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A Cheap, but Scientific Solution
This can be done cheaply (and reasonably accurately) with a smartphone, your fists, and some physics (which can be streamlined in excel or other spreadsheet). You want numbers to accompany your punches, so with a little effort, you can become intimate with character of your punches.
I'm pretty sure every smartphone has an ...
14
For non-contact training, I just wear my glasses.
For sparring, I take them off [1].
For non-contact stick training, we wear safety goggles, which fit over the top.
For heavier stick training, I either take them off, or wear prescription sports goggles. They're goofy-looking, but so am I--it's a wash.
[1] In a fight, your glasses will come off--might as ...
14
There are many reasons for this.
Boxers use oil/vaseline to make their bodies more slippery. Obviously doesn't work in a tank-top.
12-rounds of boxing against 8/10oz gloves would end up wrecking an olympic style tank top really fast. Something would go loose, and there would have to be breaks in the fight. You don't want to hit anything that is not just the ...
11
Okay well if you do wing chun that is great, so do i! Yes it is definitely worth practicing alone. Here are some of the things i do:
Get a 3 section wall bag and a wet towel (with somewhere to hang it). Assuming you have correct form on your sun fist punch, you should practice punching the center of a wet towel with out any water flicking back onto you. And ...
11
Practice on your own is pretty much an unavoidable element of the martial way past a certain point.
Other than developing your body through conditioning exercise (Bruce Lee's plyometrics are a good starting point), you can develop your body through breathing exercises (the Systema DVDs about breathing are pretty interesting and insightful).
It is important ...
9
Thicker doesn't equal better. It's more about the quality.
Judo mats need to be different then TKD or Karate or even wrestling mats.
You should be looking for mats designed for judo.
Dax, Swain, and Zebra are all reputable brands that make excellent tatami.
things to look for:
texture on the tatami (should be the rice grain pattern, this ...
8
What is shown is a vambrace, or possibly a bracer repurposed to be more armor. A vambrace is a tube of armor, anything from metal to leather, used to protect the forearm. A bracer is intended only to protect the inside of the arm of an archer. What is shown in the image looks more like a bracer, but seems to be intended for use as armor, much like the ...
6
I've been training in (and recently teaching) Krav Maga for a while, and groin kicks are a regular occurrence. From my experience, it really doesn't matter all that much which cup you use, as long as you check it regularly, it shouldn't break spontaneously. Cups will usually crack first. Even if you wear a cup, it's still gonna hurt, you just have to get ...
6
Firstly, there is no minimum for injury prevention - but the thicker the rubber, the better the protection. Too thick and it will feel spongy, so while a thick rubber might be suitable for a martial art that incorporates a lot of throws, you might want a thinner one for disciplines which require jumps and rapid changes of direction.
The karate and TKD clubs ...
6
I use gel handwraps for boxing, and have used gel gloves. My experience with foam is that it compresses and shifts over time in your gloves, whereas gel gloves seem to do this less, and last a bit longer as a result.
This is entirely anecdotal, based on my personal experience.
6
I know this answer comes late, but perhaps it will add additional info for folks coming here for the first time.
The weight of the glove is not related to the hand size or amount of protection that it offers. Once you know the weight you want, you'll want to try on a few different brands to see what works for your hands - I, for instance, swear by my Twins ...
6
For mat size, I am listing the official competition mat sizes as a reference to help you assess the difference between practicing throws and takedowns and practicing ground techniques: keep in mind that these are large competition areas meant to minimize out-of-bound stoppages and injury risks, and they are a reasonable upper bound for a mat used by two ...
6
If you attack the top then it will rotate the bottom stick to attack you. What is that?
Not really sure if I have ever come across something like that.
But I think this is what you are looking for: the "spar bar". To get the bar to "attack" you, you actually have to hit it so it spins and come back for your head (you can then hit it back, block it, or go ...
5
I would recommend plastic/goggle type glasses with an elastic band around your head. While it's true that glasses will normally come off in any real physical altercation, seeing and understanding the techniques during the hours and hours of practice is more important (IMHO) than your potential discomfort if you have them knocked off. Sport glasses were very ...
5
The pressure that is generated from the string (Arame) is high and constant thats why your tip keeps cracking, If the broken piece is not too big I would suggest to get rid of it and try to make a new tip. The sound won't be the same (it will be a bit higher) but it's a solution.
