bushido_man96

Thank you guys very much! Keep it coming, please! When you do the bunkai, do you stick with the technique the way it is taught in the form, or do you modify it some?

I suppose knuckle push-ups would be a decent form of hand conditioning, would it not?

I was wondering, would Thanksgiving dinner count? It usually last about a week for me!!

Bag work/makiwara training generally builds your impact potential and not your speed. But keep practicing that along with the other methods suggested. you hit the bag during speed training to give you something to impact. speed without impact in a punch makes for a useless punch. Also, having something to hit prevents hyperextension. On a side note, to hitting the bag. I have read recently that we in TMA train the reaction hand for equal and opposite reaction (as one reason). The author of the book stated that when striking another object, such as a person or bag, that the reaction hand does not need to be used, because we are getting the equal/opposite reaction from the object we are striking. Therefore, bag work could improve speed and reaction force.

Try to find this book: Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body. It is edited by John Little, and is released by Tuttle Publishing. It has many of his workouts layed out in it, and also talks about his diet. A lot of the way Bruce looked was due to his diet just as much as his workout regimine. Just a thought to keep in mind.

I have never had any experience with this, so keep us posted as to how it works for you.

This is good advise. There are no bad martial arts, just bad instructors. With that in mind, keep your options open, and take a look around to see what is available. Welome to KF, by the way!

Trying to learn on-line, without an instructor, and never having prior experience, is not a great idea. Your best bet would be to find a school of martial arts in your area that best fits what you are looking for, and sign up for classes to get you going. You can't replace an instructor. Welcome to KarateForums!

On the contarary, many round kicks thrown in TKD tournaments have quite a bit of snap on them. I think you may be confusing "push" with "follow through."

Let us know how it goes, and what you do!

If you give the name in English, that would help!

Welcome to KF, AndyKS! Just curious, but does the KS mean that you are from Kansas?

Of course. Our intructor tells us what each movment is for as we learn our new forms. I've never been to a school that doesn't, however I am sad to find out that the world is very abundant in schools that don't teach you the application of the movements in your forms, self defence techniques and whatnot. Do you actually do any partner drills with the forms applications?

You may also try keeping a dryer sheet in your bag with your gear. It kind of helps to keep them fresh.

I can see some of your points, DancingSteve, but I still think that the heel down application is that important. You mention that a lot of kicks score points.....well, they would, because you won't get docked for your heel being up, because it is likely going to be planted as your base leg. My tournaments are body displacement....meaning you have to move someone with a technique to get a point. This can still be done with the heels up off the ground, it is just a different set of mechanics.

Congrats!

Pancrase is a tournament that showcased popular catch wrestlers in Japan. Pancrase is a ruleset (strikes on the feet, no closed fist attacks to the head, 10 second knockdowns, no punching on the ground) whereas catch wrestling is a style. I see. Thanks for the clarifications!

Thank you, ps1. That clarifies things a little. I have Kano's book on Kodokan Judo, and from what I remember, most of the takedowns were from the standing position, and done by breaking the balance of the opponent. However, it has been a while since I looked at it.

A few weeks ago I went out to range day for the Sheriff's Deptartment that I work for. The deputies carry Glock .40s, so that is what I shot. We did different shooting scenarios, and it was a blast. We fired at targets from behind obstacles, did some moving around, and also did a stand off situation with a baddy holding a gun, but not aiming it at you. When they told us to start yelling commands to "drop the gun," I noticed a little bit of excitement and adrenaline start running. It was enjoyable, and I shot pretty decent for my second time out.

I have made homeade chucks, but it was as a kid, and they were bad. It isn't hard to learn how to twirl them around, but learning applications with them is a little tougher.

I think that every object has a way of being thrown, and you can't assume that throwing a baseball is the same as throwing a knife. You are looking for different results in each, so the wrist movement will not be the same. I tried an axe throw at a RenFest one time, and I thought it was pretty cool. The guy at the booth explained to me that you had to keep the wrist locked upon release, otherwise the axe would head towards the ground, instead of travelling straight. I would never have assumed that, had I not had the opportunity to try it. One way to learn is through experimentation. Get a few different objects, and practice with each to figure out how to throw them best. It isn't absurd to assume that someone could teach themselves to throw a knife, especially if they become accustomed to one certain weapon.

Boy, do I envy you. That would be an awesome experience. Have fun with it!

Didn't Jet Li get started over here with Lethal Weapon 4?

Make sure that you have the grain of the boards running the proper way for each technique. For the palm strike, I run them horizontally, and strike towards the top 1/3 of the board, so as not to smash my fingers. For the back elbow strike, if it is a horizontal strike, run the grain that way; if vertical, run it vertically. And for the jump reverse kick (I am guessing this is a side kick) run the grain horizontally again. Make sure that the holders get into good front stances, with their inside legs crossed and to the back. They should cross either their top or bottom sets of hands, and lock their elbows, securing the boards and themselves. They should also look away up impact, to protect their eyes. For the side kick, if I am a holder, I prefer to cross the arms at the top of the board, that way the boards don't go flying away, or into my face. One more thing: make sure the holders get a lot of palm on the backside of the boards and just enough finger on the front to hold them in place. It gives you more surface area, and less chance to kick their fingers. One thing to consider for the holders' sake: don't take too long to get going. Set the boards up, then maybe rehearse your move once or twice at each, and then go. At our testings, there are some people who will set up for a side kick, and then practice, and practice, and practice, and practice a slow set-up kick over and over before finally attempting to break. This makes the holders' tire more quickly, and the faster they tire, the worse off they will be for holding your boards. The sooner you can break, the better. Best of luck to you at the tournament!