bushido_man96

This reference guide is endorsed by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation, and covers the material that a colored belt practitioner of the organization would need to know, aside from the Pal Gwae forms. The book is pretty well written, and easy to follow. It opens with the typical chapter on the history of TKD. It gives a history of “modern” TKD, in regards to its influence by Japanese and Chinese styles, along with the evolution and specialization of the kicking skills, giving the art its own unique flavor. After this brief explanation, the section gets into the more typical history of TKD, the ancient history, dating back to 50 B.C. and its relations with Taek Kyon and the Hwarang, referring to Taek Kyon as the “earliest form of TKD.” Pretty much the typical explanation of what many would consider an “engineered” history of an art that is less than 100 years old. Aside from this little excursion in the history of TKD, it then gets into some history on the Kwans, which seems to be fairly accurate for the most part. However, the authors do claim that the first Kwan to open, the Chung Do Kwan, was the first to teach a “native Korean Martial Art.” I don’t believe this to be entirely accurate, as most of the instructors that opened the Kwans had achieved rank in either Japanese styles, Chinese styles, or both. The authors also claim that Taek Kyon was taught to the military in Korea at this time, but there are no mention of names of these masters that would have taught it. The rest of the history up through the development of the WTF is accurate, as one would expect it to be. The meeting in 1955 to unify the Kwans under one name is mentioned, but the name chosen is listed as Tae Soo Do; I was under the impression that TKD was decided on for the name at this time. The authors put the date that it was changed to TKD as two years later. Although the Oh Do Kwan does get a mention in the section on the Kwans, there is no mention of General Choi, Hong Hi anywhere. Following the history section is a section on basic warming up exercises, including calisthenics and stretching in one and two person drills. Next comes basic techniques and stances, including blocks, strikes, and kicks. Some of the kicks are a bit advanced for a beginner, but they would follow in some of the higher colored belt ranks. No one, two, or three-step sparring is demonstrated, and although stances are covered, moving and walking in the stances (advancing or retreating) is not shown. The forms section follows. This section gives an introduction on some of the philosophy behind the Tae Geuk forms. Following the introduction are pictorial and diagrammed layouts of each of the 8 Tae Geuk poomsae, with descriptions of which way to go, in what stance, and the technique, along with arrows on the diagrams to depict the direction. This is a pretty good section, as the forms are laid out in an easy to understand format. Sparring is covered next. There is an introduction on the rules and use of protective equipment, combined with level of contact. Then it leads into basic movement drills and partner sparring drills, covering footwork, kick and block drills, and kicking and movement drills. Attacking combinations and defensive counter techniques finish out this section. This section does a good job of covering the sparring basics behind the WTF/Olympic style sparring rules. We now move into the section practical applications. This section shows different scenarios of being grabbed and attacked, countering with the typical types of Hapkido style, Ho Sin Sul based joint manipulation/punching and striking attacks. Scenarios include single and multiple assailant attacks. Board breaking is then covered, describing and demonstrating breaking techniques using several of the basic techniques described in that section. Proper board holding is also discussed. The philosophy section focuses on the manner in which the TKD practitioner should carry himself. Focus is on spiritual development, with harmony between oneself and nature; the “Do” of TKD. The core of the philosophy is the concept of duality in nature, and seeking to bring the student’s level of consciousness to “Present Time.” This occurs when the student is in tune with himself and nature to the point that his actions/reactions are coordinated with nature. Rules of etiquette and follow for home, school, and public. Several appendices follow: Appendix A: Rules of competition overview, with photos of referee signals and legal attacks. This section is pretty easy to follow. Appendix B: Belt system and weight classes discussed. Appendix C: TKD terminology. Appendix D: List of sanctioned WTF competitions. Appendix E: List of sanctioned WTF national TKD organizations. Appendix F: WTF contact information. Glossary and Index follow. Overall, I would say that this is a pretty good manual for the WTF colored belt student.

Karate’s Grappling Methods is a focus on the standing and ground grappling aspects of Karate. Chapter 1 focuses on the key points that should be focused on studying kata applications, such as: Applications designed to end a confrontation on the spot. All parts of a movement are significant. Angles at which techniques are performed. Etc… Chapter 2 discusses the role of grappling in self-defense, as Iain Abernethy sees it, along with his philosophy on defending oneself in general. The remainder of the chapters break down like this: Chapter 3: close range strikes, covering kicks, knees, elbows, and arcing hand strikes like the hook and uppercut punches. Chapter 4: throws and takedowns. Chapter 5: chokes and strangles. Chapter 6: arm bars. Chapter 7: leg and ankle locks. Chapter 8: neck wrenches. Chapter 9: wrist locks. Chapter 10: finger locks. Chapter 11: ground fighting skills, including positions such as the mount, scarf hold, side four quarter hold, upper four quarter hold, guard, and use of the hooks. It is important to note here that Abernethy states that no ground fighting holds appear in the katas, but acquiring this knowledge is important in learning how to apply the katas’ methods while fighting on the ground. Chapter 12: dirty fighting, including the tactics of seizing the testicles, grabbing the hair, eye gouging, biting, fish-hooking, nose attacks, grabbing the ears, seizing the throat, finger choke, and nerve manipulation. Chapter 13: “Putting it all together.” This chapter focuses on combinations of grappling moves, both standing and on the ground. The bulk of the chapter is made up of sequences of combinations to use as examples for training both standing grappling, ground grappling, and a combination of both. Chapter 14: sparring, covering various types of sparring to focus on different aspects of fighting, especially using grappling. Some are more restricted, and some are not so limiting. They different types range from using no strikes, to strikes and grappling, or picking one fighter to only strike, while one can only grapple standing up, and so on. There are many possibilities to use, depending on what you want the focus to be. Chapter 15: conclusion. It is important to note that in the introduction to each chapter, Abernethy discusses the pros and cons to each of the tactics discussed, along with the difficulty that can come from attempting some of the various close-quarters fighting techniques in regards to the opponent’s ability to counter the efforts. This is the 3rd book that I have read by Iain Abernethy, and I have enjoyed them all, bringing something different from each of them. He offers a unique aspect on the use of forms training alongside the sparring aspects of Karate, and his ideas can transfer to other Martial Art styles as well.

