Job Discussion Forums

[OneJoelFifty]

I'm assuming you've followed the career of Lyoto Machida and seen his fights in the UFC. Right?

[fluffyhamster]

Hi OJF, yup, I'm aware of LM (although the UFC leaves me a bit cold to be honest - something to do with the American venues/audiences?): http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=75944 . Anyway, I wasn't thinking of him when I appeared to diss Shotokan (I used to do it myself), but rather the average traditional stylist (who hides behind the "too deadly" argument to explain why they themselves don't ever fight, certainly not full-contact/"NHB", but are nevertheless somehow entitled to have an opinion about it and the supposed efficacy of technique A [crane kick] as opposed to B [knee to the lower half] or C [middle finger up the nose - "gyaku naka-ippon nukite" ] etc).

By the way, did you see the Aoki v Hirota (who he?) fight last year? What Aoki did at the end seemed a bit unnecessary (to say the least!). Some devastating stand-up skills (or failing that, at least some groundwork skills!) would certainly have come in for Hirota, in order to help prevent him getting his arm wrenched off!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTRW_Dukjdk

[fluffyhamster]

Actually I've only just thought to check Yamahuh's posts since the ones in this thread (duh! ) and it seems he stayed in Taiwan. But we can still all talk about martial arts a bit, I guess!

[yamahuh]

Never did make it over there Fluffy.
Still in Taiwan socking away cash for future travels and getting my Martial arts fix through streaming UFC events and d/ling TUF.

I'm gonna take a look for that 'Hai Karate' and see if I can download them. Seems like a bit of a strange concept to base a series on but then again, I suppose anything is possible in today's day and age where a bunch of washed up 'almost-never-were's' living together in a house is TV magic.

There's only TaeKwon Don't over here and quite honestly I think it's a bit of a joke - especially the Olympic style stuff which is all useless flashy kicks and no handwork. Try that in the street and see how long you last..

Considering our options for our next contract - never know, might make it over there yet...

[yamahuh]

Just watched that Youtube vid you posted - hardly sporting eh?

[fluffyhamster]

Hi Yamahuh, glad to hear you're doing OK, even if you didn't make it over to Japan! (Perhaps you should try posing as a flabby non-martial artist "keen" on experiencing the "real deal" Japan, and see if the BBC will fund you for a voyage of "discovery" similar to that in Hai! Karate? Or see if Alex Reed [bf and now husband of the awful Katie Price] will take you on in a Celebrity BB-style martial arts deathcamp? ).

Yeah, Aoki can sure be unsporting (we could apply the thread title to him: 'Aoki - what is reasonable??' ROFL - not! LOL). I used to like him, and obviously he is a great submissions technician (seen the shin choke [gogoplata?] he used against Joachim Hansen? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JihnroZgfN0 ), but he definitely seems to have a thing now for breaking arms... (there's another years-old clip, in a compilation IIRC, where he spins out of a MMA standing clinch and breaks his opponent's upper left arm against his [Aoki's] right arm...I was prepared to write that one off, but the "Hirota crank" makes it at least two strikes now! Doubtless there are more "Aoki gems" to be found on YouTube).

Actually it would be interesting to know quite what the rules are on fast breaks/dislocations especially. I'm guessing that it's a grey area, since most people don't have the "skill" to do what Aoki does, or they know how to defend against it to the extent that any possible submission applied will take long enough to take effect that there will also be sufficient time to tap... (and to be brutally honest, Hirota really could and should have tapped before he finally got turned over onto his back...I guess he just didn't have the technical experience and/or visualization skills to see/know/"feel" how things were going (to end), despite having his arm already twsited up behind his back like that. The fast spinning sort of break that I mentioned in the second paragraph above though would be pretty hard to defend against if one got too loose, so all one can do really is keep the elbows down and in real tight!).

TKD, what do you think of Hee Il Cho? But I know what you mean. The only TKD-ish (-derived) thing I ever tried was Choi Kwang Do - it had very good power-generation principles and some great techniques.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=2709

[yamahuh]

YEah I guess I should n't lump all TKD in together. I knew a guy back in Canada who had a black belt in it and his kicks were superb but he could use his hands as well. It's the Olympic crap that makes me wince - all shrieking and spinning heel kicks. Hee Il Cho was a great master and I remember reading all kinds of articles about him in Black Belt Magazine back in the day. Right now I'd even be satisfied with a TKD class that fit into my schedule.

Funny thing; the new school where I work did a summer camp last year and asked what I could teach. So what did I suggest?
Right, Karate. Haven't done it in a decade and am now 44 years old but that stuff never really completely goes away. Boy was it a mistake. I had such high hopes for my 1 hour classes but the kids were whiny, wimpy and so uncoordinated it ended up being a dismal experience.

'Push - ups? Teeeeecher!!"

God almighty, no perseverance, no discipline, no focus - by the end of the summer I felt like Mawashi Geri'ing them all upside the head.

[fluffyhamster]

Heh, kids, I sometimes would show things like mawashi uke/tora guchi, then possibly the bunkai (e.g. Ashihara-like kaiten nage with a possible arm crank prior to the actual throw, and/or with possible stepover into juji gatame thus transitioning into newaza; or how about some of the escrima-like strikes and locks you can work off of handwork like that) during lulls in English lessons. I've never taught anything martial even halfway formally though - in Japan, there seem to be plenty of dojo for that, and teachers far more skilled than me (and besides, they obviously speak Japanese far better than I do! Which can help sometimes, when the English isn't working and/or would be too technical, not that everything necessarily has to be verbally explained however). But in my experience the adults can be just as bad if not worse - Adult student: Oh yes, let's do some padwork! I learned the technique enough now, after just five minutes! (Student punches pad). Ow, I almost break my wrist! (Teacher demonstates slowly, then at half-power). Aargh, you hit (the pads) too hard, teacher! I am scared now! (Runs away and never learns how to hit or kick properly. It should all be about dishing it out rather than taking it, shouldn't it! ).

Actually I find heel kicks and other spinning techniques can be pretty effective (on me rather than on others!)...let's see, got clocked by a Kyokushinkai karate-ka's spinning right heel kick, landed on my neck just below the ear (thankfully he controlled it though)...had to whack in some quite heavy side kicks to his stomach, and some foot sweeps, just to keep him back after that! Then there was the Tai Chi guy who did a spinning right back elbow on me in push hands, almost broke my jaw and ended up with an ear infection. Oh, and the Wado guy who "demonstrated" a back kick so fast and hard (in the midst of a conversation about the technique!) I got a slight fracture in the arm I tried to stop it with (with an ude barai and sidestep - got my arm pinned against my solar plexus, but I guess that was better than taking the kick actually on the sternum!).

[yamahuh]

Ouch - hardcore...