niel0092

Tufrthanu, it looks like you found a hapkido dojang after all (judging by your listed styles). Where did you end up? I'd be interested to hear any of your impressions of Hapkido schools in the Twin Cities as I live in the area too.

Whoops, what I meant to say was I'd allow hands to the head. It's too hard to score with a punch as the rules are now.

Not on this thread no, but I've seen some misconceptions elsewhere and just wanted to clarify this for any that might not understand how it works. As for the issue of flaws, I agree that each certainly has it's limitations. My suggestions were solely intended to address a few of the flaws in olympic TKD as I see them. They are only meant as a place to start and to add to the debate on this thread. Anyway, that's my two cents I guess. Good luck with your training.

MWF 1hr class + pre and post class warm ups and practice. TTH maybe an hour each day on my own. Total: maybe 6-8hrs a week?

There seems to be a bit of confusion on these boards as to what WTF sparring actually involves. Just as a simple clarification let me state that it is a continious point accumulation type of match similar to olympic boxing. Valid techniques score points, but the match doesn't stop when a point is scored. Ok, with that cleared up (I'm sure most of you already knew what I just said) I actually would like to see the addition of several techniques to WTF sparring. I would add punching and backfists as well as sweeps and throws. Hand strikes can be made safer with the use of gloves and appropriate head gear and not detract from the essence of TKD. It is the korean way of Hand and foot fighting after all, not just foot fighting. Sweeps could be conducted the same way as in a San Shou fight. A point can be scored from a successful throw or sweep but the action is stopped and the combatants brought back to their feet to continue the match. This adds to the match without straying to far from the essence of TKD as a predominantly "stand up" art, IMO. Thoughts? Opinions? General naysaying at my expense?

Back kick. Circular momentum from the turn + linear momentum from your kick + the largest muscle group you have = bad day for your sparring partner

I'm not familiar with Porgies, what kind of fish are they? What are they related to? All too familiar with six packs though

Get some dishes, pots, and flatwear for your apartment. Also look at garage sales to see if you can find a vacum cleaner, those suckers are kinda pricey when new. Oh, and a microwave would be good. Some apartments wont have that included.

Biggest fish I ever caught was a 42 inch muskie (similar to a northern pike). I was using a surface bait and slowly reeling it in as I watched my dad fight another fish. He was just getting his into the boat when BAM! this muskie hits my lure from underneath exploding out of the water. I remember distinctly that it managed to change the direction the boat was facing as I tried to reel it in.

Maybe wu shu or the new XMA fad.

I'm a scientist at the University. I work on a reverse genetic screen against secreted proteins using zebrafish as a model organism. Half my job is science related and the other half is management of the lab and our animal facilities. We currently house about 15,000 zebrafish.

It looks to me that TKD is not out and karate is not in according to this article from Sports Illustrated. Not concrete proof for sure but worth a look at any rate. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/05/31/olympic.new0606/index.html

Mine was a .30-.30 for deer hunting, and only for deer hunting. Shooting a deer is no problem, shooting people is WAY outta my leauge. First MA weapon: kali sticks

LOL this group is definately armed to the teeth. Not too much here: 1 pair of tonfa 1 pair kali sticks 1 boot dagger 1 shinai (I guess that counts as a weapon) 1 sap several pocket knives and a .30-.30 rifle (stricktly for deer hunting) other catch as catch can weapons like keys, pens, and a carabiner that can double as a pair of brass knuckles

Mostly for fun but you'll notice that most phillapino systems start with weapons from day one as a way to teach body mechanics. Training with weapons has a lot to do with your goals in MA too. If all you want to do is fight you may decide to pick an art without weapons. As for myself, MA is more about a combination of stress relief, learning new things, and knowing how to defend myself. Weapons training fits right into what I'm looking for. Best regards.

Thanks Sai. It's nice to see you're still here. Hope all is well.

Jigoro Kano for Judo, Chung Lee for San Shou, Bruce Lee for the coolness factor, Coutour and Liddel for MMA, and Jae Hyon for TKD. Hyon was my insturctor's instructor and I never got the chance to meet him.

Im 28. Sometimes for fun we like to use the time we've been training as our "age" so in that case I'd be 6 1/2 years old.

