mr_obvious

I think, after reading the last 1.5 pages, we've gotten.....a little out of phase with the original post. While I stick to my comments in post #3, as to whether or not a child could competently fill the role of a "real" 3rd Dan / Sensei; that's not to say I, or any other well-intentioned practitioner shouldn't take instruction or feedback from a child. Where I currently train in Shorin-Ryu, we greet each other at the start of each class, or 1-on-1 exercises with the phrase "onegaishimasu." Which taken in the context of our dojo, can be translated to "please teach / show / help me." Everyone says it to everyone, even our Sensei's. Concept being -- we can all learn from each other, regardless of age, rank, experience, background....

By chance, what style does your dojo practice? I'm fascinated by the Yoshukai version, however being a somewhat esoteric style, it's version is likewise...........elusive.

I suppose it depends on a given school's current attendance, and desired attendance. I obviously wasn't there to see the setup, but I gotta say, my impression yields one word "tacky." I've never been a fan of demo-ing in public though, so........

No, I can't say MA has helped *my* driving skills. I could see how it might improve the average driver though. Developing hand-eye coordination, and fine motor control of a related muscle group (such as hands and feet), can improve driving ability. I've spent some time on racetracks in my day, both on four and two wheels. I'm not a professional by any stretch, but I do have experience with varying platforms and track formats. Such as auto-x (gymkhana), time-attack, HPDE, 1/4 mile, moto GP, and high speed flat out runs. One key performance trait common to the two, is "look where you want to go, not where your at." Just like in kata, your head movement should precede any action (if only a split second ahead). Same goes for driving. Always, always, always look ahead and / or through the corner, where you want to be, not where you're at. The two diverge in the sense that driving dynamics are maximized through subtlety and finesse; whereas MA is more about speed and power. Sharp stabs at the control pedals, and quick tugs at the wheel are bad.

X2, as a hobby. Just a way to get centered and focused. It also serves as a dynamic fitness method. @ the OP, why not start free club? Like a study group of sorts. It's just my opinion that nobody should have to forgo MA participation for lack of money. Perhaps a local rec center, church, library (you never know...) would be willing to donate space in the interim. While not the ideal way to learn, A LOT of katas step diagrams can be found online, as well as videos on YouTube. Heck, some libraries even have kata DVDs on the shelf! There are creative ways to train, if perhaps not the most conventional.

The key word there is "should." Maybe there was a time when BB was a guarantee of ability. It was probably before my time I propose, that schools with heavy emphasis on a belt system, are encouraging the concept of "Belt Mania" (heh, I just coined a phrase). Our nation (USA) tends to turn everything into a competition; who has the fastest car, who makes more money.....who can get the highest rank in MA, etc. If the belt / rank concept disappears, what then? Maybe students efforts will become more focused on the real task at hand -- executing technique better than the next guy. As a student myself, I expect to see results for my efforts. Actual results, not some stupid belt. I'm surely an exception. I've used this analogy before: people don't spend time in a gym to get belts. They go to see improvements in cardio, strength, definition and ultimately, health. No belts handed out at any gym I've ever heard of. Yet people still go...... My primary dojo these days has three non-black-belts in its system: white, green, brown; and is 95% adults. Other than where in line we stand and which kata we're each practicing, there is no mention, emphasis or even much talk about belts. Belts are there as a nod to tradition, but that's it. We all show up to train. My alternate school has ten colored belts, and is ~93% kids, and as you can guess..... "When can I test? Huh, huh? When do I get my next belt?!?" is the central topic of discussion. So my theory here is: if a school emphasizes belts, then its students will prioritize accordingly.

In some dojos, black belt still means a lot. However, without either an extensive competition resume and / or solid lineage back to an OG Sensei, the credential behind it is tenuous. Me thinks.... In no case is the color around someone's waist, a guarantee or indicator of ability. There are both incompetent BB practitioners, and highly competent non-BB practitioners in pretty much every style that uses a belt / rank system. I propose, that unless one aspires to teach, it's almost better to "sandbag" a little. For instance: find yourself having to prove self-defense in court? Sure will be easier to do so, without the opposition claiming "excessive force" because you're a black belt.

I've heard of this phenomenon (if you we could call it that). It surely didn't happen back when I was in HS; which wasn't all that long ago. Even in my middle-class-community, most HS kids' income went towards cars and going out. At the time, Andro was legal, most couldn't afford that, plus all the other supporting supps to do it right -- let alone ingestible gear (like Dianabol) or injectibles. Especially any sort of doctor supervised cycling. College, I could see. Colleges make a ton of revenue from their sports programs. But to go through all that at the HS level seems stupid. I mean....holy smokes! Between the ages of 15-18, most guys are naturally major league anabolic to begin with. lol....did we ever hijack this thread.

