bushido_man96

It may sound like a harsh thing that Serra did, but if he doesn't want him to teach at his school anymore, than I would have to agree with him. Serra obviously has some goals for his students, and has some ideals behind them (don't quit, never give up, persever, etc.). Of course, not everyone will be that way, either. It is a choice that each of us would make differently. Who knows? Perhaps Serra will eventually change his mind, too.

I agree 100%, YoungMan. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

You might teach them a little bit about positioning in the ring so that they can make their points seen by the refs. This will ensure that as many refs as possible will see them scoring points. Teach them to work the ring as well. Try to corner an opponent, or even work them out of the ring, and to stay on them until the judges call break. It is also good to have some bread-and-butter moves, the moves that each has that are their "speciality." They don't have to be fancy, but just something that they can fall back on. Once they have that move, if they have one, then teach them to build strategies off of them, too.

11-19-07 Chest/triceps Dumbell bench: 70x8, 75x6, 80x4 Dumbell bench flies: 30x10, 35x10, 40x10 Cable crossovers: 3x10x50 lbs. Triceps push-down: 90x10, 105x8, 8 Overhead triceps extension: 90x10, 105x8, 6 Dips: 7, 7, 6 Abs Roman chair crunches: 3x20 Side raises: 3x20x35 lbs. Decline plyometric crunches: 10x22 lbs. Forearms Gripper: 3x12x30 lbs. Wrist curls: 3x15x25 lbs. Defensive Tactics: 10:00 - 11:15. Today was a fun day! A few other police officers showed up to work out with our regular group, and we worked on the hammer lock, applying it to takedowns and cuffing, worked passive-resistance, and finished up with various takedowns. It was a great time. However, while goofing around, do something totally stupid, I managed to re-pull my hamstring muscle, setting back yet another week.

Short bursts is what I prefer as well. I don't do it now, though. Too tough on the knees.

Congratulations! Keep up the hard work!

My brother and I decided to have a sparring match once where we used our TKD rules (which included hand contact to the head), but also allowed takedowns and throws, however we could pull them off. I pretty much had my way with him striking, although he did get some good shots on me. Where he dominated was in the throwing and takedown department. He had some Wrestling experience in high school, and he was much heavier than me. The problem I had was that when I got in close with my strikes, if he could defend a few of them, he could get a hold of me and basically throw me across the room. It was a good time, for sure, and showed me some of my weaknesses.

There is some interesting stuff there. I like the training with the partners on the backs. Good stuff.

I don't think Lee stated that he himself created Mixed Martial Arts. However, he was a proponent it, and there were many of his time that were not. There was a man named Edward William Barton-Wright who was doing things much like Bruce Lee was about a century earlier in England. So he wasn't the first, but he was successful doing it.

