NightOwl

I think that it is safe to say that if your opponent is down on the ground with his hands on his face etc. (and not getting up), that you have ample opportunity to get out of there and avoid being charged with excessive force (as opposed to kicking him while he is down there). Of course if he comes back a 2nd time....

I agree. Very tragic. And kind of spooky, too. The Shaolin Monk assassins did it...or so I've heard If he had been around long enough, I think that he would have liked the rise of MMA since he was really into mixing different styles to pick out what worked best from each of them.

I prefer dodging to blocking personally as it takes up less energy (however, sometimes blocks can be used as a first step in a nice counter-attack sequence)

Alright.... Finally made it back to the gym after almost a year of not lifting! I thought I'd go light and step back 30 lbs from what I normally did in the past (with lateral pulls, curls, and benches) and stick with 100 crunches until I could do it without it being a problem again before stepping up the #. To make a long story short, I KILLED my arms (they won't bend back beyond a 90 degree angle!), so I've been popping pills hoping that the soreness will clear up soon so that I can go back and do things at a slower pace next time!

Bobbing is the best! If you work on it you can get it so that someone untrained will have a really hard time hitting you! ....(congrats on the digital brown belt there BTW)

Really? Does that low of a # of reps work better than 8-10 if you do a higher weight? I want streangth of course, but a little bulk wouldn't hurt

Incidentally, I just saw that Virtua Fighter 5 is to be hitting the shelves (pardon the pun ). It looked very good. I can't remember if it was on PS3 or Xbox 360, though. I will come out for both, but the PS3 version will come out first. I'd hold out for the 360 version (not just because it is a better system ), but it will probably have more stuff (perhaps on online mode too).

I don't think that they really exist outside of the movie. It is after all, highly exaggerated...although a classic!

Howdy!

Gotta go with street fighter. I love the zaniness of it all, and who doesn't want to give a big hug to Blanka? Never really played Tekken (although I know it has many fans), and Mortal Combat didn't have to much going for it except shock value (for its day) in my opinion. Other than SF though, I'm gonna have to put in a non-existant vote for Virtua Fighter. It's probably the most realistic and least button mashing of all the titles out there (there are whole arcades separated by rank in Japan dedicated to just that game), and all the charachters are based on real fighting styles.

Thanks lordtariel, I'll have to check them out. There is actually a smith not too far from my house, but I have no idea about how good their swords are.

Gotcha MizuRyu! Thanks for the input....I guess I am still not all that comfortable with palms but I appreciate the examples. Perhaps I should try them sometime?

I don't believe that there is a perfect style, but there is a basic formula of multiple styles that I think is ideal : One striking and one grappling. The styles in question depend on what works best for you.

Ask a Ninja can be good stuff! Now this may be even more cliche than ninjas (but don't tell them that I said that or they might flip out and kill me using just their pure awesomeness): Boards http://youtube.com/watch?v=yOjAlqYA0Fw As Bruce Lee said, 'Boards don't hit back'. Yet for many this is the ultimate test of martial skill. Perhaps just in the layman's eyes (since breaking stuff looks impressive and is often shown in demos), but it also seems to be the highlight of many tests as well. But since a board is stiff and stationary, it is not at all like hitting a living (and moving) target. So why does it symbolize martial skill? Perhaps because it originated from Iron Body Training or something similar in the past, (and breaking boards is not easy depending on the quality of the wood and your strike), but mainly I think that it is just because it is accepted as the best test because it looks that way superficially. Mind you, I'm not saying to drop it, but I am saying that its importance has been overblown.

Congrats!!! Almost there eh?

I guess it depends on who they tell it to. The average joe? They want a MA class that gives them exercise and some SD tips, but they don't really want to fight. If they told that to someone who spars a lot, than the response might be different.

If a child needs to physically defend themselves from an adult, than traditional striking won't be that good of an idea. Screaming for help, biting, gouging at the eyes and groin, these would be their best options. However, I doubt that those are part of the curriculum that they train.

