DWx

You could get your own photos done. Then it would have a bit more of a "personal touch" to it. You'd be able to get exactly what you want too and be able to use the images on any future stuff like merchandise, website etc.

We have a policy where we have to have a First Aider in class or the class doesn't run. You can get some pretty nasty accidents and the BTC wouldn't insure us unless we did. My instructor, his wife and a number of other higher grades/assistant instructors are first aiders.

Welcome to the forums! You could try to find an XMA school: http://www.xmarevolution.com/XMASchoolProfiles/tabid/53/Default.aspx Or you could do what somebody I know does which is to get into gymnastics and tricking. http://www.trickstutorials.com/ is a pretty good site with lots of videos and stuff on how to start doing all the flips and spins.

I had an RE teacher who used to drive me nuts with this. Every single time you asked to do something, like "Can I open the window?" or "Can I go to the toilet?" she'd just be like "I don't know, can you?"

Welcome!

Welcome!

I know I definitely don't do that one. A teacher in high school threatened not to even take my papers in if I did it again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7595509.stm Thought this was quite interesting. Never realised I make that many mistakes.

Would one of these work? See them advertised a lot but don't know anyone who uses them.

Congrats!

True optimal range is at the horizontal and high kicks can often be within punching range. You do have the added bonus though of being able to keep your torso (and head) further away than you would if you were attacking with the hand. If you compromise on a bit of power you can lean back away from the kick and keep the majority of your vulnerable targets (your torso and head) out of range. On the other hand you have to have better balance and your vision is slightly impaired.

In ITF TKD there is a tournament discipline specifically for these type of kicks. "Special Technique" requires you to break one board and you compete against everyone else to see who can go higher (or further) and still break. In most comps you do jumping high kick, jumping roundhouse, jumping hook, 360 back and flying side kick. We do get jumping kicks in our forms too, mainly flying sidekicks although in one of my current forms we have the two-directional kick. Most would never work in self defense unless under exceptional circumstances but they are a nice challenge to learn as you have to have good plyometrics to do the jumps and they are pretty fun if you can do them.

I probably didn't explain myself but that's kinda what I meant. A beginner can either go three routes to cross training, MMA gym, base style and then cross training or just jump in at different totally schools (with no affliation to each other). The last one is probably the hardest to do for an MA newbie and I think if you want to cross train you'd probably be better off going somewhere that teaches you MMA (like a gym etc.) or doing it via the base style.

I think even sport MA does have some self defense benefits. Try sparring in a room full of other sparring and you get used to instinctively avoiding the other pairs and keeping away from the walls, the bags etc. That sort of thing can be beneficial as you are gaining a sense of spatial awareness and that may help in an altercation. Also you would hope that sport MA would make you fitter which again isn't such a bad thing when faced with an agressor.

Well to pass 1st dan for us you need to score above a certain percentage on the whole test (can't remember what that is) and no less than a certain percentage on each component. You have to: - perform all the patterns from white belt to your current grade then the examiner picks two for you to be formally marked on and you do them again (usually your current form and the one below). - step sparring, 1-step, 2-step, 3-step. We only have one set routine for each, the rest of what you do should demonstrate the applications of your forms (sort of bunkai). - Hosin Sul (self defense), examiner specifies what they want to see but you are allowed to pick your own partner if you want so most of the stuff here is pre-arranged. Examiner can specify the type of attack and can ask you to do different defenses: block/parry-counter, takedown etc. - free sparring, basically spar everybody there and/or other higher grades until the examiner has seen enough. - 2-onto-1 (sometimes 3-onto-1) sparring, usually a couple of bouts. - breaking, examiner can request breaks but usually you can pick your own. Have to have 1 leg, 1 hand technique at least. Also do a "special" break which can be something jumping or a speed break or a power break. - written theory test on history, terminology, basic physics/mechanics, can also be asked these on the spot at the grading - have to submit a short thesis on any aspect of TKD or MA or a piece on what TKD means to you / how its changed you. - + whatever else the examiner feels like asking you to do To be eligible to grade you have to attend a pre grading with out Master and have attended the annual blackbelt seminar with him once that year.

