Andrew: awesome stuff, keep it up. I have just started Kendo (well, just started before heading to work, I'll be back in again once I get back to the states). Its great, exactly what I was looking for. I'm not very far into it yet, but I'm really looking forward to progressing.
Thanks and I totally agree with you, it's such a mentally and physically engaging activity. I'm really happy I picked it up and I'm hoping I can improve to a much higher level. However, Kendo always finds a way to humble you, no matter how well you are doing. Just gotta train more haha
I'm planning on getting some boxer's wraps. Will it matter what brand I get, and if yes, what brand should I get?
Brand shouldn't really matter, but there are a few different basic kinds. There's the regular kind, that usually have a loop to go over your thumb, and there's the Mexican-style gauze wraps, and there are also some wrap gloves that you just slip on. The wrap gloves kinda suck, but as for the real wraps, I couldn't really tell you the difference in effectiveness. I think it mostly comes down to personal preference. Though if you're wrapping yourself, the gauze wraps are a bigger pain in the ass.
I'm planning on getting some boxer's wraps. Will it matter what brand I get, and if yes, what brand should I get?
Brand shouldn't really matter, but there are a few different basic kinds. There's the regular kind, that usually have a loop to go over your thumb, and there's the Mexican-style gauze wraps, and there are also some wrap gloves that you just slip on. The wrap gloves kinda suck, but as for the real wraps, I couldn't really tell you the difference in effectiveness. I think it mostly comes down to personal preference. Though if you're wrapping yourself, the gauze wraps are a bigger pain in the ass.
The only real difference is the length of the wrap (longer = more area covered, more stability etc) and quality of material.
Literally with his eyes closed. Now, this is judo, where you've got grips on each other's gi, so it's not as crazy as it would be in a striking art. But still. He threw me hard about 10 times, and I never got one.
Literally with his eyes closed. Now, this is judo, where you've got grips on each other's gi, so it's not as crazy as it would be in a striking art. But still. He threw me hard about 10 times, and I never got one.
Makes sense. I tried blind-fighting a few times, but it didn't result in much more than getting punched in the head a lot. I gotta say, though, I like getting whuped by someone way above my skill level - it's fun, and it's a good way to learn - especially good for those times where you're thinking you're pretty hot shit, and then you get stomped by some dude half your size.
I consistently place 2nd or 3rd in the biggest three club combat tournaments in the world. Sometimes I win. Fortunately for my sense humility, the number one player in the world also lives in Berlin, and kicks my ass on a regular basis. Fun times!
I guess I'll tell a humorous(?) anecdote I have. Uechi-Ryu (the style of karate I take) has a large butokukai in New England that all gets together for blackbelt testing. When I went for my first degree, I was a junior (<16), and thus had to do a sparring test. After the test all the guys were getting changed and taking off their gear. One of the kids, probably a young teenager, was talking to a friend and complaining about how some people from other dojos wore larger chest protectors, and "what's the point if you don't get hurt a little?" Then I noticed that he was wearing fucking shin guards. And i cried on the inside.
As a practitioner of Panantukan (Fillipino Boxing), which incorporates many traits from mauy thai like the knees and kicks, i can definitely appreciate how well that little girl is doing.
Hell. her kicks are much more precise and stable than mine, although i prefer the knee and the boxing more than than kicks in my sparring.
Guess who kicks ass at three club combat? ME! Guess who won the Berlin 2011 Fight Night? Watch to find out...
When the dude went running across with the stool, god knows why, but I thought it was an enormous diablo. That was pretty awesome, though, you're pretty fearsome.
I'm finding that concrete walls and trees have more to teach me than heavy bags and kick targets. Training alone without gym equipment is very interesting.
Far too much spinning and complicated nonsense - basically everything past those initial roundhouse, crescent, and hook kicks are more or less useless. It's reasonably impressive as an athletic display, though.
Also way too many of those kicks ended with him on the ground. Not really an advantageous position.
Also, I've joined Judo club. It's pretty cool. Transitioning from a striking based martial art (Karate) to a grappling one is kinda tricky, though. Also, I feel like I'll never really get used to being choked. Although, if I ever did, that would probably be cause for concern.
Ah man I remember when I used to be able to do about a quarter of those kicks. Also don't sleep on the spinning back kick or the spinning hook kick. You can generate a lot of power behind those from the force of the spin, it's not a bad thing to have in your arsenal.
Yeah, it's pretty clear that's a showreel style display, more than anything else.
Also way too many of those kicks ended with him on the ground. Not really an advantageous position.
Depends on how you prepare for it. BJJ fighters on the ground, it's like a literal version of dragging you down to their level and beating you with experience. And fists.
I've been teaching myself over the past year, deconstructing what I know of technique and building on my instincts. Between the writings of Bruce Li and Miyamoto Mushashi, the principles of Systema, and my own recent experience, the way I think about martial arts has shifted dramatically. It is obvious now that the barriers between styles of unarmed combat are entirely artificial, and that prescribed technique leads to stagnation and blindness.
This is not to say I have abandoned any pursuit of discipline-specific knowledge. The difficulty of learning to fight is maintaining control and focus. An uncontrolled brawl is not only dangerous but difficult to learn from. To avoid this each style has invented methods of sparring; sets of rules which ensure control and target the core principles of their discipline. I believe that my training should focus on these rule sets, with technique being a secondary focus that is examined pragmatically when situations arise organically within a conflict. Currently my goal as an artist is to train under many different paradigms until I and those who train with me gain the understanding and control to move fluidly between them. The barriers I spoke of, while artificial, are like scaffolding as I build toward a singular understanding of martial arts.
These are the sort of things I have been practicing lately.
Unfortunately grappling is still something of a blind spot, but I am learning to learn it. Hopefully I will be taking lessons from a Jiujitsu master soon.
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I tell shitty stories when I'm tired.
Hell. her kicks are much more precise and stable than mine, although i prefer the knee and the boxing more than than kicks in my sparring.
It's reasonably impressive as an athletic display, though.
Also, I've joined Judo club. It's pretty cool. Transitioning from a striking based martial art (Karate) to a grappling one is kinda tricky, though. Also, I feel like I'll never really get used to being choked. Although, if I ever did, that would probably be cause for concern.
The guy in the video, Eric Jacobs, is a professional stuntman. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2009674/
Most of these kicks are probably for showing off in movies. Probably not for practical use in martial arts/self defense.
If any of you guys can do half those kicks with video, by all means go for it. ^_~
This is not to say I have abandoned any pursuit of discipline-specific knowledge. The difficulty of learning to fight is maintaining control and focus. An uncontrolled brawl is not only dangerous but difficult to learn from. To avoid this each style has invented methods of sparring; sets of rules which ensure control and target the core principles of their discipline. I believe that my training should focus on these rule sets, with technique being a secondary focus that is examined pragmatically when situations arise organically within a conflict. Currently my goal as an artist is to train under many different paradigms until I and those who train with me gain the understanding and control to move fluidly between them. The barriers I spoke of, while artificial, are like scaffolding as I build toward a singular understanding of martial arts.
These are the sort of things I have been practicing lately.
Unfortunately grappling is still something of a blind spot, but I am learning to learn it. Hopefully I will be taking lessons from a Jiujitsu master soon.
Also, here is a fucking awesome video