DWx

I'm not at the top (far from it) but I am in a similar situation at uni where there is nobody to teach me. Like JusticeZero said, if you know enough material you can work on improving it on your own and you can learn that way. I've found myself relying more and more on books to come up with different things to work on and to offer some guidance on things I'm not so sure about. Also the great thing nowadays is the internet because you're pretty much guarenteed to find something that can help you.

I don't jump too high in any case but with throwing the leg out I find I touch the floor quicker so I have to jump higher if I want to retrieve the leg before landing. I did have a go at doing the side kick and it sort of worked, but by leaving the leg out it kinda goes against some of the principles of jumping kicks for us. We told to tuck it up because you don't want to leave the leg to get caught and if you are having to jump, most times you're jumping over something so leaving the leg out is counter-productive. I think that shooting the leg out has some advantages though, like the torque, and actually that fits quite well into our training philosophies (e.g. the reason we pull back the opposite hand when striking/blocking is to add torque to the body). I've been working on trying to do both methods by tucking the leg up but also shooting it back, like Master Cho does but I keep the leg bent. Takes some getting used to but I find it is sort of working.

Thanks for the replies so far I know what you mean about the flexibility, I always think I'm going to pull something if I really throw it out. Do you not find that you have to jump a lot higher to compensate for the back leg being lower to the ground?

When doing any jump kick do you tuck the back leg in or throw it out in the opposite direction? I think tucking it in is probably the way most people do it but in The Complete Master's Jumping Kick by Hee Il Cho he says to shoot the back leg out in the opposite direction because it adds torque to the waist. I've tried doing it this way, it does add a bit more power but you sacrifice some of the benefits you gain from tucking it in.

I used to love those 3D Doritos! We used to buy them at school and fill them with cheese from the canteen. Sound really disgusting but it tasted so good

Congrats!

We train in school gyms so the floor is springy wood. When we do any takedowns there's always some gymnastic mats lying around so we can use those. Do have some jigsaw mats and they're what's used at competitions but never known someone to get caught in them if they're stuck together properly and in good repair.

Welcome

I still have my gameboy pocket somewhere Pretty much grew up with these things.

When I bought some there was an option for International Shipping on the delivery page.. I guess that would inculde the US but definitely contact them, from past experience they are very helpful.

New additions to my library: The Ultimate Kick - Bill "Superfoot" Wallace I expected more from this book seeing as it was written by arguably one of the best kickers in tournament fighting. For starters very little is actual said throughout the whole book. Most of it is technique by technique photos of Wallace doing combinations against an opponent with little actual explanation alongside. Its all "Wallace does this punch... then he does this kick" and no actual suggestions as to angle or distance or anything else. Would be good for beginner sparrers to see what types of things they could do but for anyone with a reasonable amount of experience I wouldn't bother. The Complete Master's Jumping Kick - Master Hee Il Cho Does what it says. The first third of the book is general information about Hee Il Cho, his philosophies, and some basic information about the major muscles of the body. The rest of the book is dedicated to the kicks. For each kick there is a brief description, step-by-step breakdown of how to perform it, applications, common mistakes, as well as specific strengthening and stretching exercises for that particular kick. Master Hee Il Cho explains: the jump snap kick, roundhouse, twisting, spinning crescent, crescent (both inside to outside and outside to inside), side, jump hook, back turning, spinning hook, spinning back, scissor, twin front snap, double front and double side kicks. Great book for anyone that wants to improve their jumping kicks regardless of style. The Complete Martial Artist, vol 2 - Master Hee Il Cho I don't actually have vol 1 of this series but this book is alright on its own. Starts off with a chapter on fighting where there's a brief description of different sparring systems and then about 50 pages of example combinations with step-by-step photos and detailed explanations of how and when to do them. Chapter 2 is Counter Attacks which is basically more of chapter 1 but in the examples you wait for the opponent to initiate contact. Chapter 3 is Full Contact and again shows more combos but with what I think is a more practical focus and most would be appropriate if you wanted to focus on SD. Also shows ways to get out of the corner of a ring, get off the ropes etc. The next chapter is all about bag work; what type of things to drill and how. Chapter 5 is Boxing and outlines different types of punches and footwork. Chapter 6 is a short section on Woman's Self Defense and includes some basic defenses against being grabbed. Its pretty much applicable to anyone regardless of gender. The next two chapters are Women's Basic Exercise and Women's Weight Lifting but again I don't see why this type of stuff couldn't be done by guys. Final chapter is on Yoga and shows you how to do basic postures. Overall its well worth a read even if its just to get some ideas of combinations to drill or different exercises to try out. Really only useful for TKD or similar styles as most of it is heavily kicking based. Also wouldn't recommend it until you are already familiar with what I'd call the basic kicks; roundhouse, side, back and spinning.

Sorry to hear that Kez, hope you're ok. You can't blame yourself for what happened. Just because you are a blackbelt and you are a martial artist doesn't mean theat you develop superhuman powers and the ability to defend yourself from all the world's big ugly thugs. Sometimes these things happen. Its up to you how you learn from the experience.

Where would you park the car?

Great topic Killer. I think one of the biggest cons you can get with adults (and some older teens) is the whole "I know better" attitude. When you tell them to do something a certain way they don't because they've either been taught it different by another school or style or they just want to take a shortcut and skip to the "more interesting" stuff. Younger kids just do it, and don't worry about the reasons. We don't really get this either, although our classes are split up into grades so I never see like 2/3s of the school.

nice story. Another rule to add, if it doesn't break by the 3rd time,stop and save it for another day!

I don't think it matters that much to be honest. Who's to say anyone has the authority or right to give out rankings? Whatever ranking system you're in there will always be someone right at the start who had to give themselves, or have a board give them, their dan belts. Take the founder of my org, only had a 2nd dan in another martial art but gets promoted to 9th dan as head of the organization.

Blitz are selling a whole load of books for £2.50 if anyone's interested. Don't know whether they ship to the US but for anyone in the UK its worth checking out: http://www.blitzsport.com/Products/Book-Special-Offers edit: found out that they do ship internationally

great story. Burnt hair is so not a good look.

lol yeah probably shouldn't use it, especially when talking to a Chinese-stylist.

Welcome nacal

Really hope she wins. She has an amazing voice. I'm suprised she hasn't already got a recording contract.

Welcome sperki

no worries I was thinking would there be the same instance with tkd and karate I think I will rummage around There are definately parallels between parts of the TKD Chang Hon forms and Shotokan katas although its only really combinations rather than the whole thing. For example, Tekki Shodan has moves which correspond to bits of Yoo-Sin, Heian Shodan could be compared a bit to Chon-Ji / Dan-Gun, Heian Nidan is incredibly similar to Won-Hyo... there are plenty more. And some schools practice Bassai/Passai but in a TKD way. Nice video though. Really shows the progression between different styles of MA.

Everyone's saying that chemicals and adrenaline will delay the registry of a groin shot, but isn't that true of all shots? And all pain compliance techniques? Just treat the kick like any other attack. Hit it but keep going just like you would if you kicked them in the stomach or the head or whatever.

I'll admit my Tai Chi training wasn't that extensive, but we were always doing bigger movements. What sort of concepts are you talking about BB of C?