bushido_man96

Way to go, Phillies! Very well deserved.

From what I understood, they offered studies in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese style. Classes also included the country's history, culture, religion, philosophy, etc. So, you get a pretty in-depth background. I also believe the MA courses are offered on the campus.

Congrats, and I wish you only happiness and well-being.

Very nice. It is kind of sad that hood ornaments are falling out of favor. It used to be one of the discernable features of your ride.

But any special reason, Brian? I'd come back as a man because, from what I've observed, I think life makes more demands on you when you're a woman. I guess just because I don't have a problem with it. And switching would just be weird.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Name your favorite movie fight scene here. Throw up a vid if you find it, too. I have two. One is the last scene in Rocky V, the street fight between Tommy Gun and Rocky. Awesome. I'll get information on the other later. What are yours?

10-29-08 Went for a walk tonight. I pushed our boy in the stroller, and my wife walked our puppy. Joe: I'm still having a bit of trouble interpreting your statement. To answer as best I can, most of our grabs come from the hands being down at our sides, and the grab is pinky lowest. I do think that beginning to work on grabs from being in a guard position would be a good idea.

Are you referring to a 10-man kumite, by chance?

Kiba dachi is horse stance, right? And zenkutsu dachi is front stance, correct?

If I knew a bit more about Tai Chi, I'd gladly help. But, anything I give you is guesswork at this point. However, I hope you do find some advise. Have you checked websites, to see if you can contact any master that way?

Cung Le has used a side kick to pretty good effect in his fighting venues. He has spent years honing it, though, and I think it is used mainly as a setup. It also does a good job of stopping an advancing opponent.

Being 5'7", I rarely have the height advantage. So, when I spar, I like to get inside the big guys, and hammer away with my hands. Once I drive them back a bit, I try to finish with a kick as they leave punching range. Uppercuts and body hooks are the order of the day for me. However, I have been working on a different fighting strategy of late, more along the lines of what Bill Wallace used to do, taking a side-on stance, and using the front leg primarily, and setting up counters and combinations off the back leg. As for fighting against the smaller opponents, I try to use the slight height advantage that I do have to keep them out. Using a front leg side kick is good for when they come within distance, and then when they do close, then we both just slug it out. Also, since they are shorter, it makes head kicking less work. So, I'll get into that, too.

Whether you look toward the eyes or the chest area, I have read a very good analogy on vision during a fight. Where ever you look, you don't focus like a laser, but instead like a flashlight, where you can take in more of the opponent's body.

Here's the thread we ran a while back on the Bridgeport MA college: http://www.karateforums.com/you-can-now-get-a-b-a-degree-in-ma-in-the-usa-vt30350.html?highlight=college+martial+arts

Hey Joe. You're going to have to elaborate a bit more on the up and down positions. If you can clarify, then I might be able to shed some light on the subject.

The styles that you have mentioned there is probably a good starting point as to identifying the major Karate branches.

It sounds like they should be some good stories. Keep me posted; I'll be on the lookout for them!

This is why I don't like to focus on the eyes or the head. You can fake someone out easily, I think.

I wouldn't try not to blink. At work, I have plenty of opportunities to attempt to glare someone down. It really is quite pointless. Some people have a look, and some don't, really. I'd worry more about the things that can actually help you physically, as opposed to staring contests.

Guy, for sure.

Pretty cool. I think you'd have to have steady hands to accomplish that.

I didn't realize that. I guess the overload of worry could do that, though.

10-28-08 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. Basics were changed up tonight, which was nice. We also did the double punch, round kick, spin crescent, spin heel kick combo. It was rough on me, but I got to work on my spin heel kick, making sure my body alignment stayed good. No sparring, but got some good drilling in.

10-27-08 Chest/triceps Seated chest: 130x10, 150x10, 170x10 Triceps press: 215x8, 8, 6 Vertical butterfly: 100x10, 115x8, 130x6 Back/biceps/shoulders Lat pull-down: 141x10, 148x10, 154x8 Seated row: 115x10, 130x8, 145x6 Barbell curls: 70x10, 10, 10 Abs Decline crunches: 3x15 Hanging knee raises: 3x10 Combat Hapkido: 10:10 - 11:00. Worked on yellow and orange belt material, and then did some of my red belt material. I talk alot about working on the Combat Hapkido material, but I don't elaborate a whole lot on the material itself, so it must sound kind of vague. So, I guess I'll divulge a bit more discription here. Yellow and orange belt start with some simple breakaways, where we break a grip, and then finish with a strike or kick. Yellow has 4, and orange has 5. Some of them are assisted, where we strike the hand that is gripping us, and then use that to facilitate the breakaway. All of these at this point come from a same-side wrist grab. Yellow belt has two same side wrist grab defenses. One is an undergrab of the attacking hand, then twisting it into a takedown. The other is an outside wrist takedown, known as kote goshi in other grappling styles. Orange belt has 3 more same side defenses. One is a variant of the first yellow belt technique, in which after the undergrab, we jam the opponent's elbow into their own body, and then drag them out to take them down. Another is an arm bar to takedown, and another is a wrist control takedown. We then get into cross grabs of the wrist, with 3 defenses against those. One is another armbar variant, one is an elbow break over the shoulder, then into a four-direction throw (shio nage), and then an elbow lock up.

I'm not sure if the added belt colors has been as a result of Western goal setting or not. I don't know if it came down from the East first or not. If anyone knows the history, it would be cool to know.