DWx

heh I just figured that maybe I'd missed the memo on the coming apocalypse. Is it bad I had to Google them?

As much as I love TKD, I can't say its harder to learn than boxing. Sure enough within TKD itself the leg techniques are probably harder to learn than the hand techniques but our TKD group invited a boxing coach in to do a session with us and I definitely found it really difficult to pick up. I don't know whether that was just because I was trying to override TKD methodology and training but it certainly wasn't easy.

It disturbs me how often you guys seem to talk about zombies and how'd you'd go about maiming them.

Welcome

You can do ladder workouts for your arms too. All sorts of variants on crawling on all fours: I agree with the above in that you probably mean more coordination as agility is about your body positioning and movement. For that, mitt work is great but if you're solo you can't really do that so shadow boxing is a good alternative. Or if you can hang a target that will swing or move, that's great for developing coordination and accuracy.

Happy Birthday

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. In International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) style Taekwon-Do, General Choi outlined five elements which made up the art. Those are fundamental movements, dallyon, patterns, sparring and self defense. These five elements overlap and are linked such that they form a cycle which has no end or beginning (i.e. the circle of Taekwon-Do) which the student is constantly travelling around. By improving one area of the cycle, another area is directly affected and is also improved. I myself however like to think of this circle as actually more of a spiral where the student is still covering the same areas but is getting more advanced all the time and the scope of knowledge that they have attained is constantly being enlarged as they continue to travel around the cycle. 1. Fundamental Movements In describing each of these elements, General Choi, being a military man himself, likened each to an aspect of military training. Fundamental movements were therefore an "individual soldier's basic training[/i]" This basic training, similar in many ways to kihon in Karate, consists of giving the student the basic techniques and physical concepts in order to practice Taekwon-Do. Traditionally this involves line work where techniques are practiced over and over again in order to achieve an understanding of how they work and to try to accomplish perfect form for use later. These movements usually consist of a definite response to a pre-ordained attack or defense and it isn't until we move along to another area of the cycle that we see the movements actually applied in a more realistic sense. It could be argued that fundamental work could also be things such as pad/bag work where perfect form is considered, however, I think it is more appropriate to include this type of training later on in the cycle. 2. Dallyon According to Choi, dallyon, or conditioning, was a parallel to the "maintenance of a soldier's equipment." The best soldier in the world can be let down if he has substandard and ill-kept equipment; you wouldn't want to be in combat using anything that was broken or rusty. In the same way, a martial artist must look after his equipment (his body) in order ensure that it is in the best condition possible to be effective and to prevent injury. Dallyon can be thought of in three ways. The most obvious form of conditioning is the toughening and hardening of attacking and blocking tools; makiwara training, knuckle push-ups, etc. In order to successively deliver that knockout punch or to stop an incoming attack, you have to be strong enough so that you're body can withstand the impact. The next form of conditioning considered is physical conditioning. Flexibility, strength training and cardio all fall under this label. As we all know, a lack of flexibility and strength can limit the types and range of techniques available to you. Strong supple muscles will also help to prevent injury as you will be less likely to pull something. Cardio work is also vital because no matter how many techniques you know or how often you've practiced them, you need the fitness levels to use them and to keep using them especially in an actual conflict situation. The final type of conditioning considered under dallyon is conditioning of the mind. I'm not going to go into great detail here, but essentially mind conditioning involves being able to achieve a state of no mind where you don't have to think about what you're doing and to be able to focus when necessary. 3. Patterns Patterns, or forms as they are more commonly known outside of Taekwon-do, were likened to the "platoon tactics" a soldier would be taught. The pattern places the student in a hypothetical situation where they would be attacked by one or more assailants and it illustrates possible ways to defend/attack in response. It should be noted that the patterns aren't the end all and be all of possible responses. However, they act as a suitable media for transferring some of the ideas that a student could use if they were placed in a similar situation. They are also extremely useful for developing some of the physical aspects of dallyon such as those needed for speed and power and for improving upon fundamental movements if the pattern is to be performed correctly. 4. Sparring Sparring training is the "field exercises" a soldier would do in simulated combat conditions. This is where the basic training, equipment and tactics are put to the test in a controlled and more realistic manner. All of the lessons learnt already are applied to moving targets and will be developed upon so that they can be used against real people who may not necessarily be of the same build and may not move in the "perfect way" which you assume in patterns and fundamentals. By sparring more, a student will gain a better understanding of what is happening in the fundamental movements and patterns while actively conditioning themselves both in body and mind for real combat. They will also be able to further develop the fundamental movements and begin to work on combinations and transitions of their own whilst, more importantly, being able to develop timing, distancing and coordination as this is not really possible in the previous areas of training. 5. Self Defense It could be argued that although the elements form a cycle with no beginning or end, self defense is the culmination of a student's efforts as it equate to "actual combat." All of the hard work put into the other areas results in the ability to defend oneself if need be against a spontaneous, unpredictable attacker. It should be noted that although it's nice to be able to split training up this way in order to get a better understanding of what the student is really learning, these categories should not be fixed and should not mean a rigid training structure where each of the areas are looked at individually. Many training practices will cover several overlapping areas of the cycle or maybe not cover any area at all. Defining the different elements in this way helps to structure training if need be but it shouldn't dictate what you are doing in class. Neither should the elements be followed in order. Sometimes it may be more useful to skip dallyon and move straight on to patterns or the teacher may want to go back to fundamentals after visiting sparring. For more information, please see page 725 of General Choi's condensed "Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do."

