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Old 03-11-2013, 11:46 AM   #9
SparkErosion
Dojo: 6th Kyu (yellow belt) rank/ Five Rings Aikido/ Seidokan hybrid style
Location: Arizona
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 45
United_States
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Re: Atemi, Tae Kwon Do and Aikido

Yes, I was very lucky. It wasn't a McDojo. We ranked every 3 months or so, or perhaps a little longer, and it was when we were ready to rank, he would tell us.

Our master in Tae Kwon do was extremely skilled, so was his son. We would do full contact sparring with kicks, but avoid the head . I would go full force, kicking them back with force as hard as I could, sometimes knocking them over. The instructor told me to "Go easy" sometimes on the younger kids.

I went in sparring competitions but wasn't aggressive enough and lost , despite my ability. I've always been a bit timid, being afraid I'll hurt the other person. I never did actually want to hurt anyone else, unless sparring in full padded gear, even though, sometimes I'd get timid. Thats why I like aikido.

I won a gold medal (top awarded) in the Kata contest for teenagers at a tournament.
I would often spar and try and kick with his younger son, an extremely skilled guy. About 20, maybe 30s.
He could do a triple jump kick, when i could only do a double jump kick.
I was always amazed how he could land 3 in the air before getting back on his feat.

In sparring, he would bounce around, I would attempt to kick him, but he'd always dodge. He wore no gear, just his gi. I couldn't touch him. I was fast too!

Our instructor knew how to use daggers apparantly very well. One time, he held a demonstration. He had an apple on someones head who held very still. He was about 30 feet away and had a dagger in his hand. He threw the dagger at the apple on the other guys head, speared it dead in the center, without the apple falling off. I couldn't believe it. It was the most amazing thing I ever saw. If he was even a LITTLE off, it would've speared him in the face. I am still amazed.

Yeah, we'd do the bag and practice kicks every time. I got pretty good at powerful kicks. That's why I was thinking of incorporating it. I also have much stronger legs now due to being older, (in mid 20s) weight lifting and cycling quite alot.

I know basic punches, a few weak spots in the body, (hammer fist to the head, palm strikes down on the head), basic punchs, just that we practice. But I'm best at kicking. My mom told he was a bodyguard for secret service agents, no kidding. It was definitely not a McDojo. I was very lucky..

6th Kyu in Aikido. (Yellow belt). Been training consistently for 10 months.
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