bushido_man96

Welcome to the Forums! Moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, eh? Man, that would be a tough adjustment! Best of luck, and hopefully you find a school that is right for you and your family.

I finished off an article in Classical Fighting Arts magazine just the other day. Normally, when I see an article on the subject of Tai Chi, I don't get all that excited about it. However, the tendencies that I have compell me to read every article in every MA magazine that I get. Reading this article, was pretty eye-opening, and enjoyable. The title page of the article had an excerpt stating that "traditional" Taijiquan is technically 75% or more Wrestling/grappling oriented, and a diligent student can acquire real self-defense skills in a matter of months, as opposed to years. With my mentality toward the Martial Arts in general, this grabbed my attention immediately. It began with a brief history of the origin of the style, from a retired General of the Ming dynasty named Chen Wang Ting, and had its base as a military Martial Art, in which the training had to provide the soldiers with an ability to defend themselves successfully if need be in a matter of months. The article also made many analogies relating movements in Taijiquan to Western Wrestling, which was also nice to see. Hardly mentioned at all in the article was the presence of Chi, thus removing some of the mysticsm that seems to surround the style today, and leaving a more attainable style of fighting. Overall, the article was enjoyable, and it really cleared up views of what Taijiquan should really be.

5-10-08 Push-up log: 3x15, with my gear on at work.

This is becoming a theme, it seems. It is nice to see the local governments bring this up more and more.

I think that there will be a lot of political roadblocks ahead in this journey. In the books that I read about WTF TKD, I never hear anything about Gen. Choi. The two organizations rarely mention each other. The blocking concept is kind of cool. Defensive points would add a very interesting angle to fighting in TKD. Heck, WTF sparrers, especially in tournaments of national level, rarely block at all. They never have their hands up.

I think it has been out already. I haven't seen it, but I don't know if I want to. One of my buddies saw it, and he said that he liked it. Seeing those two on screen together should be worth the price of admission.

Hmm, sounds interesting. My wife didn't care much for Sin City, so she may not like this one, either.

5-9-08 I am going to be starting to make a habit of doing push-ups more often, so I will be having kind of a "push-up log" going along with everything else. Push-ups: 3x10 Elevated feet push-ups: 2x10 Feet up about 8 inches.

I would love to see what kind of compromise comes out of this deal. I wonder if a new form set would come about, or take this form and that form and create the curriculum. Vere curious, indeed.

Yes, I am a big advocate of generating power from the ground up. I do this with my general hand techniques as well: jab, cross, hooks, etc. by pivoting with my techniques as I throw them.

I have seen the zig-zag pattern pushed, but Jim Wagner has also stated that the half-moon path is a good one as well.

Welcome to the Forums, and welcome to Martial Arts! As the advise that has been given so far is good, I don't feel the need to repeat too much of it. Checking out the classes in person, and getting some trials, are very good ideas. We were all ackward when we started out, so don't be nervous there. It all comes with time and practice. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!

Thanks, DWx.

That helps to clarify. Thank you.

I appreciate your input, and can understand what you're saying. But i just have a follow up question, if you will... What if the two styles compliment each other ridiculously well, not to the point where they are the same style, but they compliment each other well? As I mentioned before, it depends on what your goals are. If you want to master a system, then you should spend all your time on it. A pro Boxer and an Olympic TKDer would most likely prerfer to train in this way. But, if you want to be good at various ranges of combat, then working with different arts can help you to achieve your goals of diversification. Now, with that said, is it fair to state that the person who spends his life mastering one style is going to be better at fighting or self-defense, or a better Martial Artist in general, than the person who has chosen to broaden his base? Two sides of the same coin.

Most deal with the gun in play, and with it held either in contact with your body or very near. Learning how to deal when the assailant is at a distance is just as important.

I don't have anything hard and fast laid out, really. I want to spend more time on my Combat Hapkido, so that I can work towards my 1st degree there.

My first instructor was a 2nd degree, who just took over the club when I joined. He was a pretty mellow guy, and he believed in sparring for the last 15 minutes of class, with no pads. He was a pretty good technician, and I learned quite a bit from him.

They are good principles to push on. I could not agree more. Neither am I saying we should give up trying to identify the enemy. I am simply stating that it will not always be easily dectable.

I could see the possibilities with an Olympic-style TKD set up. MMA as well, Boxing, etc.

Another state moving forward...nice to see.

You have to research these guys more off the mat then what you see on it. They fight in a tough sport. They have to portray that toughness. It doesn't mean that they aren't smart, or haven't graduated college. Hughes was a collegiate Wrestler; and I believe he did graduate. Wrestlers in college tend to have a higher graduation rate than other sports like football, basketball, and baseball, where guys will come out early and go professional. Most collegiate Wrestlers are there competing all four of their college years. I think Liddel has a college degree, as well.At any rate, I think that this would be a good move for New York State. The revenue would be great for them, and the city could stage some great fights. Serra fighting in MSG would be awesome.

Well, MMA is the hot thing right now, too. It would be something that University-wide Martial Artists, including school Wrestlers, could get into for the fun of it. I think that what happened is that they didn't think it all out, and it ended up being more like a toughman contest, and got out of hand.

5-7-08 TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00. Taught class tonight. There were only two students, so I got to do some individual work with them. I also got to spend some time on my form. Technique work: Middle block: 2 lbs.x10x3 weight in blocking hand. High block: 2 lbs.x10x3 weight in blocking hand.

5-5-08 Chest/triceps Bench press: 155x10, 195x6, 210x4 Dips: 3x5 Upward cable crossovers: 30x10x3 Abs Hanging leg raises: 2x5 Decline crunches: 3x10 Technique work: Jab: 10 lbs.x10x3 weights in both hands. Cross: 10 lbs.x10x3 weights in both hands. High block: 3x20, alternating arms.