All Questions
7
votes
6answers
688 views
How can one practice spear-hand strikes, while still knowing you got the technique right?
One of the techniques in many martial arts is a spear hand strikes, where you make your hand rigid and thrust into the opponent. There are a couple of different variations, e.g., in hapkido we have a ...
7
votes
5answers
316 views
Is it good to practise punching a wall? No place for punching bag
I don't have a place for a punching bag in my home. I wrap up a cloth or a bandage on my hand and i practice my kick boxing punches on the wall along with knuckle push ups. My master told its not good ...
7
votes
3answers
511 views
What are ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?
What are the most effective ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?
7
votes
2answers
211 views
Blocking with a katana blade
Are there any school/style of Japanese swordsmanship that teach blocking (a parry or deflect is fine as long as there is contact between them) incoming attacks with the sharp edge of the blade of a ...
7
votes
2answers
133 views
Criteria for a Martial Art to be considered as an olympic sport?
The title pretty much explains it. What criteria have to be met for a martial art to be considered for inclusion in the Olympics.
I understand that there has to be some semblance of international ...
7
votes
3answers
169 views
Training while exhausted
In martial art circles, we often hear that training while exhausted (or tiered) will improve your technique. The one I heard was that it will force one to stop all extraneous movement and do the ...
7
votes
4answers
145 views
How can I quickly regain focus during class?
Occasionally I will get (inwardly) frustrated during class, usually when I cannot seem to make heads or tails of an advanced technique.
After class I'll work with a senior student to practice the ...
7
votes
3answers
239 views
Where can I find or how can I make a tailored white dogi for women?
Does anyone know of a good supplier of white dogi for either aikido or judo that are tailored to women?
If not, does anyone know of home made modifications that can be made to a "male" dogi to make ...
7
votes
1answer
107 views
What differentiates the major styles of Tai Chi?
When people speak of Tai Chi, usually they speak of it as a single style, even (in my experience) among those who are knowledgeable about martial arts. At first look, they do look very similar in that ...
7
votes
3answers
170 views
Demonstrations of Minimum Force
Frequently with newer students when we begin teaching them locks, we encounter the phenomena that when they don't get the lock to go on they will try to apply more force to make it work. This can be ...
7
votes
2answers
179 views
Avoiding “Belt Factories”
A number of posts here mention, "Belt Factories." I am becoming a bit suspicious of the place my daughter is at. There are a lot of wonderful things about it, but they really do seem to advance kids ...
7
votes
4answers
128 views
Shoulder Tension
Whenever I go into a fighting stance or do techniques I have a tendency to carry a lot of excess tension in my shoulders. Even when I consciously relax my shoulders, it'll be noted that I am "too ...
7
votes
2answers
145 views
Balancing control and intensity in sparring
At my taekwondo school, we have several levels of sparring - non-, light-, medium-, and full-contact. We do, however, have one over-riding rule: no matter the level of contact, we always endeavour to ...
7
votes
1answer
138 views
Korean Equivalent of Shu-Ha-Ri?
One of the things that gets talked about a lot in martial arts (and software methodologies, for that matter) is that of Shu-Ha-Ri. We seem to follow a similar pattern in my hapkido class, but I have ...
7
votes
3answers
322 views
Shoulder brace for Judo?
I've got a combination of neck and shoulder injuries on my left side. Neck from being spiked, shoulder from an americana and a west point ride suplex. I've definitely got weakness in my rotator cuff. ...
7
votes
1answer
124 views
How do i fix my Berimbau?
I have a berimbau verga that has cracked from the center while stringing it.
Need a few tips how should i go about it; can I glue it up and thread it around the berimbau verga, would there be ...
7
votes
2answers
167 views
How, historically, did American push-hands get so restrictive in comparison to Chinese push-hands?
In tai chi circles outside of China, push hands competitions are noticeably more restrictive in their rules and format:
Many competitions use "fixed-step" rules (for example, this British event and ...
