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Sorry for the title.. Anyone ever been to Merthyr Mawr? Went to Wales this weekend to go training with one of the other schools in my org and we went hill sprinting. Apart from it was up sand dunes. Almost vertical sand dunes. Hill sprints are a killer anyway but in sand you have no traction and slide back down every step! There's this one they call "the big dipper" and yep it's big! Bad enough just trying to walk up it let alone sprint. Needless to say after the 4th one, I got to the top and puked Have never ever felt that bad before. Please share some stories of when you've trained really hard you've passed out or whatever to make me feel better

Welcome Vengeance

I do think it's a great idea but just am failing to see how it's any different from wheelchair boxing. Would also be interesting to see if they'll have classification groups like the paralympics has? I do remember seeing something a while back about a para- (maybe quad-)plegic MMA fighter who wasn't using a wheelchair and that was awesome.

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You are going to base your opinion of a school on the color of one of the belts? H. U. Lee wanted a 9 belt system for the ATA, based on some Korean traditional and philosophical views, so he had to get another color into his system. He went with camo, and it fits in with his view of how the colors changed going up in the tree growth philosophy he had of the belt system. White Orange Yellow Camo Green Purple Blue Brown Red Black (with red/black as a recommended black belt). What color would you have thrown in there? Yeah although it wouldn't be my personal choice for a belt colour, it's as good as any. You can't just label the whole system bad because of the colour of one of the belts. IMHO it's no worse than using striped belts. With respect, I don't think ATA just gets a bad rep for its size. There are plenty of other big TKD orgs out there. I mean the two biggest WTF and ITF have largely good reps in the world of TKD. ATA tends to get its bad rep because, at least to outsiders, the quality of teaching does appear to be poor. Looking on YouTube there are tons of poor ATA videos on there and you really have to hunt for something good. IMHO part of the problem is that they also promotes the flashier side to TKD and they also do XMA. Even if we look at their recent Nationals which should show us the best of the ATA: a lot of it is martial junk. Amazing athleticism and acrobatics but an effective martial art? Not really. In that video, the only thing personally that I think has any value to the style as a fighting art is the traditional forms. The rest was a lot of junk. That's ok if you want to learn that but don't market it as martial arts.Not getting at ATA either but it also does seem to be one of those organisations which dishes out blackbelts to ridiculously young children. I know other organisations do this too but combined with the above it does lead you to the conclusion that it is a McDojo. I mean not every school will be like that but those it's hard for the good schools to get noticed when you have all this noise.

This brings up a somewhat counter intuitive point; don't most of us train in bare feet most of the time? How many schools train in shoes? Other than Boxers and Wrestlers, I think most train barefoot. You're right and I think that's where practicality and traditional clash. We tend not to wear shoes when training for a variety of reasons and often because it's traditional to do it barefoot. For self defense training I personally would recommend training in shoes once in a while, if not always. But even boxers and wrestlers aren't training in normal shoes per se. Those shoes tend to be a lot thinner and more flexible than normal shoes and that was one of the issues brought up in that article I linked to; poor form when walking is partially linked to the rigidity of modern shoes that don't allow us to roll from heel to toe.

But barefoot walking and barefoot running are two different things. Both lack the hard heel strike that people tend to do in shoes, but whilst barefoot running tends to result in a mid-strike or front-strike, walking still relies on a (softer) heel strike then rolling across the sole to the toes which push off. from: http://nymag.com/health/features/46213 Also see here: Arthritis & Rheumatism 2006, 54, 9, 2923-2927 Having said that, the majority of the time we are not barefoot and at times when we would need to defend ourselves most of us would have shoes. So should we train to how we've adapted to walk in shoes seeing as that's when we'd most likely need our training?

I think instructors have an obligation to train themselves daily and keep up , you don't give up training becuase you are 4th dan or 5th dan and still be an active teacher , now I fully understand those qualified teachers who experience health issues and that prevent or limit their training but they have wealth of experience and could teach all aspects of karate ,there are so much about strategy and tips about techniques kumite and kata that they can pass on ,those masters are gems . Yes but you can't expect every instructor to be as active as they once were and able to do all the things they used to do. By the time you get to be a 4th or 5th dan, usually you're a bit older and so they won't be keeping up with their younger students and still doing all the rigorous training. Like you said, they still have the knowledge of strategy and techniques which they can pass on.

It's a great film Kung Fu Hustle is still my favourite of the two but Shaolin Soccer is good too. I thought it might be on YouTube... it's not, but Kung Fu Hustle is on there in full in their movies section if anyone wants to watch: http://youtu.be/fdjFPPaisyQ

I think part of the problem is a lot of instructors started out life slimmer and more active but as they got older (like any athlete) their training slows down and they start putting on the weight. Injuries happen too and for whatever reason, they can't train on that level any more. But that doesn't mean they don't know their stuff and aren't good at conveying this knowledge! Besides, bigger guys can be amazing martial artists. One of the most impressive people I've ever had the chance to train with was a Canadian TKD 7th dan who was overweight but I have never seen anyone who could move and kick as fast as that. In fact one of my favourite martial artist actors is Sammo Hung because he is a big guy and can do what he does.

we do this in my TKD school sometimes. Can't say I'm a fan of it; I don't mind the cold so much but I hate it when my feet go numb and I can't feel where I'm stepping!

