ckdstudent

We only pay £20 a test until black belt. Then it gets expensive, mainly because when you get to black belt you'll pay whatever they ask. Of course, retests come free. Personally I'm quite proud of having a first dan belt after ten years, and being only a year away from my second. It just indicates to me how far I've come since I started, plus it looks very nice what with the gold bar and my name embroidered upon it.

A full contact side kick to the chest should break ribs, but that won't necessarily stop some people. Then again there's always swing kicks to the knee or thigh, twisting kicks wherever the hell you want them to be, front kicks as someone tries to move in, downwards kicks if someone tries to duck under a punch and dodge in, and then there're always hand techniques. It all depends on the techniques the kicker uses and how good they are with them.

It depends what you're trying for. If you want to bulk up and get big muscles then you want to do only a few reps (perhaps ten or so) with heavy weights. If you want to increase muscle density though then you should lift much lighter weights and do more reps. As for length of workout, its up to you.

I take my last post back, I've just developed a new on. Jumping side spin side kick followed by a swing still in the air to a third target. Still go splat half the time though.

It has very little to do with lack of conditioning, fitness will not particularly improve your response to adrenaline, what will improve your response is meditation and breathing. If you can remain calm and relaxed during a fight, or any stressful situation, you'll find it that much easier. Deep slow breaths help to bring you down from the rush afterwards, as does sitting calmly. There is a reason why people are called cold fighters, it is because they do not suffer from an adrenaline rush but remain calm and relaxed throughout.

When adrenaline runs through the body it pumps blood to certain areas, the muscles get a large dose, hence the extra speed and strength, and the brain in order to allow you to better evaluate the threat and possible solutions. This blood has to come from somewhere, and the body drains it away from internal organs like the stomach and other non-essentials. This is why afterwards, when your awareness of pain is back to normal, you'll feel sick. The higher the rush, the more reaction you'll get. It has nothing at all to do with any 'issues' in a fight or conflicting values, and everything to do with biochemistry.

If blocking hurts more than a slight sting then you're most likely trying to block power against power rather than deflecting the force of a blow.

Well, as much as I'd like to argue with g I have to agree on the smog tests. Do you particularly want to have the right to pollute the environment as much as possible, its bad enough that America has completely ignored complaints by the rest of the world and dropped out of the Kyoto agreement because they couldn't be bothered to cut down on their pollution.

Ah, in that case I see what you mean.

I almost agree with you but of course, America can only run a close second to Britain, what with the empire and all.

Surely backfist requires your bodyweight to be moving around sideways since its a horizontal technique rather than a vertical?

And why exactly are the IRA and Loyalists planting bombs and killing each other at the moment? Is it the potato famine (how long ago was that) or the whole religion thing (they're both Christian for God's sake, or claim to be) or do they just want to kill people as they have all along?

First tenet of Choi Kwang Do, and I believe of Tae Kwon Do as well, is courtesy. This generally translates as being polite to everyone, and offering them respect regardless of rank or ability so long as they try. In a class we've had the situation several times where seniors treat juniors as inferior, something which we tend to clamp down on severely. After all, they're not offering respect to their juniors so why should we offer it to them?

You're not there when the cops show up.

Interestingly its only in the last year or so that it has been made illegal for American companies and individuals to send money to the IRA, since that's their major source of funding and a lot has now been cut off they've had to turn to other methods, like training other terrorists.

Snap kicks rely much more on the actual impact, as such they tend to have about the same power as a hard slap, at most.

No no no, I'm sure you meant to say less crime, we certainly have less gun crime involving real guns. I think someone estimated that only one in ten guns used in a crime are geniune and the rest are replicas.

If you want to end the fight fast follow through, break the knee, and walk casually away.

Wouldn't necessarily work so well against those who block and counter with a kick simultaneously. Nice system though.

Apparently there's a slight difference in technique here. An axe kick across the chest can break rips and tear muscles off their anchors. For a backfist you need to have your bodyweight settled evenly or be standing slightly at an angle to your target, after finishing a downwards kick this doesn't really apply so the easier and faster technique is to settle your bodyweight down into your kicking leg and spring up with an inwards punch.

Generally I'd target across the chest, tearing off the pectoral muscles. Actually a backfist would require you to shift forwards and then recoil your hip backwards for the blow whereas a straight punch would require you to do nothing more than sink into the landing and bounce out with the punch.

Actually one fun thing to do is the axe, then when they block it bring your leg down and your other leg up in just about any linear kick, once your original kicking leg has landed you can throw that back up as the other comes down. Then you fall over.

Fine, you find me a 100% accurate way to tell the difference between the two and I'll agree with you. As for the gun thing, I think people should have as many guns as they want. In fact no government should have any. However the government should hold all of the ammunition.

I just have to wonder how, with all of its weaponry, technology, and equally capable allies (some of us Brits for example) America could fight a war it would lose, I mean who could stand against the massive force that it can show?

I love working with TKD people who've only sparred inside their school, especially when the instructor doesn't place much importance on punching. Block one kick, step in, and play.