KickChick

Well if you ever have trouble logging on .... it may be your ISP or the site maybe undergoing some modifications .. but it does happen very rarely, but when it does .... just look what happens grrrrr!! anyway, you may want to get some staff member's Instant mssgr. screens names in order to chat next time to find out whats up (? (? )

I am just recooping from a pulled rib muscle so I can understand the pain and discomfort you are feeling. There is nothing worse than back pain (especially when you are trying to sleep!) Fortunately, most simple backaches go away within a few weeks, with or without treatment, and 90 percent of them disappear within two months. So shootfighter is correct in saying .... to rest! Rest for a few days, take some medication such as aspirin or other anti-inflammatory agents. Use ice for as long as you feel pain....then heat. Back pain is slightly different in each person, and there are many different types of self-treatments. Most preferred is ice treatments for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, two or three times a day, for as long as the back is sore. Heat on the back is used only to loosen it up before activity once it has healed. Gradual easy stretching, and deep massage to relax the muscle. This should be followed by an exercise program to strengthen the back. Now as far as running or jogging.... running can cause more back pain if back is not healed yet. The impact of the foot striking the hard pavement, abnormal foot mechanics, and the forcing of imbalanced muscles to work harder may cause further back pain. A workout that strengthens the lower back and abdominal muscles can prevent back pain and bring relief and help prevent pain from recurring. Sports medicine doctors always recommended exercises that strengthen the flexor muscles of the back. This may be why back treatments have not been very successful. The flexor muscles are the ones that pull the back forward and down. But the body is naturally pulled in that direction by gravity. To lift your trunk into an erect position, you must use the extensor muscles. You can do back exercises to strengthen both your extensor and flexor muscles. To strengthen an acutely injured back, start with stretching and flexion exercises. The basic prevention for back problems is to develop a strong back. Since most injuries are due to muscle weakness, increased strength is the answer to almost every back problem. When you get back to starting basketball again, always ease muscles in and out of the activity with a warmup, warmdown, and stretching. P.S. Oh, by-the-way.... stop by our Introductions and tell us some less painless details about you and your martial art!

Okay let's continue with discussion on this here ... maybe all of us "members of this club" can offer our own training regime or how we approach our training .... bearing in mind our ages. For me, I have to say I have maintained my flexibility moreso due to the fact that I perform stretches each and every day! Without proper stretching the over 40 body can experience far more injuries than the average younger martial artist. Articles!! ..... Maybe your own experiences can one day help out our younger counterparts here when they reach our age! (Sai I hope you don't mind me moving this to MGen. Martial Arts ...)

... As G95 knows I too was having a problem accesssing the site. (Thanks to AOL instant messgr. I was able to chat with other KF members so withdrawl wasn't as bad!) Hey Kensai ... don't you feel dirty & cheap now ... thats ok .... I forgive you (but don't let it happen again!!! )

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING, BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP. I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS, I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP. THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED - THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE, BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT. TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION, THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION, SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE. I GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES, PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES. I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND, 'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND. I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE. BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES... HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE. MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP. MAY YOUR POTATOES ! 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP, MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE, MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS. MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING BE BLESSED!! WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR!! HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING ! http://www.theholidayspot.com/thanksgiving/history.htm http://pilgrims.net/plimothplantation/vtour/index.htm

