bushido_man96

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.

I have mentioned this before, but this is one arguement that styles like Muay Thai, Boxing, and Wrestling don't have to worry about.

The European Knight had much training in the single sword as well. There is a plethora of work available on the European Long Sword. You are right, however, that the shield was a valuable defensive (and offensive) tool as well. The Samurai also spent much time with the spear, and at a time the spear was considered the more popular and dominant weapon. Gosh, it is good to see this thread reserected!

This would be a nice solution, but not everyone can teach out of their homes. Aside from that, not everyone wants to teach out of thier homes. So, the only other option is to have a seperate place. It is all a part of the cost of living, and the cost of doing business. I am not so sure that you can get state funds to keep an MA business going. I don't know how the not-for-profit stuff works, or if you could get an MA club to fall under that category. In the end, there are a lot of things we could complain about when it comes to the prices we pay for them. To state that it is unfair for an instructor to charge such-and-such a price, and to condemn them for it is not the proper solution. That is one thing that is nice about capitalism; if you don't like something, you can go to another source and usually get it. I know that some things are harder to find in some areas than in others, but that is the nature of the beast. The cost of training could be lumped into one more of the sacrifices that has to be made in order to make the Martial Arts a part of our lives. As I said before, however, I do not condone the watering down of materials for the purpose of making money. The main idea is to instill your ideas and philosophies into your students when they begin asking questions about starting, and let them know how you work. Hard work, preparation, and being prepared for testings are important to you; and tell them that. If that is how they start out, and they see the standards, then they expect it in the future. If they don't, then they won't stick around anyway.

We took our 2 year old out. He was dressed as a little swashbuckler...but without the sword. He is too destructive for that yet! It was a fun time, though, and there is always enough candy left for me to have some.

Are you referring to the modified billy clubs that aren't really tonfa, but resemble them? If not, I'll just add that piece in as well. I think he talking more about a PR-54 or something like that.

In my experience, the main money making aspect of teaching Martial Arts classes is through monthy tuition payments; not so much from testing payments. At our school, students don't test if they are not ready. Other schools can do this, too. Most students (adults, anyways) that sign up for a school are looking to improve themselves physically, and some mentally and spritually. They realize that they do this by working hard, and testing when they are ready. Not because the cycle has ended. Sometimes, when it appears that someone is getting bummed out about their lack of movement in ranks, you just have to have a talk with them, and tell them the reason, and what really is important, even if they don't realize it yet.

That is a pretty good summation, Budo Tiger.

Congrats, dete!

Welcome to KF!