bushido_man96

Don't have enough weapons exerience to feel too comfortable with a situation like this, but I would say sword and shield.

You could get a Red Man suit.

I think that is a very good article. I think that drilling is one of the most important and useful aspects of training used in the martial arts.

I think the main reason for bag gloves is to prevent the knuckles from being torn up on the canvas from repetitive striking. Otherwise, I am not sure.

Welcome!

Welcome to the forums. Looking forward to your thoughts in the weapons thread!

Welcome to the forums, Chuck. Glad to have ya here.

Welcome to the forums!

Yeah, I saw that too. Hoping I get a chance to watch it while I'm at work.

I would just bridge up a little bit, not too far, and don't lean side to side yet. Just nice and easy, and you should feel a little something with time. As for back exercises, do the superman. Lay on your stomach, arms out in front, like flying. Raise arms and legs off floor, keeping them straight, and hold for 30 or 60 seconds. Do it 3 or so times.

The book is written by Royler, Renzo, Kid Peligro, and John Danaher. It is in the intro written about Royler.

The martial arts have become available to the public in many ways. Sport competition is one of these ways, and the level of competition ranges from regional tournaments to Olympic competition. Often, both forms and fighting competition are available, except at the highest levels, where it is only fighting. My mom studied TKD for a time. She never had any intentions of fighting anyone. Sure, she could defend herself if need be, but never intended on 'dancing a few rounds' with a young whipper-snapper like me. I feel that one of the appealing factors of the martial arts is the opportunity it provides for a person to better themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Now, don't misunderstand what I am saying. Just because someone doesn't want to be a fighter does not mean that I will let them get by with bad technique and a lack of understanding to defend themselves. I am not about 'watering down' the martial arts. Far from it. I am constantly reviewing what I see in my current school, and thinking of what I would do differently if I were the chief instructor: what material I would teach, what the focus of the classes would be, and etc. The integrity of the arts, no matter which one, is very important to me. I think that everyone who wants to try out the martial arts, should be allowed to have that opportunity, and I will provide that opportunity if I am given the chance. If they don't want to be fighters, then that is ok. What I teach, and what a student takes from the experience, may very well be two different things. And that is ok with me. If we were all the same, it would be a very boring world, wouldn't it?

Lots and lots of reps. Make sure you get a good tight chamber position with your leg, and explode into the kick. Chamber first, then good kick, and re-chamber. You can strengthen the leg by doing straight legged raises while leaning on the wall. Make sure to stretch real good, too.

He may just have some boxing training or something like that. Could be his dad told him that if you hit first, fast, and lots, that you can have a high chance of winning. Ask him and see.

There is a site called trickkick.com, or something like that. Try it out, or google it, to see if I am right.

There is a lot of talk about being able to fight as a direct result of martial arts training, and that is all well and good. However, not everyone who signs up for martial arts is looking to become a fighter. Some are looking for fitness, some for a new physical challenge. Fighting ability shouldn't have to be the only measure of becoming a black belt. I agree that a certain level of self-defense should be attained. A person should be trained well enough that they can get out of a situation of need be. This doesn't mean that they have to dance with someone for 12 rounds, just do enough to get away and get safe. I am not trying to offend anyone, but I am trying to point out that in this new day and age, there can be more motives for doing MA than just fighting, and that if someone is still willing to put in the time and effort to the practice of their style, and doesn't want to be the greatest fighter in the world, then they are earning their rank just as well as anyone.

Interesting. Why is scaled like that?

I hope I didn't come across being offensive I have seen way to many people be called teachers that had no clue but they had a certificate saying they were certified to teach. Oh, no, no offences taken here. You're cool.

Here is a good kicking endurance drill. Take a fighting stance in front of the bag, let's say right leg in back. 1. with right leg, side step to the right, 45 degree angle, like you would be going into a front stance that way, don't let your body face the bag, face the direction you step, but look at the bag. 2. this is the tricky part, to explain, anyways. You kind of do a little switch foot action, bringing the left foot quickly to where the right is, and doing a right round kick to the bag at the same time. After kicking the bag, let your kicking leg kind of push back off the bag, going back to a right leg back fighting stance. 3. at this point, you should have moved about 45 degrees from the starting position. Now, right when your feet reset, you do the side step, and repeat the whole thing again. You should be able to keep this going, around and around the bag. You can build up to 30 second sets on each side, and you will be loving it, I assure you. Hope it don't sound too confusing!

There are several variations of Poker, like 5 card, 7 card, and all the rage right now, Texas Hold 'em. Try Wikipedia or Google to see if you can find some general rules. Personally, I don't play, so that is all the help I can offer. Sorry!

I have just finished reading the opening of the book Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Technique and Theory. In the short part that I have read, there are details on Royler Gracie, who was almost always smaller than his opponents, and is one of the most respected fighters in the world. The book actually discusses how this style can help the smaller fighter neutralize a bigger opponent. With technique, a smaller person can overcome larger opponents. I'd say that BJJ will help you in all of the aspects that you have mentioned. Work hard, and you will reap rewards. Good luck to you!

tufrthanu makes a good point. If the problems you are experiencing are a direct result of the surgery, then you should look into some physical therapy for your back. You could also ask the therapist if they have some exercises you could do that would help improve the side kick motion along with it. My guess is that you will have to seperate the two, however. Heal first, completely, then resume training. Try not to jump back in too soon, or you may re-injure yourself, and be right back on the table.

I don't understand the upperbody stats. Could you elaborate more, so that I could see how much more I need to bench? I weigh 245, and my last set of bench is at 265, I think. I haven't maxed out yet, so I imagine it is better than 265.

When I have a bad day at the school, I try to think to myself: "I will go home, and tomorrow, I will be better for it. I can learn from this, and I will get better." I try not to look at failures as such. Instead, you could call them OTI's; Opportunities To Improve.

The video made it look like a very 'slappy' technique. I don't know that I could use it in sparring, but it looks like it could be a distraction technique to work into my Combat Hapkido training. I will try to work with it and see what I get.