DWx

Great story Whilst I agree that MA skills won't make you a fantastic bowler or anything else I would think it does give you a leg up over other amateurs. A little bit with that hand-eye coordination and having generally better motor skills but more so along the lines of having that ability to focus and that self-discipline. Basically mushin. Not to say that we won't sometimes succumb to the pressure but on the whole because of the nature of our training we're better equipped to deal with it than Joe Bloggs off the street. What I would say is this is why, martial artists who compete (and other sportsmen) should take some time to prepare psychologically for competitions. You have to put yourself in stressful situations before the big day and get yourself used to coping with them. Make standing in front of 100's of people and getting on the mat routine. Don't make the big day the first time you experience that kind of pressure.

I thought about this... assuming I can only pick one single technique to cover all situations, attack and defense, I'd pick something like a sonkal daebi makgi. (I think the Karate equivalent would be shuto uke). I could then use it as both a block and a strike and as a guarding position. But if I had to chose one technique to carry on the essence of TKD and what the style embodies, it'd be a side kick.

"How to Defeat Multiple Attackers" - GracieBreakdown (Rener Gracie) I'll be honest, I hadn't even really thought about grappling styles being all that effective against multiple attackers due to the nature of them. But this seems to be pretty solid advice in this vid (even though he assumes you know how to strike).

Welcome odz224

We bought my instructor this for Christmas http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruce-Lee-Bathrobe-Dressing-Cotton/dp/B0056HBEGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356096829&sr=8-1 Not really bought much martial arts themed stuff this year but have bought people books, equipment and tshirts in the past. Martial arts related jewelry is also nice.

Love playing the games but never owned a PS so could only play round my friends house. Am definitely going to get Tekken 3D in the new year when I have a bit more money I've met and trained with the guy who did the motion capture for Hwoarang. He's an amazing kicker in real life and several times ITF TKD world champ. What you see in the game is exactly how he kicks. Now the head coach for the Japanese team.

Interesting find. Rather than read the BBC interpretation, the full article is online anyway: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/2/236.full.pdf+html It's not a case of "we had to evolve hands specifically for that purpose" but more that those individuals who did have that trait were perceived to be stronger and more desirable mates by females so that trait was passed along as they would be chosen to reproduce. This kind of thing is reflected in today's animal kingdom where males will fight to establish dominance and the victor gets the female and a buttressed fist was probably better in a fight than the open hand. The study also talks of sexual dimorphism in the size of the fist and how it would fit with this theory: At any rate I would agree with the study in that the clenched fist is somewhat natural now for us to use, martial artist or not:

I actually kinda like it in the sense that I get a full set of stats when I've completed my run. Things like elevation climbed and average pace and average speed and an exact distance. Its also handy on whole social network side of things as you can challenge and motivate your friends to go out too. One I've been really wanting to try out is Zombies, Run!

Welcome Jessica Great to have some more TKD people on here

Welcome Doogie

Well there is that but if the guy is trash talking all the time and showing little respect for female students could you put up with somebody like that? Me personally, I have very little patience for people like that. Yeah there is this divide in attitudes between eastern vs western martial arts but in both situations, even if I agree/disagree with what a coach or sensei's personal views are, I wouldn't want to hear them during training. I don't pay them to preach to me so I probably wouldn't train with him. If the coaching really was miles above what anybody else could give me I might stay with him but it'd have to be really good for me to withstand the earache.

Congrats

I can't think of anything specifically for depth perception (other's will have better advice), but as for where to look when sparring, I've always tried to make myself focus on the upper chest / neck area. It allows you to peripherally see the legs and arms move but also lets you watch the torso movement so you can roughly gauge when they start to launch an attack. Never watch someone's feet as that's when you'll get smacked in the face by their punch!

I'm not really sure what my MA goals are... everything's a bit up in the air at the moment with what I'm doing and what my club's doing and everything else But provisionally here's what I want to do: - Help to run a weekend training camp in February that my school will be hosting - Complete my first 1/2 marathon (in May). Not bothered about time, just want to finish it in one piece! - Compete in 2 national tournaments +1 international tournament minimum - Attend at least one big seminar if possible - Maybe take my 4th dan at the end of the year

That's a really good point. Not many athletes go into their 40's and 50's still doing hard contact sports. Martial artists are different in that respect. I'm also willing to bet that a lot of pro football, basketball, etc. players would have similar problems if they continued on the same level of activity.

