Sensei Tom OBrien

ps1, Those are some great ideas for self defense. My style - Vee-Jitsu is seeped in self defense. When we are training for a tournament I am sorry because we get away from the street. Our style is combat oriented from Brooklyn, NY. We train for the street through repetition against real attacks. When someone is choking you they are not just placing their hands near your throat. When someone gets you in a headlock they are putting you in a vice grip not just holding their arms around your head. Our style is meant for self defense but we adjust for competition. Thanks, Sensei Tom

This is great stuff. I have been in the martial arts for about 35 yrs. now. I have had my dojo for about 25 yrs. I have not promoted anyone to black belt yet. I have one student who has been with me for over 7 years now who is going to be promoted to 1st dan very soon. He is dedicated and consistent. In the last couple of tournaments he has fought black belts and won. I won't even promote my own son who has been training with me, off & on, for almost 7 yrs. He is still a purple belt because he only trains when there is a tournament coming up. I am under pressure all the time to water it down to get more students. I won't do it. I never quit my day job. I have been working for the Phone co. for more than 35 yrs. I don't do this for the money. I do it because I love it. Quality is better than quantity. You have re-enforced my resolve. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Good luck on your test. Keep training hard. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Me too. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Me too because if he doesn't bring his 'A' Game he is gonna be in a world of pain. Brad Imes is a huge guy. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Here is the card: GEORGES ST-PIERRE vs. MATT SERRA DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. JOSH KOSCHECK ROGER HUERTA vs. LEONARD GARCIA MIKE SWICK vs. YUSHIN OKAMI ALAN BELCHER vs. KENDALL GROVE BRAD IMES vs. HEATH HERRING THALES LEITES vs. PETE SELL MARCUS DAVIS vs. PETE SPRATT JOSH HAYNES vs. LUKE CUMMO SATURDAY, APRIL 7 LIVE FROM TOYOTA CENTER IN HOUSTON These are my picks: GEORGES ST-PIERRE vs. MATT SERRA - George DIEGO SANCHEZ vs. JOSH KOSCHECK - Diego ROGER HUERTA vs. LEONARD GARCIA - Roger MIKE SWICK vs. YUSHIN OKAMI - Mike ALAN BELCHER vs. KENDALL GROVE - Kendall BRAD IMES vs. HEATH HERRING - Brad THALES LEITES vs. PETE SELL - Pete MARCUS DAVIS vs. PETE SPRATT - Pete JOSH HAYNES vs. LUKE CUMMO - Luke Thanks, Sensei Tom

Tito Ortiz No-Shows, Bout With Dana White Never Happened The following is from Dave Meltzer'website,WrestlingObserver.com: Is that Tito Ortiz no-showed the weigh-in and the fight never happened. The Nevada State Athletic Commission was not happy with this turn of events as they had officials there. Dana White was there and got weighed-in. There was no communication from Ortiz as to why he wasn't there. Ortiz did call White and leave him a messages saying that he was letting him off the hook, but White didn't think that message meant he was cancelling the match. Spike TV was scheduled to air a 90 minute television special building up the PPV of the fight. Post by Joe Daddy I just think it was very unprofessional of Tito to stand him up like that. Tito is supposed to be a champion. He did not act like one. I think it was ‘no class’. Thanks, Sensei Tom

KyleM, Welcome aboard. Yeah some of the forms in TKD and karate are similiar. The TKD, Palgwe forms can be similiar to the karate Heian kata. Stretching is something you need to do every day and every chance you get. Use a stair case and go up a step and another and so forth. Throw your leg up on anything and stretch. You can stretch when you are sitting in front of the TV set. Train hard & good luck. Thanks, Sensei Tom

