bushido_man96

Those were the two...I couldn't remember the names. Also, good suggestion with Muay Thai. That would be a good one to find.

Lots of good posts here that I agree with. I've never heard of any kind of religious or occult properties being associated with any of the starting positions of forms.

You make some interesting points here about how the student/teacher relationship used to get started and how things are now. A lot of the logistics have changed, too, be it for better or worse (just the way the world seems to be now). I think it's more difficult to do things "the old way," but still not impossible. It really depends on if one is willing to only teach one or two students at a time, probably at their home. Or, if one is wanting to try to reach out to as many students as possible, and try to make a living doing what they enjoy, it's easier to do in the more school oriented setup we see more of today. I have seen over the course of my years of instruction in the "new way" in the school/dojo setting that when all is said and done, a very small percentage of the students you start with end up staying with you. But, to me, I enjoy the chance to teach what I know to someone, no matter how talented they might be, or how long they might stay. And in the end, for me, the few dedicated ones that do stay over all the others that have come and gone, is very rewarding. I sure do wish all of them would stay. I just hope that I can impact every student positively in some way, whether I get them for a short time or long time.

Bob, you are not wrong about your assessment of the training progression in the show. That's one of the things that bothers me, too. Another thing that bothers me, especially now, is that Ralph Macchio is no better at the Martial Arts now than he was in 1984 (he may even be worse, now, or I just know more). Zabka was a Wrestler, and learned Tang Soo Do later on.

That's awesome, Danielle. Just awesome!

We have a "Little Lions" program that is basically that. Each class usually has a focus, like balance, memorization, teamwork, etc, and works pretty much the way you've described it. I think the youngest we take is 6.

Back to document my latest bout of inconsistent training. 9/16/2020 Strength Training Power Cleans: technique review and position drilling, 75x3, 75x3, 75x3. Jerk: 75x3, 75x3, 75x3. Power Clean & Jerk: 75x3, 75x3, 75x3. So, assuming I can ever get back to being able to work out frequently (like on a schedule), I want to work more overhead pressing work into my routine. I bailed on the Power Clean some time ago, because I had trouble with the rack position, and I seem to have terribly long forearms compared to the length of my upper arms, which makes racking the clean a nightmare. And, my knees didn't respond well to the exercise, either. But, I'm giving it another go. I spent the first part of my workout doing basically a remedial of training myself how to do the power clean, working from the top down, and focusing on the jumping portion. Then I added some weight and did some sets. I'm hoping I can do this explosive exercise more often. And so I thought, "why not add the jerk for more overhead work?" So I went to the rack, did a few sets of the jerk from the rack position, focusing on getting the split down, and then stepping back to parallel. Then I put it all together. And now my knees hate me. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did the first three stations of our kicking class layout on the heavy bag, then the students and I did some double kicking (touch the floor and go style), and then changed them to "repeat" or "consecutive" kicks. We did front/round kicks (to one bag), then round/side kicks (to two different bags, the side kick going to a bag at a 45 degree angle from the round kick target), and lastly, front/side kicks (front kick to a bag in front, then side kick to a bag directly behind). Finished with a good stretch. And now my knees hate me.

I have never enjoyed running, and I don't do it. I'd rather lift weights than run, any day of the week. Most of us Martial Artists do more extensive stretching than other athletes, especially in the split positions. I'm not saying that other athletes aren't flexible. But, I think the order of flexibility focus in various activities would probably start with gymnastics at the top, with dancing/cheer leading right behind, and then probably MA. Yoga would be up there high, too.

I agree here. And there have been lots of good points made throughout this post. I've heard it said that hard striking tools are best to use on soft targets (fists:body) and softer tools are better to use on harder targets (palms:face). I don't think this is necessarily a hard and fast rule, but I think it's worth considering when training, and when thinking about how you might hit someone if you every actually have to hit someone.I like the idea of striking different targets with the same strike in practice. Focus mitts vs heavy bag, makiwara if you have it available (I never have, unfortunately), and even striking boards (starting with just one, and working up). The next thing is to consider strikes in combination. Punching combinations feel very different when you switch to open hand palm strikes in the same combinations. So although a reverse punch and a reverse palm strike may be done mechanically the same, when you get in front of a bag with each, they dramatically change. It's difficult to hit a hanging heavy bag with a palm strike without putting an upward trajectory on it. On a standing bag, you can hit with the palm right at the top of the bag, if you can get it to be straight out from the body, and then it will be more like a straight punch. An uppercut punch is pretty flexible on the heavy bag, but an upwards palm strike has different usages (like breaking anatomy). I guess what I'm getting at is to train and dink around with these things in various ways, and see what you discover about all our wonderful striking techniques.

Very good point.

