Martial Arts

[Pah]

Originally posted in "Are you new to ReligiousForums.com?"

I feel sparring depends more on luck than skill. But hyung is much more difficult to win, you have to be REALLY good. Especially at the black belt level. I'm a great fighter, and I enjoy it alot. But I still believe hyung determines the status of a martial artist, not sparring. How long have you been training?

When it comes to tournament sparring, I could not agree more. I have won the gold in sparring at tournaments against higher ranks that would easily defeat me in traditional sparring. In our organization, tournament sparring is geared toward scoring first. It is much like a game of tag to 5 points, although, it is the only game of tag that I have seen where people get concussions or broken ribs.

However, I really love traditional full contact sparring. Hyung, floor excercises, target drills and bag drills build and re-enforce basics which are extremely important and require maximum emphasis. Traditional, full-contact sparring provides a practical outlet to our training. We spend at 10 minutes of each class sparring. Also, every Thursday is fight night. We spend a full 60 minutes only sparring. I never miss that class.

I began my training in 2001, shortly after 9/11. I decided that I wanted my family to be able to defend ourselves in any situation.

Between my personal training and teaching, I devote at least 12 hours each week to Martial Arts. If life did not get in the way, I would put in a lot more hours.

Even after 3 1/2 years, I still consider myself a novice with much to learn. However, I have been beat up by some incredible masters.

Did you want to move this discussion to another folder so we do not bore the non-martial artists?

 

[Master Vigil]

Cool, we have our own thread now!! WOOHOO!!!! :woohoo:

3.5 years?? You are E-dan right? Wow, it took me 7 years to get to E-dan. But you definitely sound quite knowledgeable so far. I can tell you understand the art simply because you understand the importance of basics. I haven't been trainging as much as I should have lately, due to school, and moving issues. But hopefully I will be back in and rockin soon.

I was supposed to take over a school, and be the head instructor. But the business opportunity was not good. So I declined. Perhaps I will someday, but money will be the issue. When I was teaching, I would put in around 8 hours a day, 4 days a week. And sometimes more, with tournaments, demonstrations, tests, etc... What was the biggest tournament you've ever been to? I was lucky enough to be on the Pittsburgh Sparring team for our world championship in Orlando last august. It was the first time the Pittsburgh team won in like 8 years. And we won both sparring and forms. Which was awesome!!

 

[Druidus]

I wish there was a martial art I could join here...

 

[tkdrocks]

I wish there was a martial art I could join here...

Where is "here"?

 

[tkdrocks]

Cool, we have our own thread now!! WOOHOO!!!! :woohoo:

3.5 years?? You are E-dan right? Wow, it took me 7 years to get to E-dan. But you definitely sound quite knowledgeable so far. I can tell you understand the art simply because you understand the importance of basics. I haven't been trainging as much as I should have lately, due to school, and moving issues. But hopefully I will be back in and rockin soon.

The ITA has a fairly fast track for promotion until you get to 3rd Degree. That is because they have a very rigid testing schedule (every 8 weeks), but equally rigid testing requirements. Once you reach 3rd degree it takes 4 more years (minimum) to test for 4th degree, an additional 5 years for 5th, 6 more for 6th, etc.

Another thing that I like about this organization is the fact that no matter where I go in the world (where an ITA school exists) the testing requirements are identical. The Founders set up a tight organziation in which they dictate promotion requirements, hyung requirements even how to chamber a sidekick or double knifehand block. To me that is important since all of the instructors are teaching the same thing for the basic Taekwondo curriculum. Each school owner is allowed to augment their curriculum with some other arts and weapons training as long as it does not corrupt or replace any of the basics. That is how I am getting to dabble in Han Mu Do and Aikido, my instructor is getting trained in these arts and passing it on.

I was supposed to take over a school, and be the head instructor. But the business opportunity was not good. So I declined. Perhaps I will someday, but money will be the issue. When I was teaching, I would put in around 8 hours a day, 4 days a week. And sometimes more, with tournaments, demonstrations, tests, etc... What was the biggest tournament you've ever been to? I was lucky enough to be on the Pittsburgh Sparring team for our world championship in Orlando last august. It was the first time the Pittsburgh team won in like 8 years. And we won both sparring and forms. Which was awesome!!

I am working on my instructor certification. I nearly have enough teaching hours. I am working on the other pre-requisites which include: First aid training, CPR, Several ITA sponsored seminars, a giant essay, background checks and interviews with school owners and masters.

My wife and I have discussed opening a school as well (down the road). It is definitely not something to take lightly. Many schools fail due to poor planning. Our school has been very successful numerically, but it struggles to survive due to very high rent ($5000 per month). I am urging my school owner to move to a cheaper property once the current lease is up, even if it means not such a high profile location. I am of the opinion that we now have an excellent reputation and that will keep it going on its own. Had our school owner researched the area better, he probably would not have opened the school where he did and I may not have ever got involved with the ITA and that would have been my loss. I just hope he will follow some advice to better his profit margin. We all have to make a living.