I hope I am posting this in the proper place. There was a riot in Madison Square Garden this past Sunday night. There was a High School Championship Basketball tournament in progress. The riot spilled out into the street and the police arrested a lot of people. As a result of the melee the City of New York has banned High School night games. Only day games will be allowed from now on. Madison Square Garden may never again accommodate High School Basketball. The reason why I am posting this news is because of the fact that the Police Department confiscated 73 knives. These, mind you taken from only those who were arrested. I can’t imagine how many more weapons there may have been. It makes one think that we might want to ‘sharpen up’ (no pun intended) on our knife defenses. It’s a crazy world we live in. Thanks, Sensei Tom

lordtariel, congratulations on your 3rd pl. your hard training and dedication are starting to pay off. Keep up the good work. Next time it's going to be 1st place. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Man I wish I was going for a degree in Martial Arts. I am going for a post graduate degree in business and I feel Like killing someone. Thank god for the martial arts to get my frustrations out. Imagine if you could do both? That sounds like such a great degree. Everyone on this forum should check it out. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Thanks guys, On a down note I had trained 2 black belts from TKD in Bassai Dai, Shotokan style. They had asked me to teach them a karate kata. Both of them have 12-15 yrs. experience in the arts. They are not young kids. One guy is a 2nd Dan and the other a 1st Dan. They are 63 and 48 yrs. old respectively. So we trained in B assai Dai for about a month. We signed up to do Team Kata, something I had never done before. I was really looking forward to it. I received a voice mail the morning before the tournament telling me that they were not coming. I was competing anyway, in kata & kobudo but I was really disappointed about having to cancel the Team Kata. I had a great name for our team the Ronin. Anyway, when I spoke to them after the event they told me they didn’t feel ready & there had been a snow storm the day before & they were tired from shoveling snow. They had each paid $50 and a $10 fee for the team competition. I was only out ten bucks. I lost a lot of respect for these 2 black belts. I don’t look at them as dedicated martial artists anymore. I don’t know what else to do except let them know how I feel & what I think a responsible black belt should be. I had another negative incident happen when one of the parents of my best green belt left the tournament after kata. Danny is a great fighter. He has the potential to be a national champion. The dad’s excuse was that Danny was too tired. I happen to know that Danny’s dad had an appointment at about 4pm because he had told me this information when he asked me how long the tournament would take. He convinced his son Danny that he was too ‘tired’ to fight. I told him that he was making a big mistake. I told him that his son was 5 minutes away from being a State Champion. I explained that this was not just another local tournament but it was a State Championship & if Danny won he would be an AAU State Karate Champion. He left anyway. So there was some bad with the good but a lot more good than bad. That’s life. Thanks, Sensei Tom

tekki, I hope to meet you at the Regionals in Albany next month. I was really proud of my students today. Five of them competed and they took home 5 medals. My son Ben took 3rd in kata & 2nd in Kumite in the 15-16 yr. old intermediate div. Steve my brown belt took 3rd in kumite and 5th in kata. Shelly my 19 yr. old white belt took silver in kumite. Simon a little 8 yr. old white belt took 1st place after 5 fights. He is so cute! He is like one of those kids from the old cartoons whose legs are going like a spinning wheel when you pick them up. Set him down and he takes off like a shot. I posted some pictures in the competition area. You gotta see Simon. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Pinan Yodan & Heian Yondan are almost identical. I learned the Shotokan version of Heian Yondan also at an early level and I have always loved it. The way it starts slowly going to both sides and then you explode into that gedan barai and shin punch with a kiai gets everyone's attention. When you do empi you make a loud slap against your hand to show the power of that forearm smash. Do morote riken uchi (augmentaed backfist) with a loud kiai, we jump really high and come down hard and when you turn show some tension. Push those arms that are trying to surround you, out and open your opponent up for a triple barreled blast, mei geri and oi zuki/gyaku zuki super fast and hard. We also kiai on the knee lift (hittsui geri) and slap the top of the knee when you smash upward. Man I love this kata. Thanks, Sensei Tom

