I used to have a pretty sweet setup in our two-car garage: Freestanding bag, sit-up bench, light weights, kettle bell, and my mook jong. I also had enough space to maintain my Tae Kwon Do forms.
No more.
(click to enlarge — if you look carefully you can see my beloved mook jong and bag)
The new Garage Dojo can fit two cars. However, we no longer have a large attic crawl space for storage. This means that part of the garage will have to serve as storage. Also, we are far from done. The townhouse is stuffed to the gills with boxes and much of it we do not plan to unpack because, at best, we plan to live here no more than two years. The long-term plan is buying another money pit house.
You do not need much space to be able to do TKD kicking drills or shadow boxing. Also, my freestanding bag, kettle bell, and sandbag training all fits nicely into that mix. However, I fear that my TKD forms are done. Since I retired from TKD I had religiously maintained my forms but I’m going to have to let them go.
Upside: I do plan to re-mount my mook jong. I was taught a bastardized WC form that I had also maintained. This now gives me the opportunity to polish the form and to improvise which is something we were encouraged to do.
Not doing any forms has confirmed what I suspected: I use them probably more for moving meditation than I do for maintenance of skills. We’ll see if the mook meets that need. Also, I have reconstituted an old practice: Treating TKD one-steps and Chin Na techniques as mini-katas. At least there’s enough room in the Garage Dojo for that.
Krav maga: As most of you know, (if) when the house in Corndog Land sells and the money situation stabilizes I do plan a return to the martial arts. I have my eye on a Krav Maga school so that will likely be the first run.
The interwebs have shown me that Krav Maga belt tests focus on these areas:
- Combatives (punches, kicks, etc.)
- Response to various assaults
- Ground work
- Weapon defense
- Basic fighting drills
Higher up in the curriculum you see various forms of live sparring, multiple attackers, and simulated combat stress scenarios. Missing from the mix is forms or an emphasis on “performance” that is typical of most TKD or karate schools. (And don’t get me wrong: I got a lot out of learning how to perform in front of an audience but I think it’s time to move on.)
The Beloved Lord of Pasta:
I will be out at a conference next week so I thought I should give you something to ponder. What better than the Bloated One’s latest antics?
First, Ronda Rousey claims that she could make Steven Seagal crap his pants a second time.
During an interview with Spencer Lazara of MMAinterviews.tv, Rousey gave her opinion on the alleged story of Judoka legend Gene LeBell making Seagal soil himself after choking him unconscious.
And, perhaps, Nam Pham sums it up best?
In the nicest possible way, the UFC resident called the aging martial arts actor a “douche”.
-BCP
Can relate Bob, I have a one car “stall” in my complex with a large oil slick there when the truck is out. Nowhere to train at my place, when the feeling hits. Think Krav Maga has a lot to offer.