bushido_man96

Well, in my melees on Friday, I did have to face a spear, and a halberd. And, well, it pretty much stunk. I despise those long range weapons. And my brother, who is rather large, can swing the things with good leverage from one hand! He is a monster, and he pretty much crushed my leg twice. I learned to block quicker that way, though!

Welcome to the forums, Black Crane. Glad you are here! As for your situation. First of all, make sure to stretch a lot. Every time your muscles are warm, do some stretching if you can. You can also stand with your arm against a wall for support, and get into kicking postition. Chamber your leg, and hold it high for 10 seconds. Then, slowly kick out, and hold the extended kick for 10 seconds as high as you can. Make sure it hurts, and your hip is knotting up. Then rechamber, and hold for 10 seconds again, and set down. Repeat 3 times or 5 times on each leg. This should help you out. Oh, yeah, and remember to stretch!

That is what is most attractive to me about kali, is the practicality. I would love to learn it.

For my battle axe, I used 1 1/4 inch rattan, like for the swords, and then I took some camping foam, cut out a pattern, and layered it 4 times, and then used some hot glue and packing tape to hold it together, then layered it with black duct tape. I probably have 6 inches of blade, and the head is big enough to hook shields and other weapons. It is also equipped with a thrusting tip. There are websites where you can actually by a rubberized axe head or hammer head that is SCA legal. But, I like my homemade version.

Oh, yeah, I just remembered the question about the back kick. I never really do a back kick, or I don't think I do. When we side kick, we try to roll our hips over to add more power to the kick, which is where I think many are calling it a back kick. However, I try not to let my back face the opponent, so I don't think of it so much as a back kick. If I am trying to "jab" with a side kick, I will not roll the hips as much, but I still try to let my base foot pivot, to save my knees.

You don't have to be as flexible as a ballerina to kick high in TKD, you just have to have good flexibility, along with some leg strength. It isn't really as difficult as it would sound. I am fairly portly, and kick high fairly well. I am not a TKD champion by any stretch of the imagination, but I do fairly well. I try to do a lot of MA related reading, because I love to do the research. In many older TKD books, there are mention of many different hand techniques, along with the kicks. I think the discrepancy in the amount of hand techniques comes from the type of instructor, and whether they gravitate more to the sport side or not.

lWhich are you looking for? The key will be to find a dojo that suits what you're looking for. In our early ranks we teach basics, but later on we're mostly self defense. But we also teach some sport for those that want to compete. Some dojos are mostly sport, others don't want anything to do with it. Frankly, I used to think that sport was a waste of time, but now I look at is another supplement to my training. I like your viewpoints here. You are very open-minded toward multi-faceted training.

It would be interesting to know when practitioners actually started placing the hand on the ribs/hips, and what facilitated it at the time. You don't really see it in pictures of medieval or ancient Western styles, so it may be a soley Far Eastern concept. Not sure, just what I have noticed.

I'm pretty sure the guy would have known if it was real or not, he was a pretty conservative guy, and very cautious. He probably could have been good at it, too, he has a great work ethic, and it shows.

Cool, sounds good.

I want a DS to play the new classic Mario Bros. games. Yeah, I'm old school!

Congratulations, and best in everything that the two of you do!

When I started in another style of TKD, with a different foms set and different one-steps, I had to start at the beginning, having acquired a 2nd dan in the ATA. It was not a big deal to me, I just wanted a school to work out at. I was skipped several ranks in the process, because I caught on quick. And when I was a 1st degree, the instructor talked to the GM about trying to let me test earlier than the time requirement for my 2nd degree, because he felt that was where I was at. I didn't get to, but that's ok, too. In April, I get to test for 3rd dan.

Anytime! If you need any clarification on anything, let me know. I can get caught up in the fact that I know what I am trying to say, and may not realize that I am assuming others know what I am trying to say. So, if you have questions, let me know. I love discussing techniques.

For 2 on 2, I was using battle axe and shield, and my partner would stand behind and to my side and use a polearm. It worked well, until I would take after someone, and leave my buddy without a shield! For 2 on 1 and 1 on 2, I used the same setup. I love shield defense! The experience was great. I learned a lot about trying to read actions, and that keeping a good eye on all parties gets you out of trouble.

Very nice story!

Charles River is the brand that my coat is. Hope this helps.

Welcome to the forums! As for your question, it is best to discuss it with the instructor to find out what he wants you to do. It is always good to assume that you will not be standing next to the black belts, since it is not a familiar school to you.

Welcome to KF! As for your question, you can get both sides in some karate schools. The sparring tends to be very sport oriented in many styles, and the bunkai done with the forms practice is very self-defense oriented. So, you could get some of both.

When we grade black belt students, we have to have 2 judges that are at least 2 ranks about the grade the student is testing for (if that isn't too confusing!). So, two 3rd dans to test for 1st dan, etc.

In my opinion retaining a black belt consists of equal parts knowlege and technique retention, the ability to perform it, and the attitude and demeanor that comes along with it. I think these things are important for recognizing one as a black belt. These are not the only things, but are very important things.

Congratulations on passing! It is said that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Although we never want to hear this, it is so very true. And we all fail at some point, and come back better for it.

I think that there are a lot of schools that do this differently, but still to the same end. Talking to your instructor will be the best bet.

Yeah, it sounded kind of fishy to me as well, one of those things you hear about, and then roll your eyes....

Hey, cool. I would be printing off notes until I had a notebook full of cool stuff to explain the physics of MA.