bushido_man96

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.

The Aikido club that I have been involved with has not done much weapons training as of yet. However, one of the higher up senseis did introduce us to some work with the bokken at a seminar. So, I think it might be a matter of coming across an instructor with the experience. Kuk Sool Won might be worth looking into, as well. Its kind of a mix of striking, joint locking, and kicking, and also uses various weapons systems. If Aikido is not available, Kuk Sool might be one to check on.

Tracing roots is something that is much simpler than what most practitioners would make of it. Who is/was your teacher? Who is/was his/her teacher? Who taught that person? And so on...that is tracing your roots, or your lineage, or whatever you want to refer to it as. Now, a lot of practitioners will cross train, or leave a style for one reason or other, and hook up with another instructor. Now, to say that one totally leaves behind the methods or instruction of a previous teacher for those of the new teacher is a bit of a stretch, in my mind. In some way, the influences of both or all of the instructors that one has had will maintain some influence on how you do what you do. Therefore, I think it can be easy to get wrapped up in several lines of lineage, but which would you claim? All of them.

Our school is part of an organization, so we just use the organization name, and then Taekwondo.

Today (1-13-09) I did my initial test, and got 21 push-ups in. So, that puts me at rank 3 for the under 40 age bracket. So, it looks like I'm supposed to jump to week 3. Next week, I'll get started.

Thank you John. I think I shall give it a try. If I am reading you right, then I should just do one set of bench press, 4-5 reps, the last to failure, correct? Then I should do the same with my back exercises, triceps, etc? One last question: do you ever recommend training in multiple sets, for any reason at all?

1-13-08 Prior to class, I did my initial test for the 100 push ups thread. I did 21. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. We did forms review tonight, and I did all the way up to my 3rd dan form, Yoo Sin. 15 forms in all. I felt strong throughout, too.

I didn't realize that the Martial Armor was worn underneath. It might be worth looking into.