bushido_man96

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.

I think that this is good mindset to have. A lot of LEOs think this way; "at the end of the shift, you want to go home." It is important, however, to make sure that you don't get too wrapped up and take something too far, causing yourself more trouble than you need.

Hey, Baron! Good to see you back! As far as getting someone on their back goes, it stands to reason that it is a big advantage, if getting him there is your goal to buy time or escape. Just because you get them to their back doesn't mean you have to go to the ground and try to Wrestle with him to finish the fight. Knock them to their back, then make a break for it. Keep it simple.

I'll go with most of that, Throwdown. Is being different necessarily the key, though? Even if one is standing up for the crowd, they could still be considered a warrior, right? While we're on this tilt, I assume that you are speaking in terms of perhaps having to deal with a physical threat. Should some kind of physical danger, with great bodily harm or death as a chance, be a prerequisite for a warrior act?

I think there still needs to be a level of performance that needs to be achieved. Good stances are something that shouldn't be slacked on, for instance. Stances aren't hard to do, so they should be good. Other things, like kicking high, shouldn't be a worry. Don't get too lenient, or student quality will slip.

My current school doesn't use stripes. My former school did. They are good if you have certain identifiers to go by. Either way is ok.

It really depends on what you want out of him. If you want to mold his technique into the style of the school that you attend, then have him deepen his stances. With that said, I don't think that it is necessary to alter the stances to make him a better Martial Artist. It is possible to develop and generate power in different ways; he has shown one, and you probably know another. In the end, if he intends to gain rank in your school, then he may have to conform his technique a bit. Otherwise, I don't think it would be a big deal.

Interesting stuff. I have read articles on his MA training, and we was on the cover of Black Belt at least once, that I know of. Perhaps twice.

Cool stuff.

Good thoughts, Treebranch. Sometimes, in the chaos and dynamics of combat, you or the opponent (or both) may be out of position to a point where all you can do is muscle it, and hope for the best.

This struck me a while ago, and so I thought I would open it up for discussion. It seems odd to me that we consider some Martial Arts as combative arts; shouldn't we consider all MAs combative? I know we have the different headings and what not as identifiers and the like, and perhaps this is just a point of semantics. Is there something that now lends some of the MAs to be more combative than others? Perhaps the training methods? Perhaps the philosophy behind the style? Perhaps it depends on the person training, their ideals and mindset? What do you think?

Welcome to KF!

There are some promising shows there. Joel Silver is working on quite the action epics, it appears.

Man, I would have freaked out. Nuts.

Someone told me that if you can keep your base leg straight, with the foot pointing at 90 degrees, and place your other foot up on a chair back or something like that, and you are able to stand with both legs locked straight, then you have the capability to do the splits. How true this is, I don't know. With that said, you need to research into the process for attaining the splits. Talk to your instructor about stretches to do static, and also look into PNF stretching down the road, to start pushing you past those plateau points you will likely hit. It is a process, and it takes time. Keep at it, and you will see major results. Just for the record, I can't do the splits, either.

I have a bit of a different view than tallgeese here. I would say that you should spend more time on your weak side, to develop it more. But don't forget about your strong side. Do 5 reps of something on your strong side, and then swap and do 10 reps on the weak side. As the weak side progresses, balance it out more. Some days, do 7 and 10, or something. I am right handed, so most would expect me to lead with my left side. However, a long while back, an instructor said something to the effect of "why not put your strong side in front, to make it closer to the attacker?" So, I began training with a right hand lead. Now, it feels natural for me to lead with my right. Now, if you get to this point, make sure to focus on leading with the left as well, so that you can change as you feel the situation dictates. Good luck!

8-4-08 Chest/triceps Bench press: 185x10, 215x4, 225x3 Triceps push-downs: 90x10, 105x8, 120x6 Abs Decline crunches: 3x12x25 lbs. Side raises: 3x10x20 lbs. Legs Leg extensions: 70x20, 20, 20 Leg curls: 115x20, 20, 20 Treadmill: 20 minute walk, with a small bit of running. Combat Hapkido: 10:00 - 12:00. The first half hour I spent working with the white belt. We went through all the material, making sure he had it down, and focusing on little nuances. After that, I would just grab his wrist, and he would perform either one of the two required defenses against same side wrist grabs. As soon as I was taken down, and tapped out, I would get up, grab his other wrist, and he would take me down again immediately. It was good rep work, and helps with the muscle memory. After the first half hour, our other partner showed up, and we worked on the red belt material. We used the new guy as our uke, and we were able to watch each other from the outside, as opposed to the inside, like we always do. It gave us a fresh perspective, and it changed the way some of the things went, using someone new to the material.

Hock has referred to the outside wrist lock/throw as the "little throw that won't go away." For the reasons that you stated above, tallgeese, this throw/lock is difficult to secure; much more so than say a chicken-wing type of hold, or a hammerlock or other arm or shoulder lock. However, Hock has stated that everytime he is teaching a seminar or clinic, he invariably hears reports of guys using it successfully in situations, and they thank him for covering it. Interesting that it turns up like it does.

You state a very solid case, tallgeese. Well done.

Don't we all.

Mindset is a good way look at it, tallgeese. Do you think that a predisposition to danger on some level should have any basis on the conception of being a warrior?

That is awesome. I have the upmost respect for Wrestlers as Martial Artists. Kudos to you for coaching!

We talk a lot about defending ourselves in a situation. But, what if we have a family member(s), like children/spouse, or, maybe a charge we have been hired to protect. How would you go about accomplishing your goal when it is to protect someone else first, as opposed to protecting yourself?