bushido_man96

I tend to agree with tallgeese here. I do think that mastering an art or system can take a lifetime; learning effective self-defense should not. So, in the end, your goals are what determine the route of your journey. If you would like to master Karate, then focus on it, and devote your life to it. If you feel it is one piece to the whole of your training, then branch out. However, I would caution for a bit of moderation here....I wouldn't want to really just take a piece here and a piece there and then put it all together. But, looking at a standup style, and perhaps a ground style, can help to even things out, and not spread yourself too thin.

Thanks for the response, ps1. With your response in mind, I pose these questions for you: Do you still carry the warrior mind set with you, ps1? Or do you leave it behind? Or is it really something that you can leave behind, once it is in you? Reading your statement above, do you feel that being a warrior has more to do with the situation that you are in as opposed to the mindset? Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts. I always appreciate them. I also want to note that I have the greatest respect for our sevice men and women. I applaud them all. I have always had respect for our soldiers. Now, I have been reading On Killing, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, and I respect them even more.

I call it pop here in KS. Although I do know what soda is.

Michael Vick as #1. Who would have thought. It really shows how much being able to run on Madden is worth.

I don't really think so. I think that MMA fans are tired of his attitude. I could be wrong, though; after all, Trump is no dummy. He must know something I don't. However, Ortiz is expected to work on the "back end" of things, too. In this area, I think he could be very knowledgable. He could probably set up something that is entertaining, to say the least. As a fighter, though, I think his day is done.

I don't know for sure. If they were paying monthly, and had a schedule like that, I would probably work with them. However, I would want to stress consistent class participation for best results. However, I too have a life, and realize that this isn't always possible. In the end, we should do the MAs because we want to, and love it; not because an instructor tells us we should have to. At the same time, if you have inconsistent class attendance, then you can't expect to be invited to every test.

I wish you well and a quick recovery.

I think that there are all kinds of possiblities with leg kicks for TKD. We have the high kicks down. Even for a heavy guy, I have pretty good flexibility, and can do a 4 board round kick break at head level. I would like to practice some of the Karate style leg sweep set ups for use in the Combat Hapkido system. With the close quarters in that system, I think that they would work so well.

I think you are right, DWx...not many side snap kicks in TKD. If you only kick waist high or lower, then you don't really need to pivot as much. However, the higher you kick, the more you need to pivot the base leg foot to open the hips more. If you don't pivot the base foot heel around, then you will find yourself leaning your body in the direction the base foot is pointing. At this point, your body is not behind your kick, and you will lose stability and impact resiliance. Pivot your foot around all the way; I think you will find that it works better for you.

Not as long as you properly condition your hands and fingers. It isn't something that I would focus on, but it is a cool feat to see.

I honestly feel that the difference between sport arts and combat arts tend to be more related to the training methodology than anything else. I think that many would view JKD as a very combative style, but there is a guy who now competes in MMA competitions (his name escapes me now, but I will find it) and trains in JKD. Its all about adapting the training to suit your needs, I think.

I don't think that not fearing death is what it takes to be a warrior. I do think that having to deal with the fact that you could die doing what you do should be a part of it. I think that police and firemen could fall into that category. After all, a fireman has to go into a burning building at times; very good chance of death there. Police can be faced with the same dangers at times, too. A few of the officers around here have faced things like this; my dad has, as well. Speaking of Gladiators, especially in ancient Rome, one of the combatants was almost certain to die. That would probably make them both warriors.

That's a valid point to make, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to dance with a guy that big, either. Taking a knee might be a safer bet.

Pretty cool. Kudos to him; he is pretty handy.

He did say no ranged weapons........so sword and shield would be your bet, I think.

I try to be aware when I am out and about, like when we walk as a family. If I see dogs out, I'll put myself between the dog and my youngest. I'll walk on the side of the walk that is close to the curb, and keep the kids on the inside. I try to just think of little things like that to just be aware.

That does look pretty good.

Not a good choice, in my opinion. He is really far from the best fighter out there; there are other fighters out there that are more worth the money. I wouldn't be surprised if he lost his first fight with Trump in charge. I just don't think he is that great, as far as MMA fighters go now.

Its just one of those things. You will see hyper-flexible people who can stretch beyond the splits, but don't have the leg and core strength to kick above their waest or head. Then, you see really strong-legged individuals who aren't flexible enough to kick over their waists. Everyone is a bit different, and will have to take a different focus when it comes to strength and flexibility training.

Anytime! 8-6-08 Today I spent around 15 minutes on a 40 lbs hanging bag, mainly working my hands. Combat Hapkido: 7:15 - 8:15. Worked on the yellow belt stuff a bit; around a half hour. After that, we did some mitt striking and low kicking, and I took some good ones off my legs. I liked it. We hit both the inside and the outside of the lead leg. Our TKDers don't get a lot of work on kicking low, so it was different for them. Later on, we worked on some really different leg sweeping stuff. I am not sure if I would use it, unless some guy was kicking at my head, but it was fun. Kind of tore my knees up, though.

Good call, tallgeese. Different opinions really, neither a correct answer; but both good answers. I know that more professional fighters will tend to not try to change their power side, nor will they focus more on their weak side. They work the power side as the power side, and use the other for set up, strategy, etc. Not that they aren't strong on their weak side. They just aren't concerned with balancing them out. Nothing wrong with that, either.

I'd go with the shirt and shorts. They'll offer good movement. Starting Muay Thai should be a good time. I wish I had a chance at it. The will most likely break you in nice and easy, and not give you more than you can really handle. They will probably wear you out physically, but the conditioning will improve with time. MA practice can improve confidence. However, I am more of the idea that you improve confidence in yourself; MA is just the tool that lets you see that you can be confident. Many other activities can provide this as well; it just seems that many MAers have an easy time of finding it. Best of luck in training, and enjoy the journey!

Good point as far as controlling weapons goes. Even in my Medieval Combat manuals, I see this often, when the combatants would "come to grips."

And that's the major rub, I think.We all pay the piper. It just depends on when the bill comes due.

Good response, tallgeese. I think that it is very important for more sport related styles to at times focus on things that allow them to be flexible in a way to work outside of the ring and rules of the sport. This could be said of Boxing, Wrestling, and Olympic TKD. However, most trainers are focused on the sport, because that is what many come to them for, to compete. I do believe, however, that combat sports can be used for self-defense. After all, most combat sports have their roots in a self-defense version of itself; even Bare-knuckle Boxing was more inclusive of throws and pins prior to the Queensbury rules. All it takes a little bit of extrapolation. It also appears that many times, our combat sports tend to keep the spirit of contact more alive in their training than many of the more self-defense oriented MAs. It seems the trade-offs work this way: more rules and target restrictions, more heavy contact permitted....more target areas/vital points available/used, less contact. I think that there are more training options available now that allow us to bridge this gap more now than before.