Respectfully, I think that you may be missing something here, higher ranks than you should never be considered "Superior" but rather, your senior. And addressing dan grades by their rank title as it were, is part of the culture of "Traditional karate" which acknowledges your time and dedication to the art. Just like many other formal institutions, military, government, academia, etc. Now, how that person acts and treats you is a completely different deal. If you prefer the more casual environment of a MMA gym then that's fine, but understand that a tradition dojo and a MMA gym are offering completely different experiences. Just check out some of the MMA forums and you will soon pick up the vibe that they have compared with a karate one like KF forums. Best post I’ve read in quite a while. I think there are good points in both respects here. I had the opportunity to train with Royce Gracie on a couple of occasions (in a Law Enforcement setting), and it was awesome. He was a very mellow and down-to-earth guy. Standing next to him, you wouldn't guess he'd been in the ring whipping guys. Being from a traditional background, I was all ready with the typical bowing and referring to him as "sir," but that wasn't the case. Very cool, very relaxed, and absolutely some of the best instruction I have ever received in my MA journey. I've had instructors in my Traditional background with varying experiences. Most of them, outside of the class setting, we were just dudes talking. I always try to be respectful, though, but I have an idea with whom I can be more relaxed and casual with. I've had other instructors that kept it on the instructor/student basis in and outside of class. It's a matter of everyone having their own approach, really.

I think some of those changes could come about because of the age of the instructor at the time he taught the kata to whomever. I can see a younger practitioner going with the jumping front kick, and an older one opting for not jumping and doing two front kicks in a row. Perhaps?

First off, welcome to the Forums! Second off, have you done an internet search of the area? I'm assuming you have, based on the fact that you've found something at least close to what you are looking for. However, you might consider an expanded search, and may even consider checking some area Yellow Page ads, if those are still published in the area. I also know that there are some offshoot styles of Kyokushin that seem to have a good reputation, so looking that way might be a good idea, too. Best of luck in your search, and again, welcome!

I think this is a good idea. But, I would also consider doing it at times with no distractions, because that may be the way he decides to test you. That way, you learn how to take your mind elsewhere when your legs start to hurt.

Congratulations!

I can't imagine what it's like Bob, going through all this testing and waiting. I'm praying for you, my friend.

That was awesome. Such control out of a big man. Those opponents, having to deal with the strength, speed, size, and overall athletic ability of a pro athlete like that....phew, what a tall order.I really wish we could do sweeps in TKD. My dad said years ago, back in the "blood and guts" days of TKD, in the competitions he went to, they did allow sweeps, strikes to the head, and even groin kicks were legal targets. Incidentally, speaking about pro (or former) pro athletes, Herschel Walker, former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL running back, is 5th dan black belt in TKD.

Glad to hear you are feeling better! Enjoy that more intense training!

9/2/2020 Was having a pretty good day today, so I didn't waste it. Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did my form, Choong Jang, 3 times, and did a very little bit of bag work, and some light stretching. I helped the kids with some kicking techniques, and then switched them up to doing jab and jab/cross combinations on the bags. Finished up by running them through colored belt forms at my count (white through high blue), and then one-steps (white through high green).

You can find Vitamin supplements at most grocery stores, and I believe they have recommended dosages on the packages. I'd start there at the least, so you can get a start on it. If the doc wants to up the dosage, then take more. But I don't think you can go wrong just getting some and starting.

He's so quick, and he sets the throws up so well.

When I refer to "concentration kicks," others might refer to them as "tension kicks" or something like that.So, for what I call "concentration side kicks," I'd line all the students up on the wall, where they use a hand to prop for balance. I call out "chamber," and have the student raise their leg and hold it in the chamber position. Then I'll call out "extend," and they do a slow, controlled side kick to full extension and hold it there until I say "rechamber," at which point they rechamber the kick in a slow, controlled manner (between 3 and 5 seconds). For the first few, I'll then call out "return," which means to return the foot to the floor. The "concentration" comes in when I make them leave the leg extended for longer and longer time periods, where they have to overcome both physical and mental fatigue to hold the kick up. I'll also skip the "return" part after the first few reps, making them do multiple kicks in a row without setting their foot down. This really makes the student focus on balance, and they develop a sense of kinesthetic awareness as to what the chamber position and extended position feels like, especially when the muscles start to tire out.

It sounds like you made the right decision for yourself and your training, which is great. As Bob is fond of saying, "not all black belts can teach." Now, I'm not going to go so far as to say the black belts you had at Chito Ryu couldn't teach. It does sound like they tended to be quite reluctant to teach in any other manner, and it sounds like they don't adjust their teaching style very well. When I'm breaking in new instructors, I try to get them to be flexible, and figure out different ways of getting the same points across, because not everyone learns the same way. It also sounds like your new instructors are into positive reinforcement and constructive criticism, which are two more traits I find highly valuable in an instructor. And people respond to praise differently, too. Some people need it, and some just want to know what to fix and how to get better, regardless of how they are fed the information. All in all, it sounds like you've found a school with some instructors that fit what you want, and that is great.

RW, the really short version is that, back in early 2001, I was thinking up ideas for websites, came across this name, had a friend (still my friend) who was into the martial arts, he thought it was a good idea, and so I did it. From there, it's just a lot of day in, day out attention to keep things rolling forward in a friendly, respectful, productive way. Thanks again, Patrick Patrick, that's like, the "short, short version" from Spaceballs!

Welcome to KF, Mad Mike!