NightOwl

Sadly, many unwanted bats are abused by martial artists daily for nothing more than entertainment. Please- adopt a bat today. Invest in the future

Randy IS my hero.... Really it isn't about style, it's about the person. And said person so happens to train a great deal in an art (wrestling) that while it has limitations AS WITH ANY ART, it has proven itself to be effective. Yes, there are plenty of TMAers that can take on wrestlers, and MOST certainly vice versa. However Randy isn't just a top wrestler, he is a top all around martial artist. To say that he would have just a 1 in 5 chance of winning against you and that there are thousands at his skill level or above calls for examples beyond people training in secret family styles that live in a remote corner of the world that nobody could deny or confirm. Here is an example of him in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3RYueZQ6OwY As you can see he is an expert on the clinch- once he has you there you really can't strike anything (including the groin) with much force at all.

Most throws can be done no gi- Karo Parisyan who is a judoka with an excellent MMA record has a lot of stuff on how to transition from gi to no gi. Looks like you took the opposite approach though . I've heard that t-shirts work a lot better for lapel chokes though.

This may change in the future. One of the ITFs is in discussions with the WTF looking to bring some sort of form event to the Olympics. Its a long way off but maybe it could happen. It is really going to be up to these two organizations to decide to bring more back to TKD than the Olympics can offer. There is no doubt that the drive for the Olympics produces some great athletes. However, there can be great Martial Artists who are not cut out for the Olympics as well. The problem that both orgs generally have the same goals towards gaining world recognition. I usually am the last person to say that a martial art is not for real because it has a competitive element and therefore is only a 'spot'. Actually the opposite is usually true. However TKD is turning away from being a martial sport into being a sport sport. In its home country (from what I have heard, I have not been there yet), TKD is taken up like kids take up soccer in the states. A black belt is no big deal as so many people have one, and very young kid BBs and watered down training is hardly a rare sight (some say it is worse than in the US). Are there gyms that have great training? Of course. But if the attitude about TKD training is no better or worse in Korea, you can bet that same attitude is going to be present in a lot of TKD circles all over the world. The Olympics are a huge political event (sports are just a small part of it), and to have your country be considered the best in an event is huge. Look what China did with kung fu- they banned any sanshou for a long time, and tweaked the forms for aesthetics and acrobatics so far that they no longer represented anything you would fight with so that they could create an Olympic sport (currently you'd be better finding kung fu outside of China than in it). The drive to make TKD a major Olympic event has had many negative impacts, and until a kyokushin mentality like subgroup becomes mainstream, it probably won't be getting any better. As for ATA- it is in close association with the WTF and has many of the same objectives. Plus the high belt charges...

Kata are more for show, especially in a tourney- thus if someone is putting on a more flashy display, it doesn't matter if you have the original kata down to the last kick, they want something 'entertaining'. I agree though that XMA and regular forms shouldn't be in the same division. However you do have one advantage...XMA background music. Put some real music in there during your form and you have won in spirit, if not in the mind of the judges

oh aye, I agree, I like the show. The shaky future bit comes from no season 2 having been cleared. The HW homepage is not being updated, and e-mails sent to the History channel get a response along the lines of 'we haven't decided on the show yet'. It is a scripted show, so the writer's strike might have affected it somewhat, however the longer that it is in limbo, the less chance of it coming back. Bill Duff posted on a popular martial arts forum that he is waiting to see if the History channel tries to pick up the show again, but in the meantime is working on other projects so... if it comes back is unknown.

Bah- give me John Sullivan! 35 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. 30 of those were by KO...plus he had the handlebar 'stache

I enjoy the show, but there have been many problems with it. They told people, in one animation clip, that the human liver is on the left side of the body (incorrect.) Then in a later clip they said it is on the right (correct). They also perpetuated the old "Shove his nose-bones into his brain" myth on an episode. Anyone who has had a decent anatomy class knows this is simply not possible. Other problems are the way Duff is always hitting people outside of the rules. That is really lame. But, I enjoy the show when I catch it on. Heh, the nose thing really riled me up. The fights are staged though-not full contact (although the TKD guy apparently didn't get the memo). Also Human weapon's future is shaky- it might be gone for good.

That about sums up my thoughts on kids training with adults. I'm allowed to be a grumpy old man, even if I only am in my early 20's

Last year for a Taekwondo event? I highly doubt that. It is getting more and more popular, not less. As for the WKF...I at least hope that it doesn't gain too much power.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lk1GZhI_B4A I miss that show...

