bushido_man96

I think a mix like that would be great...especially for MMA interests.

A Game of Thrones; Arya They are dining with the Hand's Guard, and Ned arrives late and tired. Talk of the tourney arises, and Sansa gets excited (who expected this, raise your hand ). Arya is not interested. The two are still fighting, and Ned berates them both for it. Arya misses the rest of her family. She doesn't like any of the men right now, for she feels that they let Lady and Mycah be killed. She was even upset with her father. She gets upset, and runs to her room and cries, feeling it was all her fault that Mycah was killed. She digs out Needle, for comfort. Ned comes to speak to her, and sees her sword. He says that Arya has a wildness in her, the "wolf blood," and says his sister Lyanna had a touch of it, and that his brother Brandon had much of it; also that it led them both to early deaths. Ned tells Arya that she reminds him of Lyanna, and that she may have carried a sword if his father had let her. Ned tells Arya that Mycah's death is not her fault. Arya admitted to running off Nymeria when Ned prodded. She had lied when saying Nymeria had run off on her own; Arya had to throw rocks at her. Ned said that everyone lies, and her lie was not without honor (it is as if he alludes to his own similar act at one time here). Ned has a heart-to-heart with her, about the family history (the sigil and the words). The lone wolf dies off; the pack survives, and that "Winter is Coming" (I love doing that ). The have enemies in King's Landing, and they must keep the pack (family) together, and not bicker amongst themselves. Ned allowed Arya to keep her sword, and 3 days later, she meets Syrio Forel, who was First Sword to the Sealord of Braavos for 9 years. He begins teaching the "sword dance."

I have been reading; I just haven't been next to the computer to post right away. Here we go... A Game of Thrones; Tyrion Tyrion is dining with Mormont, Thorne, and Bowen Marsh, who is the Lord Steward of the Night's Watch. Tyrion is to be leaving soon. During the meal, he gets into a verbal duel with Ser Alliser Thorne, which he easily wins; Thorne leaves, disgusted. There is also another knight at the table; Ser Jaremy Rykker. Rykker and Throne fought at King's Landing, but on the wrong side, against Robert. Tywin Lannister (Tyrion's father) gave them the choice of being beheaded or take the Black. This explains Thorne's dislike for Tyrion. Maeter Aemon, 100 years old and blind, commments that he feels Tyrion is a giant come among them. Tryion is at a loss for words at the comment, and tells Aemon he is too kind. Aemon claims that he is not (??). After all have left the room, Tyrion and Mormont remain. Mormont asks Tyrion to plead for the case of the Night's Watch to his brother, sister, father, and king. The numbers are under 1000, and only 1/3 of that are fighting men, to defend 100 leagues of Wall. He mentions Ser Yohn Royce's missing enterouge (see Prologue), and that Benjen Stark and the group that went searching for Royce has gone missing as well. He fears a battle may ensue. He also mentions Gared's betrayal of his vows (see Eddard's first chapter, I think). Mormont will be 70 in a few years, but trusts no one around him to turn command over to. Aemon and Mormont are convinced that the summer, going on its 10th year, is ending, and that "Winter is Coming" (the Stark words). There are reports of "white walkers" near East Watch, and mountain people seem to be fleeing. Tyrion doesn't seem to buy it all, but promises to speak for him, although his words will fall on deaf ears. Tyrion leaves Mormont, and takes a last trip up to the top of the Wall. He finds Jon there, and they talk. Jon has been helping the other boys with swordplay, and he thanks Tyrion for his words. Jon tells Tyrion to tell Robb he will be Lord Commander of the Night's Watch one day, to protect them. Whether he was jesting or not was hard to say (foreshadowing??? ). He also asks Tyrion to speak to Bran and Rickon, and they shake hands as friends. Note: Just one...in this chapter, the Old Bear (Mormont) mentions his son's dishonor (Ser Jeor Mormont, who is with Dany). Incidentally, Mormont is called the "Old Bear" because it is the sigil of his house, and he is from Bear Island.

