bushido_man96

So the class is still structured? Yes, there is a lesson plan, although sometimes we adapt according to the make-up of the class. (i.e. no point doing advanced kata if the majority of the class is a bunch of 8 year old red belts that need to work on their basics) And once a week, we run a self-defence/pads style class for the teens and adults, which is structured but in a different way. It's still karate, IMO, but in a more physical, hands-on way. Ah, very cool. Thank you much.

I was wondering if anyone thinks this is true. I have been asking in the Korean arts forum about what Tang Soo Do classes are like. Of the few descriptions I have thus far, it sounds close to my traditional TKD classes. By traditional I mean that we don't spend 75% of our time doing paddle drills and sparring drills. We do a lot of basics and forms work, and although we do compete in Olympic rule tourneys, our sparring isn't exactly the same. Anything to offer, I am all ears!

What organization are you with, and what forms system do you use?

I was curious, were the basics you started class with always the same, or were they different each time? I will compare with you if you give me an idea.

When I kick, I pivot the base foot on just about every kick I do, even the front kick. My knees hurt as it is, and I don't need to stress them anymore than they already are.

That's awesome, seeing those guys still going. I hope I can get there, and still work with my students.

Traditional Taekwondo We concentrate on basics, forms, and one-steps. We spar, using Olympic style rules, but we don't spend as much time fighting as we do on the curriculum. Competition is not limited to sanctioned Olympic qualifying events, and we do some point sparring as well.

wow, look at them, they are all like 7 dan and up, and i think they are doing Passai dai. thanks for the picture. You are welcome. I love seeing High dan grades practice lower kata. Shows the world that there is always more to learn in the kata. I like just seeing that the 7 dans and up are practicing. I don't know many that do that are associated with my organization.

Very nice, parkerlineage! Nice, quick hand movements. I like it a lot.

Ok. We cool!

That sounds exactly like my TKD classes, to the T, but with not as much self-defense, and more one-steps.

So the class is still structured?

Good analogies, too! Thanks.

I would train both - that's what I was until I stopped bjj (work schedule). there is enough cross over that you will get to work what you are learning in both classes, which is extra practice for you. Also, it makes up for the gaps in each style. I would kill my fellow judoka at my first judo club on the ground, because i was the only one who trained bjj. They did a lot of ground work, but at the time, ground work was pretty much the only thing I was doing. The reverse was true in bjj. They had several good wrestling and bjj takedowns, but I could take most of them standing, except the ones who cross trained in judo. Cool, that's what I was wondering. Thanks for the advice. Now, just have to get a school of each to move here....

I noticed that this is an old post, but I will give my 2 cents anyhow. I feel that TMA's who say that strength training and conditioning is useless are a thing of the past. Many will be now realize the advantages of engaging in such exercises. As for the question, if you take two martial people, one artist and one athlete, and all things being equal, the athlete will probably have the advantage. Now, once things like strategy, state of mental toughness, and other intangibles enter the equation, the result can change. Now, I have a question. Can't martial artist and martial athlete be the same thing? There could be a lot of grey area involved. The unfortunate thing about this whole scenario is that obviously not everyone has the time and money to spend training to be professional fighters. So, you will naturally see a difference between the two. It is like playing a pick-up basketball game with a couple of pros. Gonna be hard to beat. By the way, this is a nice thread.

first, check out the schools. some judo clubs are REALLY laid back. Others are very competition oriented and train extremely hard. next, watch the content of the classes. take note of how much standup the bjj class teaches and how much groundwork the judo class does. If all things are equal (both are competitive, both do stand up and ground regularly) then they are on fairly even ground. All else being equal, i personally would pick judo. Most fights will begin with both of you standing - judo will excel here. If it goes to the ground, judo will give you more than enough foundation to hold your own on the ground (provided they work groundwork regularly, as I stated earlier) As for most fights going to the ground, those came from police stats that were used to promote bjj. Thinking about it, cops probably want to take a perp to the ground, as it will be easier for them to restrain the average guy there than it is to restrain him while standing. That said though, many fights do indeed go to the ground, as you have also noticed yourself. Both bjj and judo are invaluable in such a situation. You are right about the Law Enforcement Officer stat, elbows_and_knees. Last night, at the county jail, we had to restrain the same guy 4 times, and all 4 times ended up with us putting him on the ground. Just a question, but do you think it would be beneficial to train both judo and BJJ at the same time, or train a year in one and then add the other, or would this just be a monotony? Just wondering, because I like the throws of judo, and the BJJ ground game looks good. I just didn't know if they both contain enough of the same stuff to warrant training in just one if both were available.

I think our retention rate to black belt is around 10%, but I can't confirm this. Some groups of starters stick around better than others, for some reason.

What is involved in your open sessions? Just work on whatever you want, or something else, not part of the regular curriculum?

If you dojang is large with a wide variety of different colored belts, this might work: All students stand in line, and do the first form. Then those that know the second form do that, those that do not repeat the first form. Then those that know the third form do that, those that do not start over from the first form. The white belts will end up repeating the first form about 10 times (which is good for them) while the upper belts get an opportunity to go through all of their forms. This also provides a small amount of distraction to the students while they perform, which will help their concentration at the same time. Another benefit to this is it gives the underbelts some exposure to the advanced forms so they’ll have an idea of what it looks like when they get there. We have done forms like this in the past, especially in the forms class, but not necessarily in the regular class. I have decided that I am going to start doing forms with the low ranks in these situations, just to get myself more work, and better prepare myself for testing in April.

Yes, as I said before Kiba Dachi drops the body weight. All stances are transitional - the work is done in getting into the stance. In TKD, we have kind of abandoned the animal names of the stances. Instead, the name of the stance reflects the weight distribution of the legs: 1. Front stance-most of the weight to the front leg 2. Back stance-most of the weight to the back, 70%/30%. 3. Rear stance (aka "cat" stance")-most of weight to the back leg, 90%/10% 4. Middle/sitting stance (aka the "horse" or "horse riding" stance)-weight distributed 50%/50%

yes! i currently practice three different bunkai for the basic karate 'lunge punch' oi-tsuki found in kata, and none of them use the movement as a punch! Okee dokee, maybe you guys can give some suggestions then. Chon Ji hyung, my white belt form, starts with a down block to the right with the left arm in left front stance, and then step and right punch. I can think of a block to a low kick, and then punching, but is there more I could do? Like simulate a takedown? I just am not very creative. I was talking to my students about this just the other day. Don't feel the need to over-complicate Bunkai. This is probably the most common mistake. Sometimes, the movements are "hidden" into the Kata and it is up to us to find them, but sometimes, the movement is just as it looks. If it's a block and punch, sure it's possible that there's more to it, but in a lot of cases, it's acceptable to think of it as nothing more than just a block and a punch. Thank you all. I will keep all of these things in mind.

I am confused, are you asking me?

Along with this drill, add slow kicking to the exercise, to build strength in the kicking muscles.

You are never too old to start learning something new! You will be just fine. Welcome to the forums!

Are BJJ and Judo schools available in your area? If so, you should go check out a class of each, and see which instructor teaches in the method that you prefer. As far as the comment about being taken down, the thought process is this: If you are experienced in groundfighting, and taking people down, then you will know how to better defend against being taken down. Noticed that you are new as well, so welcome aboard!