Ken- I read your blog with great interest. I was heavily involved in Tae Kwon Do many years ago until the military got in the way.AndyT wrote:Oh... Cool. You may find this interesting, or not: kennyf.com Click on the Martial Art tab.Kenny,
I used to teach and fight in tourneys. I've won a few, lost a few, tied a few.
Southern Shaolin / Hung Gar, Choi Kwang Do, Tang Soo Do / Han Moo Kwan, Taekwondo.
Kenny
Your comments about kata are right on. I think Bruce Lee developed Jeet Kune Do just to get away from rigid kata. But, and these are big, kata serves two useful purposes. First, it teaches discipline and rigid compliance with the fundamentals of the style. And second, it gives instructors a way to evaluate students, and their commitment. in a more objective manner. But as you correctly point out,it does nothing to advance the fighting arts. Evaluating students by watching them beat each others brains out only rewards agression, not knowledge.
I really enjoyed martial arts. It was a great way to stay in shape without having to call it a "work out". After having all the black belts spar against each other for 2-3 minutes each, I could barely crawl back to my car!.
Rick
p.s. Not that this has anything to do with left hand position!!