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Post by ShooterMike on Jan 2, 2009 11:57:55 GMT
Great job, Deb! The training really shines through in all your cuts. Everything looks crisp and clean, almost "machine-like" and very controlled. Do more and post please!?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2009 15:58:27 GMT
Shadowhowler, thank you, I am flattered. I have been practicing with a bokken for a couple of years. I recently purchased an iaito and have been using it for a few months. Thank you raven! This is true , and I am honored to have any help that is offered. Thanks Mike! You are very kind. I hope to post more. And, someday (when I get one) with a Western sword too . Deb
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 2, 2009 23:53:01 GMT
Great job, Deb! The training really shines through in all your cuts. Everything looks crisp and clean, almost "machine-like" and very controlled. Do more and post please!? this was exactly the first thing I thought too. for anyone who doesn't know, this is why we all talk to highly of getting formal training and as much as possible before cutting the first time. Debbie is doing it right.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2009 2:38:14 GMT
Bah! Debbie sucks and she's not even very pretty... ;D EDIT: Some of the guys on this forum need to learn some self control...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2009 2:54:08 GMT
jeeze jump all over the lady's video! Men..
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Post by Brian of DBK on Jan 3, 2009 2:55:36 GMT
Sweet cutting. Very nice form! My very first swing at a target, was also through the air.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2009 5:05:56 GMT
Deb: Extremely well done for your first cuts, after seeing your practice videos I was expecting a very good session of cutting and you didn't disappoint. Careful you don't get into a habit of setting your feet, it is easier to learn than to unlearn, you are too rigid in your stance, you need to loosen up more. The cuts are clean and precise but again, especially with korean swordsmanship, you need to be more natural and learn to flow more naturally. Having said all that it was a great first vid and I look forward to seeing more.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2009 7:37:05 GMT
I think your form and execution are amazing, and you have such power in your swings too. Thanks for posting this, it was exciting to say the least. I agree =). I think that was the best part...the amount of power generated in a 9-3 cut, with such a precise return. That's a difficult thing in and of itself. You've done well by your two years of study =). Top notch! =D Cris
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2009 2:17:34 GMT
not bad.
Dave
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2009 19:35:40 GMT
Thank you everyone! Tom, I agree that here really is no good substitute for having immediate correction from a good instructor. And it is great to "know" that you really can learn how to use a real sword just by using a bokken Brian, I am glad to know I am in good company Thanks! BW, Thanks! Yes, it is a constant struggle to find the right balance with fluidity while maintaining optimal power, a lifelong project... Thanks Cris! Thank you Socho , I am honored that you took the time to watch. Debbie
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2009 4:31:11 GMT
Very nice video Debbie. As others have stated your form is coming along nicely but what I enjoyed he most about your video was how happy your were. The smile on your face after getting three chips was priceless.
That is what its all about folks, yes yes, the training is crucial but having fun and enjoying the experience is just as important.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2009 4:38:48 GMT
I think the best advice I can probably give you Deb is to finish each cut before coming back into jodan, you have a tendency to start lifting the blade back into jodan before the cut is completed. There is nothing wrong with the power of your cuts, half the time it is very hard to follow the speed of your cuts which is a good thing.
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Post by Jeff K. ( Jak) on Jan 5, 2009 4:59:25 GMT
Wow, great cuts Deb. Its all been said before but your form, speed and power are all very impressive. I know nothing about JSA but the form seems to differ from WMA form it seems. Where I would step into the cut and land my strike as my foot hits the ground for power, you seem to draw power from staying rooted. I'll have to try that with my 1 and 2 handers. Thanks for the great vid..hope to see more!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2009 4:33:07 GMT
Actually Jak, staying rooted is not where JSA practitioners derive power, in fact it is a bad practice to get into when test cutting to just stay rooted because it will eventually translate to forms.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2009 14:40:43 GMT
Thanks marabunta, me too! I was very pleased that 1. a $63 sword would cut, and 2. I could cut with it! That is why I left that part in ;D BW, I can see what you and the earlier poster are saying, thank you. Based on the cutting I did the next day, I would say that my cuts are (for the most part) straight across horizontal. However, that is through the small target footprint of a gallon jug. When doing similar cuts with a bokken or iaito on sheets of newspaper -I do sometimes come up and it is something that I try to work on. I am not really sure what you meant by the other comment. I think I am misunderstanding you. I have been taught that any motion in the MAs I have studied start at the feet and end at the point of impact (hmm, except maybe some grappling moves). The trick (and beauty) is (for me) to try to connect all the muscles etc between the two points with optimal coordination for optimal impact. I think it is the same with swords. Anyhow, maybe my clarification below will help. Jak, Thank you! I think I see what you are saying, but do not take my form as representative of a JSA. I have studied Gumdo for 2.5 years, which is a Korean sword art. But yes, it is Eastern vs Western, and I really do not know enough about Western Sword Arts to make an informed comment about this (am working to correct this now . But I have noticed some of what you are saying about footwork (eg SCA). To clarify: I decided to use very basic cuts that all beginning Gumdo students are taught. In hwangdan begi (horizontal cut) you are not supposed to move your feet (except maybe to lift the heel on prep for the cut). I think the exercise is meant to focus on using your core for the cut (and of course also using proper grip and tip motion through the target). It is an exercise, so yep, not really practical, but I thought it would be good for slicing up milk jugs as they don't move much either And it is. I can get get nice even cuts now after fixing my stand . For the bottle cuts I used a dae do sae stance (it is a high and long stance) - I am sure there is an analogy in JSA but don't know what it is called (I need to buy that book). When we cut in walking drills, we are taught to do the downstroke as we bring the back leg in. Very similar to Kendo, if you know that. I had a hard time with that in shoes on pavement, my timing was off and well I could go on.... There are parts of my forms (which is what I spend a lot of my training time on) where I am stepping and cutting with planting of the leading foot (going both forward and backward). In the future, I will most likely pick out these bits of my forms to try on targets. There are some cuts in my forms where I have a particularly hard time getting a good sound (tachikaze). I think that cutting (while focusing on these problem spots) will give me good feedback to make a more "realistic" form and not just a "sword dance". Not that I don't like sword dances (I do , it is just that I am after a little more realism. Thanks for binging this up Jak, good observation. Debbie
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 6, 2009 15:05:39 GMT
Body mechanics are body mechanics in my experience. different arts talk about them differently and apply them differently but the mechanics themselves stay pretty much the same. in a standing stationary cut the power comes from feet rooted firmly in the ground like you were doing, moving strikes draw their power from the motion of your body which is propelled from your feet against the ground. in both cases the power should build from the ground and wash through your body to your sword. this motion may be small and barely noticeable or large and long and easily visible. anything else, like not getting into the habit of standing still is just tactics and there are more tactics in this world than anyone could ever understand. it doesn't matter if you do JSA, KSA, WMA, HEMA, or something else. this transfer of energy is a core basic that stays the same.