It appears to be something that he does need to work on, but it could also have something to do with the caliber of fighters that are coming up now. It looks like it will be more than 2 or 3 guys who can contend for a title at any given time. I think that is part of it. Liddell is good enough that he can take some time to work out the quirks in his game. He'll make it back.

I think it would work well. Seeing the Riddler would be fun. I am not so sure about the Penguin, though.

That's cool. It'll be another nice resource for those high school and college students for research papers.

Ok, I ordered two new books on Medieval Swordsmanship this week, so I thought I would just drop it here, too. These are the ones I ordered: Medieval Sword and Shield, The Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33 The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship, A Fascimilie & Translation of the World's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise I love sword and shield combat, and I look forward to these books with such glee! (although my wife quirks a bit at the price...but she knows I'm worth it.. ).

I believe that there is truth to that statement.

Is that a job that you would sign up for? Not me. I have to work to make my money.

My wife told me about this today. Very sad. RIP

9-8-08 Chest/triceps Dumbell bench press: 30x10, 40x10, 50x10, 65x10...I had some trouble figuring what weight to work with here. Been a while since I did these. Triceps push down: 105x10, 120x6, 6 Abs Decline crunches: 3x15 Legs Leg extension: 70x15, 15, 15 Leg curls: 130x15, 15, 15 Hip abduction: 100x10, 10, 10 Hip adduction: 100x10, 10, 10 Combat Hapkido: 10-15 - 12:00. Worked on some more red belt curriculum. Getting better each time; but that's all it takes is time, right? 9-9-08 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. Tonight was a fairly decent class, although I did feel really stiff. After basics, I had a pretty good stretch. For forms, I got to review some lower rank forms. Review is always good. I didn't get to spar any of the black belts, but sparring with the lower ranks, I did work on a few things. One was punching from a straight-arm distance, as opposed to being in close and hooking and uppercutting all the time. It worked pretty well. I also worked on countering with my spin back kick, trying to improve my timing. My Um/Yang "duality" moment for the week: seeing my daughter sitting on the couch in her Sunday's best after church, and letting out one of those super belches that you hear at a belching contest....

I do believe Kuk Sool is the closest thing to that though. Is there some literature that explains this? I would be interested in looking into it.

Wow. That is something else. Quite the deal. Hopefully, the ITF doesn't suffer terribly at the release of this news.

I agree. Even at tournaments that were TKD tournaments, I have seen forms from three different systems in the same ring. I saw a 3rd degree from that ATA doing a 1st degree form. My brother judged in the ring, and new the form. The guy had changed a few things to make it a bit flashier, and my brother noticed the changes. The other judges weren't familiar with it, and they were impressed by just his technical ability. When my brother gave him the lowest score that he got (by a few digits), the student asked him about it after the competition. When it was done, he had learned that my brother was familiar with the form.

I checked the OP. Here is his question: I don't see any limitations to strictly Oriental Martial Arts styles. Any system, as far as I can tell. So, including the Boxing standard would fit into the discussion just as well.

The Aikido club at our local college is sponsoring an Aikido seminar this weekend, and the best part of is that its going to be free! I couldn't get to it last year, but I am looking forward to getting to it this year. It spans 3 days, and am really excited about seeing things in a different outlook.

I watched the first vid, with the fundamentals. I'll get to the others when I have more time. Good stuff, so far. Your instructor does a really solid job of explaining things, ps1. Thanks for sharing these again.

I agree with your assessment here, tallgeese. I don't have a problem with taking a lifetime to master a system, but at the same time I feel that the system should make you a competent fighter relatively quickly. And then what...? Exactly. I never said that one should seek competent self-defense skills within 6 months, and then quit. However, I do know that many people have time constraints that just don't allow them to train full time. Therefore, if they can take several courses over a period of time to get better at defending themselves, then I see no reason to frown upon it.

I like these, Zanshin. Thanks for sharing them. Good notes on common sense, too, guys.

That is an aspect that hadn't occured to me, Zanshin. Initiating such a "policy," so to speak, is a good idea for controlling the actions of others.

I agree, mastering the depth of a system can take years, or a lifetime, or however you want to say it. I have been sticking with it for 14 years now, so I am not a "one and done" seminar kind of guy. However, I believe that you can make the study of Martial Arts as deep or as shallow as you like. You can get spiritual, or you can stay within the physical aspects. Placing a focus on either one doesn't make one any less or any more of a Martial Artist, in my opinion. One's spiritual expedition is another's focus on survival.

I have known of instructors that have had this problem, too. I think it is just an issue that many people have with someone who appears to be an authority figure to them. Many times, the more tenured colored belt ranks, and even some of the lower dan black belts, will be approached more often than the head instructor. It can be good and bad. As that person, it is important to let the other students know that they should approach the head instructor with some of their questions from time to time.

Hey, wasn't there a singing group called Mister Mister???

Cool. Different, too.

Man that's cool. The detail is amazing. I would almost feel bad eating a cake like that.... ....almost....

I love it. Only in baseball, baby!