KickChick

Hey Old Rookie you did say "unhealthy" right? Well, I can prove you and 360 wrong on your choices! (I do agree soda and chips are by far the worse!) #1 Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, the same chemical released in our bodies when we fall in love. #2 Chocolate is a natural stress reducer - it releases the calming brain chemical serotonin. #3 Chocolate is a natural mood elevator - it releases " feel good" endorphins. #4 Chocollate is high in magnesium - which helps to stabilize moods and emotions. #5 Chocolate contains antioxidents - special disease fighting chemicals that keep us healthy. #6 Chocolate helps keep arteries clean - it may even be more beneficial than red wine. #7 Chocolate helps prevent tooth decay - it contains an anti-bacterial agent that keeps cavities at bay. #8 Chocolate is low in caffeine - one ounce has only 6mg of caffeine. #9 Chocolate is low in cholesterol - dark chocolate is cholesterol-free and milk chocolate has only 7mg per ounce. #10 Chocolate is more satisfying than any other food - it has over 500 aromas and flavors, providing optimal pleasure to the taste buds Chocolate is especially healthy when eaten with ice cream. Ice cream is made from milk, which is a healthy energizer. Besides, the calories in ice cream immediately burn themselves up trying to warm the ice cream to 98.6 degrees. It takes energy to heat the ice cream up, and that energy is provided by the calories in the chocolate and in the ice cream. Chocolate, when eaten with cookies or cake and ice cream is the healthiest choice of all. The wheat used to create the flour that was used to create the cookies or cake provides you with your daily allotment of whole grains. However, there is only a small amount of whole grains in a piece of cake or a cookie, which means that you have to eat lots in order to fill your daily needs. ... you believe this right??? Peanut butter lowers blood cholesterol, is effective in helping people oncertain diets to lose weight and keep it off, much more satisfying, for longer periods of time, than high- carbohydrate snacks and comprised of important plant chemicals, such as phytosterols, thought to help fight heart disease and cancer. So you see Chocolate , Peanut Butter and Ice Cream are my favs!

Thanks for coming back and filling us in on your first class... http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=52464&highlight=#52464 ...hmm, I hate to say I TOLD YOU SO (see above post) KickChick: "But what you will find is that you are going to get mighty winded in the beginning. May I suggest you start walking/jogging a bit to work on your cardio endurance to at least get you through your class." Would be cool if they have cardio "kickbox" ... take a 1-2 classes a week. Many of our TKD students take our cardio kickbox classes to develop more power in the kicks/punches (all kicks/punches are executed on wavemasters) plus developing their endurance level. You will also burn 700-900 calories a session! Purchase a good quality Cardio Kickbox video program to do at home ... a bag isn't necessary for just working on cardio endurance. Take a look through Health & Fitness forum ... Do a "search" keywords (cardio, endurance) in just H & F forum and you should come up with lots of tips.

No one under 2nd dan black belt instructs at our school.... but advanced belts do help out the lower belts in drills and forms during class. Currently I am not teaching TKD classes. I did on several ocassions "fill in" when our master instr. was in a bind or on vacation. The very first time he did give me a 2 day notice. As brown belts we take turns stretching / warming up class ... so I was accustomed to that! .... but teaching?? This is way before I started teach our cardio kickbox program. Okay I have to line everyone up ... lead the opening student creed .... conduct the floor techinques for all belts bowing out the lower belts as I progress to more advanced techniques. Lead all the belts in their forms and then pair everyone up for sparring. Forgetting how to count Korean was my biggest worry! I felt uncomfortable teaching only because I was a fairly recent 1st dan black belt and mainly felt unworthy to teach (especially to 2nd and 3rd dan black belts) .... maybe I felt as though I wasn't as good .... or maybe just getting accustomed to my own level of skill as a black belt, whatever, ... anyway ... I am weeks away from 2nd dan and much more self confident in my own skills now. Now as far as teaching cardio kickboxing ... try strapping on a microphone and constantly talking to your students as you workout aerobically. Talking while kicking and punching is extremely difficult. ,... (never mind trying to keep your students at the same tempo! Developing a class curriculum is also time consuming. When I taught those few class in TKD (as I do my kickbox classes) I write down exactly what I was going to cover in that 1 hr. (drills and combos, conditioning & strength exercises) and would look it over before class time. I make a mental note of what I wrote (never work from paper!) so as not to get a mental block. Nothing is worse than all of a sudden forgetting what to do next and having everyone standing there in a fighting stance staring at you (or in kickbox class ----thy're doing jump front kicks to the back until they're red in the face).... It is a very rewarding position to teach martial arts providing that you are sufficiently qualified and personally ready to teach.

We "shoulder" responsibility, put our "shoulders to the grindstone" and occasionally "carry the weight of the world on our shoulders." Maybe that's why more than 4 million people in the U.S. seek medical care each year for shoulder problems. Here are some more exercises (with pics) much like the second link you provided Bretty .... http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/booklet/view_exercise.cfm?Thread_ID=19&topcategory=Shoulder Many martial artists suffer rotator cuff tears due to the nature of the "sport" ... repetitive movement. And true Jack, injuries are also due to improper weight lfting techniques!!

