Hey Everyone
So we had a board breaking seminar here at Cobourg Tae Kwon Do to help raise money to send Team Wolverine to the US OPEN and ISKA World Championships in Orlando Florida on July 3rd and 4th. It was a good day of breaking. We started out the seminar with different methods of meditating followed by an explanations of various hard body conditioning techniques. various breaking materials and how to break them with a variety of techniques was then discussed in great detail. The last part of the seminar consisted of seminar attendees breaking their material with various technqiues and having them analysis by us. Everyone put forth great effort in breaking and learning new things. I appreciate everyone who stayed after to help clean up and take some of the wood away. Team Wolverine appreciates everyone’s support.
Also last night was UFC 98 from Las Vegas Nevada. I was interested in three of the fights. The first was between Sean Shrek and Frankie Edgar. Sean Shrek lost the decision 30-27. Sean Shrek always is in outstanding shape but seems to have problem last night pulling the trigger. Edgar basically just out striked Shrek for the win.
The second fight I wanted to see was the Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra. I wanted to see this fight the most. There was a few reasons for this. One was I am a fan of Matt Hughes and wanted to see him start winning again. Second reason was i wanted to see Hughes kick Serra’s butt. Serra runs his mouth way too much. Both Matts came in looking to be in the best shape I have ever saw them in. Hughes wins the fight after going through all three rounds and winning by decision 29-28. I thought he deserved 30-27. Matt Hughes dominated Serra.
The last fight I wanted to see was Machida vs. Evans. It was an interesting fight. Both fighters were undefeated going into the fight. Machida knocked Evans out in the second round with a furry of punches. Evans ‘t know where he was. It is nice to see a traditional martial artist win the UFC Light Heavyweight World Championship.
I also trained a little bit myself on the weekend. I got into a habit now when I take the dog for a walk I will stop by the park and do pull ups and hanging knee raises on the moneky bars. I can do 21 proper pull ups and 26 proper knee ups.
Master Jonathan Field
Oops, I forgot to mention a few things. The Kukkiwon was also founded to help standardize taekwondo testing all over the world. Well the standards that I know of in Ontario Canada are not that hard. The OTA tells us what to test on. Four Parts only. Breaking, Sparring, Forms, and One Step Sparring. Very simple.
I have been tested by three different masters that weren’t involved with each other and the testing was pretty much the same. Simple and not hard to do. What I truly believe is that there needs to be Kukkiwon representatives from Korea who travel around the world and give the testes themselves. There would probably be less Black Belts and Masters out there. Granted that you have to take one’s age, mentality, and physical abilities into consideration.
There is masters out there that don’t deserve to be Masters. They can’t do what they ask their students to do, they don’t train very hard if they train at all, and don’t treat others with respect. We as Masters must lead by example.
My black belts do 10 hour gradings plus they have to complete a workbook that takes 5 months to complete. They have certain physically requirements they must meet. They have so much fitness to complete. They have papers to write, books to read, posters to make, acts of courtesies to complete, and so forth. The process is designed to make them better black belts as well as better people in life.
Hi Master Jimmy Vallen
Okay another interesting comments for debating. I never really read too much into what you are writing. It is hard to read into someone unless you are physically talking to them in person. A good debate is always good if no one gets emotional. Which either one of us appears to be at the moment.
I personally see Matt Hughes winning the fight as you could see Serra took most of the beating and his face was all smacked up on both sides. Clearly seen in post fight interview. You and I are not MMA judges so we really don’t know how the judges view the fight. MMA really needs a better scoring system. Even Frank Mir said this. Maybe like certain techniques are worth more points or something. Judo, Taekwondo, Karate, Jiu Jitsu, and etc,. all give different value to each technique. Just from WTF Taekwondo for example, a kick or punch to the body that physically moves an opponent gets 1 point, spinning kicks to the body gets 2 points, and 3 points for kicking to the head.
Like I said before, there is ancient styles that looks like modern MMA yet viewed as traditional. I can’t recall the name of the one but it is from Greece. You can see it on the show Human Weapon. I think you can be a traditionalist and see borrow things from other styles. Shaolin Kung Fu is famous for that. The monks would travel and learn new techniques as well as people would stop by the temple and exchange ideas. I think MMA is traditional in respect that it still uses all the techniques of all martial arts and holds the values that the martial arts teaches.
Thanks for the compliment on the quote. And there is no such thing as a dumb question. If you don’t know, ask so you can learn. We are here to learn from each other.
Can I ask what style you teach/practice and where are you from.
