Kuma

Low-carb diets can cut off fat quickly, but the safest way is to just eat natural healthy foods, minimize processed foods, and eat in moderation.

"Breathe from the hara" is what I was always taught. Inhale on soft, exhale on hard.

I am completely in agreement with this as well. I thoroughly enjoy cross-training in Judo and am hoping once my schedule opens up I can start formal classes. I think it goes great with karate and is applicable to what I do. Even integrating them together though, if someone asked what style do I train in I would make a clear distinction between the two. I wouldn't call it Kuma Ryu, get myself a nice wacky black belt, and formalize it. Only if I deviated FAR beyond the basic system to the point where it's very different would I even consider something like that.

A lot of it is diet really. If calories in > calories out, you'll gain weight. If calories out > calories in, you'll lose weight. You have a fixed rate that burns calories throughout the day according to your weight and activity level (your Basal Metabolic Rate) which if you laid in bed all day long and didn't move, you would still burn X amount of calories.

He never did, but fortunately my brothers and I had each other to practice on

I sure do, sensei8. In my earlier days, there were three dan-levels and 2-3 kohai in the class. Some days it was just me and the dan-levels. Still more often is just me and my instructor. Great stuff.

That could be your answer right there. How many times per week do you use the elliptical as well? If you're using it 3x a week, try bumping it up to 4.

Something that's been drifting around in my head for a few days now. Although I primarily concentrate on karate-do nowadays, like many other members of this forum I've had a smattering of MA experiences as well. Especially when you're young and moving around a lot like I was. Now, most of my background is in karate, but I've also done some boxing, jujutsu, and a seminar here or there of other things. Combine that with military combatives, LEO defensive tactics, and cross-training with friends. Thus, like many others, I have some tools that don't come in the standard toolbox of karate. This is what interests me though and gets me to wonder. I've never thought of renaming my style or inventing my own or calling myself "Sensei in such-and-such." Maybe it's me. I post occasionally on a few different forums aside from this one (I tend to stick to ones with quality rather than quantity so sometimes you need a bit more than just one) and I've noticed that MANY people are creating their own styles and aren't shy about it. To me, it doesn't make much sense but I'd like to see what others think about it. To me, just because I add in a foot sweep to my repertoire doesn't necessarily mean I'm deviating from what the style is. I just don't understand the motivation.

It all depends on frequency-intensity-time. If you do A for 15 min 2x a week but do B 3x a week for 30 min, you're going to burn more. Same as if you go X speed in this one and X speed in that one. Interval training on either one will burn a lot of calories.

Sounds familar Semper Fi.

Either's okay. Treadmills are a more higher-impact cardio so if you have bad joints or have taken a beating that week the elliptical might be better.

Cali was super expensive to learn MA when I was there, no doubt. In PA, I'm paying $45 a month for 3 classes a week.

Participation should dictate on how often a class is offered. If you have 11 people going to Class A but Class B has 2, Class A should be offered more often than B.

Cardio before can actually make your weight training weaker, so it's best to do it after. If you're doing cardio and not losing weight, it could be either a) diet, b) frequency, or c) intensity that's holding you back. Another alternative is to look into circuit training.

Pennsylvania, born and raised. During my military service I got lucky enough to go to others and got to train in MA in Okinawa, California, and Iraq.

Ouch, man, I can't imagine what that would feel like.It put me down and out for a couple weeks. I kept taking a lot of punishment there during one of our gasshukus from punches and knees, but aside from feeling tender it was all right. We were driving back home and stopped off halfway to get out, stretch, and grab food. I got outside, stretched my arms up in the air, and I heard an audible "pop!" Not much you can do for it either, just take Motrin and have pity on yourself

None from here either. Chotoku Kyan comes to mind. http://www.edbis.com/images/knopki/kyan1.jpg He believed a MAist should be able to handle any and all indecencies thrown at it, so he would often take his students to bars and brothels. He was also quite a nasty fighter.

It's tough sometimes but just take it in stride. I miss testing opportunities frequently due to work or military requirements, so I often see guys I was beating up as yellow belts now wearing greens and above. For me though, as long as I see my skills improving, I'm happy.

We do it in a similar fashion in Kyokushin. My last test, I had to fight jissen kumite (full contact with no pads) for 20 straight minutes, with them switching out opponents every 2 min so I was constantly fighting a fresh fighter. For maybe the first 1/3 or 1/2 you're hanging well but near the end you're just a gasping wheezing punching bag You don't need to spar to get your yellow belt, but from there and beyond it's all kumite.

So far it's from a cracked/dislocated xyphoid process. Hurt to sit, hurt to stand, hurt to laugh or cough, just plain hurt.

Martial Mechanics by Phillip Starr.

A buddy of mine has been indy wrestling for 14 years and has a shodan in Japanese jujutsu. Tough dude to be sure. Most of these guys are big, strong, and tough so just on sheer size and toughness alone they would dominate the average MAist. It doesn't take too much to make a lot of those techniques they use the real deal. Anyone remember Hulk Hogan choking out that geeky guy and getting sued?

This is the same way I use mine. I used to prefer a more cupped-hand shuto but once I practiced it on the bag and in tameshiwara I realized it's not too stable for me. Once I switched to this method, it was much better for me.

I'll lift weights or run in my gi pants but wearing the whole thing just reminds me of Karate Kid. Never seen it at all, except for real young kids in TKD uniforms out with their parents.

In that case, these might be more your style and are pretty good to boot. Might not work quite as well as the one I just posted, but it may help.