I never studied any martial art (other than dabbling in medieval fencing/bashing), but grew up like all kids - practicing it with/on our siblings!
I thought Akido was more offensive based on friend's describing their classes. I see that is not the philosophy so it must be some Western changes to it. I took Hapkido for a long time and it was definitely all defense.
I wonder if martial arts can be effective cross training for soccer players, like something like ballet could help with flexibility and balance. On the flip side, with the little bit of soccer I played I noticed it improved my tennis playing (low bar) immediately because I was moving my feet better.
One of the best players I've coached was a blackbelt in Taekwondo. He was small, but I played him in a sweeper position to clean up all the crap. He was so quick and balanced and knew how to bounce off of players. I think some of my soccer training helped in Hapkido... specific low kicks and how to shift weight. And of course conditioning is universal.
man, @Earthshaker, you are the only person I can think of who has tried to excite me to initiating physical violence since I was like 10 years old. Altho, i kind of think playing soccer is sometimes like initiating physical violence. I never had the urge to punch anyone, but I did see my teammate bite an opponent. That was embarrassing to watch.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/meet...hind-philadelphia-union-s-ascent-to-mls-elite A great profile on the GM of the club we are aspiring to be. Makes sense how Tanner found Monteiro too, cape verde connection.
Nice article. A couple highlights for me from the article was his prior experience and an active owner who had been working to bring him over for over a decade ago. The article only highlights the challenges with the current version of the Quakes.
As discussed in the "2021 GM search" thread, the Quakes passed over Craig Waibel in favor of Chris Leitch... with Lagerwey off to Atlanta United, Waibel is the new GM in Seattle... it will be interesting to compare the two over the coming years. NEWS | We have appointed Craig Waibel as the club’s new General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer. Waibel has served as our Senior Vice President of Soccer Operations & Sporting Director since April of 2021. Congratulations, Craig! 💚💙MORE ➡️ https://t.co/oAAdohnpK5 pic.twitter.com/rM7cDvXFZF— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) November 30, 2022
I thought that Waibel might get that job. Anyway, we can compare them in the future, but I don't think it will really be apple to oranges. Waibel is working with the supposed MLS "superclub". Success is table stakes - no one has failed in that job. CL has a much more challenging job. No Quakes GM has succeeded with any kind of consistency since their return in 2008 (granted it's really been only 2 guys but the lack of any kind of consistent success is real).
Seattle, where success is table stakes, no one has failed vs San Jose, where success is impossible, no one has succeeded - it's a tale of two diametrically opposed cultures. Let's not fault Chris Leitch though, he's way too new to the Quakes organization and the job. "the lack of any kind of consistent success is real."
Advantage Leitch in last year’s head-to-head Heritage Cup matchups. Waibel is not new to Seattle Sounders, so he is tarred with the L. Your rules.
I'm sure Chris Leitch understands the importance of getting off to a good start in 2023 after the pitiful year we had this year, and the year before that, and so on. Quakes will need an outstanding offseason performance from him if Luchi & co are going to get off to a good start. No word yet but I'm sure we can expect some blockbuster player announcements anytime now. Go Chris Leitch!
I think I heard Craig Waibel speak one time, and I wasn’t impressed. OTOH, I listened to 1-2 podcasts with Lagerway and Bezbechenko, and I thought both those guys were brilliant. I think it would be really tough to follow either of those guys in a GM job.
Waibel is regarded by a number of people as one of the top tier GMs. However we will see what he can do. He's a former Quake, and a Quake Legend, he will have my full support always.