the cool part of ma

[younwhadoug]

i always want to know about self defense and training and protecting and sparring.

i feel like i have made a break-through on the kicks and high flying moves. last week we were practicing cart-wheels and they said if you can, do it one handed. i was one of the only adults in the class that could. the our instructor had us practicing coming up from the splits without touching the floor with a scissor kind of movement. after a few tries i was able to do quickly and maintaining a fighting possition at the same time. since then i have tested myself on all my kicks. i have learned and trained myself (with the professional help of my instructor of course) to put a side kick at above my own head level and rotate all the way around on the standing leg. i never thought i would be able to do something like that. i tested myself agian out in my garage. i tied a kicking mit to the garage door opener and practiced spinning jump cresent kick. after about fifteen tries i finally nailed that thing hard enough to knock out a basketball player. i could not believe the height and the power i got just beleiving that i could do it. because of all this i have set new goals for myself and encourage my two sons to put the same pressure on themselves. i know this may sound like bragging and i guess it is. i haven't ever felt this good about myself. i never thought i would enjoy the show off part so much.

has any of you ever felt so good like you just climbed a mountain when everyone told you you couldn't???

i now look at the high flying stuff as important as the life saving and tournement winning aspects, do you???

[bushido_man96]

I am glad to hear that you are gaining confidence in yourself. That is one of MA's best attributes. I'll admit, I like to do some showy things sometimes, but I also find the simple stuff just as important, and rewarding, when performed correctly.

[Sohan]

What a feeling. Glad you're enjoying it!

Respectfully,

Sohan

[ps1]

congratulations...good luck in training

[cross]

Good stuff, Achieving something that you never thought possible always gives you an undescribable feeling.

i now look at the high flying stuff as important as the life saving and tournement winning aspects, do you???

No, The "high flying stuff" has never been a big priority for me. I train the things i need to know to help me defend myself and stay fit. Spending time on "high flying stuff" that only looks cool takes up time i could be doing something more practical.

[younwhadoug]

it may not seem to practical to you, but i am a father of four and they all love to see it and my two oldest train right along side of me. being a dad that my children enjoy and can brag about in a possitive way seems like a good way to spend the next 20 years. i train five days a week. i am an active competitor. i also instruct two schools and teach childrens self defense. to me learning all the aspects of the art is practical. if your not, to me, your wasting your money and time. but i'm sure we have different reasons for training, i'd love to hear about yours.

[cross]

to me learning all the aspects of the art is practical. if your not, to me, your wasting your money and time.

I dont know any of the history of your art, but if its like most traditional styles, i doubt that "high flying techniques" would have been a part of training years ago. Im sure you can shed some more light on this in relation to your art specifically.

but i'm sure we have different reasons for training, i'd love to hear about yours.

I dont train so i can brag to anyone, i train specifically so i can defend myself if i need to and its an enjoyable way for me to stay fit and active.

The question i was replying to was "i now look at the high flying stuff as important as the life saving and tournement winning aspects, do you???"

For me, the answer is no. IMO, high flying techniques arnt important in comparison to self defence techniques. But like you said, people train for different reasons.

Cheers,

Cross.

[MartialArthur]

Good for you! It's always fun to learn new and challenging techniques. Learning the "high-flying" stuff adds a great bonus to your training and can be very rewarding.

i now look at the high flying stuff as important as the life saving and tournement winning aspects, do you???

Since I never actually get into fights, and I live and work in very safe neighborhoods, I have the same viewpoint. I'm in it for the workout and the challenge. Oh, and it's my job. Working on the practical stuff is important, but learning the fancy stuff makes it fun.

I love teaching my teen students how to do the 360-jump-spin kicks. I think their parents are amazed that a 45-year-old instructor can demonstrate such a move. Most of the "lobby parents" best thing is swinging a golf club or working the TV remote... and many of them are younger than me!

MA keeps me young, and doing the arial kicks makes me feel young.

..

[jaymac]

I think it is great that you have achieved something in your training that you can be proud of, especially having your children along side you. That you can be extremely proud to brag about. However, in our school, we are not trained to do high flying kicks. We do not train to go to tournaments. We can and some of us have gone to tournaments, and done well, but with traditional techniques and forms. Actually, and I have said it before on other threads, the high flying non traditonal acrobats is the reason that I no longer attend tournaments. Please do not think that at anytime in this post am I trying to put you down, I am pretty much just responding. I am truly proud to train under such a traditional instructor. If I wanted to practice learning how to do acrobatic kicks, it would have to be on my own time, in which I have none between training, work, and marriage.

[younwhadoug]

i see where your coming from Cross. i grew up fighting in the poorest areas of houston and denver. i was one of those kids that got their shoes coat and hat took. i have probably been jumped more than 20 times by the time i hit 21. at that point in my life (21 that is) i hooked up with a man named ray who taught me some phillipino fighting styles. i couldn't tell you what the name of the art was, but it is very agressive. ray died in while changing someones tire on the side of the road, he was ran over by a drunk driver.i used the skill he gave me and fell in love with martial arts. but i didn't start back up til 24 when my wife and oldest son joined the Grand Master Hans World Youn Wha Ryu association. the first class i took had me addicted. youn wha is not a traditional taekwondo art. it includes chinese boxing tkd some kung fu (way in the advanced training) some hapkaido judo. if you look at the name close enough, youn wha ryu, you can see ryu is a japanese word, not korean, youn wha is a style grand master Han took as a young man and then built up the entire history of how youn wha ryu was astablished and became what it is today is found at younwha.com but i beg that you don't stop there. there is much to be learned about youn wha ryu and it is still growing. last but certainly not least, before you go throwing the word mcdojo around, find a youn wha tournement near you, if there are any, and check it out. or try out a class, they will give you a few classes so you can see if it is something you might benefit from. and if you do, you have the option of also cross training in tai chi, and judo/jujitsu. grand master han would be the first to tell you he isn't afraid to update our system. if he thinks something can fit in a help the student, he works very hard to make sure what he adds going to make our system more complete. any ways i'm just rambeling on now. i hope this sheds some light on our system.