bushido_man96

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.

And I think that is what it is about; being true to yourself, knowing that you are doing all that you can to better yourself. After all, the MAs are an individual activity.

When Bruce Lee describes his lead vertical fist, he struck with the bottom 3 knuckles, as opposed to the top 2. Has anyone explored this much? I find that striking with the bottom 3 knuckles is fairly adequate when doing bag work, at least.

I got a call from the sempai today, telling me that he and the Sensei spoke, and that I have been officially extended an invitation to test this season, coming up on April 23. I am pretty jacked about it, because I didn't figure I would be invited to test. So, I am looking forward to it, and my uke partner and I have been working pretty hard on the requirments for the test. It should be a good time.

Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz……………………….Shamrock………..Sub Cristiane Santos vs. Hitomi Akano…………………..Akano……………Sub Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith………………………...Radach…………..KO Gilbert Melendez vs. Rodrigo Damm………………..Melendez………...Dec Brett Rogers vs. Ron Humphrey……………………..Rogers……………KO Luke Rockhold vs. Buck Meredith…………………..Meredith………….Sub Eric Lawson vs. Waylon Kennell……………………Lawson…………...Sub Raul Castillo vs. Brandon Michaels………………….Castillo…………..KO Zak Bucia vs. James Terry…………………………...Terry……………..Dec Jeremy Tavares vs. Shingo Kohara………………….Kohara……………Dec

The fight card has been updated above.

Welcome to KF! Glad to have you aboard.

Thats a good point, tallgeese. Its unfortunate for LEOs, but the criminal has to elevate the threat level before we do, for the most part. As far as carrying a "traditional" weapon, aside from the knife, I would go with a cane. Its completely legal to carry, and you can use many stick, sword, or jo skills with it, plus it has that handy hook at the end. Something to look into.....

I see a lot of good points here so far. Good contributions, everyone. I have a few things to add... Actually, Karate Sensei Pat Nakata does this. No belts; just gi pants and a white T-shirt. I think it is a great idea. I don't agree here necessarily. I think it can be viewed as that way for some, but I don't view it that way. Like tallgeese mentions, the mindset should be something that you can get into, regardless of what you are wearing. Remeber, the ancient Greek Olympians fought naked.... I agree here. If you get jumped, you won't get a chance to change clothes. I found this idea intriguing. I think it has merit; kind of like having a certificate of rank does.

I've seen the ads, and I want to see it. I just have to try to catch it. What did it cover?

That sounds like a fun game. I think it would be worth a shot.