Considering the standard bench press bar weighs 45 lbs (you need to take that into consideration) ... Are we talking one rep here?? I can bench 60% of my total weight .... so I guess that's pretty good for a woman and an "older" woman at that! Free weights offer more sport-specific movement patterns because they incorporate more stabilising muscle groups. They also require more co-ordination. The true measure of strength is the bench press and the leg press ... why? They are compound movements incorporating most of the large muscle groups in the upper and lower body. If you plan on testing your "strength": 1. Warm up thoroughly with light cardio and 10mins of stretching to all major muscle groups. 2.Chose a weight that you think is about 80% of your 1-RM. Don't sweat over this ... just guess! 3. Perform the exercise... the bench press )or leg press) with perfect form for one rep only. 4. Rest for at least 5mins. You're not working out! 5. Add as small a weight increment as possible and try again. Remember to have your spotter with you. 6. Keeping resting and repeating until you find a weight that you can't quite manage on your own. The weight before that is your 1-RM. Results Take your 1-RM weight for the bench press and leg press s and divide it by your body weight. So for example if you leg pressed 300lbs and you weigh 175lbs your score is 1.7. Check your score with the chart below: One Rep Max Scores Bench Press Poor Fair Good Very good Excellent Men 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 Women 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 Leg Press Poor Fair Good Very good Excellent Men 1.4 1.8 2.0 2.4 2.8 Women 1.2 1.4 1.8 2.0 2.2

yep.... already gone over this book here! http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3427 ... actually the book I suggested is actually fiction with some good non-fiction ma content. Maybe we can bear this in mind for further posting to this thread .... I mean after all it is MA entertainment

Never actually crossed my mind to have a "Women in Martial Arts" forum category (... although all the 'other' boards have one).But we are not like other boards. I don't believe in segregating martial artists... we all need and must learn from one another however "difficult" it may be for the male to understand or even want to listen to the certain issues that "plague" women martial artists .... such as the topic link Sai posted above. It is not such a bad thing for men to get more in touch with their feminine side. Actually according to this article this will create less turmoil in the world. http://users.sedona.net/~sugilis/02.html

Well from your previous post drunken I see that you are still looking for a school.... possibly kenpo? Every school has different time schedules ... lengths of class vary from 45 min. to 90 min. to even 2 hr classes. Some twice or three times a weeks or even "open" training. It really depends on the school. Good luck and sure do hope you find something that interests you. Tell us more in Introductions about you .... what your goals are for practicing martial arts and from where you are located. Maybe we can direct you to a school in your area.

Barry Eisler's long-awaited novel, RAIN FALL is now out. (I found this email notice in my inbox) I plan on reading it, it looks interesting. "It contains a unique and powerful blend of Japanese culture with a modern samurai twist this means plenty of violent hit-man grappling stuff for those who like that sort of thing - as well as a better understanding of the corrupt political structure seen virtually everywhere. " You can view/purchase the book at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail//0399149104/qid=1029784124/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-4319466-4083922?s=books To learn more about author and this particular book go to: http://www.barryeisler.com

I had to laugh when I saw the thread topic because usually when refering to a band's music it's their "CD" and not their "album" ... when I say "album" to people they say it reveals my age! Being an ex-radio dj I have an extensive "vinyl" album collection. Many of them are "classics" .... some are real collectibles not only for the music but the album covers. I can understand your appreciation for music 360 ... I have the same (which spans all types of music genre). You did have a few of my favs listed! Dream Theater is my new found music love as of late. I've been mixing a cd for my husband who is also going to see Satriani/Dream Theater in concert next month.

I posted this in "Getting Started in the Martial Arts" and it's worth repeating here because I am in total agreement that a certain body-type works best with certain styles. Bill "Superfoot" Wallace wrote an article once in I believe BlackBelt mag about how to go about choosing a martial art. In it he explained that no one wakes up and decides what type of martial art to get into. You learn about those different systems only when you join a school and start reading books and magazines. He explains this is unfortunate because too many people end up studying an art that is not particularly well-suited to their body type and personal goals. Although they often find out whether they are gifted in the art they've selected or they should have picked a different style during their first three months of training. He suggests saving yourself some wasted time by reviewing the following guidelines for selecting a martial art. "Because judo concentrates on throwing techniques, it is a good choice if you have a short, squatty physique. You won't be punching or kicking, so you'll have to rely on maneuvering close to your opponent, getting under his center of gravity and tossing him into the air and onto the mat. Judo is also a good choice if you are tall and lanky and don't want to wrestle or get down on the ground because you've got too many limbs in the way. However, even if you are highly skilled, you will have trouble keeping a shorter opponent away from you. If you are small, you may want to study jujutsu, but you must not have an aversion to going to the ground, rolling around on your back and getting covered with sweat-both yours and your opponent's. While you struggle to get your opponent into position for an armbar or choke, you will probably have to crawl between his legs and under his arms and contort your body in all sorts of directions. Having sustained a back or neck injury could preclude you from doing that. Tae kwon do is best-suited for you if you're tall, slender and flexible. Those qualities will enable you to execute fast high kicks all day long. However, if you're heavily muscled or significantly overweight, you may find that your legs get awfully heavy after a while and that your kicks become slower and slower. You may also have to contend with poor endurance and flexibility. (Note: Not all Tae Kwon Do schools are "sport" and geared towards just competitions) If you have a strong, stocky build, consider practicing shotokan or shorin-ryu karate. Those arts will allow you to showcase your strong hand technique and stances, and you can become very successful in competition and self-defense once you master them. Wrestling is a good choice if you are compactly built, strong for your size and have a good sense of balance and movement. " True, these may all be generalizations and not the "norm" by any means. I believe certain body types are prone to work best with certain styles.

