bushido_man96

If someone has come into your "space," as you have it drawn out here, then you are within your right to take action, if you feel threatened. Those are the operative words. CYA - Can You Articulate? Once you make the decision to take your action, you have to be able to explain why you did what you did. It's pretty easy to do, really: "He was so close to me, I thought he was going to hit me. He was pointing at me and yelling at me in an aggressive and angry manner, and I feared for my safety." Now, to what extent is a different story. Should you try to "lock 'em up" and wait for help? That depends on a lot of things, like 1) are you good at that? 2) how much bigger/stronger than you is he? 3) do you feel comfortable locking someone up and holding them down for a while? Lots of thoughts to consider there. A decent BJJ stylist might be ok with it. A striker might not. But that doesn't mean that answering with strikes is a less good idea, either.

4/23/2025 Aikido: 6:15 - 7:45 pm. Aikitaisos and some internals to start out; I struggled with relaxation and getting my weight down and being more rooted. After the warm, the bulk of the students did their roll-a-thon, rolling for a 5 minute stretch and seeing how many rolls they could get. I just helped out by keeping count. In between the rolls, we did do some technique work: katatori shionage omote and ura. I need to smooth things out and not stop at the transitions.

I enjoyed it, and have enjoyed reading this author. He's even shed a touch of light on some TKD master history. Now I'm reading Okinawan Kobudo: A History of Weaponry Styles and Masters. The author is Christopher M. Clarke. He's got another book I'd like to read, Saving Japan's Martial Arts.

My question to you then, @sensei8, is who will get the Cowboys a playoff win? Would you rather have one of the unproven rookies from this draft? Is there a free agent you wish they'd sign? What's the answer?

Good to hear your prognosis is looking up Bob!

Dak is a serviceable QB right now. I don't think drafting his replacement right now is a good idea. Maybe in a few years. I think the bigger issue is getting the right coaching in there, or better yet, Jerry sitting back out of the way and letting the coach do his job.

Currently cutting through Okinawan Karate: A History of Styles and Masters, vol 2, Fijian Antecedents, Naha-te, Goju-ryu, and Other Styles.

At this testing we had a white belt, a high orange belt, a low blue belt, and a recommended black belt testing. Overall, I saw good things from all the students. I saw good technique from top to bottom (rank appropriate, of course), and improvements are coming along as I would expect. White belts: all kids, and they were pretty nervous. I’d seen them all do their form in class well, but here at testing the nerves showed up. Their first run-through of Chon Ji hyung was all over the place. We reset them, talked with them, and I had them all take a deep breath and let it out, and had them go a second time. In their first run, they all botched up the second half of the form. On the second go, they all did much better. And they all handled the one-steps pretty well. Their memory is good, they just need to be more confident in themselves. High Orange belt: I saw a need to get more fully into stance, especially after turning into a front stance. Just stepping a little too shallow. There was also some confusion on crossing arms inside or outside based off whether the technique was a block or a strike. Otherwise, good technical execution. I’d like to see more power. On a side note this was one of the twins that tested. I was surprised they both didn’t test, as I figured they’d hang together in rank. But this may be good for both of them. Low Blue belt: Good technique. It will get better as the student learns to relax the shoulders and hips more to generate power in the strikes. I saw knife hand blocks that looked more like strikes (extended too far). In both the forms and one-steps, I saw points where foot position was not quite right for side kicks and follow-up kicks in combination. Pre-pivots can help here, along with focusing on where a kick lands and how the foot lands to be in better position for the next kick. In sparring, she was getting more kicking worked in, better combinations. Great to see! Recommended Black belt: lots of good stuff here. To start the testing off, the student had to read aloud the essay required for the rank, answering three questions. I was encouraged, as the student stated he did not plan on quitting after getting his black belt, as he had previously told me his plan was. I’m encouraged, but we’ll see what happens. The low rank forms looked good, done the way a black belt should do them. I saw some shuffle stepping, or “sugar-footing” on stance transitions, but this can be worked on. He got all the forms done, and all the one-steps. For board breaking, a lack of body alignment showed up, and this has been addressed in class, so it’s up to him now to start fixing it. Observations for the overall testing: when doing the 270 and 180 degree turns, the higher ranks especially need to not stop-step when turning. They need to focus on the whole transition happening in one step and keeping the stepping foot close to the base foot when turning in order to retain balance better and make foot placement much easier. Sitting back in back stances more is needed. I told the students when they are sparring, if they keep doing the same thing and getting blocked, it’s time to change it up! For final comments, the main point I made was that I enjoy testings a lot, because they not only show us where the students are in their progression, but it also shows us as instructors what we need to focus on in class in order to correct the things we see. It tests us as well as them. Finally, the CI handed out new rank, and all the black belts came up and addressed the new black belt on our experience in hitting that rank, and how it was kind of a new beginning, and what was in store going forward. Me and the CI kind of both had the same thoughts; I told him he now had to make the decision to either be someone who got a black belt once, or he could say that he is a black belt by continuing his training. I also mentioned that he was at a point where he could say he’s someone who does TKD, or he could become a Martial Artist, and told him to think about that. Overall, another enjoyable test. Unfortunately, my work schedule shifts to afternoons with weekends off, so I won’t be getting to TKD class for a couple of months, unless something weird happens with the schedule. So I’ll be the absentee instructor for a while.

