# What do you think about Toso Kune Do?



## Sdlively

This might be the wrong area, if so please move it or let me know I and I move it to the correct place.

I was thinking about trying Toso Kune Do out.

What are the your thoughts...

Thanks!


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## Drose427

Sdlively said:


> This might be the wrong area, if so please move it or let me know I and I move it to the correct place.
> 
> I was thinking about trying Toso Kune Do out.
> 
> What are the your thoughts...
> 
> Thanks!



Isnt that the art JDF invented?


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## Xue Sheng

Other than it comes from Jason David Frank and what I read on Wiki I know nothing about it. As a matter of fact I never even heard of it until now


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## Drose427

Ok since Xue answered my question i have slightly more input

Out of curiousity i looked at trainmejdf.com and it used to have(not sure if it still does) a littlw guide as for what all is entailed with each belt. It was a lot. Im talking 3 or 4 different style roundhouses, stances from different styles, etc. Even in the very beginning. It seemed that instead of taking a vouple things from other styles, he took the full systems and combined them making, imo, something very jumbled.

Now, is that Toso Kune Do or Toso with 3 other arts? I couldnt tell you. But something to be wary of.

It really isnt a huge martial art, so you really should just stop by and check out a class for yourself and see how you like it


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## Tez3

Xue Sheng said:


> Other than it comes from Jason David Frank and what I read *on Wiki* I know nothing about it. As a matter of fact I never even heard of it until now




It describes him as a 'professional' MMA fighter but he's only had amateur fights and not many at that, he's got them as wins but without knowing the quality of his opponents it means little.
The bit about what parts he plays in Power Rangers, is hugely complicated though, I ended up quite confused . I've never heard of his style, it does say American martial arts though so it's unlikely it's extended beyond the borders of the US so there's no reason I would have heard of it.


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## Xue Sheng

Tez3 said:


> It describes him as a 'professional' MMA fighter but he's only had amateur fights and not many at that, he's got them as wins but without knowing the quality of his opponents it means little.
> The bit about what parts he plays in Power Rangers, is hugely complicated though, I ended up quite confused . I've never heard of his style, it does say American martial arts though so it's unlikely it's extended beyond the borders of the US so there's no reason I would have heard of it.



It appears he had one pro-fight in 2010, that is if I am reading that chart correctly. but he would have been 37 at the time so how long of a pro career can he actually have


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## Tez3

Xue Sheng said:


> It appears he had one pro-fight in 2010, that is if I am reading that chart correctly. but he would have been 37 at the time so how long of a pro career can he actually have




Didn't count that as it was only one, anyone can have _one_ lol. One usually means they didn't like it.


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## Xue Sheng

Tez3 said:


> Didn't count that as it was only one, anyone can have _one_ lol. One usually means they didn't like it.



Looking around the web a bit it looks like he is making more of a living off of once being the Green Power Ranger


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## Drose427

Xue Sheng said:


> Looking around the web a bit it looks like he is making more of a living off of once being the Green Power Ranger



I personally think thus is why he hasnt tried to get more fights too hard. He likes the spotlight of his fans and running his 3 schools


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## Tez3

Found this school site. I had to smile at the flashy photos, I'm wondering what the boy is thinking being hugged by that woman! Plus the 'sexy' female for the MT and then there's the flying side kick, some marketing going on there lol. It's not to say it's not a good place to train but I did laugh at the site.
Rising Sun Karate


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## Sdlively

Drose427 said:


> Out of curiousity i looked at trainmejdf.com and it used to have(not sure if it still does) a littlw guide as for what all is entailed with each belt. It was a lot. Im talking 3 or 4 different style roundhouses, stances from different styles, etc. Even in the very beginning. It seemed that instead of taking a vouple things from other styles, he took the full systems and combined them making, imo, something very jumbled



Looks like for black testing you need to know 34 stances, 65 strikes, 80 kicks, seems like a lot to learn for martial art and I think it takes 3 years to get to green belt. Not sure about this one myself as why I asked.


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## Tez3

Sdlively said:


> Looks like for black testing you need to know 34 stances, 65 strikes, 80 kicks, seems like a lot to learn for martial art and I think it takes 3 years to get to green belt. Not sure about this one myself as why I asked.




That's not so unusual to have to know so many stances and techniques. Nor is it a bad thing to have to train for a long time to get a grade, it just depends whether you want to do that or not but for me taking so long is a point in their favour as is the longer list of training requirements for black belt. It took me ten years in Wado Ryu to get to 1st Dan and a great many techniques were needed for that. It's comes down to personal preference, some people like having just a few techniques and a short time to black, I don't.


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## Tony Dismukes

Looking through the list of instructors, I discovered that there is such a thing as the Guiness World Record for most walnuts smashed with a nunchaku in a single minute.  Apparently, there is also a separate record for most clay sporting targets smashed with a nunchaku in a single minute.

I wonder what other records are out there waiting to be broken, Most pecans smashed with a tonfa in 5 minutes? Most watermelons hit with a boomerang in an hour? With so many possibilities, maybe I could finally be champion at something!


