bushido_man96

I am not sure to what extent even the super-fancy moves seen in movies would have worked in self-defense; even hundreds of years ago. Hundreds of years ago, techniques were accompanied by a weapon on a battlefield, and flash would really have no place. Keeping it simple is how to stay alive.

5-2-07 Taught Orientation from 5:30 - 6:00. I focused mainly on front snap kicks with the kids today, and I thought that it went very well. We concentrated on the 4 parts to a kick, and I held a target pad for them to kick as well. Today in class, I did forms from 6:00 - 7:00. I did white belt through hi-blue belt, which was 7 forms, and I did each one twice. Ab roller: 3x10

This is a good point. The value of cardiovascular exercise should not be diminished due to this book. It is still an important aspect of overall health and wellness.

Yes, abdomen, back (lower), hip extensors, etc. Even into the lower legs. You could probably even include shoulders into the mix. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, knee raises, abdominal twists, back hyperextensions are all good ways to build your core. Pilates and Yoga would be great as well.

Thanks for posting that so I didnt have to. Think about it for a minute- here are two people who cant be anymore striking oriented, and their natrual instinct is still to grab their opponent. This is true, but they aren't thinking takedown when they clinch...they are tired. However, that is not to say that with a little augmented training, they could turn it into clinching and takedowns. You make a good point about it being natural to want to clinch up. Since the dawn of mankind, shows of stength have been exhibited in wrestling types of matches, and nearly every major culture had some form of a folk-style of wrestling.

This is also a matter of not showing that you know that you goofed up. Sometimes, the judges will be so intent on judging the technique that they get lost to the form. They may not catch it, as long as you don't stop in the middle, slap yourself on the forehead, and yell out "DOH!"

So, how does an up and down movement (y axis) increase force on strikes in the horizontal plane (x axis)? I might buy sine wave motions for strikes that have a downward vector to the strike..... But for punches? I think I can shed some light on this. In reading the Fighter's Fact Book 2, one of the authors talks about a technique called the "gravity drop," (I think is what it was called ). What he did is basically went from being somewhat upright to dropping the weight forward and into the target (almost like dropping from ready position into a front stance), which would put the body weight, along with gravity, into the target. It made sense when I read it, and thought that maybe that is what General Choi had in mind. I just don't think every technique would require its use, though. For example, doing a gravity drop into a block would not be as effective as it would be in a straight punch or elbow into the body. Try it with an elbow strike into the heavy bag, and see what you feel. Let me know if you need more technical info...I'll give it as best as I can.

Ah, I see. It just doesn't appeal, eh? I can relate.

Very nice, John. Well laid out.

How do we know that Bruce Lee was misinterpreting the arts he learned? He may not have liked the way things were presented, and felt that time could be better spent on other facets of the arts. The same goes with many other styles that don't incorportate forms/katas. The Martial Arts are not the same that they were when they were conceived, no matter what style we look at. People get so caught up in what a form is that they forget what else there could be. They worry about "tainting" their "style" and don't want to go against the grain. In the end, it stagnates learning. I am not a proponent of what I am going to say, but think about it. Take two individuals. Put one in a Martial Art to study for two years. Put the other on the street to fight for two years. Who will be more the Martial Artist at the end of the test period?

Good posts, NightOwl. I think you hit the breakdowns pretty well on the three styles of grappling that you mentioned. One thing that I would add to this: .... I would say that they realized the advantages of Judo and JuiJitsus' other techniques, and decided to capitalize on what the others had "forgotten," so to speak.

As an employee of the County Jail where I live, I would have to say that I agree with ninjer here. The officers that are pretty good at the Defensive Tactics are the ones who are certified to teach it, and therefore spend more time working on it. More often than not, if things get physical, there is a taser involved. If it does get physical, the majority of techniques used are tackles followed by arm bars, or just working into a standing arm bar. Hardly ever does something like this go down while you are alone, though. The other night, I did see a small joint manipulation work on an inmate, but the reason it worked so well is because he was being combative while he was being uncuffed. Two officers already had contol of his arms, and another stepped in to crank him, to keep him from getting unruly. Aside from that, you want to control the whole limb, and not the just the wrist. Getting ahold with both hands is the most advisable. The problem that most LEOs have with making these things work is exactly what ninjer said; they don't spend enough time on it. When LEOs go to Academy, they typically spend one week on Physical Training/Defensive Tactics, and then that is it. I think that it should be a more focused-on aspect of the job, and should have a recertification done every 6 months to a year, at the least. In the end, you really aren't going to take much away from a 1 week course that is going to stick with you and help you out in the mix. The bottom line is that you will fall back on what you know. Incidentally, the officer who put the lock on the guy wrestled some in high school, and he prefers to get people down to the ground, where he can work them into custody from there.

You are correct from what I have experienced. Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do schools use a red stripe through the center of the black (or midnight blue) at master level and above (4th degree in TSD). The folklore was that students covered their redbelts with black cloth that would wear through in the middle, exposing the red.... It probably just looked cool Folklore or not, it is interesting none the less. In one style I studied, the red belt came before the black, and symbolized "warning" or "danger." The philosophy behind this was that the student had all of the technical knowledge of the black belt, but not quite the control and discipline of the black belt.

Congratulations, James!

The question is, if it isn't good for you, is it bad? If it isn't bad, then no big deal, drink it anyways.

Oh, no, I don't think so. Think about throwing it to the upper thigh (Muay Thai style) or into the knee. I don't think I would thow it head level, but definitely to the leg.

I have read both, and I enjoyed both. They are full of anecdotes and historical information to back what they talk about. If you liked Secrets of the Samurai, I think you will enjoy Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere.

5-1-07 Back/biceps/shoulders Assisted pull-ups: 6, 10, 7 (palms out); 6, 6 (palms in) Back Hyperextensions: 20, 2o Dumbbell shoulder press: 30x10, 40x8, 40x8 Jump rope: 3x1 min. rounds. I am getting better at this!

In this book, the author attempts to lay out a 12 week boxing course that you can do where you live, with the help of a partner with some drills, and by yourself on others. It starts out with general stretching and conditioning drills, which focus on the abs and upper body. Along with the lessons he lays out, he lists conditioning drills to go along with them. The lessons seem to be fairly easy to follow, and with a partner, I think that you could put together a fairly nice routine. Would it prepare you for the ring? Not likely. However, it would be a good, fun way to get the basics of boxing down. I thought that this book was ok. If anything, I took away in the lessons a lot of ideas for mini solo-training workouts on heavy bags or shadowboxing. I also may try some of the partner stuff out, to see if I can make the defensive aspects work. Overall, this book is alright. It does lend some decent drills, I think (based on my limited boxing knowledge), and the author has some good credentials to back his stuff up.

Welcome aboard!

Nice!

One thing that boxing/kickboxing might do for you is teach you more of the slipping/bobbing/weaving defenses for punching, which may help to augment your other blocking techniques. But a grappling style would cover a whole other facet of fighting.

I think it all depends on approach, teaching methodology, and the ability level of the student. Each student will learn differently, and some will be more natural than others. That said, I think that learning the basics is the best place to start. You have to crawl before you walk, and then you can work towards running. At my school, we spend almost every class on basics to start out, and then move into forms work. After a student has been through the Orientation, they get into class and do the basics, and then their first form afterward. Sparring usually doesn't come into play until the second belt level. I boxing, they begin with the basic hand techniques, and then build from there. Most MA schoools I have been to do the same. But, sometimes instructors do things differently, and if it works for them, then that is great. Welcome to the Forums!

Hehe....thanks, Baron!

What is it that you don't like about it? Is the fact that they don't grapple, or just the way the fights are set up?