sperki

Good luck, Aurick! Making the required lifestyle changes is always a challenge at the start. I made some similar changes several years ago. After sticking with it for a couple of months it just became my identity. Now at work I’m “that guy” that shows up with overnight oats in a mason jar and my coworkers know I’m off to the gym after work.

My wife and son just returned to the US after 2 weeks in the Osaka area. It was cherry blossom season. They saw kyudo, karate, kendo, and judo classes, hike mountains, saw shrines and a castle, and so much more! I'm jealous that I have to live vicariously through their photos! It looks and sounds awesome.

Maybe it is a tournament thing, I've never been to one, but I see it with other sports. Although it's hard to imagine kids appreciate that treatment any more than you did. In my mind, especially for kids, martial arts should be something fun, something they look forward to. I want my kids to stick with it, not feel belittled and teased. I'm pretty sure their peers harass them enough.

Using the gym ball for balance is great, but remember it's only been two and a half weeks since christmas. Developing balance, like developing strength, is a slow process. There area couple of areas to think about. One, strength, which has been addressed. But something called proprioception is basically knowing where your body is without looking. Improving both of these will improve your balance. Try just standing on one foot while you brush you teeth. You don't really have to move, and you can grab the vanity if you need. When that gets easy, try it with your eyes closed.

Good luck, and congrats! Running, especially when first starting, is hard. I run about 3 days each week, and really enjoy trail running. So no, assuming you don't have any injuries, twice a week will be fine. I think the physical benefits are fairly obvious, but the biggest benefit is accessibility. Have shoes (or go "Born to Run - barefoot)? Have a way outside? 30 minutes later you've gotten a good workout in. But we could get into the new blood vessels, increased mitochondria, and sweating efficiency too, if you want...More seriously, remember to look around and enjoy it, running's not supposed to be punishment.

Skullsplitter, you're quite welcome; as the father of a 5 year old and an almost-1-year old, parenting continues to be the most stressful, and fulfilling, aspect of my life. When actually engaged in the act you never know if you've taken the correct approach. To get to where you are and see the results is quite rewarding. Congrats to both of you!

Huffing and puffing is good, right? It means we're getting some cardio in. 15love welcome to MA, hopefully you kept at it during the holidays. Your posts are excellent; well thought out and written, and engaging. Good luck to you and your son.

Good luck to you and your son. It sounds like you've done a great job with parenting, and you should both be proud. Others have summed up advancement (to any level) beautifully - it's just another stepping stone down the trail of martial arts and life.

Sensei8, interesting idea. She looked like a robot going through it. But it was impressive, more so because she's 7. Does she grasp all of the bunkai? Maybe not. Is she mature enough to decide when to use it? Probably, most 7 year olds know hitting isn't acceptable. We all know adults that are quite immature. Unfortunately that doesn't stop them from "earning" blackbelts. Would I want her as my sensei? Not yet, but I bet I could learn something from her.

It is an interesting thought experiment. I need to look at you sources when I have more time (I have to get my boy to soccer practice), but assuming your measurements are correct, that's pretty awesome. Bullet has less mass but more velocity. 60 kg in a punch might be generous, that's likely more than half of a person's mass and would probably be quite unbalancing to put into a punch.

And I was going to skip my run because of some rain...I gotta go put my shoes on now. Thanks for sharing.

scohen nailed it. If you want more explosive power, do explosive exercises. Just make sure you have good form. The Olympic lifts are awesome and will build great power, but have a coach to teach you the form, and watch you to make sure it's correct. Otherwise you run the risk of injury (I mean there's some risk anyway, but you signed a waiver when you joined the gym). Clapping push-ups and leaping lunges are great exercises you can do at home, with just your body weight to develop some explosive power. Box jumps are another good one. As has been stated, you may put on some mass, but you probably won't turn into Arnie. Do a little stretching, avoid the 'roids, and you'll still be able to comb your hair and touch hands behind you back.

This post flows into the question what is walking away from martial arts? I mean, wouldn't you still be a martial artist, just by virtue of years of training? That helps shape us as individuals and never leaves. Could I stop training regularly in martial arts? Sure. Having a 4 year old and a 4 month old and a bizarre work schedule have greatly reduced my MA time. But I still think about it and how to apply it and imagine getting back to it with my kids. So even if not actively training, I think many of us are still engaged in martial arts, it just might be tangentially. Physical ailments may force us to use our arts in new ways, but that fighting spirit, the patience and dedication that many of us learned in MA will always shape our approach to obstacles life throws at us.

Hawkmoon, to answer your question: I don't train in public, or wear my gi to the supermarket, because it feels like I'm trying to show off. It's like being a kid going to the store in her soccer uniform, "Look at me, I play soccer!" Additionally, let's be honest, martial arts are a bit stigmatized in this country (the US). I don't need to run into a doctor I work with and have that inform his/her impression of me (whatever that may be) on a professional level. Would I practice kata in the park? Sure, if it were secluded and there weren't a bunch of people around. Have I? No - that's why I go to the dojo. I can trail run outdoors, but I can't in the dojo. And as for picking up milk on the way home, well I'd rather change; My gi doesn't have pockets.

Sure cardio is important, heart disease is the leading killer in the US. But...I don't go to the gym for cardio - I just go out the front door. Or I drive to the mountains and run / bike / hike. To answer Safroot's question, in the gym I work all major muscle groups roughly the same. I probably put a bit more enthusiasm into legs. That's where the power and balance for any standing move comes from. Sometimes I have to be really thoughtful to exercise my masseters less. In short legs; want stronger shoulders? Do standing dumbbell overhead press. Want stronger traps? Hangclean. My big exercises tend to work legs, core, and chest or back.