You have to bring your leg into chamber after you throw the crescent kick. Do not put your foot down and fire it into the exposed ribs. You can also use this in self defense. If a person exposes a knife you can knock the knife out of his hand and using the momentum smashes the ribs with a side kick. If the momentum keeps you turning turn all the way around and throw a front kick with the other foot for good measure. You can experiment with a reverse crescent kick too but always hit the wrist right behind the hand to send the weapon flying. There are some good combos you can work from both the crescent and reverse crescent kicks. I’ve seen them used effectively. Strangely enough I never used too many crescent kicks because of one major draw backs. When you throw the crescent kick it is easy for the opponent to block your kick with his forearm right on the bottom of your calf muscle and that really hurts. But don't let it stop you from trying. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Welcome jonny. How are things over there in Ireland. I always wanted to go there. My family comes from county Cork. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Try this - throw the crescent kick with your rear leg high up to the face. Before you put your foot down turn it into a side kick and drill it right into your opponents ribs. Many times your opponent will bring his hands up to block the crescent kick and you can really drill that side kick into those open ribs. It's worth trying. I have a brown belt that nailed a black belt with it at one of the last tournaments we went to. A black belt friend of mine turned to me and asked me if he was my brown belt. When I responded in the positive he said "Wow nice technique". Sometimes it works. Thanks, Sensei Tom

The Ronin Martial Arts Club will field about 8 competitors this Sunday at the AAU NJ State Karate Championships. I am doing team kata for the 1st time. I don't know why I'm more nervous about this than fighting. I think because if you are out of sync you stick out like a sore thumb. Any tips? Thanks, Sensei Tom

I believe you should try to avoid a confrontation at any cost. If you can't avoid it and it is imminent then you should pull out all the stops and attack with 'fudoshin'. Here is what that means: Fudoshin: [whenever] someone is faced with a difficult situation, he can do as usual with [an] unshakable mind. --Inoue Tsuyoshi Munetoshi, 18th soke, Hontai Yoshin Ryu To achieve this mental state and the practiced ability of unhesitating and appropriate response, there is at least one critical prescription: training. Dedicated, consistent and ardent training. Such training allows the practitioner's techniques to become expert and natural movements--movements performed like our everyday motions of walking, eating, or brushing our teeth--without need for stringent conscious control. Furthermore, while training to attain this state of technical mastery in which the technique becomes the outward expression of an "artless art," the karateka learns to confront and ultimately master his fears and doubts. The other concept to keep in mind is Iken Isatsu, meaning 'one strike one kill' the true training of karate. Having said all that although I am a martial artist I am also from 'Hell's Kitchen' and the guy who hits first and hits hard usually wins the fight. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Wow! And I thought it was cool that I received 9 credits towards my BA for MA training. I'm going for my post grad degree now & I wish it was in MA. Good luck and let us know how it is. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Welcome back baron. You are right Patrick runs a great show here. Thanks, Sensei Tom

Randy Couture Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 5th round . Matt Hughes Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round . Martin Kampmann Wins by Submission at 4:06 in the 1st round by triangle choke. Rich Franklin Wins by Stoppage (Corner) at 5:00 in the 2nd round by TKO. Jason Lambert Wins by Technical Knock Out at 3:36 in the 2nd round . Matt Hamill Wins by Technical Knock Out at 4:00 in the 1st round . Jon Fitch Wins by Submission at 3:05 in the 3rd round by rear naked choke. Jason Dent Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round . Jamie Varner Wins by Submission at 1:34 in the 1st round by tapout. Randy won every round. Thanks, Sensei Tom

The Ronin Martial Arts Club will be going to the State Championships on March 16. If we qualify we go to the Regionals in April. If we qualify there we go to the Nationals in Winston Salem, NC in June. You just need to get in the top 6 to qualify. Thanks, Sensei Tom

If we qualify within the top 6 at the State Championships then we will go to the Region 1 Tournament in Albany, NY in April. Good luck out there on the West Coast. Let us know how you do. If we qualify there we will go to the Nationals in Winston/Salem, NC. Maybe we will see you there. Thanks, Sensei Tom

OK here are my picks: -Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture – Tim Sylvia, KO big right hand -Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle – Matt Huges -Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald - Rich Franklin, Gonna be good, Rich has to come back -Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Jason Lambert – Renato Sobral, he has been in w/ Chuck 2X -Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFedries - Kampmann Preliminary Bouts: -Jon Fitch vs. Luigi Fioravanti - Luigi, I liked how he looked against Chris Leben -Matt Hamill vs. Rex Holman – Hamill, he is 7 yrs. younger, 37 vs 30 -Gleison Tibau vs. Jason Dent – Tibau because he has twice as many fights -Jamie Varner vs. Jason Gilliam - Varner Thanks, Sensei Tom