bushido_man96

That sounds like a great setup. Welcome to the Forums!

Doing something more specific to kicking might help to improve your kicks and flexibility. Do wall kicks, to hold your balance and keep your leg extended to build the muscles would be good. You can also stand next to the wall, and do side kicks, hold them out, and then raise the leg up and down to build the muscles. When you get really good, try them without the wall.

Man, that is rough. Talk to the doctor about your options, and get some second opinions as well. Do some research and see what you can come up with. I think that you could still do your Karate training, but you may have to lay off of the sparring for some time.

12-31-07 Went back to the gym today, and did a very general workout. Not too much, I hope. Squats: 2x10x135 lbs. I never do squats, so these killed me today. Bench press: 3x10x135 lbs. Decline abs: 3x10 Barbell curls: 3x10x50 lbs. Triceps press: 3x10x40 lbs. Solo workout: 9:45 - 10:00. Chon ji Hyung x 2 Wall back kicks: 10 each leg.

I think that the Olympic-style equipment is just better in the long run. It does take up more space, but it is usually heavier duty equipment, and will give long life. Also, the barbells are the standard 45 lbs. in weight, and are nicer for lifting, I think. You can use the same bar for bench, squat, clean, etc.

If you feel comfortable beginning your cross-training now, then I would do so. The nice thing about Boxing or Muay Thai is that there won't be any curriculum to worry about. You will get some good conditioning, and lots of technique work. High repitition training that will help you out, I think.

Ah, tai-sabaki. The more I read about it, the more interested I get in it. We get into in TKD, but in some different ways than other styles do it, like Aikido and Karate. However, the more I learn, the more I put together and make things happen a little bit. All research, I guess.

Not so! From the day you start, you are preparing. Enjoy the journey.

I agree with your thoughts here. You are right about Hapkido descending from Daito Ryu, as well. Intercepting the arm at the wrist or above is where you want to be on a club swing.

12-28-07 Stretched out for 25 minutes, and then I worked on Chon Ji hyung a few times. It isn't much, but it got me moving around.

The most effective techniques and styles usually arent entertaining. I'd rather something be effective and boring that showy and useless. On a side note, I am a BJJ fighter, and some jiu jitsu matches are like watching grass grow There is truth in what you say. I think that matches for Wrestling and BJJ are harder to watch, unless you can really understand the nuances of what is going on down on the ground there. Once you can understand what every little thing going on causes, it is much easier to appreciate.

It is hard for me to give a very good review of this book, because I have no knowledge or experience with Sanchin Kata. However, I think that this book is very well written, and the subject matter is explored to its fullest extent. Wilder explores everything from a history of the Sanchin Kata to the ways that people learn, and how those learning experiences have changed Sanchin Kata in so many ways. He discusses, in detail, the bringing together of the "three difficulties" beginning with the architecture of the body, starting with the feet and working meticulously up the body to each other section; up the shins and to the thighs, the hips, the back, the neck and the head, and out to the shoulders, arms, and fists. He also moves into chapters on breathing, getting into the state of zanshin, Iron Shirt, and many other concepts that fall into the study and integration of this kata. Wilder has put out a great book here, and I enjoyed it a lot, even with a lack of knowledge of Karate and Sanchin Kata, despite general knowledge. A nice addition that Wilder has are the "Test It" sections of each of his chapters that give students physical feedback from partners that allow them to guage their training. I recommend this book for any Martial Artist in general. And if you practice the Sanchin Kata, then it will definitely give you a focus on the kata that will keep you training for years.

Blocking bats with the hands does seem not right. From what I have learned about club type weapons is to get inside the trajectory of the swing, and stop the momentum at the opponent's hands. That, or just get away, or find a ranged weapon.

And also the target! It’s a balancing act I guess. All to do with good technique - being able to deliver as much Kinetic energy (using the correct force) as quickly as possible, whilst not putting yourself in a position where you are vulnerable to being hit. Movement is key. You guys may be closer to each other's ideas than you realize. We could talk about it all day, but if we actually got together and could "see" what each is saying, you might be pretty close together. Or, it could be the opposite, I guess. However, there is often something lost in the translation.

