bushido_man96

I'm of the opinion that size is one of many factors to be considered when dealing with a self-defense situation. It is a factor that does matter, like all the other matters. I think we tend to try to box things up, to make them nice and neat and easy to point out and compare. Things like size, speed, strength (which is not always the same as size), mentality, and training. The fact of the matter is that in any situation in which we might have to defend ourselves, we would be remiss to dismiss any one of those factors, and probably more I'm not thinking off. It was an interesting thing when the UFC started out, for sure. I think we tend to forget who started the UFC (Gracies) and why it was started (put their style out there to the world). Fought in a cage, on a mat, and some wore gis, and some didn't. At the end of the thing, we tended to only thought about who won, and not about those who lost along the way (originally being a single elimination tournament). The one's that lost along the way weren't necessarily bad fighters, and it's important to remember that. Yes, all valid points (except the round-robin aspect; it was single elimination). This, I believe, was a business decision more than anything. If the UFC was to survive as a venue, these changes were inevitable. It's also important to note how MMA began to evolve as the sport matured. Fighters realized that they had to at least learn how to defend on the ground, and ground fighters realized that they had to put together some semblance of a stand-up game. I honestly believe that whether or not the original rules had changed, this change would have occurred, just because most competitors are smart and realize what adjustments have to be made in order to stay competitive. And this is where the rubber truly meets the road. When the talent levels of the athletes start to get closer and closer together, and the UFC matured into more of a professional venue, the addition of weight classes was really inevitable. If you watch any competitive combat sport for any length of time, you see why weight divisions become necessary. Now, to cover the whole "does size matter" question from the aspect of self-defense... What we have to take into account is the difference in goals between a UFC/MMA fight and a self-defense situation. In an MMA fight, the goal is to stay in the ring for the duration of the fight (whether it goes the time/round limit, or ends due to KO/submission/stoppage), and most importantly, to WIN. The goal of self-defense is to, 1. never get into a situation to begin with, and 2. to defend yourself successfully so you can get away, get help, call authorities, etc. We hope that self-defense doesn't last as long as a UFC fight does, at least I know that I do. I'm a simple man, not blessed with the time to train as much as UFC fighters do, nor do I have that youth anymore. And if I have to face up with a 6'6" 260 lb dude that wants to hurt me, then my train of thought isn't to "go the distance and knock him out." I'm going to cheat, a lot, and do what I can to get out of the situation, and hopefully not go to jail. The two things have two entirely different goals, and two entirely different ways of achieving them. Yes, we should teach these things. We just can't teach them in the same way as a UFC fight takes place. Yes, absolutely. Just not like a UFC fight. This is the same thing I tell my boys. My wife and I are not tall people, and the likelihood that our boys will be tall is not good. 5'10 or 5'11 would be awesome! When they complain about someone being bigger, I tell them they just have to get over it, because it isn't going to change right that instant. This is just different for everyone, and for those it affects, it's a mental hurdle to have to get over. I've trained with you, Bob, and I'd consider you to be a big guy yourself. You're taller than me, and have strong hands, broad shoulders; I'd consider you a good sized dude to have to be in a fight with. It's just something to think about. This topic has come up before, but it is always a good one when we have it! Great topic, Bob!

1/8/2020 TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Lots of kicking on the bags, and then had the black belts work on doubling up kicks on the targets. Finished with some slow kicking drills on the wall. 1/9/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 235x5, 235x5, 235x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. 1/10/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x3, 250x1, 280x5. Barbell Rows: 135x8, 135x8, 135x8. 1/15/2020 Strength Training Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5. TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Worked a lot of basic kicks on the bag, using front leg, back leg, and then stepping and using front/back leg, and spins. Stretched.

In our school, we don't teach the really young ones any forms. The curriculum they do is based more on developing coordination, balance, self-control, and the like for when they are ready to move on to the regular classes. You might find a way to have them do moves to a beat, with a drum, or some music, or something like that. I've seen instructors do variations like "forms in a phone booth" (kid's won't know what that is, so might not work), you could do a memorization game where kid's have to sit down if they forget a move, and the ones who remember keep going, and see who the last one standing is, and things like that. Those could help to make it more fun.

It's difficult to determine. All we can see is your side of the story here. It could be your instructor has his own reasons, and he feels they are justified. Or he might not have any good reasons.It's been said that "fair" is what you pay a cab driver (I know, not the proper spelling, but you get the point). What you have to take with you is that although someone may take your rank, they cannot take your knowledge. You have to lean on that to carry forward.

