bushido_man96

That's a very interesting tradition that I'm honestly not familiar with myself. Do you know where that originated from? Yes, it is different. Is this something that is unique to your own school?

I do both. I study Aikido with the American Aikido Association, and I have been doing Combat Hapkido for about 3 years now, I think. Combat Hapkido is pretty straight forward stuff. Low-line kicks and hand techniques used as distraction techniques to facilitate the techniques. We do some circular motions, but not to the extent that Aikido does. I have only been doing Aikido for about 7 or 8 months now, I think. From what I have seen, Aikido is based a lot on using the energy of your opponent, if he gives you some, or the energy you give the opponent, if he is more static, to initiate the circular, spiraling, spherical types of movements that generate the momentum for the techniques. There are rarely any striking techniques involved. In class, we spend at least an hour doing Aiki movements that involve a lot of turning and spinning, and the breakfalling techniques, before getting into the actual technique work. These spinning and turning movements are what build the foundation of the movements used to produce the energy to do the techniques. I am still growing in both, and I have more experience with the Hapkido than with the Aikido, so my experiences here may not echo those of the more experienced. However, Hapkido does have its roots in Daito-Ryu Aikijitsu, so there are some similarities in the two.

Well done, Kez. It sounds like it went very well.

Our contact level is pretty moderate when we spar. Its supposed to be body displacement at tournaments, so we make sure to make some level of contact on the chest protectors. We don't get into full-on, heavy contact.

You could say the same about Wrestling, too. There are a lot of kid's Wrestling programs out there. Its a different style, for sure, but they are both based in combative systems. I don't know that TKD and Karate schools are "aimed" at children, but the curriculum of these styles lend themselves well to teaching children. They naturally gravitate to it.

I do think that stance work is important for all aspects of Martial Arts. However, I think that it should not be done soley stationary, but focusing on the transitional aspects of stance work, using an opponent that resists at varying levels, allows one to get a really good handle on how the stance becomes effective movement.

Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson...........Sanchez.........Dec Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham.................Hardy............KO Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia.........Marquardt......Sub Chael Sonnen vs. Demian Maia..............Maia..............Sub Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago..............Koscheck.......KO Terry Etim vs. Brian Cobb......................Etim..............Dec Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve........Struve...........Sub Per Eklund vs. Evan Dunham..................Eklund...........Sub Neil Grove vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz.............Grove............KO Troy Mandaloniz vs. Paul Kelly................Kelly..............KO

I agree, DWx. Unfortunately, our classes are pretty much mixed. And we just started doing some different basics, and it is tougher for the 6 new white belts we have to catch on.

We have board breaking required at the brown belt levels, but we don't do any kind of conditioning for it. I think board breaking is a good way to demonstrate power in technique.

Updated Fight Card: Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia Chael Sonnen vs. Demian Maia Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago Terry Etim vs. Brian Cobb Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve Per Eklund vs. Evan Dunham Neil Grove vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz Troy Mandaloniz vs. Paul Kelly

I like the most of them, but Super Mario Bros. 3 has to be up there, along with the New Super Mario Bros. that was on the NintendoDS. It was a blast.

Very well said, ps1. Spoken with experience behind it.

I wouldn't say that one should add partner work for the sake of partner work, but for the sake of learning to interact with someone, on some level. It doesn't have to be intense to be beneficial. Nor am I saying that basics are not important to Martial Artists. However, even with 30 minutes of basics, I think you can still find some good, productive partner drills that can be taught, even to lower ranks, using very simple movements, like the chambering position of the knife hand strike or the middle block. Its never to early to learn to cover and counter. Here is another example; I am a 3rd dan, and I still do the same basics in our traditional classes that the white belts do. I am not saying that I can't benefit from 40 minutes of basics up and down the floor, but I could benefit a lot more with 40 minutes of two-person drilling, self-defense work, or sparring. I realize that my school isn't like all schools, either. But, I don't think you can learn to fight or defend yourself as effectively with solo drills as you can with multi-person drills.

2-18-09 Cardio: Bike for 25 minutes, followed by a brief stretch. We were busy today, so I didn't get to everything I wanted to.

One thing that I have seen with back injury recovery is that you really have to take your time. You can't hurry it, because if you do, you'll end up keeping yourself out for even longer. Its really touchy, and because your back does so much, it is going to affect and be affected by everything that you do.

Poe Eun is an ok form. There are a lot of little things to work on in it. You really have to work on the pacing of it, too. If you go too fast, it can get sloppy. You have to find that balance of quickness of technique, pace, and time between techniques to make it look sharp. Do you do it with the sine wave?

Do a Google search for Martial Arts schools in your area, and see what is available. With a list, it would be easier to point you in the right direction. Kyokushin is know for its hard-style, knockdown sparring rules, as are its offshoots, like Enshin and Ashihara. A Muay Thai gym might serve well, too. Welcome to KF!

I think the problem is that the term light-contact goes around a lot, and semi-contact I think tends to get lumped in with it. I think that maybe use of the term "contact sparring" would be more helpful.

That sounds great, Kez. I'm sure you will do just fine. Project your voice, and be confident in what you show. Keep it simple, and try to incorporate some games or competitions into it, if you feel they can handle it. Hand's on stuff is always a good time, too. If you can do some pair work, they will like that.

I was thinking about our TKD training tonight. What came to my mind is that I am training in a Martial Art that is supposed to help improve my self-defense, which is usually at least a two-person event. If this is the case, then why is the bulk of what I do in class consist of individual work? Like tonight, we spent about 30 minutes on basics. Then, we spent time on forms, before getting into one-steps. So, in a 1-hour class, nearly 40 minutes or better is spent on individual drills, as opposed to working in pairs to move with someone. The one-steps are two-person, but they are severely lacking in actual self-defense applications. This leads me to ask, how many other practitioners out there are under the same kind of class layout, with basics first, then forms, then sparring or some kind of sparring exercises? How much time do you spend drilling with partners as opposed to the individual drilling? Wouldn't it make more sense to spend the bulk of the class time working with partner drills?

Here's the deal; in Okinawa, you call it by the Okinawan name, and in Japan, you'd call it by the Japanese name. That's what I am getting at. To me, its just a stick with a handle on it.

2-17-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. We did a lot of basics today, still adjusting to the new way of doing things. We didn't get to any sparring, but did combinations instead.

It sounds like the power of suggestion has been playing havoc with your emotional well-being. No action by another who is not touching you (such as seizing your foot or pushing you) is affecting you physically. I agree with Joe. I don't think someone else can control your physical actions. As Joe mentions, the power of suggestion may be at work, so you need to figure out how to get this out of your head.

2-16-09, take 2. 100 Push-ups Week 4, Day 2: 20, 25, 20, 20, 28 = 113. Even though it is the first day of the week, I jumped into day 2 because it has been giving me fits, and I can get through day 1 ok. On Wednesday, I'll do day 2 again. Its still a bugger to get through, and I had a looong rest before doing the last set. Wavemaster FL front kick: 3x10 each side BL front kick: 3x10 each side Aikitaisos Tenkan: 3x10 each side Shomen: 3x10 each side Combat Hapkido: 3:15 - 4:00. My partner taught a DT class earlier that day, so he was a bit sore and tired. So, we did a pretty simple review of some yellow and orange belt material.

That is just about the bare-bones of it, isn't it? Great point there.