bushido_man96

We have a green belt student in our school that is a runner. He has pretty good conditioning, but he tires himself out by tensing all the time. He keeps his shoulders tense, and it slows his punches and restricts his techniques. There is a difference between being relaxed and loose, and being limp. Don't be limp. Think of it this way. When you hold the TV remote up to turn the channel, you aren't tensing your shoulder completely to hold it up. You relax the shoulder. Punching should be the same way. Use your power and focus the technique at the right time, at the end. Bruce Lee was big on this concept. If the agonist muscles fight the antagonistic muscles, then the body won't move efficiently. You will slow yourself down, and tire yourself more.

Thanks for the clarification, tallgeese. I wasn't for sure if tendons and ligaments were really trainable or not. As for what pro athletes do, aside from rehab, they may have to have surgery to repair them. Baseball players, and more pro QBs nowadays, are having Tommy John surgery on their elbows. They tend to come back stronger afterwards.

10-22-08 Push-ups: 20, 20, 10 Kicks on the floor Side kick: 3x10 each side Round kick: 3x10 each side Hook kick: 3x10 each side

Cool. You could also use the StrongArm as a limb that you are stepping inside or outside of, checking, and then counter attacking. Really nice for working on angles.

Just out of curiosity, when you return to the Philippines, why not check into some Arnis/Escrima styles? I would love to do one, and they are very directly applicable to self-defense.

Both, really. Its easy to jam a spin kick, and easy to block, because if it is thrown as a stand alone technique, even if someone is super fast, it still has that body movement that telegraphs it. Sure, you can minimize that with training, but the nature of the beast here dictates that there will be some give-away motion.

Nice work, Joe. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Very nice.

Moriniuk, in the fitness tests you're referring to, suppose the individual cannot do jump kicks. Let's say the reason is because of the knees. The person can do a "hop forward" and then kick to cover the distance. I know a dan member whose knees were both operated on, so while he's permitted to do karate, he isn't permitted to practice or perform jump kicks. It really is a case of "doctor's orders." Anything on this? I'd say test them based on their abilities, not their inabilities. Find some way to substitute the requirement, and then make them perform it. It shouldn't be easier, but different.

Experience can play a major role. I swear, kids can smell fear, and they know when you feel nevous or are inexperienced. Also, being in a class with other kids, and away from the parents, who may expect too much, helps with kids learning as well.

I think practicing striking practice will help this. Let them start out slow at first, and then gradually pick up the pace as they are able to control the distance and speed. Have one partner just stand and present a target, and let the other practice the techniques, and see how they need to adjust. Eventually, they'll figure out their spots. Congrats on your first student!

Thanks for the advise on the hook, tallgeese. I'll put it to use. In Wrestling, we referred to your "out" matches as round robins. Thanks for the push-up tip as well, Shiv. I have been trying to do more of them at home lately. 10-21-08 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. We did upper body basics with no rest today. That was kind of tiring. The instructor we had tonight also likes to walk around and check things out as we stay holding a position. Nice for the legs, and it helps me to push myself harder. I focused on my side kicks in basics today, working on getting more turn and thrust into them. Its helping. After class was over, I hit my instructor up about that 4-direction throw (Shio nage) that I was having trouble with on Monday morning. He helped me get it squared away. Apparently, I wasn't staying connected at the center, to my opponent's center, by basically getting hip-to-hip close. It made a noticible difference.

The thing about tendons and ligaments is that I don't think that they are trainable tissues. I don't think you can make them stronger, with training or supplements. I could be wrong, but that was the impression that I was under. I took those supplements for a time, but I am not sure that they helped. I don't take them now, and feel ok.

The above advise is good. I too feel that if you have the right instructor, that TKD can be a very good self-defense art. You have to look at the instructor's methods. Is he a tournament guy? If so, he may focus more on sparring. That doesn't mean he wouldn't spend any time on self-defense. Your best bet is to visit a class, and see what it entails. Also, you should ask about class schedules, because the instructor may have specialized classes on sparring and self-defense.

Spinning kicks usually require a set-up, or work better as a counter. Throwing one by itself as an offensive manuever is really difficult to land.

I think part of it comes from being able to throw the kick high, and in relative close proximity to the opponent. I have seen this kick thrown within punching range.

Is that a newer cartoon?

The way you describe it, I don't know that I would ever try to rotate my fist over that much. I don't know how practical it would end up being.

The inside crescent is very good for sparring when in close. You can sneek it up their side and put it on their shoulder or to their cheek.

You can also do really good multi-joint and muscle exercises with one dumbell, like cleans and jerks, one-arm bench presses and dead lifts.

I like this kind of drilling. It really forces people to train a weakness, instead of ignoring it. What are "out" matches? I wish I could do 50 in a row. Push-ups are kind of bane to me. I keep trying, though. 10-20-08 Chest/triceps Chest press: 110x10, 118x8, 125x6 Triceps press: 167x10, 177x10, 186x10 Shoulder/back/biceps Lat pull-down: 122x10, 128x10, 135x10 Low row: 132x10, 137x10, 141x10 Shoulder press: 89x10, 95x10, 100x8 Legs Leg extensions: 70x15x3 Leg curls: 130x15x3 Abs Decline crunches: 3x15 Hanging knee raises: 3x10 I didn't get to the gym as early as I wanted to, so I worked on the machines, and did a little circuit. Thats why the numbers are funky. Combat Hapkido: 10:15 - 11:30. Worked on the mitts, doing punches, mainly jabs, crosses, and lead hooks. Also backfists and hammerfists. We did 10 of each on each hand, except for the hooks, which we spent some time on mitts and bags doing. We did yellow and orange belt material, and it was a good review for me. I'll keep at it. We used the last 15 minutes working on some of the Aikido techniques that we learned last week.

Not often, really. I kind of like having bigger classes. Smaller classes are nice, but big classes can be fun. When you start to run out of floor space for drills, though, then it gets to be a problem. Do you have a problem with this at your school?

If you don't like the demographic make up of the school, then you should look around to see if another school fits the bill. Classes with kids can be tough. As far as the high ranks go, I think you should ask them to spend some time with you prior to class on various things you need help with. This may help you to get in with them better. As for the weight thing, I'd tell you to just try not to let it affect you. If you don't train, then you won't help yourself in that department. So, don't worry so much about what everyone else might think, and do worry about what you want to do. The finances, I can understand as well. Times are a bit tough, and budgeting can be a factor. But in th end, don't use it as an excuse to justify your will to quit.

In TKD, we have what we call upset punches, where the fist is palm-up upon completing the strike. It is likened to an uppercut. However, the arm isn't straight upon completion of the strike. Its usually held at an angle, and the punch travels up and in.

It sounds like a loop hole in the rules has allowed this to be possible, and there is the chance that it may get the rules altered. Perhaps not. It is an interesting offense, for sure. But, I don't see it taking at the college and pro levels, because of the rules differences. I would also think that the offense would be terribly susecptible to blitzing, if a defense is willing to take that chance.

Cool. I just love the Hulk. I'm heading out to pick up the DVD when it comes out on Tuesday. I even made a note of it in my cell phone calender!