Age 20, after training just 7 months,

[goundra]

I weighed 165 lbs, and I could, from a standing start, take 3 (running) steps, jump up and front kick the net on a basketball goal, with the ball of my foot. I was/am 6 ft tall. It's pretty neat to find yourself doing things that you could not have imagined ANYONE doing, just a year before.

This was a standard that had to be met for black belt in my discipline. A running jump front kick that reached a height that was 3 of my handspans (pinkie to thumb, pressed to a flat surface, 28" for me) above my head. We also had to reach 2 handspans over our heads with such a jumping kick, without taking a step beforehand.

Another test was to have someone's belt held outstretched between 2 men, at a height equal to that of the bottom of his sternum. He had to HOP over that belt as part of his black belt test

Furthermore, we had to just jump up and sidekick a mark at our nose-height, and a running jump side kick (3 steps, from a standing start) had to reach 2 handspans over a height the same as the top of our heads. When you have that sort of "spring" in your legs, you can surprise a man with a skipping or pivoting kick at his legs, from MUCH further away than the untrained man realizes is posssible. It helps (to really land a solid kick), tho, if you first throw something in his face, such as your hat, glasses, inkpen, keys, or best of all, a handful of change.

 

[TheVirtualMind]

Congrats man. What discipline is this in?

 

[goundra]

MooDukKwan branch of TaeKwanDo, in Korea, 1973. I no longer have that sort of high kicking ability or "reach", but still very much ok, vs the untrained man.

 

[Huffman]

Not going to comment on the practicability of high or spinning kicks, but congrats for reaching your goal. This is what counts most.

 

[Fatal Jay]

I stopped taekwando at orange belt

 

[goundra]

that must be stateside stuff. In Korea, it's white belt, then yellow, green, red, brown, black. Normally, if you really hustle, 6 or more hours per week, small class and quality instruction, , it's about 2 months per belt. jumping kicks work just FINE, if you dont try them from too far away, aim at the legs, and are truly fast, or know to throw something in his face first. the running jump kick was invented to give a man on foot a CHANCE against a horseman, but usually while he attacked one of your people, and you ambushed him from behind or the side, you see. When he's on a horse, he cant' get out of the way while you "fly", nearly as quickly and easily as he can while afoot. For over a century now, running-flying kicks are just a way to bring in more students, impress girls, and measure your fitness.

 

[Aristippus]

That makes sense about the flying jump kick. Being a move designed for someone mounted on a horse. What usually happens is a move was developed for practical combat and then when things change, future generations forget the practical application. The X block is one example. A lot of martial arts schools in the states say that when a man comes at you with a knife, you should use the X block. In real life, using an X block against a man with a knife will get you hurt badly or killed.

I heard somewhere that it was originally developed for use against a sword, not a knife. Which makes more sense. So you would get in real close and catch the wrists or forearm with the X block and continue with your attack. People just forgot the original purpose of the technique and misapplied it.

 

[twentee]

the X block was actually developed for use by the frail-week, like women, cause just a one armed parry by such people lacks enough power to effectively deflect a blow from a large, powerful man. it's a poor answer, but better than nothing. Tying up both hands is nearly always a bad idea. As one hand defends, the other hand should be HITTING or tearing at something fragile, vital and very susceptible to pain. Like eyes, larnyx, nuts.