oneheart

Most of the characters from II are present as well as some of the Alpha characters (Dan, Sakura, Rose, etc.). Ryu, Ken, and Guile are all present. I prefer to think of Ryu and Ken as a friendship rather than a rivalary, but that is because me and my roommate both train at the same karate school and he has short dark hair and I have long blonde hair so the comparison is made often. lol.

Well I didn't think I'd made it up first, but yeah that sounds right. Though the shin would have to be really close in I'd imagine.

I love Street Fighter IV. I'm a HUGE fan of the series and I think this was a very respectable and innovative fourth instalment. I have heard complaints about it, the two main ones being "The art is cheesy" and more commonly "WHAT!?!? My favorite character isn't in this one!!!" (espicially laughable when I hear people say their favorite was someone like Charlie Nash...who is dead.) So I was wondering if you guys think or have heard anything about other characters. And if they will make a franchise appearance again soon do you think it will be through downloadable content? I know downloadable content is all the rage now, but I kind of hope that isn't how they do it. I prefer it old school now that I'm old enough to just go buy the games. I'd really like to see a "Street Fighter IV Super Omega Alpha Turbo Galatic Ultra Mega Delux Tournament Tag Dynamo slap-yer-grandma-silly-cause-santa-is-coming-to-town hyper edition" And if they do, what characters do you see making a new apperance? My favorites were already included; Ken, Dhalsim, and espicially Sakura...I'm a legend online with Sakura now. I would like to see Makato (sp?) from Street Fighter III.

Yeah, but what are you using the kick for? One application I considered was that Muay Thai fighters and Boxers as well as some untrained fighters use a high guard with their hands, keeping both arms up near the face, some Krav Maga guys do this to. As fast as the front snap kick can be and because it can come in low I would think I might have a chance from a front or "seisan" stance as we call it in Isshinryu sometimes, to get up onder the guard and plug the ball of the foot into the stomach, or the solar plexus. Does this sound like a reasonable application? In the Seisan kata, I have imagined this as bunkai for the katas snap kicks, possible bunkai, I am still learning the kata. Yes, I have heard its use for the groin. I also considered though a slightly altered groin attack. Similar to the snap kick, but the ankle is bent down like in a round house, so that the instep comes straight up. The instep smashes into the BOTTOM of the groin, and you deliver the attack between the legs hard, as though you wanted to lift the opponet up. Does this sound like a feesable technique?

Not if they have to ask this question, no they shouldn't. It depends upon the Christian and the dojo. I don't want my karate watered down in any way, and the spiritual aspects of it are important to me. I'd rather it not be forced to work with a christian doctrine, whatever that may be as it changes with the individual and the denomination dramatically. Karate is not a religion, but it is for me personally a part of my religion. I need it for spiritual fulfillment. I don't really think comabt is the issue here, I don't think most christians would have a problem with that. Its eastern religion and philosophy that might grind their gears. I am of the opinion that its good that there are so many different religions, and I'm all for orthadoxy so long as it doesn't lead to hatred. So if you feel there is a conflict between your religion and your martial art you probably shouldn't study that art. Most cultures have their own martial arts style, if religion and culture are a large factor for you in making that decision, consider looking at a style developed within your culture or religious setting to make you feel more comfortable. Or go to a non-traditional school that doesn't have these features. The only thing about the later though is traditional schools are hard to find, I think for this very reason. I feel very fortunate to have mine which isn't very elaborate in the spiritual aspect but doesn't try to change it eithier. If my school ever closed, a large chunk of my spiritual life would be missing and it would be very sad. Most people will tell you that it isn't a religion, and thats fine. But for me, if the dojo closed it would feel like my church closed.

Trying to get my nutitional balance just right so that I can build muscle but still get everything else I need. Right now I'm taking the following steps. One formula I looked at said i needed 109 grams of protien a day. I was 161 pounds, does this sound right? I'm getting this through meats, trying to stay mostly towards fish, and one to three glasses of whey protien that contain about 28 grams per serving. Most of the rest of my diet is carbs. I found it very difficult to try and eat five fruits and vegetables a day and decided it would be easier to get this in liquid form so I've been switching servings out between V8 (original vegetable) and various pure fruit juices. I also take one centrum performance multivitamin a day. Am I doing things right? Wrong? Suggestions?

As I'm sure has been said many time here already, the belt system is a fairly new innovation. Maybe a good innovation, some think so some don't. Maybe its a tradition, just a new tradition. In a few hundred years it will be an "ancient tradition". Ever consider that? I guess if we really started training in our white belts and never changed or washed them till they turned black, that myth would become true as well. In any case, I like the esoteric stuff but we do need to aknoledge where this comes from and keep it in perspective. When I get a shodan, I will cherrish it I'm sure. I will likely have little traditions that go with it probably half from my school and half personal because thats just kind of my thing. Interestingly enough though we should consider many cultures put a lot of value into things that others might see as "just a piece of cloth". Consider the Jewish Tzitzit, for instance. I actually like that comparison a lot because a black belt should do three things a tzitzit also does (albeit the tzitzit does other things culturally as well). It should be a personal reminder of your responsibility, in this case as a black belt, a personal item to be cherished, and should give you unity with your fellow students in your style or school.

The kata is typically considered to hold the essence of karate not the kumite. But every school does things differently. Some schools rely only on free sparing while some go back to the one step stuff. I think one step sparring is way under appreciated. A really good Tai Chi teacher once told me "Don't confuse sparring with fighting. Its a martial contest. A fight is tick-tock. Remember that. Tick-tock. And usally ends with someone getting killed or maimed. Its a thing to be avoided." But to say no martial artist should worry about how it was "back in the day" seems silly. Not everyone is doing this for the same reason, and I think we should remember that. I think a lot of people study karate for a hybrid of reasons. The historical aspect of it is very interesting to some people and that alone might be motivation to discover how karate has changed till today. Saying it doesn't matter sounds like lazy science. Its not that it doesn't matter, its just hard to figure out. And its true, some of these founders of kata really did have to fight for life, so we should take that into consideration when looking at their kata. Elbows and knees don't get used much in sparring in some schools, very true. But it depends on how the school uses sparring. Many schools, including my own, have the philosophy that they don't want to disillusion their students to think that sparring is the same as fighting. Mine tends to use sparring to focus on specific aspects of combat and free sparing is generally said to teach endurance, timing, and space relations more than it helps to apply techniques. We will also use specific techniques for a set amount of time. For instance we might be trying to learn how to read an opponet without looking at his hands, or how to move so we are always just out of reach. So it depends on the school of thought, but one school of thought is that elbows and knees existing in kihon and kata IS its place in Karate and its encouragement to be used in regualr combat, as these schools do not consider kumite a direct paralell to real combat.

Hi everyone, first time poster. I just returned to Isshinryu Karate, my old dojo in fact, sense having to leave it after a short stent there in high school, but its now high up on my priorities and its always been a dream of mine to focus great attention to it. I have a question about the front snap kick. Its a technique almost everyone learns, and honestly I like it a lot. I have a lot of control over it, can get it strong at any height, and its pretty fast. Even though my sensei has never said so though I feel he isn't a fan of this kick. He teaches it but I sometimes wonder if I like it more than I should. What are some ways you find to apply this kick?