Dear Apoweyn,

[rogue]

I must be misunderstanding what you mean here. I block, because I can't evade

Don't know if this is what MP means but in karate blocking without moving in, out or to the side is a big no-no. Just blocking still leaves you standing there and still leaves him in front of you. Gets you hit.

[Oso]

KCE, yep, ego. Ego that makes TMA people talk the talk w/o having walked the walk and ego that doesn't allow sport fighters to just ignore them and walk on.

Sadly, it is a deep seated insecurity about themselves and what they are studying. I will lay the blame on a lot of TMA schools/systems that won't step out of their kwoon or proprietary tournaments and compare themselves to others by fighting. But, what insecurity is it that makes someone HAVE to say something about it? Why does it matter so much that some TMA guy says he's a badass but doesn't fight? Who gives a ****?

anyway....


r5a, thanks but I was just passing that on as I had mentioned a long time ago and just did run back accross a link to them.

[KC Elbows]

Originally posted by Merryprankster
KC elbows, I disagree that the tone of this place changed after the war debates. I for one, with the exception of only two individuals who are simply dogmatic, remember none of it. I think this place just goes in cycles. When I first got here it was all about style vs. style crap too.

You were here before me, so I'll have to take your word on it. As for the war thing, it's probably subjective for me. I know there are people who stopped talking to me after that, and people I stopped talking to, which is unfortunate, but at least motivated me to try to make a priority on educating myself on important topics instead of arguing them, so I guess that good came of it.

Anyway, back to the topic. I find running to be about the best thing to indirectly train footwork, or even directly. When I run, and I probably look nutty when I'm doing this, but I will often speed up to a sprint when approaching something, a mailbox or light post, and my goal is to get as close to running straight into the object as possible. I don't try to pare my stepping to make it so that say my right foot lands at just the right space to push off and triangle in left- I just let whichever foot ends up being the one that lands at that distance be the push off, and then I triangle with that as a guide.

Years ago, I camped for two months at a piece of land in Missouri that was covered with locust thorn(for those unfamiliar with the joy of locust thorns, the thorns can run several inches long). Anyway, that was probably the best my footwork control, if not technique, ever was, because I'd run and constantly have to assess whether a path was safe or very very bad, and change at the moment I realized that. I'm pretty sure if I tried that now, I'd be in news of the stupid right quick. Fortunately, I was young and indestructible then.

Another of the martial things I'm lame at is I'm either very on or very off, I fluctuate too much in intensity.

[rogue]

When I run, and I probably look nutty when I'm doing this, but I will often speed up to a sprint when approaching something, a mailbox or light post, and my goal is to get as close to running straight into the object as possible.

So the rumour that you had a red metal flag imbedded in your nutsack is true.

You've got mail!

[red5angel]

That's not a bad idea KC. I typically run at night anyway so it's dark, right now it's dark before I even leave work! Sometimes I'll work on running backwards or sideways as I am running and I am sort of a fixture in the neighborhood now for some of the wierd tricks I use during running (not to mention the whole shorts down around my ass and falling down incident).


Oso, aren't you in N. Carolina? I'm not sure but I think the guys who do our fair here in Minnesota have their camp in N. Carolina.

[KC Elbows]

Originally posted by rogue
So the rumour that you had a red metal flag imbedded in your nutsack is true.

You've got mail!

Someone sent me a package!


























































[insert awkward silence here]

[KC Elbows]

For the record, I have not fallen down or run into anything while doing that(purposefully trying to). I tend to run into things the rest of the time.

That whole thing about kung fu making you graceful has failed utterly in my case. I'm the stereotypical big guy smashing things by walking past them. My head kung consists entirely of walking through interior doorways and ignoring the top of the doorframe bashing my skull and/or being knocked senseless by low rafters. Guys who talk about knowing they can take a blow from their sparring experience know nothing. At least you're expecting a blow in sparring. Try sprinting through a midget's house. Then talk to me about tough.

Another thing in running is to push the speed envelope. Don't settle for a pace all the time if you're trying to make your footwork faster. That about sums up my knowledge of running in regards to footwork.

[Merryprankster]

Well, basic road work gives your legs more endurance, (localized muscular endurance) so it's not surprising your footwork got better from that alone.

Red, what I mean is that hand wise, you can work on dodging without moving terribly. Kickwise, you can learn to jam incoming kicks and counter or you can keep moving forward. Really putting forward pressure on a guy without letting up can significantly reduce their ability to fire out a kick with much power. None of these require especially fast feet.

They DO require some effort. Chasing some idiot around the ring so he can't get set to pop you one is tiring, and from time to time, you will get smacked. However, you're getting smacked on the outside so! Such is the curse of the inside fighter! But it has some real benefits--especially for somebody with better hands than his opponent (or better throws).

An old boxing adage is "Don't box a boxer." What that means, of course, is don't try to outslick the slick guy. Force him to fight with you by chasing him down. Don't let him stay on the outside where he's free to move around.

[red5angel]

Red, what I mean is that hand wise, you can work on dodging without moving terribly. Kickwise, you can learn to jam incoming kicks and counter or you can keep moving forward. Really putting forward pressure on a guy without letting up can significantly reduce their ability to fire out a kick with much power. None of these require especially fast feet.

Gotcha, makes sense. I generally try to keep forward pressure on my opponent since that idea sort of came to me early, I couldn't get around it so keeping them on the defensive helps. I also work on my jamming and have gotten fair at that, still need some work though.