KickChick

http://www.gentrymartialarts.com/books/koreaoldandnew.html Or you can try http://ryukyu.com which has a good selection of Korean MA books but not one that encompasses all of them ... I would like that one myself!!

I am no expert but there are three internal martial arts that do in fact that focus mainly on the mind-body connection. Besides looking into the possibility of Tai chi chuan also see if Hsing yi or Pa kua chang may be available in your area. Hsing yi is a fighting strategy that is much more assertive than that of tai chi ... direct in its actions and moves offensively as a form of defense, instantly countering every attack with one of its own, frequently at the same time. The mind and body move as one with a consistent forward momentum, this is where the art gets its name 'mind fist'. Dodging, slipping and side-stepping are also used. The 'mind fist' possesses several kicks, but tends to keep them low and blends them with hand techniques. The basic hsing yi style encompasses the use of straight and circular punches, palm strikes, elbow, shoulder, head butt, kicking both high and low, and throwing and grappling. The movements of pa kua are not as forceful as hsing yi or as soft as tai chi. More defensive than hsing yi, a circular defense is quickly followed by a powerful circular attack with one of its hand, foot or body attacks, or throws. Pa kua strategy is to move to the side or rear of an opponent and attack the aggressor in their most vulnerable position. Throwing maneuvers are used alot, while striking techniques are aimed at vital points. Pa kua has many kick techniques. Occasionally kicks are aimed at the head, usually when the attacker least expects it and with lightning speed. Tai chi has kicks, but tends to use them to support the hands in self-defense applications. At close quarters tai chi commands an extensive array of throwing and grappling techniques.

ah, see? you need a brain in order for it to work!!! JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry couldn't resist... i am truly )

That was a great article huh??? (I believe that thread was also in the running for best thread of 2002!) Yup.... "The person who is able to disarm and eliminate a dangerous opponent and at the same time fart without wincing a muscle is surely a master."

oops.... almost forgot!! http://www.fitwatch.com/ check the "Food database" ... Reall good informative site!!

What happens normally, on a regular carb diet, is that when you eat, the protein is used to rebuild muscle tissue, and carbohydrates are converted to glucose, and used for energy. Now, when you have no carbs, the body resorts to breaking down fat and protein into ketones, which is known as ketosis/lipolysis, and the body uses these ketones for energy instead of glycogen. The theory is that this is also supposed to make it easier for your body to let go of the bodyfat it has. When your body isn't being given sufficient water, what does it do? It holds on to what it has, especially under your skin, and you get that slightly bloated look. When you start getting plenty of water again, what happens? Your body starts to release the water it was retaining! If you starve yourself of food, what happens? Your metabolism goes down, and you start burning less and less, like your body is in conservation mode! (Do I need to ask this?) When you start getting enough food again, what happens? You metabolism rises again! When your oxygen supply is cut off, what happens? You die! (Just making sure you're still paying attention!) I have read that your brain operates only on glycogen, and if you don't get any carbs, your body has to produce glycogen on its own. The good thing is that your body supposedly gets used to doing this after a couple weeks. It seems that the higher your bodyfat, the harder it is to adjust. If your diet isn't supporting your exercise program and your program isn't supporting you health and fitness goals then your body is going to find it very difficult to burn body fat. If your work out includes lots of cardio, then on top of that you are performing more cardiovascular exercise such as running then your muscle may again burn off first before your body fat. In other words "over fat burning" can cause depletion of muscle. Which means less muscle tone. Remember you need muscle to help burn fat! Your muscles use all three types of fuel that the body uses... carbs, proteins and fats. Which fuel the muscles use will depend on whether you are at rest or moving...and how you're moving as well. When at rest, your muscles prefer to burn fat as fuel. When you are exercising intensively, you mainly burn the carbohydrate glucose, either straight from the bloodstream or as the breakdown product of glycogen, a storage form of carbohydrate. During endurance sports - such as distance running...the muscles use fats as their primary energy source, but "burn" carbohydrates to get the best output of energy from their consumption of fats. When you run/or do cardioexercise first thing in the morning, there are no carbs to burn, so all your body can burn is body fatfor energy! When you do cardio first thing in the morning, you haven't eaten anything for the last 8 or so hours because you were sleeping. So, when your body sees that there are no carbs to burn, it goes directly to stored bodyfat. And stored bodyfat is the fat that is on your body, which is the fat that you want to lose! If you jog after breakfast/lunch or dinner, your body will just be using the immediate calories/carbs you have just injested. So doing cardio first thing in the morning (try 5 days a week for 20-30 min. jogging 2 miles or so), on an empty stomach, before you eat anything, is by far, the most effective. Vigorous exercise before a meal raises your metabolic rate, which will stay at the elevated level even after exercise stops, depending on the length and intensity of the exercise. Your glycogen stores (the energy in muscle and tissue) are reduced. When you eat after exercise, the carbs will be stored easily without being converted to fat. If you exercise after a meal, the effort and energy required to help absorb the food is diverted from the digestive process. The blood in the muscles of the abdomen is withdrawn and taken to the working muscles putting the digestive process on hold. Intense exercise inhibits the movement of food through the intestines and decreases gastric and pancreatic juice secretions (the process needed for food absorption and breakdown). The bottom line is, intense exercise is best before you eat in order to decrease your appetite, but take a walk or do light exercise after meals. So.... 1. Eat breakfast after running/cardio exercise as suggested above) ! When you skip it your metabolism slows down and you will notice that you will have low blood sugar all day long because of it. When you do get the chance to eat you are so hungry that you may make the wrong meal choice ... pigging out on junk food or a candy bar to sustain you. If you hate to eat first thing .... have a whey protein shake with a banana or nutrition bar (I've been having Oatmeal Raisin Slimfast bars).... Breakfast jump starts your metabo 2. Waiting too long before or in between meals also lowers blood sugar levels and increases cravings for sugar and to binge. So after you have your breakfast keep your metabo going by eating small meals every 3-4 hours, with the metabo going strong you will inhibit muscle tissue loss and use fat for fuel. They say the key to losing bodyfat is meal frequency. (as Mr. Heel Hook posted ) 3. Your body starts to store fat the minute it gets the impulse that you are starving or if you eat too many calories. The amount of calories you eat in just one day is doesn't matter as much as how many you eat within one meal. You can ingest all your daily calories in one huge meal but your body will only use the say 500 calories it needs at the moment and then stores the leftovers say the other 1000 as fat to be used later. That's if you do end up using it! 4. Each meal should be balanced nutritionally. Say 1/4 protein 1/4 fat and 1/2 carbs ... important to feed the brain, repair/build muscle and fuel metabolism. Contrary to popular (Atkins) belief ....carbs do not make you fat. Overconsuming fat and total calories will make you fat. Overconsuming carbs (eating more than 70%) increases your risk of getting diabetes, but not eating enough carbs can place your muscle gains, metabolism and endurance at risk. One thing I do is not to have any carbs after 5:00 .... if not used immediately for energy it too will in turn into glucose. 5. Beware of Fat-Free Foods!!! They do contain high amounts of sugar which causes your body to over produce insulin which will in turn store that excess sugar as fat. So its better to have a small piece of a sweet treat than a larger fat-free dessert. So there's my "inflated" 2 cents worth!!!