That was pretty good. Your team kata was really good in that every little bit was in time and exactly the same. I liked the bunkai you did too.

I like using ridgehand, mainly because of the trajectory of the arm I feel I can get a decent amount of mass behind it. Because of the thumb I would only consider using it on the neck (side and front) and possibly the solar plexus if I was to step through to the side of the opponent. I think it can be a pretty powerful technique if you can get the mass behind it; I used to throw discus in school and used to use a motion similar to a ridgehand, worked every time.

In this scenario, I will reference the MMA fighters and practitioners out there. They are able to allocate their training time to include the various aspects of the fight game; standing, clinch, and ground. Sure, there are some with their specialties, but it is apparent that none of them could compete successfully if they didn't have the knowledge of all three. Therefore, I think it is important to consider the training methods that are entailed to help make one a more complete fighter. But how many MMA fighters (who didn't already have a base style) just jumped straight in there and start off on their own in different styles? More likely they will go to a gym for MMA training where part of the teaching is to show you how its done. Ok beginners can go to a grappling class and a karate class independantly but in terms of combat readiness they are not progressing that fast in either as they have to divide their time and get their head around first actually controlling their movements then starting to put them to work. Most beginners are not going to be that competent in a fight when making the transition between each of the styles that make up their game. IMO this is when they should either focus on a base style or how somebody there like a trainer to show them how to do it.

I think it comes down to what you're trying to mix. Taking a style which only deals with your striking game and mixing it with another style that works on a totally different aspect then I would go study it in its entirety and use it in its entirety. But to take two styles that deal with the same aspects of a fight (say punching) but have a completely different out look on it, down to the basic principles, then I think it would take a bit more work to mould all of it, probably time spent better elsewhere. For me I would rather use a primary style then encorporate a few moves and strategies off of another. And even if you are "pirating" a couple of moves off those styles, its using the techniques that work best for you right? Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way against cross-training, I just think that to do it properly, from scratch, it might be better to start with a base style than to combine them all too early. Unless you have a lot of time and somebody to guide you who's already done it, a beginner might be a bit lost on how to combine them all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7586640.stm Can't say I like the stuff particularly but it kinda is part of the whole movie experience.

See for me this statement does hold true to a certain extent. While I think it is good to be able to grapple, strike and throw, I personally would rather devote myself to being a good striker with the bare minimum in other areas rather than spreading myself too thinly across multiple disciplines. The way I see it, there's nothing wrong with picking up a couple of techniques from different styles if you have you base style, but to study a number of styles comphrehensively at the same time and to a good standard you are going to need to invest quite a bit of time into that including time not just to learn the techniques but time to put them together. (So maybe it is about time management?) A lot of people talk about combat readiness and the time it takes to be able to hold your own in a fight, IMO if you try start mixing things up too early before becoming proficient in a base style, it may take you longer to develop into a good fighter able to hold your own. On the simplest level, say you have a repetoire of 4 techniques split between grappling and striking. Personally I would much rather have 3 techniques for striking and 1 grappling technique (or vice versa) than 2 techniques apiece. It just makes more sense for me to be able to fight from my preferred discipline and have a handful of techniques to keep it there rather than having limited knowledge across the board but that's just the way I like to fight. I think a person can be "a jack of all trades" in that they have dabbled in various different styles but never really got past beginner/intermediate level in any. You can do a bit of everything but don't excel at anything. As for "master of none" personally I like to see this as not so much a master in Karate or a master of BJJ or whatever but a master of fighting, whether it's in one discipline or what you've brought together. With cross-training sometimes I think its quite easy to fall into the trap where you've gathered your knowledge from different systems but you can't put it together well and are a pretty poor fighter overall, hence "a master of none". I would advocate a base style first before branching out into other methods of fighting. The exception to that argument though is if you have a trainer who has already developed a way to mix these styles together and is in effect teaching you a system. Then I think you could jump straight in without a base style.