7
votes
1answer
204 views
Official Term/Good Reference for Hapkido Advanced Basics
In my school we teach, at around the 5th kup level, a series of "advanced basics" that involve taking the seven sets and doing them in a push-pull motion while moving. An example might be doing a ...
6
votes
4answers
218 views
Ju-jutsu vs Jiu-jitsu?
Whats the difference between Ju-jutsu and Jiu-jitsu? In Sweden we only have Ju jutsu and i have notice that in USA thay have both Ju jutsu and Jiu-jitsu and it looks like the same thing.
6
votes
4answers
389 views
Aikido Forward Roll
How to do safely a Aikido front roll from standing position and from jumping ? What are the key point to be careful for avoid injury like shoulder dislocation ? What are other injury that can happen ...
6
votes
4answers
403 views
Are chi-sao-style drills found anywhere other than in Wing Chun?
Is there any other martial art apart from wing-chun, that uses technique or drills like chi sao (sticky/sticking hands)?
6
votes
2answers
370 views
What qualifies a school or business as a legitimate martial arts system?
How can one find out if a Martial Art school is legit/registered? I took a style back in the 90's called Chung Moo Quan. The school eventually closed because of some investigations into it being a ...
6
votes
6answers
1k views
What strength and conditioning exercises are used in tai chi?
Nearly all martial arts have some form of supplemental strength and conditioning exercises. Karate has hojo undo, boxing has road work, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has ginastica natural. These can be more ...
6
votes
5answers
252 views
Are martial arts helpful in dealing with pain from a sedentary lifestyle?
I am a research scholar and I have to dedicate a lot of time everyday in front of the computer. This leads to pain in my knees and shoulder. I consulted with doctors and they suggested me some ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
How bad is kickboxing for your brain?
I'm not asking for medical advice, I'm just asking this out of sheer curiosity:
To me it seems that kickboxing is the best kind of workout I could get, nothing else gets me in shape quite as quickly ...
6
votes
6answers
288 views
How do you take Notes on techniques you've learnt in class?
For those of you who takes notes or keep a MA diary.
What kinds of things do you write down? Do you try and document each technique into a "database" of technique notes? or do you document each ...
6
votes
5answers
237 views
What aspects of health does form-based tai chi improve?
Similar to other practices--strength training, physical therapy, running, et cetera--we can evaluate the effectiveness of tai chi for improving fitness, mobility, strength, and other health markers. ...
6
votes
5answers
362 views
What are good questions to ask for a black belt testing?
I am a 4th Degree in American Karate. The dojo I have recently become a part of has a number of Black Belt candidates, and I will be serving on the panel. I don't have much experience attending black ...
6
votes
5answers
510 views
Judo mats: any certification? what characteristics should one look for?
Is there any official certification system for Judo mats?
What specific characteristics should one be looking for in a Judo mat? Remember the primary purpose of the Judo mat is injury prevention.
...
6
votes
2answers
210 views
An Ontology of Combat
I've been looking for a semantic ontology defining the structure and varieties of attacks and defenses. Initially I'm looking for a very simple tree, something like:
Attack->
Punch->
Jab
...
6
votes
6answers
308 views
Conflict escalation management resources
I am looking for guidelines or sources of information regarding behavior patterns that prevent the escalation of conflict. It would be nice also to see some differentiation and analysis of conflict ...
6
votes
4answers
150 views
Why should I wear my gi with left side over right side?
I know the proper way to put on your gi is to put the left side over the right side, but why is this? Where did this custom come from? I think it applies to all martial arts (at least I know it does ...
6
votes
4answers
287 views
For a total beginner, is tai chi a good start?
I recently moved, and I found there are two classes within walking distance of my home. One is tai chi and the other is tae kwon do. I am in my thirties, have led a sedentary lifestyle so far. I'd ...
