kenpo4life

Angus, I feel the need to interject. Now, Rickson is in fact a masterfully skilled martial artist. He is amazing. I have rolled with him. He let me choose the way I lost in ten seconds. I said kimura from guard. He said right or left arm. I chose left and guess what? He did it in 10 seconds. That being said, a large part of the Gracie marketing scheme was to claim to have "invented" a better jiu-jitsu. Nonsense!! In all the early magazines, the Gracies claimed to undefeated. Then in the same magazines, they would talk about how Kimura damn near killed Helio. Rickson and the family may claim that he is unbeaten. Come on now. Rickson is the best in the family, and they are great fighters, and usually good people. But I know for a FACT that all that we hear of the Gracies is not true. Remember in Gracies in Action 1? Remember when they showed Rickson pounding on Hugo Duarte on the beach? They didnt conveniently show that when Hugo mounted Rickson, his jj buddies tossed Hugo off. Point is that you shouldnt believe all the stuff that people say.

TKD, Look into the HookNshoot website. They recently had an all female MMA event. IF you believe in it, train hard and good luck!

Tiger From a scientific standpoint, it takes the brain 5 or so minutes without oxygen before the damage starts. If someone wont tap to a choke put him out. If he doesnt tap to a lock, let it go. You know that you could have busted him up bad. Go to the next sub. It is not about him not tapping. It is about you learning more stuff.

I believe that genki is a marketing name like Safe way. I speak japanese and genki means " health or wellness"

Kill 2 birds with one stone. You can get in shape while you train.

I recommend the MT or BJJ schools. While they are far from complete, it will help you learn basics in a hurry. In the meantime, but a stun baton. Dont let some idiot threaten you or make you feel afraid at your own job.

Inquisutive, Welcom aboard. I have a lot of suggestions that I could make, but I am a little pressed for time. IF you want, go ahead and email me at chuanfa_sifu@yahoo.com. I would be more than happy to answer any question Ican. This is not some cheap pick up attempt. I am just serious about helping anyone who is looking to get into martial arts. Thanks

First thing that I would do is consider your body type. If you are tall, lanky or anything like that, a striking art would bea good idea. I would recommend kyokushin. Because of the hardcore training in most schools, it is less likely to be a mcdojo. If you are stockier in build, you might consider the judo. Just make sure that it is not the Olympic stuff that is ruining judo as a martial art. But see which school meets your needs.

Maybe it is just because I am from the old school, but I think that some schools promote WAY too fast!! I think that you promote a person when they are ready. At my fathers school, it wold take about 5 years, and that is with 3-4 times a week. I think that martial arts should be one of the most difficult things you ever do. I think that these "mcdojos" are contributing to the negative light that shines on martial arts these days.

For those who say that they wouldnt get into a school run by a second dan: Dont let the belt fool you. I am a nidan, and I have been practicing for 25 years this Sunday. That is WAY more experience than most commercial schools these days. I am not bragging, but in my family rank is hard to come by. There was a 7 year gap betwen shodan and nidan. It is all about the teachers skills.

I think that paying for a belt test is ludicrous!! What if we had to pay to go from jr high to high school? I think that this type of stuff is nonesense. A person should not have to pay for their increased proficiency.

Guys, There are actually a lot of styles of aikdo. No just the ones founded by O-sensei. there if for example what they teach at the yoshinkan. they teach japanese riot police, the kidotai. Those guys are scary.

My bad, wrong thread

A lot of you guys are saying that the stance matters most. I disagree. I believe that there is to much emphasis on stance in MA. It is better to use footwork and angle. Stances were developed to train the legs. Also, since most karateka had to practice in secret on boats or up in the mountains, stance was a bigger deal. Wanna learn to defend a takedown. Let the grappler make the aggressive move, not you. Dont commit your body with punches and kicks. Use forearms elbows and knees. Use the matador type approach.

I think that physical fitness should be a part of the training. I dont mean like an athlettic contest. But in mine and my familys schools, physical conditioning is a BIG part of the mental conditioning. When you are DEAD tired, do you still push on? When you have fought 45 minutes with larger more experienced fighters, do you give up? When you dont think that you can do another 50 pushups, do you do them anyway? In my school we dont do breaking, but we dont wear pads past green belt either, so I guess we are a little different in that regard.

Kensai, First of all, if you read carefully, I said that I am not mocking anyone. I merely asked a question. I was curious if people had actually used the skills that they have learned in a real fight. Now, I dont go around tooting my horn, but I believe myself to be an excellent combatant. As an adult however, I have not been in a fight for about 8 years. I spar 5 times a week though. I am lucky enough to be crosstrained in several martial arts as a result of who my family knew when I was a kid. I am not getting holier than thou. I am knew here, and I think that it is not cool that accuse me of mocking people, especially since I especially stated in my post that I wasnt.

Guys, I am new here and all, but I just wanted to ask the question. I have read about the combinations and stuff that people prefer, and question the validity of their use. As you all know, real fighting is not like the dojo. I am not suggesting that you have to fight a lot in the streets to be a good fighter, but I wonder how many of you realize that difference between practice and theory. It is not a knock against you. Most of you guys seem to be pretty young, and may not have had to use your skills yet. That is good, avoid fights at all cost. But when I read some posts, I wonder if some of you harbor a false sene of security based on what someone else has told you will work. How about it guys?

Step in and palm strike the face or hit the throat with a tigers mouth

I think that 95% of the time, Master is used to inflate the ego of the instructor. I dont see it as a slave/ master thing at all, but the term is widely used. I think that there are few masters in this country. I think that Master should be used for those who have a high level of proficiency, and who have spread the art and its philosphy around the country/world. Examples would be: Wally Jay, ralph castro, jhoone rhee, Helio Gracie, Mas Oyama, Funakoshi, Kano and a few, and I mean very few, others.

I say kick to the side of the neck. I have done it in all of my Muay Thai wins, and it puts the opponent out quite easily.

If I had to be someone else, I would be Mas Oyama

Aikido can be a good thing, depending on how you train, and what type of aikido. Aikido has some highly combative styles out there, like the kind they teach the kidotai. So check your schools out carefully.

Do you do choy Lay fut? I know of Sifu Lacey from back when he was in hayward.

In the US there is more of a western boxing element included. In Thailand, you dont see as many punches as elbows as the Thais consider punches to be pretty weak.

Jade, you are translating goju incorrectly. GOju is a corruption of the two words in japanese that mean hard and soft. So actually it refers to both the hard and soft nature of the style. I could go into more detail if you like later.