Martial Arts to improve NE Pass Rush

[The Brandon Five]

Poor choice of a martial art to implement into football since TKD mainly involves kicking.

Aikido might be better. Put people on their *** just using your hands.

 

[RobertWeathers]

New mascot

 

[Joey007]

Poor choice of a martial art to implement into football since TKD mainly involves kicking.

If Jermaine Cunningham were still on the team, going out and kicking the opposing O-Linemen probably would’ve been a more effective method for him.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Unfortunately, Pat Morita passed back in 2005..

Trivia: Pat Morita was 52 when Karate Kid debuted. Ralph Macchio turns 57 this year while starring in Cobra Kai.

Regards,
Chris

 

[oldrover]

Martial arts training is nice...

...so is speed and strength.

 

[Angelpats]

Aikido might be better. Put people on their *** just using your hands.

Tai chi, wing chun would be great for hands fighting too. Yoga seems to help some lineman out too. Too much holding in judo and jujitsu. Someone disagreed about my TKD comment, I’m not knocking it, it probably has the most devastating kicks of all the arts, but I just don’t see it translating well besides improving balance.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Trivia: Pat Morita was 52 when Karate Kid debuted. Ralph Macchio turns 57 this year while starring in Cobra Kai.

Regards,
Chris

Zabka is only 48

 

[maineman209]

Love the concept, but hate the the choice of sport. Taekwondo is probably the most useless "martial" art in existence. Ah well -- if it helps them with leverage, hand speed, and accuracy, then it's worth it. They don't need to learn how to kill the opponent, just how to disengage and tackle the quarterback. I'm cautiously optimistic, but it seems more like a fun team building exercise rather than a serious addition to their pass rush arsenal.

Pretty much everybody on the team, aside from the punter, kicker and the QBs, needs to either block or shed a blocker as part of their job. All of them could probably benefit from some tips on leverage, hand placement, hand speed, etc.

IIRC, James Harrison studied martial arts at one time. Some of his pass rush moves certainly make it appear that he has. He nearly tore the arm off the LT against either JAX or TEN in the playoffs last season with what looked like a martial arts move.

 

[Pape]

For show only. It takes years to learn and use the techniques in an effective manner. But if it helps, then meh, no harm no foul.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Was it Chris Slade or Willie McGinest who was a blackbelt with the early 2000's Pats?

 

[Deus Irae]

Martial arts training is nice...

...so is speed and strength.

Sammy is going to be torn about the above post.

 

[scott99]

Good move. Andre Tippett did this 35 years ago.

Was already a black belt when he got to the Pats.

 

[Deus Irae]

It takes years to learn and use the techniques in an effective manner.

They're not going to have to learn the entire art from a to z. You can learn specific moves very quickly. And you can use then in an effective manner quickly, too.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Zabka is only 48

Que? He wasn't 14 when Karate Kid came out.

Regards,
Chris

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Sweep the leg

 

[RobertWeathers]

Was already a black belt when he got to the Pats.

Correct. I think his mom signed him up to defend himself and say out of trouble in Newark.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Que? He wasn't 14 when Karate Kid came out.

Regards,
Chris

52.

I have math issues....

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Pretty much everybody on the team, aside from the punter, kicker and the QBs, needs to either block or shed a blocker as part of their job. All of them could probably benefit from some tips on leverage, hand placement, hand speed, etc.

IIRC, James Harrison studied martial arts at one time. Some of his pass rush moves certainly make it appear that he has. He nearly tore the arm off the LT against either JAX or TEN in the playoffs last season with what looked like a martial arts move.

In case I wasn't clear: I completely agree martial arts can benefit. It's the choice of martial arts that I don't like, not the idea. Every time I've ever sparred with a TKD black belt, they've always been shocked to actually get hit. Maybe there's some version of the sport somewhere that's more utilitarian, but my experience from sparring people in multiple states, and even outside of the country, has been that TKD is a flashy artform that prioritizes quickness over power or effectiveness.

My hope is that's irrelevant here, and that the instructor can pass along good tips about principles and moves that will help them with defeating blocks. I'm totally for this type of training, but I have some reservations about the efficacy of TKD.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Love the concept, but hate the the choice of sport. Taekwondo is probably the most useless "martial" art in existence. Ah well -- if it helps them with leverage, hand speed, and accuracy, then it's worth it. They don't need to learn how to kill the opponent, just how to disengage and tackle the quarterback. I'm cautiously optimistic, but it seems more like a fun team building exercise rather than a serious addition to their pass rush arsenal.

How about kung fu?

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Sweep the leg

"Get him a body bag! Yeaaaaah!" - Trey Flowers, to "Johnny" Lawrence Guy, Pats vs. Steelers 2018