bushido_man96

Good job! It appears that the minor adjustments helped out quite a bit.

In the videos, it didn't look like that there was a lot of striking going on. With the head gear on, I would think that they would try to strike more. I also saw opportunities where some knee strikes could have been used, but weren't. Is this just a result of the lack of protective equipment?

That's where I met my wife! However, when my wife and I started dating, it took the instructor about 2 weeks to figure it out, and he didn't figure it out in class. He saw us at the local bowling alley together one night, and that is how he found out. I think you are right, and the sensei should have probably mentioned something to the couple about their demeaner while at class. Seriously? That's really awesome! I hope my girlfriend does my martial arts... Yep!

Ah, yes, another 0-2 start. Things don't look great so far. I am not sure LJ has rushed for 100 yards combined in the last two games. The O-line needs lots of work, and the turnovers killed us. At least next week is at home in Arrowhead... Brodie Croyle did make an appearance, and was ok. He can throw the ball, that is for sure. We'll see if he has to play next week or not.

Yeah, you are right, gzk. You have to pick your spots, and take the opportunities when they arise. Really, they are just like any other technique; you have to set it up; but head kicks are just tougher to work in.

Thanks for the info, ps1. That is quite intriguing. After I get tested for my next rank, I could look into something like this. If I could generate enough interest in my school, perhaps I could get the cost covered. I didn't know that those instructors were interested in doing that. There is an NCAA Division II college here in town that I attended for quite some time, and they have a good Wrestling program. I have been tempted to inquire about some kind of training with the team or something. Conveniently, the coach lives just 2 houses over from me.

This book was interesting. There weren't a lot of pics in the book to go along with what was explained, but if you happen to have some experience with knife combatives, then I think it would be easier to extrapolate some. However, this book was informative, with interesting historical insights on the use of the dirk in Gaelic society. The information in this book is taken from a text written in the 1800s and one written in the late 1700s, and also some foot work taken from a Scottish dirk dance that has been passed to a few people. The work describes different guards for the holding the dirk, along with the various angles of attack employed. Holds and throws are discussed and illustrated to a point. Most of the text is dedicated to unarmed vs. dirk combat, as this was the most common situation to be found in. Many of the ideas expressed in this book are similar to those found in the book Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Combat, written by Jason Vail. The "cover" is discussed in both texts. Although Vail's book doesn't cover guards, the starting positions for his strikes echo the guards shown in Thompson's text. One significant difference between the texts is that Thompson covers stabs and slashing, whereas Vail only covers stabbing. Overall, a good book, but I would like to see more. Perhaps that is just because of my lack of knowledge on the subject, though. This book is takes a look at the history of the art of Krabi-Krabong, along with its cultural aspects. It starts with a little bit of Thai history, and how the art came about to what it is, and a little about how the sport of Thai boxing came to be today. The author then goes into the various weapons that are trained in the art. One thing that I like to see is the use of the shield, and how the shields are described as weapons, as opposed to just being assumed to be defensive. In the study of Medieval Combat, I have seen the shield spoken of as a weapon itself, as well. Basics and footwork are discussed, and then a section demonstrating some techniques is shown. It also discusses the usage of Muay Thai Boran within the art, but doesn't detail much on technique. Sections on social conduct of a stylist fill out the book. There is one section in which there are details on the discussion of magic in Krabi-Krabong, or in the history of it, and it makes me lift an eyebrow when I read it. Overall, the book is very informative, and a good read.

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Ken Shamrock comes to mind. It cost him a fight, too.

This is not really the case. Lets say you get into a fight. If you defend yourself successfully, and the cops show up, and you are not the aggressor, and have witness to prove it, then you should be ok. However, if you defend yourself, take the guy down, get on top, and then begin to slug away at him on his back, then when the cops show up, you look like the aggressor. Then problems arise.

I think that after something like this, I might look around for a different school. If things are getting politcal, then time to move on.

If you lower the weight fast or let it drop, then you aren't working any of the muslce fibers in the negative part of the lift, and your muscles don't get worked in the full range of motion. It would be like doing push-ups, but just doing the up part, and then dropping back to the floor. I have talked with a few weight trainer and active lifters, and they have told me this as well. As for exact information, you would have to look it up on the web to find it.

Motivation is different for everyone. Sometime, I like to visualize people I don't like attempting to attack me or my family, but I usually do this when I am already training, to push myself a bit harder. Sometimes goal setting can help with motivation. Perhaps this is an approach you could take.

Switching schools may be better for you than you think. Don't think of it as starting over. Just learning something different on the same subject.

You could also look into an elliptical machine. They are low impact on the knees, and give you a better workout, I think.

I think that this happened a lot when the Korean masters were trying to "make" a history for TKD and other styles. There just isn't much out there to link it to.

I don't think it has anything to do with being popular but everything to do with being effective. All any striker had to do was watch UFC 1 to realize this. Some TKD guys looked at this and said, "Hey, we have a great systme for striking and kicking. But look what happens if we get taken down by a good wrestler. We need to do something about this." So, they decided to intergrate some ground fighting into the system. I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to get better.

When it comes to material, I just work on what I need to know for the upcoming testing, and then worry about new material for the next belt. Less confusion that way.

I would disagree here. I think that you can take something from each. I also wonder how much different a TKD punch and a Karate punch would be. Maybe one chambers at the hip, and the other at the rib, but in the end, you do the same punch. As for the kicks, there may be different chamber positions, but the leg will still go out and back; you just might start it differently. In the end, I think you still have the same basic component parts.

That does help. It makes think of what I have heard called a "snapping" kick as opposed to a "thrusting" kick. Would that be a good analogy? I also understand what you are saying about the importance of the chamber position when kicking. Most of the kicks we do have the chamber position, except for the spinning heel kicks, and some people choose to do the crescent kicks straight legged. I prefer to chamber them, however.

Thanks for the videos. That looks like a crazy kind of choke!

Very nice. Maybe I can get some help there from time to time. My grappling really stinks, and needs some serious work.

That sounds like a great training opportunity. That is great. We don't get many opportunities like that through my area.

Accomplishing this is just so hard to do in general. You can get a little bit of it by using yelling in your training, grabbing and pushing someone around, and some other little things you can do here and there to "liven" things up a bit. A friend of mine and I work with Hock's system, and he really likes it. I am beginning to like it as well. One of the main themes behind the RBSD systems is keeping everything as simple as possible. Not a lot of complex moves, but lots of gross-motor movements and the like. That is why they can get people to go for a 4 hour seminar once every 4 or 6 months, and then come back and work off what they had before. Now, it doesn't always work this way, but for the most part, it is the aim. Now, what you say about the MMA gym training I also tend to agree with. Being able to fight like that will give you a distinct advantage in self-defense, too.

That would be a great idea. With the set-up you described, it would probably be a good opportunity for you and your school. You would also show something else to the people watching, something that might make more sense to them. Challenge them to a duel? If he did that, he would have to join their organization first.