bushido_man96

I just don't think Diego is at that level yet. Hughes is a manimal.

I'm not in college, and I still don't have money! Where you going to school....I may have to relocate.

You don't rotate your wrist for an upset punch? That is different. We rotate it, starting with the knuckles up, instead of down. Try it, you can get some good snap.

Go get it, shotokan-kez! Good luck to you!

I think your concerns are verified, and maybe you should check out another location. As for the long warm-ups, they are ok, as long as they are doing something TKD related, like basics or kicks and stance work and stuff. As for starting late, that should not be acceptable practice. I would look around.

Glad to hear you are getting back in the groove! Sometimes we just need a little break, eh?

I am honestly from the middle of nowhere, Hays, Kansas. Population, approx. 15,000....20,000+ when college is in session. I am originally from Colby, KS, population 5000. My graduating class had 98 people in it.

I am not familiar with chun kuk do. If you could give me some info, or a web site, I would appreciate it. And also, welcome to the forums!

Many states also hold yearly games, and may include martial arts competition. Here in Kansas, we have the Sunflower State Games every year. Missouri has the Show Me Games, etc. See if your state does this as well.

This is a good tactic for teaching beginners, but I would be wary of creating a bad habit with a pre-pivot. If they continue to pre-pivot and it turns into a habit, this is a major telegraph. Instead of pre-pivots, I have my students chamber for the kick, first without pivoting the grounded foot, and then with a pivot, so that they can feel the difference in their hips. Then I have them just practice the chamber (the proper chamber with the pivot) without kicking, so they can get used to pivoting and picking their leg up in one motion. I do the same for side kick, and I have them practce the same at home, telling them to do 5 chambers only before practicing full kicks. After a week or two of this, most students develop pretty darn good kicking mechanics (or at least a good understanding of what needs to happen to throw a proper kick, even if the physical execution needs some more practice to get down, which is understandable.) Yeah, this is good advise as well. I use the pre-pivot if they are having trouble turning their foot all the way around, and it is also great for people with knee problems. It can telegraph, but if the other fighter is busy watching your feet, you can probably get something else in on them.

I will, just hope I can dig up a training partner.

Contracts are not a bad thing, if they are used properly. There should be options for signing 3, 6 or 12 month terms. Usually, a beginner can sign up for 3 months without any reservations. The year long contracts will usually be picked up by those who are already full members, and have been for some time, and know they will continue to do it. There are people who have bad experiences out there, and this happens with everything in life. If we never went to another restaurant because of the service we got at one, we would have trouble finding places to eat on dates!

Welcome to the forums! Glad you are here. As for your question, I would start with reading up on meditation and things such as this. It takes years to attain the mastery of what you are describing, so you have a ways to go. Be patient, and try to find out where you could do some training. Good luck!

This is a great topic to discuss. Here is something to consider. We have stated how we feel about death and dieing, but what we don't know is how it will really effect us, how we will really feel about it, until we are facing it on our deathbed, or staring down the barrel of a gun, or being held at knifepoint, or how we feel when we start to see "our life flash before our eyes." Honestly, this is when we will truly know how we feel.

That's one I haven't come across before. What's the principle of this idea? This is a great tool for beginners, who have trouble pivoting all the way around to get the kick completed. Say you are in a left leg forward fighting stance, and want to execute a right (back leg) round kick. Start by pivoting the front foot a little bit, like by turning it about 90 degrees so that it points off to a 45 degree angle to the left. Then, you begin the kicking process, and the hips are already opened up a little, making it easier to complete the pivot as the kick is completed. Less time is spent pivoting while kicking, allowing the student to maintain a little bit more balance. Try it...I think you will like it.

I am currently reading the book entitled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Techniuqe and Theory, written by Renzo and Royler Gracie. This book is awesome! It is so well put together, and so easy to follow. I love it. I am going to try to find a partner to work on some basics together. I also have two more of these types of books, and will be digging into them shortly. I should have read them sooner. Let me know if any of y'all have read through them, and what you have gotten from them. Thanks! Opinions welcome!

What is the ITKF? I am not familiar with this federation.

well thats another thing our wonderful cheif instructor has already thought of. It used to be members payed $15 a month to be a member, but now a dojo has to pay $600 a year of $70 a month, even if they only had one student. So it doesn't matter, he still gets the money money. And I can't just quit the organization because my whole dojo is involved in it. The IOGKF is THE organization for goju ryu. And i beleive things will change. This is a world wide orginization, but only the US faction is having these dificulties. Members all throughout the US are writing letters and taking action. It's practicaly a civil war... We get a lot of talk about McDojos around this site. It sounds like your organization is trying to be a McOrganization. I don't like the sound of how things are going, and it sounds like politics as usual for the MAs.

Sounds like ours. When I scan my card, my picture comes up on the screen, and tells how many visits I have had for the month, and total for the year. But mostly, I like the picture .

Oh, ok. I have heard of freerunning. I saw it once on TV, and it was kind of cool, and very athletic. I, however, am not quite that agile. I do like trying to bound things or balance on things from time to time.

That's the way to impress people! Ouch! Did you get the boards with a headbutt, then?

Parkerlineage brings out some good points, here. I feel that a blend of private lessons and regular classes would benefit the students very well. Incidentally, are you testing these two privately as well? Or do just move on to the next form when they have the previous one down? Just curious as to whether or not they are being promoted for rank, or just learning the material.

Hey, this I would be interested in. If you can drop me some info, that would be great! By the way, to the original post: I am 5' 7", and 245 lbs. If I can do it, then you can too!

TKD will depend on the teacher, but you will most likely do a lot of kicking. If it is a fairly traditional school, you should see some similarities from your previous studies. I think that you will enjoy it. Good luck!

Any time that you decrease the student-teacher ratio, you will notice an accelleration in the learning curve. You get to pick things out immediately, and then correct them. The students get instant feedback, and they don't blend into the background. I think this a trend with most private lessons.