It is important for an instructor to understand that most kids learn differently than adults do. Classes should be tailored as such.

This one thing that tournaments can help with. They may not all be the same, and have rules and the like, but making yourself get over the nerves, and push yourself to action, are valuable lessons, and in a fairly controlled environment.

Wow, Kez, that would be freaky. Years ago, there was a small quake in my area, but it was before my time here. I have heard stories about it; freaky, to say the least.

Yeah, same targets, less protection. "Fuller" contact, I guess you could say.

This is a good point. Even those who are trained in kicking can get kicked in sparring, and the expect to get kicked. However, I am of the opinion that lower line kicks will have a higher percentage of success than high kicks will.

I always kind of thought that the Kyokushin style of sparring was a rougher form of Olympic TKD sparring. Same target areas, no hands to the head; gives it kind of the same feel.

Very nice, and very simple. After all, isn't that how it should be??

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

I agree with you quote here. I am not going to be waiting around to see how good the girl is before deciding how much force I need to use to put her down. It may sound rough, but I am not going to get punched on by anyone.

Set up a plyometrics program that you can do twice a week, and that will help you to build explosiveness in your kicks. There is plenty of info in the net, and you can get something going pretty quick.

Yikes! Adding the spin would be a killer! How cool is that.

2-25-08 Chest/triceps Bench press: 135x10, 155x10, 185x6, 205x3 Skullcrackers: 60x10, 70x6, 6 Triceps push-downs: 90x10, 105x6, 6 Abs Decline crunches: 3x12 Hanging knee raises: 3x10 Defensive Tactics: 11:00 - 12:20. Today was a good workout. We did some more wrist takedowns and throws, and worked on some Combat Hapkido material. Traditional TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00. I was sore after class tonight, especially in the legs. I like the stance work, but it tires my big legs out. I have been spending time on some chunks of my form, and it is improving. I am feeling more and more confident about it.

The nice thing about solo training is that you can pretty much do whatever you want. Jay has some good suggestions, but you can also use your schedule and bounce around every other day or something to change it up, and not get bored.

Hehe, I guess so.

I have seen some focus mitts that are kind of a cross between the glove/mitt. They might suit the purpose you discuss. I think they can be a good training tool. However, it is hard for the partner to strike with them, like you mention.

Has Kyokushin decided to start allowing punches to the head now? I had heard that it was being considered, but I didn't know if it was the case now.

I fear you people...

Hey, Eric. With my "little" brother, I can try to put on any kind of limb-manipulating move, but he is just solid. A distraction is what I have to use on him, and it is the important part of the joint lock, I think. I agree with Treebranch, and the distraction technique is what can help to break the balance, and then open up for finding a lock.

Hehe, I agree. I don't like anyone messing with my food, either. I do have a food-related story...at my old workplace, a guy who was known to be a jerk, tried to dig his fingers into one of my snack cakes. I grabbed his hand, and began to apply a wrist lock, and it was funny because my supervisor was sitting next to me, and he began to clear out. The guy pulled away, and he made some comments about me being a bit crazy. I told him that I don't go sticking my hands in his food, and I don't recommend him doing to mine. Funny stuff; my supe and I laughed about it later.

If they have been shot already, breaking bones isn't going to amount to much, either. Basically, if someone is juiced like that, you need two things; distance, and more ammo.

I agree that Wrestlers and BJJers can learn a lot from each other. Put Randy Couture and Royce Gracie in a room together, and I'll bet that there isn't one that couldn't learn something from the other. With one year of Wrestling under my belt, I know that it is a very active style, and requires one to be in great shape. You don't see a lot of stalling and waiting, and especially lightweight matches can be very fast-paced. From reading Helio Gracie, and watching great BJJers, it seems like they can be more patient, and can let their opponents walk themselves into a submission.

If you want to apply your Karate training to JKD, then I suggest getting a copy of Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and also copies of the books Bruce Lee's Fighting Methods (4 volumes), and read and apply the concepts to your Karate. Get a training partner to go along with and to bounce ideas off of as well. Also do a Google search of your area to see what JKD schools are around.