IMHO I don't think it takes any more time to learn to kick head height well than it does to learn to kick low well. Aside from the flexibility, head height kicks will utilise the same sort of principles as lower line kicks. Timing and distance are still going to be important factors when considering lower kicks and the time taken to learn this for a lower or middle kick will be about the same time it will take to learn this for a higher kick. To kick effectively at low sections takes a lot of work too. The centre of mass is above rather than behind the kick and a lot of the power relies on correct motion and good speed. I've seen plenty of people mess up front kicks and low roundhouses even though they can kick mid-section well. I think you can be equally limited by environmental factors when considering low kicks. What if there is an obstacle between you and the agressor? High kicks let you kick over it and give you more range than a punch would. Also what happens if your attacker has well built legs? A low line kick may not hurt them that much if they have a lot of muscle or fat in that area. Head kicks are more likelt to connect to bone and have the added benefit of being able to shock your opponent. Higher kicks may need a little more work with balancing but that in itself is a reason to practice them as there are going to be a lot of instances when both feet are not firmly on the ground. IMO uneven ground and slick surfaces are reasons not to kick at all, low line or high. My experiences in street fights / self defense are non-existent but I would bet that your average attacker would be more caught off guard with a high kick than a low kick. Head height kickers are in the minority and I would think that in most cases head kicks have the potential to surprise an agressor especially if distractions such as hand techniques or verbal distractions were used. With a female victim vs male agressor senario I'm guessing something like groin shots would be expected on the attcker's part so they would be more cautious of it as opposed to head shots? The beauty of the headguard.. stick it on your opponent and whack away. Obviously not with the intention of separating their head from their shoulders but I hope you wouldn't do that kind of power anyway even with other kicks for fear of breaking ribs, internal bleeding or whatever. If power is needed to be developed use a pad or boards just like you would do with any other kick. I would guess that very few people practice groin kicks fullpower on their training partners likewise I wouldn't practice a rib-cracking roundhouse on a partner, that's what training aids are for. The way I see it, high kicks have their place and even if you don't intend to use them that often, they are great to train because they give you so much more scope for a leg technique. Another benefit of high kicks is that if you can kick head height cold there's less of a chance of pulling something kicking low.

I'm not too familiar with what Lopez is/was doing, but did he file an appeal? Team GB did and we got Sarah Stevenson back into the games. On the merger, you have to remember that only one of the ITFs is in talks. The other two have nothing to do with it. I think the 3 ITFs themselves need to sort things out if a proper WTF/ITF merger were to ever happen. I'm personally rather skeptical about the merger as WTF and ITF are just so different. Everything about them is different even down to the fact that WTF is a public org and the ITFs are private. Aside from the fact that they both arose out of the Kwan system and that they both use a lot of legs they are completely different styles of MA with different ways of doing things.

Congrats! Onwards to 500 000

If you do it properly, that is what you are supposed to be doing in Push Hands. I'm not very good at it but trying to over power your opponent like a Judo contest will work against you if your opponent is any good at Push Hands. Takes a lot of time but eventually you learn to use their momentum against them. Judo isn't really a contest of trying to overpower someone. In essence, it is more like push-hands, but with the whole body. You attempt to break balance by leading the opponent one way, and then taking them another way. Especially with the really high-ranked Judoka, they are very attune to the movements you make, and can react accordingly. My mistake. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to Judo so I was just going with what the original poster said. Judo and Push Hands are very similar then as you do use your entire body for Push Hands. What I've been told for Tai Chi is that all movement comes from your core, from your hip and abdomen area. Actually arm movement is fairly limited as you need your entire body to work against your opponents attacks.