Thread: Martial arts.

Just got into Tae Kwon Do a few month ago, and I am officially having an awesome time!
Just because I could

Holy crap all those kids are black belts

You bet you do-gi they are!

I'm a Chinese and I know nothing about martial arts. Lol.

My grandma practices Tai Chi and it keeps her very healthy, the slow motioned move is easy for her age and she said it helps to cleanse the body when you train your Qi Gong too.

I got into taekwondo because I think it's a very elegant martial arts style, combining dexterity with neat feats of acrobatics. It's a style that is predominately focused on kicking so you need to have decent flexibility because most of the kicks require the individual to lift their legs high up. For example, I'm practicing the 'axe kick' and 'tornado kick' techniques right now - the axe kick requires you to lift your dominant leg as high up as possible then land a powerful strike down on the opponents head/chest in a semi-circular motion. The tornado kick is one of the most showy techniques in taekwondo I think. The fighter turns the body quickly and jumps, propelling him/her into a spinning roundhouse then land a high kick on the opponents head/neck.

I'm also interested in jiujitsu as well but I can't find a decent master to teach it to me.

Maybe I'll just fail my white belt testing and make up a new martial art called Tai Kwon Don't.

Originally Posted by LightofHeaven

The tornado kick is one of the most showy techniques in taekwondo I think.

I'd say within the range of normal, it comes in at second place for showiness. Number one is the 540 kick.

540 kick is essentially the tornado kick.

Pretty impressive.

Originally Posted by LightofHeaven

540 kick is essentially the tornado kick.

While they do look similar at first glance, the 540 is actually much harder to do than the tornado kick. If you don't believe me, you should try it and see for yourself.

Does a kick like that have a real application? It looks like if you were in a tourny, and tried it, that your partner would be able to step in with a puch or side kick and score. I imagine that for the most part it is just a way to master some acrobatic skills, and demonstrate how fancy and impressive one can teach the body to be.

@ixsetf - I'll take your word for it. It does seem harder than the regular tornado kick

@sivason - the tornado kick is all about power; the momentum generated by the body to rotating freely and then the kick to the head/neck area is powerful enough to arrange some facial features.

It's an exercise, not a realistic fighting tactic. In a real fight, you wouldn't use that kick but once in a blue moon but because you practiced it you'll have the muscle memory allowing you to pull off simpler kicks more effectively.

^Rearrange*

I do Krav Maga for about a year now and I really love it; it's extremely efficient, fun to learn and doesn't require you to know any special stances unlike with most other martial arts techniques out there. Until now, I didn't need to use it in real life but I feel like I could defend myself way better now if necessary.