niel0092

Actually what irks me the most is ITF practitioners pointing the proverbial finger at WTF schools saying "oh they're not real TKD, but we are" without looking at other schools. I've been to karate clubs, ITF TKD, kickboxing schools, hapkido, and a few others. It looked very similar to what we do at my school. Lots of elbows, knees, and hands along with the kicks. I beleive that these people are feeling pressure to justify they're own choice in martial art to an ever more hostile MA public and they're doing it at the expense of those of us in WTF schools. It's sad and kind of frustrating that within our own art there's such division and this division is hurting us all. Think I'll just go practice my hand techs, locks, and takedowns. They're still a part of my TKD.

I really like wathcing both. I tend to enjoy the K1 fights more though, probably because I'm a striker, but I do enjoy a good take down or armbar as well. Those are skills I dont have an abundance of and love seeing them done well. Now the K1 San Shou rules I feel are the most fun to watch. You get to see strikes and take downs without so much time spent on the ground. Love watching Cung Lee fight.

A 360 round kick would work nicely too. Just make sure you get your toes back

No arguments here. I'd agree on both of your points.

You also have to look at the way laws were in Europe and the west vs Asia durring the time these arts were developed. By and large carrying weapons was normal in Europe and the US. Knives, sticks or staffs, all were available. With the advent of reliable firearms the prevelance of western martial training was focused on use of the gun and away from hand to hand combat. Why wrestle or punch when you can just shoot the guy? If you do look at the old german fence manuals you will find techs for sword use as well as unarmed combat. Very cool stuff and highly overlooked.

Looks like Karate is out for now. Here's a clip from an article on SI.com. This section is about 2/3 of the way down the article. "Just as startling as the removal of baseball and softball was the IOC's rejection of the five sports in line to replace them: rugby, squash, karate, golf and roller sports. Squash and karate were nominated, then overwhelmingly shot down in a final vote. With two-thirds approval required, members voted 63-39 against squash and 63-38 against karate. "Ultimately, the session was of the opinion that none of the five sports would add extra value," Rogge said." Here's the full link: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2104434

I dont follow you I guess. I can sure see hip rotation as it's happening, it's one of the many clues you can use to see what tech the other person is throwing. Plus, the hip is physically moving. And you can see breathing as well, not to metion feel its effects in yourself. Maybe we're just defining things differently though?

I'd say punching, breathing and hip movement all fall under the "physical" category though. Try having an effective punch without the will to actually hit (mental). Your physical tech may be great but if the will isn't there your punch will suffer. Or you may not even throw the punch at all. What good is that?

What about the reverse? Do the ladies like the guys that do MA?

Each one effects the others in a multitude of ways. To say one is more important than the other is like asking which wheel on a bike is more important. Remove one partway into your ride and you'll more than likely end up falling on your tukas before too long.

Most states require that you're 16yrs old for most jobs. Not sure what to tell you. Maybe try the local car wash/detailer. Get your lifeguard certification and work at a pool or beach.

Adding a bit of Judo would be good, just to get an understanding of what grapplers do and how they do it. Just make sure your karate foundation is solid before you cross train. Oh, and if you end up waiting untill college to try another art, no biggie. College is all about new experiences and ideas. You'll love it 100 times more than high school!

I'm a big Hendrix fan personally. I also really like Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Perfect Circle, Modest Mouse, lots of Blues and Jazz esp at bars, sevendust, coldplay, the stones, the cure, Metallica, Joe Satriani, the Killers, and lots more. Hate the Beatles though. My roomate in college listened to Beatles 24/7 for 3 years. He then got our friends into it and I couldn't escape them. Wake up, Beatles. Home from work, Beatles. Parties, Beatles! Bah! Just that eras version of a boy band IMO. But I'm not bitter LOL

Ah time to put my wildlife biology degree to good use! The itch caused by a mosquito bite is due to an allergic reaction so it is conceivable that one person could have a lesser reaction than another. The raised bump is still an allergic reaction however so if you see that but it doesn't itch you are infact still allergic, just to a lesser degree. As a side note, take a moment to consider poison ivy (toxicadendren radicans or rhus radicans in Latin). This is a plant that many of us are allergic to, somewhere between 80-95% of the US population. I've read, but cant verify, that Native American peoples are not allergic to this weed at all. In fact, some groups are reported to have used poison ivy to produce a type of black dye among other usefull things. Poison ivy is also a valuable food source for many birds and animals, It seems only people are allergic to it. Ok, that's enough science geekery for now so I'll leave you with a joke: What's Minnesota's state bird? -The Mosquito

When it comes to breaking just remember this little joke we like to use "The boards are already broken, they just don't know it yet". Keep that in mind and you'll do fine.

How does this differ from Ninpo, which I had always heard was the ninja's art?

LOL, the hardest I ever got kicked in the head was by a girl several years younger than myself. Know what I did? I kicked her right back! Seriously, you spar someone and gender isn't a factor. Haveing said that though, lets have a round of applause for the ladies!

Chong bong 6. It's a local form created by one of our old masters so aside from one other person on these boards I dont know if anyone else would know of it...

What about breaking requirements? Wow, we've kinda strayed off topic...

All goes back to Jay Hyon. We actually do the Taeguk and Palgwe forms for testing purposes up until canidate where we require Chong Bong 6. The Chong Bong forms we do just to remember our heritage so I think I've only done #1,2,3,4, and 6. Of those, I really only remember 1,2, and 6. I've never even seen #7 perfored. Love these forms though. They have so much more depth to them than the Taeguks and Palgwes. Which forms do you guys do?

There is actually a group of BB's testing in 2 weeks if I really wanted to go for it early. I think I'd prefer to have a bit more time to fine tune things though. My Chong Bong 6 form is not as crisp as I'd like and the breaks I'm up for are a bit challenging IMO. I've got to do a jump spin heel kick speed break, a round/hook combo (in one smooth motion), a jump 360 back kick through 3 boards, and then a series of "mystery breaks". Could be hands, could be feet, likely to be both and I'm sure I'll have to do a few of those while on my back. Like I said though, I'm not in any real rush to test. I'd rather wait until I feel ready.

Currently I'm a BB canidate. I should be ready to test in August or September but I'm not really in a rush to do so. I was holding onto the idea of getting my BB before my 10 year reunion but it looks like I'll miss that by a few weeks at least. Oh well.

Not sure if it's still there either truth be told. Jay Hyon was actually my TKD instructors first instructor. It's fun to see the effect Hyon had on martial arts in our area. It's also interesting to see how the old korean masters divied up the state back in the 70's and how the second generation students have strayed from those agreements on where they would locate their schools. But that's a whole other story... just for fun, here's my current school: http://www.mntaekwondocenter.com

It's interesting to note that some systems actually start with weapons before empty hand training. Phillipino systems such as Kali or Silat come to mind. The idea is that the weapon can actually help the new student in learning proper body mechanics that can then be applied to empty hand techniques. Just a different way of doing things

Thanks! I knew of GM Ro's school but was unaware of the school in St Paul on St Clair. So, what is the name of the place you currently attend? Ever hear of Won Ki Kwan out in New Hope? It's a hapkido and TKD school and it's a bit closer to Minnetonka then where it sounds like you were going. The instructors and students there were all very nice and what I saw seemed to be pretty solid. Of course, I only saw 2 classes and only tried one. It was a bit pricey for me at the time and too far from where I lived (Blaine). The head insturctor is actually from Korea and speaks only a little english. Most classes are taught by his head student with the head instructor supervising and translating when needed.