If you could pick one individual to be inducted into the MA hall of Fame for 2003 .... who would it be and why??? Here are just some choices/suggestions: Dan Anderson Buck, Sam Kong, Cecil Peoples, Bill Ryusaki, Billy Blanks, Sho Kosugi, Jerry Poteet, Paul de Thouras, Graciella Casillas, Wing Lam, Alvin Prouder, Donnie Williams, Adam Hsu, Lily Lau, Chan Pui, Ark Y. Wong, Gen. Choi Hung, Hi Albert Leong, Stuart Quan, Doc Fai Wong, Howard Jackson, Kathy Long, Philip Rhee, Byong Yu, Ji Han Jae, Carrie Ogawa-Wong, Simon Rhee, Shintaro Katsu, Gerald Okamura, Lilly Rodriguez ....

.... so what would you do if you sneezed??? For more on this "subject"..... http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=939

The old left brain/right brain thing... how quick are you? http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/colortest.swf ... you'll find yourself taking it more than once!!!

... the "Link Queen" is stumped ... hoping someone might be able to help me out for a change! I am trying to find a "how to" or explanation on a site on how to do a Tai Chi-type stretch/exercise called the "teacup". GM Jhoon Rhee uses this particular stretch (he visited an area TKD school and one of the students there was telling me about it). Basically, you place you right hand palm up in front of you to far left as if balancing a tea cup and draw your arm across your bodyto the right then encircling the "teacup" to the left and then right under arm bending back at waist and then bringing this "teacup" (without spilling!) from behind you now, from left to right and back to front. Hard to explain .... does anyone have a clue as to this exercise I am referring to??? Any sites you can direct me to .... I would love to print out and add to my cooldown routine after class. http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/fk/madamy.gif "LQ"

For BonnyBoy : You may want to read through some of these threads regarding fat loss , low carb nutrition and the importance of muscle training with regards to fat loss..... just to add to those notes of yours. (I just don't waant to have to repeat all that I said on these threads.... sorry!) http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=3630 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2931 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2848 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=696

If you look at my post on last years televised showing http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4735 ... you will see that breaking/forms/sparring are taped and televised on different days.... perhaps we just missed it http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/otn/confused/shrug03.gif

