bushido_man96

Well, it comes down to who teaches it to you, and why. I think that in many "traditional" styles, aesthetics are an important aspect of technique, and thus, could be the result of the thumb tucked in tight position. I have seen the thumb out position, and I'm sure that it is a viable option, as well. I think that you just have to watch for that thumb getting grabbed, is all. If chopping downward, toward a low target (say, a bent over opponent), then thumb out may not be of concern. Overall, I'm not sure if there is a physical advantage to one over the other.

That is great. I look forward to seeing a few of them chime in. The more, the merrier!

I think the bokken would function a bit better, since the jo is a bit longer than the bokken, and not balanced as such.

I would like to see how that comes out. I couldn't get the trailer to work. I'll try again later.

Cool. Thanks.

I'm glad to hear that your knife work is coming along for you. Its cool to see that you gave it a pretty good litmus test, too. Did the guys you worked with have any tips to offer you, as well? 3-25-09 Weights Power clean & jerk: 135x5, 5 Dead lift: 155x10, 185x8 Ab wheel: 10 Cardio: Bike for 25 minutes, then had a really good stretch.

I'm a bit confused by what you are saying here, WNM. I don't quite understand what you are getting at; could you elaborate a bit more for me, please?

In this case, are there stripes used to denote what level of the rank the student is at, or are they just plain belts?

Thanks for sharing and opening this conversation.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Baron. Better late than never, right?

Welcome to KF, Scott. It sounds like you've got a pretty special program going there in Joplin. Coincidentally, I have a brother named Scott, who lives in MO, too. St. Clair, to be exact. Glad to have you here.

Welcome to KF, Adam.

Wouldn't it be kind of tough to do Iai techniques with a jo, because they involve the drawing of the sword? Just wondering; it seems like it would be ackward to me.

3-24-09 100 Push-ups Week 5, Day 1: 17, 19, 15, 15, 30 (needed 20) = 96 MA workout Defensive Tactics: 3:30 - 4:15. Worked on red belt Combat Hapkido. While doing one of the reaping takedowns, one of our TKD instructor's daughter came by and watched. Well, I have a habit of slapping the ground nice and hard when I get taken down, and I am pretty decent at breakfalls. So, some guys know that they can throw me hard, and I'll be ok. So, the daughter brings a couple of her tumbling class friends over and says, "hey, show them that takedown." So, I get reaped hard, smack the mat and fall hard, and she says to her friends "see, don't mess with Stan (my DT partner)." I was like, man, thanks a lot. Glad I got to make you look good, buddy...we had a laugh over it. Good stuff. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:10. We have a testing on Thursday, so the class worked on mostly prepping for that. My old training buddy was in the class, so when we did one-steps together, we had a bit of fun hitting each other while we were standing there as a target. Good times. Man, my legs are sore today from the lunges I did on Monday. I think I need to do them more often, to get my legs stronger. I don't do a lot of weights with my legs, but maybe I should start. My knees don't like the squats, so I have to be careful.

Yes, it pretty well mimics the front kick motion. You just can't get your hips into the weight movement, though. Other than that, pretty much a match.

I'd think that something in this case would be better than nothing, if you don't have a partner. I have heard mixed feelings about them, but it might be worth a try.

No, we don't trap either. Sometimes the leg might get "hooked" by "accident" when trying to sweep it out of the way, but that is an "accident." I try to move back and at an angle, to get a counter shot in, but I have trouble getting away from those side kicks.

I agree. A black belt should look like a black belt when doing the white belt form. All that has been learned through the years should be seen in the low rank forms, too.

Although I can't speak for the policies of every organization out there, when I was with the ATA they were very good about making adjustments to curriculum requirements, as far as the physical ones go, so that they could move up the ranks, just like the others.

To your first point - I agree 100% On the second point. I personally believe that kata is NOT bunkai, but a way to help remember and practice so that you can do bunkai. The movements in kata should not be taken as a literal fight but as a dance to help you remember concepts in fighting. Hope that makes sense? As for the second point here, I do think that there is likely some extrapolation that takes place when performing the bunkai.

I think that the idea of using the word style to refer to kata came from the time when it wasn't unusual to learn just one kata from a master, spend your training time on it, and the applications found therein. Abernethy has spoken about the probabilities of this. There's a great book about this too. "Five Years One Kata" by Bill Burgar. He studied Gojushiho for five years straight and came up with an entire self defense system just from it, and gives you his blueprint on how to work on your own. Pretty interesting stuff. That would be an interesting read, I think. I may have to search that one out.

I have not heard of that one, but that isn't saying much. Good luck in finding it.

I think that it would be a blast to learn. The few times that I get to work on some ground fighting stuff through seminars and DT and what not, I always come away with something. Now, I need to get together with a partner and drill a few of the things that I have learned, so that I don't forget them, again.

Thanks, tallgeese. In the DT training that we do, we cover a wrist lock/arm bar, one of which comes from inside, and the other from the outside, so that no matter how you end up, you should have something to work with. I also see some of the parallels with the Hapkido I do, but the Hapkido tends to be much more direct. Here is a video clip of Ikkyo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwNKF3iE8k&feature=related This is very similar to what we are doing, only we are not letting the grab complete. Also, when we step in and push the elbow up, we then step to 45 degree angle with what would be the right foot in the video, bringing the arm straight and dragging him off balance more. Other than that, it is close.

Actually, I think that there is one that is based of the White Crane system of Kung Fu; I thought it might be Shito-Ryu, but I might be wrong.