Reply. Not such a simple question. If the answer was simple, all boxers would have super fast punches.

Punching speed is directly related to the acceleration of the arm. To increase the acceleration, and thus the speed, of an object, you have to decrease the mass of the object and/or increase the force that is applied to the object. In the case of a punch, the object is an arm. It is not practical to try to decrease the mass of the arm, but it helps to avoid increasing its mass by unduly increasing the size of the arm muscles. The primary propelling force of the arm is the shoulder muscles, so, to increase the acceleration and speed of a punch, you want to increase the explosive power of the shoulder muscles. If you notice boxers, they have very large, well-defined shoulder muscles and relatively small arms. This gives them greater punching speed and the smaller arms are an asset when they have to hold them up for 30 minutes during a ten-round fight.

To increase the explosive power of your shoulder muscles, do lots of pushups and do all variations of them so you work all the muscles. While doing pushups, use perfect form and make a full range of motion, even if you can only do a few at a time. Over time, the number you can do will increase. For a few pushups in every set, explosively push off the floor so that the hands leave the floor. In good variation of the pushup is to do them on the fists, with the fists held in the position that your martial art uses, and then explosively push up off the floor in the same manner used in punching.

Then work long hours punching on a speed bag, shadow boxing, and jumping rope. Punch while wearing arm weights or while holding small weights. Practice punching, using perfect form and moving in slow motion while fighting against your own body’s resistance. Use isomeric exercises while sitting at your desk at work or at school.

I do not remember any specific web sites that show punching techniques. Free martial art information is difficult to find on the Internet. Everyone wants you pay for their expertise and the time, effort, and money spent putting the information on the web.

Reply. WOW, I must admit I didn't expect you to answer me this quickly :) You are really great. Thank you for your advice, I will do my best to follow it. Best regards from Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Reply. I have found that the best way to describe a technique is to define it in the order of the execution of the movements that make up the technique (moving from initial movement to the target impact). Thus, in a jump spin heel kick, you first jump, then spin, and then kick, while striking the target with the back of the heel.

To dissect the meaning of a technique’s description, you then work backward through the description (moving from final impact with the target backward to the initial movement). Thus, a jump spin heel kick means:

• Kick. A kick is a technique that involves swinging, thrusting, or snapping the foot at a target.

• Heel. The heel is the lower, rear section of the foot. In a heel kick, the knee is straight; therefore, the back area of the heel is the only area of the heel that is in position to strike.

• Spin. A spin is when the initial body movement is a rotation of the trailing side of the body in a backward direction.

• Jump. A jump in the martial arts is when the legs propel the body upward (sometimes with an angular motion to aid a spin) causing the feet to leave the floor. In a jump, the feet are neither lifted straight up nor backward and upward. Instead, the knees are jerked upward toward the shoulders, and the feet just come along for the ride. When you watch beginners, color or black belts with poor technique, or over-the-hill black belts perform a jump kick, they usually jump, land on the floor, and then kick. In a true jump kick, the kick fires and retracts, while both feet are off the floor.

Therefore, in a jump spin heel kick, the kick begins with a jump upward, the body then spins backward while leading leg swings backward and upward toward the target (with the knee straight and the back of the heel leading the way toward the target), and, as the heel impacts the target, the body maintains its rotation to add its mass (an thus more power) to the kick.

In the gif file you provided, the kick begins with a forward step, and then proceeds into a jump spin heel kick. This kick may have different names, depending on the style, instructor, or organization, but, in my method of technique description, it would be called a “step jump spin heel kick.”

The step is used as a fake. The opponent is led to think a rear leg front or round kick is coming, but then the motion changes into a jump spin heel kick. To fool the opponent, (and to aid the actual kicking movements) the rear knee jerks upward toward the opposite shoulder providing rotation and lift to the body (a simple stepping motion does not indicate a kick is coming and does not aid the actual kicking movements).

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Reply. In general, the cost of martial art classes can range from inexpensive to expensive. Classes at a local YMCA/YWCA, community center, college, etc. can be relatively inexpensive since the instructor usually does not have to pay rent, utilities, etc. Classes at a commercial marital arts school can be relatively expensive, but, when compared to some of the other sports for children, such as football, Little League, soccer, etc., they may be a bargain since many schools have a family rate that permits the whole family to train.