Oh, oh..... Funny and true story: not long ago, while getting some work done in my kitchen, one of the workers (who spent much more time flapping his lips, than working) saw my heavy bag in the backyard. Said something to the effect of: 'Better not let me play with it, I'd break it like that. [snaps fingers] Yeah, I'm a 5th degree blackbelt in Karate, I had to register my hands as weapons back when I lived in NYC.' I was really dying to ask what style he practices; knowing that most non-MA-ers aren't even attuned to the fact that "Karate" has many different styles and disciplines......and that everything he just said was total bull (except for the living in NY part, which was obvious by his accent). By the looks of the guy, the only things he's registered for are frequent cigarette and pizza buyers clubs. So I just smirked and nodded. After all, I really wanted the work done

Steroids and HGH can do some very amazing things. It's sad to say that most of the professional strength and conditioning coaches in the country find 300 lb men moving that fast as very suspect. Testing can be tricked and avoided. When there's hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, certain things get overlooked. I'm sure some are natural....but that would be the exception, not the rule. If that is the case, then that is too bad. Lots of kids with heros out there. I dunno..... Just my, perhaps unique, perspective on juicing: it costs a lot, not only in money, but long range health issues. It's not something one frivolously decides to pull a Nike and just do it. In many cases, pro athletes are the first in their family tree to earn a big (let alone decent) income. A to-juice or not-to-juice decision, potentially accelerating a budding career, often times is deemed an acceptable sacrifice to ensure their family is taken care of for years to come. Especially when getting to the "bigs" they find it's a prevalent practice. It just never bothered me to hear of a pro getting caught using. For them, the gains outweigh the risk. Juicing certainly isn't without real, serious and probable medical consequences. There were a lot of juicers at a gym I used to frequent. Most talked open and freely about it. None of them got anything for it, except moderately big, and a few stupid local bodybuilding competition titles. Big whoopee! Just my opinion, why do it unless you've got A LOT at stake...?

It's been said many times on this forum -- content is less important than who's teaching it. ....and where, and who else is there, vibe, etc.

Just state the obvious -- you injured yourself Since I work in a cube farm, and most everyone I work with is a total square..... Telling this line in response to....oh, uh, say.......cauliflower ear, spurs all sorts of behind-the-back whispering, speculation and rumor. People inventing reasons to cruise by your office, craning their neck to get a look. Rather entertaining, really. So, no.....I really don't go out of my way to discuss my training pursuits. Other than with people I'm close with, obviously. Not that I'm 'ashamed' or anything, I just don't feel the need to advertise.

Problem is that there's no way to control the ration of type 1 v type 2 musculature we have. It's genetic. So while on person may gain 15lbs of muscle and be tremendously explosive another may gain the same amount and end up being really slow. I think their time would be better spent doing plyometrics in order to take advantage of what they do have. Don't get me wrong, I think traditional weight lifting is necessary too. Balance in the workout regimen is a must. Yes, true. You in the biz? (seems like you know your stuff) What we want, for striking MA applications, is to develop FT fibers, thus creating a higher potential instantaneous force than if left untrained / unstimulated. Similar in concept to, say.....the Biceps. Bi, meaning two actual muscle heads in the group. No amount or training technique is going to develop a third, fourth.....indefinite head. But we can develop it's power. A byproduct of course, is hypertrophy and hyperplasia ("bulkiness"). It is said that plyo's tend to stimulate 'plasia in greater proportion (more strength with less size), but bulk nevertheless. So for all those lost in the jargon, the takeaway here -- muscle gain doesn't necessarily equal slowness.

Dern right, I did. I'm guessing by your posts, you're referring to something more like a billing agreement. I have a similar agreement at the gym I workout. Basically it allows them to automatically bill my Visa card at the end of each month; revocable or freezable at any time, at my request. But I haven't needed to exercise either option for a couple years. This practice, I wholeheartedly support. One less thing for me to remember; and keeps administrative overhead (and thus costs) down for the gym owner. Win-win. If I were to break a leg, be placed on TDY assignment, otherwise be unable or unwanting to train -- I can walk away! This is how it should be, IMHO.

Heh, heh....true. Blackbelts are available, cheap, to anyone with either a credit card or PayPal account.

I suppose its possible, from a technical perspective. I personally wouldn't set much store in a sensei, who possesses so little life experience. I'm a firm believer that Karate is a broader subject than merely application of forms.