Sounds awesome. Btw whats the tennis ball drill?

Wow, great article Rateh. I'm just really starting to do more with the kids in my club so this is going to come in handy

Saturday mornings/early afternoons are very busy for us. Monday, Tues, Weds evenings are moderate but Thurs is very popular. But I don't know whether that is because Thurs is a dedicated sparring/fitness only class. Fridays and Saturdays are less popular because people like to go out on those nights. Kids classes will obviously have to be earlier but numbers are better if parents can drop them off and gives the kids a chance to get something to eat beforehand, so ours are around 6 or 7pm. We do have some come to the 8-9pm classes at our school but concentration goes right down as they're tired.

Great article I think most schools would probably fall until a mixture of categories and not just the one.

Welcome to KF Bulldog Ed Bring a friend is a great way to increase numbers. Along a similar sort of line, don't underestimate Facebook. Things on there can spread quite quickly. Make a page for your school and put up some photos and videos. Then get your 6 students to send it to everyone they know. FB says the average number of friends people have are 130 but your students could have a lot more. If they do send it to their 130 plus your 130, that's like 900+ people who find about your school. Obviously not everyone is going to sign up to your school but it does reach out to a load of people who might be interested. And a small website might be a good idea as if people want to find out more about you they'll probably try to Google it. Membership offers are good. Assume you're offering free trial lessons? Attending and participating in local events is also a good idea. Every year my school does stuff like enter the local half marathon and everyone wears club t-shirts and we get people asking about that. And anything you do do, write it up in the local paper for extra exposure. For a children's programme, you've got to get noticed in the local schools. My instructor has tons of kids because its like the "in thing" at school. Instead of joining the soccer team, they join the TKD club. If you can, do demo's at the school like on open days/parent's evenings/ school fete etc. and get noticed. But one thing I would say is to "borrow" kids to do the demo with you. Like borrow them from a sister school or somewhere. No kid wants to join a club where there's only adults training there. And you've only been open 2 months things might not be so fast to start with but the ball will eventually get rolling. There's a couple of older threads along the same lines that you might wanna check out: http://www.karateforums.com/methods-to-attract-new-students-vt39789.html http://www.karateforums.com/how-do-you-advertise-vt39097.html

I think the OP (correct me if I am wrong) is asking what elements of your training can you learn from the internet? Not can you learn [insert MA here] with no prior experience; that topic has been done to death numerous times. It's obvious that anything physical like actual techniques would definitely benefit from direct contact with a teacher but IMO a the internet is a great supplement to that. Like a textbook as Brian said. Tying the belt was already mentioned, as was folding the practice suit (gi, dobok, hakama, whatever you wear). Those can most certainly be learnt via the internet. Terminology too. If you've got limited direct contact with your teacher you might as well learn to do those things via a web video as that gives you more time to ask your teacher the more complex questions and the ones that can't be answered via internet.

