bushido_man96

I think keeping the hands up while kicking is important as well. Use this illustration to get the technique down, and then once you feel comfortable with it, work on doing the kick with your hands up. Once you learn it, you can adapt it.

If you watch the feet too much, you can get faked out. I like to focus right around in the shoulders/chest area, and use my peripheral vision to guage what is coming in.

I agree with baron. I think that you would benefit greatly from the training aspects of kickboxing. Also, depending on the rule sets, they may not incorporate elbows and knees. If it is more of a 'western style' of kickboxing, it may primarily be punching and kicking. I don't think the training will hurt you as much as the compeitions would, but that is a guess.

Why do you say this?

I am glad to hear that you had a good time. It is very important to enjoy yourself when you go to tournaments. Getting the experience is important as well. Now, you should have some ideas of what to work on in order to make your next trip more fun.

Sometimes, I think being angry can help. It can be a very driving force.

I began viewing it, and I like what I see. I don't when I'll be able to watch all of it, but I like the progressions and the training methodologies behind it. I also like the use of kali and the western weapon arts.

I have been to the bars as well, and have never been into a fight myself, either.

I am not so sure. A lot of it has to do with the training philosophies. I know that there are some good karatekas out there that are great fighters. However, the training that is done in Muay Thai/boxing gyms is geared more towards the preparation of ring fighting than karate is. They spend their time on padwork, drills, conditioning, sparring strategy, and sparring itself. I am not going to take anything away from the gentleman that you are speaking of, nor am I going to take anything away from his accomplishments. I think it is great for Shotoakan, and all other 'traditional' arts as well. I also believe that there are several other fighters out there right now that have visible infuences in their fighting styles of a more 'traditonal' background. St. Pierre with TKD, I believe, Liddell's striking (Kenpo??), and so on. What I think has to happen is that training methods have to be modified in order to prepare oneself for MMA competition. Therefore, many stylists with a 'traditional' background pick up and head for an MMA gym to learn the nuances of the MMA fight, pick up some ground work and clinch work, hit the conditioning, and then can make it into the ring. What's nice is that, in the end, we can all say that fighting is just fighting. However, I don't think we will ever be able to leave the word 'style' behind.

I would have to agree here. Headbutts, gouges, whatever you can do to get it over with. I am not so sure why so many people think that a groin shot is considered cheap in a fight. I feel that if you are in a situation to fight/defend yourself, and you start thinking about what is fair, cheap, dishonorable, etc., you are beginning to set yourself up for defeat.

This is true. It is nice that we can have drills presented to us, that way it kind of gives us a push-start. If, after some extensive training, we find that something doesn't work for us, we can modify it, and make it into something of our own. That is how we all develop our own 'style.'

Oh ok. Ive never used shoes specifically for MA. Wear plain old runners most of the time when training or in normal life. Wear steel cap boots at work(i do enough shadow boxing when no-one is watching to know how it feels with boots on ). And flip flops on the odd occasion. I would like to do some more training with my work boots on as well. They are definitely heavier, and will affect some of the things I do. One thing I know for sure: If I get into a srap at work, it isn't going to be a TKD fight!

I agree with you here, baron. What is important is that now the ground work has been laid, and if it can even be moderately successful, it can bring about more ideas to expand the platform.

Every day, baron, every day! My knees just ache almost every day before, during, and after training. I love TKD, but I think my body is liking it less and less. All that aside, I am hoping to test for my 3rd dan within this year. However, I am working on a back-up plan. I have been reinvigorated in my pursuit of Combat Hapkido, and I have dived in head first! In Combat Hapkido, all of the kicks are low-line kicks, so they aren't near as stressful. I also like the self-defense aspects of the art, which is where I need more focus at this time. I think it will relate very well to my occupation. By the way, baron, I think fencing would be great fun!

It is interesting that everyone will have a differnent take on this. What I think is the most interesting is that we would perhaps use the "black belt equivalent" to describe someone from the fighting arts like boxing, Muay Thai, and wrestling, that don't use a rank system. However, the competitors of those sports would probably be less likely to use such a descriptor themselves.

I would definitely keep working on these things with him. Sparring is a good way to develop timing and can also get rid of the fear of contact.

I will usually take notes after a class, if there was something that struck my fancy. I do have a big 3-ring binder at home, with all kinds of class planners, workouts, articles, and things like that in it. Lately, as me and my friends have been doing Combat Hapkido, I have been taking a lot of notes in and out of the lessons. I am learning a lot, and sometimes won't retain any details. So, I write down what I can.

Lordtarial had lots of good advise. The martial arts are a contact endeavor, and therefore, is to be expected from time to time. Not making contact should be the exception, not the norm, in training. I think that the attitude that you have towards your instructor and your training is very good. In that respect, I would change nothing. As far as sparring younger children, just do it more often. It is a good time to work on your control. As you describe your situation, I do not think that you were out of control. The fact of the matter is that you attacked, and the student did not defend successfully. I think in the martial arts, this is what we call a lesson. You attacked with a very simple, very popular attack, and now the student knows that she needs to try something different to defend it. In the end, you have both learned something about yourselves in this scenario. As the others have said, don't feel bad, and don't be too hard on yourself. We train, and grow. Later on down the road of your training, this will end up being one of those little anecdotes that you end up sharing with your own students....or even with one that may remind you a little bit of yourself!

This is a good point. One of the problems that I have with "kobudo" training is that the most of it seems to be done with traditional weapons in a non-traditional manner. Many students of kobudo that claim to have knowledge of how to use kamas, or sais, or bos, have never trained weapon on weapon. With the advent of XMA, many are just twirling them about in maneuvers that don't resemble attacks or defenses. Although I agree that it is important to learn how to deal with the threats of today, I do believe that traditional kobudo training can be beneficial, if taught in an actual combat sense.

The new IFL may be able to help get MMA into the Olympics. They are putting focus on the safety of the fighters, since the fighters help to make the money. I think they are trying to make the sport look more attractive to the public, thus paving the way for the Olympics some day.

See if you can visualize this, going very slowly: 1. Begin by reaching your rear hand across your body, stretching it out and pointing it at point beyond your target (45 degrees from the left, if it is your right hand). 2. Cock the leg for the kick, keeping the knee behind behind you, almost set on a 180 degree line with where you are pointing. Your body should feel stretched, like it is "loaded," like a spring. 3. Now, pull with your outstretched hand, and bring the kicking leg around as well. As the knee begins to line up with the target, pivot your base leg as you extend the kick. The pivot should help to get your hips into it more. Now you have sprung your spring, so to speak. 4. Finish by adding the "chopping down" concept. Let me know how that goes for you. This may sound very exaggerated, and it is. It should help you get a good feel for what you are trying to do, and you can shorten the process up as you go along.

Not really. I am beginning to spend more time on my Combat Hapkido. There is a small group of us going over the material, and one of the guys has been to several of the seminars, and he and I are kind of setting up different curiculums together. We are hoping that the group of us can go test for our Black Belts together, and can then begin implementing Combat Hapkido into our school more.

Cool. Does that mean they are seperate sparring events? Like, a TKD sparring event, and then a different sparring event?

From what I could remember, the submissions came from leg, ankle, and arm locks. That may not be all, though.

It sounds like a drop kick to me, like they used to do in pro wrestling. The double hand strike sounds like the old axehandle strike.