Congrats, @Wado Heretic! Your posts are always informative and inciteful.

The draft was something else, wasn't it? Honestly, other than the Shedeur Sanders slide, I don't think it was too nuts. I'm pleased with the Chief's haul.

I think it's a combination of things; the desire to pass things onto others, along with having the time and resources available to do so. Possessing the ability to teach well is another strong point.

Those were the good ole days.

I would add a little subtle comment to this; figure out how to train around minor injuries and not make things worse.

I think the evolution of stances as the way we see them in forms/katas now has more to do with aesthetics than actual practicality when using techniques. I agree that stances should be seen as the means for transitioning between techniques or generating power in techniques. I see more and more applications of this as I train in Aikido, which is not concerned about static stances, but the movements required to get from point A to point B.

This is a good thought, but I think the early UFC's pretty much quashed this theory. And the body is quite resilient. I'd consider myself a rather decent puncher. I know how to generate power from the ground up, I know how to use my hips to add power to a punch, etc. But I've got too teenage boys that are experienced wrestlers, and are also offensive/defensive football lineman. They know how to close, how to take someone down, and how to keep them there. Assuming you can knock someone out with one punch that is actively in defense mode and skilled at takedowns is a recipe for humble pie.

I agree with @sensei8. To assume this is to assume many things, especially the skill of each stylist, and the nature of the encounter. There are too many variables to consider this blanket statement to be true.

4/17/2025 Got my head squared away enough to make a dojo session. Aikido: 8:50 - 9:50 am. Just me and the Sensei, so after getting the mats squared away, we did some internals work very briefly, and went into katatatori shionage omote. We worked a lot on the hand placement and getting the wrist secured properly, then focused on distancing, the level at which to keep the uke's arm up, and then the "cutting" aspect of securing the arm, and the cutting action in the takedown. Also focus on connection to center. One technique for an hour, and it was great work. I struggle with shionage, so this kind of focus was great.

I've had several lapses in training over the years. Some due to school, some due to family obligations, some due to what I perceived to be burnout. Each time I came back, I recalled how much it meant to me, and valued it even more. Now, due to health issues, I have been experiencing intermittent lapses, more like from week to week as opposed to months at a time. They still suck. But every time I get into train, I value it even more.

My concern is that I don't want a Martial Artist giving me thoughts and advice on "strength training." Unless they have certain certifications, I won't really respect their thoughts and approaches on what they consider "strength training." I know what it means to me, and if I really want to focus on strength training, I'll make the time to get under the bar at the gym and strength train. I don't want to go to a Martial Arts class where I'm paying money to learn Martial Arts and do 20 minutes of HIIT that I can do on my own time. Those are my thoughts.

Good points, too, @ryanryu. On a side note, at our recent testing when this kid I mentioned read his essay aloud, he stated he doesn't plan to quit, he plans to keep going. So we'll see what we've got now.

That might be a bit too far....but I'd love it!

That's great to hear, @aurik! Congratulations!

I wouldn't necessarily go that far; my guess is that you just haven't yet experienced the type and approach to Karate that you are looking for. There are some other styles out there that are more self-defense/bunkai oriented that might provide you exactly what you are looking for.

I think this is fantastic! Weight classes exist for a reason, and why complicate things more than they need to be?

This, exactly. I've heard it called "long-bridge" boxing, and seeing concepts of it some time ago very much reminded me of some concepts I've seen in the sticking hands exercises of some traditional Kung-Fu methods. I'd also agree that injuries would occur. Broken ribs, liver shots, kidney shots, all not great for continued training. Furthermore, it limits actual Karate even further, even more than the adoption of the sparring rules and focus in Shotokan, Kyuokushin, and even TKD. Although the sportive aspects of sparring can be very much fun to do, when they become the sole focus of application, then there's a rich amount of material that is being left out. With all that said, I commend you for thinking outside the box and presenting this topic. It really opens up things for discussion on approaches to training, which is always great. Welcome to KF, glad to have you here!