bushido_man96

I agree with you here 100%. We always have room to learn more. I hope that if I ever become a head instructor I will be humble enough to approach my assistant instructors about teaching ideas, and ways to relate different things. Especially with kids, they are the toughest.

The problem that I have with kicking the knee is that, although it is a good target, is the possibility of a lawsuit being thrown your way. Personally, if it's a self defense situation I'm concerned with stopping the bad guy's aggression. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make him stop fighting me. If that means I have to break his leg so be it. I'll deal with the courts later. I understand what you are saying. You make a very good point, and it is one I would normally agree with. If you get attacked, then taking out the knee is a good way to stop it.

Oh, that sounds like a fun activity. I'll have to try it sometime. THanks for the info!

Unfortunately, it is hard to nail it to a particular association sometimes. I am sure not all the WTF schools teach the same way, and there are probably some independent TKD styles out there that concentrate on fighting a lot, and may give the impression of olympic style. I think it usually depends on the instructor's philosophies and goals for the school more than anything.

One thing I did notice about the video is that everything was demonstrated by nonresisting subjects. Nothing was actually demonstrated in a "fighting" situation.

What I like about the ICHF is how easily it can be incorporated into other systems, like my TKD school. We don't have a lot of groundfighting, or joint manipualtions, for that matter, and it is a wonderful supplement, and GM Pelligrini works very well with other stylists.

You could start by doing all of the forms you know as one long kata, at a steady pace to raise your heart rate. You will want some power, but concentrate on some speed as well. Try to do forms for 15 minutes straight, no rest. Then take a break. Then try another 15 minutes. The better you get, you could add more power, trying to build a little strength in your techniques. Or, if you want a little bit of anaerobic work, pop out 2 or 3 forms as hard and fast as you can in a row, for about 2-3 minutes. Then rest for 1 minute, and do it again. Keep this up for about 20 minutes, and you will feel it.

I have to echo UseoForce. Those books are written by Loren W. Christensen. He also has a few others, titled Speed Training, Fighting Power, and The Way Alone. The latter is an older, yet still helpful, book. Any of these books will contain a countless number of drills that you can do on your own. I strongly recommend anything written by Christensen. He is very no-nonsense and to the point. As far as your solo training goes, the wonderful thing is that you can do whatever you want to, or work on whatever you feel that you need to, and not have to worry about the conformities of a class. Warm up with some forms, and then think of something you need to work on, like breaking down your side kick, or whatever. Put together some combinations that you would like to try for sparring, and do them rep after rep until it is second nature. Bottom line, do what you want and have fun.

What is this about? A joke, or something I don't know?

That's not true. Traditional Hapkido would never have you doing triangle chokes or butterfly sweeps from the guard (From BJJ), brush traps (from Wing Chun), stick/knife fighting (Filipino arts)...I could go on. Combat Hapkido is far from be "abreviated" traditional hapkido. Ineffective traditional techniques have been taken out and new techniques are constantly being added. Which combat hapkido system have you been studying??? The system UseoForce is describing is the International Combat Hapkido Federation (ICHF). It is a great hapkido system, and has a set curriculum.

That's just crazy, to think that society has become like that in some places.

I hope you have an occupation where a criminal record is not a liability. I am not a criminal, nor do I have a criminal record. I just don't think that if I feel physically threatened by someone, that I should have to wait for them to strike me.

Actually, we got beat by terrible refs.In all 3 games?

Ah, I see. Kind of like a continuous, interactive one-step?

You make a very good point here. I enjoyed the article, but I do disagree with some of the points. I know I signed up to learn how to defend myself. I don't normally start fights, but I will fight if I have to. And I will NOT, under any circumstances, if I feel threatened, wait for the first shot to be thrown. I'll go first, if I have to.

You will need both to cover all of your bases in the martial arts. Strength for the individual techniques, and endurance for sparring/fighting.

Arenas made some comments about the American soccer team's performance in the World Cup. You know what? We just got beat. By better teams. It is just the way it is. Now, we have to go back, re-evaluate ourselves, and get back on the horse, and try to avoid the same thing next time. The American team just needs to get better. The Americans have been behind in soccer for so many years, that it says quite a bit just qualifying for the World Cup. You can't win them all, you can only do your best. I think the American Team did what they could.

Oh yes. It looks pretty good, definitely want to see that one!

I love getting together with the guys and watching the fights. Its great being able to talk about them, the strategies, and all that good stuff.

I think for the most part people think it is just a sport, and has rules that are too restriciting, and that they restrict too much contact. Also, it seems like most of the "belt factories" or "McDojos" tend to be TKD schools. This draws negative attention to them. I am not making these generalizations, they are just what I hear. I attend a very good TKD school, and feel confident in the training that I receive.

I know that George Dillman is the foremost expert on pressure point attacks. You are correct in the fact that pressure points are biomechanics. The reason you don't see many experts is because these types of attacks have to be very precise, and they take many, many years to become proficient at it. Now, the touchless knockout, I am not so sure I buy. It looked kind of goofy to me, and the fact that he could not affect any of the ju-jitsu students seems a little odd.

Very interesting idea. Maybe get some fake money to put in it? Don't know if I would carry one. But I live in a low population area.

Very nice...inspiring.

This is very nice. There are so many body mechanics involved in MA movement. This is a very nice breakdown, and it is very well written.

I was the high rank student in class tonight. But sometimes I get to assist a little here and there. I usually teach a kids class, but anyway. We were doing onesteps, and I was trying to help one of the black belt kids with a spin heel kick. I was explaining different things to her, and she was picking it up, but still needed something. Realizing that she maybe needed a different angle, I asked the Jr. Master to come over. I told him what we were working on, explained her problem, and asked if maybe he could relay anything different, or in a different way. So he kid, and it helped the student out some more. I guess what I am saying is that it is nice to be able to teach something, and then have another person around to bounce things off of, or to give a different method. Everyone learns in a different way, and it is good to know that there is always somewhere to go for help. By teaching what I could, and then listening to another teacher, I was able to learn more as well. Makes the world go round, eh?