niel0092

I forgot to ask: what's in your area?

I live in Saint Paul, MN so we get a pretty good mix of styles. Being a fairly large area (Minneapolis Saint Paul and suburbs) you may have to go a ways to get to some of the less common styles though. Just off the top of my head though we have: TKD (WTF, ITF, ATF and others) Karate (shotokan, and 3 or 4 others that I know of) Combat Jujitsu BJJ Praying mantis Kung Fu Shaolin Kung fu Hapkido Hawrangdo Kendo Kempo Judo hapkido Aikido Boxing Kickboxing Assorted kung fu styles (havent looked into these much) Fencing Muay Tai Tai chi chuan Wing Chun Jeet kune do There are probably many more that aren't comming to mind now. I began learning in college and my choices of college clubs ( at the University of Minnesota) were much more limited. TKD, Judo, shotokan, or aikido.

Here we go again... lol we'll I chose a striking art to begin with as 99.999% of fights start standing up. Having said that, I know that I need to learn grappling or I'm in real danger of getting eaten alive by a grappler. If only I had more time and money

someone else tossing the board... Eeep... I'm not that far yet... just a red belt holding it by my finger tips and dropping it for a punch and for knife hands or having someone else suspend it for kicks For the record I wasn't trying to tee off on Stold there, just making a point and wanting to read more of his thoughts

I'd really like to add some aikido to my TKD. Striking and some more grappling/joint locks along with the philosophy of O sensei... how cool would that be?

What about suspended breaks where the board is loosely held by the finger tips of one hand or even dropped? Don't seem to remember those boards staying intact after they were hit... yes, opponents do move and are not "solid" but give to a certain degree. But this does not make board breaking a waste of time, it is just another of a myriad of training techniques to go along with sparring. As far as the UFC goes, there have been noses and other things broken so it's clear to me that they are punching effectively just differently then some of us do. different is not "wrong".

Once again personal opinion reins supreme...

we have a little joke at our dojang: All boards are already broken, they just don't know it yet.

The board turns if isn't hit properly and the edge acts just like a knife. I've only seen cuts when multiple boards are held though and then only on that flying side kick I mentioned before. Just glad it wasn't me on either side of that one!

Yeah I wonder what the criteria was too. All good styles though. Each with it's own thing to offer.

We use holders (ie not people) for only a few breaks, usually those with 3+ boards ie 3 board side kick, 3 board back kick and jump back kick... I think that's it. Dr. Haaland (head Inst.) holds for the 3 board flying sidekick.

My first break was a step in side kick. Nothing quite like breaking for the first time...

4 is still nothing to sneeze at. Next time you'll show those uppity boards who's boss!

ZR440 And thanks for the history ramyensa

seems unlikely. any residents there hear anything?

Given time, and your patience, the newbies will see which is better. Or at the very least know not to try that double-reverse-inside-outside-backfipping-wave_your_handsin_the-air-"kick" out where it matters.

Just like Gammora!

The only time I did three boards it was with a flying side kick. Very fun. If your knife hand is good try doing that. Set them up like dominos and watch them fly!

A very cool article jj-f. Thanks.

Thanks KickChick. There are a lot of similarities between the two... and just enough differences to make going back and forth a bit difficult. How some of the older guys at my school did it is beyond me.

Yes, but front leg kicks done well can still score and should not be overlooked. Even if they do not score, they can be used as a set up to a scoring shot. How does ITF sparring work? Legal moves, how hard do you need to hit, round times, etc? Maybe we need another thread for that though...

Sooo... how exactly did you break it? At any rate, sounds like it sucked. Hope it heals well so you can get back to training.

I guess I see front leg as much as back leg at my school. Front tends to set up back for scoring so you see that opening move alot. Which is nice for me as I love the back kick counter to a leading leg round kick!

I just finished a set of prequils to Dune. Pretty good read all in all. Now it's on to the 10th book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I also picked up the Art of War this weekend but have yet to start it. For a unique look at taoism try "The Tao of Pooh". Yes, Whinnie the Pooh. Amusing and informative.

Paddle drills: Back leg round(right), spin hook (left). Switch legs. Do 10 of each with each leg, or more! It's loads of fun! Conditioning: Mountains- face a partner, do 1 round kick, partner does the same. Now do 2 without putting your leg back down, 3, 4...up to 15...back down again...14...13...3, 2, 1 yell! Now do the other leg. Fall over dead