That really does sound like quite a bit of fun, Zanshin. Those training sessions would be a blast.

There are many practitioners that would argue that most Martial Arts contain both internal and external elements. It just depends on the focus that you choose to give your training.

This book gives a general overview of the focal points of unarmed combat training of the elite forces of the world. It opens with the chapters on essentials of unarmed combat training, and goes into the Martial Heritage of unarmed combat as well, and the simplistic training used for special forces. The book then goes into chapters on blocking and striking with body tools, using chokes, headlocks, breaking free of holds, and chapters against various weapons, and then multiple opponents. A very straightforward setup, the book also has side bars throughout that discuss various special forces Martial Arts from other countries, including Israel and Korea. The book uses photos and drawings to elaborate on various techniques and scenarios. One thing that is noticeable is the similarity that appears in many of the combinations that are trained in. Different attacks are dealt with in many similar ways, in order to attain high degrees of proficiency in the shorter amount of time that combat soldiers have available for training. I thought that this book was very insightful and informative, although some of the general MA information that was presented was a bit generalized, and in some cases, I felt, a bit off (Boddiharma makes an appearance in the book early on). Overall, I think it is a good book, giving a unique look to the Combat Arts of the military.

I think that he has an interest in cooking as well. A regular Renaissance man.

It really depends on the school. I have seen many Karate schools that seem to average around 4 years. I have seen some TKD schools that average a bit over 2 years. BJJ schools average around 10 years. Boxing, Wrestling, and Muay Thai do not have rank, so it is not an issue with schools such as those.

I think that it looks pretty good. Kind of like The Karate Kid fight against the odds storyline, only in a more raw format (which I don't mind at all). Looks like there will be some style in there as well, which will make for good movie fights. Thanks for the vid, NightOwl! Hehe, you and I were thinking the same thing, DWx! I didn't read your post before I replied, but we are seeing some of the same things! Cool!

Welcome aboard! Ed has some good advise on cross-training. Let it sink in, and things will come to you in time.

Congrats to you! Keep up the good work.

The sine wave continues to be a curiosity, I think. I practice the same system of forms that Gen. Choi designed, but without the sine wave. I think that the sine wave, done properly, is supposed to facilitate what is basically a "body drop" or "gravity drop" upon completion of the technique. The body drop uses gravity to drive more power into the finish of the technique. As you can see, from watching various videos of ITF forms competitions, and the one of Gen. Choi that DWx has displayed here, you can see that it appears that many exaggerate the motion too much, thus making it a detriment to power, combinations, speed, rythm, and timing. Even Gen. Choi's explanation is a bit confusing, and very brief, with only a few examples that he demonstrates. As for what you mention about the Karate Katas, ps1, I have seen something much related to this. In reading Nakayama's Best Karate series, I think book 2, Fundamentals, distinctly shows what looks kind of like a sine wave motion of moving the body for a lunge punch, and describes it as incorrect. However, this is to be expected, as I feel that the introduction of the sine wave was soley that of Gen. Choi, being a distinction he was trying to make between Karate and Taekwondo. Now, allow me to get more long-winded, if you don't mind. I will not totally discount the usefulness of the sine wave. However, I don't fully endorse its use, either. Many times when I watch ITF forms videos, they just seem to lack power and fluidity, because of the sine wave. Again, I believe that most of this is due to the fact that the sine wave may not be taught properly. I think that it is more likely suppose to be a much more subtle nuance of movements. Again, since I have not much experience with the sine wave, I could be way wrong. However, since it seems to be such an enigma, I choose not to work with it too much, because that would be a disservice to whoever I would teach it to.

It has been my experience that when there is less contact warranted in the set-up, the hand position becomes "freer" so to speak. You see hands down, as opposed to up to protect the face, like the Boxer's stance does. Some of it may have to do with personal style as well, and we may see a few fighters who can hold a more unorthodox hand position and still fight well. Muhammed Ali was known to keep his lead hand down, and jab from there, because of his incredible speed. I don't know if the gloves would have anything to do with this choice, or not.

Good words, Cross. Well put into context.