Montana

While I can't argue that traditional weapons are not applicable in this day and age, study and diligent practice of them is IMO. If you learn the various traditional weapons you will find that that practice will transfer over to many every day objects because you are not only learning specific techniques with specific weapons, but you are teaching your mind and body to use a weapon, each of which has it's own way of working and being manipulated. Sure, you may not have a jo/bo handy to defend with, but you might find something similar and your body and mind would already have the experiences of drills to know how to utilize it as a weaspon. You may not have a tinfa handy when attacked by a baseball bat, but maybe you have a MagLite that can be used to block that bat from cracking your head open. You may not have a set of nunchaku handy, but you know how to use a rope to block, a set of jumper cables to flick, or a towel to trap a weapon, leg or arm. Personally, I have a "bull cane" in most of my vehicles (my wife won't let me put one in her Rav4) and I think they are GREAT for self defense! If you don't know what a "bull cane" is, check out your local farm and ranch store (I know you all have them, right? lol) and you'll see they are a bit longer than a normal cane and a bit thicker. They are also quite light weight...rattan I think, and they are not only nearly industructable, but they are LEGAL TO CARRY ANYWHERE, including on an airplane. I took one of mine to the UK once about 6 years ago, mostly to just see if I could. I faked a bit of a limp, they looked it over and x-rayed it and on the plane with me it went.

I've judged and ref'd open tournaments for 25 years or so and would recommend them over a single style tournament any day. If you want to test your sparring skills, open tournaments are the only way to go because yoyu are fighting against possibly Japanese, Korean, American and who knows what other systems, not just your own. in my experience, most systems all fight pretty mucgh the same, but there are differences. Some systems use more kicks than others, and higher kicks. some systems view the groin as a viable target, others don't. Some systems use their hands a lot more than others, etc. As has been mentioned, watch as much as you can prior to your event to get a feel for what you're going to run into. You might want to also check out a thread I posted a while back called From a Tournament Judge and Referee's Perspectiveon this topic. GOOD LUCK!

DWx, I meant no disrespect in my post, but rather to attempt to answer the question of the thread, which was why does TKD get disssed. As to what organizations the various TKD schools belonged to that I've visited around the US and in the UK, I haven't a clue. I drive by, see a sign in the window that says TKD (and karate schools also) and walk in the door to watch a class if possible. I have been doing this, and continue to do so, since around 1975. The only TKD class I know for sure what organization they belonged to was an ATA (American Taekwondo Association, long defunct now I believe)school in Great Falls, MT (USA). It was operated by a self-promoted "9th Dan Master" that for a time, before he started promoting himself and basically going a little crazy, was my friend. As for the dojang in the UK I visited, it was in Norwich back in 1998 when I was there for personal reasons. My host and I were driving and I saw a sign on a window, so we stopped and went in for an hour or so. I have no idea what organization they belonged to, nor did I ask because it had no bearing on my wanting to observe a class. I also went into a Shotokan dojo during practice in Lowenstoft, where I was staying and had the opportunity to practice with them for an evening.

The question is basically, "Why does TKD get bashed so often as being ineffective?" There are a variety of reasons TKD gets bashed all of the time. Namely: 1. Black belts as young as 6 years old (I've seen them). To other tradition martial artists, this is a joke! It makes no difference if you label them as "Junior Black Belts...as black belt is a black belt. 2. Emphasis on high, flashy kicks which if they connect, are great, if not, they leave the TKD practioner HIGHLY vulnerable and off balance. 3. Emphasis on kicks, little on hand techniques 4. Literally no grappling techsniques. 5. No defenses against weapons, or weapon usage taught. 6. Break a board, get a belt testing mentality. Commercial schools especially are typically geared towards easy belt tests to retain students. (this is where the term McDojo origionated I believe) There are probably others, and of course, there are always exceptions. There are hybrid TKDschools that teach grappling and weapons training, but those aren't "pure" TKD. In my 25+ years as an open, all styles judge and referee, typically the TKD fighter will 90% of the time lose their matches because they don't kbnow how to use their hands, protect their groin or block punches. I've also had the opportunity to watch and talk to instructors from many TKD schools (various organizations) in California, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and one in the UK, so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with what I'm seeing taught and practiced in TKD schools. Now, if the mods want to delete this post, they most certainly have that right, but I did answer the question that was posted from my own observations and experiences.