5
There is an additional angle here: the shin guards do not just protect your shins, they also protect your sparring partner from your shins. This can even be the more important thing, because while your shins can hurt a lot when hit, they are actually quite robust, they are very effective as blocks and can do great damage in attacks.
Head, groin and gum ...
5
Without sparring partners and a coach, your best bet for solo practice is strength and conditioning work with a little heavy bag work, forms practice, and the like.
5
To clarify on the use of bleach, as long as it is non-chlorine based (like borax or OxiClean) you should be fine to use it. Chlorine bleach will yellow your non 100% cotton clothes but color safe or oxygen based bleaches should be fine.
Personally, I use baking soda (somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 a cup depending upon your washer/load size/etc.) to keep my ...
5
If you're scraping those particular knuckles, probably a problem with your punch technique. You should be hitting straight on with your top two knuckles, and punching straight in and straight out. Scraping indicates dragging your fist on the heavy bag after the punch. This observation may be subject to stylistic differences, but I don't know any style ...
5
I'm not sure how you're scraping those knuckles; maybe make a tighter fist? Pull back straighter? Are you contacting the bag head-on or is your fist dragging?
The easiest solution is the white tape used for bandages; throw a couple of loops around each knuckle. I did that when climbing (for support) and got it down to a few minutes.
Bag gloves are a ...
5
It's generally very difficult to measure the force very meaningfully, i.e. in some way that would let you compare different techniques, variations in timing/body-mechanics that you're aware of, even the same technique delivered by different people, or to predict the effect of the technique on different targets.
To understand why, it may help to consider ...
5
I infer from your tone that you consider this repulsion towards dirt slightly irrational, but are unable to overcome it. If that is indeed true, you may like to try these minimalistic options, which I have adopted from barefoot running considering the similar spread of foot:
Elastic bandage
Crepe bandage
Duct tape
They are cheap, no-frills and easily ...
5
For kickboxing, the main concern is that you don't want the shoe to be used to hit the other person. It can make the impact stronger and can really do damage. So it's usually forbidden, during sparring at least.
During normal gym activity (not sparring), it might be okay to wear shoes. I recommend wrestling shoes, because they stay on tight, aren't bulky, ...
5
I have a little experience with these mats. Specifically, I've trained at places that use them. Here is what I can gather:
Pros
They are easily transportable
They can be disassembled and reassembled very quickly
Can be a great surface to practice kicking on because they provide a semi-soft landing
Cons
They aren't soft enough to safely practice falling on ...
5
You may be thinking of the Sui Sau Jong version of the "wooden man" dummy.
The sui sau jong (breaking hand dummy) features a swinging arm around the shoulder level, hanging sandbags, as well as a rotor-like arm at the top, located at head height. The arms are coordinated so that striking the swinging arm causes the rotation of the helicopter arm, and vice ...
4
Take it to a dry cleaners that does repairs/alterations of clothes etc.
They have really good sewing machines that get through the thick fabric.
4
You could try to put wood glue in the crack and than wrap the verga strongly with some cord.
But honestly i doubt that it will be possible to get the same flexibility. You will probably have to replace it.
Painting, slightly burning or even carving a good verga to add a personal touch should be no problem, if you go at it carefully.
4
Just a heads up for those thinking of buying German made mats. I purchased 50 of the highest quality judo mats from Regupol 6 years ago (as I understand it they are the biggest manufacturer of mats in Germany). Model was E215 40 mm thick Tatami vinyl finish mats. They come with a five year warranty. Two months ago we pulled up the mats to clean the floor ...
4
There is no certification for Judo mats, which sucks because I've seen people advertising 1" puzzle mats as judo mats where someone can get their back broken on.
Judo around the world is performed on 1.5" or 40mm mats. You want to make sure you buy a quality mat; it's all about quality because not all foam is the same density - stay away from EVA foam its ...
4
You'll likely need a couple pairs of gloves. most gyms require a certain size for sparring. Probably 16oz. This tends to be the size required for boxing and muay thai fights as well.
For hitting a bag, i like to use light gloves and that is how my muay thai instructor taught me.
Some people like to use the 18oz for training so that when they fight, ...
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