KickChick

At each brown belt level (1st and 2nd deg) was each 1 year. That seemed like forever!!! .... but going from 1st dan to 2nd dan took me 2 years. (actually going from green belt to purple took me 3 years ... but that was because I took time off to have a child)

Yoda said it best to Luke Skywalker during their Jedi training sessions in the Star Wars ... "You must have patience!" I agree with monkeygirl ... 'cept I tend to believe the playing field is a bit more equal as far as the mental and physical aspects of martial arts. Its important to attend class regularly but some students need help with time management as in your case!. The critical concept here is that most of us know what we need to do to achieve our goals but other variables can manipulate our ability to follow through. Recognizing this personal roadblock, engaging patience and following through on the initial commitment is what it will take to be successful. Priorities and Patience! And go eat something!!!

No need to explain your "feeling" to me Kensai! I was in a similar situation (which I posted in Strategy forum). I hope to write an article regarding this "essence" you speak of. For whatever reason, we martial artists are gifted with a heightened sense of self preservation to the extent that we may tend to always think the worse. Well, that's how I was for quite some time until I got sick of it.... always thinking the worse, -- always on my guard, --- always looking about taking care not to look down as I may fall prey to an attacker. At times it can get the best of you and you start thinking "Geez, is this anyway to conduct my daily living?" ... and my answer to that is YES! See, when I was at the "neighborhood" grocery store minding my own business I did "notice" this teenager who was always in my "area" ... I decided to give him the benefit of my doubt ... not not think the worse of this given situation.... and where did it land me??? He robbed me and violated my "trust"..... Well, no more! I'm going back to giving everyone I "suspect" the "on my guard" approach. Whatever the situation may be... you are not given a chance to "think" about what you are going to do. You just DO IT! Like I did when this kid ran off with my pocketbook. Did I stand there and say "Hmmm should I bother running after him?" I ran ...RAN HARD (thank goodness for my cardio classes!) and I screamed so loud I think a blood vessel popped in my lungs! And if I caught him... well, I'd rather not think about what I would have done. I guess it was a good thing I didn't! Like I said it is a gift ... trust your instincts. It's better to be safe.... than sorry!

Thank you all for voting for me! I promise not to cry Actually everyone here on Staff deserves an award for all their time and effort .... Congrats to Kensai and Monkeygirl (keep up the good work!) And to all those that were nominated ... (nah nah na nah na ) Just kidding! Thank you Patrick and LeaF for all your efforts in the 2002 KarateForums Awards!! Looking forward 2003!

Sheesh that is certainly a loaded question and if I were to attempt to post routines to target all those areas I would surely have some sore fingers! But seriously if you do a search (most specifically in Health & Fitness forum) for "leg strength", "shin strength", "power", "speed", "endurance" drills .... you will surely come up with some threads on these areas! ... certainly these areas are not only Kickboxing/Boxing/Muay Thai-specific but are important in all areas of martial arts!

Today is the day! ... the curiosity is just killing me! When will we know Patrick???

I came across this the other day ... and although it reflects the thoughts of a "school teacher" (of which some members here are!) .... it does show that students are a part of your life as you are a part of theirs! There are ALOT of good points here..... ENJOY! "I am a teacher . I was born the first moment that a question leaped from the mouth of a child. I have been many people in many places. I am Socrates exciting the youth of Athens to discover new ideas through the use of questions. I am Anne Sullivan tapping out the secrets of the universe into the outstretched hand of Helen Keller. I am Aesop and Hans Christian Anderson revealing truth through countless stories. I am Marva Collins fighting for every child's right to an education. I am Mary McCloud Bethune building a great college for my people, using orange crates for desks. And I am Bel Kauffman struggling to go Up The Down Staircase. The names of those who have practiced my profession ring like a hall of fame for humanity.... Booker T. Washington, Buddha, Confucius, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Leo Buscaglia, Moses and Jesus. I am also those whose names and faces have long been forgotten but whose lessons and character will always be remembered in the accomplishments of their students. I have wept for joy at the weddings of former students, laughed with glee at the birth of their children and stood with head bowed in grief confusion by graves dug too soon for bodies far too young. Throughout the course of a day I have been called upon to be an actor, friend, nurse and doctor, coach finder of lost articles, money lender, taxi driver, psychologist, substitute parent, salesman, politician and a keeper of the faith. Despite the maps, charts, formulas, verbs, stories and books, I have really had nothing to teach, for my students really have only themselves to learn, and I know it takes the whole world to tell you who you are. I am a paradox. I speak loudest when I listen the most. My greatest gifts are in what I am willing to appreciatively receive from my students. Material wealth is not one of my goals, but I am a full-time treasure seeker in my quest for new opportunities for my students to use their talents and in my constant search for those talents that sometimes lie buried in self- defeat. I am the most fortunate of all who labor. A doctor is allowed to usher life into the world in one magic moment. I am allowed to see that life is reborn each day with new questions, ideas and friendships. An architect knows that if he builds with care, his structure may stand for centuries. A teacher knows that if he builds with love and truth, what he builds will last forever. I am a warrior, daily doing battle against peer pressure, negativity, fear, conformity, prejudice, ignorance and apathy. But I have great allies: Intelligence, Curiosity, Parental Support, Individuality, Creativity, Faith, Love and Laughter all rush to my banner with indomitable support. And who do I have to thank for this wonderful life I am so fortunate to experience, but you the public, the parents. For you have done me the greatest honor to entrust your greatest contribution to eternity, your children. And so I have a past that is rich in memories. I have a present that is challenging adventurous an fun because I am allowed to spend my days with the future. I am a teacher...and I thank God every day" (author unknown)