Most people only think about the monthly cost for classes and the uniform cost when considering martial arts classes, but there are many added costs that martial art schools tend to minimize when talking to potential customers.

Here is a run down of potential costs for each student at a commercial school:

• Monthly fee. $50-$150
• Organization fee. In some schools, students are automatically enrolled in the certifying organization for free, but some organizations may charge $20-$50 a year for membership.
• Uniform. Sometimes free. Basic uniform $25-$35
• Patches for uniform. Depends on the school but could total from $10 to $50
• Sparring Equipment. Can range from $15 for a mouth protector and groin cup to hundreds of dollars for hand, foot, shin, elbow, head, and chest protectors. Hand and foot protectors will wear out every year or two and will need to be replaced for about $80.
• Promotions. Testing periods vary; many are every two months. Fee for test each could range from $25-$100 for color belts to possibly hundreds of dollars for black belts.
• Belts. Most times they are included in the testing fee, but could cost from $10-$30.
• Camps. May be one, two, or more a year. Attendance may or may not be required. Cost of camp may be $150-$300 dollars, not counting transportation costs.
• Seminars. May be one, two, or more a year. Attendance may or may not be required. Enter fee may be $20-$100 and then there are transportation and lodging costs.
• Tournaments. May be one, two, or more a year. Attendance may or may not be required. Entry fee may be $25-$50 and then there is transportation and lodging so a tournament may cost hundreds of dollars to attend.
• Children outings and parties. $20 and up for each child.

At a noncommercial school, the annual cost for each beginning student may be less then $500. At an average commercial school, the annual cost for each beginning student could easily exceed $2000.

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Reply. This is question best answered by you, after consulting with your instructor to see what the eye protection requirements are in tournaments in which you will be competing, and with your eye doctor to see what is available to you and whether it meets the tournament requirements. Then you have to decide which available option works best for you

Tournaments safety rules are there to protect both competitors; when glasses break, the pieces can be a danger to both competitors. So, if you want to wear the glasses or glasses are the only way to help you vision, then, a face shield may be necessary.

Depending on the design, a face shield offers clear visibility in all directions but it does add extra weight to the head, which may slow head movement. Also, a glancing blow to the shield may shift the shield or suddenly jerk the neck.

Goggles may be fitted with corrective lenses, they will not break, they will not shift, and, depending on the design, they may or may not hamper the field of view.

Sometimes reduced vision may be an asset while sparring. With keen eyesight, fighters tend to fixate on certain things about an opponent. With reduced vision, a fighter tends to see the whole opponent and is able to detect even the slightest movement sooner than a keen vision fighter may be able to detect the same movement. Many good fighters purposely defocus their eyes or look past the opponent to take advantage of this phenomenon.

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Reply. Religion is a spiritual belief. For a few martial arts, a martial art is also a spiritual belief. I believe that the martial arts are simply physical ways to manifest a warrior spirit, which has nothing to do with spirituality. It is merely the way a warrior lives and behaves in the combative society that humans have created. A religion may practice a martial art or a martial art may be connected to and/or worship a religion but that does not mean all martial arts have connection with a religion. Some, if not most, martial arts have no religious connection.

Physical things may be explained through the scientific method, but spiritual things cannot, and have not, been proved scientifically. Religious proof comes from anecdotal evidence, which does not really prove anything; it just people recounting what they believe they have experienced. People will believe what they want to believe not matter the logic, reason, or evidence to the contrary. The purpose for, and use of, bowing falls under the category of something that people will believe what they want to believe.

What is bowing? As a physical act, it is simply bending forward at the waist. Is the act of bending forward at the waist a sin if it is done for any other reason than to worship God? Which does the Bible condemn: the physical act of bowing or bowing in worship of another god?

In your Christian religious services, do you bow to God? Probably not! In Western Christian religious services, we do not use bowing; we usually prefer to kneel before God. In Western Christianity, bowing is considered archaic.

