bushido_man96

Great article, Heidi.

Great article, and great points. Thanks, Mike.

I agree with this concept as well. I don't feel that it is the responsibility of a fighting style to teach these things...I feel that this responsibility belongs to peers, parents, guardians, etc. The point I was making was in relation to a previous point about a style/art teaching culture or ideals, and I feel that in many activities one can receive such things as discipline, focus, etc. Ok, I'm trackin'

Your reasoning makes sense, Oldskoul. Like I mentioned earlier, its just a different route to take.

Wow, OldSkoul, you had some good ones there. When I was in the ATA, we had some instructors that would spar with no pads on. We had some pretty good contact at times, too. I'll admit, it wasn't full contact, but we had some good, solid contact. The guy you are speaking of had some bad misinformation. Unfortunately, it is hard to control the people who make statements like that. I am aware that the ATA has come under a lot of fire, and I can understand why. It is a big organization, and I don't think the quality of the instructors has been controlled very well.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

If after some time of continuous disobedience, it doesn't hurt to put the pads on and just go at it!

Another option you have is that after you perform your straddle and side splits as far as you can go, you sit back, with your legs still spread out, and slide yourself forward as far as you can. You will feel the pull. Stretch forward (keeping the back straight), and then to each side, grabbing the side you reach to with the same hand; grab the foot or ankle, and reach over the top of your head with the other arm. Then, if you get really excited, you can do rollovers. You will use your arms to propel your body up, over, and down onto your chest, and then you push back toward your stretch. The key to this is keeping a tight motion, with your hips and body as close to the ground as possible. This is a goooooood one!

We do all these just after warm up and after the end of the training too, we dont hold them for 20-30 seconds at all though. Thanks for your advice. And chillindan if you search on google for images you will probably see illustrations of what is ment. EDIT: And can stretching be done when you are cold or should you do an intense warming up first? You can stretch cold, but just be careful. It is usually better to stretch warm if you want to get results. However, strecthing cold is good, if you don't push it too far. Chillindan, here is a good video showing the side and straddle splits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYPxsFVIJ7I&mode=related&search= If you can't go all the way down, that is ok--you just go as far as you can, and support yourself with your hands down in front of you. Keep your back straight. Hope this helps.

I am not a big fan of the gymnastics stuff either. It is fun to watch, but I can't do it, so I prefer not to compete against it.

I practice the Chang 'on forms system (ITF style). Gae Baek is my 2nd dan form. The twist kick may also be called and inverted round kick.

Myth has good advise....practice, practice, practice. That aside, now, what to practice? 1. Flexibility is important, but it won't be of any use to you if you don't have corresponding leg strength to go along with it. Build strength as well. Stand next to a wall, and use it for balance. Chamber your kicking leg, and extend it slowy, by a count of 5, as high as you can. Hold for a count of 5. Rechamber the leg for a count of 5. Do this 5 times for each leg. It should make you want to scream and cry, if you get your leg high enough. Keep in mind, you may only be kicking waist level here, and that is ok. You want to build the muscle. 2. Practice the kick in your form segment. Take the initial stance postition, and break everything down. Don't worry about kicking fast at this point, just about medium speed, and kick as high as possible, and lock out the kick for a split second (hold for as long as a clap of the hands). Then, as you rechamber, set up for the next technique. 3. Stretch, seated with one leg forward, and one tucked in to your groin, and reach forward and grab your ankle, foot, or reach past if you can. Hold each for 20-30 seconds, and do 3 reps. Also, do standing toe touches, and standing quadriceps stretches. Hope this helps out! Good luck.

And it could lead to more political problems.

I saw an episode of Martial Law with Billy Blanks in it once. He played a rather arrogant character, and him and Sammo had a little sparring match. A real match would have been interesting to see.

If any of you know who Kathy Long is, she was known to use male bodybuilders as her sparring partners.

I saw a UFC fight years ago where a Thai fighter put a guy back in his corner with a flat-footed front thrust kick. It was quite effective.

Best of luck to you!

Actually, you should keep running and then begin a stretching routine. Running won't shorten the muscles to my knowlede, however, they will be tight, especially if you don't stretch them later. Strength and flexiblity are both equally important, so you should do both if you can.

Do straddle splits and side splits. These will help open up the hips. Seated groin stretches will help as well. Hurdlers' stretches are good for the hamstrings, also. After I do the side and straddle splits, I sit back and reach foward, towards the floor, and then over to both sides. Hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds, and do about 3 sets of each.

Lay on the ground, grab your kicking foot, and pull it out to the side of your body, pulling the toes back to touch the ball of the foot to the floor. This should help you in getting your foot into position. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds, and then do the other foot. You aren't doing Gae Baek, are you?

There's some rather unpleasant attacks in there. Fighting tends to be rather unpleasant. Being efficient in a fight is what will get you out the quickest. Although some of these attacks may be difficult to pull off, they are still great techniques to get in if you can.

One problem so far: The Coaching Requirements. Although it is a good idea, many current instructors would have to get coaching certification, and they may not want to do that. It is like telling them that they don't know what they have been doing for the last 20 or so years.

Thanks for the info, ps1.

I see what you are saying here, but generally, a front push/thrust kick isn't going to be aimed much higher than stomach level.

Thanks for the information. I knew there was something there, but I had a few wires crossed. Thanks for shoring that up. I have read several books that are WTF based, and in the "History of TKD" sections, there is hardly ever a word mentioned about Gen. Choi. Politics rearing its ugly head. That 360 in Chung Moo is tough. The key is to get a good burst up, and to tuck your legs up as you spin. This will help with the clearance you need to stick it.