bushido_man96

Hello, and welcome to the Forums! What I think you should do is take your list of schools, and then find out which ones are the closest to where you work. Then, pick a day after work where you can drive by and look at a few of the schools. Maybe you will get lucky, and some will have classes in session to watch. Some schools have seperate kids and adults classes, so that is something you will want to look for. Once you have visited a few schools, try to pick a few that you want to look at more closely, and go when you have time to sit and talk with the instructor. Then, you can ask them the questions that you want answers to, as far as price, time, ect. Also make sure to ask them about their teaching goals, philosophies, and methodologies, to make sure they fit into what you think you can do at the time. As much as we may want to help you, you really have the best way of finding out which school will be best for you by going around and scouting, basically. Let us know how it goes, and good luck to you!

The training that XMA stylists do is good for athletic perfomances, and increasing the strength, balance, flexibility, etc. in the body. All of these things will improve your overall physical fitness level, which can transfer into regular, or more "traditional" Martial Arts training. As the others have said, it is just different. Many people get concerned that others think that XMA is Martial Arts. When you can't make the transition to the Martial side of things, then it ceases to be (according to most). Kind of like saying that Tae Bo is a Martial Art style... Now, just because a Martial Artist does some XMA, like you stated, does not mean that they aren't Martial Artists. Like you said, it depends on their experience.

I agree with you. I am not arguing correctness, per se. I am just noting the differences, and wondering why they get changed like they do. I understand it has to do with interpretations. The GM of my school is big into using the whole body in a technique, using good twisting motions to generate power. With that in mind, I can see why his version of the form flows the way that it does. I just found the variations striking enough that I thought they would generate some good discussions. By the way, welcome to KarateForums!

Ok, here's the deal. I learned my new form last night, called Se-Jong hyung. Since it was my first night doing it, I got through it, and got it memorized for the most part in my head. Then, what I usually do, is look up the form in some of my books at home, and go through it until I have it down. I did this last night, and looked first in Master Hee Il Cho's book The Complete Tae Kwon Do Hyung, volume 2. There were some little variations from the way my school does the form, like target areas and stances, but that has been the norm. However, at one point I noticed some serious directional deviations: My school: after move 7 (reinforced backfist strike), we turn 180 degrees to move 8 (right punch), then to move 9, we turn 180 degrees to a sitting stance, double forearm guarding blocks (we just call it fighting stance). Then step forward to move 10 with right leg to spear hand. Cho's manual: after move 7 (reinforced backfist strike), Cho turns 180 degrees to move 8 (right punch), to move 9 (fighting stance), he only turns 90 degrees. Then, for move 10, the right foot adjusts to step into the spear hand strike, facing the same direction. Choi's Encyclopedia: Choi's is even more different. After move 7 (reinforced backfist) he steps 90 degrees to the right to move 8 (right punch). Then, Choi turns 180 degrees to the left to move 9 (fighting stance in back stance, left foot forward), then step forward with the right foot to move 10 (spear hand). In all cases, the spear hand strike ends up facing in the same direction, and in the same stance. The bold face is what is different than the way our school does it. I was wondering if anyone else has some variations like this in their forms that they notice. It seems strange that there is so much variation, especially between Cho and Choi, when Master Cho is a first generation black belt of General Choi. And my school is quite a bit different, too. Another thing I noticed: in our school, Se-Jong comes before Yoo-Sin. Cho puts Yoo-Sin first, and Gen. Choi's manual says that Se-Jong is to be practiced by the 5th degree and higher ranks. There are some other little differences that I can point out, too, but this is the major one. What are your comments?

That's good stuff!!! hahahahaha

Really, it is all about people's perception. Those who have never been in a fight for their life would maybe call it cheating; the others would call it surviving.

Contrary to what many older masters believed, and many earlier practitioners of the arts, lifting weights in order to get stronger does not slow you down. Joe Lewis proved this long ago. When you actually lift heavy weight, you recruit more muscle fibers, and the more muscle fibers you put into play, the more explosiveness you can build. Lifting weights as part of your Martial Arts routine is a good thing, and you can reap benefits from it. What is important is to maintain your technique within your practice as well.

