bushido_man96

Happy birthday, Sohan!! The workouts you do give me inspiration to work harder, and try to push myself more. Keep up the good work!!

I would like to see something in the form of double stick or stick and knife, or stick and short sword.

I have had students practice target mitt and bag drills with the hands down in a natural position, so they know how the motion is different when confronted in that situation. It is a very good idea to practice this way, and probably should be done more.

This is what I feel is what TKD and karate practitioners could learn in exchanging ideas. However, there would also be some subtle blocking concepts, hand counters, and likewise kicking strategies and differences. I remember being at an ATA tournament many years ago, and there was a black belt there that was a former karate student. I heard comments about watching out for his hands, because they were extremely fast. Just food for thought!

However, grappling affords greater ability to control another's limbs. When striking with an opponent, you are just as likely to receive as you are to give.

To me, the cloth ones are comfy, but I have done foamies, and have had no problems.

Your best bet is to go watch a class and see if they have what you want. It is always agood idea to shop around and weigh your options. See what the instructor's teaching methods and philosophies are. Best of luck, and welcome to KF!

I am not a big fan of BOB bags. They are ok, but your money may be better spent on just the standing wavemaster. BOB is nice for a cool target every once in a while, bit if you want to get more benefit out of the bag, then the regular round bag is the way to go, IMO. For you hanging heavy bag, I would recommend the wavemaster as well. The water won't have the settling problem, and it should give a good long life as well.

Adidas usually has good equipment, but you would want to have a feel of both to get a good idea of what you want.

Crescent kicks and kicking with the instep..sounds somewhat like TKD, but it is not necessarily the case. Don't Thai fighters point their foot when kicking as well, to allow for easier contact with the shin?

Holy cow!!! $900 for six months!! It is a wonder these places ever get students to begin with.

That may have been it. The one I saw years ago had a different cover, though. It looks like it has been reprinted, though. Good find!

I am looking into some his books.

I am just going to single out TKD here, as it is my style of preference. There are a lot of TKD competitors out there, but many of them also have self-defense training of some kind, as it is usually part of the curriculums of their classes. I think this relates more to ITF stylists than WTF, as WTF is the governing body for Olympic TKD. However, the ones that excel at the tournament game also begin to specialize their training more, and it seems that it is all they do.

This is a good point you make, comparing the sport aspect of wrestling to that of BJJ. However, let's say that you bring in a very self-defense oriented style, like for the sake of argument, traditional karate. Even though he trains soley for self-defense/combat, he is still going to have an adaptation period to match the skills of the BJJ practitioner. The fact that he trains for combat is not going to help him against the BJJer anymore than the wrestler, even though he just trains as a sportster. As a matter of opinion, I would say that the wrestler's knowledge of how things work on the ground would be a benefactor to him, and the karateka would have a greater learning curve, due to the lack of experience on the ground.

This idea just popped into my head, and I thought I would mention it here. We all pretty much know that wrestling is a big sport/MA in the U.S., starting with kids wrestling programs, and ranging up to high school, college, and into the Olympics. However, why doesn't anyone who has wrestled in high school and not gone onto college, or even retired college wrestlers, try to start a gym open to the public, to train in wrestling, in which they could easily modify the techniques and the rules to make it self-defense oriented? There could be a lot of possibilities there.

I have the Gracie Self-Defense book, and you are correct. The case is using standing grappling to control the opponent, or using standing grappling counters to get out of a hold or headlock. Whenever their is a takedown, it involves the opponent ending on the ground, with the defender usually still standing. They also monopolized the use of the classic judo hip throw. It was the most common form of takedown in the book, I felt.

as far as I know, muay has never been grappling intensive. There's been one documented style I've heard of that's rich in grappling but that's it. muay has always been striking. Now, there are thai arts that do have a grappling side, but not this one, other than the few throws, takedowns and clinchwork you learn. some of these lethal moves are in fact the low percentage ones I am talking about. I was wondering if you could point me to a site that has information on the older muay styles, along with maybe a historical timeline? I am very interested, if you have some direction to send me.

All excellent advice. But, I would like to add that if it is a larger and much stronger opponent if you plan on grappling make sure you are a good grappler. Rudimentary grappling skills are not enough against sheer size and power. Grappling arts like BJJ are great but it takes a lot of practice and hard work to be effective. You just can't train a few weeks and become proficient. When even a skilled stand up fighter goes against a good BJJ practioner, he will most likely be toast. How do I know this? I just started to cross train and it was an eye opener. I'm not too shabby in my standup. My Sweeps, locks and throws are pretty decent. I'm not too bad on the ground but when flat on my back or when in the mount I was a dead man. What I'm really saying is that it is important to have a well balance arsenal at your disposal. Neither striking or grappling alone is enough. Remember a grappler can be knocked out before he goes to the ground, so both are important. This is good advise as well. Although I don't advocate going to the ground with someone, because it is not my strong suit, it can be beneficial if you know what you are doing. I have been trying to become more versed in ground fighting, but I know that it is not an easy skill to learn. Most of the advise I give is more related to standup, as this is where my experience comes from. Of course, that side step to a side kick could easily be switched from a side step to a single leg takedown, if the situation warrants, and you are well versed enough on the ground.

That does sound cool. If only I cold do that with tetsu geta. I could probably make wooden geta, but only tetsu geta if I took a metal shop elective. And I don't like metal shop. I remember seeing a book a while back, on how to make homemade martial arts equipment, but I can't remember the exact title. It looked interesting, if one is mechanically inclined.

Very nice review. Thanks a bunch!

When I used to teach at my old school, I did a different class pretty much every day, with focuses on certain things each week, like stances, or basics for new grade levels, and things like this. My current school has the same traditional classes every other day. I have a whole notebook full of classes that I have put together and taught, and some that I have put together and have not yet taught. What kind of ideas do you have? Give us an idea of what you like to do, and we could give some more specific help.

This is true, but if you are fighting one, and the other grabs you from behind, you could end up there anyways.

Perhaps Iain Abernethey's books and site may have some more to offer here as well?

I like the lap running. I will keep that one in mind. (Do your forms, now!!)