bushido_man96

Spectacular! Very, very nice! That is some cool stuff. His leg strength must be amazing. One thing I did notice, though. It is all with his right leg. I didn't see one thing done with his left leg...other than stand on it. Still impressive.

You could do the seated stretches where one leg is tucked into your groin, and the other stretched in front (reverse hurdler, I guess is what it is called). Even if you can only stretch one leg that way, stretch it. Also do this standing with your leg on a support, like a standing front kick or side kick stretch. Here is one you may be able to do. Instead of doing straight leg splits, kneel on the floor, and do the splits from your knees. Just like the splits, stretch as far as you can get your legs apart. Then, lower your body to the floor, and push yourself back into your legs, like a frog stretch. That should help you out somewhat.

Ah, this is a very good idea. I didn't think about that. I would follow this logic.

i appreciate the advice JWL & Bushido (surprisingly enough, i never thought to look at the differences in fabric blends). As for the have more than 1 gi..... I have a closet in my attic that holds easily over 20 of my old gi's. I usually buy 2 or 3 at a time, which is costing me a damn fortune! Wow! I only have on uniform right now, and I just wash and dry it after every class. Soon, however, I will have two uniforms!

The book that I have is written by Chun Sik Kim, and includes the Kicho forms, Pyong Ahn forms, Pal Che forms, Keemah Hyungs, and then some others that I believe are the Black Belt forms. Do any of those ring a bell? Or is it a different set?

The sine wave is the main thing. We also link our moves together into combinations a lot more, as opposed to doing what appeared to be a bunch of individual techniques. It doesn't take me near that long to get through that form. Also, our two-handed techniques, like the twin upset punches and the twin head punches, come from the ribs, as opposed to the large circular motions that he made. I'll have to check out some of his other videos.

You are welcome! Enjoy!

Reading this section makes me ask what your goals are exactly for your training? I imagine, from what you describe, that you have that figured out. I am just wondering, for the sake of curiosity.

Awesome, awesome, awesome article! I love looking into the Western Martial Arts, and I believe that they have so much to offer. Your information on the Bare Knuckle Boxing is intriquing. I would love to be able to learn more about it. Thanks for that article!

Yeah, I don't care for that prevent defense at all. It prevents you from winning.

10-18-07 Traditional Class: 6:00 - 7:00. My shoulders really felt it tonight when doing the hand techniques during basics. You know, I don't know why they get called "hand" techniques anyway. I mean, they work your whole arm; they should be called "arm" techniques. Anyway, onwards and upwards. Class was going along well, I guess, and then, during one-steps, I think I got a little extra on a spin crescent kick, and it pulled my right leg muscles a bit. Nothing too bad; I was able to continue, but I felt it. At the end of class, instead of sparring we finished with some partner drills: 1 technique back and forth, then 2 back and forth, then 3 back and forth. We did each in a series of rounds, which must have been around 45 seconds to 1 minute long.

Technique is a key factor in kicking well. You also need to 1) stretch, and 2) build your leg strength. It is one thing to be flexible, and another to be strong enough to hold your leg up when trying to kick high. Make sure you get good and warmed up, and then do stretching exercises. You will want to do side splits, front splits, straight leg stretches, butterfly, and any other stretches that can work your quads and hams. After a good class, when the muscles are good and warm, is a good time to stretch. Then, you need to spend time on your leg strength. You can do this by lifting weights and supplementing some other leg exercises. Start by using the wall or a chair for balance, and do simple side kicks. But do them slowly, 5 seconds out, 5 second hold, and 5 seconds back. Do 3 to 5 on each leg, until you get stronger, then add more. You can also do an exercise where you extend your slow side kick, hold it out there, about waist or chest level, and then begin pulsing your leg up and down, about 4 inches either way, so you are making the muscles along the side of your leg lift your leg up, doing small reps. Do around 10 at a time, then do the other leg, and alternate 3 times. You can also do slow round and front kicks to build strength in those areas as well. I hope these help. Ask your instructor for some good stretching exercises, and get a steady diet of these routines, about 3 times a week, and you will begin to see improvement. Good luck!

