that in many styles today, the idea of preparing for the next test supercedes other criterea of the Martial Arts, like self-defense skills and applications. I have to admit that the TKD school that I attend tends to be like that. Now, there are some good things that come out of that mindset: our instructors are real sticklers for technique, as am I. I have been very lucky in that all of my instructors have been very technical instructors; they like the techniques to be done right. That is in no way a bad thing, because proper technique develops proper power and efficiency. But, my TKD school consists of doing basics, then forms, then one-steps, and then sparring if we have time (which don't tend to have a lot of time for). We hardly do any kind of self-defense applications, aside from our one-steps, which will work out great if we ever get attacked by a statue. So, as it turns out, our students are usually very good at technique, and thus good at forms. But there are several in our school that don't like to spar, and I know why; they don't get much sparring drills, but just get sparring. Those that aren't as naturally aggressive as others tend to fall by the wayside here, and come to dislike sparring, which is more benefical than the one-steps are, in my opinion. Good technique is a great thing, but we must learn to apply that technique, and stress it a little, to get good at self-defense, which is what I think the Martial Arts are really about.

No but I'd imagine a 50+ year old blackbelt would also have a hard time doing it. Bruce Lee was an advocate of a Martial Artist being a representative specimen for his age group. An old man may not be able to hang with a young man, but an old man MAist should be able to shine against the layman of his age group, as far as being in physical form goes.

I'm not sure if I like the versus setup. You end up looking at different spots in time, different technology, etc. In some cases, it would be like sending in 300 of today's Marines, with modern weaponry, to fight in the battle of Thermopolae. I think there would be different endings there.

Yeah, and then get charged with obstruction...

Thanks for the clarification.

Using an ab wheel can help stretch them a bit. Also, standing at pulling the leg up behind, you grabbing the ankle, and stretching can help, too.

That is a good point. Getting them thinking about one attacking tool, and then using the other, especially when changing levels of attack, is a good idea, and would cut down on the chance to recognize the attack.

Although I wouldn't say that most kicks above the waist are useless, I would agree that you can do a lot of very effective kicking below the waist, and there is nothing wrong with focusing on this. There are a lot of good targets below the waist, and they are easier to get to. Kuma has good advise on stretching. Take slow and easy, and don't expect too much all at once. I have been with TKD for 15 years, and have never done a full split. If that is a goal of yours, then you need to spend some time fleshing that out. If it isn't, then just stretching when you have time, and especially whenever you are warmed up, will show improvement in time. Welcome back to the MAs, and welcome to the Forums.

I have read that the Japanese translation of the word "uke" is more practically "to receive" or "to accept," or something along those lines, instead of "block." So, you can take that into account when interpretting movements, as well. Welcome to KF.

I agree with using slower, more deliberate movements to help develop reactionary skills. I think that as you progress, increasing the speed and spontanaiety of the drill gets you to where you want to be. I'll give a good TKD example; countering the back leg round kick with a spin back kick. Basically, we'll start out in an open stance, which means both sparrers have the opposite leg in back; one's fighting orthodox, and the other is southpaw. The attacker will throw a back leg round kick, at slower than game speed, and the defender will counter with the spin back kick. The goal here is for the defender to recognize the body shifts that come with the delivery of the back leg round kick, and as the defender sees them, he spins and counters with the spin back kick. You can begin at the very basics by making this a block-and-counter drill. This stage is good for giving the defender time to take in all of the physical cues of the round kick attack. But, it is not a true "reaction" drill, in my eyes. Yes, the block is a reaction, but the goal is to defend/attack at the same time, not defend-then-attack. So, you try to move on to the defender seeing the shoulder movement, or the leg chambering, so that he works up to beginning the spin back kick before the round kick has reached its target. From there, you can move on to variations of the round kick, and setting up the counter from closed off stances, etc.