Two examples: Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice. If I were caught in a confrontation with someone resembling either of these guys, you can bet I'm doing whatever possible to talk them down or ESCAPE! I wouldn't need to see any skill demonstration, lolz.

It is, actually. If you want to lose fat, then simply track your intake and make sure it's lower than your caloric expenditure. Basically target ~500 calories under intake value, for a safe weight loss. A calculator such as that linked below, will give you a rough estimate how many calories you'd burn, just lying around all day. How much extra you'd burn during various exercise.....there are calculators out there for that too (g00gle). There are ways to further increase results by leveraging endo function; as such, some people will have a harder time because of an impaired / malfunctioning endo system. At the end of the day, you can't beat the laws of physics. The body burns food calories to sustain itself, if intake is less than sustaining requirements, it pulls from stores (fat, muscle and bone in extreme situations) The total caloric profile should include: - Quality carbos (ie: wheat, oatmeal, brown rice products, fruits and veggies) for energy. - Essentials fats (ie: fish, nuts, olive oil). - Lean protein, preferably after workouts, to support muscle repair / growth. Heh....remember though. Having a formidable presence, sure helps dissuade potential attackers. Muscle bulk, and a killer haircut are a couple ways I personally achieve this goal. To say generically that muscle bulk slows you down, isn't 100% true. Overdeveloped "fast-twitch" musculature, will most certainly contribute to both power and speed as well.

Stretching before and after running, also serves as a good warmup / cooldown exercise. As we all should know -- sudden extreme heartrate fluctuations can preclude a cardiac event. I guess you could say, stretching your skeletal musculature prior to running, helps stretch the cardiac muscle too, lol.

If you're not overdoing it (hyperextending) with the stretches, you should be fine doing that every day. Just go slow, and don't pull anything! It will only set you back. Like any style...... The content of your kickboxing classes, combined with your specific goals, will ultimately dictate your peripheral training requirements. Generally speaking..... "1 day at the gym" isn't sufficient to meet most people's goals. Training one major muscle group per day, each week, is ideal; with other degrees of stratification in-between. The opposite end of the spectrum, for instance, would be something like: Monday: Kickboxing Tuesday: Upper body Wednesday: Kickboxing Thursday: Lower body / core Friday: Kickboxing Weekend: Rest / margaritas!

I wasn't negating the advantages of size, nor stating that smaller-statured combatants are necessarily disadvantaged. Merely stating that in a real-life defense situation (the 12-year-old we were discussing vs. someone older / bigger) there are key exploits which could turn the tables in their favor. It's not definite that whomever is bigger, will prevail. It's just not guaranteed. While gaining lean mass will increase an individual's basal metabolism, and thus, caloric requirements to sustain -- it is not necessarily a guarantee of fat reduction. Ultimately dietary and nutritional components (relative to exertion) dictate weight fluctuations, influenced by endocrine function.

Yes, and yes. Keep track of your baseline performance, and refer to it occasionally as you progress. Oh....and welcome.

That's.....a lot. Kudos to her! Anybody notice the OP made one post, and *poof* Disappeared...? L.O.L.

It often times takes far longer than a week, or even several months to decide if a school is a right fit. With the Internet exploitation of McDojos and "McDojo-isms," many prospective students will turn around and walk out at the mention of the word "contract." I would, and have, with prejudice! I personally approach the selection of martial arts instruction, similar to that of grocery shopping. Whichever market provides the best combination of quality, price, convenience, selection, atmosphere -- is where I shop. I think most people would consider it outrageous, if they went to checkout, and the clerk said something to the effect of "Your total today comes to $100. Oh, by the way....to buy these groceries today, you are committed to spend $100 in our store every week. We've signed leases for the premises, spent money advertising and have other overhead costs to make our product available to you. Therefore, you must make a commitment to spend $100 each week, with us. No matter if at any point in time, your taste in product changes, our product offering changes, we don't have product you want, our service goes downhill, the other patrons get on your nerves, the building falls into disrepair, you lose your job, relocate, etc." Ultimately, if any business compares favorably to other offerings in the area, they won't need mandatory contracts. If, somewhere along the path, a proprietor experiences problems retaining customers, maybe they ought to look at the product / service they provide...... Furthermore, if a student ever decides they're unhappy training at a given facility, why force them to continue? All they're going to do is rain gloom-and-doom, and spread bad will. Just in clarification of my previous post: contractual commitments in regards to cell service, are a different ballgame. Non-pay-as-you-go carriers use term contracts to recoup subsidized hardware costs (iPhone FTW!)