I don't think that you should have to ask to cross train. After all, the Martial Arts journey is your journey; not anyone elses. Now, if you start training in Judo, and your instructor finds out, then he may get upset, and tell you that you have to do either one or the other. Then, it will be your call. Hopefully, he won't do this, and will encourage your cross training. However, there are some instructors who don't like it at all. I wrote an article on this subject a while back: Martial Arts "Monogamy". The article kind of lays out what can happen when you decide to cross train. It is not the only thing that can happen, but I have seen this before.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. Some time around 1604, an English gentleman by the name of George Silver wrote the second of two books, entitled Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defence. This book, along with other Silver works, are discussed in the Stephen Hand book, English Swordsmanship and the Paul Wagner book, Master of Defense. In Silver’s book, he describes what he calls the “ancient” system of English swordsmanship (Hand, pg. 1). In describing this system, he begins with the Four Grounds, or Principles, of what Silver described as the “True Fight.” The Four Grounds are listed in this order: 1. Judgment 2. Distance 3. Time 4. Place I believe that although these grounds are used to define a system of weapons combat, they also offer benefits to the unarmed fighter. Though the fighter will not be wielding a weapon, the fighter can still wield the concepts behind the Four Grounds of the “ancient” system of English swordsmanship. Judgment Many martial artists, even many untrained individuals, would agree that judgment is a critical aspect of any engagement. Judging the situation reveals many things to us: the size of an opponent; any weapons they may possess; the layout of the terrain. By keeping such things in mind, we can judge whether or not we are in the opponent’s range of attack or if we are within range to attack the opponent ourselves. We can also use our judgment to determine the opponent’s mental state; i.e., if he is calm, angry or scared. Does he appear aggressive or passive? All of this information and more can be gathered if we use our judgment to the best of our ability. By using our judgment, we can attempt to put ourselves at the proper distance necessary to attack or defend. Distance Distance is a critical element in any attempt to attack or defend. By controlling our distance (by using our judgment), we either keep ourselves safe from attack, or put ourselves in position to initiate an attack or set up a defensive posture. We must constantly be aware of our distance in relation to our opponent and be ready to make adjustments based on the opponent’s action or reaction or based on our desired action. By maintaining an advantageous distance, we can “take our time” or “make an appropriately timed action.” (Hand, pg. 9). Time By using our judgment to monitor our distance, we can time our action appropriately. Our action can take the form of an attack or a defense and can be partially dictated by whatever action our opponent has taken. Many would see our action as an attack. However, perhaps our opponent has in some way overextended himself, allowing us to take our time (make an action) by placing ourselves in an ideally superior position. This is known in Silver’s system of swordsmanship as “winning the place.” (Wagner, pg. 121). Place The place, simply put, is a position from which to strike the opponent. Ideally, the place from which we deliver our strike is a position from which we are superior to our foe’s position. We can attack and the opponent is in a disadvantageous position from which to defend himself or strike us back before our strike does its damage. This is referred to as “gaining the true place.” (Hand, pg. 9). Although this may sound like a perfect scenario that would never exist in actual fighting, this is not necessarily the case. Although we are very likely to be struck in return in a fight, the concept of gaining the place is one where we continually strive to hold advantage over our opponent, by allowing him to play into our strategy, where we can attack and defend on our own terms. The place can be gained in many different ways. Examples include creating angles of attack on the opponent or by making the opponent commit to an attack by feinting or drawing them off. To sum up the basis of the Four Grounds in the system of swordsmanship that Silver wrote about, I feel that Silver himself clarifies it the best: “... knowing judgment, you keep your distance, through distance you take your time, through time you safely win or gain the place of your adversary...” (Wagner, pg. 263). Although this may seem like a long, drawn out process, the Four Grounds are actually observed and registered quickly, given a proper amount of time is spent in training these elements. In all actuality, I truly believe that many martial artists already observe the Four Grounds in most of their engagements. I think that many of us can relate to both sides of the issue; not only during the times when we feel elated because our planned attack or counter played out perfectly, but also during those times when we overextended ourselves, only to realize our mistake after we have been struck. Even though the system that George Silver lays out in his books is based off of an “Olde English” system of swordsmanship, the system still has much to offer those who would engage in weaponless combat as well.

I'm a bit old school: I like George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Rodney Dangerfield, Damon Wayans. I don't think I'll post much of that here, though.

That looks like a great time. Our school runs a Litttle Lions program, and the kids have a great time with it. Welcome aboard!

I have never enjoyed working with Wrestlers. I just have no knack for it. However, knowing what I know now, I would have stuck with Wrestling throughout my high school years.

I am quite fortunate. I am also fortunate enough not to take them for granted. You are wise, indeed, ps1.

I saw the Cambodian Bloodsport episode this weekend. I rather enjoyed it. There were lots of similarities with the Muay Thai episode, but the styles had their share of differences as well. Interesting, nonetheless.

I learned the equivalent of the "crane kick" as a yellow belt in the ATA!

I hope you get better soon, Kerry. I have a hamstring issue that is putting the hurt on me and my training. Tough it out, and you'll be back in no time.

It would be nice, but not everyone can afford to do it.

It isn't that they aren't allowed to punch, its just that punches don't ever score, so they don't waste the energy to do them.

Abernethy has some very original ideas for this technique. Definitely something to look at.

I haven't had much experience fighting anyone of a different style. We just don't have much around here, and I don't get to a lot of tournaments. I think that the TKDers that Marie refers to tend to be more like the Olympic stylists. I keep my hands up to protect myself, and I like to get in close and punch. It will really depend on how the person likes to fight.

That is very cool. Congrats to Pedro Sauer. I am envious of your experiences, ps1!

Congrats to all, and thanks to all.

I always thought that this was more of a chicken beak strike. Chicken beak was a downward motion with the fingers. Chicken wrist was an upward motion with the wrist. Ah, ok. I get ya now. We call the upward motion an ox-jaw strike.