Eastern societies bow a lot; it is a sign of greeting, courtesy, and respect; it does not mean that you are acknowledging that the person or thing being bowed to is a god. Some societies use the French style le bisou double cheek kiss to greet and show respect. In the military, we salute. In Western societies, we mostly use the handshake. Therefore, the bow, salute, and handshake are equivalent. If you shake hands with the Dalai Lama, are you worshiping him or merely greeting him and showing respect to him as a human being. Instead of shaking hands, if you greet him with a bow as used in his county, are you worshiping him. Is a police officer that calls a child rapist “sir” showing respect for the rapist’s behavior or merely showing respect toward another human being?

If you donate money to a charitable group that then gives the money to Buddhist temple to use in feeding the poor, are you worshiping Buddha? If you are touring a Buddhist temple in Japan and you bow as you enter the temple as is the tradition of the country you are in, are you worshiping Buddha. The Bible in Matthew 22:21 (King James Version), “They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” When bowing, you are merely rendering unto the person or entity the respect due that person or entity. If in you heart you know you are only bowing as a sign of respect, are you judged by God as bowing in worship of another god? Christians believe that God knows what is in your heart, so He must know your true intentions.

In Exodus 23:24 (New International Version) the bible says “Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.” Does this mean that, when the martial art class requires you to bow, you are required by God to rip all their religious symbols off the wall and destroy them?

In the military, if the enemy forces you to renounce the United States, it is not treason. Treason requires intent to commit treason. If a terrorist tortures you to get you to bow to their god, and you do, without the worshiping, are you sinning? Does not God know what is in your heart? What if the terrorist physically forces you into a bowing position, is that bowing to another god?

Some martial arts use all kinds of gestures and movements in combination with, or instead of, bowing. Does performing their ritual movements constitute bowing in worship of another God? Is a military person who salutes, the flag of country that rejects our Christian God, sinning before God? If a citizen salutes the United States flag, is he or she worshiping America? Some say we have become a godless country. Does this mean that when you say the Pledge of Allegiance you are pledging your allegiance to a country that rejects God! Remember what happened to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, just living in godless cities got them killed.

When you go to a school, college, or professional football game and cheer, recite the team motto, hold up the school sign, or dress in the school colors, are you bowing to, or worshiping, the school or team? The difference between what is respect and what is worship is in the eye of the beholder.

Most everything is subject to interpretation, the Bible included. That is why there are so many opposing religions that each bases its beliefs on the same Bible and thinks that its interpretation of the Bible is the correct one. I once had an investigator who working for me who was fundamentalist Christian. In a conversation, he mentioned that, since the Bible does not mention using a piano or organ in the worship of God, his church does not use them. I asked hum, “Why does your church use air conditioning to cool the church, church telephones to call sinners, or a church bus if they are not mentioned in the Bible?” I received no answer; he just walked away.

I have taught Taekwondo in Christian church buildings and used bowing with no complaints. There are Christian based martial art schools that practice Christian beliefs in their classes. You may find a religion or a martial art that teaches and believes just about anything.

Each person has to do what he or she thinks is right. If society does not agree with the person’s choice and his or her accompanying behavior, it may punish the person. For example, you may believe it is right to steal food from your neighbor if you are hungry, but society may punish you for your theft. If you think it is wrong to bow, then do not bow. The decision does not necessarily have to be related to a religious belief, it may be just because the whole concept is a burr under your saddle and it bothers you. The martial art school may punish you for your decision, but that is the way it is in life. You will either have to bow as a sign of common courtesy, not bow and accept the punishment, or go to another school that believes as your do or will accept your unwillingness to bow.

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Reply. I started Taekwondo in the 1960’s, studying from an ROK (Republic of Korea) Marine. The sine wave was never mentioned and I never saw it used. In fact, we were taught that, while moving, the belt knot should move in the direction of the movement but should not move up or down.

I purchased the first edition of General Choi Hong Hi’s book on Taekwondo in 1970 and it does not mention the sine wave. In face, none of the early books by Taekwondo masters, such as Richard Chun, Joon Ree, etc., ever mentioned a sine wave movement. Apparently Choi and his instructors came up with the sine wave, heel drop, and knee snap concepts on their own.