Well, "shootfighting" is the correct term .... it is a hybrid sport which combines Muay Thai kickboxing and submission wrestling/Jujitsu. Here's a little "history" behind the "name" Shootfighting is a complete art in stand fighting and grappling. It is a little over 25 years old. A famous German wrestler taught the art of real wrestling, or "shooting", to a group of top Japanese martial artists. Two of these Japanese martial artists, Masami Soranaka, a practitioner of karate, judo and sumo, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, a muay Thai kick boxing champion and judo expert, combined their knowledge of these diverse styles and created what has come to be known in Japan as UWF wrestling or the hard style. The sport's popularity has grown and is now the third most popular spectator sport in Japan behind baseball and sumo. Bart Vale, who coined the term "shootfighting" to describe the style, combined the wrestling and Muay Thai techniques he learned in Japan with his experience in American karate and kick boxing to advance the sport even further.

Very pleased to Welcome you to KarateForums Kenpo123! I totally agree with your outlook .... if only more people our age had the same insight! Good luck with your training!

There are 2 types of roundhouse kicks(whether it be lead or back leg) in TKD.The first is the speed kick which is most effectively used in tournament sparring. This kick usually comes off the ground at only a slight angle (making it look more like a modified front kick). Contact is made by slapping with the top of the foot(instep). The second type is the power kick. This kick is loaded from the side and brought around to strike to opponent with greater force. This type utilizes the snapping of the hips to create that added power, and contact is usually made with the ball of the foot or the instep. However, there are numerous ways to execute the roundhouse kick. Each style of martial arts has its own way of executing these kicks. Each has its own merit, as its purpose and the tournament style differ, and learning to kick in different ways is a great advantage, allowing us to pick ideas as needed from different styles.

Easter eggs are "goodies" found by word of mouth or accident and have nothing to do with Easter Sunday. Click the right spot, edit the right file, or type in the secret sequence andyou can find anything from a list of the names of the programmers who created the product to a full-blown, multimedia tribute to the developers or sometimes even a game you can play. No one seems to be able to document the start of this practice, but Easter eggs have been cropping up in computer hardware and software for a couple of decades. Early Atari games even contained Easter eggs. The latest hiding spots for Easter Eggs is in DVDs and music CD's. Okay I have one for you! ..... I'll start off with one from the Matrix ...(would be cool if we can find as many martial arts related easter eggs as we can! From The Matrix Revisited Directions: From the first menu, select the Languages option. Press the right direction button. The image of a phone kiosk appears, press enter. You now have a menu called Juke Box, which is just loads of Matrixy music. Press the Continue option. From the screen with songs numbered 11-20, press the right direction button. One of the bullet track images in the Neo photo is highlighted. Press enter and you get a Matrix trailer that seems to advertise just the website. From the main menu, select the option Go Further. Once there, press the right arrow key. The lady in the red dress shows up. Press the enter key to see a short clip about this character. After the clip, press the right arrow key again. The lady in the red dress is replaced with one of the matrix enforcers/agents. Press the enter key to see a different short clip. If you continue to the next menu, with the Continue option, press the left direction button again. The image of Neo changes into a fighting pose. This takes you to a montage of images from rehearsal and filming, and some interviews with various people about Keanu Reeves and his devotion to his martial arts training.

http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/michaels/807/20af0f10.jpg

shotochem ... too funny! Well I could use some new sparring gear. Mine is actually held together with duct tape in parts and is actually quite "smelly" (after all it is almost 10 years old!) But as of late we have been sparring without gear so.... hmmm I'll just keep asking for the same old thing then .... a red convertible (anything!) Some day Santa will drive it into my garage! This year it seems all my nieces and nephews want TKD lessons from me and to teach them how to break a board .... I will be buying them t-shirts and gi's and some 1/2 wood and wrapping them up and tieing with a white belt

All 3! ... depends on the offensive or defensive technique you plan on using of course! I never stay in one stance .. I'm kinda all over the place

