Sensei Tom OBrien

Is anyone watching the Golden Gloves from Madison Square Garden? I like to watch the Gloves because they are never boring. Unlike the pros the amateurs have only 3 rounds to do what they have to do. They have go out there and put everything they have into an action packed 9 minutes. They don’t have the luxury of ‘taking a round off’ like the pro’s do. It’s all action and they do it because they love it, not for money. Thanks, Sensei Tom

They are going to air it Sat. nite. I heard it was very close and they are already talking re-match. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Thanks guys. I posted some pictures of Steve in the photo albums. He really is a great martial artist and human being. I can't tell you how happy & proud I am after all these years. Thanks Again, Sensei Tom

Bushido_man96, Keep striving for that perfect side kick. I sometimes think about what I might do if, god forbid, someone (a bad guy) had a gun pointed at someone else and their back was to you. Let's say you saw them from a distance. Now there are a lot of things you could do. I would not count out the flying side kick in that situation. I mean you could try to sneak up behind them and yoke them around the neck and take them down that way. But it might take too much time to sneak up. If you ran at them and plowed them with a flying side kick from the back there is a good chance you would have to scrape them up off the ground with a shovel. Besides the flying side kick is so much fun to do. Thanks, Sensei Tom

I finally have someone who made it all the way to black belt after doing this for almost 30 yrs. Steve really deserves his Shodan. He has been putting up with me for 7&1/2 yrs. Steve is only 16 yrs. old but he is mature beyond his years. He can hold his own against the men. He has competed against black belts in the last 3 tournaments. Steve won a bronze medal in the AAU State Championships. He is consistent and never misses class. I am proud to have him as my first black belt. Thanks, Sensei Tom [/img]

french fri25 & norris197 sounds like you guys are getting ready to get your blackbelts. Good Luck. Thanks, Sensei Tom

To develop power in the side kick (yoko geri) I like the heavy-bag best. I like to swing the heavy-bag away from me and as it swings back I try to catch it when it is vertical. Timing is important here. You have to be careful because as you start to kick harder and harder you have to maintain focus because you can hyper-extend your knee if you miss. We also use shields and chest protectors to develop more speed and focus when hitting a moving target. The traditional way of side kicking from the front stance (zenkutsu dachi) is still one of the best ways to develop the correct alignment of leg, foot and body. It is important to turn your toes down a little bit to bring your hip into the kick more. We do the kick slowly and hold the leg up for about 10 seconds before putting it down. Sometimes we hold the leg up longer to develop the muscles that we use to do the kick isometric ally. It also helps balance. I like to use the lead leg because it is closer to your opponent. We use the slide-step whereby you move the lead leg first and slide the rear leg up behind it when you kick. We do this up and down the dojo many, many times. When you use the rear leg you have to remember to really pivot off the lead leg to get the power. The spinning side-kick is almost the same as the spinning back kick (ushiro geri) but it is a little bit easier to see because the back kick comes straight under where the side kick comes around a little bit more. But the spinning side kick is still a nice kick. The flying side kick (yoko-tobi-geri) is so much fun to do. I love to run across the dojo and jump as high as I can. It feels so good to smash into the heavy bag with that one. Occasionally we do the side snap kick (yoko geri keage) but mostly we do the thrust kick (kekomi). The thrust kick is just so much more powerful. The snap kick kind of comes up in an arc. In self-defense if you kick to the knees it is almost impossible to defend against. We once had a discussion on why they never do that in MMA even though there is no definitive prohibition against it. I do love the side kick as you can plainly see. Thanks, Sensei Tom

It was a good fight until Freitas quit. I did not see him hurt really badly he just lost heart. Diaz should get a lot of credit for having taken that heart away however. Whenever Diaz got hit he came back and gave more than he received. By the 9th Freitas had been worn down. They are talking Diaz v Casamayor or even Pacquaio. The 'Baby Bull' does look good. Thanks, Sensei Tom

The side kick (yoko geri) is probably one of the most powerful kicks in karate. I have used it and seen it used in MT but not very often for reasons already mentioned. If you use the lead leg and step in with it you can throw your entire body behind it and generate a lot of power. Using the lead leg is faster naturally because it is closer to your opponent. I have witnessed more than a couple of broken ribs from this kick. You should strike with the side of the foot near the heel. I have been trying to do the perfect side kick for over 35 yrs. I keep trying. One way you can defend against the side kick is by 'jamming'. Once you get inside the opponents range where he can't extend the kick you can just knock him down by smashing right into him. If that doesn't work then punch him on the way in and you may knock him down that way. You should practice jamming by timing your opponent as he tries to side- kick you. Be careful because if he is quicker than you think he can catch you coming in and then it doubles the impact. I mean ouch! Thanks, Sensei Tom

Thanks Bushido man, I also got him a really nice plaque that he will be able to keep for the rest of his life. I will try to get some pictures of the promotion ceremony. I will try to get pictures of the belt and plaque. Thanks Again, Sensei Tom

In Vee-Jitsu we use a plain black belt until Godan (5th deg.) and then they use a red and white striped belt. This Wednesday night I am going to promote my first black belt. I have been teaching for over 30 years and I have never had one person go all the way to black belt. His name is Steve and he has been coming for seven and a half years. I have posted a couple of pictures of him. He has never missed a class without a legitimate reason. He has been consistent and serious about his training all these years. Steve has fought in the advanced or black belt division in the last 3 tournaments. He took a bronze medal in the AAU State Championships. I am really proud of him because I never had to water down the training for him. I have lost about a hundred students over the years because I teach a tough system called Vee-Jitsu in a very military style the way I was taught. I never quit my day job so I don't depend on teaching MA for a living. I don't do it for the money I do it because I love it. Thank, Sensei Tom

It sounds like a great book. Where can we get it? Thanks, Sensei Tom

It's a pretty good punch. We do it in Vee-Jitsu in one of our kata. I did this kata last Nov. at the FIMA Fall Classic and took 2nd pl. You actually wind up in kiba dachi facing to the left if you throw the right. Thanks, Sensei Tom

I am sorry to say that Melvin tested positive for cocaine after the fight with Joe. I think it is important that people know what Melvin did. Here is a new sport they are trying to get accepted into mainstream sports and someone comes along and does something like use cocain to give MMA a black eye. Maybe this is why Joe was able to beat him so quickly and easily. I can't believe someone of Melvin's caliber would go and do something like that. I hate to say it but I think they should come down hard on Melvin because this infant sport is struggling to be acceptred by the public and they can't afford this kind of publicity, it can only hurt the image. Sensei Tom

obiwansbane, congratulations. Keep up the good work. Always use the kiss system in competition and on the street. Use a backfist (uraken uchi) to the head (jodan) and blast the body with a reverse punch (gyaku zuki). Thanks, Sensei Tom