bushido_man96

That is pretty cool. After Alpha, I didn't have access to play many more, so I'm not familiar with the advances on them. Still nice to read about, though.

I think the spiderman name comes from the wall climbing look to the knee coming to the elbow...

Thanks for the replies. Good answers, too. I see what tg is saying about early testing requirements. But, at our school, the basics are pretty involved, and all ranks do the same basics. But, I digress. The motivational factor is something to think about, too. It does help with the kids, but with adults, I think it might be less so. School focus may have a part in the process, too.

I think that the psychological aspect is the part that is the most overlooked when it comes to SD training. It is definitely worth looking into more.

Congrats to you! One more milestone down.

The claymore and the katana would likely be two different classifications of sword. But in the end, they serve the same purpose. What you describe of the tonfa and tuifa sounds to me like two names for the exact same thing.

Congrats!

Man, some of you guys make a whole day out of Saturday. That's cool. I like the variety.

Yes, very nice. I like the breakdown you present of the 4 types, as well. I think that they are spot on. Unfortunately, I like to think that they all should have some of what you refer to as the MA type in them; that should be the base. Other ideas and beliefs can be taught secondary, but the base should be that of MA. At this point, I would sat that my TKD class falls more under the ME/MW classifications; physical education, with an adherence to a set way of doing techniques. However, I know that there can be more MA in it.

Ah, that helps. Thanks. I had seen and done those before, I just didn't know that is what they were called.

I am not familiar with spiderman push-ups. What are they?

2-28-09 Open DT seminar: 9:00 - 12:00. This was held at the college, in the room our Aikido club typically meets in. So, no Aikido, but they plan on doing this thing at least once per month, which will be nice. We started off with one of the KHP guys showing us some cuffing methods with the rigid cuffs. I kind of like them now. Lots of good things to do with them. We did that for about an hour, and then worked on ground fighting with the guy who does the DT course for the criminal justice majors at our college. We covered a lot of stuff, but the things I hope to work on a bit are the kimura from guard, the reverse from that position, hopefully the scissor sweep, and the arm bar. They all came from that general guard position, and all seem to work well as far as transition goes if one thing isn't there. It was a good time, and I look forward to more. 3-1-09 100 Push-ups: exhaustion test - 34. I thought I might get more than that, but oh well. It is an improvement.

Hapkido has some standing joint stuff, but it might not be different from what you have done. Just about any striking style should do you right. Goju Ryu might help you see integrations with what you already know. Wado Ryu perhaps, as well?

Congrats! It sounds like you had a good time.

...usually, the earlier ranks tend to have shorter waits in between, like 3 months or the like. The higher ranks have longer periods in between. I have often wondered if this does not seem backwards? From a learning curve standpoint, the first few months of class are the hardest for new students, because there are so many things to learn; basics, stances, learning new movements for your body, getting past the ackwardness, etc. To me, it seems that the early ranks should have more time between the testings, as this is the time when the student is really needing to get down the basic movements, like being able to step and punch without having to stop and think where they are punching, what stance they are in, the weight distribution on the legs, etc. I would think that at the higher levels, when you have a few years of experience in, and the learning curve is smaller, then there would be briefer spats of time between the testings. Any thoughts on this? I know that many times the higher ranks are made to wait mainly due to the idea of a probationary period, or to force them to "stick it out" and earn their way to the next level. From a needs standpoint, though, I think it would be more helpful for the lower ranks.

If it seems out of character, then perhaps approaching him about it would be an idea. Have a plan, though, because he may get short with you, too. If you are ready to move onto another school, then don't be worried about letting him know how you feel.

I agree that we should not "show off." However, the "untrained" may be the ones bringing the fight to us. If that's the case, then being untrained is there problem, and I will do what I have to, if I have no choice. As far as unsafe surroundings are concerned, that may be something out of one's control when self-defense happens, too. Fighting rarely takes place in the sterile types of atmospheres of our dojos.

It sounds like you get a good mix, ShoriKid. I do like the idea of coaching from the sidelines. That way, you don't get caught up in that "have to win" mindset every time you train. I know I have that problem at times when we do spar; I just want to show that I can run with the better guys all the time.

I don't buy into the Dim Mak idea either. I just don't see enough out there to prove it is true.

I like the knee strikes, but we tend to work them more in our DT classes and Hapkido than we do in TKD. Some of our forms have a knee strike, but we have never explored any applications with them. I do think that our chest protectors would allow us to get some level of contact with a knee to the body, so its an idea. Cung Le had some interesting scenarios in there, and I liked the way that he set up its usage.

I had not seen the DSi yet. It looks like it has a ton of potential. I love the DS Lite. Nice find, Patrick.

Man, that is freaky-cool!

My DT buddy has a collapsable set of chucks. They are neat, but a little rattley.

Hey, it is what it is. A mill-grinder handle is what it is. Whether it is squared or tapered is of little significance, as well, I would think. Although a squared one might leave cooler notches in the other person's head.