DWx

16. 17 in August

nope, i practice tang soo do which as im sure you know is a korean art. we(as in korean artists) believe in symbolistic representation where the main belt levels mean something, and the belt levels have symbols attatched to them. now that didnt make all that much sense but this will. There are four main rank categories there is white, green, red, and black, now its not just those ranks themselves but those in between, so for white it applies to white belts, yellow belts and orange belts and all stripes in between until you get to the next category which is green. and they all have an animal, meaning, season, and element...and they are as follows.... RANK ANIMAL SEASON ELEMENT MEANING White Tiger Winter Metal New, Potential Green Dragon Spring Wood Starting to grow Red Bird Summer Fire Hot, Energetic, Agile Black Turtle Autumn Water Maturity, Wisdom now the cool thing about this all this also represents a flowering plant as you can see as it progresses. now all these clearly lead up to black belt where the turtle is and the turtle represents wisdomd. it is old and slow, but knows a great deal. hope this helped. in tang soo, k.chuilli Wow thanks. That explains it in context for me.

Just a few variations on traditional cardio we do: - Star jumps but with punches when jumping - Jogging around the room and then the instructor calls a technique and you do it - Sit-up then stand up - Any of the traditional exercises like situp/starjumps etc but facing off against a partner. Instructor calls one and then you have to try to react and move faster- Press up position facing a partner, you then try to sweep the other person's arms whilst remaining in the press up. If you lose you have to do 5 situps/pressups/squat thrusts etc.

This isn't something we do in class but I do a sort of version of it in my own training. I actually started doing it when my sister told me I couldn't fight like Neo in The Matrix....... so I had to try to prove her wrong and we did like a fast 1-step / sparring type thing.

I'm just like this, I can do front splits no problem but side splits is really hard. To build up strength in my legs, I go into the splits but hold my body upright using the muscles in my legs only, ie. no hands. I also refrain from using my arms to get out of the splits and just use my legs to stand up. I know its only a little thing but I find that it really helps improve my leg strength with regards to lifting my bodyweight around.

I keep coming across references to the turtle when looking at Tae Kwon Do and Korean histories. The was the Turtle ships... the ITF plaque is supposed to resemble a turtle's shell... Apparently its somethng to do with the Buddhist belief in the four celestial beings: Green Dragon, White Tiger, Red Phoenix and Black Turtle Can anyone explain the importance of the turtle or point me somewhere that can 'cause I'm interested now.... or are these just coincidences. thanks,

One thing I do (but you have to watch the time if its a timed match) is to just keep moving, only scoring the odd counter every now and again but making sure your opponent misses. Once your opponent is tired.. or just annoyed.. you keep it all coming in a long combo of attacks whilst trying to corner them. This'll only work on some people though.

Thanks for the replies. Well given that person X has an excellent teaching ability, how long or what sort of belt/grade level would you be expecting if you were to go and train under them?

I'm not totally sure what you mean by Kung Fu/Wing Chun blocking but... if your average thug tries to punch you, they tend to swing (in my experience anyway). Using the block more as a push to topple them over, especially if a lot of momentum is moving forward, and then punching works for me.

I used to think this way as well. However, my knees at this point tell me otherwise. I still think I am young, but the fact of the matter is that some people's bodies wear down after a while. That is really what it comes down to. You want an instructor who knows what your body is capable of, and then be able to push you from there, at a safe level. Your body will wear down, but like a good classic car, if cared for it just gets better with age. Yeah, but even a classic car needs an overhaul once in a while! Ah but once someone good fixes it up, they're up and running again and still look good!

Well basically, what I'm asking is what you need to be an instuctor. Not just an assistant, but like a full insructor who takes classes every week etc. Is age more important or is skill? Currently, within our organisation, you have to do a course and undergo an examination as well as have background checks and be CRB approved but without all the administration stuff what would you be looking for in a good instructor. (I don't actually want to be one... I'm just curious to see what you all think)

makes me laugh everytime when he says "I'm also a former world champion" and he has it on his gi

I like practicing outside... but I never get anything properly done. I usually just get distracted and end up doing something else. At least when I practice in the dojang there are little outside distractions.

I don't know if this is an option for you, but I've been trying to persuade my parents to let me drill a hole through a steel beam in the attic... I want to put like a pully in the ceiling and thread a cord through it which my foot can go in. Sorta like a DIY version of this: https://www.ultimateforce-mas.co.uk/catalogue_images/uploads/803484exp.jpg

I used to think this way as well. However, my knees at this point tell me otherwise. I still think I am young, but the fact of the matter is that some people's bodies wear down after a while. That is really what it comes down to. You want an instructor who knows what your body is capable of, and then be able to push you from there, at a safe level. Your body will wear down, but like a good classic car, if cared for it just gets better with age.

It usually takes us about 3-4 years to gain 1st dan. After that the minimum required time is about a year per dan you want to grade to: eg. if I was a 3rd requesting a 4th, I wouldn't be allowed to test until 4 years had passed. In reality it takes most people much longer, (unless you happen to be supernaturally good). I train in ITF Tae Kwon Do.

I'd say yes, as long as you are willing to work (very) hard and put in extra practice at home. It may take longer for you to reach the next grade though.

That's just plain weird and unnatural. I agree with this. I mean, what's the point in being able to kick head height when in self defense you have to say: "Just hold on a minute while I warm-up!" As for lack of training partners, I get round this by using the furniture in the house. Like for when I wanna do a more advanced stretch, I grab onto the coffee table and use it to pull myself forward whilst bracing my legs or whatever against the table legs etc. Or (I recommend trying this gently first) I place my leg in like a side kick position on the stairs (our stairs don't have a back to them so I can put my foot on the stairs whilst standing underneath the stairs... ) and lean into the stretch... Maybe you could get something similar to work for you savedbygrace?

I don't think physical age is ever a problem. Its only when you think you're too old to do something that it affects how and what you do. The senior assisant instrucor at our dojang is in his 50s and we have quite a few students that are more mature. I would not want to take any of these guys on in a "real" fight as they would probably finish me within 2 secs. Plus you look at a lot of masters, its guarenteed that most of 'em are over 50 and they still manage to do everything a lot better than most younger people.

We sorta do this in our adult classes except for we have to run down the gym and then do the exercises at the bottom before running back. It works really well as we get very competitive and have fun whilst still getting the fitness benefit. So far I've worked out a few ways to "cheat" and win. It includes gaining distance whilst doing star jumps... Another thing we find the kids like is to get them into teams and have them do their forms. They get about 5 mins to come up with a syncronized routine for their form incluing stuff like where they stand, how the wanna walk on, doing like a domino effect with techniques...

IMO I really don't think real conditioning should be done until your bones are fully grown. As a teenager you don't want to permenantly cripple your hands forever as you cant get back what you've lost. Lighter conditioning should be fine but launching straight into the heavy stuff while you're still growing doesn't seem like a good idea to me. By the way, the whole no pain concept only comes about from deading and killing the nerves. Having a better technique may reduce the pain without damaging your body.

Thats.. erm ... different. I dont think getting hit in the head for 2 mins would do anything good for my already poor chess skills.

I think its because of the way our tournaments work that I've not seen it that much... Most of the tournaments I compete / watch are all one style. You have to perform a designated and an optional and you are called onto the mat where the assistant to the judges announces your name and school. You don't really speak to the judges at all...

http://www.jackiechan.com/news_view?cid=689 Its gonna be out September next year I think...

To be honest, I've only ever seen it in mixed tournaments, particular any XMA style stuff. Its just a way of making you stand out I guess...