bushido_man96

No, I wouldn't say that, because Hapkido has its roots in Daito-Ryu Aikijitsu, and Tang Soo Do also has some Karate roots. Hapkido is probably closer to Aikijitsu than Aikido, is my guess.

I think that another issue that goes hand-in-hand with this contact level question is also the target levels used. Boxing is very full contact; but not full-body target. Kyokushin and Olympic TKD have about the same target areas, and close to the same contact levels; one just uses more protective equipment than the other. Judo is known for its use versus resisting opponents, and its full speed, but the targets are very restricted. I think this kind of thing falls in with the contact level as well.

Hooray! I finally got one!

I do recall that Van Damme danced, and yes, it was movie stuff. But still, it shows that it can be a functional way to kick. I think Roy Kurban showed some of the same stuff in his book.

I've seen it, and although I have not been "shown" how to do it, I have tried to mess with it a bit, and I don't think I would like it. It just kills my ability to make powerful combinations in a form.

Just to test my history knowledge, didn't the founder of Wado begin learning a Karate style to "give his Aikijujitsu teeth?" (I apologize that I cannot think of who the founder of Wado is, WNM.)

Soooo, I take it you like Sanchin? Have you read the book The Way of Sanchin Kata? Even though I don't practice the kata, I found the book quite interesting.

Some styles, yes. Grandmaster Bong Soo Han of Hapkido was quite the kicker. What I like about the Combat Hapkido system is that it doesn't emphasize the high kicks or the extreme levels of diving and rolling. It is focused on more efficient modes of defense and breakfalling. Does Kuk Sul Won focus on high kicking very much, or is it more basic kicking?

I view a defense that doesn't stop a technique dead in its tracks as more of a parry than a hard block. That's just me, though.

Brian, since you mentioned the chest protectors, are there specific rules for sparring with females? I remember a past posting in which there was sparring between a male and female student, but the manner in which he sparred (he was the one who posted) was objected to. One of the responses was that he should have checked with his sensei if there were certain rules he was to follow. When I took fencing, my female fencing partner wore a different protector than I did, so a rule wasn't needed. No, there aren't any rules differences. Same for all.

Same here. I'm pretty daft when it comes to numbers. If I could spar with numbers, I'd whoop on them, good.....

They basically make each season a stand-alone series, don't they?

I was just wanting to get some feedback on the Saturday classes that those here teach or go to. What times do you have them? Are they mixed, or special? What times seem to be the best for you? How many students typically show up, and how big is the area you live in?

If the movements are that important to your style, then it is important to spend time drilling, drilling, drilling them. That way, they can move onwards and upwards. However, I do think it would be a good idea to find some other movements that can be worked on with them, too, in order to keep the pace of the class going. Maybe pair movement, or technique work with bags and such, to shake things up for them. Let us know how it goes for you. I wish you well.

I agree with you here. I also think that this is the main sticking point with the schools that like to hit basics hard and heavy; the instructors might be concerned that by jumping in too early that by not locking down the basics, they won't be able to throw good, strong techniques. I also think that it has something to do with the schools being heavy curriculum based, testing-focused schools. What is being overlooked is that no predator out there is going to wait for someone to develop their basics before they attack them. So, better to get used to that 2-person movement early on.

2-19-09 Pre-class warm-up; wall-kicks, not setting the leg down Side kicks: 2x5 each leg Round kicks: 2x5 each leg Also practiced some jumping and spinning kicks on the Wavemaster. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. Class was going good, and about half way through, the instructor got paged out with a work emergency, so I took over the second half of the class. We got to do a little bit of sparring at the end. At the end of class, I also made a comment about one-steps that probably revealed my opinion of them in general. I told the class that there were a lot of things we could do related to sparring, and not just sport sparring, that could lead into more applicable self-defense. I mentioned something to the point of one-steps being great if you ever get attacked by a statue.....we need to move on to more resistive movement exercises.

I think that actually taking some class time to prep and practice board breaking is important in building success in breaking. Our school does not do breaking in class; only at testings and demos. I am not a fan of this at all. I think it should be practiced, just like any other aspect of Martial Arts.

Neither does our school. From what I've seen of the sine wave in forms, it doesn't allow for a lot of power or combination movement to be done. I prefer to do it without.

Actually, I think it might benefit you the most. If styles like Enshin and Ashihara actually use a lot of the body movements that your Aikido has instilled in you, then this will help you adapt more quickly to the style. Also, the Karate style will help you learn how to put the different kicks and hand techniques into use with that same type of movement, which you most likely didn't get in Aikido. I think it would improve your skill set immeasureably.

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.