bushido_man96

Looks kind of cool. I wonder how durable those pads are, though. Woo, 'tis a bit pricey, though!

Thanks, Baron. My wife thinks that I work out a lot. However, I just don't seem to get into better shape (skinnier). Aside from class last night, my knees feel pretty good today. I am kind of enjoying it. Here's another thing that eats me up. If I lift the same weight every week for a year, by the end of the year, I will be stronger, and have moved up in weight. For some reason, this doesn't translate to my TKD training. I have been doing the same basics in TKD classes for 5 years now, but, for some reason, I still get just as tired and worn out doing them. What's up with that? Very frustrating!

I am not sure if I have seen one yet. Is it a heavy bag that can hold target pads as well? Sounds cool, but not sure how much I would pay for one. Incidentally, I practice spin heel kicks on the heavy bag. You just don't get to work on the follow-through as much.

Short, uneven match = bad investment by the TV advertisers. That is an interesting way to put it!

What does NAGA stand for?

This is true. MMA is considered sport, but you can't argue with its effectiveness. Judo should benefit you well.

I agree. Leaving the ground can leave you open, and committed. Both are not good in sparring, or fighting, for that matter. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the replys so far, everyone.

Congrats! Well done!

Well, I played with this kick before class last night. I must admit, that I think I can talk it/teach it better than I can do it myself! I did the drill on the ground that Doug suggested, and I will continue to do that to get the move down right. When jumping, I get the scissor action going, but the twist kick doesn't get up there very well. Need more stretching, and more practice.

Does anyone have any suggestions on drills to practice slipping punches and bobbing and weaving? I think they are great forms of defense, and would love to play around with them a little bit. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Depends on the rules applied to their encounter. In a MMA match or a fight with no rules, the MMA practioner will have an advantage as the TKD practioner will probably have less ground working skills, thus if it the fight goes to the ground the TKD practioner will have a smaller chance of success. I was referring to a fight without rules. Closer to the MMA fighting rules.

I agree. Very tragic. And kind of spooky, too.

He says, "Will you teach me to football?"

Thanks. Might be the only one I get. I will definitely be working on all those defensive moves. I was always awestruck by a boxer's ability to slip a punch before it got there. I don't know if I could ever get to that point. I know I couldn't without the proper training, anyways.

I agree. Doing something that facilitates thinking and open-mindedness in the martial arts is very important. If you want to make changes, just make sure that you have good reasons. From what I understand in your initial post, you want to do katas from one style with the methods of doing techniques in another style. Is that the gist of it?

Good advice if your fear is of being hit. One good way of doing this is to find a confined area and wear boxing gloves (they have more padding). Just go at it. It's important to know that to "fight" and not expect to get hit is as absurd as thinking you can swim without getting wet. Make sure to start with someone who knows what they're doing. Ask your instructor to help you out until you get used to it. This is one of the many reasons that I wished I could have taken up boxing. It is a realization that you come to very quickly in this sport. I respect and admire boxers for their toughness.

This is a good point. One way to get into the groove of it is to have the person hold a kicking shield for other students to kick in class. Don't make them hold it the whole time, but let them rotate in and out. They won't be taking the kick directly, but they will be taking the impact, which will help them come to grips more with being struck. On the plus side, while holding the shield, they can't avoid the contact!

The UFC may be just a sport, however, it has come the closest to bridging the gap of MA training and actual fighting. Its extensive use of the 3 ranges of combat is what helps to make it one of the most all-inclusive fight/sports out there. Try this. Take an MMA athlete, who has trained for 6 months, and pit him in the ring against the TKD practitioner who has trained for 6 months. What do you suppose the outcome would be?

I know what you're getting at. But don't necessarily agree. If you encountered Mike Tyson in a fight, he would fight alot differently than if you encounter Rickson Gracie. It all has to do with who you've trained with. I would have to agree with ps1 here. Although everyone may not fight the same way, we do all have the same tools at our disposal. It is all about methods of using them. Here is an interesting article on the subject: http://www.karateforums.com/a-principle-of-fighting-vt8176.html I think this may be the point you are trying to make.

I don't believe that to be a "true master" has to be synonomous with being old. If you dedicate your life to studying something, much like Lee did, then you can very well become a master at a young age.

Thanks for the article, Ed. It is a nice history lesson. There are some very interesting highlights in there.

I love when I get this question. My reply is always, "Well there still is a large amount of nerves located there. If you hit them hard enough it will still hurt." This is true. The area is still sensitive to strikes, even on women.

Good point. There is no reason to wait around and let them make the rules! Especially if you are looking at multiple attackers.

That is true. You don't want to get hung up with a charge of beating on someone while they cannot defend themselves. That kind of leads into the "use of force."