so about you standing still I would say that you were working on basic technique of a stationary cut and moving or stepping with the cut was not part of your objective and therefor irrelevant.
from a tactical point of view it certainly is wise to not stay rooted to one spot durring a fight, and forms mimic fight situations to train you in using the basic techniques as they are applied to a situation.
still, I hate forms because people get sucked into patterns. A swordsman with a decernable pattern is a dead swordsman. I think it is important to learn how to move from one technique smoothly into another but I think it should not be done in a set pattern. I like to list out all the single techniques I can think of and draw them randomly to make an impromtu form that is never repeated.
savvy?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2009 16:23:33 GMT
Yes, precisely. Thank you Tom Yes indeed. That is why you need to learn a lot of forms and practice them all ;D Only sort of kidding. I like randomizing for drills, but really there are a limited number of attacks, blocks and counterattacks. And not all of them make sense to put together (a whole 'nother discussion). So why not just practice them as a set pattern, if you learn enough of them then you will have many of the combos covered. But I understand precisely what you are saying, it is no substitute for real sparring. Forms are just another tool in the box.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 6, 2009 19:31:26 GMT
why not learn them as a set pattern? because if you are just cycling through the 1000 different kata (or forms) you know, you are still not fighting to your opponent's weaknesses. you are trying different combinations of set patterns hoping one of them will trip your opponent up. this makes you like a video game opponent. for example if there is one form that you do often that has the combination of head shot to the right, head shot to the left, then leg shot from the left and you are in a fight and have just thrown a head shot to the right, and a head shot to the left, your next shot is almost for certain going to be a leg shot to the left if you want to or not; even if your opponent is clearly exposing his right arm to attack. Even if you are able to see the opening and attack it, if your first inclination is to robotically follow the pattern and attack the left leg you will stumble a bit getting to the right arm. this will slow you down, reveal the attack making it easier to thwart, and make you vulnerable and off balance. if you train by learning single techniques then mixing them together in random sequences instead of set forms you will learn to flow freely from any technique into any technique.
Most martial arts now days are businesses as much as they are tradition and fighting skills. in order to be a successfull business, martial arts schools have learned that they need definable curriculum, especially here in the good old USA. we want bench marks and progress reports so we feel like we are getting somewhere (thus also the belt system) and achieving something. we are looking for our "mini-goals" along the road to ultimate success. this is the mindset that likes forms and kata but it is counter productive to training a good fighter. there's always a new skill that can be learned but the knowledge that gains a fighter victory is where and when to use his skills. a fighter who knows only eight basic attacks and knows how get them to land no matter what the situation will beat the fighter that know 1000 different attacks but doesn't understand how to work against an opponent.
I've seen people who have practiced their sword work for hundreds of hours on pells and have perfect form come into a fight and the first thing they do is swing directly into the shield of their opponent. they've wasted an attack and left themselves open to be attacked and 99% of the time, they lose. form is good, form is important but it isn't everything.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2009 3:41:20 GMT
OK, I can agree with this The rest, I am not so convinced. Re predictability: Everyone is predictable if you fight them long enough (yes I know that you just have to last one move longer ). Even if I think I am being random I tend to go back to favorite moves over and over again, because they are easier and come more naturally. That is only one reason why it is good to have someone else pick my drills for me (so I don't end up going to my comfort zone). But, I think that we will just have to agree to disagree on the forms thing. I like my forms I guess I have been lucky. My contact with MA in the US has emphasized that there are only a few attacks, blocks, and counterattacks. Proper application of just a few basic techniques in different combinations is the focus of training. But, this has been just my experience. And yes, as I mentioned earlier, training with a partner is very important too. Thanks for your opinion Tom, much appreciated Debbie
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2009 3:59:00 GMT
Which part was unclear that you need clarification on?
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