A blow to an unprotected rib cage such as you took ramymensa can bruise the ribs. The treatment for bruised ribs is to rest them and apply ice until the pain is gone. You can continue activities if you protect the ribs. A severe blow can also cause a rib separation, in which the rib tears loose from the cartilage in the front. You will feel severe pain, usually toward the front of the rib cage, and it will hurt to breathe. When you bend over or rotate your body, you may feel a "pop." It will be particularly painful to go from a lying to a sitting position, so you may have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. Try this: have someone puts one hand on your back and the other on your breastbone and squeezes, you will feel tremendous pain. No matter how much you may want to, you can't participate in sports when you have separated ribs. The resulting pain will be too much to allow you to continue. By now you'd be seeing a doctor! And now....the ultimate injury from a blow to the rib cage which is a broken rib. The pain can be anywhere in the rib cage depending on where the rib is broken. It may be that more than one rib is broken. You will feel the same pain as with bruised or separated ribs, only more severe. You should be concerned about sharp ends of broken ribs and should have an x-ray. Any excessive strain or movement, or another blow, can cause a sharp end to puncture a lung, sending you to the hospital for emergency treatment. Right now I am recovering from a pulled rib muscle (the muscle between each pair of ribs, the intercostal muscle, which is the muscle used in respiration). This happens when you so a swift lateral motion or suddenly rotate the rib cage.As a result, I have tenderness between the ribs (left side), not on them. I am icing them until the pain disappears. Very uncomfortable feeling!!

It doesn't matter whether you walk or run ... let me explain, Fat is a good source of fuel at low-intensity exercises when your breathing rate and oxygen use can keep up with the demands of the exercise. (aeobic) Carbs are better suited as a fuel source during high-intensity efforts, such as running when breathing rate or oxygen needs fall short of the energy demands of the exercise. (anaerobic) True, when you walk, fat is the primary fuel source, burning 60-70 per cent calories. Carbs or glucose makes up whats left to burn. Going from a walking pace to a jog ...your muscles burn more calories per minute, and a shift begins towards carbs supplying more energy than fat. The type of fuel you burn for energy depends on the intensity of the exercise you do..... which means you proportionally burn more carbs and less fat as you go from a jog, to a run. The contribution of fat to the fuel mix drops as you increase your effort, and carb burning increases. At very high intensity, such as a a marathon pace, strictly carbs are burned. This is why marathon runners load up on carbs days before the big race! Your fitness level plays an important part on how much fat and carbs you burn. When you start to run the goal is for your muscles to become better fat burners. This mean that at a given running pace, you burn more fat and less carbs than you burned when you were less fit but running the same pace. When you increase your fat-burning ability, you also increase your ability to run comfortably for a longer period of time therefore burning more calories. This happens because your muscles and liver can only store a limited amount of glycogen ...enough to fuel about 90 minutes to just over two hours of continuous exercise. So if you can burn more fat while running, you save some glycogen so that you can run longer. So you may think that walking is better for fat loss and weight loss but really this isn't true. There is a rule when it comes to losing body fat: You must burn more calories than you eat. Doing so creates an energy deficit that prompts your body to take fat out of storage, and you lose weight. Any exercise burns calories, and any exercise can contribute to fat loss as long as you have an energy deficit over time. While walking (or any low intensity exercise) burns more fat and running (high-intensity exercises) burns mostly carbs, what your body burns as fuel after you work out also contributes your fat loss. After a high-intensity cardio/anaerobic workout, the body burns more fat to compensate for lost glycogen stores as they are being refilled and the body recovers from the tough exercise session. This revved-up fat burning may continue for more than 24 hours, depending upon the exercise effort. Also, high-intensity exercise burns more calories per minute than "slow" activities. So you burn more calories while exercising ... thus you will lose more weight! The bottom line is when it comes to exercise and fat loss, any exercise will do running or walking.... high or low intensity....or both as in an interval routine maintaining "walk breaks".

Hey you make a great "stand-in" for me Northern Ogre! Took most of the words right outta my mouth! but I disagree with the amount of cardio you suggested in the routine. Since the goal is to try to build mass, you only need cardio about once a week. Performing too much cardio can take away from quality muscle gains and cause you to get smaller in size. Simply put..... Calories = more mass, period. To build muscle, it is imperative to have adequate calories to build with. Potatoes, Rice, Oatmeal, Beans, and Yams. Meals should not include much the following: dairy products, sugars, or fats. You need to try to break your daily caloric, protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake into 6 even meals. Meals should be spaced out by between 2-3 hours. It is important to check your bodyfat once a week. You should eat enough to gain about 1-2 pounds of muscle per week. Supplements that add Protein to your diet are very beneficial. There are many products out there. Some supplements are good and some just steal your money. Northern's picks are good! Also check out http://www.teenbodybuilding.com .... for lots of ggod advice and sample training routines .... (I've referred my son to this site ) Good Luck! and stop by Introductions and tell us more about you!

