bushido_man96

THAT was the coolest thing I have ever seen! So COOL.

It sounds like you have a legitimate beef there. I had to start over at the new school I was attending, but I skipped a few ranks here and there. If I were you, I would maybe find another school. Especially when high ranks start asking questions about technique, that should raise some flags.

Bring a friend to class, and have them bring a friend, and have all of the other students do the same. You should spark some interest that way.

Not sure about the six ways to use the hips. Twisting for power would be one, I guess. Fulcrum for a throw would be another. Not sure what the rest would be.

quote Shui Tora: What? The Roundhouse or sidekick? The round kick.

If you can teach a level of control, I don't think any of these ages are too young. Kids start wrestling at around the age of 7, if not younger. The problem is teaching the joint locks/submissions. If you can get them to control them, it won't be a problem.

Congratulations! And I am sure your instructor is very confident in your skill level and abilities, and has no doubt that you will not only excel, but prove to be a good example to other students at the school. By the way, I like the way you describe your school and instructor. It sounds like he truly enjoys showing people the way.

I hear you there. There are only two schools were I live. One is karate, the other is the TKD school I go to.

I wouldn't say you are stuck in a rut, more like you are specializing in your style.

Try googling something in that area, like Crane or Mantis style.

Did you ever see Jeff Bagwell play baseball? His batting stance was a really deep horse stance. There is one to emulate!

That's a good response, Jiffy. Economy of movement, I think is what Bruce called it. Addressing drunkenmonkeyblackbelt: by saying you want to get your body into better "karate" shape, I assume that it means you are built a little like me. Here is me: 5'7", 240 - 245, and I ain't no football player. I am not really fat, but I am not really muscled out, either. But, when unfamiliar people see me move and kick, I sometimes get the eyebrow raise. I have a martial arts buddy who told me that "guys that big shouldn't move that fast." I am not bragging, but what I am saying is that you shouldn't worry about how your body looks so much as you should worry about how it functions. If you are looking to reshape a little, try some cardiovascular exercise, about 20-30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. This should help.

Just for fun, lets take these two modes of fighting as a basis, and see what combinations are available to you, or you have trained in, and talk about their compliments and pros/cons. I'll start with TKD as a striking style, because that is what I have studied for the past almost 14 years. And I'll add wrestling (high school style), as that is about the only style of grappling available to me. TKD is great because it teaches good solid blocking and striking skills. Great kicks, even though they teach a lot of high kicks. My thought on this is that if you can kick high, then you can kick low if you need to. Good combination training too. Along with the kicking is the benefit of flexibility, as most TKD schools have a good stretching routine. Flexibility helps to prevent injuries to muscles. Also, in TKD you can learn to block and counter, or to counter without blocking, although most of this countering is done soley with kicking techniques. Wrestling is great for several reasons. Conditioning is one. Wrestlers are some of the most conditioned athletes in the world. Wrestling practice can be done much in the same manner as judo, full speed, and with fairly safe outcomes. As a wrestler, you can get a good solid base to working on takedowns, escapes, and groundwork. The only downfall to wrestling in this style is that it mostly works toward a pin or scoring points, as opposed to locking and submitting. This is just an example. Try to keep it to one striking style, and one grappling style, just for the sake of argument. And I know that there has been a very extensive thread about karate containing groundfighting/grappling, and I don't want this thread to be another one of those. So, for the sake of argument, we will consider karate primarily (but not soley ) a striking/stand-up style. Let me know what you think!

That is great. Just the right amount of force was used, and no one was seriously injured. As far as I can tell, Frank did what he felt was right. And he tried so hard to avoid confrontation. Good for him.

That's a good post there. We all grow differently. Although we are all on the same journey, we all have seperate paths that get us to our goals.

That website is much more toned down. Like you could actually find what you are looking for.

My instructors always say: "a block is a strike, and a strike is a block." For what it's worth. jka_guyana: good luck to you on your endeavor. It sounds like you have quite the task before you.

Hey, were cool. I agree with you. My current instructor is fairly indifferent on the subject.

I have trained bare foot for 14 years, and have never had athlete's foot, let alone any other infection, or HIV, or anything of the sort.

I agree with you, Martial Arthur. I can't stand reality TV. What is real about it, anyway?

If it is partner stuff you need to work on, then you should find a likely candidate, and start training them so they can work with you. By doing this, you will also learn a lot about teaching, which is an invaluable experience in and of itself.

why not? Increasing your max strength, also known as limit strength is excellent for fighters. you are increasing your power output, which has its obvious advantages. I'm sure it's not uncommon for fighters training for a fight to spend at least 4 weeks of their cycle to increasing limit strength. I've seen it talked about in boxing circles. Also, most workouts are based off of reps performed at a percentage of 1 rep max. Therefore, testing a 1 rep max every 3 months or so will let you know if you should increase the weight in your rep training.

I have used the ICHF videos to review material, but I have practiced it in class before as well. I think videos are great if it similar material as to what you have trained in before. I wouldn't buy videos to train to get a 'black belt in such art' or anything like that.

Fast food is kind of my bain. I try to regulate, but I have such an appetite anyways....oh, I don't know.

I agree with you here. That is why I try to include both equations for power when I start discussing it. Both are important, and it is important to know what you have to work with as well.