Hi all. I just wanted to reintroduce myself after taking a year plus break from this site. Why don't I tell you all a bit about myself and my journey in martial arts. I started Taekwondo while finishing up my degree at the University. I'd always wanted to try a martial art but hadn't had the opportunity. I had been dealing with a considerable amount of stress at work and school and was in desperate need of an outlet. TKD fit the bill nicely and being a club at the University made it cost effective too. My reasoning for choosing TKD over the other arts on campus was initially a bit skewed. I had friends in it, they liked it, and that was good enough for me. Later I found out that the 2 karate clubs on campus were non-contact, and the vo lam kung fu club was noncontact as well. My club did use contact sparring and I rather found that I liked that aspect of training. There were other reasons that I felt I made the right choice in tkd that had more to do with the instructors of the clubs than in the arts themselves. I've come to have a deep respect for karate, just not a certain Sensei or his students at the U. Had they been less pompus things may have been different (ok, I've since met new students at that club and like them alot but the original students tended to sneer at us for the crime of being in TKD and trying to be friendly to them. Some people are just that way I guess).The judo club would later come into my life but initially I wasn't interested in grappling. I trained in TKD for a few years before seriously loking at other arts. I think it was the red belt blues that prompted my search. I then took some time off from TKD to save money and try new things including hapkido (which I really liked), tai chi (which I didn't, prob because of the school), and some philipino martial arts. I've sense returned to the main school for TKD that I began in and feel that after looking at other schools I really lucked out on my initial choice. It's a quality school with good people, a good mix of usable techniques, and a philosophy I find to my liking. Respect and discipline are emphasized as well as balance in ones life. I've also added kali and judo to my MA resume to address some weaknesses in my game and to develop my interests in those areas. Currently I'm a BB canidate and I hope to test for BB this fall. The journey so far has lasted about 6 1/2 years and I hope it continues for the rest of my life. Thanks for reading this, it got longer than I expected

Hi all, a few questions and comments for you. Does anyone know what rules they will be using? Legal strikes, techs, fouls, continious fighting or stop and go point fighting? I couldn't find any info on the olympic page. It seems like kata will be part of the competitions, how does this fit in with the sparring? Is it a speperate category or are they combined in some way to determine a medalist? Where is the information on TKD being out of the games? I can't seem to find that either. Ok, on to the comments. I started TKD just before it became a full medal event in 2000. Most events up for consideration as a full medal event must first be a demonstraion sport in the country of origin. For TKD this took place in 1988 at the S.Korea olympic games. It was my understanding that a new olympic event had to be suffeciently different from an existing event to even be considered for the games. Boxing had hand strikes, judo grappling, so TKD decided to focus on kicks for competion purposes. What will karate do to differentiate itself from the existing games while maintaining a level that is not too brutal for the average person? Like it or not, fan friendliness is a factor for the games. With the sport side of TKD taking a predominant role on the world stage it has been harder for the nonsport side of TKD to be accepted. Try telling someone in another art you do TKD and they kind of scoff at you for "not doing a real art" no matter what your training is like. I feel for karate practioners if they end up facing this like we did. TKD taught correctly includes knees, elbows, joint locks and throws, but we are now seen as being very one dimensional, generally speaking. It makes me sad truth be told, and for as much good as the games have brought us, I feel the level of harm has far exceeded the benefits. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to Karate practioners in your training and future with or without the games.

Good luck in TKD or any other art you choose! As for the six pack you must understand that TKD alone (or any MA) wont do it. It takes a certain amount of extra ab work, watching your diet, and genetic predisposition. Some folks may never get the six pack look but dont worry, your stomach muscles will still be strong provided you put in the work.

One of my instructors and several other students at my school have trained at the MN Kali group under Rick for several years. They'll bring back what they've learned there and introduce it to us as an addition to our training. Everything I've heard about sifu Faye is top notch and I'm quite impressed with what he teaches. The Kali and Panantukan I've been introduced to have been a great help. I'm sure you've seen this site but I'll post it anyway: http://www.mnkali.com/ Just for fun, here's my school too: http://www.mntaekwondocenter.com

Aww, who cares? It's kinda fun to do every now and then!

To become an olympic sport the host contry must first make it a demonstration sport at its games. This happened for TKD at the 1988 games in South Korea. The new sport is only considered for addition at this time. I beleive it also must be suffeciently different from existing sports to become a full medal sport. This might help explain why olympic TKD does not allow hands to the face (that's boxing) or grappling (like in judo). I also seem to remember a buzz about needing to tone it down a bit because the public really doesn't want to see too much brutality. The olympics really are geared for a mom, pop, and the kids kind of audience. So, having said all that, my answer is no. I dont think karate should be an olympic sport nor do I see it becomming one. Japan already has one MA in the mix with Judo, TKD has suffered a real or imagined backlash because of it's addition, and the field seems full as is now. I could see Wushu being added for it's artistic nature but full contact arts would have a hard time making it in with the olympics mindset and restrictions.

I saw Nirvanna in concert about 2-3 months before Kobain killed himself. It was a really good concert. i almost didn't go but decided to at the last min and am now really glad i did.