The problem with bunkai is that a lot of it is subjective. Of course, some parts of kata are easily interpreted, however unlike the Japanese Jujutsu schools, the karate schools did not have nearly the same amount of documentation to transmit information. Thus good portions of kata are understandable in application only if you knew the original technique outside of the kata. You can make guesses as to what they may be, but doing so has led to a lot of bad SD techniques out there.

I'm sorry, but that is quite a statement to make. Many thought that way during the early years of the UFC and ended up loosing very badly (and yes, there were almost no rules in the early days). I'm not saying that there aren't lots of good fighters who don't go pro- very few people do, even those that train in a realistic manner. However the top pro fighters are just that- the best of the best. There are hours of video in recorded fights and countless witnesses to back up their prowess. If you had evidence of the said thousands of martial artists who can make pro MMA fights look like child's play, then I would ask that you please show examples of these people demonstrating their skill.

As 'martial arts' assumes an activity associated with combat in some manner, a degree of risk is to be assumed. However, the likelihood of getting 'punch drunk' is not very high. Many boxers who receive constant punches almost exclusively to the head don't end up with it, and there are much more common things to worry about. Like ringworm

You're a sniper's dream! Snipers are like the T-rex from Jarassic Park...they can only sense movement. That's what I read on wikipedia anyways.

That's why wrestlers usually do very well at taking up judo and BJJ (undoing a few 'bad' habits first). They combine the clinchwork and standup (with some pins) with the throws and/or submissions for the submission grappling to create a very well rounded grappler. I would disagree a bit on the ground thing a bit- there is a reason why the guard was so revolutionary. Of course in modern MMA it has lost a lot of its impact because people know how to deal with it, however if it is pure style vs. style then there is still an advantage.

I am so going to do that. This example erm, isn't from personal experience though right?

And even then you get all sorts of varying quality in an org. However it does help somewhat.

The inward/outward crescent kicks are kind of variations on the axe kick, but they are classified as being unique. Many kicks like the 'Tornado' kick are just a different method of execution on one of the basics as Bushido_Man mentioned.

Yes, take a wrestler to the ground and a BJJer or Judoka will have the advantage. However wrestlers are great at blocking take downs, and they can easily transform a pin into a nice ground and pound position. BJJ also comes from a 'sport' MA- Judo. Never underestimate a wrestler- you might find yourself on your back sooner than you think.

bushido_man96 makes a good point. Also, without getting into a deep discussion, I will say that I have found my self-confidence has improved as I have accomplished challenging goals in life, many of which involved MA. Ed Yes, Ed. I agree. I think building self-confidence and other moral attributes has more to do with just involving yourself in something constructive, whether it be the Martial Arts, a sport club, or any other activity. Right I don't think that it is unique to MAs, however Karate usually is a constructive hobby, and as such probably will help you build your confidence.

A hard throw on a soild surface such as concrete, tile or hard packed ground is going to take the wind out of the average persons sails. I have seen trained grapplers get knocked out by a good throw. So it may only take one. And for just tossing them you may not want to engage with the person for example a rowdy drunken member of you family. There's a time and reason for every move in the martial arts. I can attest that they can hurt on the mat as well

That's what orgs are for, so that you can tell or not if an instructor has met certain standards. That's the theory at least.

That 'tradition' also is murky. Chinese practitioners in days of yore would usually undergo what we would now consider 'hard' training (ie, full contact punching and kicking- lots were brawlers to boot). Many ideas of chi are a modern mix of old Chinese medical theories, Chinese superstitions/folk religion, and new age/ 'Mystery of the Orient' marketing as opposed to a long standing practice (unless you consider material from the 70's on 'long standing'). The Shaolin monks give demonstrations of chi, but it should be taken with a grain of salt. Firstly the Shaolin Temple long ago died out (it is now a tourist attraction/ cultural ambassador under the eye of the PRC and contains a curriculum based heavily on modern wushu), and secondly the demonstrations of chi are either doable through determination (they like breaking those thin metal bars) or simple conditioning (the 'spears' they lie on are not sharpened, but would still be painful to lie on for even a short length of time). Other groups such as Yellow Bamboo, George Dillman's system, etc have all failed to work under test conditions. To me Chi is concentration and focusing your body on something. Can focus help you in a fight? Sure- but it is not an invisible energy force, just willpower and determination.

Oi! Kung fu movies are where it all started! I'll help you out by plugging my own agendas and bias in written form: http://www.karateforums.com/uncle-nightowl-s-martial-movie-reviews-vt30723.html I haven't updated it in awhile because it takes up time to write a review and I am lazy. I'll probably start putting some more up tomorrow though.