I don't think you can learn a whole style via internet but definitely little things like tying the belt etc. can be learnt. In fact its great for those things. Means less class time is spent on that and more on actual training. In our school we always get told to go away and use YouTube and the like to learn the sequence of moves for our latest form so class time isn't wasted on that and more time can be spent on the technical aspect and refining the movements.

Hah I'm with you on that one! My two most favourite things

Well yeah I think he'd be a fool not to rest up and eat properly. He probably does anyway if he's a serious athlete. I think the point the speaker was making was that if you want to succeed at something, all your energies have to go into that and you can't just keep putting it off because you'd rather do something else.

Msn link won't work for me but wow. Was it just a freak accident or was it down to the instructor? If it was the later, that is disgusting. Someone in that position is in a position of trust. Not only because he is the teacher but also because he is of the higher skill level and so is in control. I always say its the more able person who has the responsibility to control the pace and level of the training. Thoughts go out to that poor child's family.

Welcome Amanda

Firstly I'd check with your instructor as your school may attend or run instructor's courses and tournaments anyway. I'd agree with Brian in that you'd probably expect to be teaching after at least 1st Dan and in order to compete you'll most likely need to be about 8th kyu or higher. As for tournaments, like I said, there may be ones approved by your instructor that your school may attend. If you're going off on your own to do them, at least ask your instructor's permission or talk to them about it as its their school's name you'll be competing under and their reputation on the line. Plus, he/she may have be able to give you extra tournament training or come along to coach you. Usually the best place to find appropriate tournaments for your style is your association. So if you are a member of the JKA, check out their website. Since you list Wado Ryu and Shotokan as style, I'd take a look at the WIKF website: http://www.wikf.com/events.htm (but I think you have to be a member to compete in their events so check) and the KUGB website: http://www.kugb.org/kugb-events-list.php?range=current&eventYear=2011 (likewise with the membership). Also look at the EKF website: http://www.englishkaratefederation.com/calendar/index.php Magazines are also good to look through for open tournaments. If you can get a copy now and again (WHSmith stopped selling them in my town ) have a look through Martial Arts Illustrated magazine as they usually have a section in the back with tournament dates / course dates happening in the UK or have a look on their website: http://www.martialartsunltd.co.uk/events-calendar.html Not sure the quality of these events as never been and they do seem to be more sport Karate / Kickboxing geared so you might wanna check that what you're learning will fit.

Welcome davec

One of my friends also has this at the moment. Obviously the best thing to do would be to rest up and minimize the Karate training for the time being. But that's not likely to happen If you can, and your instructor lets you, try training in trainers for a while and see if that supports your foot better. And go see your Doc as they might be able to prescribe anti-inflammatories or give you steroidal injections or something. By far the best tape IMO to use (if you can source it) is CoFlex. Its actually meant for animals and we get ours through someone who owns a vets. Sticks really well to itself but doesn't stick to anything else and, depending on how tight you wrap it, can be rock hard like a plaster cast or nice and elasticky. And you can reuse it (providing you don't pick up too much lint). Or see if you can find a neoprene support. I've got an achilles problem at the moment but can't be bothered with strapping ever class and find the neoprene supports and ok alternative. Hope you get better soon

Welcome sri_mersing81

Welcome Terrierpike Congrats on the promotion!

Welcome lauryn2000 At the risk of sounding like a complete noob, what's a Skateboard Marathon?

Well first and foremost, you need to get your technique down and practice. But aside from actual punching, I'd say plyometric training. So stuff with a medicine ball trying to throw it as hard and fast as possible with a load of different throws (Google/YouTube different throws). Lots of plyometric push-ups: quick push-ups, clapping push-ups, push-ups where you're jumping your hands on and off a basketball, push-ups where you alternate which hand is on a basketball etc. Punches with either resistance bands or if you have access to one, a freemotion cable machine with light weights. Loads more exercises you can do. Anything explosive will probably help. Absolute killer drill we do is stand in front of a bag/partner with mitts: do 2 punches, down do 2 push-ups, up for 4 punches, down for 4 push-ups etc. working up to 10 or 20 and then back down to 2. Destroys your arms but really helps with speed if you focus on throwing out the punches and push-ups as fast as possible.