W. Va. Gov. Gets Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do

Associated Press ^ | January 15, 2005 | JOHN RABY

[Horatio Gates]

TKD ping

[zzen01]

So.

[Bon mots]

That's pretty cool. I would like to see him in action... at 57 no less. Finally something I can admire in a Democrat.

My personal favorite martial art for when you get over 40 is Wing Tsun Kung Fu. It doesn't exhaust me the way karate did... well, at least it shouldn't. Most important it is designed for a smaller weaker person to defeat a larger, stronger opponent.

Jeet Kune Do was based on this art.
Check out some of the short films on Jeet Kune Do here... this style is largely based on Wing Tsun.

[Bon mots]

I did shotokan a long time ago...

You also might be interested in this


If you like martial arts acrobatics, check out this kid from Toronto.

[bankwalker]

My personal favorite is Ed parker's kenpo. It is a very efficient and devastating art. After studying Goju karate for many years, I switched to kenpo and will never go back, although I think Goju is an excellent art also. I was never impressed with the Korean styles, such as TKD and TSD.

[Paradox]

I was a wrassler in High School. I knew lots of wrestlers. I knew alot of martial artists. The wrestlers would woop-ass on the "martial artists", especially the TKD guys.

TKD is a beautiful art. One of my best high school friends is, today, one of THE masters of TKD today, he is korean, grandchild or nephew of Master Choi (General), who invented TKD.

[Horatio Gates]

Thanks for those links. I'll have to check them out later since I'm on a slow wireless connection at the moment.

[seacapn]

My only 'martial arts' training is in jujitsu and grappling. It's pretty effective, since the whole goal is to get people on the ground and disable them. As a general rule, any combat move that requires you to kick into the air and stand on one leg makes you vulnerable to being toppled.

[rintense]

I test for 3rd Gup in a week.

[Bon mots]

Check out the speed of Tommy Carruthers. He's very fast. As you probably know, Wing Tsun and Jeet Kune Do are famous for very fast machine-gun punching. You can see him always use his free hand to block/hold the arm of his opponent just like in Wing Tsun.

He also likes to step to the side like William Cheung... this way, the second arm of your adversary is too far to hit you.

The second link I sent you is for a Filipino kid from Toronto who's an amazing acrobat. He sent one of his demo tapes to Jackie Chan, who hired him to work on his stunt crew.

[rintense]

This breaking clip is from summer 2004. Six bricks. Plan on doing 8 at red and 10 at black.

[Bon mots]

Ed Parker's Kenpo? Do you have a link? I would like to see a video if you have one...

Thx.

[Bon mots]

The wrestlers would woop-ass on the "martial artists", especially the TKD guys.

I'm not a fan of high kicking. Looks great in the movies... but...

I did Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan a long time ago too...

But you also have to remember, that if you're fooling around with friends, karate guys can't really punch people, so you would have to judge them in a real fight. The same goes for Kung Fu.

Kung Fu is particularly deadly, because almost all strikes are to the enemy's throat, eyes, or groin. You can't do that in a "rassle" with friends, nor even in a competitive sport. Go to the link I posted earlier. Check out the speed of that guy. Imagine him trying to machine-gun punch you in the throat... all the while, he holds your hands down. Watch his technique... that's kung fu. No high kicks. No spinning acrobatics. Straight "Ling Wang Wan" puches to the throat. Fight over in seconds.

[stacytec]

He'll get my respect when he wins a round in the UFC.

[bankwalker]

Ed Parker's Kenpo? Do you have a link?

Ed Parker passed away in the early 90's. He trained thousands since the 50's. One of his best is Larry Tatum. I don't know if his site has any video clips. I do know that several people have documented the entire system on instructional video. There was a very good movie called 'Perfect Weapon' starring Larry Speakman that was released right after Parker's death that shows kenpo very well.

[Kuksool]

High kicks tend to be a trademark of the Korean systems. The point behind teaching students to kick high is improve flexibility and endurance. Going through a one hour class focused on high roundhouse kicking drills is great way to burn calories. But, I agree that for self-defense purposes, kicks should be no higher than the waist.

[Redleg Duke]

Talk about mixed emotions! He is a RAT, but he has earned his Black Belt. As a Red Belt, WELL DONE! As a Conservative Republican, for the Sexual Indiscretion that resulted in your not running again...WELL DONE!

[punster]

Maybe they will get things done, chop chop, in WV.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

In December my kids tested for their yellow belt and hope to test for their orange belt in Feb. Is "gold" the same as yellow.