bushido_man96

My black belt testings were pretty nerve racking for me as well. This last one, where I tested for 3rd dan was really nerving, because I had to do a flying side kick over three people for one of the breaks. I was nervous about it, and spent tons of time practicing it in the school, jumping over kicking shields to fly into a wavemaster. Good stuff.

If they have a weapon, and have demonstrated intent, or better yet, stated that they intend to kill you, or slice you to pieces, etc., and you can then articulate that from what they said and their actions that they intended to seriously injure or kill you, and that you were in fear of your life or great bodily harm, then your chances of justifying it get better.

To that, I'd say: "If you have to ask, then you know the answer."

Its good that she came clean. I can see why she wouldn't have wanted to make a production of it before; kind of like coming to you with her cup empty. Its good in a way, but I think it could have been handled differently. But, no harm, no foul, I guess. Welcome to KF!

Thanks for getting back on PPCT, tallgeese. You have had a bunch more exposure than I have with it. Your reply is insightful. 11-24-08 Chest/triceps Chest press: 110x10, 118x8, 125x6 Triceps press: 210x10x3 Abs Decline sit-ups: 3x25 Legs Leg press: 320x15x3 Combat Hapkido class: 10:15 - 11:15. We warmed up with inside and outside crescent kicks on the paddles, 2 sets of each from the back leg. We did front leg front and round kicks as well, 1 set each. 10 in each set. Then worked orange, yellow, and some of my red belt material. We really broke down the arm bars in orange belt, and spent time on some details. 11-25-08 Back/biceps/shoulders Assisted pull-ups: plate 12x12, plate 10x10, plate 6x4; palms facing in. Abs Cable trunk twists: 70x10x3 Legs Hip flexion: 85x10x3 Hip extension: 160x10x3 Combat Hapkido class: 10:15 - 11:05. More review of orange belt, and red belt. We also explored some forms applications. Afterwards, talking with two of the students, I shared some of my ideas as to what I think the goal of Martial Arts training should be.

Good points above. I wouldn't worry about price quite as much as I would as to what is being taught and how. If you want an improved ground game, then BJJ would be the way to go, I think. For throwing, Judo would be good. Also, you could look into a Hapkido school for something similar to more traditional Japanese Jujitsu.

Hello, and welcome to the Forums. What do you have available in your area to choose from? Judo might fit you well, and would complement your Wrestling skills nicely. I would also add that if you find a TKD school that isn't necessarily sport-oriented, then it might have some things that you like. Just don't let a stereotype deter you.

You really said it right there, tallgeese: everyone wins. Especially when it comes to the more resistive or "alive" training.

On several occasions, my instructor has even ASKED us students to submit ideas or suggestions on things we would like to learn (or do) in class that we might not cover in a regular class or things we feel that need more practice in; and any other comments we'd like to bring up. My instructor is flexible & open-minded in that way. So, I would suggest talking to yours after class and bring the matter up. The worst that can happen is he says no. That is awesome that you have an instructor like that. An environment in which students don't have to worry about whether or not to ask a question, or make a suggestion, is a very healthy learning environment.

Well, anytime there is a turn involved, it seems to me like a good opportunity to put in a trip/throw/takedown of some kind. Thoughts?

Welcome to KarateForums. To improve the height and explosiveness of your kicks, there are two things you can do. First is get into a good stretching routine where you focus on flexibility improvement. Second, is set up a plyometric exercise program to build up the explosiveness in your legs. There are lots of good exercises that you can find on the internet, and if you pick a few to do two days a week, along with focusing on proper technique work with your kicks, then I think you will begin to see improvements. Best of luck to you!

When you jump, make sure to tuck your legs up underneath you. Its kind of like a high-knees position, with both knees tucked up. Practice doing this by just jumping straight up, bursting as high as you can, and tucking your legs. Then land. Rinse and repeat. This is a very plyometric, explosive exercise, so if you do them in 3 sets of 10 one day, wait another day before you do them again.

I second the stun/distract methodology; I prefer to call it a destruction; I don't want to be a fly, I want to be an elephant, stampedeing. In Combat Hapkido, distraction techniques are a part of each set of moves that we do. They usually consist of low-line kicks or palm strikes to the face. It is a good tactic.

How would you test that? I would probably use some Reality Based approaches to scenario based training to see how things worked. How would you test it?

OK, along the same lines of the Is MMA a strategy? thread, do you feel that RBSD is a strategy, or a style all its own?

Now, with this part of the discussion cooling down, what does everyone think about being able to implement elements of MMA into the core curriculum of their style? Is it about upping the level of protective equipment? Or introducing some ground fighting ideas (if you know some...)? Is it something that could be implemented into a traditional curriculum with some success?

I would think that these targets could be used, but as opportunistic strikes to targets like the eyes, or the throat, or other soft targets. The leapard paw, if I am not mistaken, is much akin to the palm strike, so it would have more readily available uses, like the power slap, right? However, I do think that strikes like the palm heel strike into the jaw, or punches to the jaw or body would likely take precedence, and I say this depending on where on the use of force ladder one is at the time.

Thanks for the tip, John. I have noticed that the motion in bringing the uke down in the shio-nage is most troubling to me. I think that part of it might come from my start-and-stop approach to putting the technique together right now, though. As for the books, I have most of them, and have either read them or am in the process of reading them. I am looking into acquiring a few more, too.

I think that this is where the confusion lies. There is a difference between learning effective self-defense, and mastering a Martial Arts style. The latter should take a lifetime; the former should not. Acquiring good, solid self-defense skills, from any MA, should not take years to acquire. It should come in the first 6 months of training, I think, at least. Now, I am not talking about being able to enter a ring and win an MMA match, or being a Master. I am talking about being able to either keep yourself out of a fight, being able to do enough to survive and live another day.

Likewise, I would probably struggle with the more circular blocks that you mention. But, with time, one can adjust, and perhaps take the best of both worlds. At any rate, what is important in my mind is if you can take what you know, and make it work efficiently for you. That is the essence, I think.

I have also found this to be true. Falling and rolling seems to focus a lot on the core. I do appreciate it. Yeah, seiza pretty much sucks. I can't sit in it for too long, and it is nice that our dojo isn't too strict on it when doing the demonstrations. I'm getting better, but I don't care for it.

I agree that having some information on exactly what you are talking about would be most helpful. But, as tallgeese stated, just bringing it up in a "what do you think of this" kind of way will do two things; 1) get it out in the open, and 2) get the instructor thinking about different approaches. And it won't make you look like a know-it-all.

Congrats to you, Patrick, for putting together such a constructive place for all of us to spend some time.

:lol: That's great!

That's pretty cool. I wonder how hard it is to take apart?