bushido_man96

Tall or short, you have to learn how to make your Martial Arts work for you. Even being short can be good; think low center of gravity.

Lordtariel has some good points. You don't want to discount the place just because he has expanded. He may have produced some good students who wanted to teach, but could not get started on their own. Therefore, he may have helped them out. Check them out first, and see what they are like.

I see. If you take both styles, then do you progress through both styles at the same pace?

That is a good option! I, however, prefer baseball. Batter up!!!

Yeah, you can train hard, with aggression, and with decreased risk for injury. I am curious, though; does the grappling level of training just go from the ground, or do they work any type of takedowns?

Very nice, ps1. Who is the person that you quoted? I like it.

I think that friendly rivalries in school are a great thing. I also think that rivalries outside of a school, say, tournament rivalries, are also great. They can be a great motivational factor in your training. When you get tired, and want to quit, you picture the other guy holding the 1st place trophy he got for beating you in forms or sparring, and it can help to push you to keep at it.

Don't wait!!!! I have seen many students have to work to cram in the knowledge of their old forms once they got close to black belt, and it takes a lot of time away from other training. Review them now. You will be better for it in the long run. You will be more confident with them, and you won't end up second guessing yourself. I take lots of pride in being able to recall a form on the spot. It makes me feel good to know that lower ranks can come to me with forms questions, and I can answer them without any problems. In some schools, it is a requirement to be able to demonstrate the material for the rank prior in order to be eligible to test for the next rank. If I run a school again, that is the way I will do it, as well. Nice explanation, Kevin!

Cool, thanks. I currently only have one book on Arnis/Escrima, and I am looking to expand my library in that area.

If you really want to take Judo, then go to that school. If the belt tests cover both styles, then you may be getting a good deal.

That is a good point, as well. So, you are an LEO? I work as a Detention Officer at a county jail. Grappling/restraints are important.

The books arrived today!!! I opened it up, and thumbed through them all a bit, and I can't wait to get dug into them. Well worth the price, I think.

Very nice.

I have read a brief bit on the movie. It sounds like it may be interesting. I am looking forward to it.

This book is a facsimile copy of one that is held in the State Library of Bavaria. This Medieval European fectbuch is written by the Master Paulas Kal, who was employed by Ludwig IX, duke of Bavaria-Landshut, who reigned from 1450-1479. Kal was a master of defense whose lineage is tied to that of Master Johannes Liechtenauer from the late 14th century. This Grandmaster, so-to-speak, spawned many Masters that repeated his work. Most of Kal's teachings here are founded Liechtenauer's teachings, which Kal has illustrated in sections of duels on horseback and foot in with a lance, with poleaxes, clubs and shields, between man and woman (a judicial duel), sword and buckler, longsword, messer, dagger, and wrestling. Along with the illustrations and captions is a detailed technical analysis of each section, plate by plate, done by the author. The author also garnishes from other similar fightbooks from other Masters of the Liechtenauer tradition, gleaning further translations and insights. This book was printed on a special limited run of 900 (mine is number 374). The facsimile is full sized, and the illustrations are beautiful. The author even makes notes about the dress and armor used in the illustrations that would be of interest and use to historians of the period. This subject is just my thing, but I think that this is an excellent book, and a great example of the application and practicality of the Medieval sword arts. From reading this and other fightbooks, I have seen that the European weapons systems were trasnferrable from weapon to weapon, with common applications and principles ranging from weapon to weaponless combat. The author is quick to point out where there are similarities between the wrestling plates and the plates of armored longsword combat. Great book, great research, and I look forward to cross-referencing other fight manuals with it in the future.

I think you can justify being a member of both by not including yourself in the political dilemas of the two organizations, and just concentrating on your own training. Aside from that, the two organizations have been meeting, and are working on some things together. I don't know how far along they are, but they have made some strides.

Congrats to your instructor! That is very cool, indeed.

Those are all very valid points, gzk.

Those are some good points, bearich. Do you think that strategies such as those would be more suitable for ring fighting or sparring, as opposed to a street altercation?

But they are not political parties, they are Martial Arts associations. Each has something to offer, and each can make you better. Why close off other branches of learning?

What was the title, KNOCKuOUT?

I think that Bill may be able to pull off more of the wrestling type upper body throws in the Pankration, though. Either way, it should be good.

Mine too!! This used to be pretty common, until companies like Century started making the new belts with stripes on them.

You mention that the newer students get a lot more grappling work than striking work to start out. I have also seen that the new Modern Army Combatives training starts out with grappling as well. The first level is grappling, and then they move up to the striking and Thai style kicking. Just a trend I noticed.

Very nice sites, NightOwl. Those associated with it are very straightforward about what they plan to accomplish, aren't they? (By the way, that book title you put out keeps taunting me! Since it is pretty cheap, I may have to order...soon...)