That's great news. Congrats

If I may add my humble 2 cents... I can kind of see both sides of the argument here. Overweight =/= unfit, heck at 240 lbs I'm classed as obese yet I score way higher fitness tests (such as the bleep test, push up tests etc.) than some of the young and "healthy" people at my dojang and I'm pretty sure everyone here personally knows of someone who is a fit-fat person and we could keep giving examples of people we know all day. However, I understand where ninjanurse is coming from on the practice what you preach; martial artists should be looking at what they eat and their health in general and trying to lose weight if it's possible and they can do it healthily. Simply put, you have to use more energy to move something heavier and you're not using your body as efficiently as possible if you're hauling around more fat than you need to. But rather than just going on a calorie deficient diet to lose the weight, IMHO it's more important to eat right first. There's no point in using rubbish fuel in your $100 000 premium sports car and then expecting it to perform the same as when you give it the premium gas. Same goes for martial artists. We should look after our bodies and fuel right by sticking to a good diet and giving our bodies what it needs to work and grow muscle. That's not to say the occasional indulgence isn't permitted but on the whole, look after your equipment! I think this whole thread isn't really getting at the bigger instructors who we know could still beat us to a pulp if they wanted, but the ones who are overweight and who are unfit. Do they expect their students to be fit and healthy? If so, should they not practice what they preach (if there are no underlying medical conditions) and maintain a good body? Now I'm not saying this to anyone here, but Ev, you talk about "fat shaming" (which I do think happens), however on the other side of the coin, there are some bigger people who could lose weight and don't try and then get incredibly defensive about it. Obviously you're not one of them, from other posts you've made we know you eat right and train hard. I'm talking about those that sit on their backsides all day, occasionally come to class but otherwise don't do much for themselves and are way more fat than muscle. Losing a couple of pounds here and there would help them in most cases. I mean I know someone who I train with who is obese and suffers all sorts of knee and back problems which stem from their weight but they've never tried properly to lose it. They complain about how they hate being fat/unfit but don't try to do anything about it and get all defensive. That person I know for definite has never tried and IMHO it is right to criticize, perhaps even go to the extreme of shaming because they've never tried.

Welcome Nabil Kazama

What version(s)...huh? Sorry, maybe I wasn't being very clear, which of the Seisan videos on that page best match what you do yourself? Maybe you could post a video of you doing that kata?

My side kick. Everything about it and everything that contributes to a great kick including flexibility, speed, balance. I'd want to work towards being able to throw it from anywhere, be able to set it up and then deliver a knockout kick.

Good luck Harkon72! Seems like quite a feat but I'm sure if you train smart and train hard, you'll do it. Sounds like the worst part will be running at that elevation.

Welcome to the forums Anne Onimous. I wouldn't worry too much about the details, just go along to a class or two and get a feel for the sensei and the atmosphere. After all, they could be doing hard sparring all day and the sensei's been training for 30+ years but the atmosphere is horrible! WRT contact levels, perhaps you could give us some more context? Was it lower kyu grades? Were they sparring with safety gear or without? Contact levels might gear up depending on how advanced the student is. Also, grading sparring is sometimes different from class sparring. For example, when we do gradings at our school, instead of blasting each other like we normally do, we take off the gloves and are asked to demonstrate the variety and complex of techniques we can use rather than just how hard and how fast we can hit. Regarding the instructor's grade and experience, again it's not something to bother with too much. There's so much variation between schools and styles as to how skilled a karateka is at a certain grade. And as has been said, having a lot of experience and a high dan rank doesn't always equate to great teacher. I would personally look at if the instructor is still furthering their own knowledge. I would ignore current grade and ask how many seminar's they do per year? who with? who do they train under and how often? What they learn will filter down to you so you want them to always be at the top of their game. Then I would pick the instructor who suited me best and not just base it on what grade they are now. Ditto that. My school trains out of several locations of which none are a dedicated building.

^Which thread was that? I know there was one on Naihanchi? So which version do people on here do? Perhaps some of you guys could share your versions?

Good post sensei8. TKD is largely empty hand however I can totally see this being the case for beginner kobudo students. Beginner TKD students are the worst to spar or work with because they just haven't developed control over their techniques like more advanced students have. They can't pull a technique if it needs to be pulled, their strikes take unorthodox routes and so are hard to predict and they have no idea about distance or timing or balance. The same things, coupled with a lack of proper respect for a weapon, seems like a dangerous combination.

Congrats Lupin1!!