bushido_man96

It sounds to me like you are losing the mental battle with yourself about going to class. Many people are mentally worn out after a tough day. It is the few of us that are able to pull a little bit more together to get to a few hours of MA training. Your body hurts, and that makes it easy for you mind to make an excuse not to go. You need to get past this, and just make yourself go to class. After you do it, you will feel so much better about going. You will feel some energy, and you will get a good night's rest, too. Ignore your mind, and go to class.

Ah, yes, I remember these days! In our black belt classes, we would do that all of the time. However, instead of sitting down, the lower dan grades would repeat other forms while the higher dan grades did their forms! So, we got no rest. My legs would be sore for a few days afterwards. As for not getting tired, you would have to condition yourself on a regular basis. I think that the point of it, though, is to give each form all that you have, and keep digging deeper and pushing harder to make the next form you do look just as good as the one before.

I would think that they would be about the same, and you could do either Art with either gi. Not sure, but I would think so.

Very nice! It looks like a complex move to make work, though. Good work!

I don't agree. I think that some places put more emphasis on things like conditioning, which may make it tougher training. However, to say that one can learn more in "school" as opposed to a "gym" is a misconception that many have about what most would call more "sport related" styles. I think that one can learn as much in a Wrestling gym about how their body works, and how to perform moves as they can in, say, a Shotokan school.

Was the movie with Dolph a Thundarr or He-Man movie?

It does look interesting. Some very beautiful backdrops there.

At my school, we are fortunate enough to have our TKD room closed off, but with at big screen in the lobby area that parents can sit and watch the class in. We have a camera in the TKD room that feeds in the class to the big projection screen. We also have a play room that kids can hang out in as well. When it comes to kids doing this, you may want to hang some small signs in the sitting area that states "Quiet Please" or "Stay Seated While Class is in Session" or the like. In the end, you may have to talk with her after a class, and let her know that her children are disrupting the class.

11-6-07 Combat Hapkido: 11:15 - 1:00. We worked on Blue Belt material today. A good workout. It is nice to get an extra day of work on this. Back/shouders/biceps Assisted pull-ups: plate 10x10, 9x8, 8x6 Back hyperextensions: 3x12 Dumbell shoulder press: 40x10, 45x8, 50x6 Barbell curl: 75x10, 80x8, 85x6 Legs Physio ball curls: 3x10 Hip adduction: 3x10x115 lbs. Hip abduction: 3x10x115 lbs. Hip flexion: 3x10x85 lbs. Hip extension: 3x10x145 lbs. Abs Physio ball crunches: 3x15 Taught Kids Class: 4:00 - 5:00. Today, at the side kicks portion of basics, I noticed that the kids did a very good job of chambering their kicking legs tight and doing good side kicks, and not shortening them and making them look like round kicks. It made me feel good to see the results of my continued nagging at them. Throughout the basics, I held a traget pad in my hand for the kids to make contact with, just to spice things up a bit. Everyone loves to hit the pads, right? For the side kicks, I held a kicking shield, and lined them up to get some reps on it as well. I find that I have to constantly remind the students not to change their techniques just becasue they have a target in front of them to hit. The techniques should be executed the same way, with the same power.

It sounds great, Scott. You may have found the right place for you.

What is the "monkey block?" I have seen 3rd degree form performed quite a bit, but not for a while. I don't remember seeing anything too out of the ordinary, though. Do you think that GM Lee had any experience with Kung Fu?

hmmm, maybe because when I went to a boxing gym, it was a long time ago and things were more hardcore back then, also maybe cause I went to a pro-gym? the workout was REALLY hard and I thought I was in shape. I couldn't lift my arms after the 1st day. And I got challenged as well, the head coach who is a "name" was willing to let it go, even though I had no prior boxing experience. I think he wanted to see what I was made of. oh well those were the days That may have been just the way that particular gym was. Especially being a pro-gym, it may have been a bit rougher. I am sure that there are some MA schools out there like that as well.

There are a lot of things that you could say this about. The thing is, though, if someone wants to charge that much, then it is there business. Believe me, I know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck, so I don't like having to pay for MA lessons. However, it enjoy it, so I make sure I can afford to do it. If someone wants to spend years of their life devoted to learning a Martial Art, and doing it well, then I leave it up to them to decide how much they think their time and energy is worth when it comes to them teaching what they know.