If you are looking for the physical challenges of the arts, I think that the Shaolin Kempo may offer more along those lines. The jujistu will be more along the lines of self-defense, but I think the Kempo aspect should give you more of a challenge. As for the Hapkido, in my exprience, it isn't quite as physically demanding as other styles, but you may want to check it out, just to see what it has to offer. There are some Hapkido styles that do some quite extensive kicking. Otherwise, I think that the Hapkido and Jujitsu would be very similar in the joint locking techniques that they offer. Finally, if you have not already done so, I would recommend going to each of the schools that are available to you, and watch a class of each, and then see if you can sit down and ask each of the instructors your questions that you have stated here. We can offer lots of advise, but without actually seeing what each has to offer, all we can do is speculate. Welcome to the Forums!

Thanks for the link, DWx. He does the form a LOT differently than we do it in our school, but I think I can take something away from that. I noticed that he finished the crescent kick with his body to the front, and then pivoted to the side to do the side kick. I may have to try that approach, as I was bringing my body all the way to the side with the crescent, and then doing the side kick. Thanks again!

I am not the fastest person around, so I have trouble setting it up. I can use it for a counter, but my countering isn't the greatest, either. So, I would use it without the quick, short steps, and do the full kicking motion, get the full rotation out of it, and just bury it into someones blocking arms or trunk. I am more of a block-and-counter fighter than a counter-fighter.

How did this go for you?

I believe the korean version of Judo is Yudo. Someone please correct me, if I am wrong. This is what I was aware of as well. However, I do think that Yudo is a rather recent rendition. After reading the Wikipedia information, apparently Chun, Sang Sup, the style's starter, studied Judo in Japan, along with Shotokan Karate. It looks like the link to both styles is legit.

I am sorry to hear about your friends' fathers. That is a rough deal. Best wishes to them.

Anytime! You are most welcome.

The more cotton in the gi, the more likely it is to shrink. Look at the material composition of the uniforms when ordering them; it should be available on the sites you look at.

Training at the Kodokan, eh? That would be really cool! Have fun!

This book was an overview of some history of the samurai, contain excerpts from books such as A Book of Five Rings, Hagakure, and Code of the Samurai. It is full of anecdotal stories and stories of samurai exploits, mixed with the excerpts from the above titles, and lots of Japanese artwork randomly spalshed in. The book is ok, and has a few interesting points, with a timeline of samurai events paralleled by other events in history, the method of putting on armor by the samurai being illustrated, and a few other novelties. I bought the book on the bargain rack, and I don't think I would have paid much more than that for it.

Is it a required combination? If not, just change it up.

Having many judges like this can be fairly typical. It is also typical that these judges will each discuss the scores on their sheets, and explain why they feel the way that they do. It would be likely that any differences in philosophy and criteria would be discussed and taken into account when scoring the testers. Your daughter will be able to develop power, and she can do this by working on her speed and technique. If the technique is already there, then as the speed comes along, her power will increase. With time, it should improve. If you are concerned that she will continue to fail tests because of this, then put off her next testing until you feel that she has developed enough to overcome this problem. She doesn't have to test everytime there is one scheduled. Let her take the extra time to build her strength, and work on all aspects of her curriculum. With the way that many schools seem to push students through the ranks these days, it is actually quite refreshing to see a school that will seriously evaluate testings, and hold their students to a higher standard. Don't lose heart, and don't take failing as an insult. It is an opportunity evaluate and improve. I hope this helps. Welcome to the Forums!

I have been working on the section with the waving kicks that correspond with the outside/inside blocks from the support-hand position, and the section where I do the inside crescent kicks, slapping the hand, and then going directly into the side kick without setting the foot down. For this second section, I am working on getting my leg around from the crescent, and keeping the knee high for the side kick. I am also working on the pivot to get into position. I don't feel like I am getting good extension on the crescent kicks, either.