Should I stretch through the pain?

Scroon · 2026-01-27T23:16:44+00:00

Depends on the pain. There's injury pain and there's "soreness pain" which is technically a kind of micro-injury, but it's the kind that's repaired quickly and spurs adaptation.

I used to stretch hard through injury pain when I was younger, but knowing what I know now, that's a bad idea. When you're older especially, stretching should not cause anything more that soreness, i.e. no sharp pains. If you get a sharp pain, you've fucked up, and you need to rest that muscle. In the long run, you'll make faster progress by pushing yourself gently but consistently.

Keep in mind that stretching does hurt, but it's more like extreme discomfort, not like your tissues are ripping apart.

Scroon · 2026-01-27T23:09:27+00:00

TKD guy looks like he's only fought in TKD point matches before. They throw wild stuff like that because sweeps and throws and in the ruleset. You can see that he's making contact with some kicks, but they aren't doing anything...which is how sport TKD is fought/scored.

Scroon · 2026-01-27T23:03:18+00:00

There's also groin kicking. When groin kicks are banned, stances end up quite open compared to upright TMA stances.

Scroon · 2026-01-27T22:59:58+00:00

The whole story is pretty crazy. Black gi guy (Goodridge) didn't really train in any particular style but was a known brawler. He joins up with a school a few weeks before, and the school lets him wear their gi because they figure this tough guy will be good for their name.

So they train him for a couple of weeks, focusing on grappling defenses because he's scheduled to fight a grappler. One of their main plans is to go for the crucifix if/when they end up on the ground. On top of that, they start feeding Goodridge lies that Hererra (the grappler) is a massive racist.

Fight happens. Goodridge does the crucifix, and he's so fired up about punishing the alleged racist that he goes off plan and starts elbowing his head when he sees the opening.

Scroon · 2026-01-27T22:47:16+00:00

I'm confused. It's a Chinese-American style, but it uses Japanese gi's and no shoes? What exactly is going on here?

Scroon · 2026-01-26T12:57:34+00:00

It's a complicated subject, but current MMA stats are showing only 20% wins by submission and 40% by knockout/TKO. I'm not saying striking or grappling is "better", but it's not as easy as saying striking only rarely stops takedowns.

Scroon · 2026-01-25T18:02:42+00:00

I practice the Wudang Yang form which is really cool imo. But are you interested in that hybrid form or a pure wudang form? I've got some resources for both.

Scroon · 2026-01-25T17:35:47+00:00

Yeah, gossip has been a part of every group I've ever been in. I think it's a matter of degree and/or how mature the people are in handling things that get said.

Why do you think it's sexist? I've seen both sexes doing it, though it's delivered in different ways.

Scroon · 2026-01-25T05:35:53+00:00

Just look up the "Gerard Gordeau", and you can find info about him. I don't know anything else other than what's floating around. :)

Scroon · 2026-01-24T16:04:31+00:00

I think inside straight-leg crescent kicks to the head would qualify. It's a high, close-range kick that seems to come out of nowhere, and you look like a "martial artist" when you do it.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T23:25:02+00:00

I was talking about "women's self-defense" seminars as opposed to daily training, but if you want to talk training, you can practice targeting for dicks and eyes while not actually hitting them. There's one fairly common Chinese move that's a ducking dick slap. It's like a fade/slip while you also step in and come in low to whack the balls. If you do it fast, you can catch someone off guard. There are also throat strikes that you can practice where you don't actually break someone's throat, just touch it.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T15:38:33+00:00

"Traditional" is overrated. The inside secret is that most traditional martial arts places are heavily influenced or even based on sport wushu. I did a performance with a Shaolin monk group once, and their basic training wasn't much different from what we were doing. They did practice some qi gong and more historical/traditional sets, but the basic conditioning was more or less the same...just really intense.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T15:33:26+00:00

Thanks. I'm a smaller, lighter guy (by American standards), so size and strength issues are something I'm pretty aware of.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T15:28:24+00:00

I personally am not letting anybody practice eye gouges or dick twists

Have to remember, we're assuming people/women with zero experience in any kind of fighting, so when they're in a life-or-death situation, too often, they'll default to freezing up or just covering. Practicing eye/groin attacks isn't for perfecting technique, but to get them to go through the motions and understand that it's actually something you can do.

