DWx

Partially tore a ligament in my knee at a tournament last year. It tightens up if I try to do anything without being fully warmed up. My instructor also gave me concussion once.

Good questions. A) Taekwondo because due to training, tournaments etc. I know how these people move and what techniques they will pull. B) Any sort of grappling because I have a very limited ground game. C) TKD or sport Karate? Again because the majority of my sparring practice is against TKDers. D) BJJ or Tai Chi (if they are going to be doing push hands).

I agree with this. Unless a student actually goes away and looks at say videos of matches or other clubs/schools, they only get their instructor as an example and although the instructor may try to teach stuff that they themselves can't use, I think there is a tendacy to stick with what you know and pass this on to others. In my own training I will take combos my instructor suggests but then either adapt them or discard them if they don't work for my body type. I also play around with my own variations. In my experience with myself and the people I train with, most tend to use <10 combos naturally but that those <10 can change over the years as the students discards a combo for something else that does the same thing but better for them.

You might not be going to the Olympics but it will most likely impact on you in some way. I don't even train the same style as the Olympics but when explaining Taekwondo to my friends, all they know is Olympic style. In fact the only reason they know of TKD at all is because of the Olympics. Also I think that because of its status as an Olympic sport TKD is often viewed as a sport compared to being a Martial Art in itself. Its sort of replaced the pop-Karate of last century and now we have pop-TKD in the form of McDojos.

This may change in the future. One of the ITFs is in discussions with the WTF looking to bring some sort of form event to the Olympics. Its a long way off but maybe it could happen.

If the question is circa 350 years old then yes there were guns around. But I doubt any projectile fired from them would be able to go very far. My answer? Stand there and laugh at them while they are packing the chamber with powder and shot. I'm guessing from your clue we could be talking the trick of catching a flying arrow... highly doubt anyone here is secretly Neo from the Matrix and can catch a speeding bullet.

Congrats!

Some good points. I suppose when I'm sparring it'll depend who the kid is. Some of them are good and when you aim a kick at their head they'll block and counter (even if they have to jump to get your mid section). However some of them just run. They'll spar from like 5 feet away and even my legs won't reach. In situations like this I just practice my combos, maybe making the final technique to them but otherwise normal height. I think in situations like that (at least for me) I really don't see the benefit in aiming low when you take a step forward and the kid takes 3 back. I'm all for teaching kids how to spar, taking things slow etc. and I do this, but when a kid runs off and doesn't make an effort to try and fight I feel like my time is wasted compared to actually teaching them something. Thoughts?

When sparring in class and you end up getting partnered with a small child (I'm talking about knee or hip level), which is better: - sparring above their head, performing your combos as if you are fighting someone your own size, or - sparring to their targets even though most of them require you to kick and punch very low? Now normally I try and go with the first option using it as a chance to try out combos I might not be able to pull off against sparrers of them same height and ability however this doesn't do the kid you are sparring much good. They can't possibly try to block your techniques and can't really counter very well. It also doesn't do much for yourself as you miss out on practicing to appropriate target areas.. so, given no choice about whether or not you want to spar the pee-wee, which is better?

I myself only use 4 or 5 leg techniques. Mainly because I believe that there is more chance of it going wrong the more complicated it is and because I train different combos of these to try and fit as many senarios as possible.

I think bushido_man96 and gamedweeb pretty much covered most of them. In reality there are only about a dozen or so kicks but then you take them and add jumps, spins, turns etc. There are some kicks that are "special" in the sense that they are two basic kicks put together but are usually recognised as a separate technique, e.g. the two-directional kick.

Primarily balance, leg strength, focus... she stands in one of the ready positions to kick so its not wasted.

Actually my Tai Chi teacher was telling me of her own teacher in Taiwan who will be up early in the morning to go and meditate outside. She apparently stands there for hours on one leg holding whatever posture.

I currently train in Taekwon-Do (ITF style) but would actually like to train in WTF or Kukkiwon Taekwondo too. Would be interesting to see how similar or indeed how disimilar they are. BJJ is also something I would like to train in as my ground game is virtually non-extistent. Oh and Western boxing and I would really love to learn a sword style... to be honest I'd give any style a go.

I think my punching game could really benefit but the clubs round here are either very male orientated or only do cardio-boxing. I also am very limited on time at the moment. Still its something to really look into once I'm at uni or afterwards. Its not that I don't like TKD, I love it. However I get more and more fustrated in tournaments nowadays when stupid rules like these are imposed. Its supposed to be "the art of self-defense" but to be honest rules like this don't exactly promote that aspect.

Excuse my ignorance but whats a Phlebotomist? I think it has something to do with blood but am not sure..

Be aware how long each song lasts. You want to make sure things fit because you could end up with circling your arms for 3 mins and then bag work for 7 mins.. Jay's suggestions are good.

wow thats some on the spot thinking. Glad things worked out ok.

Although Tokaido, Shureido and Hirota are great brands you may want to try out a non MA embroidery company. I'm sure you can find somewhere that does standard embroidery of stuff like tshirts and just normal clothes that will do it. Unfortunately I don't know of any US companies..

Not necessarily staking as such but in my Tai Chi class we can remain in one stance for anything up to 30mins. We are doing movements from the hips upwards but essentially the feet postions don't change and the legs barely move. I find its great for my leg strength and I see huge improvements in my stance control within TKD. I should really try to practice this more within TKD...

You can learn to deal with fear but I don't think its something you can train necessarily. Not unless you get one of your fellow students to try and mug you when out at night.. How did you yourself train? Maybe that would help me see how its possible. And IMO I don't think controlling your fear is something which defines being a blackbelt. Perhaps learning to work with your fears rather than shuttingthem off? That must have been a scary situation to be in. However once a gun is put in front of your face I don't think that any amount of physical training or mastery over your fears is going to help, that is unless you are fast enough to dodge bullets. I would be interested in knowing how you dealt with the situation.

Welcome

Actually plastic rebreakable boards can be harder than you think. You have to hit them dead centre or they simply wont break. They also require you to go through rather than just hitting the surface like you can do with a single pine board. I have an "advanced" board that is 1.5" thick with a stronger knuckle in the centre and I find it tougher to break than 3x 1" pine boards. I agree with Bushido_man96. I don't really think any MA really trains you for the fear and the adrenaline rush. There is only so much you can do to prepare for this and quite frankly any senario where you try to recreate a real fight will have its flaws.

Dr. Hatsumi's personal website is still talking about him in the present tense and there is no indication that he died.. Wikipedia also talks of him in the present tense. Perhaps you are mistaken Mr Logic?

One thing that I think is crucial to our school is our involvement with the local primary and high schools. Maybe kids aren't your ideal student but if you can get the schools to promote it (maybe do a few demos and short classes there) you can attract a big audience. Once a few kids start they bring their friends who bring their friends and so on.