bushido_man96

I like the idea of crashing the kick, and it isn't something that is done a lot in our style. Mainly, we hang back and counter. I like the idea, though, and may have to start working with it more. I like the spin heel kick, Heidi. At times, I'll throw it to the body. They may have their hands guarding, but there is a lot of momentum there, and they will likely get knocked over anyways.

Is there a difference? I always understood that pattern and kata were essentially the same thing. Like using the word "form." A pattern to most "extreme" traditional Martial artists, is an insulting way of talking about a kata, because a pattern has no life, while kata needs life breathed into it. To me, it was all the same: kata=pattern=form=hyung, etc. In many TKD schools, the forms are referred to as patterns. We obviously don't use the term kata, simply because it is a Japanese term, but the Korean equivalent is the word hyung, and the English equivalent would be form or pattern. I have never heard of the exclusivity of any of the terms before. But hey, to each his own.

I've heard some people refer to the "Aikido Wars", with a West Coast Aikido (gentle, flowing, blend with your opponent, gently immobilize your opponent, hug your opponent afterwards) and East Cost Aikido (gentle, flowing, rip your opponents arms off). I think of the rap wars when I hear this...drive by wrist lockings and all that....Hyperbole, of course, but it does seem that Aikido has diverged into 2 separate styles, one of which is more internal like Tai Chi, and the other that seems closer to its Daito Ryu roots.... The approach we take in Combat Hapkido tends to be more along the rougher aspects than is taken in the Aikido club I attend. In our Aikido club, they don't really mess with striking too much during the techniques, and like to take the "peaceful" route. I find all too often that my TKD will to kick or punch comes into play during my Aikido class. I agree! If I can't "feel" it, it likely isn't going to effect me much.

Hehe, the joys of teaching, and learning. There's no school like the school of hard knocks, eh? Its great to hear you working with your daughter like that. I only hope my son takes to it like I have, and can have the same kind of experiences, too.

I just wear mine. But, you could run it through the wash once or twice, as well as drying it. You could also have someone hold one end, and you can start twisting the belt around and around from your end. Then unwind it and do it the other way.

My Wrestling game is pretty lame. I did it in 8th grade, pretty much sucked at it (I wasn't all that athletic, either), and never went back to it. If I knew then, what I know now, I would have stuck with it, just for the knowledge of the ground game.

Yes, good luck and keep us posted!

I'm sorry to hear that your cross-training experience was this bad. I guess I have been fortunate, and my cross-training experiences have been pretty good. Like tallgeese says, it can be a viable way to train. But at some point, I think that things have to come together. If what you are doing does not integrate things at some point, then I think you aren't moving in the right direction.

I'm glad to hear that you are starting to see gains in your skill development, tallgeese. Hard work paying off, eh? 3-13-09 Weights Bench press: 215x8, 9 fail (but man it was close!) Row: 160x8, 9 fail (this one too!) Military press: 125x5, 6 fail Lat pull-down: 160x7 Machine curl: 50x8, 9 fail Triceps push-down: 165x9, 1 fail Ab wheel: 10, 8, 6 (tummy should be sore tomorrow). Cardio: Bike for 25 minutes. Then a good stretch. We got an email last night at work with feedback on the open-mat DT time we had at the college a few weeks back, and it was good. There was also a schedule out of upcoming dates, with one Saturday for each of the next 4 months set aside. I look forward to the training opportunities.

It mostly comes down to personal preference, but I think that the XXL would cover most needs.

Hey, Kez, glad you had a good time. The soreness will pass. Just make sure to take ample time to rest. I think you'll find that the fitness level of Boxing will greatly improve your performances in Karate, too.

Is there a difference? I always understood that pattern and kata were essentially the same thing. Like using the word "form."

This has more to do with use-of-force continuums and what sensei8 referred to as proportional response, and not as much to do with character development. You can observe these things, but you still don't have to be a nice person. Someone can be rude and obnoxious, but likely never harbor any ill will towards anyone, or cause any physical pain to anyone by hurting them. I don't think that this should be the rote definition of what a Martial Art is. It is an opinion and philosophy of many practitioners, and that's cool. But it shouldn't be viewed as a blanket terminology for what the Martial Arts are about. I think that there is a lot truth spoken here, Tiger. I agree with the fact that not everyone has the time to devote to community and school-related projects. The Aikido club that I attend does a lot things to try to raise club funds, etc, and they like to have the members help out. I just don't have the time for it, as I have my own family to focus on. Agreed. There are stories of Samurai that abused their power. You just don't here them that often, because eveyone likes to focus on the romantic aspects of those times. The Knights of Europe were not infallible, either.

I agree with ShoriKid. One experience likely won't desensitize you. And, even though there may be a limit you want to keep yourself from pushing past, you have to understand that if someone is singling you out as their victim, then they are likely very capable of going to that point, and beyond. At that point, do you want to know if you at least can go to that level? Along the same train of thought, even if it is something that you do, you don't have to feel good about it. But in the end, if its you are him, even if you feel guilty for doing it, won't you feel better for going home at the end of the day? Just something to consider.

Welcome to the Forums, Warren.

Yeah, mine too.

I agree that articulation is a big key to helping clear yourself after an altercation. You have to be able to convince officers that the confrontation was not mutual, and your actions have to be directed as such. Like tallgeese points out, it can be tricky, because not every situation is the same. The level of the threat has to assessed, and there are boundaries that you cannot cross. If a drunk gets mad at you because you spilled his drink, you may have trouble convincing a jury that you were in fear of your life, so you punched him in the throat.

I've never seen a tourney where the director competed. I don't think it would be a good idea, though. After all, he has a lot to focus on with running the tourney.

I think tallgeese is on the right track here. My primary art is TKD, but I have been focusing a lot on Hapkido recently. I don't plan on creating my own style, but I do have plans to integrate my TKD and HKD training. Does that make it a different style? I don't know. I don't plan on inventing Brian-Kwon-Do, and declaring myself such and such rank and title. However, I would work towards improving the integration of the two, and if I was to teach anyone, I would probably teach this integration.

If they all can be integrated well, then sure. However, from the way I see it, it doesn't look like any of the curriculum is going to run together.

I have heard that the body can only be in one state at a time: I don't remember the technical terms, but the jist is that you can either be in a weight-gaining mode (like lifting), or a weight-losing mode (like aerobic work). So trying to do both isn't too benefical together. Or so it is said. So, perhaps you should look into breaking up the workout times to different times of the day, like cardio in the morning, and lifting in the afternoon.

The TKD Wavemaster was designed for the Olympic style round kicks that tend to come up at more of an angle, as opposed to coming from a level plane, like a full round kick. Contact would most likely be made with the instep, but other kicks, like spin side kicks could be thrown at it, too. I would like to have an XXL, so I could do both low and high level kicks, and not worry about it falling over, either.

This is relatively common knowledge, that Funakoshi adopted the belt system from Kano. The two were known to be friends, and did spend time training together, I believe. I have never heard of this before. I'd think that it would get expensive after awhile, buying a new uniform after every promotion.

From what I have seen and read, the katas were used to codify fighting concepts, techniques, etc., for transmission to others. I've read a bit from Abernethy, so thats the side of it that I see.

Hey, all. In an effort to get this thread back on track, I have started a new thread, "Not All Martial Artists are Honarable," that may be more appropriate for the tangent this thread has taken. So, I think we should direct some of this discussion over to the more focused thread. Thanks.