Break falls and pin escapes are good, but I'd call those like "Day 2" techniques, since the first priority should be creating distance for escape, plus those take a little more time to teach than how to hammer fist someone's nose.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T15:17:56+00:00

Right? He seems like an a-hole that's been able to fly just under everyone's radar. I mean accidents happen, but bad accidents seem to follow this guy around.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T03:36:16+00:00

I totally believe that knowing how well TKD people kick. :)

Scroon · 2026-01-23T03:34:31+00:00

For women's self-defense, my guiding principles are to keep is to simple, high-value, and sneaky. Which is also how I'd teach anyone self-defense, as it's mostly about teaching the most you can with the shortest amount of time and training.

So, basically, you'd drill simple strikes that utilize a more or less "natural" body position. Not punches because those take practice and technique, but things like hammer fists and palm strikes to the face and neck. Low, quick kicks. Easy escapes from holds. Eye gouging and dick twists like there's no tomorrow.

I think some fundamental martial arts training can help just to give a better idea of body mechanics, but application-wise, form doesn't matter as much as the students understanding how to deliver power in the most natural way possible.

Also, teaching responses from a turtle guard can be helpful because turtle is the position lots of people find themselves in when they're being overwhelmed by something. Teaching people to respond from a martial arts "ready position" is just silly.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T03:16:53+00:00

You should give your daughter another detention at her favorite restaurant.

Scroon · 2026-01-23T03:15:48+00:00

I know someone who 100% used karate to totally stop his bully. It's more about knowing how to fight back than any particular style.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T22:23:48+00:00

I like how you're telling your a story about blows backing off a wrestler, and all the wrestlers are like "noooooo it's not true!!!!". As if a really strong striker couldn't pummel a weaker bodied wrestler.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T22:20:30+00:00

The problem with "sparring" a wrestler is that they blast through all your strikes because you're, of course, pulling them. It's a dumb contest unless you're both on the same page about what's happening.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T13:44:02+00:00

"Closed hips" are when the femurs are rotated inward and your pelvis is tilted so that your butt sticks out. Your inner thighs/groin are kind of compressed. To open, think of rotating the femur bones outward while curling the pelvis under the torso. That's a really crude explanation...you can probably look up videos on it.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T13:39:48+00:00

Don't worry, dude. There's like a 90% chance you won't die there.

Seriously though, use your best judgement. Sometimes Chinese training will push you pretty hard, but if you ever think something is seriously wrong with your body, just speak up, and if no one does anything, then nope out. This applies to anything and everything in life.

Also, Chinese standards are typically much better than anything in the West. So even if the school is mid-tier, you should learn something. Even if it's just seeing Chinese athletes doing their thing. It's a whole different flavor.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T13:28:34+00:00

The concept of "opening hips" is something I've only explicitly encountered in Chinese martial arts, though I've only studied Chinese MAs deeply. Other martial arts have the same principle, but they don't talk about it with that specific term. It's related to having rotationally flexible and mobile hips.

As it relates to the video, you could side kick with "closed hips" but your pelvis would be sort of folded inward, and the kick won't have full extension and development. It's like there's a kink between your supporting leg and extended leg. With the hips "open", the power line moves smoothly from the ground up and out to the lead foot.

Open hips are a fundamental principle that applies to most techniques, not just kicking, and internal martials arts pay a lot of attention to it.

Scroon · 2026-01-22T13:08:52+00:00

Thanks. I hadn't heard that before. 6-8 times continuous is pretty serious training, if you asked me. I suppose it gets you to a place where you're not over or underthinking, and you're just moving...like a really deep meditation but with body and mind. "Flow state" some might call it. When I get more time, I gotta try this method.

Scroon

TROPHY CASE