sperki

Bushido-Man is right on about changing wrist size; there's not much muscle superficial to the wrist, so you won't be able to bulk that area up much. The good news is that it will make any additional muscle on your forearms look larger! Another exercise to try: just hang on a door jam. They're typically only about .5-1" deep, so you'll only be able to get your fingers on there. Try holding on for 15 second intervals and do a few reps if you can.

W-N-M thanks for the clarification.

So would an open stance limit the potential target areas? Although the kidneys may be open, there aren't a lot of prime targets on the back. If that's true it would be true for your opponent also. Would that make an open stance more defensive and a closed stance more offensive since there might be more areas to strike?

Good clips, thanks for sharing the link.

So there are two types of Wado-Kai, but only one is recognized by JKF, and it and the other two types listed both practice what I might call Wado-Ryu? Is it essentially the same art with three different titles?

The thread with the poll about a preferred side forward got me thinking. I was always trained to be able to fight with either side forward, but it looks like some people don't necessarily agree with that approach. I was trained that typically if you're right hand dominant you'll be inclined to put your left foot forward. That makes sense to me, it allows you to put more power / weight behind your strongest attacks. But if you're fighting an opponet that has his or her right side forward it might be beneficial to switch you stance to match theirs. I always just sort of accepted this logic, but know you folks having me asking...why? Is there some benefit or disadvantage to having fighter's torsos facing the same direction, or in opposite directions?

Brian there is a Wado Ryu school very close to me in Salt Lake City that I am considering joining. What is the difference between the Wado Kai, Ryu and Karate Jitsu?

Joe, well said, and I think that's right on. We all, hopefully, know when it's ok, or even appropriate, to throw a punch. The reality for most of us is that we will never encounter a situation when we're knocking the crap out of folks in an uncontrolled environment. But it is one of the reasons many of us took up a MA in the first place; hopefully we'll be better able to handle ourselves if a situation comes to blows. But I think one of the great things about martial arts is that you learn situational awareness and can ideally remove yourself from a potentially violent encounter before it comes to that. As fun as it is to spar in various controlled encounters, it's not often worth the risk of testing yourself in the "real" world. I'd like to think that if I ever got backed into a corner and a fight was inevitable there wouldn't be much punching going on, at least from me. I'd start by throwing rocks to reduce the number of bad guys from a distance, while running away, and then I'd go for a bottle, club, stick, or anything else that would cause more damage than my hand! I guess if they had a firearm it would change the equation, and I don't know the answer to that. I suppose that's when you just hand over your wallet then cancel your credit cards.

Howdy!

Good Luck!

Hmm...I might beg to differ about the cause of shin splints. It's typically considered an overuse injury and often related to shoes without enough cushion. Running shoes typically are only good for about 400 miles (of course this depends on the runner's physiology and terrain) and most of us wear them past that point. (The whole barefoot running argument is for another thread I think.) The best way to heal is the basic r.i.c.e. treatment, with the emphasis on rest. It can be pretty challenging for intense runners, but if you keep banging away they'll never fully recover. Take up swimming or cycling for your cardio work instead. Sensei8, to answer your question about prevention make sure your shoes are still in good condition and remember that the cushion will wear out before there's any visible damage to the shoe. Take up weight training to strengthen the muscles in the lower leg / ankle, and run on softer surfaces. Here's a link with some more basic information: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/shin-splints/DS00271

ZeroJustice, I mean this mostly as a joke, but how does your wife feel about the fact that you came home from your wedding relatively late in the evening (I assume the time on the post in MST) and you went to your computer!? And congrats

Nunchuku seem incredibly difficult to master. I've used them a bit and usually end up bruising myself. It's pretty impressive to watch Matayoshi catch the weapon when he switches from hand to hand. Good luck rogue!

I'm not very shy, but kiaing (is that really a word!?) during kata has always been difficult for me. It's always been more of a forceful exhalation; and I've never understood why some moves require a kiai, but not all of them. Should I hit my target harder in certain situations, or what? It's never been an issue with my sensei, but if it is with yours, you might try explaining why you're occasionally yelling at imaginary targets. And maybe you could explain it to me too

Pretty awesome stuff; it certainly makes me appreciate what a small piece of the universe we are.

I guess now the question is; is the soreness gone? It's been several days, if you haven't seen noticeable improvement you should probably think about the next step...like a doctor.

Wow, alright then, thanks for the encouragement Otto!

I used to have a short, three house stroll to the dojo and would typically wear my karate pants to class and put on the top and belt after I got to the dojo. This didn't seem to offend anybody and it was so close it seemed sort of silly to change; I wasn't likely to run errands on my way home!

Justice, don't you spend a lot of time on your hands in Capoeira? Maybe that's the way to go if you have foot problems.... Although, really Eagle, I think everybody else here is right on; you've got nothing to lose by trying your ma again, but everything to lose by just wishing you had. Good Luck!

Happy b-day and nice work. Although I'm pretty new, I can safely say there are a lot of bad MA forums out there. After watching this one for awhile I was pretty confident that it was a winner and since joining I've been completely convinced.

Ninjanurse, I'm sure it's disappointing, but it sounds like you handled it well, and even if the rest of the class doesn't exactly know what happened, word will spread and it will reinforce those things you talk about in class.

I think bushido's got it; talk to the folks that are interested and see what available time they prefer. I know Friday evenings aren't popular, but I've taken classes then if it's something I'm really interested in.

Except for the table and disco ball, I don't even know what I'm looking at. Really those are the only two identifiable objects in that room!

That's an interesting question I've never really considered. But it probably depends on why you've joined martial arts in the first place. I'd stick with my sensei, even if I attacked the attacker from a different direction with a bar stool and the original attackers buddies beat us all up. Sure karate should make us better fighters, but we're all fallible. My sensei's a bit past his prime, and while he's much more subtle than me his reactions, strength and stamina aren't what they used to be. But he knows a ton and has a lot to teach.

Did your wrist bend the same direction regularly (up, out, etc.) or was it collapsing in all directions? If it was always going the same way, it might be an indication of form issues.