Master Jonathan Field
Master Field,
I do respect that you have your own opinions, if I cam across as arrogant, it was not my intention. However, as I stated in my opening post, I was merely disagreeing with your opinion. I was at no time emotional, or offended. 🙂
I never stated that I was mad that Serra lost, you are trying to read into my post, aren’t you? 🙂 I was merely stating that Serra should have won. In my opinion, Serra took the 1st and 3rd round, actually attempting to end the fight and not just hold his opponent down. A takedown should lead to something, not just holding on.
What fun is a debate if we exchange only once and then just “leave it at that?” You believed I was emotional, offended, and mad. I stated clearly that this is not the case. So really, no need to leave it at that, right? 😉
The idea about Machida being a traditional fighter is somewhat true. However, traditionally martial arts were not mixed up in this way. Karate and BJJ were not practiced together by the masses, for example. That is why Royce Gracie and his fathers art shocked the world back in the early 90’s. It is not until now, since fighters have learned other styles, to become more well rounded, have more traditional styles been able to use their strengths in the octagon. Before, world class karate fighters would be instantly taken out of their element and submitted, unable to use some of the skills Machida now demonstrates. Yet, Machida can only fight with his awesome karate skills because he has BJJ and does not have to worry should the fight go to the ground. His skills in wrestling help him to stay on his feet, where he wins. You are talking about martial arts evolving, that very statement, ‘evolve”, refers to something changing – a martial art that evovles goes from traditional to modern, no? Look at Jui jitsu, it evolved into judo, even though they still both remain, one evolved from the other. Now, we can still have traditional judo, possibly, but it is not traditionally what it once was – it is now a sport. So, Machida is he not an evolved fighter? He is not merely a Karate fighter, even though he utilizes aspects of that art, he evolved into what he is now an effective mma fighter with more of a traditional edge then most. Although, GSP does come from a strong style of Karate as well…but he is the most well rounded, non traditional, fighter in mma.
That is a great statement, “how do you teach things that just simply are?”Well put. I was questioning it because I was not sure how you would possibly teach it. I was unsure and asked…is this not how we learn?
Thanks, Master Field. I had fun debating with you and I anxiously await your response.
Cheers,
Master Jimmy Vallen
Hi Jimmy
I am very glad that you took the time to read my blogs and have such strong opinions on them. As you can hopefully respect that everyone has their right to their opinion. Two people should be able to discuss something without getting emotional or offended. You don’t have to like or agree with someone’s opinion but you should respect that they have one.
Like i said, I am a Matt Hughes fan. I do agree that he might not have too many fights left in him. He has tons of experience and we all know the body breaks down with age and all that abuse that fighting entails. You and I know that both our bodies will break down eventually from our martial arts training. It is a price we all pay. But Matt Serra does do too much bad mouthing and using the word “dick” and “penis” like crazy. That is just plan annoying and quite frankly rude. I get the whole trash talking thing but enough is enough. I find Matt Hughes to be an okay guy but I have never met him. So I am a Matt Hughes fan who is glad he won and you are a Matt Serra fan who is mad he lost. Just leave it at that.
Machida is definitely a traditionalist. Muay Thai, Karate, BBJ, and Judo have very traditional aspects to them. They all have set practice uniforms, they all have ranks, there is a set protocol to teaching and learning of the techniques, they all have masters and student levels, classes and practices have a certain theme or way they are run, and there is rules to follow. All these styles steach more than just sport, fighting, and self defense. They all teach you about becoming a champion of life, not just in the ring or competition. You can be a traditionalist and learn many styles. All modern styles are rooted in the fundamentals concepts and techniques of ancient styles. There will always be teachers and students of the arts. The more traditional aspect of the arts is the practice of passing down the arts from teacher to student, teacher to student. Martial arts evolve because people adapt the techniques to suit them better. Also MMA has been around a longer than we see. There is ancient styles that look just like MMA. They are very traditional.
I never once said I teach Karma to my students. So I don’t know how to teach it. How do you teach things that just simply are?
Thanks again for your comments.
Master Jonathan Field
Dear Master Field,
I could not have disagreed more with your opinion on the Serra, Hughes fight. First off, Hughes is a very arrogant individual and will most likely not go on to win many more fights, if any. Secondly, Serra may be a loud mouth but he is what you see. Hughes is not. As Serra has said, Huges is a “jock” and is a bit self-righteous. Next, Machida and Evans – it was nice to see Machida win, since he does use aspects of his traditional style. However, he is far from a traditionalist. His style incorporates many aspects of MMA. He trained with the Olympic Gold Medalist in Judo, which is not Karate, he also has a M. Thai coach, he also is a black belt in BJJ. Again, these are not traditional arts and he utilizes all of them in his fighting style.
You state something about karma and wisdom – in morning classes. How exactly do you teach classes on karma?
Master Jimmy Vallen