Another problem with the area in which we live is that the school district would not let martial arts instructors in to perform demos. That barrier is finally being broken by making friends with school principles using major face time. I would say that getting into schools is probably the most critical path to early success. I know of a TKD school that opened on the other side of Metro Atlanta that tested over 100 students after being open only 4 months. That was almost all kids. This school owner (Mr. Mays) did this all alone. I did go help him some until he was able to get some assistance. I helped judge that first testing. 100 white belt kids testing - what a nightmare.

Okay tournaments. I have not been to a National Tournament (although, I have qualified for several). I have been to 8 regional tournaments. We usually have between 1000 to 1500 participants. All the way up through red belt, I would sweep the first place medals in forms, sparring and free design forms.

Once I achieved black belt it got tougher. I compete in the 35 and over division which means I get to compete against ranks as high as 4th degree. As a 1st degree in competition, I nailed my form and took the gold. I went up against the National champ in sparring and beat him for the gold and took 3rd place in the free design form.

That last tournament that I went to (in April) I had just learned my form (Yoo-Sin) I placed 5th which I think is not bad for just learning it, and the competition was fierce. I had a re-match for the title in sparring and won it, but injured my leg on a spin heel kick (he raised his knee). I managed to compete in free design forms (limping into 3rd place) and judged the rest of the day hobbling all day long.

My school did well also, we took 2nd place and missed 1st by only 7 points. My instructor is happily going to take a beating from his instructor for defeating his school. His instructor does not like to lose.

We have the National Championships in June, but I do not think I can afford to take the whole family so will probably sit it out. My paying job is getting hectic anyway.

 

[Master Vigil]

Another thing that I like about this organization is the fact that no matter where I go in the world (where an ITA school exists) the testing requirements are identical. The Founders set up a tight organziation in which they dictate promotion requirements, hyung requirements even how to chamber a sidekick or double knifehand block. To me that is important since all of the instructors are teaching the same thing for the basic Taekwondo curriculum.

I think the majority of organizations go that route. They need to. Our organization has schools in over 13 countries, so my grandmaster is constantly travelling and holding seminars to make sure everybody's the same.

I am working on my instructor certification. I nearly have enough teaching hours. I am working on the other pre-requisites which include: First aid training, CPR, Several ITA sponsored seminars, a giant essay, background checks and interviews with school owners and masters.

I hope you do extremely well!!!

Congrats on all of your tournament winnings!! I've done so many in my 10 years, I can't remember them all to tell you. But it isn't important. Trophies break, medals rust, but the real prize is knowledge, discipline, respect, confidence, balance, experience, and many more. I'm sure you know that by now.

 

[Runt]

Speaking of martial arts... I just advanced in rank to recommended-black-belt in my taekwondo school. I'll be testing for black belt in about 4 months. Like tkdrocks's program, ATA also has a strict training schedule (every 2 months). I don't know how rigorous our testing is compared to other programs. I have not found it incredibly difficult, but that may be because we are well prepared by our classwork and are never allowed to go to rank promotion without first proving in class that we know our material. Generally testing for an advanced color-belt student consists of showing competancy in our technique through the performance of our forms, our power through the breaking of boards, and our ability to put all our material together in a more "practical" setting through sparring. While I agree that competition sparring is not a true snapshot of a martial artist's skills, it does certainly help students to understand how exactly the techniques they are learning in class are used against a real person in a more fast-paced setting than simple forms or one-step sparring. I personally have always preferred circle sparring though; you never know who exactly is going to be called to step out of the circle and attack you, and it forces you to think on your feet more than regular sparring does. And because so few blows are allowed to be exchanged before the attacker is called back to the circle and a new attacker is sent out, it also teaches you to deal with your opponent quickly.

 

[tkdrocks]

Hello Runt, It is very good to meet you. Good luck on your training and preparation for your Decided Black Belt. We have several former ATA members at our school and they are very honorable competitors. It does take them some time to get used to being punched in the head but I enjoy providing that lesson. Is punching to the head generally forbidden in most ATA schools?

The drill your are speaking of, we call "Bull-in-the-ring". Yeah, that is a lot of fun. We do another drill called "Bar room Brawl". For this one, we scatter wave masters, chairs, tables and other obstacles around the room. Then we have 20 - 25 people sparring all at once (1 on 1 or 2 on 1) and get to utilize obstacles that can create distance or trip you up if not paying attention. This is also very good for technique. If you are not accustomed to lifting knee and ankle same height on a round kick or side kick, you will not get over the chairs to hit your opponent.

 

[tkdrocks]

Quick question? I can only find this thread via hyperlink. Why do I not see it in the navigational tree of Discussions, or perhaps I am merely too inept to see it. The latter is just as likely an explanation as any.

 

[tkdrocks]

Congrats on all of your tournament winnings!! I've done so many in my 10 years, I can't remember them all to tell you.

But it isn't important. Trophies break, medals rust, but the real prize is knowledge, discipline, respect, confidence, balance, experience, and many more. I'm sure you know that by now.

It is not that I have such a great memory. Part of the requirement for Instructor Certification is providing documentation of all tournaments participated in.