If you allowed head punches, the high kicks would be seen a whole lot less. Allow full contact groin kicks (street fighting) and the high kicks would undoubtedly disappear.

Exactly. It's not the belt that verifys you recieved your rank (you can buy those easily online) but rather a signed, and usually personally stamped (in the case of our system) by the instructor and often the head of the system.

I've never seen Shindokan before, but I suspect it's similar to Shorin Ryu in its philosopy and approach to the martial arts. Shorter stances, 50/50 hands/feet, lower kicks, tuite, etc. Comments Sensei8?

We do a lot of "block and grab" techniques where you would block an attack and grab the leg, arm, etc nd execute your counter technique. Strong fingers and hands are essential for this.

I found this one on utube No resemblence to the old Nahachin that I do excepty in the most general martial arts sense (has kicks, blocks and punches) Or this one, which actually does have a few techniques which are similar, but to say Nahachin came from it would be a stretch IMO.

In my opinion, yes, it is. The long term effects of that sort of conditioning, such as severe arthritis, makes it dangerous, and there are no applications in the real world for it. Light conditioning, such as a makiwara or bag training is OK...I do that, but to this extent...no.

Honestly, I have no idea what you are asking.

I have hit bare handed walls, makiwara, heavy bags, etc. I don't get aches all them time. If I strike something exceptionally hard, my hand will hurt for a few days but nothing after it heals. Makiwara andheavy bags have "give"..they move when you hit them. A stone does not. HUGE difference there. Not to mention the actual substance difference between a makiwara/heavy bag and a stone.

Bruce Lee...However, there's no verifiable proof of this, but Lee's school in Oakland was one of the first martial arts schools to use electronic devices to measure technique speed, reaction time, and hitting force. Therefore, my question is purely hypothetical. Can't we let the man rest in peace? Bruce Lee has been elevated, in some martial arts circles, nearly to God-like status. People, he was a man, just like you (to the men out there) and me. He wasn't, despite peoples opinions, perfection in the flesh. Sure, he was a great martial artist, but he was also a great self-promoter and a movie star. Was he the best that ever lived? There is no way to compare him or others unless you stacked them all together in the same room and had some way to measure..which in itself would be utter chaos! His greatest claim to fame was to bring the arts out into the open and get the public interested in them. He, thru his movies and short-lived TV series (The Green Hornet) were instumental in filling dojos around the world with new students. As you mentioned sensei8, there is no "proof", and the timing/force pads they had at that time were inaccurate and unreliable. We had one of those in our dojo for a time in the mid-70's. They were fun to play with though.

I've seen people, with no prior experience, get it in as little as 11 months...from certain systems. Are they any good? Depends on your definition of good I guess. I'd say no, they aren't very good at all.

Very impressive demonstration. I wonder how bad his hands ache all of the time?

98-year-old woman becomes first woman ever to earn Judo's highest-degree black belt Todays link from Yahoo's website. http://shine.yahoo.com/event/vitality/98-year-old-woman-becomes-first-woman-ever-to-earn-judos-highest-degree-black-belt-2523297/

Probably dead bodies under the floor boards I bet.

VERY impressive young man! And yeah, turn the sound off first...lol

Um...what's wrong with this whole picture? A 9th Dan doesn't know where to buy a belt??? Sorry...just strikes me as odd. VERY odd. How old is this guy and how long has he been in the arts? Just curious.

I don't pay my sempai anything...why should I? He teaches class now and then (maybe 10-20% of the classes) as a part of his training. However, I stop charging my students for classes when they reach their black belt. I expect them to teach and train harder at that point. I don't teach classes trying to make a profit..if I break even, I'm happy.

I've been doing Nahachin since 1975 and I sure didn't see it in that demo. There was a sweep..yes, is that what you're referring to? Not just the sweep, but also the upper arm movements with that sweep. While we are both Shorin Ryu stylists, our katas may be slightly different. Yeah, they must be because there are no punches like that in Nahachin 1-3...the older version anyway.

Shorin Ryu also..and I concur with your concur.

I've been doing Nahachin since 1975 and I sure didn't see it in that demo. There was a sweep..yes, is that what you're referring to?

Agreed...step behind is the way we do it also.

I've always found a couple of shots of Yukon Jack really loosens me up...wait, JUST KIDDING! Practice and more practice..with awareness of what you're doibng and making a conscience effort to relax should work. It takes time to be relaxed in a fight.