It's an awesome film - one of my favourite movies too Shaolin Soccer is great too

Seems like a hoax to me, either that or he is really stupid. Narrating the fight as it's taking place? Either he's that cocky that he's stupid enough to whip out his phone between punches or someone's just making this up. Great situational awareness about noticing the guys in the first place, but then going round the block to find the 2nd guy and choking him out 3 times and punching him while he's unconscious? Seriously? Good thing the would-be muggers are law-abiding citizens and weren't carrying guns or knives. Just makes him come across as a thug. No matter how good he is at BJJ if this stuff is true my respect for him has just plummeted.

Me?!? er female. Don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing I come across as male. For the record I don't often wear heels either

Great post Bob. In the UK we have one government agency for background checks, the Criminal Records Bureau. At £26 for a standard check and £44 for an enhanced one, there's really no excuse no to have had one if you're teaching. Definitely for TKD you'll never get your BTC teaching license without having a CRB check. And of course your other criteria of actually being able teach should come into it when recruiting new instructors. But maybe I'm a bit naive because I don't run a school but how often are you recruiting people you haven't trained with and haven't seen firsthand?

Interesting question. Think it's a bit of both tbh. For aesthetics and for compensating for the weight. It's also probably not just the chest alone that causes this; wearing high heels all the time messes with your posture as you have to project forward to compensate. you could always try simulating it? Get a small backpack and put it on your front and see what muscles compensate?

http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/17099-uk-promotion-to-stage-worlds-first-wheelchair-mma-fights Seems a little bizarre to me. I think it'd be better without the wheelchairs otherwise things like groundwork become pretty useless and it'll just be like a wheelchair boxing match.

Sorry for the bump but I just found the IOC YouTube channel with all the matches from all sports on there for free: http://www.youtube.com/user/olympic Wrestling: Taekwondo: Judo: Fencing: Boxing:

Depends on what you want to drill really Any sort of combination that you'd use in sparring normally. Just make sure she's not standing there holding the pad out way in front. Hook and jab pads are great but you have to use them with realism otherwise you might as well just get a heavy bag out. Have your wife move about when holding the pads as someone would when they're sparring you and make sure she holds them in positions that match up to the targets you're striking. She can swing at you during or at the end of a combo to check you're keeping your guard tight. Can do stuff like attacking combos, counters (have her throw a kick or punch at you), whatever you want to work on. tallgeese wrote a great article on it: http://www.karateforums.com/focus-mitt-training-for-the-multi-disciplined-fighter-vt34351.html

A stripe belt isn't always just electrical tape, it's common in TKD and related styles to use belts with a proper stripe sewn onto the belt, hence it costs the same as buying a normal belt. Belt fees also aren't just for the belt, it can cover hall hire, breaking material, instructor's time, getting an external examiners in etc. Agreed, Blitz for one do and excellent range of striped belts, but in my experience of the clubs I've visited its electrical tape. I use the Blitz striped belts for my Junior grades from 2nd (Kyu) brown upto Junior 2nd Dan (they test as 16 for adult 1st Dan) I agree with Dobbers! Having been to a few dojos in recent years the worst ones charged inxs of £20 for the privilege of wearing a piece of electrical tape and that is literally what it was. As the student was called up, the instructor was litlerally ripping the tape of a reel and biting it to length! One school use this system on the kids in order to show ongoing progress (kids get bored and 3months is ages for them) but didn't formally grade or charge for that which is fine imo. Well yeah it does depend on the individual school but from my experience in UK TKD, more and more are using the striped belts rather than tape which'll set you back about a fiver for the belt itself. I'd be a bit miffed if all I got was electrical tape but again it depends what the grading fee covers (it's not just the belt!). I think £25 is what my instructor changes but for that you get your money's worth. Even at colour belt level you're grading in front of a panel of 4+ blackbelts. He hires out a hall for the whole day and then you turn up in groups of about 4-5 for an allotted time slot and get grilled for between 30 mins - 1 hr depending on grade. The grading fee also covers all breaking material you use and you get a nice certificate if you pass.

A stripe belt isn't always just electrical tape, it's common in TKD and related styles to use belts with a proper stripe sewn onto the belt, hence it costs the same as buying a normal belt. Belt fees also aren't just for the belt, it can cover hall hire, breaking material, instructor's time, getting an external examiners in etc.

I don't think you need to jump to the conclusion of belt factory. Testing cycles every 3 months are pretty common in a lot of styles. I don't think a $30 testing fee is too outrageous either, matches up with what we get charged. The blackbelt test fee does seem a little steep but it may be covering getting an external examiner in (paying for their travel expenses and time), breaking material, and registration with an (inter)national governing body or if it's like my school, the fee also covers a day's intensive training with the local master.

If you have learned all the techniques required for Nidan, then you should be able to test. I don't think you should have it just given to you. I think it depends on how the style goes about awarding rank. If the time component is all there is to it you could get the rank. But if your style requires you to go through a rigorous mental/physical test, then doesn't matter how long you have been a shodan, you haven't past the test for nidan yet so you aren't one. Also, maybe I'm just being pedantic, but "keep(ing) your standards is not enough", your standards should raise. There should be a difference in skill level and knowledge between each grade.

Good points. However in saying this, couldn't we say that a lot of people have good resolve blackbelt or not. Resolve =/= blackbelt. A brown belt could have greater resolve. Just because I have good resolve doesn't mean I have the right to wear a rank. Well that's a little different I think. Their skill and knowledge didn't deteriorate over time. You could argue Funakoshi was training up to his death. Maybe not as physically as he once was but the mental training and knowledge was still there.