bushido_man96

Welcome to KF!

The fans they used for self defense were were quite heavy. Worked quite well for clubbing when it was closed up. I've seen them made out of metal. Wouldn't want to take an open one across the face. I have heard that as well. However, I don't think carrying around a metal fan today would be very practical.

I think it is going to be around for quite some time. It will compete with boxing, and it may overtake boxing as far as popularity is concerned. With the way the UFC is now, many states are lifting the bans on the MMA competitions, because the rules are more and more acceptable.

That would be a good idea. I have heard that you can't work the anabolic and catabolic systems at the same time, so breaking these up would benefit you more, I think.

I watched the vid, and saw what he is talking about. There isn't much difference in his flinch cover in comparison to my blocking cover, other than the fact that the fist is closed. Keep in mind that I am not tossing out a "middle block" or a "rising block." I am just reacting to the attack, blocking with an arm, that happens to have a clenched fist, by moving my forearm into the line of the attack, much the same way that he describes it. Not much difference.

You are echoing a point that I have made before here. Not everybody is going to be the same skill level. Not every student produced will be good at sparring, or forms, or whatever else. However, each student should excel at something, and should be able to demonstrate competency in all of the other areas. High levels of competency are very important, in my opinion.

The way I am describing it, it is a gross-motor movement. I don't know how else to describe it; essentially, I am moving my arm into the incoming attack, while having the fist clenched. No twisting, no two-handed motion. Gross-motor movement.

Good to have you back!

What I have noticed the most from that video is how you can take an excellent striker right out of their game by taking them down.

You must be thinking of his older (adopted) brother Ken. Frank has never lost in the UFC. I think there is a definite chance he could make a huge comback, but we won't see him in the UFC again until they are willing to pay him more than Strikeforce is. Doh! You are right! My bad!

Those sound like good ideas to break up the routine forms workouts. Great stuff!

Thanks, Menjo. 7-14-07 This evening, while at work (and alone ) I worked on doing round kicks, in my work uniform. I would do a step front leg, followed by a back leg, or a back leg, or just a front leg, or a front let/back leg combination without the initial step. I can do them at waist level with good power, and that is all I would need. I kicked around for about 15 minutes.

You make a good point. I want to point out, though, that the block I was describing is a gross motor movement, and not a complex, fine motor skill.

Yeah, that is why the rank system is in place. You work with them on their technique, and when it is ready, you move them along.

Would you say that this is true worldwide or just in the US? Around here, there are probably more young kids doing Karate than TKD (as far as I can tell). I have certainly heard that TKD is massive with US kids though, and considered putting it top or second. Perhaps. That could be where the bias seems to come from. However, TKD is quite popular throughout the world. It could probably go either way.

The vid was dark; it was really hard to see what was going on. The window behind didn't help, either. The spin back kick looked "held up," like you could have followed-through more. Just a thought.

Thanks for sharing those pics. It is cool to see others at work.

Thats why its far more practical to be aware that the a-dump will occur and prepare for that rather than attempt to by-pass it, which is near impossible unless you have been involved in so many life threatening situations and survived that you no longer fear such things, even then the element of surprise is always present and can cause an a-dump. So for the average joe who cant spend 5 days a week training trying to by-pass the a-dump is far from practical. I agree, cross. However, even in scenario training, it won't be the same as it will be in reality. You can get close, though, and the closer, the better.

These are the fun kind of sessions you can have. When I was in JuCo, my high school had a foreign exchange student from Germany, who was Korean, and his father was the German National Coach. Working out with him was fun, and I even let him use the floor space in my school to give private lessons to a few students. He was a great guy, and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with him.

Quality can be seen in technique. That is the most obvious place to see it. It isn't the only place, but it is a good place to start. When you look at varying ranks, you should be able to see the difference between their skill levels. An even better judge of this kind of quality can/should be recognizable from watching a class of students that are not wearing any belts at all. One should be able to tell who is closer to which rank, by watching how they do moves, how they focus, and how their demeanor in the class is. What should not happen is this: two months in rank, then test. Two more months, then test again. The time spent in rank should be evaluated, per student, to see if they are meeting certain requirements as to their level of skill. Now, I am not saying that each one has to be a superior tournament competitor in order to be allowed to continue on. Some will be good in competition, and some will not. However, certain skills can be evaluated in order to see if they should be allowed to test for promotion or not.

I think that gzk has a good estimate. I would tend to think that TKD is probably at the top of the list as far as popularity goes, with the sheer advantage coming from the vast amounts of children's programs that seem to be the trademark of lots of TKD schools.

I think that striving for good technique is a great thing, and should be a focal point in schools. However, dishing out push-ups for performing a technique incorrectly is not on the right track. Everyone is different, and everyone is going to have different learning curves. Expecting a white belt to perform a move like a high rank, and then giving them push-ups for not doing so, is not the right way to do things, in my opinion. As far as being struck in a "corrective" manner for not performing a technique correctly...that is a very bad way of doing things. If I was getting struck for performing a technique wrong, I would be like to strike back, regardless of rank. I feel that I come from a technically sound school. When we go to testings and tournaments, I can see the difference between the way our students perform against others from schools in our organization. It gives you a sense of pride, and it challenges me to continue to improve. And we do it without assigning push-ups or anything like that all that often.

Good points on Tyrion, even the description. I felt the somersault was odd, as well, as he does nothing else like it again. You are correct on Ned's quote. As for Dany, I feel better about her as well. I have also softened my stance towards Jaime, too. It is weird, but I have to keep reminding myself what he did to Bran...

That is a nice idea, Montana. Not a thing wrong with that!

Way to go, Rich! Guess that shiner reminds you to keep your hands up, eh?