The World Taekwondo Federation does not use the sine wave and many, if not most, of the other Taekwondo associations around the world do not use it. The sine wave is not a natural movement, it adds unnecessary movements to any technique, and as such, it follows that it must slow a technique, and it does not add any effective power to a technique. Runners don’t bob up and down and we don’t bob up and down when we walk. Animals don’t bob either. For example, when a cat or dog is moving, its spine stays in straight, level line.

 In Taekwondo America schools, we teach students to punch and kick with speed and power using smooth techniques that flow with the natural movements of the body. When we see an opportunity to punch, the first movement is the fist moving toward the target, then the hips snap that side of the body into the punch, and the rear leg pushes against the floor to add maximum power to the punch. There is no extraneous up or down movement.

Some people, in an effort to be different, come up with all kinds of strange ideas, and, if their students follow the odd ideas without question, then the ideas get pasted on through the generations.

The sine wave theory appears to be just smoke and mirrors with no scientific or physiological basis. When evaluating any odd concept of attaining power, I find it best to look to the professionals who fight for a living, such as boxers or UFC fighters, or to street fighters who fight to stay alive. If the concept really worked, they would certainly use it.

If you train in a specific style, you have to do things their way; at least during class or when performing patterns. But when you spar, you don’t have to use the useless methods. The problem is that, when you train in a useless method, over time, it permeates your sparring and you suffer because of it.

 Keep up your skepticism. Fools are seldom skeptics and skeptics are seldom fooled.

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Reply. First a few legal definitions:

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Reply. Loyalty gives the recipient peace of mind. When you have loyal followers, employees, friends, students, etc. you don’t have to worry about life as much. Martial art instructors, especially ones that teach as a business, are always concerned about keeping students so they may maintain a steady source of income and build a system of senior students and new instructors. Student loyalty helps insure instructors will succeed.

As for the students, when they have loyalty to their instructor, school, etc., they feel as though they belong. Loyalty helps people feel needed and important. They have the peace of mind knowing that, when they are in need, their loyalty to others will pay them back when the ones they have been loyal to come to their aid.

Some think loyalty is supporting a friend, an instructor, a martial art school, a martial art organization, etc. without making judgments about the person or group’s behavior. While it may not be proper to judge a person on what he or she says, it is proper to judge a person on his or her behavior; after all, that is what civil and criminal courts do everyday.

Nowadays, being judgmental is considered wrong. People tend to think that, if you are judgmental, then you are also prejudicial. However, behavior may be judged without prejudice for or against. No matter how harmful being judgmental may be, being nonjudgmental may be more harmful; it may even get you killed. For example, judging the behavior of a group of men on a street corner to be bad, possibly because of your prejudiced toward them, may cause you to avoid them and thus prevent possible harm to you.

Loyalty means having devotion, duty, or responsibility to support a person or group; however, loyalty must be tempered with judgment. Recently in Iraq a navy corpsman who was assigned to a group of marines witnessed, but did not prevent or report, a rape and murder carried out by the marines. The corpsman said he went along the cover-up out of a feeling of loyalty to the group; now he is in prison. Being loyal to a criminal is not virtuous, it is stupid.

Think of loyalty as a debt, similar to a car loan. The bank allows you own and use the car and, to show your appreciation, you repay the loan, along with some added interest to reward the bank for its assistance. In the case of a martial art instructor who has taught, guided, counseled, and helped you in your quest to become a martial artist, you want to show your appreciation by being loyal to the instructor. You want to repay the instructor with added interest by giving back more than you received. However, just as there is a point when the car loan is completely paid and the obligation ends, loyalty may also have an end date.

Once a person purposely does you wrong, your debt of loyalty ends.Everyone makes mistakes; however, when one purposefully does something wrong, it is not a mistake; it is an indicator of the person’s true character. It is possible for a person to completely erase a lifetime of good with one act of bad.

Sometimes the debt of loyalty is completely repaid. This occurs when you are giving back more than you are receiving or have received. If this is okay with you, it could continue indefinitely. However, once the loyalty is repaid, you may feel you want to move on to something else, such as a different instructor or martial art. Then you loyalty may shift to another person or group.

