DWx

When I have the choice, I go for crunches, mainly because when I usually do them I'm wearing a tshirt... if I do a full sit up, I end up strangling myself with the collar, crunches are much safer.

One thing that helped me to gain control over my leg was to work my kicks extra slow. Just taking time to correct my techniques and positioning not only strengthened my legs but also made it easier for me to move on and then add speed and power. Also made me aware of which muscles I should be using at certain points.

Welcome!

Congrats!

but of a stupid question but: phi-long (or anybody else), What materials do you reccommend for a fan? I'm thinking of buying one so I can practice in the holidays but I really don't know what I should be looking for. I've seen ones made out of silk, paper or cloth, which one's better? Also, are there any particular brands/styles that are better than others? thanks,

I will have to disagree with this. A "formal" block has worked for me in the past. One of my mates was messing around and decided to try to kick my knee when I wasn't looking (not a very nice thing I know ). Anyway, I ended up hitting her with a low knifehand block/strike and spinning around to face her in a guard. Although my none blocking hand didn't get pulled back to my hip, it did sort of come back to my torso and I then instinctively lifted it higher as I went into a guard. All this I did without consciously thinking about it and had to stop my self when I started to throw a punch. All in all the actual technique was pretty poor as I had the wrong angle, the wrong target and all those other things... but it did stop her from connecting and following through. Maybe its the way I train but these blocks feel strong and natural to me and I probably wouldn't hesitate to use them for real.

Just wondering how much everyone else has to do in the way of theory at a belt promotion. All colour belts in our school are expected to know the English-Korean translations of the moves they have learnt, they must know the meaning behind the names of the forms + more random stuff. At blackbelt, the student has to do a written theory test and/or provide a mini-theisis. Is that more or less than everyone else has to do? Do you do anything different?

I found it a lil weird too that you aren't asked to perform old forms. We have to perform all our forms from white belt to our current grade every lesson (that's about 15 for me). Even if we just go through it once in the warm-up we will still go through the movements...

I really should go and see a doctor... but I don't wanna. It doesn't really hurt anymore, I just cant get it to bend the full 90 degrees. I can get to about 70-ish I think but further tha that and its impossible without using my other hand to hold it. Maybe I made it seem worse than it actually is in my original post.

Slipping, weaving, ducking and blocking should come naturally. I mean if anyone ever throws a ball at my head I naturally flinch and lift my arms to protect my face. As a fighter you just have to train these responses until they become more technical. When you spar forget about the mechanics of moving and just move. Over time, once you are confident that you can move successfully nearly everytime, adapt the motions by making the movements more tactical. Then try to do that with blocking, instead of just randomly throwing your arm, throw your arm with a purpose...

Does anyone train with fans? We were messing around with them in my Tai Chi class and I think I want to have a go at learning to use one properly. What's your opinion or their practicality for self defense? I didn't really think they would be apropriate for today's society but my teacher was adamant that they could still work in certain situations. Also if anyone happens to know a good place to buy them in the UK that would be great.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Congrats!

IMO it depends what your intention is. If you want to hurt them so they can't come after you, kick below the belt. There are fewer targets below the belt that will not need you to break bones (groin area, knees possibly). You never know how much muscle or fat is protecting the bones or whether you can actually break. With the body you have a lot more of the "softer" target areas, there's the kidneys, solar plexus, stomach etc. However I wouldn't want to lift the kicks too high because there's the loss of power and higher chance of getting grabbed.

I'm definately looking into getting Muye Dobo Tongji. Looks quite interesting. As for what I'm looking for in general, it does not have to be about TKD at all. I only mentioned TKD as it would be an added bonus to me but not really necessary. I'm kinda more interested in the development/orignal practice of the Korean MAs than learning about the history of the kwans anyway. Thanks for the help though.

Like French Fri said, when you're a complete novice, jumping straight into 3 different styles is gonna be tough. Your body will have a hard time adjusting to one way of moving let alone 3. As far as self defense goes, it would depend on how well you are taught, how much you practice and whether you have the capacity to take the knowledge in and develop it. You wont see instant changes but your awareness should pick up pretty quick. Welcome to the forums.

You have a point there. I have always wondered about the validity of Tai Chi as a combat art. A few Tai Chi students have told me that the art can generate a lot of force once you know how. But I can't see how that can be. I assume there is a lot more to it than I have heard, but still it doesn't really make sense to me because they always do things softly and slowly. At least most styles of Karate and TKD eventually lead up to the point where you learn how to hit with full force. That's why I don't mind starting out softly in training ... Tai Chi is more of a deflective way of fighting than compared to most styles. I suppose it is more akin to something like Aikido in which the purpose is not to fight fire with fire but to use your opponents energy against them. Just because a Tai Chi student will practice slowly, it does not mean that they will perform the technique slowly when they need to. In my experience, Tai Chi is more about how you get to a movement rather than the final product. It is the action itself that is concentrated on not the effects of the action. Therefore practicing the movements slowly and fluidly allows for concentration on each second of the motion instead of flinging the arm or leg out to a target as quickly as possible. An example from my own experiences: My Tai Chi teacher is quite a small person (about 5"2 and doesn't weigh very much at all) yet she can move me who is practically twice her weight and height. Last lesson she was explaining an application of a move and managed to fling me across the room and nearly wind me in the process. By concentrating on the movement she needed to do, rather than the end product, she managed to manipulate my body mass and remove a potential attacker. Sure she will practise the technique slow but when it is necessary, the technique should be delivered fast at combat speed and intensity.

Thanks Bushidoman, looks like there's quite a range on Korean weaponary. Would have to see whether I can find it in the UK though.

Congratulations!

Has anyone read of/know of a good book dealing with Korean MA history? Anything to do with the history of Korean Arts in general or style specific would be helpful (it doesn't matter what style but I'd prefer something TKD based?). Or even if anyone's read a good book dealing with Korean culture or Japanese/Chinese influence on Korea. Ran out of reading material so I thought I'd brush up on my history . Any suggestions would be great. Thanks,

Hey Welcome to the forums!

We once had a guy that failed his blackbelt 1st time round and then retook it about a year later. He passed but he never came back to class... my instructor still as his belt which he paid a lot of money to get embroidered, completely crazy to me. This is probably true in most cases. Blackbelt is such a big deal to most people that they don't wanna risk failure.

About a month ago I was hands-only sparring with one of the adults in front of class. It got a little intense and turned into more of a boxing match with us both making contact. About halfway through the bout we both punched and our fists collided. My index finger knuckle on my right hand took most of the force and I was afraid I had broken it. With some ice though the swelling went down and it seemed ok. The only problem is that I have not been able to make a proper fist since. My hand practically locks up when I try to fully bend at the knuckle meaning that my finger sticks out further than the rest of the fist. So as I result that finger keeps getting hit. Now even the slightest jolt sets it off again and it swells up. Tonight (about an hour ago), I tried to do a deflective block on a roundhouse and caught my hand again. This time its even worse and I've had to strap it up to stop my finger moving at all at the knuckle. Has anyone ever had anything like this or knows how I could possibly re-strengthen my hand? Ideally I don't want to have to stop training but it gets worse and worse everytime it gets hit. Any advice would be great.