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## Tez3

Tony Dismukes said:


> Looking through the list of instructors, I discovered that there is such a thing as the Guiness World Record for most walnuts smashed with a nunchaku in a single minute.  Apparently, there is also a separate record for most clay sporting targets smashed with a nunchaku in a single minute.
> 
> I wonder what other records are out there waiting to be broken, Most pecans smashed with a tonfa in 5 minutes? Most watermelons hit with a boomerang in an hour? With so many possibilities, maybe I could finally be champion at something!




I think there's only a couple of things not allowed in the Guinness Book of Records so I'd say go for any record you fancy!
Record Breaking For Individuals Guinness World Records


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## Xue Sheng

How about most times hit in the back of the head while training with a hardwood triple section staff....... so far I believe the record is 1


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## Carol

Xue Sheng said:


> How about most times hit in the back of the head while training with a hardwood triple section staff....... so far I believe the record is 1



What about most unbreakable flashlights broken?


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## Carol

So...back to Toso Kune Do.   

The fact that it is not well known can be a drawback.  The more well known styles, even if they have splintered a bit, are known by more martial artists.  The reputation serves kind of like a peer review system.    The student doesn't know much about what they are getting in to before they start training -- any info that can help a new student make an informed choice will only help.

Also, there are a lot of folks, online and offline, that tend to really question the people that found a different style.  Sometimes there are good reasons for this, other times the reasons may be more sketchy.   When this happens, the lineage -- basically, the chain of custody associated with that teacher' training -- can be lost.  Maybe they have a lot of formal training.  Maybe they don't, and a good amount of time goofing about, they decided buy a black belt from a supply shop and promote themselves to (whatever rank).

Upside, keeping up appearances for one's fan base isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Probably better for his school than the jerks that like to pick fights when they can, and act like jerks when they aren't in fisticuffs.

As far as the number of kicks, strikes, etc -- personally I like the fact that the school has solid metrics as to what you have to learn for black belt.  That's a big plus.    I would wager that once you start training, you will find that you aren't learning 65 completely different kicks.  Rather, you learn basic kicks and then learn other kicks that are a variation of the basics.  

So....I dunno.   Nothing about the place really grabs me and says "TRAIN THERE NOW!"  But also nothing makes me want to say "run away very fast".    Many martial arts schools offer a summer special, where you can train until September for a discounted rate.  Maybe the school has something like that and you can try the style for your self to see what you think?


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## Tony Dismukes

Yeah, getting back to the original question ...

Sdlively, were you thinking about attending actual classes in a local school or doing the online training? I absolutely would not advise the online training option.

If you are thinking about attending the school, I would drop by and check out a class for yourself rather than trusting the word of random folks on the internet. (It looks like they offer a one month free trial.) That said, I looked through the website and checked out some YouTube videos of JDF to get some impressions.

Plusses: He seems reasonably competent in what he does. He's taken the effort to test himself in MMA competition, even if only at the amateur level.

Minuses: He seems to put a big emphasis on ranks and fancy titles. I don't care for that much in general, and the fact that he apparently received that rank from someone (Louis Casamassa) who had a shodan in judo & Shotokan, then created his own system so he could promote himself to 10th dan grandmaster doesn't make it any more impressive. He also seems to think that his martial arts training qualifies him as some sort of life coach, which is not a good sign.

The website touts Toso Kune Do as being an eclectic art drawing from a wide range of sources, but it's not clear how much training JDF has actually had in these various arts. The videos I can find of him teaching seem to show generic kiddie karate. In general, he seems to be pushing a combination of kiddie karate discipline and Tony Robbins-style pop positive thinking. That's not really my thing, but I'm sure it appeals to some.


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## clfsean

Unless it's just a fan thing from the MMPR or the only thing around, I would personally not. 

There's plenty of verified, bonafied instruction in Okinawan, Chinese, Japanese & Korean martial arts available in NJ (assumption of location given JDF's place) that would put this way down the list. I personally don't like the hodge podge things like this. If there's a legitimate "new" something out there, then ok. But this to me, doesn't ring as such.


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## Carol

SDlively, what sort of thing are you looking for with your training?  
Are you looking to earn a black belt, hopefully as soon as possible?   
Are you looking to try your hand at competitive and/or MMA-style fighting?
Are you looking for something with a rich history?  
Something different entirely? 

Nothing wrong with any of these interests, but where yours are could make a difference in what kind of match the school is.


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## AsianJ

Sdlively said:


> This might be the wrong area, if so please move it or let me know I and I move it to the correct place.
> 
> I was thinking about trying Toso Kune Do out.
> 
> What are the your thoughts...
> 
> Thanks!


In my opinion, it's a really great program. I've practiced many different styles of martial arts (particularly Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and I think TosoKuneDo is great! 

Ups
It gives you a base in martial arts. You get to learn the basics of martial arts and learn basic self defense techniques at home. 

You can review your forms and techniques with JDF's martial arts team via email. 


Downs 
(If you're alone) you don't get to train with other people. Training with other people is important because they help you gain fast reflexes and hand eye coordination. With the trainmejdf you don't have anyone to train with. 

Again I think this is a great way to train martial arts at home if you don't have a school near you. If you have a school near you join it and train TosoKuneDo for fun.


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## Bill Mattocks

Welcome to MT, AsianJ. Home-based? That's a nope from me, I'm afraid.


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