Keep in mind that this ranking system was borrowed from Kano and Judo, which was then inspired by western education. The 10-dan systems are fairly common, but not universal. In some Japanese and Okinawan styles traditional to have only six dans, and in some styles opening a school automatically elevates you to master status (5th or 6th dan). In certain styles of TKD you are masterat 4th dan, but many other ma styles do hold back that distinction until 5th, 6th, or 7th and then some are elevated after their deaths. In the end, however, its arbitrary, just like colored ranks. Some schools and martial artists have good standards, some don't have any.... C'est la vie

Okay there are 3 of us who have jumped in to write ... c'mon guys!! Let get this rolling .... There is alot happening in the world of martial arts, some controversial, political, some ground breaking achievements, lots of martial arts entertainment related news... Those of you in the UK and Europe, report on what is happening in your corner of the world. Here is a chance to get yourself a byline!! (Hey those of you in school may even get some extra credit from your teachers for this!) ... and wouldn't it look cool when you print out your article and post it on your dojo bulletin board? Okay .... who is our next News writer for KarateForums????

care to elaborate Joanne? I do hate it when I feel left out ... Please tell the rest of us Leeds outsiders what is so typical about what happened and .... what happened?????

In doing a little research I looked into some AFPA (American Fitness Professionals & Associates) info and found a very good article which I located online "ATHLETIC AMMENORHEA: WOMEN AT RISK" http://www.afpafitness.com/ammenor.htm High intensity training does disrupt the cycle. According to this article the measure of body fat and diet (a high protein, low-carbohydrate diet) can also lead to irregular cycles.

Hiya another thing to consider also ... the very first thing most people think they need to do before running is to stretch, but actually, you'll need to warm up prior to stretching. Your warm-up can consist of jogging in place, doing jumping jacks or jumping rope ... anything that raises the heart rate and warms up the muscles to prepare them for stretching. .... Do some easy stretches before your run, then some strength exercises like crunches and leg raises and bicycles. After your run always do some stretches to loosen up and lengthen those muscles used during your run. Here are some good stretches: You'll want to spend five to 10 minutes on your warm-up and then do these stretches before starting your run. Begin by stretching the lower body: Bend forward, keeping legs straight. Place one hand on top of the other -- palms down -- and place them on top of your feet. After a few seconds, move your hands around and clasp your ankles from the back. (This is an especially good stretch for your hamstrings, which you'll work continuously while running.) Now you're ready to move on to the quads, the muscles on the front of the thighs. Bend one leg at the knee and grasp the ankle, pulling the leg back slightly. Then repeat with the other leg. To stretch the calves, place one leg slightly in front of the other. Keeping your heel on the floor, angle your foot until the toes point upward. Bend forward and pull back gently on the toes with your fingers. Then repeat with the other foot.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/jackson.htm What better reason NOT TO HAVE cosmetic surgery!!!

As a self-promoted black belt??? I'd say that in itself would give prospective students the word up on his credentials wouldn't you say? Are you sure he didn't get his bb eleswhere after he left your school? If he is claiming he earned his bb at the school then I would say he is making false claims and would require investigation by your school but he did in fact train at your school and the mere mention of that in his training background really grounds for ceasing him to teach ... I believe he'll do it on his own sooner or later.

I agree ... however I believe I took the question as what I (personally)wouldn't accept within the dojo (for me)... But I do agree with you Kensai on the ignorance. I would imagine "mocking style" occurs outside the dojo as well as "hitting women" ... (I dislike it when men "hold back" from hitting me when we spar!) Fortunately all the things hobbitbob mentioned have never occured at our school ... thankfully, because I too wouldn't accept that!