Loyalty is not static, it is fleeting. Depending upon many factors, it may be here today and gone tomorrow.

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Reply. In the 1980’s a group of ATA instructor’s left the organization and formed the USTA (United States Taekwondo Alliance), which later became the ITA (International Taekwondo Alliance). In the 1990’s, a group of USTA instructor left the organization and formed TA (Taekwondo America). In the 2000’s, another group of instructors left the ITA and joined TA. This means that most of the TA senior instructors had their start in the original ITF based ATA. People always remember best that which they learned first, so there is still a lot of the old ATA values in the TA senior ranks.

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Reply. You bring up a lot of interesting points, ones that I have also considered. Here are some things I have found through research and experience.

As with a religion, where people tend to believe that which they were raised to believe, most martial artist tend to believe in the art in which they have been raised. If they are not directly exposed to other arts, they do not know how well their art compares to the other arts. When one has previously trained in traditional karate, Taekwondo does appear sloppy. Karate tends to concentrate on perfection of movement, while Taekwondo tends to concentrate on quickness and scoring points. In traditional karate ippon sparring, one point wins, but the technique used must have been perfectly executed. In the Taekwondo, it is the perfection of the technique that is important, it is merely whether or not the technique scores.

Taekwondo has been westernized more than the other martial arts. Most karate and Chinese styles cling to their Eastern religious roots. Even if they do not stress the religious aspects, they so retain some of the religious practices. This tends to drive many students away. I have never experienced any religious practices in Taekwondo, even in the old days. Taekwondo training has always been concerned with the physical aspects of the martial art; not with any spiritual aspects. This has helped make it more acceptable to the public.

As you have noticed, no matter how hard a Taekwondo class trains, it is not as hard as a traditional karate class trains. Today, Taekwondo is a business. To keep customers happy and coming back, you have to give them what they want. What they want is the prestige of earning a black belt, but they want to earn it with as little time and effort as possible. No matter what people say, people have more money than they have ever had in the past, and, to get the money, they are working longer hours than in the past. So, they are willing to pay more to get something quicker and easier—Taekwondo lets them do it this way.  

I have found that beliefs in ki, meditation, and other supernatural things are just that—beliefs. All these things exist without being religious beliefs. Professional athletes use these same techniques in one form or another without any religious connotations. People tend to attracted to the strange and different. They see a race car driver sitting alone and concentrating before a race as clearing his mind for the race, while the see the martial artist doing the same thing before a fight as meditating to concentrate his ki. The later seems more exotic than the former.

I too have read, heard, and even been taught that one does not understand a form until it has been performed 1000 times or that it takes a lifetime to understand a punch. If one says it took him a lifetime to understand a low block, the person is either slow or has alterative motives behind the statement, such as self aggrandizement. The later is usually the case. People become world champions at many sports while in their teens or twenties’ it did not take them a lifetime to perfect their sports or understand their intricacies.

Martial arts are just that—martial arts. They seek physical and mental perfection at some type of fighting skill, but none is particularly adept at self-defense. Any type of fight, be it in the ring are in the street, is a mutually consented test of fighting skills. If you do not consent to a fight, it means you are being attacked and you must defend yourself. In self-defense, you do not want to fight, your want to stop the other person from attacking and hurting you any way you can. You don’t spar or grapple or anything else in particular, you just take the attacker out in anyway you can. Martial arts training may help, but as any law enforcement officer will tell you, an ordinary person can take out a group of attackers. When fighting in self-defense, the aftermath is nasty. Parts of ears and noses are bitten off, eyes are gouged out, skin is clawed off, fingers are broken, hair is pulled out, etc. People do not stand apart and use the perfect kicks and punches they have trained in; they just fight like trapped animals.

Any martial art works under the rules of the martial art. Under the rules of another martial art, a martial art may not fare was well. In a karate tournament, a Taekwondo practitioner will be hampered, and vice versa. Baseball is not better or worse than basketball, it is just a different way of playing with a ball.

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