화요일 아침: this morn, i was gonna go to the sunnyvale skate park but changed my mind @ the last sec n' went into werk early. *sigh* that isn't a decision that made me happy, but i worry 'bout my career. i wanted to skateboard w/ sooni when i took her 4 her walk this morn but didn't. *sigh* i dunno why. that was stoopid. it was really cold this morn. there was frost everywhere. yesterday, it rained. now, there's a bit'f snow in tahoe. here's the latest snow report from yahoo!:
[later] 저녁 이지만 아직도 직장에서: unleashing hwang: i wanted to talk a li'l re: martial arts. our friend
tim fong's "martial arts" blog's called unleashing fong, so i'm subtitlin' this passage "unleashing hwang." teaching adult beginners (or prob'ly beginners in gen'l) helps some1 like me learn... i mean... sometimes teaching's a great way to learn. our adult beginner students r great. however, the beautiful kaela hwang pted out to me lately that i need to give'em more werk on balance. they need more balance exercises. i know many'f them r eager to get into fancier stuff n' into sparring. however, i need to stick to my guns n' insist that they refine their basics. it's a "wax on, wax off" thing, n' patience's key. kaela pted out that many'f our students r tryin' to compensate 4 lack'f balance w/ speed or strength/force. yah, i can c it. i guess i've gotta tell'em sumpthin':
- flexibilty's nuthin' w/o strength (@ that height)
- strength's nuthin' w/o speed.
- speed's nuthin' w/o balance.
i s'ppose what'd complete this chain... n' turn it into a perfekt circle'd be to say:
- balance's nuthin' w/o flexibility.
is that true tho'? what's the use'f flexibility? well, i think flexibility can be split into 2 categories:
1. flexibility simply 4 agility.
2. flexibility 4 hi kicks
why kick hi? in case u don't know; i'm aktually a really flexible person, 'specially 4 a guy. i can pretty much do the splits... sideways. front n' back? yah, prob'ly that 2. i'm aktually really flexible. waht's the purpose'f this flexibility? what do i gain from it? well, hi kicks r obviously good 4 demos (demonstrations/exhibitions), movies, n' also good 4 head kicks during olympik style free sparring. however... many ppl ('specially w/ 2day's questionable hype over ufc, pride fightin', n' other cage fightin' events) feel the ultimate goal'f martial arts's self.defense.
would i ever throw a head kick in a "street fight"? well, u know what? the 1st part'f my answer's this: w/o shame, i'll say that i don't plan on ever gettin' into a street fight. sorry to say it, but i'm a martial artist not a fighter. as yoda as it sounds, i study martial arts, not so that i can fight, but so that i don't hafta fight.
now... am i avoiding the question? no. would i ever use a head kick in a street fight? well, i'll offer this: as risky as all sorts'f critiks'f taekwondo'd say it is, i might use a back kick in a street fight. all these critiks n' naysayers'd say u should never turn ur back in a street fight, never expose ur back. well... during those ucmap "no holds barred" sparring sessions, i was able to use back kicks ok. keep in mind: what i learned from those's that u should use the martial arts style / methods that u know best, that u praktice the most. furthermore, u praktice the most what u like the most n' most enjoi doin'. thus, the ultimate martial art's the 1 u enjoi doin' cos it's the 1 u'll praktice. as i tell my adult beginner students: (when push comes to shove) what good's it to be just a guy who used to do martial arts?! sure, the critiks'f taekwondo tell stories 'bout how some gurl was gettin' mugged, tried to back kick her aggressor, n' ended up gettin' stabbed in the back. however, there's a pt @ which 1's back kick is faster (n' more effektive) than the knife (n' knife wielding hand). yes, there's a risk. u can even say the risk's big. however, u didn't ask to be mugged; so apparently, u already took a risk by walkin' in whate'er place it is that u were walkin' when u got confronted. usin' that back kick could be a risk, but that's doesn't mean it has'ta be an uncalculated risk! lately, some'f the guys @ our skools've been big, big proponents'f exploitin' the new taekwondo sparring rules that r more liberal 'bout kicks to the back. kaela really hates that cos'f her concern re: back health, 'specially as a chiropraktor (chiropraktic student/intern). as a now somewhat "old skool" taekwondo guy, i'm also uneasy 'bout this new trend cos i believe it's unsafe. however, i also believe that it makes taekwondo safer cos it teaches taekwondo prakticioners to watch their back. n', "when push comes to shove," in a "street fight," yah, the "bad guy"'ll kick, punch, n' stab to the back.
would i kick to a head in a "street fight"?! some ppl say u should kick 'bove the belt or even 'bove the knees in a street fight. i can understand their pt. isn't it best to punch to the head n' kick to the knees in a street fight? that'd mean kickin' to the head'd make only as much sense as punchin' to the knees. howe'er, in the chance (no matter how unlikely) that the "bad guy"'s got an "opening" to his head that requires a kick, i'd definitely want to have that kick ready.
"why kick @ all?!" that's what the biggest (n' possbily most misguided) opponents'f taekwondo'd ask, rt? why kick? well, 1st off, contrary to popular belief based only 'pon viewing'f olympik style sparrin' n' fancy, flashy demos, taekwondo's not all kicks. a well.rounded taekwondo curriculum includes many hand n' arm strikes as well as grabbing, falling, throwing, rolling... it sure would be nice to get the chance to study a li'l judo/yudo (유도) 'gain like the few times i got to try it like @ 용인 대학교 yong.in daehakkyo. i'd also like the chance to study 특공 무술 teukgong moosool 'gain. neway, why kick? ppl who ask this neglekt 2 important concepts: 1) strength n' 2) reach/range. if used correktly, a martial artist can milk kicks 4 all the extra strength n' range they've got over what punches have to offer. have u ever been really kicked?