I think that the HOFs that are out there are mostly a political-based award. The only HOF that I really know of is the Black Belt Hall of Fame, and I take those inductions with a grain of salt. Each organization may have its own HOF as well, so it is hard to tell. I am sure that there are some instructors and black belts out there that work very hard, and then get noticed in this way. I am sure that some deserve it. It is just hard to sort through it all at times.

11-5-07 Chest/triceps 1-arm dumbell bench press: 3x8x50 lbs. 8 reps each arm. Vertical butterfly: 100x10, 115x8, 130x6 Cable crossovers: 50x10, 50x10, 60x6 Triceps push-down: 90x10, 105x8, 105x8 Overhead triceps extension: 90x10, 105x8, 6 Dips: 6, 5, 5 Legs Lunges: 3x10x30 Calf raises: 3x10x160 lbs. Forearms Gripper: 3x12x30 lbs. Wrist curls: 3x20x20 lbs. Abs Roman chair crunches: 3x20 Side raises: 3x20x30 lbs. Solo workout: 9:25 - 10:25. I warmed up with Do-gans 1 and 2, did Choong Jung Poomsae 1 and 2, and then stretched out. After stretching, I dove into Yoo Sin hyung. I slowed down the first half of the form, working on getting some hip movement into my hand techniques for power. I am getting better with the target-strike crescent kicks followed by the side kicks, but they still don't feel great. Combat Hapkido: 10:30 - 11:30. We worked on defenses against punches, and different applications for them, along with some different side wrist grabs and the like. Traditional TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00. I worked on getting my hip motion into some of my basic techniques. I think it went ok. When we got to forms, I told myself that I was going to slow it down a bit, and especially take some extra time on the target-crescent kick to side kick spots. The instructor noticed that I kind of slowed there a bit, and he said that I am doing it well, and just need to give it a bit more time. He said it is coming together well. So, I guess I am my biggest critic. Aren't we all? After forms, we did one-steps, and then spent the last 15 minutes of class working on advanced one-steps, which was kind of fun to do. Then, after class, me and a few others got into talking about different kinds of variations for the advanced one-steps. A good time, all-around.

loved Thundarr http://youtube.com/watch?v=1kIIc4tvtF0 Never saw that until now. Interesting. I think He-Man was better.

I wouldn't worry too much about that yet, Scott. In the beginning, you will most likely do more kata than sparring, just until you get some of the basics down. Then, when your instructor feels that you are ready, you will probably begin sparring.Don't judge to soon, though. It may end up being what you want.

Yeah, you may be right, PR-24. There may be some that are longer, but I am not sure. In my area, everyone carrys the ASP.

That sounds like a good time! Man, I am so jealous of all the ground fighters!

Cool! If you can post some basic types of drills you would do with a beginner, I would like that. Maybe some guard passes and sweeps?

Chuck Norris movies, along with my dad, got me interested. I still remember watching Lone Wolf McQade as a kid.

11-3-07 Firearms training: 12:00 - 2:30. I went home to visit my folks and brothers, and we went to the PD range their and shot for quite a while. I shot mainly a GLOC, but also a .357 Magnum. My dad is a Rangemaster with the Highway Patrol here, and was able to work with us on some basic stuff. I had a great time.

This is coming from my personal experience, but if it were me, fighting me, I would just take me down and attempt to mount the beatdown. I don't ground fight well, and a simple takedown can take away a good striker's abilities. Once you take them down, and can maintain some form of control over them, that should be a huge advantage to you.

I don't really agree with you here. If someone starts out Boxing, from no prior experience, they probably aren't going to spend much time doing anything other than drilling on bags, pads, etc. They won't get much into sparring early on, and if they do, it won't be heavy. They won't be thrown to the wolves, so to speak. They will also spend time working on conditioning. In the end, I think that Boxing would have a lot to offer a "couch potato." The weapons work at the beginning looked like what I expected. The hand techniques did look something like boxing, but they looked to incorporate some of the trapping and slipping drills that are involved in FMA as well.

Five square feet? Where do you work, Bushido, in a guard booth? Aircraft cockpit? That is not much room, my friend. Hard to do TKD. I agree. I work in the County Jail here. When the crap hits the fan, it is usually in a pretty restricted space. Maybe 5 foot square is a bit conservative of an estimate on my part, but I don't count the space above me. Our hallways may be 5 foot wide. Most cells, with the bed laying there and the sink/toliet, etc, end up cutting out a lot of space to move and dance in. Not much room for kicking, for sure, except for good low kicks. From there, it is all pretty much hands on.