bushido_man96

As long as we as humans decide to gather in groups, we always have these political types of rifts, no matter what. It is human nature to be different, and to want to do things our way. These types of splits and politics will happen.

In regards to the first statement here, training one skill for 3 months, and not training/maintaining you other skills while doing this, can hurt your training, in my opinion. The saying “use it or lose it” comes to mind. When it comes to treating Martial Arts as a race…..there are two ways that I look at it. One, is the life-long MAist, the person who has signed up for class, and goes 2, 3, or 5 times a week, and plans on doing it forever. I think that many of us here are this kind of person. The MAs are a part of who we are, and can’t imagine not doing any. In this case, I don’t think MA training is a race. However, I don’t think stating this is an excuse to say that one might not be able to effectively defend oneself while training with me within a fairly brief period of time because I think that they should have to spend years mastering the art/s that I have. I may not be making someone into a professional fighter, or a hardened black belt, but I think that if someone is going to come to class, then I should be able to teach them to effectively defend themselves within a much shorter period of time that it takes to master an art, which the second point of view.

I'm not so sure I agree here. I think that training someone who is strong from the beginning would not be terribly disadvantageous. Many times, a bigger and stronger individual may be so because they already contain a degree of athleticism. That athleticism can go a long way in learning new physical movements and techniques.

I had heard this before. Black Belt Magazine actually had a small article on him towards the back page of an issue in 2008. Pretty cool deal.

Training while fatigued can be beneficial, but it has to be done carefully. I am more of the same opinion that tallgeese is on this subject. Although I agree that the intensity level should be high (you should strike "in earnest"), at some point, the learning curve will level off and plateau. Once you start reaching that point, I think you can better spend your time focusing on different things, so as to increase your knowledge base. In the end, I don't think that you are learning something different at the cost of something else. I can see the benefit in training one technique a thousand times a day, for months on end. I am sure that it will develop a technique quite well. However, I think that you need to develop that technique in conjuction with other techniques, as well, and at the same time. I do think that it is important to gain a fundamental understanding of each single technique that we do. Basics training, so to speak. At the same time, it is important to move onwards and upwards, too.

I think that it is fun to see the cross over of techniques and applications from different sources. If you can find a couple of different sources, then it probably has some merit.

If you spend three months working nothing but the jab, then what suffers in the process? By singling out one part, the whole can suffer because you are not working other aspects. Sure, you can jab 1000 times per class for 3 months, and I am sure you will develop a very good jab. However, I think that a technique can be honed very well in less time. At some point, it could become overkill. After how many reps does it become just more of the same? The learning curve starts out slow, then really takes off, and eventually the curve slows as it reaches its peak. The thing you have to consider is, how much practice is necessary to reach the peak, and at what point does it top out, and you maintain rather than improve? I know that as Martial Artists, the concept of continual improvement is always tossed about, and I am not against it. I just believe that there comes a point in time where your jab becomes what it is, and then you can better spend your time learning to incorporate your jab with other techniques, and then learn the strategies to employ it. In the end, I think we can get to the same point, what differs is how much time we spend. Time management is something to consider. As far as going to seminars goes, I think that they are a valuable tool to expose us to other ideas and concepts. However, you have to be careful about what you take away from a seminar. I don't have a problem with teaching something that I may have picked up at a seminar, but what is important to consider is that I take the time to work on the concept or technique with a partner, break it down, tear it apart, put it back together, and work it over and over in applications and scenarios so that I can be sure that I am confident enough that it can work, and feel confident enough to be able to relate the knowledge to someone in a safe and applicable way. You could say it is much like learning a tournament strategy, working it over in class, and then applying it in sparring and competitons.

Does this tend to tip off people that you spar frequently? Does it become predictable at times, or are you able to work around it?

I have two forms with a similar segment in them; Do San and Won Hyo hyungs. My concern is that I don't think I would ever try to strike someone in the solar plexus with a spear hand. It just isn't a very reliable strike, in my opinion, especially if someone has a strong core. 1-16-09 Midnight Aikitaisos: Tenkan: 3x10 each side. Shomen: 3x10 each side. FL Front kick: 2x10 each side. Not Aikitaisos, but they were part of my night-shift workout. Gym Bench press: 185x6, could go up. Seated cable row: 150x7, could go up. Military press: 105x9, 9 was failure. Lat pull down: 140x10, should go up. Triceps press: 216x10, should go up. Barbell curls: 90x6, maybe go up. I did the military press and the bench press on the safety squat machine, and I don't think that the weight of the bar on the safety squat equals that of the regular bar. When I do regular bench press, I can push up 185 10 times with ease. The 6 reps I did above were rather tough. So, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two. It doesn't matter too much, because I'm worried about gains more than the numbers themselves. I would just like to know so that I could get an idea of where I would be on the flat bench when I do it. Cardio: Rode the bike for 15 minutes. Then stretched.

Wow thats harsh !! I like it!!! I like to refer to things like this as an OTI...an Opportunity To Improve....