6
votes
5answers
269 views
What are the classical/canonical books for Aikido (all styles)
What are the classical/canonical books written about Aikido? I am interested in all styles (aikikai, iwama, yoshinkan, shodokan, whatever) training "manuals" as well as more philosophical work.
I ...
6
votes
2answers
374 views
What glasses can I wear for martial arts training?
In the good old days I used to train karate. I would like to come back to martial arts (not necessarily karate) to work on my agility and endurance.
There are two catches:
Now I have a myopia + ...
6
votes
5answers
504 views
How does one progress from tai chi push hands to free-sparring?
A common tai chi pedagogy is to progress from forms to push hands (tui shou) to free sparring (san shou). As Ayron Howey says:
[You] cannot simply practice Tai Chi forms without other training in ...
6
votes
3answers
291 views
Pivoting for a kick
While in training, it is advised to pivot on your foot when going in for a kick (such as a side or round-house kick), so that your foot is facing as much in the opposite direction as possible. The ...
6
votes
4answers
241 views
Octagonal vs round shaped staff weapons
I just had first lesson in Aikido with Jo and was suppriesed to see that some of the staffs were octagonal and some were round.
Can someone explain what is the difference and if there is any ...
6
votes
2answers
124 views
Value in Breaking Boards?
For a long time we would include board breaks as part of our belt tests as a demonstration, but in recent years have been moving increasingly away from doing them.
While it can make for an impressive ...
6
votes
3answers
487 views
How to maintain closed guard with short legs?
I find it quite tricky to maintain a closed guard as I shortish legs, I find that its not that hard for someone to break it open.
Is there any good advice on how to keep a good closed guard if you ...
6
votes
2answers
442 views
Do ninja follow the bushido?
Until recently I have been told that ninja do not abide to a moral code (in particular, the samurai bushido), and that the definition of a ninja is "a warrior without honor".
Is this true? A ninja is ...
6
votes
3answers
193 views
How should a novice train if unable to join a dojo yet?
I have wanted to start learning a type of martial art for a long time, but my lifestyle didn't help (I have lived in 5 countries in the last 10 years, changed location at least once in each of those ...
6
votes
4answers
117 views
How to cover all of the material? Especially in small classes
Hapkido has an extremely large number of techniques and an even larger number of variations in it. It includes a huge variety of techniques with the hands, feet, and with various weapons. Not to ...
6
votes
2answers
124 views
Drills for teaching range analysis
One of the things that I spent a lot of time in rapier drilling on were range drills. The essence of a rapier range drill is that there are three fundamental ranges that you frequently find yourself ...
6
votes
1answer
179 views
Amount of force to do X
I've often heard in various martial arts circles a lot of claims regarding:
The amount of force/pressure required to break a knee/ribcage/etc (e.g., the statement that a board is roughly equivalent ...
6
votes
1answer
123 views
Are handwrappings used only together with boxing gloves?
I need some expert´s support for doing a piece of fiction. I am working on a scene between two fighters, fighting each other about a matter of honour. They are both trained in mixed martial arts and ...
6
votes
4answers
355 views
Isshinryu karate - seisan kata - opening move bunkai
As of 1989, there were 336 Branches of Isshin-ryu Karate (a style only named as of January 15, 1956).
Given this fragmentation, I have chosen a fairly recognized figure in the Isshinryu world, the ...
6
votes
1answer
69 views
How to adapt kote hineri against a larger opponent?
Couple of weeks ago we were working on Kote Hineri; I am at least a foot taller than my daughter. My hands are correspondingly larger; I haven't measured, but my palm is probably an inch wider than ...
6
votes
2answers
102 views
What to look for in a training/mock gun?
There are a lot of different options out there in guns to use in martial arts training, including wood, plastic, rubber, and with various degrees of realism.
I know from working with knives that the ...
6
votes
3answers
918 views
How useful is a grappling dummy, when you don't have a live training partner available?
There is no substitute for a live training partner, but sometimes a training partner just isn't available and drilling is an important part of training for groundwork grappling.
For those times I ...