That sounds like quite the unique weapon there, norse_dragon. I'll bet it gets even trickier when you start doing weapon on weapon work. But it's lots of fun to explore new things like this.

First off, welcome to KF! I find this to be a very interesting topic. I do have a question about the following: How do you plan to approach this idea? Do you plan to be spending class time to cover some of these "academic" topics, or adding time that students would have to put in for these subjects? I think most students are looking for the training, and are willing to study up on other aspects of the Arts on their own time. I'm curious as to how much time would go to this extra curriculum, and how it affects the rest of the student's training time.

I agree as well. When it comes to MA training, I would think that purist would be likely to settle on what is proven and practical for self-defense purposes. Perhaps a better term would "theoretical?"

Sounds like a good class, and a good school! Keep up the good work, and that soreness will go away in no time!

We have white, orange, green, blue, brown, and black, but at the colored belt levels, they are divided into a lo and hi belt, except for brown, where there are lo, middle, and hi designations.

Sometimes it's nice to see a different perspective on things. Getting to train at different schools provides that. It can really open your mind up to some different ideas and approaches, and is a great opportunity.

This is great news! Keep us posted on your progress!

Catching up.... 12/23/2019 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 175x1, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5. Press: 45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 130x3, 130x3, 130x3. TKD Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. With the Christmas break approaching, classes were hit and miss, and it was just me and the 3rd dan. We did Do-Kangs 1-4 with just a short break between each. We worked on a few forms, mainly 3rd and 4th dan forms, and then went through the first 4 three-steps. Finished with a stretch. 12/30/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 235x5, 235x5, 235x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5. 1/7/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x3, 250x1, 275x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Stretch: Kick stretches and quads. Really focused on the "squeeze the chest up" cue on the deadlift, and it really seemed to help out.

As long as there has been humans, there has been warfare, and therefore, that's how long the MA's have been around. People had to learn how to fight, and eventually, training rolled around to help people learn how to fight more efficiently, or in more military fashions in regards to defending the homeland or such. Some cultures started to codify and record it more than others did, and I think the cultures that did this tend to be the ones we think of as the "progenitors" of the Martial Arts.

Welcome to KF, and welcome back into the MA world! It sounds like you've got something good going on there. I went from a light contact, point fighting system to a more Olympic style, full(er) contact level of sparring. Getting used to the vest was the toughest part for me. I did change up a few things about the way I sparred, but by and large, the change wasn't too difficult to deal with.

Welcome to KF, John_newman; glad that you're here!! Yes, Welcome!

First off, welcome to KF! You've been given some great responses so far. I'd say that if you want to train, and its the most convenient way to do so right now, then at least you'll be doing some training. I think it's definitely good to train rather than not, and groups tend to be more motivating than training alone. What I've seen happen with students who have to move away from their old school for some reason or other, and then try to keep on training, is they want the new place to be like their old place, and when it isn't (because no place is), they just stop training all together. This seems rather close-minded to me, and I hate to see good students go by the wayside because of some changes. Please keep us posted as to how this plays out!

I see your point here. Perhaps it's something that may benefit higher ranked students more.I do agree that the instructor's job is to point things out and help you make changes, but at times, I think speaking with the person who is actually scoring on you/striking you, and figure out what it is they are seeing from their point of view, and trying to counter that, could be helpful.

Congratulations!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Thank you, Bob! I really appreciate it. I wanted to take a minute to point out here that this running log is not just meant to be for me. I know we have a lot of new members here, and back when I started this, it was my hope that it would be a running thread where the community compared and contrasted their training time. Here is my original opening post: So please, everyone, feel free to chime in here! 12/20/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Stretch: Kick stretches and quads. TKD: Worked on some low rank forms; Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Chung, and also on Se Jong. Finished with some stretching.

Welcome to KF, KevinD! Glad to have you, and look forward to your contributions!

12/16/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 170x1, 195x5, 195x5, 195x5. Press: 45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. 12/17/2019 Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 285x5. Lat Pull-downs: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10. Stretch: kick stretches and quads.

It would be an easy decision for me. If the other instructor is going to be more welcoming, helpful, and not be a personality conflict, then that's the answer I'd go for.

Ditto. Do keep us posted!

Congratulations to all!