The benefits of my chosen style Tae Kwon Do? TKD uses only bare hands and feet, no weapons for self defense. Due to its numerous unique kicks, each with many variations, TKD is referred to as the "kicking martial art." This is not to say that TKD doensn't include hand techniques... it uses the same basic hand techniques used in other martial arts, which makes it a well-rounded empty-handed martial art. TKD requires true physical fitness. The training required to perfect each technique requires the muscular exercise of the whole body. TKD is a discipline of both mind and body. The techniques look easy but are hard to learn. It takes concentration and effort to attain perfection. The mind and body must work together for a technique to be effective. These techniques can be used with deadly effectiveness. It is an all-around martial art that offers self-defense training, physical exercise, and artistic expression. It requires intense physical training and strict mental discipline. Its physical aspects come from the kicking and punching while its spiritual aspects come from the art. TKD may be practiced as a sport, as a pure fighting art, or as a combination of both. ... and yes it is widely characterized by its fast, high, jumping, spinning kicks.

Check out this link http://www.muaythai.com/En/index.shtml ... it does have some videos and also a link to buy training videos. There is quite alot of "free" information on the internet. Variety of links here too http://members.aol.com/Thaiboxing2000/

...out of all your posts Mr. Clark this is the one I cannot ignore! Did you just crawl out from under a rock? Women have been fighting since the beginning of history! Though men have primarily been the fighters, many women through the ages have taken up the sword, for defense, for power and for glory.... why not for UFC.

well, actually they have taken the Wheel to Las Vegas as a show. Talk about circus!!!

Give it to me!!! .... my kids purposely buy their clothes a size or two too big, .... because I am well-known for my ability to shrink just about anything in the wash! ... now shrinking that gi depends on whether it is 100 percent cotton or not. But yes, lots of dryer action. Just keep putting it in until it fits rather than leaving it in on high while dry.... you may catch it on fire!!!

... now that is a loaded question my friend!

Hey girl ... I've been "listening" ... I am just surprised first of all that your relationship has survived training in the same dojo ... perhaps you are not willing to give the relationship a chance for it to survive training in different dojos. IMO if it is "strong" enough .... it is strong enough period! But as you said.... you probably should have had a "talk" with the instructor. Communication is the key in getting what you want ... then you open the door to the possibilities! Hey crosstraining may be the answer in meeting your BF halfway ... if it works for you then fine. But I "heard" the happiness in your posts when you found that new school. Be honest with yourself and have no regrets ... both in and out of the dojo!

I started a thread here in the MA Entertainment forum (where this may be moved to eventually...) http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4699 I believe it is dependent on whether your cable company will offer it ... and it may cost you extra.

His book also has some diet tips as well. These Magnificent seven exercises are also supposed to make you feel energetic plus build your core muscle strength. He also includes Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener (a slightly different version of Pavel's "Power Breathing") and the info on his Power Wheel. The book is a little pricey, but I plan on adding it to my library. http://www.holtreman.net/cgi-bin/axs/ax.pl?http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=38203&u=www.mattfurey.com/combat_abs.html

This piece was written about "Kata" from a Sensei Hazard that I filed away ... and your post brought it to mind. I'll share it with you .... "First there is the technique, the form, the movement, the dance. Then there is the application, the meaning, the understanding, which gives purpose to the movement and dance. Add the spirit, the feeling and the soul and you give the whole thing power and life. To perform kata without any of these attitudes, technique, application and feeling is not enough. The dance alone may look quite beautiful but means nothing. To understand the purpose without the dance "technique" is just controlled aggression. The technique and purpose together will look good - but is not all. Any athlete can obtain these attributes in sport. But add spirit and the feeling , the performers natural timing and breathing - so important to fluency of movement - and the kata rises above athletics or sport and into the realms of the martial arts"

hmmmm see? I should have married myself an Englishman!! Just kidding.... I love the game ... really! I get to have an excuse to drink beer and eat a bunch of hot spicy snacks and yell alot!

Hey Good Luck to you on getting "those feet wet"! It is really great experience and like John said, there is nothing like the "rush" you feel. An older student at our school (about 40 or so) had his first tournament experience last year in sparring. He dislocated his arm from his shoulder socket by hyperextending one of his punches and continued throughout the match with his arm just wagging about. He didn't hear the sideline coach or anything or even felt the pain from the dislocation. That is how much of a rush it is! Be careful and listen to your coaches! I would love to get back into competition. The tournaments that our school usually enters are open tournaments and usually sparated into age category with "over 40" being the senior division or at one tourney this category was called "executive" .... go figure! But being over 40 and also female ... this made entrants to this particular division slim to even non-existent! How would you like to pay the tournamet fee and just be handed a trophy because there is no one in your division to spar! Heck I wouldn't mind sparring a younger female .... in fact I would relish the chance!! Let us know how you place! ... and best o' luck!!!

Hey!!!! ... Sports has ruined many a friendship ... let's not let it come to this!