I was aware of his Wrestling pedigree, but not of his Abu Dhabi experience. Thank you for clarifying this, and I apologize for the lack of information that I had.

So what did you find out of this movement, Joe? 1-15-09 Pre-class warm-up: FL Front kicks: 3x10 each side (some of these were done earlier in the day). FL Side kicks: 3x5 each side. Cross-over side kicks: 10 each side, from sitting stance. I focused on getting the knee up and the hips turned over; this tends to knock off my balance. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. We actually got started a bit late, because our school had Little Lions testing prior to our class. I used the time to work on the above, and get a stretch in. Basics were a touch abbreviated, but we did some different things: -From fighting stance, we did a front leg knee up, followed by a front snap kick, followed by an outside drop kick. -From fighting stance, we did a step forward, then back leg round kick moving down the floor. -From fighting stance, we did a shuffle step back, then back leg round kick, moving down the floor backwards. The change ups were nice drills. Something different.

That's a nice breakdown, BB of C. Very well done. I have found that when learning a different kicking motion, it can be helpful to "pre-pivot" the supporting leg, prior to beginning the kick. This can help you get a feel of how things are lining up (both with the kicking leg, and the base leg knee and foot), and then as you put the kick together, you can run it all together.

This is really good advise, I think. Its important to develop a feel for making impact on things, like bags and mitts, or the makiwara, if you have access to one. Hitting things affects you a lot differently than hitting nothing. I think you would see some power development through some bag work. Good call, DWx! That's excellent! Great advise.

I think the "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" mantra gets beat up just a bit too much by many. In the end, we are learning about defending ourselves, so any useful information that we can put to use will be of benefit. At the end of the day, your jab is your jab, your front kick is your front kick. You can spend all the time you want attempting to master these two things, but we will never perfect them. That's no excuse to not continue focusing on them, not at all. Constant practice is important. Sure, you can look into the "depth" of your punch or kick, but in the end, it is what it is. Yes, there are plenty of other techniques in each MA, aside from the punch and the kick I mentioned above. In the end, I think we can make things as simple or as complex as we want to. But like I said, it is what it is. What would be the major difference of "exchanging" at a tournament, and taking a seminar or two to see if you can pick up something?

Yeah, Joe, the motion is much smoother than it sounds. It really all flows together, once you get the hang of it. Lee's idea of moving the hand first comes from his study of Fencing. I have read similar ideas in other literature on swordsmanship, George Silver coming to mind presently. The idea of moving the weapon first is to present a threat to the opponent, illiciting a reaction from them. Since you have moved the weapon first, and not the foot, then you can move in reaction to what the opponent does, as you have not committed movement yet, just the weapon. You can then change course, trajectory, tact, etc. The thing is, I don't know how well this translates from weapons systems to unarmed systems.

Our school tends to teach discipline through the typical stringent ideas of many "traditional" schools, by standing feet together, hands at sides when instructors are talking, answering "yes sir/no sir," bowing to high ranks, and lining up by rank, etc. Also, pushing yourself to work hard in basics, forms, etc., and not slacking, etc. Thats about it.

I don't do a lot of anti-inflammatories right now, but I just turned 31, so it may be coming soon. The one time I do make sure to pop 4 ibuprofens if when I have my Saturday morning Aikido class. All the turning and rolling and swirling, coupled with working an all-night shift a few hours prior, tends to give me a bit of a headache.

I'm glad that your friend was ok. That is crazy. It sounds like the core training that he did helped him out there. But being overwhelmed by numbers is tough to overcome, no matter how big, tough, or skilled one is.

Speed will help with power. So will building strength. Working on these two things will help build your power.

From the article: I think that this paragraph speaks volumes. I think it is important to be striking objects, like mitts, shields, the makiwara if one is available to you, and it is important to punch when motion is going on, too, i.e., the opponent is backing away. I point out this section, because what is said in bold is what I have seen of Bruce Lee's ideas on punching; move the weapon first. I like to punch the way that Abernethy describes, in italics, by generating everything from the ground up.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski....Fedor...Sub Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel....Yvel....KO Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort....Lindland...Dec Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou...Sobral...Dec Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon...Horodecki...Dec Kirill Sidelnikov vs. Paul Buentello....Buentello...KO Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira....Nogueira....Sub Jay Hieron vs. Jason High....Hieron...KO Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis....Hominick...Sub Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios....Duarte....Sub Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight....Cooper...KO

Try punching with a vertical fist. See if that changes anything.

Thanks for the tips, John. I'll give those methods a try. We have several machines at our gym, so I have options. I'll give it a go.

1-14-09 Irimi tenkai: 10 each sidex2 Jog with the dog: about 20 minutes, walking and running. Then stretched. Back/shoulders Assisted pull-ups: plate 7x5, plate 6x4 Lat pull-downs: 130x7, 140x6, 150x4 Dumbell shoulder press: 40x10, 50x6, 55x4 Abs Cable crunches: 105x20, 15, 15 Cable trunk twist: 70x10, 10, 10 Cardio: rode bike for 15 minutes. Then stretched.