This didn't happen at our school but I found this "unbelieveably" funny. A Karate school was holding a grading for all their students. As usual, the morning's training passed quickly, and they were about to wind up and get ready for the grading when the assistant instructor noticed that the chief instructor was not looking very happy. He turned to his assistant and expressed some displeasure that a number of female Karateka were not wearing the correct uniform - namely that they had various colored T-shirts on under their gi. The rules state that only women are allowed to wear a T-shirt under their gi jacket, and that it should be a plain white T-shirt "Leave it to me, Sensei", the assistant replied. Ten minutes later they bowed off , and the assistant instructor asked all the female Karateka to stay on for a moment. He reminded them of the rules, expressing particular regret that one of his own first dan students was wearing a bright green Garfield T-shirt and should have known better! He praised those with the correct T-shirt, and gave the others thirty push ups to remind them to wear the correct uniform next time. One group went off to prepare for the grading, another group ambled off and did their push ups (cursing under their breath), leaving a solitary woman standing in front of the assistant instructor, smiling. "Is this all right, Sensei?" she asked as she pulled her gi jacket wide open, revealing that she was wearing nothing at all underneath. "Er... Yes, that's fine", He replied.

ok... I just read your post monkeygirl. So what constitutes "heavy stretching" in your book. Stretching without a warm up, bouncing to "overstretch" can result in pulling or tearing of a muscle, ligament or the hyperextension of a joint, incorrect stretching exercises and order of stretching, and improper duration of the stretch ... all these can "overstress" (is how you put it) your muscles. When you stretch correctly, the feeling of the stretch will diminish somewhat after you have held it for 20 seconds. If the feeling becomes painful or grows in intensity as you hold the stretch, you are overstretching and should stop. Most important is the stretching you do after training ... and for some of us that train consistently... the cool down stretch is just as important. When finished with training, do a cool down stretch. You will be tempted to overstretch but you just want to perform light to moderate stretches at this time. Spend at least 5 minutes per light stretching session, and 15-30 minutes per heavy stretching session (not including warm-up) Your goal is to have several light stretching sessions daily (like when watching TV, reading book, first thing in morning, before bed) and only one heavy stretching session per day.) You'll just have to stay tuned for my first article to read more!

Yes exactly.... however, in TKD we are not allowed to strike with such brutal force in order to incapacitate in such a way but this is a highly effective self defense technique. The person is totally seized up by targeting this large muscle group of the upper leg. The roundhouse in this case is not a "whipping" motion (meaning the leg is not quickly chambered or snapped back) rather you "go through" your target in a thrusting strike.

I believe you are equating the term "master" with slavery and that has no bearng on the title and rank ... it is simply the rank before "grandmaster" ... most commonly seen in the Chinese arts. The Chinese ranks are really based on the family. When a student enters the art he or she is called a child. They do this even in the Karate systemsthis is called Kyu rank which means child. A Dan rank is considered an adult. It is a sign of growth. Master is the father of the adults and children and the grandmaster is like the grandfather of the family. This indicates time spent in the arts, knowledge of the system and wisdom attained through the life experience.

Thanks for posting that Punchdrunk! I was very impressed to say the least! "Can I have your autograph?" ...hey, how was that "intimate moment"?

I'm just happy being plain old me! I'm a legend in my own mind Seriously though.... I only wish I knew what I know now when I was younger .... but that's not just in martial arts!

Very well said H@pkid0ist

Using the shin area to strike with a roundhouse is highly effective for self-defense as it provides a larger striking surface to the target area. This would be advantageous in using it against an opponents legs to strike the perineal nerve motor point. The striking of this nerve causes pain like a charlie horse and in turn causes a motor dysfunction. A motor dysfunction is defined as a control striking technique which over stimulates motor nerves resulting in a temporary muscle impairment. The roundhouse is a highly effective scoring technique in competition. It offers more contact points of the foot and leg to use against different targets. The ball of the foot (for penetration and greater striking force without injury)or the instep (for more range in sparring). But if its a KO you are going for .... creating a motor dysfunction is a more reliable technique than striking a joint. I have seen opponents continue to fight despite the fact they have broken something .... but a motor dysfunction is a neural muscular response and is not dependent upon your opponent's tolerance for pain so they are immediately incapacitated.

Yes we have had similar threads started with the posting of various MA links (the thread of "personal" web sites was locked) ,,, if you want to post your web page you can do that within your profile. Do a search using "links" in General Martial Arts .... and several threads will come up. I have literally hundreds posted on my own personal web page... starting with http://www.karateforums.com

Yes that was what I was talking about. Disney has the rights to this movie now and when Disney does release it here in the states, you can expect that the original HK version will be butchered and neutered (just look at Jet Li's domestically-released movies). Also Stephen Chow in fact uses his own voice to the dubbed version and the over used "everybody was kung-fu fighting" song was used in the NA version. I think I may just order the DVD to have to full version with subtitles ... worth the 13.98 it is selling for!

Welcome ... "like Kensai said!"