bushido_man96

That's pretty cool. The guy is pretty unmistakable. He was in incredible shape, too. He also Kickboxed for a while, I think.

I'll keep my conversations with the instructor up to date here. Man, Alex, I envy your department so much, you guys get to do a ton of firearms work. So nice, because it is a skill that really needs to be practiced, just like any other Martial Art.

I think one of the practitioners here has stated that Kyokushin tends to be a mix of Goju and Shotokan, but I am not 100% clear.

I think that Funakoshi studied Tekki for 7 years before moving on to another kata, didn't he?

In my view, it is controlling my anger. I make the choice of whether to stand up for myself or not, the anger does not. The anger is the initial emotional response to being jumped, whether in the dojo/dojang or on the street. I wouldn’t care what style he studies, or that he might be able to whip me; like Kenny Rogers sang, “sometimes you have to fight when you’re a man.” I don’t care what rank or title someone holds, no one has the right to take a shot at another like that, regardless of what “lessons” he may be trying to teach. What he did is little short of an outright physical attack, and in many states, such an act can get one arrested for disorderly conduct at the least, and possibly battery.

Congrats, Kez. A long time coming!

Congrats. That's quite an honor, I think.

I think it would be a fun awareness drill to try.

Was that first ice breaker Dolph Lundgren?

Ouch, didn't quite stick the landing.

You don't have to be fake to the kids when teaching, but try to have some fun with them. If MA training is fun for you, and you can show that, then it will be more fun for them. With that said, remember that kids learn through play, so having focused games that improve on various skills will go a long way to making the classes easier on yourself and the kids. Kids won't get it right the first time, and maybe not the second time, and maybe not by the end of class. But, they should get better, and show signs that they are understanding and trying. Those are some simple things that can help you with the kids. Don't worry; it gets easier with time.

Sounds good. Thanks, tallgeese. 4-2-09 TKD class: 6:15 - 7:15. Class started late because there was a Little Lions testing before. Class was huge tonight; I think we had 20 or 21 students in there. If this keeps up, we might be able to go back to a kids class, which would be kind of nice. Class went well. Basics were brief, and then the black belts spent time working with colored belts on upcoming tournament stuff and new one-steps. I think I am going to have an issue coming up with the head instructor. He asked for a show of hands of who was going to the upcoming tournament, which is our organization's yearly tournament. My hand did not go up, and neither did the 4th dan's. He mentioned something about talking with us later on about it, because we know it comes around about the same time every year, and that we should be planning for it. We should be supporting it, going to help judge, etc. Well, I don't care for tournaments any more, and don't feel like taking the time off of work to go. My wife isn't crazy about going, either. I also don't like going down to put up with those who don't know what's going on in the tournament, but get picked to judge anyways. He didn't catch me after class on it, but I'm sure he will soon. I'll just tell him flat out that I don't want to go, and will not be going. Likely not for a while.

Yeah, I'd agree with dropping your center. It may not be a true "counter," but more of a defensive movement to prevent the completion of the technique. I love the suplexes. They really are the beauty of throwing, in my opinion.

I'm not sure that being angry makes you stronger or not (unless your the Hulk...). Adrenaline can, though. However, I don't think that there is a correlation between anger and adrenaline. I do think that it is possible to spar when angry, and to maintain control over your techniques. Like anything, it may take time to adapt to this, but like I mentioned before, it is a matter of channelling it properly.

That's an interesting experiement, Joe. The other night, I was warming up on the bag before class, and was throwing either a vertical or the 3/4 fist punches at the bag. I have to say that I felt quite comfortable with the 3/4 fist.

I'm with tallgeese and WNM here. If my instructor kicked me over for dropping my belt, I'd throw it back at him, give him some choice words, and then leave, and likely not come back. If someone took a blind-sided shot at me like that, my reaction would likely be to retaliate physically...I don't care what rank he's wearing, and I wouldn't care if he thought he could wipe the floor with me, either. I was raised not to put up with crap like that. But that's just me. The belt is just a belt, like the rest of the uniform. And I'm not sure about anyone else here, but I do remember paying for mine, so I don't think I'll be taking any advise on what I should do with what is mine.

That is cool to see. I miss that retro look of the old NES cartridges.

There was an article in Black Belt this month about feinting. It had some good points, but the author made a comment about those not susceptible to feints, in his view, were "unsophisticated." I kind of thought the comment was a bit out of line; everyone just fights differently, and reacts differently. He also claimed that those that didn't react to feints would be slower in reacting to committed attacks, because they are always waiting for the committed attack. I'm not sure about that; he may have a point there.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. Good times..

What is the ball drill, tallgeese? 3-31-09 100 Push-ups Week 5, Day 1: 17, 19, 15, 15, 25 (20) = 91. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. At the end of class, we worked on some upper body hand techniques, 3 at a time, blocking and countering. I liked the drill, and think I will do some more of it on my own. 4-1-09 Weights Power clean & jerk: 145x5 Hang clean: 135x5 Power clean: 135x7 Dead lift: 205x10, 255x3 Cardio: Bike for 25 minutes, then a good stretch.

As we get older, even if we continue to train, things will start to tail off on us. But, if we work hard, we can slow down that process. Typically, the older we get, the harder it will be to develop increased fast-twitch muscle, speed in general, and strength. I'm not saying that it isn't possible to do, but it just gets hard the older we get.

I think a lot of us go through the different learning curves between beginner, intermediate, and the advanced ranks. Its just part of the learning process. You'll adjust, I'm sure.

My updated picks: Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann.........Condit.......Sub Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens.......Stephens....KO Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero.............Marrero......Dec Cole Miller vs. Junie Allen Browning..........Miller.........Sub Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos............dos Anjos...Dec Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich.............Horwich......Sub Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders...............Larson........Dec Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck............Rivera........KO Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo...................Kimmons....Sub Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson..............Simpson.....KO

The fight card has been updated, here and in the opening post: Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero Cole Miller vs. Junie Allen Browning Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson

That is funny. Its a good thing no one was hurt.