bushido_man96

So am I!! Can't live without the stuff.

I don't think you will lose control and power too much, as long as you make sure to continue to strengthen your legs as you increase your flexibility.

Its working out pretty well so far. And I have lots of stuff to get through, so I will have different stuff for quite some time. My library is a constant source of annoyance for my wife, though.

Perhaps for duels and the like, it was a starting position. I doubt that it had much use on the battlefield.

I would say it is a Martial Art school, but it does need a rework on some of its methods.

That upward strike can work well on a locked elbow, as well.

I think that this could very well be the case. Makes sense to me, anyways.

Another thing I have noticed when performing high kicks on BOB: I was recently doing a spinning hook kick on BOB. I found that the higher I had to kick, the closer I had to be to the bag to hit it. By the time I finished spinning and connected the kick, I looked where I was standing. I was close enough to punch. So, I think the higher that you kick, the less that you get the extended range factor. Your optimum range will be right at waste level.

It is important to consider the training methods involved when looking into self-defense/combative methods. Not the art, but the way it is approached.

It appears so. He even still considers the UFC.

That does sound tough. I would be hard pressed to make it through. But, there would definitely be goals to train for!

There is some good info in there, bigpoparob. I think that many people shy away from doing dynamic stretching, because of the risk of injury. The key is to moderate what you do, and don't overdo it. PNF stetching is another good way to supplement static stretching to improve flexibility.

I guess....

9-1-08 Defensive Tactics/Combat Hapkido: 10:15 - 11:30. We worked on some circular throws from Hock's curriculum today. We did head twist takedowns, arm/torso twist throws, and a wrist takedown. Also did push-ups: 2x15.

8-31-08 From Tae Kwon Do, The Ultimate.... again: Rising kick (stretching kick): 10 each leg. Front kick: front stance, advancing. 10 each leg. Outside crossing kick (crescent kick): 10 each leg. Inside crossing kick (crescent kick): 10 each leg. Jumping front kick: back stance, advancing. 10 each leg. Hook kick: from fighting stance, front leg. 10 each leg. Spinning back kick (with step forward): fighting stance, advancing. 10 each leg. Spinning hook kick: fighting stance. 10 each leg. I was focusing on not over-rotating on the spin back kick, and on getting good base foot rotation for the spin hook kicks.

8-29-08 At the park again, working solo, using Tae Kwon Do, The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World's Most Popular Martial Art as a reference point again: Straight punching: sitting stance. 10 each arm. Side punching: from sitting stance. 10 each side. Jab: fighting stance. 10 each side. Reverse punch (cross): fighting stance. 10 each side. Double punch (jab/cross combo): fighting stance. 10 combos from each side. Knife hand strike (upset): front stance, advancing. 10 each side. Spear hand strike: front stance, advancing. 10 each side. Side kick: I used the method discussed/demonstrated in the Side Kick thread here. Stepping together and kicking from a fighting stance. 10 each side. This has always been a tough kick for me, and it was tough today. Made my hips sore, too. Round kick: back leg, advancing. 10 each leg.[/url]

It reminds me a lot of Capoeira, with the rhythm and music, and the kicking styles.

I agree. I have been fortunate enough to participate in schools that don't use seiza or any meditation practices. We do have an Aikido club at our college, but they do about an hour's worth of breathing and the like of sitting in seiza prior to their workouts. This just doesn't interest me, so I haven't gone to check it out yet.

I have seen the ads for that book. I have the 4 original, and have considered purchasing this one as well.

This will just depend more on time and availability. If you have one style that has classes 3 times per week, you could fill in the other 2 days or more with another style, and you don't lose any time with either. If you have that kind of time, anyway.

I agree with you here, Bushido-Ruach. I feel that since many sport styles evolved from a more combat based style, then it is a simple matter of extrapolation to make it more self-defense oriented.

Looking at the way that the above posts address the ridgehand, it appear that if you are close enough to hit with the forearm as well as the hand, stepping in behind and utilizing the power from the arc, along with a reap, will provide very nice results.... I think this is what I meant...thanks! Should have looked through previous posts first I guess...

I think this as well. I am not saying that it isn't a long road to hoe, but it can be done. As with anything, though, it is easier to seek those that have gone before you, and learn from them.

I was introduced to the jumping front kick the same way that you were, joesteph. However, adding the step would be a simple addition. One of the difficulties I have seen early on it training this kick is that most people are more coordinated on one side than the other, and getting that leg-switching motion down is the hard part. After that, the kick seems to fall into place. When I was in the ATA, I was introduced to this kick at the 3rd belt (yellow). At the 4th belt (camo), we learned further variations of this kick. At purple belt (6th rank) we were introduced to the jump outside crescent kick and the jump round kick. At the next rank (blue belt, 3rd gup) we learned jump spin outer crescent, jump reverse inside crescent, and at the next rank (brown) we added the jump side kick. These were pretty much rank required skills, but depending on each student's skill level, they could be taught earlier, and more advanced kicking could be learned as well. Back to the jumping front kick, in the style of TKD I do now, this kick is taugh as part of the basics for each class. However, other jumping kicks are not covered as soon or as often. None of the forms have a jumping kick until Choong Moo, which has a flying side kick. As for other black belt forms, in my research I have noticed that some of ours have been modified so that the jumping kicks are done either as hopping forward kicks, or more like skipping (in Gae Baek hyung, for example, on the flying side kick, and the jumping round kick is just a back leg round kick). I like to teach every student some basic jumping kicks, just so that they get exposed to them. Not all students are created equal, though, so I try to work each with what I can, and let them make the decisions from there. I do enjoy jumping kicks, as they are fun and challenging to do. They help build leg strength and conditioning (there are lots of good jump kick drills out there to build explosive power), increase skill, and enhance proprioception. As for me, I am 30 now, and still do some jumping kicks. Kicks like the 540 degree jump spinning variety are a bit out of my league, but some of the more simple jumping and spinning kicks, I don't have much trouble with.

It is fairly commonplace anymore. I have a contract signed with my school. However, I am relatively certain that I won't be quitting any time soon, so it isn't any big deal to me. What it really is, is a contractual agreement to pay so much per month for classes for a specified period of time. The money gets to my instructor via EFT, and the longer I sign up for, then the less I pay per month. Also, I don't have to worry about cutting him a check every month, either. For me, it is more convenient to do it this way. Many students are opposed to the idea. However, if you find that it is something that you plan to do for a while, it really isn't much of an inconvenience. I am also relatively comfortable with my instructor to the point that if something did come up, I could get out of the contract fairly easily.