kenpo4life

The most painful ones are the ones that you cannot escape:)

Kensai, You must not have an accurate view of what I mean. Turning your body in the way I mean changes the position ofthe hand that they are trying to control. So no sub, sorry charlie

READ THE BOOK GUERRILLA MARKETING AND GUERRILLA ADVERTISING! Sorry about yelling, but the books will help big time.

Straight arm bar, easy. Turn your body so that you are no longer perpindicular to the person applying the lock. Turn so that your body and his are in a straight line. Works for me.

This is ridiculous! How many times does it have to be proven that both have merits? I think that a lot of it depends on your build. If you have a short squat body, judo may be better for you. IF you have long limbs, than maybe boxing is a good idea. All things being equal in terms of instruction and intensity. People dont realize that it is quite easy to add a self-defense element into sport boxing. Throw elbows instead of fists, etc. But on the other hand, judo provides a wider variety of skills. IMO the most underused thing in all of grappling is footsweeps.

Heel Hook no doubt!! Alan Goes and Lober didnt tap from it, that is because they are stupid. Heel hooks can break the ankle, the shinbone, and pop the ligaments in the knee. For a while in Pancrase, it was outlawed. In one year, 12 guys had their shinbones broken.

Shadow boxing can help teach rythm and timing as well as build up cardio

The difference between purple and brown depends on how long the perso has been at their belt. The difference between a old purple and a new brown isnt much. Mainly, a purple can use almos all of the same techniques that a brown or black, just not as smoothly or quickly. It is rough to dismount a purple. Darn near impossible for a brown or black. Purples can use all of the basic movements in combinations. Browns can do the same, but also personalize their particular preferences and strengths. But they do know mostly the same stuff.

Korean, I hear your points. But I think that MA should be enjoyable in and of intself. Most young children are put into MA because of the perceived benefits by the parents. I think that by no means should MA classes be the Marine Corps. But I think that line between enjoyable training and having just a good old time playing Martial Arts is gossammer thin

Go to the better teacher. See who teaches their skill sets more effectively. If someone teaches MT but sucks as a teacher, it would make more sense to do shootfighting. And vice versa

You guys are not addressing certain issues. I dont know why you think that Mike cannot take leg kicks. I have seen Mike up close, and he has some big old thighs. How many times have you seen someone crumbled in one leg kick? I would say not often in high caliber competition. Mike would end Sapp in close. Sapp is not exactly the flash, and Mike has KO power in both hands. I dont see Sapp keeping mike away. Mike is still too fast, and is a far superior athlete to Sapp

Monkeygirl, I see what you are saying. But I am not suggesting that a dojo can make up for the lack of discipline in a childs life. I am suggesting that most of the schools that I have recently observed do not attempt to teach anything that will even be remotely linked to martial arts skills later on. I mean, playing in a generic sense will help a child become more coordianated, but not in a way that will help their MA training later on. I am not suggesting that a child can not be taught in methods different than the ones used for adults. I am just saying that children should at least learn the fundamentals for their training, and a free-for-all type melee is not the best way. I have taught children before, and it seems to me that children live up to the expectations amazingly well. I think that most schools underestimate the abilities of children. Johhny, I am not saying that the gi is the main thing here. It is just that children are often enrolled in MA classes because the training is expected to make them some kind of wonderkid. I think that a lot of mcdojo owners make a lot of money by letting kids run around willy-nilly and then call it martial arts. I am not saying in any capacity that the programs that you teach in your school are of no value, on the contrary. I believe though, that many schools do not even do these things. I think that with a lot of schools with after school martial arts programs, there is a lot of sizzle and no steak. The gi in my opinion is only cloth , but there should be in my opinion a level of integrity that goes along with it. Playing USEFUL kids games is an excellent use of time IMO, but unfortunately, that is usually not the case.

Guyanson, I have been tapped by all of the mentioned actually. But I am also primarily a no-gi grappler. Not to say that most couldnt get me anyway. But I have been grappling in judo, sombo, and bjj for almost 11 years now. I can hold my own on the mat. I have tapped a bunch of purples a bunch of times. A brown once or twice.

I think that this argument shows just how much many of us have to grow in our MENTAL approach to training. the fact that people are still arguing in this way kind of dismays me. I have rolled with a whole lot of bjj bb: Ralph, Royce, Crosley, fabio Santos, Renzo, Cesar, Kurt O, Cameron Earle, BJ Penn, Rickson, Sapao, Vitor and a whole host. They all have a different style, but they are not necessarily better than the Gokors and the other guys like Marco Ruas, Erik Paulson and the like. They are just different.

A lot of schools in Asia are like boarding schools, but most are not. Granted, a lot of kids start early in life, but with most mcdojos that I see here, the ages are about the same. Check out my thread, I said that I DONT suggest that we teach kids some lethal stuff, but there is a hug gap between "playing" martial arts, and drilling in the fundamentals at a real school. Also you have not really addressed my question which essentially is: Do you feel that most schools are baby-sitting under the guise of martial arts training?

My experience tells me that most people who act tough, arent.

Guys, I know that a lot of you have made quite a few posts on what age you should teach kids. A lot of people speak on the subject somewhere along the lines of" dont teach anything real, they dont have the disciplline." It seems to me that the millions os kids in Asia study martial arts just fine. I started at a young age as well. Granted, I was not learning to gouge eyes and rip out throats, but I did learn the basics. As a disciplined student and instructor of martial arts, I am appalled by how so many people let children "play" with a gi on and call it martial arts. There is soccer, gymnastics, and a host of other activities that kids can do besides MA. No disrespect to the other activities, but martial arts is a whole different level. I would be upset if I took my children to learn MA, and fought out that I could be "teaching " them the same thing at home. Whaddya think guys?

The kid was a little off base, but what do you want, he is 5. I say the teacher should have reacted, that is the same thing as a sneak attack!

Angus, Rickson and Carlos arent brothers. Royce was the one who made the quite. Carlos was Ricksons uncle.

Check out your local SBA office. They will have a lot to offer you.

I would recommend that you study business or marketing. There are a lot of good instructors, but very few who are good in business as well.

It is all in the instructor. I have 25 + years in kenpo and here is my thought. Kenpo, when taught as it was in the old school more of a theory than a specific approach. Kenpo should be based on rapid fire combos from off angle. Footwork is also key in any good kenpo school. But like many other things, kenpo has become as fragmented as JKD, if not more so. In the old days, they called Kenpo the art of overkill. Or Hawaiin streetfighting. It should be brutally effective and efficient. Hapkido is something more of an integrated system. It is a bit like TKD and judo together. IT does have more hand techniques though. Hapkido means the internal way of coordination and power. It is typically pretty circular. Hope that helps.

I am just curious, what is a bjj choke hold?

Machado's tend to be a little more versed in judo style ukemi and stuff in my experiene. But I think that a lot of their schools are too focused on sport techniques. I think that as much as Gracie Torrance is a rip-off, they tend to teach better basics and self-defense techniques.

I think that it is okay as long as you tell the parents first. You can use them as rewards or something for the kids.