Opinions & tips on the "side kick" have been covered in these previous threads: http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=757 http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=322 You can throw a side kick any number of ways in order to "fit" the situation. You would throw a side kick very differently in sparring than in a real attack I am sure! To generate power in the side kick you can also step behind your kicking leg before executing which adds more forward momentum to your kick.

Whoa ... ... I like that!

... same here KSN ... I never encountered this either ! That is why I brought it up! hee hee Dojo Hares hmmm... there are an increasing number of us bb "chicks" and instructors!

I train 7-9:00 Mon-Thurs. and Fri-Sun is off time ... is there anyway we can "chat" as we are all online. Like the chat they have on (https://www.myfamily.com) We have a family site where we all can chat when we all log on to the site at same time ... ... . Maybe one week day and one weekend afternoon (??)

Sure thing@ http://www.bath.ac.uk/~masrjb/Stretch/stretching_4.html

"Real first name (as it appears on birth cert. is Debra) alrightee then ... outside of KF I am the "Goddess of ... Deeply Empowered Babe who Reasons Amazingly

I honestly believe that you will get differing answers to that question. You can tell by their answers who has a black belt and who does not.... at least it is apparent to me. You'll get different answers from practitioners of different styles. Ask someone of the general public and you will receive yet another different answer to this question "What does a black belt mean to you?" There are many myths concerning the "black belt" ... we have many threads on this particular subject already The word that used to be associated with black belt was 'coveted' because not too many people could earn one. To me a measure of my skill and diligence ... not a beginnng or an end. To quote a t-shirt of mine: "Thousands of hours of training, Hundreds of classes, Countless bumps & bruises.... One Black Belt

ok ... I had never heard of this term until I was reading through a woman's martial art site and although these occurrences of the "dojo bunny" have never appeared at my particular school, I thought I would make the male instructors and their senior male students aware of this predatory "animal". So what typifies a "dojo bunny" -- it is a female who hangs out a the school just to be around the instructor or maybe a senior student. Some of these guys are powerful and exude confidence, an a lot of women find that attractive. Dojo bunnies work their way into the dojo solely to develop a relationship with the instructor. Learning martial arts is the furthest thing on their minds. Some instructors have strict codes against personal relationships of any kind with students - friendships or otherwise! (see our dating thread http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2809&start=0 ) But some do not, so sometimes the dojo bunny strikes successfully. The majority of serious female martial art students look down upon these dojo bunnies. They are pretty easy to pick out and eventually they go away if they don't get what they want. (... or if the rest of the serious women students declare "rabbit season" LOL) Sometimes theres an occasional convert (one who starts out with ulterior motives but changes into a serious student later). But thatis more of an exception than the rule. The dreaded dojo bunny is easily spotted by both male and female students and are generally not taken seriously. These "bunnies" give serious women martial artists a bad name and 'most' men don't like them because they eat up space and the instructors time and attention. But take heed --- they usually don't last more than a few months.

Back in the day when I started training in TKD .... you were given a uniform/dobok minus the "white" belt it came with. You had to earneven that belt! (I think it was 10 lessons) On average a our Tae Kwon Do students will be promoted every 4 months up to Brown Belt. At Brown Belt level, promotion on average is 6 to 8 months.(3 degrees of brown for child - 2 degrees for adult) The following minimum requirements apply. 1. Knowledge of required material up to current belt level. 2. Steady attendance. 3. Must have no more than 5 lessons remaining on lesson count at the beginning of the month of promotion.

Welcome to KarateForums ... no need to lock this thread, so add on some more info if you like! Tell us more about you and what do you train in

Hello Ryan and welcome!

This one's for the girls!!! ( or you guys can try to .... Are you a "God" ) http://www.gillettevenus.com/discover/discover.asp I am ... KickChick is: a Kindly Intense Character who Knows Courageous Hope and Intuits Candidly with Kindness

Well New York is a big place .. and not quite sure of whether you want to learn knife defense or how to fight with knives/swords. Try here http://cutlerscove.com/links/edgedweaponinstruction.html you may be interested in trying a Filipino martial arts based school in your area or jiu-jitsu http://nyjiujitsu.com/NYJJindex.htm

Thank you XpOiSoN FrEeX (such a gentleman!) I believe we were all trying (in our own ways) to set the record straight with shuriken ... it is too often that someone posts something that gets people to feel the need to defend their style for whatever reason the person seems to be misinformed. Hopefully shuriken is now informed and hasn't taken offense in the way some of us have.