niel0092

Sounds like what we would call a jumping inside cresent kick...

Thanks Laurie. Balance isn't the problem for me it's just locking my kicks so they look nice that gives me trouble. The only real cure for that that I know is to build up leg strength by doing the kicks slowly and repeatedly. Later on speed will enter the equation. Your right about chambering though. It's key to good balance and a nice kick.

We actually stored them in the sauna but it wasn't in constant use either...

Just started learning this form. So far I find that making the side kicks as clean as possible is the hardest part of the form. It's easy to get lazy and not lock out the kick. Guess it's more side kick practice for me...

We get ours at home depot too. Sometimes you get a nasty board but that's just part of the game I guess. You can dry them out in a sauna (worked well at our old location) or in the oven but I've never tried that myself. I'd venture a guess and say a low heat (100-200 F) for a few hours would be sufficient.

Never heard of T-USA but he could have pushed the hapkido for a number of reasons. He might personally like HKD better than TKD, it might be he thought that the questions you asked indicated you might like it better than TKD, or in a worst case senerio it could be that the HKD classes cost more and he wants to make more money off of you. I'm hoping it wasn't the later but like I said I've never heard of that place. Check around a bit and let us know what happens.

LOL I like the lead leg side kick too.

It took me about 6 years.

3 on one huh? What are you allowed to do? Can you grab, throw, just strike? Can you get in some extra practice on that part of the test? I think the free fighting portion of the test wont be a problem for you if you've been sparring often as part of your training IMO. As for the forms portion I agree with laurie. Pull random forms out of a hat and do them while someone watches. Do this as often as you can. When at home or other places try doing the form, 1 step, or three step over and over in your mind. Proper visualization will make the real thing that much easier.

welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Can you provide a link or name of the scientific journal where you found this? I might like to read about that.

See it all the time. Our school has been around for almost 30 years though.

Oh, thought of another one: A friend of mine from WI and I were going to go hit the bar one night and they said they "needed to hit the time machine". I looked at them like they were crazy, there's no such thing as a TIME machine! What they really said was TYME machine, a brand of ATM/cash machine found all over in WI. I guess that's a common thing to say when you need to use a cash machine/ATM in cheesehead land. Who knew? LOL

36% Yankee. Cant beleive I wasn't higher being from MN... The weirdest thing I've ever heard is calling a "drinking fountain" a "Bubbler". I've only heard that in Wisconsin and find it unusual every time I hear it.

I wonder how much of this has to do with population density in the area you reside. I've noticed that my friends from the east coast of the US have much smaller circles of personal space than my friends from the midwest, which generally has fewer people.

So all this begs the question then "What age is appropriate to be a master"? My personal belief is that age is not the greatest factor, but maturity and life experience, along with a great depth of knowledge in the art. I dont beleive I'd qualify at age 28 by any stretch of the imagination...

17 is a fun age. Have a good B-day!

Congrats!

Congrats!

Elbow strike or palm strike.

I think I liked it Because it was so different. It took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to look at things in an entirely new way. I hear what you're saying, but would like to point out that since judo and tkd are also sports with strict definitions as to how points are awarded (in competition), aren't you still in the same comfort zone? At least with aikido, you are practicing something that truly isn't a sport. My recommendation of Muay Thai, while also a sport, is that it allows you to take your TKD striking skills to levels unknown in TKD- it's like entering the family mini-van into Death-Race 2000. I understand where you are comming from as well, and it is a valid point. However, I feel that the two arts are different enough and both can be practiced at a high level of intensity against a resisting opponent. I'm also not as familiar with Aikido as I am with Judo so I cant make a statement as to how training is done in Aikido and the level of intensity in it's training. Nothing against Aikido in any way, it's a fine choice for a second art.

Here's an earlier discussion on the topic... http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=20263 and the SI article http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/05/31/olympic.new0606/index.html one from espn http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2104434

I think I liked it Because it was so different. It took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to look at things in an entirely new way.