8-13-07 Today I had to do a quick workout, because I had to get my vehicle worked on this morining. Chest/triceps Bench press: 185x8, 195x6, 205x4...I will go up next week. Abs Roman chair crunches: 3x15 Side raises: 2x20x30 lbs. Forearms Grip machine: 3x15x25 lbs. Taught Orientation from 5:20 - 6:00. Traditional Class from 6:00 - 7:00. Class was pretty good. We changed up the basics a bit, and I liked some of the different combinations that we did. I also got to learn my new form tonight.

Go to each school, and check each one out. Watch the classes, and then talk to the instructors about what their training goals are. Effectiveness will result more from the instructor and his training methods, as opposed to what style you choose.

I agree completely.

That is a pretty good explanation. It is for these reasons that it is important to be able to justify your actions, and then be able to articulate them in court, if need be. Let's say that you knock an attacker down, and then he tries to get up, and you start backing away. Good idea; from here, the fight may be over. However, what if he gets up, and pulls a knife as he is standing up? Now, you may be justified to continue defending yourself, especially if he is saying some choice things to you as he tries to get up. Justification, and articulation, are the keys.

I agree. It shows that there is more than just physical technique involved.

The fighting has evolved from the style vs. style because of the success of some styles over others. However, I don't think that all fighters are the same. You have the strikers, and the GNPers, and then you have those who try to take it to the ground and get the submissions. You can still see what many of the fighters prefer to do, and that still gives the sport some individuality. I guess I don't mind the changes. Change can be a good thing.

Nice review, NightOwl. And I was beginning to miss your Movie Reviews!! I am considering ordering these off of the History Channel website. However, I don't really want to spend $40 a pop.

That sounds like an accident waiting to happen! You better have a strong string!You don't swing it violently. It is more of a swaying motion, back and forth at 45 degrees each way. Sorry, I should have clarified that better.

You could maybe take an old, twin sized mattress, roll it up tight, and then secure it with bungee cords or something. Hang that up, and punch on it.

Ah, thanks. I have seen the San Shou fights, and they are usually pretty good, other than the fact that one guy dominates the scene all of the time. Those that are that heavy into the San Shou aspect should be able to make the transition into the MMA scene very well, I think.

Well, some people are attracted to the glamour of the trophy, and train for those point sparring tournaments in order to kind of prove themselves on the circuit, or to legitimize their training for later on, or who knows why else. Why he just quit to go work with this bounce step guy, bewilders me, though. Why not just go learn the step, and then apply it when you need to, as opposed to discarding perfectly good training to learn something only valuable in a tournament?

But can you assume that you know when the attacker will attack? Will he attack just once? There are a lot of assumptions that it may be unsafe to make in self-defense. However, once you start attacking, that does not mean that the attacker will freeze up and not attack back. Don't get me wrong; I think that some of the techniques shown in the videos are sound. Nor am I discounting what the stylists do. However, there are some things there that coincide with what some other styles do as well. Styles that make the transtition to competiton, as well.

it does account for physical capacity though. most 15 year olds will ever be as strong as a healthy adult male. IMO, you must have the physical ability to use the skills you were given. having the skill means little if you can only use it effectively against a limited number of the population. In judo, if I recall correctly has an age requirement of 17. I can see the point behind your argument here. However, there are skills to be learned that are not physical, such as environmental awareness and things like this. Physical strength has nothing to do with these skills, yet these skills could save a child from an adult, just the same. However, we don't ever discuss these skills when we make the black belt age argument. We just picture the kid having to fight the adult.

No one would want to go to jail; that is why I say that it is important to be justified in your actions. However, I don't want to end up in the hospital, either.

I think that the UFC is more entertaining now than it was then. The the fighters are getting better all the time, and it is presented well. I do kind of miss the tournament format, but it is what it is now. I don't think there is any way that the way the fighters go today that they could do the tournament format, but I am not sure. I would not trade it back now.

I agree. I have seen a lot of utility from them. I just can't see discarding them.

Something like this only leads to conflict when the instructors are too insecure to allow a student to follow their own Martial path, as opposed to being constantly led. If an instructor doesn't approve of such practices, then fine, but I don't see why instructors make such a big deal out of it. As has been seen by this thread, there seems to be gains to be made from attending each school. So why not? Nobody likes the politics of the Martial Arts, but this kind of division is the very thing that stimulates the politics of the Martial Arts.

This is so true. I don't think I would work out under someone who does such shady things as you mention. And if it means that you have to start over to get your black belt, then so be it. The Martial Arts have no time limit, so just get to it!