--H--

Wow - thanks for the welcome guys, cya in the forums

Don't think I've introduced myself so thought I'd better Am based in the UK and have practised Martial Arts (multitude of styles) for over 20 years (started when ikkle - not a complete old fogey!) Am particularly interested in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Jujitsu and Aikido - although have practised many others (internal and external). I hope to meet lots of likeminded folk and learn as much as possible, I am also happy to answer any queries Yours in Budo H

Have you considered Hapkido? You'll get most of the techniques you'd pick up in trad JJ and still be following the same ideology

I'd say if you're just starting out it's a good idea not to cross train in similar styles - it can lead to bad technique in both. Get good at one, then look to broadening your scope. If you wanna mix it a little more, try a grappling style (Judo, BJJ etc), which will not interfere with or "confuse" the techniques you are learning. Regularly practising full contact unprotected punches to the face will teach you nothing except how to look uglier H

"squared" footing - ala Muay Thai and (some styles) kickboxing. Traditional Japanese exponents will always advocate a "straight line" stance, arguing that you present the least amount of body area to your opponent. This falls down a little when bandai or other hard "round" attacks come into play. Box stance means you have the greatest range of angles at your disposal to attack. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I(lead foot) I I I I I I I I I I I I I I (rear foot)I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Knees nice and bent, on the toes on your rear, your body can "shield" by turning slightly sideways, as long as your base is solid. Something like that anyway H edit - grrrrrr -that went all wrong when displayed - oh well This Message was edited by: --H-- on Aug 19, 2001 10:52am

Detailing "fatal" techniques here would be a little irresponsible. Knowing what is potentially fatal and what isn't is most important so that you AVOID doing it. The best way to establish what is bs and what isn't is to study physiology, then ma, then join the dots. While I could provide a catalogue of theoretically fatal techniques, I am happy to say that I could not 100% back up any of them as I have not and hope never to have applied a "fatal" technique!

It's been said already - keep your elbows tight. If your guard is solid and stays solid before, during, after and between techniques then you don't have to worry about your ribs being caught at all H

Hot tip #2 Take a bath b4 stretching. A good soak for at least 20 minutes. Then stretch to the limit of comfortableness. Do not take it to the point where it hurts - that will be detrimental. Slow, gentle streching is the key to good flexibility. Make sure that you work in and out, ie start with small streches, make them deeper (until you reach the point where it begins to feel uncomfortable), then "work out" by gradually doing a few less deep streches. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT bounce. Short term gratification is great - long term joint and tendon damage is not. H

Can be "checked" or intercepted very easily with a well conditioned shin. Will also make attacker think twice about the amount of gusto that goes into such techniques. H

I teach a combination of Aikido & JuJitsu. Have studied various forms of traditional Aikido (Tomiki & Ueshiba), and WJJF & BJJA JuJitsu, as well as BJJ. I think some of the arguements here are valid, but are glossing over a major factor - time. Any art takes time to master. BJJ & the like are instant gratification arts, the rewards are fairly immediate. Aikido takes a lot longer to gain a realistic profficiency in, leading some to question its validaty. When "felt", Aikido DOES work in reality (it was my core arsenal when doing "door" work) and it most certainly does encompass effective ground and restraint work. H