bushido_man96

3-9-09 (Session 2) Weights Bench press: 215x8, 9 fail Row: 160x8, 9 fail Military press: 125x4, 5 fail Lat pull-down: 160x6, 7 fail Machine curls: 50x8, 9 fail Triceps push-down: 165x7, 8 fail Ab wheel: 7, 7 Aikido session: 2:00 - 2:30. We focused on Ikkyo, and I feel more and more comfortable with this technique now. This focused time is really helping me out. Hapkido session: 2:30 - 3:00. Worked on yellow and orange belt material, and did the first half of my red belt curriculum. Cardio: Bike for 25 minutes. 3-10-09 Aikido session: 3:30 - 4:00. Focused on Ikkyo again. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. We did some forms review in class, as well as some free-flowing combinations. At the end of class, we did some kicking drills to help fire off the hip flexors. Prior to class, I spent time focusing on the section of my form where I do the crescent kick-hand slap into side kick. Its getting better...

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I was like DWx, and didn't know any except the two she mentioned in her opening post. Good stuff. My upper body is alway so stiff, and I can really tell when we do anything in Hapkido, Aikido, or our DT stuff. Pins are really effective on me...

Welcome to KF! I look forward to hearing more from Hapkido practitioners.

That's what I thought the few times I have seen examples of it in Karate styles. I think it would wreck my knees.

Welcome to our Forums. If you do a Google search of your area, you should be able to come up with several options to look at. The one listed will probably be helpful, too. I'm sure that sensei8 knows about this school, and is offering good advise. With that said, make sure to weigh all of your options. Who knows, there may be only that one Shotokan school there.

We keep the fingers tight, and relatively straight. I don't break with it much, because I don't care for the technique on boards. We also make sure to keep the thumb tucked in tight to the hand, but not under the hand.

I have heard that the only fight one lost was not "fair."

I like the sound of that instructor, Traymond. Cussing like a sailor, I can relate to. As for wanting to beat on something when having a bad day, I am all for it. But, I think it is something done better in private, so you can focus your frustrations onto that bag, and you don't have to worry about others seeing.

Because it is the american way of wanting things...hot and ready and out the door...in my dojo I only guarantee that the door is always open... I don't see this as that big of a deal where I am at. I don't have students coming to me about how much longer it is going to take, or any of that. I think that it is unfair to state that Americans want things the cheap and easy way all the time. I don't think that other cultures are immune to this.

To add to that, you can see the transition that someone like Brock Lesnar has made to the UFC. Some would say that he hasn't been tested too much yet, but I would say that he has made a successful transition, and he is only going to get better.

I agree. I also agree with the approach that tallgeese takes. If you plan to train someone the eye gouge, then training what it may be like is important. I don't think one can just assume that they will gouge the eye, and feel the same about it afterwards as they did before. It is messy. And it is quite a personal attack, in a sense that you will most likely be crippling someone permanently. A punch may not. This technique WILL. That's why the acting is important. It may seem kind of cheesey to be acting in your MA class like this, but to assume one is ready for it may be setting oneself up for failure. As for the liklyhood of having to use this technique goes, one can make a case for. But, the same case can be made for the likelyhood that any technique we learn will ever be used in a confrontation. Its just another tool to keep handy.

I would do what I have been doing. I wouldn't change on the fly. But, if it is something that I have modified and used over the years, I would do it that way. I don't think it dishonors the teacher at all. There are teachers over the many years that have modified what they have done from what their instructors have taught them. That is part of the reason that there are so many different styles of Karate and other MAs. Its a natural process.

I do most techniques like my instructor shows them, but I hardly view that as emulation. Its the way the techniques are taught, so I do them. Sometimes, I'll do things differently, depending on the situation. But I don't view that as emulation. Its like being taught how to do math, or write sentences. As for the type of character or moral personification of my instructor, I don't try to emulate it. He is who he is, and I am who I am. I like it that way, too.

Thanks, Traymond.

I started the Martial Arts long before I got my job as a Jailor. But my dad was in law enforcement for most of my life, so I have always been around it. It just seemed to come by naturally, I guess. My youngest brother also works at the county jail of our home town.

I root for the Royals, but love to watch baseball in general. I also root for the Cubs. I have been keeping up a little bit on the World Baseball Classic, too.

Those are some surreal images in there. Pretty cool.

The crossbow was cool, but I liked the Gene Simmons axe, too. Awesome guitar. And they even have a Wii Zapper....fantastic! Boxing gloves look intriguing, too.

Those are great pictures. That would be a beautiful place to visit.

Keep up the good work.

There are peole that I do look up to. My dad, for one, is probably the biggest influence on my life. Other than that, there isn't much else. Sure, at times there were those I wanted to be like, but I have grown past that, and accepted the fact that I am the one who decides who I am, and who I am going to be, and not anyone else. Perhaps it is just a phase that we go through as practitioners; perhaps not.

Ah, I see your concern there now. I agree, and it can be an issue. Nepotism can rear its ugly head from time to time.

I agree, Tiger. Working out does help release that anger and frustration. I was even impressed, however, that I didn't even think to use this anger to power my workout; I just worked out.

In reading the High Risk column in my latest Black Belt Magazine, Jim Wagoner wrote an article that contained a counter-criminal surveillance drill. What you do is get a buddy or two together, and have them get some people that you don't know to follow you around during the day. You have to watch to see if you notice anyone watching you, as to scope you out for prey. He mentioned making eye contact with someone who is watching you and turns away immediately (catching someone watching you while you are not watching them). At the end of the day, you get together and point out who you think was watching you (I guess describe clothing, appearance, etc.). I thought that it sounded like an interesting drill to try, and that it could offer some valuable insight into being clued in to your surroundings. Ideas? Thoughts? Comments?

Is it being hard-headed, or is it having free will? Yes, students do mimic their teachers, up to a point. I have come to the point where I am done trying to emulate others, and choose my own standards to live life by. Not all students have one instructor, either. You yourself have studied many styles. So, are you your own person, or are you merely a compilation of what all of these instructors are? I would venture to guess that you are your own person. Sure, you were probably influenced in some ways by each of these people who have taught you, but in the end, you make the choice of what you keep, and what you throw away.