Speaking of balance. I am reminded of how much that I have gained whenever I teach new whitebelts. It is easy to forget how difficult it was just to stand on one foot, let alone hold a side kick extended for several seconds. I wish that I had started younger so flexibility would be part of my repetoire.

 

[Master Vigil]

Congrats Runt!!! It's been a while since you've told me what belt you were. We don't permit punches to the head either. Too many people get hurt, and in this day an age, people are sue crazy. But its not like it's hard to punch to the head. Since it is so much harder to get a point by punching the guy in the stomach, we only allow that, and if people can get good at that, punching a guy in the head is a piece of cake.

 

[Faminedynasty]

I reject your traditional styles. I have invented something called Jeet Kune Do... It's all about speed.

 

[Master Vigil]

I reject your traditional styles. I have invented something called Jeet Kune Do... It's all about speed.

OY!!!

 

[tkdrocks]

We don't permit punches to the head either. Too many people get hurt, and in this day an age, people are sue crazy. But its not like it's hard to punch to the head. Since it is so much harder to get a point by punching the guy in the stomach, we only allow that, and if people can get good at that, punching a guy in the head is a piece of cake.

With insurance and lawsuits the way they are today, I can understand that position. However, we wear headgear and teach to strike the headgear only (never the face or throat). Also we teach to not penetrate beyond where the headgear would be if they were not wearing it. (People that do not practice self-control in this area get very strong from doing pushups.)

I would also agree that it is easy to punch to the head, but how does one react when they are punched to the head or are they used to blocking when being punched at toward the head. We feel that we might save few lives by having people prepared to defend their heads.

 

[Runt]

Is punching to the head generally forbidden in most ATA schools?

Well, I'm almost positive that a punch to the head is a disallowed move in ATA sparring. However, I'm willing to bet there are some schools out there that choose to ignore that in school competitions. And I know that at least in my school punches to the head are allowed when we are practicing self defense moves. So while we don't get practice defending ourselves against more unexpected, spontaneous punches to the head during sparring, at least we get some practice defending ourselves in a more controlled self-defense-training environment.

We do another drill called "Bar room Brawl".

This reminds me a little of a drill we do, where we randomly spread targets (the big kicking bag type) around the room. We then spar one on one. It is a good lesson about how not all situations are going to be out in the open where you have lots of room to do your stuff; some may very well be someplace where there is a lot of "stuff" in the way that you have to work around or work with. I've found that kicking the targets into my partner is very effective. And I'm really tall, so sometimes I can just do a round kick or a hook kick straight over it, if they make the mistake of getting too close to it. And it's great, because the target hides the chamber and so they can't see the kick coming. . I had a partner stand behind the target once and taunt me about how I couldn't get him, and I said, "Want a bet?" and popped him good, hehe.

Quick question? I can only find this thread via hyperlink. Why do I not see it in the navigational tree of Discussions, or perhaps I am merely too inept to see it. The latter is just as likely an explanation as any.

It may just be that it has fallen a few pages down on the list.

 

[Runt]

But its not like it's hard to punch to the head. Since it is so much harder to get a point by punching the guy in the stomach, we only allow that, and if people can get good at that, punching a guy in the head is a piece of cake.

Heh, I used to find it incredibly difficult not to punch people in the head. I got so caught up in the sparring match that I found myself simply reacting. I'd see an opening and BOOM, I'd try to take it... and then pull back at the last second thinking "woah, what the heck, I'm not allowed to do that!" I regard it as a matter of losing self control, and luckily I've finally stopped doing it. As far as punching people in the stomach goes... well... I've had it happen to me a couple times and I've done it to other people a few times, and it is a really good reminder--even through the protective gear--to block because it's really hard to defend yourself against someone when your breath is knocked out.

 

[tkdrocks]

I reject your traditional styles. I have invented something called Jeet Kune Do... It's all about speed.

Thanks you for the contribution, Mr. Lee. I knew you were still alive. Of course, you should remind us that when you invented Jeet Kune Do that you still maintained many of the fundamentals that exist within any art. I am reminded of this every time my instructor sidekicks me with his hips in alignment as I fly across the room.:banghead3

 

[Master Vigil]

Bruce Lee, by getting rid of the "traditional parts" of Wushu, created his own "traditional" Jeet Kune Do. Bruce lee was good, but I have yet to be impressed with Jeet Kune Do.

 

[tkdrocks]

Master Vigil,

Is it possible to practice meditation without any belief in the supernatural or is that part of what makes it work for people? Also, as a practicing Shaman, what do you recommend for severe arthritis? Without the very expensive medicine that I am currently using, I would be nearly wheelchair bound.

 

[Master Vigil]

The greatest part about meditation is that it does not necessitate the belief in anything supernatural. Which is why we find meditative practices in all cultures, in many different forms.

I'm not a usual shaman. I am a Vigil. What I mean by this is I am not into the healing business as much as usual shamans. I suggest that modern medicine does great things, and that meditation can help with modern medicine. There are some wonderful studies being done with meditation and arthritis. Check them out, do a search. But I think modern medicine really knows what its doing.