bushido_man96

that is what my instructor has told me.. to have faith in my skill.. I was so scared in highschool to fight that I didnt even want to go to school sometimes, untill I was 17 and I turned into the very thing that I hated, which was a bully, after that I was never picked on, I was the one doing that bulling then, untill I got my head handed to me, after that, I became friends with this guy kicked my butt.. who just so happened to be a student of my future instructor at the time, and so I started going and it really has changed me a lot.. A LOT.. That takes quite a bit to admit, Throwdown. I was a lot like you were, pre-bully, that is. Now, I am a bit better. I have shared this little story before, but I will do so again....I have a good friend who has been in some scraps, and is not scared to mix it up. He actually trained with me as a student for some time. Him and I were talking about fighting and what not, and my brother came up in the conversation. He told me that my brother was crazy, and has that "little something" (I think it is excess testosterone, to be honest.. ) that clicks, and you then you fight. My brother loves the adrenaline rush, and he is kind of crazy. He actually wants me to test my tazer on him, that's how crazy he is! My buddy went on to tell me that I don't have that "extra something." It was nothing personal against me; the two of us are practically brothers. But, he spoke the truth, and I always thank him for that.

I have seen about as many women arrested for domestic battery as I have men.

3-4-08 Defensive Tactics: 10:30 - 11:00. Not much time today, but we did work on some ground tactics. I also did 10 burpees today. It isn't much, but it is a start.

3-3-08 Chest/triceps Incline bench press: 135x10, 145x8, 155x4 Decline bench press: 135x10, 155x8, 165x6 Triceps push-downs: 90x10, 105x8, 6 Overhead triceps press: 50x10, 60x8, 65x6 Abs Decline crunches: 3x12 Hanging knee raises: 3x10 Cardio: 10 minutes on a Schwinn Spinner, then 10 minutes on a recumbent bike. Defensive Tactics: 10:15 - 11:15. Worked on a shoulder throw, sheonage, and a head-wrap throw into arrest and control techniques. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00. Class was good tonight. Sparring went very well for me. I sparred the 4th dan at the end of class, and managed to stay mobile, get some shots in, and block and move well. I was pleased.

There are some schools that will evaluate students who joing with prior experience, and place them at a level they feel that they are the equivalent of, technically. Now, before they can test, they must learn all of the ATA's curriculum up to that point. However, they show them some respect by acknowledging them with a rank equivalent.

If you look into his "Applied Karate" concepts, you will see that he has various stages of performance, the final stage being a type of "bunkai sparring" in which both individuals are actively resisting.

That is an interesting site. I had never heard of it before, but I am not surprised to see it. It makes me think of the kind of stuff that the ARMA are doing, only the ARMA doesn't claim the modern, eclectic approach. It appears that this Viking system incorporates the old world weaponry, but I didn't notice anything on new world weaponry.

As humans, we make gains in life; monetary, familial, friendships, etc. Many of us don't want to leave these things behind, and therefore dread death. We don't want to leave our families, or part with our possessions. I think that these are some of the biggest contributors to the fear of death.

What are the "traditional" rules?

I mean that many people take the word "traditional" and think that it makes their style more credible than other styles. It is a term used to mislead others into thinking that their style is an "orginal" fighting style that is this old and has this lineage, and is therefore superior to anything else. I see it all of the time with "traditional" weapons and "traditional" forms, etc, etc.

Each person is going to be different, and the type of training is going to have a lot to do with it. In the end, I don't think proficiency in Kung Fu would take much longer than any other style, regardless of how long it takes to get a black belt rank in such and such a style. The rank tends to be irrelevant; the time in training, and the training methods, are much more relevant.

Sadly, many unwanted bats are abused by martial artists daily for nothing more than entertainment. Please- adopt a bat today. Invest in the future That was too cool, and that was too funny!

I think that many students will gravitate either toward some of the tendencies of their instructors (in an attempt to emulate them) or find a few moves that they like and work well for them, and then build a bulk of their combinations off of those moves. I think that at times it can be a good idea to practice random combinations to force the students to think and change up, but sticking with what works, the bread-and-butter, is important for every Martial Artist.

In the past, I struggled with this. Now, with my job, I have become more comfortable with it. One thing that I do notice is that I don't have time to get psyched out if things just "happen." However, if I stand across from someone, and they start building the situation up, I don't deal with the rush as well. I would love to have the opportunity to work out in a style like MMA or Boxing, for the benefits that NightOwl speaks of.

If you prefer the Shotokan, then TSD might be what you want. However, since you have evaluated each class once, I would go a bit further with each. Try showing up at the school in the middle of a class, when they don't know you are coming, and see if anything appears different.

I am not familiar with any ATA - WTF relations. I have been out for a while, though. I don't know how many different TKD schools you have been to, but your pereception may be based soley on what you see as far as the internet and Olympic TV goes. I think you are generalizing TKD quite a bit. But, that is just my opinion.

It is just another opinion to seek out and try. It doesn't have to undermine what someone else is doing. It can be a supplement to it. As long as it works in an efficient and effective way, then wouldn't it be an applicable bunkai?

Geez, how many times did the guy have to tap before the ref saw it?

I am looking forward to it. Finally, an MA movie with no wire work or off-the wall stunts. Just fights. Plus, the coach was in Gladiator, and I loved his character. That guys is tall, too.

I have caught myself rolling my eyes here and there during some of the dialogue of the show. However, I have enjoyed it overall. I would love to see a Capoeira episode and a Western Boxing episode as well.

I think that most of these cage fighters we are talking about have probably been in a scrap or two on the street at some point or another anyway. Look at Kimbo Slice. This guy is a noted street fighter, and this time, is trying to make his way up the ranks in MMA. He is big, and is in good shape. However, he has to work at the MMA game a bit more. Does that mean that he couldn't take the top MMA dogs on the street? No. But, it doesn't mean that they couldn't take him, either. I didn't know that about St. Pierre. Thanks for the info. I do like to watch him fight, when I get the chance.

Wow, good stuff.

600 lb. squats, James! That is awesome! And here I am, working out with around 160 lbs. at the moment!

Don't you think you might have been a bit hard on the kid? I've had more important pieces of clothing laying on the floor of my house, waiting to be washed in the laundry.

I have a brother who lives near St. Louis. If I ever get up that way (which may happen in a year), I may have to come check your place out.