bushido_man96

9-20-07 Traditional Class: 6:00 - 7:00. Tonight, we had several newer students in the class, so the pace of the basics was a bit toned down so that they could follow along. However, I did manage to get some good work in, doing my techniques fast, and focusing on the footwork speed. The instructor spent a lot of time explaining things, so we spent a lot of time in stances while he was talking. Good for the legs.

That sounds great, NightOwl. Have fun in your Judo classes.

That's the whole design of the class and that test though. You don't advance unless you can handle a gang in a street fight. It is kind of strange, because I don't think the gang in the testing was really acting like a gang would in a bar, or on the street. It is good to get some kind of a pressure test like that, though. However, if I was getting attacked by a gang like that, I would be throwing some punches along with trying whatever else the teacher wanted me to. Correct. Thanks, bearich. I thought I remembered that somewhere before.

My command of the Japanese language is pretty much nil, so I can't say. We use English for the most part in class. We call it body shifting, or "Change of Body"...we use it a lot, and stress it as highly important. Thanks, that sounds abouut right, from what I have read and picked up here and there. I am not very high on the foreign language usage either, so I ask often, just to clarify. "Body Shifting" works for me!

If you can follow him, and would like to because of the way he teaches or the experiences you have in his classes, then I think that is the way to go. It sounds to me like they are trying to break away from some political issues. This happens often in the Martial Arts, so don't be too shocked by it. When something of this nature occurs, you have to follow your heart.

I have never had an instructor leave to start another school. However, I have had some leave to pursue other endeavors, such as careers, etc., so I voted no.

The videos show Tae Kyon, but I don't see much info on the fact that it is the thousand years old Traditional Korean art. They state that one master carried it down, but from what lineage? The first video just stated one name, but not one from previous. The only reason that I question it is because of the fact that the Koreans have a history of propogating a history of these in reality newly founded arts, in order to attempt to segregate themselves from any connection with the Japanese.

Dude.... ...there are times when you gotta let it go!

Just watch out for when he starts to pick up on more technique, and doesn't use his brawn as much. Then, he may become a handful again, and you both will begin re-learning each other.

I have heard that most BJJ gyms are like this. Personally, I think this kind of relaxed setting would be a nice change.

This is called Tai Sabaki, or something of the like, in Karate circles, right?

For a big man he is so quick. I think he is, like, 6'6", or something. Now, he is quite a bit bulkier, too. I was impressed by the weapons stuff. However, the weaponless randori did not impress me as much. The main thing is from the lack of more offensive attacks, like getting punched, as opposed to being run at with hands forward. Overall, though, I think Segal is the real deal, and I don't think I would try to punch him!

Well put, YoungMan. It is good to know where you came from so that you can see where you are going. I agree that things can always get better.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Karate has a lot of good, although general information on Karate. Funakoshi's book is a good read as well. It tends to deal more with his philosophy towards Karate in general, though.

Most of those videos are drills to develop specific skills, they are not full out sparring. Also keep in mind that unless you are actually feeling the pressure being put on your and the energy the opponent is giving its hard to say weather you could actually throw a knee or not from those positions. Ah, that makes some sense, then. At some point, however, you would start putting some of those things together, right?

9-18-07 Back/shoulders/biceps Assisted pull-ups: plate 11x10x2 sets, plate 10x10 Back hyperextension: 3x15 Seated row: 110x10, 120x10, 130x8 Dumbell shoulder press: 40x10, 45x8, 45x6 Dumbell shoulder raise: 3x10x25 lbs. Barbell curls: 70x10, 75x8, 75x6 Legs Hip abduction: 115x10x3 sets Hip adduction: 115x10x3 sets Hip flexion: 85x10x3 sets Hip extension: 130x10x3 sets Abs Physio ball crunches: 3x15 Physio ball roll-outs: 3x10, 5 second hold each. Trunk twists: 3x20x45 lbs. Forearms Wrist curls: 3x20x20 lbs. Worked out solo from 3:40 - 4:00. I worked mostly on footwork for sparring, trying to step quickly and explosively. I also spent some time stretching. Taught Kids Class from 4:00 - 5:00. Spent a lot of time on basics, and gearing the kids up for testing.

That is a good point, YoungMan, and it holds true. In the Martial Arts, it doesn't seem to translate like other sports do. Like in football, most players and fans know the history, the older players, like Bart Starr, Y. A. Tittle, and Jim Brown. It doesn't seem like the same thing takes place within the Martial Arts. Not many of my current students know the names Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, Skipper Mullins, or the likes of Hee Il Cho or General Choi and Hwang Kee. It just doesn't seem to take hold as much.

9-17-07 Chest/triceps Bench press: 195x8, 205x6, 215x4 Incline bench press: 135x8, 145x6, 155x4 Triceps push-down: 90x10, 105x8, 105x6 Bench dips: 3x10 Legs Hip sled: 320x10, 345x10, 345x10 Physio ball curl: 3x10 Calf raises: 3x10x186 Abs Roman chair crunches: 3x15 Side raises: 3x20x30 lbs. Forearms Gripper machine: 3x15x25 lbs. Wrist curls: 3x20x20 lbs. Combat Hapkido/Defensive Tactics: 9:00 - 10:30 Today we did some escorts that started from a side-by-side position, and also worked on defenses against punches. I didn't do a lot on my left arm, and when I did, even a little bit of pressure caused it to pop. Need to heal up! Traditional Class: 6:00 - 7:00 Had a pretty good class tonight. However, in sparring, I got knocked down while I was kicking (my partner timed it just right). I HATE getting knocked down, too. So, my sparring demeanor changed, and I just got flustered. I made my partner hit the floor as well, but his was due to me blocking a high kick, and made him lose his balance, and not from an attack of my own. Overall, I was not pleased with my performance.

Good news for you...the Falcons signed Leftwich to a 2 year deal today. Maybe he can help them out...or at least compete with Harrington.

The Complete Tae Kwon Do Hyung, 3 volumes The Complete Master’s Kick The Complete Master’s Jumping Kick Master Hee Il Cho Ch’ang Hon Taekwon-do Hae Sul Real Applications to the ITF Patterns Stuart Paul Anslow Tae Kwon Do The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World’s Most Popular Martial Art Yeon Hee Park, Yeon Hwan Park, Jon Gerrard Black Belt Tae Kwon Do The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World’s Most Popular Black Belt Martial Art Yeon Hwan Park, Jon Gerrard Tae Kwon Do The Korean Martial Art Richard Chun I consider these books to contain good technical information about TKD in general. Many of them contain forms, and most show technical breakdowns of the techniques. Happy reading!

Who is this Grandmaster, and how did he preserve it?

Yep, that's pretty much it. Takes some practice to maximize the "snap" from that position, but when you've got it...Oh BABY...it's powerful. I don't know the first thing about TKD, but is'nt it possible that styles, dojangs and instructors are going to vary in terms of what they teach. To my knowledge the kick you are describing is not unique to Okinawan karate. Most decent systems will have the short range whip kick that you describe in their repertoire, so maybe he already does it. Just playing devils advocate I think that, in the end, most of the techniques end up being more similar than they do different. The limbs can only move in so many ways.

I don't think it really matters. If anything, when it gets colder outside, I find it is tougher to get good and warmed up. I almost prefer to be really warm when working out.

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?