Check out this similar thread I answered re: knee pain http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4630 A simple case of runner's knee possibly but the next time you experience a twinge of knee pain seek the consultation of a proper sports medicine specialist. Don't continue to "run through" knee pain.

As in every type of family situation... communication is very important. Situations such as "mistreatment" ... or any issues of any kind should be communicated to the owner/instructer of the dojo at once .... the sooner the better. If left unattended usually the "situation" gets out of hand or develops into other issues. There is always the subject of being too disciplined by way of instruction or not enough ...

I'll tell you that one of my personal downfalls seems to be that I cannot accept nit-picking criticism from another student that happens to be the same dan level as me but just happens to be an instructor (which I am not). I can understand if I am doing something "obviously" wrong. Maybe it is the way that their "critique" is delivered to me. I dislike when my performance of hyung (kata) is disected to the point where I may have position my "high spear finger" a couple millimeters too high or one of my fingers was slightly open on a knife hand technique. I am way too critical of my own ability at times and maybe that is the source of my non-acceptance of others'criticism. As a black belt I have learned that I cannot slack in class as when I do "these" instances are brought up and criticized maybe for good reason but I get a little po'd when it comes from someone at my level of instruction whereas when it comes from the master instructor I tend to be more receptive of their critical instruction. Now as far as mockery.... We have a portion of theclass where we do floor technique and each of the blackbelts call out a kick/combo and instruct the class down the floor. I have some "younger" black belts calling out some "thought-up" pretty physically demanding jump spin quadrupal-type aerial kicks to be done in succession as they "eye" the senior blackbelts. Deep down inside I think they are trying to kill us .... or trying to show off just how faster and higher they can jump!

I am so pleased to hear that karatemom! ... I had a feeling he would! Way to Go! Keep us posted!

When you say, "combat" ... do you mean "self-defense" or a "fighting" situation??? First of all, let me say that the majority of us here (correct me if I am wrong) are all martial artists .... (some more traditional than others). You ask a good question. Many of the martial arts teach you to defend against the first strike but refrain from making the first strike. If you talk with people who must use their martial arts skills regularly, such as bouncers, ,police officers, or just recreational streetfighters, they will tell you the person who hits first usually wins. So we practice reaction, but experience says that action beats reaction. Therefore you could say that we are training to lose or at least give the advantage to our opponent. No, I haven't had any "direct" combat experience. Learning a martial art or self-defense is not just using defenses and counter attacks against attackers. It is the ability to prevent injury to oneself or others from attackers. This includes learning to fall safely, to communicate with aggressors, and to escape from violent situations. Self-defense is not just concerned with physically dealing with violence, it is mostly concerned with avoiding becoming a victim of violence. But there is a difference between self defense and fighting... That is because, while self-defense is legal, fighting is not. Self defense is using whatever means necessary to quickly end a situation that offers you grievous bodily injury. Talking your way out of danger is self-defense. Running like hell is self-defense. Breaking someone's jaw so you can run fiercely from the six guys who are attacking you is self-defence. Pulling out a gun and blowing the head off the guy attacking you with a knife is self-defense. Not putting yourself in the situation in the first place however, is the best form of self-defense there is. .... ..... so yeah I have then!

.... well that all depends on what you are referring too ... Speed in kicks? ... punches? .... footwork? ....Overall---> yeah mid range --- 5

Best features are "Features a positive steel gear system which eliminates cables (can break!) and hydraulics (can leak!) Wheel detaches to give you room for forward stretching and proper body positioning." We used to have the "hydraulic" type that used to leak all over the dojang floor! As a beginner, I loved it because it gauged my progress in achieving better forward split. (has notches or numbers on dial so you can see how you are progressing) ...other than that, the old fashioned floor v-stretch is the same...(actually if you can position a 2 heavy objects just inside your foot/ankle area to widen and apply pressure in keeping your legs apart .... like two wavemaster heavy bags, then it works in the same way sort of although you cannot gradually crank the legs slowly apart) Not a bad price either!

Yes thank you Kensai, you painted a most vivid picture for me! ..I'd say that's pretty brutal, wouldn't you guys???