I'm sure that you can find kata on many sites on the web if you needed to.

I believe someone in K1 did that (who was first a football player, then 'pro wrestler', then MMA fighter).

i've never known a dojo to ban punches to the head. My experience isn't all that diverse, but everywhere i've been the head has always been a target. We don't allow younger and less experienced students to attack the head in a friendly sparring match, but i know a lot of headhunters who pretty much only go for the face. And i agree with bushido man, it seems to be that they should have their hands up more. throwing punches to the head has not been banned... but making contact with those punches has... by MANY dojos... because nowadays u can sue for basically anything, and no instructor is willing to lose that much money over a simple strike... and every open style tournament ive been to has always had a minimal head contact rule, where if the head snaps even slightly on contact, u get an excessive warning. I think that this world is starting to raise a bunch of whiney babies... there should some limits on who can and cant take the martial arts... those who arent going into it seriously and to properly learn to defend themselves... and arent willing to go home with bruises in the name of bettering their technique, should not be allowed to train until they realize what it truly means to need to defend ones self... this has also givin karate a TERRIBLE name over the years... when i tell people i have my blackbelt in karate, they arent impressed... why? because karate as a whole is seen as one giant mcdojo by the outside world... and those few (ok thousands but it seems like a few) who truly have learned what karate is and what it means to defend themselves using karate, are outnumbered 10 fold by those who claim to have a black belt, but would be out of a fight after the first punch. mods i read this over it should be fine but i tend to get carried away... if i broke a rule please let me know and give me an opportunity to edit my post Right. It's really is a shame and it has watered down these fine arts from what they once were. Any untrained fighter will throw punches, and you gotta know how to deal with them. Plus, you are denying yourself a great tool: your hands.

Hey everyone! What's your opinion on this.... Since I can't do any MA training besides a little shadow boxing every now and then, I'm thinking of taking up weights. I actually did this for awhile last year (and got to the point where I could actually do pull ups for the first time in my life), but I've never mustered up the energy to head to the school gym yet this school year.... So here's my plan: 10 reps and 3 sets lateral pulls 10 reps and 3 sets of free weight benches 10 reps and 3 sets of curls 100 crunches 20 push-up (increasing # as time goes on) 30 squats meanwhile I'd try to hit the gym 2-3 times a week, and increase weight every other week. I know that I am not doing much lower body work, but I'm purposefully trying to focus on gaining upper body strength.

I noticed a lot of punches to the head. Why has that fallen out of fashion? It seems to have worked for those guys just as well as their kicks, and I think that it is a sham that the majority of Karate dojos don't allow it in sparring anymore. This is the real deal, and if you are looking to tie in Shotokan with the UFC, you're gonna have to train like these people did.

I understand that it could do some damage, I'm just curious as to why it would be preferable to a fist.

In all actuality, it did happen sooner; much sooner. Ancient Greek Pankration. Yes, and there are other examples too. There are written records of fighting tournaments in ancient China (with participants having to agree beforehand that they realize that they could die in the process), and other cases of rival schools and styles putting out challenges and fighting each other. But all of these things were quite rough and brutal (like Val tudo...another example), and it is of little wonder that it's taken so long to create a mainstream area for MMA fights in a modern lawsuit society.

no, once in a while won't hurt, but let's face it: a lot of people take MA's as a kid and then drop it by the time they are getting into their teens. Most dojo's simply don't have enough adult students to put them into their own class, and thus most of the time adults do have to spar kids. Besides, if you are taking a test, it should NOT be a concept you are hardly familiar with, instead a test should show that you understand and can use the concept quite well. MA's is at it's heart about fighting. Fighting is not always evil in itself, it depends on what you are fighting for. But regardless it is about acting and reacting in a combat situation and if you are a kid, then you have to worry about fighting kids, if an adult, fighting other adults (kids do have to deal with adults, but they can't use a primarily physical strategy). I stick by my original opinion.