bushido_man96

Congratulations, Aodhan! As a form ATA competitor, I know what kind of competition is out there, and that you have accomplished no small feat. Good luck at Worlds!!

I have the problems with side kicks on the bag. It is hard to notice if I am getting any power on them. Try swinging the bag away, and then stop it with a front leg side kick, or a spin side kick. See if you can get it to fold over your foot a little bit.

You bet! Cover my airfare to Kansas, and I'll see ya twice a week. With respect, Sohan .....aaaahhhh.....I'll see what I can do! (Gotta win the lotto!)

I have. Man, they're crazy hard. No joke. I can't even do regular pushups worth a hoot! Been trying to do plyometric pushups, but not to good at them either.

Oh, come on, KarateK, don't be scared!!

Thank you, sir!

Hey, Sohan, I need you to come be my personal trainer!!!

Have you tried one-arm pushups yet?

I wish I had more friends that did it as well. I've got several who participate, but one of them is so set into the way the SCA (https://www.sca.org) does things, that he doesn't really express interest in trying other things. For instance, they don't quarterstaff fight, and I would love to do that. There is also the rules system that they have, which does not incorporate in-fighting with takedowns, disarms, and the like. What I would love to be inovled with is the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (https://www.thearma.org). They have a wonderful curriculum, and focus on researching and rebuilding the old systems the way they were orginally taught. Another excellent web site is the Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts (https://www.aemma.org).

These are exactly the same sentiments that my instructor feels.

I do know that the author of Secrets of the Samurai also wrote Aikido and the Dyanmic Sphere. I have read the Aikido book, and it was very informative. Secrets of the Samurai should be as well.

Hello all. I am at kind of a rut in my training. I am working a new job, and it has messed up my class schedule. I get some time at home though, and was wondering if you all could maybe give me some ideas for some kicking routines to give me a lift. I am considering serious competition next year, and would like to enhance my kicking, footwork, etc. I can work kicks on my own, or my wife could hold the target pads for me. Whatever anyone can suggest would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hey, cool. When you get it posted, do you mind if I try some of it, too? I am looking at breaking up my routine as well. I would like to work out 4 or 5 times a week as opposed to 2 or 3.

by bodyweight exercises, do you mean push-ups, sit-ups, dips, pull-ups, and things like that? I am somewhat confused.

Shotokan: Pros..kicking and striking, standup sparring, footwork, forms and self-defense applications. Judo: Pros..takedowns and throwing, ground game, chokes, locks, submissions.

I have actually studied Combat Hapkido, and it is a very nice system, and I feel that it incorporates easily with others. It has a lot of curriculum, depending on what all he decides to teach. It should be a good time for you.

I am not sure how the copyright laws work exactly, but the ATA did get it done. Basically, you have to be an ATA affiliate in order to teach the forms. But how much you can get away with, who knows?

You should talk to your instructor and see what he thinks. If you ask me, 3 days of karate and 2 of judo a week sounds like a pretty good deal. Making 3 karate classes a week should keep you sharp on that end of the deal. Hope things work out for you. Incidentally, I KNOW for a fact that my instructor would not approve of this idea. Guess I am lucky not to be tempted with the idea.

Sounds like a joke to me. Do they have their patterns copyrighted? That is what the ATA did when they made their new forms systems. I don't know, but it sounds kind of funny. I would definetly watch a class before signing up. In my personal opinion, there aren't any "secrets" left in the martial arts. They must have some very special ways of doing things.

No kidding!! The guy I was fighting with is a lefty, and I am right handed typically. I can do both, but my big shield is only right handed, so when I use it, I am limited. I got a smaller round shield that goes both ways. Any how, my right shoulder has quite the bruising and scratches from Lefty hitting my weapon arm. Feels good though, I LIKE the pain!! Also caught a nice stinger on the right forearm, too.

I called up a friend of mine, and we put on the armor, grabbed our rattan "swords" and metal shields, and went at it for a while. We tried some single sword, and it was very difficult. Trying to parry the blows was very difficult, and almost didn't work. I was only using the sword in one hand, so the blows were moving my arm. Also had a tough time moving sideways. I also notice that my MA training causes me to get my off hand up in a guard postition, and I end up trying to block when the sword gets by my weapon. Not good. Wondering if anyone had any suggestions or comments.

You are right, UseoForce, they are good fighters. I am not saying they are not. And the UFC is the closest thing to real fighting. I don't think that the format that they fight today has anything really to do with the toughness of the fighters, but more with the mainstreaming of the sport in order to make more money. I am also not saying that the first couple of UFC did not have rules; it was just a different game. These guys today could fight tournament style, but they want to get paid for each match, bottom line. I think Royce made half-million, just for showing up, didn't he? I am not bad-mouthing UFC, I just liked it better before. I still love it. Most of the MMA venues are enjoyable to watch. And they are all great athletes.

You are right about it being a sport, UseoForce. That's why the rules have changed, to make it more sport and less fight.

I was just thinking of matching him and Sapp as I read his stats. Set 'em up!

That is a cool armbar/throw. Don't see stuff like that in the UFC.