bushido_man96

I would have to change out of my dobok to get away with that!

I think Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter used shotokan, E. Honda used sumo, and Chun Li used Kung Fu. Sagat was a Thai fighter, and Balrog was a boxer.

I have done both, and I feel that the parallel chamber send the heel in a more direct line to the target. It is really more about shifting the hips into postition at a different time, I guess.

Yes drinking coffee will interfere with proper hydration. I forget where I read it, but for every caffinated drink you consume, it increases the amount of water you must ingest. Caffeine tends to increase dehydration from what I understand. Yeah, coffee and sodas are diuretics; although you may go to the bathroom a lot drinking them, they are actually dehydrating you.

Thanks for the advise, KSN Doug.

Just a side note, but I have seen side kick chambers that are perpendicular to the ground, and some that pick the leg up parallel, or close to parallel, with the ground. Which do you think you like better?

Wow, shogeri, that must have been some experience. Thanks for sharing.

I think we are close on interpretations, shogeri. I am not saying that TKD is all-encompassing, but, neither are many other styles. MMA is very good about covering all bases, and many will still consider it only a sport.

Great article. I admire your desire and drive.

If my wife finds out that I post with so many people from Oregon, she will have me start PMing you guys for addresses, houses for sail, and all kinds of stuff!

I agree with you here. In the armed forces, you are at the epitome of learning about combat, fighting, surviving, and sacrifice. No arguement here. I think that boxing, Thai boxing, etc, will produce a set of beliefs and philosophies in each of its individuals, it is just a different set than those that are laid out previously by the Eastern martial arts/fighting styles. Watch The Contender. Listen to how they talk about "respect for the sport," and "bringing the best they can to the sport," and other such statements. It is there; you just have to look deeper for it.

Hey, that sounds kind of cool.

Good explanation, guys.

Sounds good to me!

If I were you Kez, I would go see the specialist. You don't want to let something like this go too long, because the effects could be irreversible. I feel for you! You are having nothing but tough times, it seems!

Best of luck to you! Keep us posted on your progress.

If you stop the pivot half-way between 90 and 180, you will not notice the over-commitiment quite so much. Just something to keep in mind for sparring.

You are right about that. I understand where you are coming from.

I have also heard of it being called dan-tien, I think that is right. The center of gravity, right below the navel, maybe???

Come to think of it your right. Youd think that with people punching and throwing kicks at each other there would be serious injuries all the time; but in the time ive been training Ive only seen one really bad injury and that was on this guys knee. (the guy just got out of surgery just a few weeks earlier and being the highly inteligent person he was decided hed join a new Karate school.) I wonder why that works out that way? I think the reason is that fighters do not put their joints at serious risk in their events. Other than the joint locks of MMA and grappling events, the joints are not usually attacked. And when they are attacked, it is with the goal of submission in mind, and not breaking. In all of the MMA that I have seen, I have only seen one break, and that was because someone did not tap out, and the hold kept being pressed. Then the fight was stopped. In football, baseball, etc., the stress is put on the joints with the highest range of motion; i.e., running in football and baseball (knees), pitching and throwing in baseball (elbows), and the list can go on. Typically, the more range of motion and the more speed a joint can produce, the less stable it is. When a football player gets taken out at the knees, and you gasp for air as you see them bend in funky directions, you see just how unstable that joint is. More stable joints are the shoulder and hip. Also, in fighting, the muscle of the upper leg is a target; not usually the knee (not regarding self-defense here). In football, in order to stop a fast runner, you need to stop the legs. It is much more productive to tackle a runner at the legs (knees) than from the shoulders. Hence, more injuries, in my opinion.

Ok. A classic AFL match-up; one of the best. Chiefs. Raiders. Old time AFL-West match. Even when these teams are bad, this game is always tough. Will it be an offensive explosion? Will it be a defensive war of attrition? Is there a better rivalry in all of the sports world? Cast your vote now!! The good news is that Trent Green comes back this week. Likely, it will be the Larry Johnson show, so that Green can get his feet back under him. I am willing to be that Green will take off down field just once, to prove that he has not wavered, and will still give his all to win. The bad news is that there are still a few defensive injuries, including LB Derrick Johnson. The offensive line still has some holes in it as well. But it doesn't matter. None of it does. All that matters is that it is the classic Chiefs-Raiders dog fight, and the pride of the AFC West is at stake.

Wow! It sounds like you have an awesome training environment! I envy you greatly!

Great article, Laurie. Even though I have just now read it, I can tell that your preserverance is great.

This is a very interesting concept; one I had never really thought of. Thanks for the article!

Yeah, I know you have to be well versed in stand-up and ground fighting in MMA competitions. But usually, it is a mix of Thai, BJJ, or wrestling or judo and boxing, or things like that. I think it is kind of cool that TKD was used by these guys as their base stand-up style. Although, I am sure they have done some boxing and Thai as well.