bushido_man96

Hey, me too!

Hey, that sounds like fun! I have played racquetball in the past, and man, is it a tough game! Great exercise, though.

Depends on the laws of your state. Some states permit deadly force in response to a perceived danger to life or property, before any blows are thrown by the attacker. In any case the responsibility may end up being yours to prove that you acted prudently. I personally would prefer to gauge the situation on my own and strike when I determine the line has crossed, but in this litigious world, as martial artists we will always be held to a higher standard regardless of how justified we think we may be. With respect, Sohan Yeah, that is a good point, Sohan. Being able to guage the situation well enough to garner the action is very important, especially if you end up in court over it.

Distance is a factor I agree. If they close the distance, getting into your personal space - and are behaving agressively - well there you have it. You can defend yourself. If you feel threatened you are allowed to defend yourself afterall. It's just how far you go I think. This is a good statement. I agree that invading personal space is a definite sign of impending confrontation (unless it is your significant other ).

Thanks for sharing, Tom.

Oh, thanks!

Instead of waiting for us to pick up on clues we won't notice, you should just offer it for us!

Oh, that's a good one!

Samo Hung is one of my heros, because he shows that a fat guy can move!

I second the hamstring stretching suggestion. I would also recommend, when performing splits, always keep your back as straight as you can, arch backward if possible, and tilt your pelvis forward. I second these ideas as well.

Seriously, though, I hope you have a speedy recovery.

You may have to do some looking around, but there are some standing contraptions out there that will hold your boards for you, and it may be more effective than the vise, as it will hold on both ends, and maybe even in all four corners. Unfortunately, I don't have the slightest idea of where to look for them. If you are mechanically inclined, you may be able to design something like this as well. Unfortunately, I am not so inclined, so I just call up some friends, and buy them pizza if I hit their hands.

You could ditch it, and get a wavemaster hanging bag. They are very nice, and can be easier to transport if you ever need to move it.

Are you planning on participating?

Does anyone have any combinations that they like to use for Olympic style sparring, or drills for improving kicking and reaction times? I have been doing more kicking paddle work, but as I am kind of short, I have to cut a lot of angles. I want to use a spin hook/heel kick, but I need to speed up the timing. I like crescents as well, both inside and out. I have been trying a front leg round/front leg outer crescent, or the same combo starting off the back leg. What do you like, and what has been successful for you?

I believe what you are describing are primarily straight-legged kicks used for stretching the legs. The rising kick is a front stretch kick, and the vertical kick, I believe, is a side stretch kick. I could be wrong, and it could be that my style is devoid of these kicks as well. However, this is what they sound like to me.

Hey Scott James, How was korea? Our TSD school does backfist, but according to original TSD publications it IS a hammerfist. Next time we catch up (are you back from Korea) I'll show you my new copy of Hwang Kee's volume. Hey, I want a copy too!!!!

Thanks for the info. That helps to clarify things a little bit. It is kind of cool, there is more to the Korean styles out there than I realized, and I like to think that I am fairly knowledgable on the subject. If I ever get the chance, I would love to check out a TSD school, just to see what the similarities and differences between the two are. I do have one book on TSD so far, and I loved it. It has a system of forms, but it has been so long since I read it, that I don't remember which forms they are. I do know that one of the higer ranked forms is called the "Tiger" form.

That is a good point. I didn't even think of that. I'd love to do that but our sparring guidelines don't allow us to grab in tournaments. We can grab to deflect, but not grab to hold. One little 'trick' that you could try is that when you block a kick, you sweep the technique away with your hand, and 'hook' the leg with your hand as you finish the block. This will give you a split-second hold on the leg, and also pull them off balance, which will help to facilitate the sweep. Give it a try, if you get to feeling froggy!

I am beginning to do more of it in class as well, to prepare myself for testing. In our kicking class on Wednesdays, we do a lot of paddle kicking and bag work with partners, and I really feel like I get a good workout with more freedom of movement, so to speak. I do feel that these drills will transfer to sparring more readily than to forms and one-steps.

I think that it can work, but you cannot always assume that you block, then punch. You may block, but there may be another attack coming right in behind, and you haven't got to punch yet. Besides that, you have to practice the block and counter in a resisting situation, in which the scenario evolves as you go on.

I feel that wrist grab defenses are usually used to train a sense of feeling how to move against the grip, and translates later on to other things. Nearly all martial styles have some sort of 'escape from wrist grab' techniques, but how many of them actually get used? Like you mentioned, bearich, more than likely you would just strike with your other hand. That is one thing that I liked about the Combat Hapkido that I did--every self-defense technique, whether a wrist grab, lapel grab, or choke, always begins with a distraction technique, in which you strike the attacker to get their minds off of think about holding you.

40 new emails today. All topic reply notifications!!!!

Very nice article. There are some things I see that vary from my experiences, but overall, I thought it was a very nice and informative article.

Because he was a little thinner, and you don't see his name in the cast anywhere. You have to look past the long hair, and try to age his face a little.