bushido_man96

I think that is very cool of your instructor to do that, USCMAAI. I don't know of many instructors that actually push you to go study other styles to get educated in the various ranges of combat. Learning to use a firearm is also a very wise idea, I think.

That is a very nice post. I like the 5 phases that you discuss, and I would love to hear some more information on that concept. On a sidenote, I have felt for quite some time now that no matter what an instructor's teaching goals/focuses are, that good self-defense should be a by-product of the training.

I would prefer to strike first. I don't feel like waiting around to get hit.

The best martial artist? Let's make this thread about who you personally think is the best, i.e., your personal favorite..

This can be beneficial, to both parties involved. It helps to keep the forms fresh in the minds of the lower ranks, and can foster the importance of being able to teach what you have learned. Of course, not every school will function this way, either, and the technical level won't be as high as that of the instructor, but that is something the instructor himself/herself can fix. In our school, the instructor expects each student to be able to help out a lower ranked student if they ask for it on forms or one-steps. He likes for us to stay sharp on older material. When a student can't show a low rank his form, the instructor lets them know!

These are good suggestions. I would also suggest some modeled type of sparring. Have one student designated to throw a technique. When he throws it, have the other student perform a designated movement and counter-attack. This will help them to see what they can or should do when a certain attack comes at them, helping to develop a stimulus-based response. After some time of doing this, have them spar. You can even limit the attacks in the sparring to those practiced. As they improve, you can work up to combination work and defense, etc.

This is a good point. Sometimes a 'forced recovery' such as this is the only recovery we end up allowing ourselves, because we become so neurotic about our training.

I had never seen the curved ones. That is different. As for the others, it really is preference. If you don't like vacuuming up wood splinters after a testing, then go with the rebreakables. However, I have found that the rebreakables require you to be more accurate when targeting your techniques. The other question is how long will they last before they start to give from being put back together so much? Personally, I like the good old wood boards. More inconsistency, and better challenge, and much more rewarding when you hear that wood snap (in my opinion).

Hello. This has been a long and interesting discussion. At this time, though, I do believe that the thread itself has run it's course. Much of the same discussion continues to recycle, so therefore, with nothing new being added, I feel it is time to close this thread. Thanks.

We don't have any required Ho Sin Sul, but we do have required one-steps. Lately, I have been analyzing them, and thinking of ways to "evolve" them into self-defense techniques.

That is a great attitude to have. The Martial Arts journey is our own, and we should enjoy the view along the way, instead of worring about how fast we get there. I finally found that Bruce Lee quote I was looking for: "In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued."

When I first started training, these were the reasons behind the kihap explained to me as well.

You bring up a good point. I, too, was a former student in the ATA, and I never had any really bad experiences there, and I felt like I had good instructors. However, as ninjer pointed out, the desparity between the groundfight and the stand-up is there. You have to know how to ground fight to defend it. Training methodology is a very important part of what you get out of your training. You will fight the way you train. In battle, you don't rise to the occassion, you sink to the level of your training.

Nice article. Thank you for sharing!

5-16-07 At 5:00, I did some more bag work, for about 15 minutes, continuously. I really focused on a jab/cross/hook combination, making sure to get my hips into each of the strikes that I did. It really started to wear on my arms, too, which felt really good. Taught Orientation from 5:30 - 6:00. One of the kids was having a little trouble with the idea of actually going into the regular class. So, I talked it over with him, and convinced him that it will all be ok. I think that once he gets in there, he will be ok with it. We had Kicking Class from 6:00 - 7:00, although it really wasn't kicking class today. I warmed up by reviewing some high rank forms, including 2 brown belt forms and 2 black belt forms. Then, we worked on our one-step based flow drills. It was a lot of fun, and it really made everyone think.

Lordtariel has some good advise. Always keep your low rank material fresh. Practice it often. The more you do, the easier you will be able to recall it. Before you know it, you will be recalling all of your forms with no problems.

Not if you can out write the bad guys in your statement to the police if you are outnum,bered 5 to 2 and are surrounded I think you can clearly articulate that you were in fear for your life : What will most likely happen depends on what is going on when the cops would happen to show up. If they see 3 guys beating on you, most likely those 3 will be arrested. They may ask you for a statement, after seeing if you need medical help. If, however, they show up, and 2 guys are laid out, and you are sitting on top of the 3rd, beating the snot out of the guy, then you will likely be arrested.

The problem that I have with kicking the knee is that, although it is a good target, is the possibility of a lawsuit being thrown your way. but if it is truly self defense My goal is making it out in 1 piece Ill worry about the law suit afterward. That is one way to look at it. However, from the viewpoint of my job, I have to be able to justify the actions. It is difficult to justify, sometimes.

Yes, in fact, I thought that they may have used the art of Kwon Bup as their empty hand style, but I don't remember for sure. They really were trained as all-around warriors/scholars.

Try visiting schools of other styles, as well. You may learn a lot!

My dad told me once that he successfully pulled a technique like this off in a fight. He said it was effective, too. No fight left in that guy.

When armor got heavier, then the swords became more of a two-handed style, but they still weren't super heavy blades. Also, the sheild fell out of use, because of the affectiveness of the armor. There were also many half-swording techniques that could be used in close, that were done by putting the off hand on the blade of the sword, making it much like a quarter-staff like usage, but much shorter. It could then be leveraged or used to thrust more accurately.

Well, it is only a scam if it becomes a habit. I think making them pay or not is up to the instructor. I imagine most would not force it, though.

I think that it is a good thing to apply the principle when practicing something, in order to stay focused and undistracted. However, before beginning the practice, I think it is important to analyze everything to see if it will work, what it is for, etc. That way, when you do practice, you have the rational behind it.

I don't think that they really put this show together as well as they could have. They needed to use a control group to compare the different techniques, and they did not do that. They also failed to take a lot of practicality into the show as well. All in all, I was disappointed with the show.