bushido_man96

Who did Stevens sign with? On a side note, the Broncos signed Brandon Stokley to a one-year deal. And it appears that the Miami Dolphins are interested in a trade for Trent Green.

Even some average skills can help to get one out of a situation. However, I think martial arts study should lend a focus to these kinds of situations.

That is good advise, Tom. Aside from being accosted by a gun-wielding assailant, the knife will probably be the weapon we see the most. Learning to defend against one would be a good skill-set to add to the self-defense repertoire (did I misspell that?).

Absotively, Baron! I think you make a good point here.

I think that these two should be synonomous. I agree that they may have some seperate nuances, but survivng a battle should relate to the individual as well as the group level. Im not sure i exactly understand, but if you are saying that martial arts and self defence should be one in the same(?).... Unfortunatly in these days they are most often worlds apart. Yes, I think that they should be the same....even if you are not training for self-defense purposes, the training should be such that good self-defense becomes a by-product of the training.

If it helps, Hard Target is a Van Damme movie. You could also do TimeCop, if you are up to it!

Cool. Very nice! I need to get a still pic of me up here. Now, I just have to find a wide-angle lens.....

Thanks for the pointers, Sohan. I will look them exercises up, and try some different ones. The snatches I have yet to try. I hear you on the warnings, Baron. I think another important factor is for people to swallow their pride and start with a lighter weight, and work with it until they build some strength and get the technique down.

Great stuff, Baron! Hey, James, I have a question on just about all of those Training Drills that you listed above. Could you give kind of an explanation of what they are, and how you go about them? I would appreciate it greatly! 3-21-07 Today was a light day. I only taught Orientation from 5:30 - 6:00. However, I did a chunk of the basics along with the kids, which got me a little sweat going. On a note more important than my personal training, the 4 kids that I had in today are showing wonderful improvements, and things are beginning to click for them. Its the days like these that really re-enforce my confidence in my ability to teach. Today was great!

Good for you! Glad to hear it!

It goes into the stretch-shortening cycle, and really building up explosive power in the muscles. Do an internet search on it, and you will find plenty of information.

I think that these two should be synonomous. I agree that they may have some seperate nuances, but survivng a battle should relate to the individual as well as the group level.

On Monday (3-19-07), I worked with a partner on slipping jabs and crosses to the head. It was a good experience. I don't flinch or blink a lot in sparring, but with this practice, I caught myself doing it again. I enjoyed it, and will practice it more.

I agree, Baron. I think it truly has evolved to become its own art.

how is it that karate exists at all today as a martial art, when prior to Master Funakoshi's introduction of kumite karate was learned and practised by kata alone? If the martial artists of old, were able to defend themselves successfully and if expressions like 'if you choose to land a karate blow then be in no doubt that that one blow decides everything' (Master Funakoshi) mean anything, then we have to assume that kata practice is integral to martial arts. This is where the Eastern viewpoint of the martial arts tends to become the only viewpoint on the martial arts. Martial arts in the West did not revert to 'kata' practice. Boxing has been around in since before the first Olympiad, and the basic outline of the art has not changed over the years. Your skill is deemed by your ability to fight. In the East, the martial arts started out as weapons drilling, with hand-to-hand combat mixed into the basic training. When gunpowder came into vogue, and the weapons training ceased, and the arts were supressed and deemed "illegal" to practice, forms came into being. When Funakoshi went to present Karate as a physical education plan for schools, the ideas of the regimented forms exercise were great. He could line up anywhere from 1 to 30 kids, and teach the same thing to all of them at the same time, and more easily monitor their progress (enter the belts of Kano). So, given the evolution of forms, calling back to tradition is not necessarily the best arguement to make. Things change. Concepts evolve. As I said, I love forms. They have their place. An equal place, along with everything else. Or, depending on your individual philosophy, they have a greater or lesser place in your training. Ok, I'm off my soapbox now!

I don't think that both are really necessary. While I enjoy training in both, I think what your needs come down to what you want to focus your training on. Training to fight will help you become a better fighter. Learning forms may also help you with learning to fight, but it is in more of a round-about way. First, you learn the form. Second, you learn the bunkai, which you can't start on until you have a good, at least basic, understanding of the form. Then, from the bunkai, you can move into more applications. You go from a one-step process to a three-step process. Now, this is where I get to contradict myself, by saying that I still enjoy forms, especially forms competitions. I don't even mind the forms requirements that go along with testings. I think forms are great for engaging the mind in the Martial Arts, and for learning technique combinations and flows. However, fighting drills have their place, as well.

I have always been taught to slap as well. However, when my partner showed me what can happen to you when you stop everything and slap, and he remains above in a dominant position. It can get ugly. I do think that maybe slapping in order to take advantage of an armbar could be a possibility, but I think that most of the time the person throwing you is going to try to maintain an arm, and end up armbarring you instead. I could be wrong here, though (it happens from time to time ) Another exapmle that Hocheim demonstrated on the DVD was the incidence of slapping the ground in an alley with rocks, or on the street, or even in a bar, as opposed to rolling away and saving your limbs. I think that the slap has its place as well, however, do we rely on it too much?

That's awesome, Baron. So, the wrestling is coming to you a bit, huh? Let us know how it goes, and how the learning process comes along. Man, do I envy you right now!

We do a lot of kiahping in our traditional classes with basics. I am sure that it helps some of the younger students to regulate their breathing, but I could do without so much of it. We do it so much that it loses its point.

I have seen some belts embroidered in red as well. I think it just depends on what the instructors like.

Well, in that case you wouldn't need a second one. Good point, Baron. However, repeat-kicking like that can help leg strength, and can be useful in point sparring (for those that do point spar).

What I am saying, is that we should just call a side kick a side kick, as opposed to yeop chagi, or whatever the Japanese equivalent is. What appears to have happened in the scenario here is that the Korean word for training hall, dojang, is used to address the school, but the instructor uses the Japanese nomenclature "Sensei" as his title. Instead of mixing two other languages, just call it a "school" and call himself "instructor." Makes things a lot less confusing.

This is exactly the point that I was getting at as well. (Great minds think alike! ). It is great that you addressed your instructor about your concerns. As you can see, this is a great course of action, because he was able to provide some teaching specific to your needs, and also helped out the rest of the class as well. Here is one other very small, simple thing that you can do to alter your fighting style....if you have a favorite side, just switch stances to the other side. Fight ONLY from that side. It will be a whole new world to you and your opponents/partners. Give it a whirl!

A friend of mine and I have been practicing some Combat Hapkido, along with a blend of some concepts from J. Hock Hocheim's self-defense system. We began discussing breakfalls, and Hock likes it when martial artists do a slapping, traditional breakfall, because they can then "die like a martial artist." What he means by this is that the breakfall has become so ingrained in the martial artist that when he is taken down, he will fall and slap (the traditional breakfall), stopping his momentum, and leaving himself in place to be attacked and taken advantage of. What my friend was talking about along with this was the idea of rolling out or away during the fall, in order to get away from the assailant, and keeping your body as far away as possible from an ensuing attack once you are taken down. After discussing it with my partner, and seeing some ideas of what he was talking about, I think I agree with him. Anybody else have any thoughts on this?

Welcome back! Get well soon!