bushido_man96

It is hard for us to tell you if the school is reputable with really taking a first-hand look. If the instructor took the silver in Judo, though, I would say his Judo is probably pretty good. As for the other two arts, I suppose it is possible to hold rank in them, but holding that high of rank would seem to raise a question as to how much time he actually got to spend training. If you have been to some classes, what are they like? Have you asked the instructor what his ideals are for testing and promotions? These are some things you may want to ask him. I hope things go well for you. Welcome to the Forums, and to the Martial Arts!

Perhaps bouncing is a bit much, but I find keeping a variable flex in the knees going helps to initiate motion, especially for being a heavy guy.

Here, here! I love that one! That would be quite nice to see. One can imagine how much this would different from the sport that is seen today.

This is the worst, I think. Finding something you like, and then having to move, and find something else. When I moved for college, I had to get into a different style of TKD. It was ok, though. I worked my way in pretty good, and went from there.

Has anyone seen the ads for the new movie War? Jet Li, Jason Stathom; I can't wait!

I would say do it, but that is just me. I don't think it would affect your other training that much. The environments will help you keep things straight, I think.

Thanks, guys!

Well, you make a good point. I don't know how much higher I would hold my guard than I do now, though. A savvy street fighter would take advantage of the open abdomen. However, it is an interesting point.

I am sure that may be the case. For example, my friend in the Reserves is also a 2nd degree, and works out at the same school that I do. Naturally, the ones with prior experience will gravitate to it more.

It seems a bit high to me, but I am pretty tight as it is. It doesn't seem bad, though, and for what they offer, you could be getting your money's worth.

Calling first may be preferable, but I have never seen an instructor turn away a walk-in.

The guys above have some good advise. Do your homework on them as much as you can, and also go and sit in on a class or two at each school. Then, get with the instructors and ask questions. As for the schools with the 8th and 9th dans, go watch for sure. A lot of the time, these high dan grades will have lower dan grades, like 3rd, 4th, or 5th dans, that are teaching the majority of the classes. Good luck, welcome to the Martial Arts, and welcome to the Forums!

Not all are ATA schools, but there are quite a few. I know that the Mike Chat got in with the ATA a little while back, and started an XMA type of program that ATA schools can now offer, for those interested. Perhaps that is why.

I don't agree that training in both styles can really cause that big of a problem. One of the schools of our association in Minnesota trains the ITF forms. However, they also train to do Olympic style sparring, and the head instructor's oldest son has qualified for the Junior Olympic team. He does know some of the WTF forms as well, and does just fine with them. In fact, I don't think there is anything written anywhere that states that you can't hold ITF and WTF certification at the same time. As long as you test and do what they require, I think you can get WTF cerification through the Kukkiwon.

TKD does have its roots in Shotokan, yes. However, I am sure that many Shotokan stylists would be able to tell you that the two are different enough. Just like many off-branches of Karate, being similar but different.

Well, that is what I was told. He didn't say that all of them in it do that, just that some have had doors opened for other opportunities to do this.

What do you mean by "throwing away morals" in a fight? If you could elaborate some, I would be able to issue a better informed response.

I saw the last 15 minutes of the Savate episode tonight. I didn't get in on the history of the style, but what I saw wasn't too bad. I would not call the kicks subpar necessarily, just different. They used them differently, and they had a different look to them. I saw more side kicks than I would think to see in a match like that, which was interesting. One thing about Bill, that guy must have an iron jaw! Did you see that overhand shot he took? Man, that was wicked! For as big a guy as he was, and with most of his experience being in Wrestling/Ground work, I thought he moved and kicked and punched pretty well.

I didn't say that stand-up fighting is useless, or that stand-up styles are useless. It is just that there is more to all-around fighting than just standing. I happen to be a stand-up striker myself. However, I also realize that I have no ground game, and that is a disadvantage to me. If you want to see kickers fight, then watch Olympic TKD, or Muay Thai. Those are going to be the best places to see it. In the UFCs that I have watched, I have seen plenty of standing knockouts (even a few with kicks), ground-and-pound stoppages, and grappling submissions. There is plenty of variety to see in the UFC; you just have to analyze it more closely to really appreciate it.

8-14-07 Today I did Combat Hapkido from 3:00 - 4:30. We had a really good session, going over 3 belt ranks of curriculum, really working on breaking down the finishing techniques, and working on the "entry" techniques for beginning the movements. We warmed up with some focus mitt work, which was great, too.

I like this approach. You can go on the offensive verbally, just as well. I didn't really think about it. Thanks for bringing it up, cross.

I notice that you keep making the PRIDE plugs, NightOwl. I don't know if you saw the news or not, but Zuffa acquired PRIDE, and now the two are one. I think PRIDE held its last event in Japan already, and it will all fall under the umbrella of the UFC now, I think. Not sure, but I do know that PRIDE was bought by Zuffa.

I can't imagine anything!!!

Results were posted this week, and I passed. Thanks for the support, everyone.

Wishing them well, Kez.