Lupin1

Oh ok. I've always just heard them called squat thrusts.

Sorry to sound dumb here, but what are burpees?

When I was a kid I remember some people having to do pushups every so often, but that was rare. It's a free class and there's always close to a year long waiting list for kids to get in, so even the kids seem to realize what a privledge it is to be able to participate. If they're consistantly misbehaving and disrupting class, they'll be asked to leave. There are plenty of kids waiting to take their place who will follow the rules and show they want to be there. For the adults it's usually just a verbal reminder. If we're standing around talking he'll tell us to start working on something because we're here to train. Although there is this guy who just got promoted to nidan who likes to argue with him constantly and talk while he's talking and he usually just says "don't argue with me. Just do it" but you can tell in his tone of voice that he's starting to get really annoyed with this guy.

I think I'm going to go for a Century middleweight since they seem to be pretty cheap brand new on ebay right now (the free shipping makes them cheaper than most lightweight gis on other sites) and I'm just a beginner so I don't need anything that fancy. I don't see anything extra on their website except the translation to "normal" clothing sizes, which may help. When I wear mens pajama pants (they're more comfortable than womens) I wear an X-Large and that fits me perfectly, and it says X-Large is a size 6.

Thanks. It's good to get a supplier's opinion. I wish there was a martial arts store around here still so I could just go and try things on. There was one right across the street from me but it shut down a year ago. Now the nearest one is in Boston, so I'll be buying online. I'm hoping that, as people said, my instructor will be able to give me an accurate call on what size I need when the time comes for me to buy my uniform (I don't know, though. People tend to not be very good judges on what sizes I need. They always think I'm smaller than I am. I carry my weight well, I guess). I wish those size charts were more accurate-- like if they gave waist measurements and chest measurements and hip measurements and stuff. That would make things a lot easier.

Actually, though-- I think it would be interesting to discuss stances. A few weeks ago when I was just restarting I was adopting a stance which I think is more common in other styles-- I had my front leg out pretty far with my back foot at an angle and more of my weight on my back foot. It felt like a very solid stance. But then I was given a reminder lesson on the Isshinryu front stance, with feet shoulder-width apart and the back toe in line with the front heel, both feet pointing straight foward and most of the weight on the front leg, which is bent at the knee so you can't see your toes. It just doesn't seem like a very stable stance at all. I wonder what the more experienced karateka think of it.

I did Isshinryu because the Isshinryu class was only $2 a class whereas all the other schools in town were wicked expensive and my parents couldn't afford it. Then when I became an adult who could pay for my own karate and was looking to get back into it, I did a lot of research on the schools around town and decided that the Isshinryu class I went to when I was a kid was more my style. It's purposely a very small class, it has an instructor who the Karate world seems to respect (lots of people on the FightingArts.com forums were saying anyone who could study with him was lucky), I have a lot of respect for the instructor based on how he taught me when I was younger, it's low key, there's a good balance of forms and technique along with application, there's absolutely no monetary motivation in training or promotions or anything because the class is free, the class is free... There were a lot of motivating factors in my decision to go back to my old school instead of going to one of the others around here. I also have to say as I'm looking at the different styles a bit more that I've grown to be really proud of the style itself-- its origins and its techniques. I think the vertical Isshinryu snap punch is just awesome and more practical than turning punches as is the close-range front kick. I also really love the forms.

Wow. My instructor would NEVER tell us we were near perfect with a movement, especially not the first time. He won't even tell black belts they're near perfect with the very beginning kata. He's been telling me constantly that I have the basics of the three kata I know down and that it's very impressive for just five classes, but he still says I'll always have a lot to work on and he says that to everyone-- "very good, but you can fix this" or work on that or make the whole thing sharper or harder or faster. I've never heard "near perfect" from him when talking to anyone. To tell you the truth, I still think it's the fact that you share that "mischievous personality" with him that makes him like you. I'm the same way and when I share that with a teacher, we just bond like crazy. One of my college professors even "adopted me" because we shared that personality and I even went down to Virginia (13 hours away) to visit him and his family a few months ago and him and his wife are trying to convince me to move down there. They even said I could live with them while I got settled. Even though he says it's because you're a fast learner, my guess is it's the personality that makes him really bond with you and not just that you catch on quickly.

I really want to go to the dentist and have the root canal I need, but I don't have insurance and can't afford the several thousand dollars it'll cost.

Well it doesn't have anything to do with our style, but in our club all the adults decided years ago that they didn't want to wear any bars or symbols of rank on their black belts-- they just wanted to train without all the pomp and circumstance. They still get promoted to nidan and sandan (our sensei doesn't promote above that, I don't think) but they don't wear anything that says what level they are.

Well I would hope that any instructor you'd have would never purposely put you up against someone who was really mad at you during training, although I'm not sure why people in your dojo would be really mad at you...

Tonight we did kata all night long (with some application work from the various kata thrown in). I have to say it was more of a workout than I was expecting. I was a little show off and decided to try to the first three kata during the warmup instead of just the first one that he had me working on before break. So he had me do the first three kata again and again and again 1-2-3-1-2-3. I must have done them each ten times. My heart was racing and my face was beat red by the end of it. I even had to use my inhaler while I was walking to my car (I usually do take it *before* I exercise, so don't get on me about that-- it's just the previous few classes didn't have me break a sweat, so I thought I wouldn't need it). I'm really out of shape...

Hahaha. Well, they hand out the belts in the kids' class (the kids have to bring in money for them at the next class, of course-- they aren't free), but I don't know what they do in the adult class. It's easy to keep a lot of kid-sized belts around because there's a lot of kids in the program. There aren't too many adults and the majority of the adults are black belts, so I doubt they keep too many size 5 or 6 belts in the closet...

See I was under the impression that the whole testing thing and the ceremony surrounding it was a modern invention and that traditionally the rank would be known to just student and teacher and that there were no formal tests. I'm not sure where I heard that, though, so I may have just made it up... And I have to say, our method wasn't without it's own stresses. Like I said before-- people know when they're getting close to their next belt and when they're being watched like a hawk. I remember after I mastered the required techniques and kata for each belt and I could see the instructors watching me, my heart used to race every class until I got my belt. Sometimes I'd go for a few months getting nervous before every single class thinking that that was the night and I'd kill myself to make my punches harder and my blocks faster. Of course, it was usually once we've let our guard down and stopped thinking "tonight's the night" that we actually got our belt (maybe they were just trying to see how long they could get us to kill ourselves for before promoting us).

Well I don't know if a black belt can be compared to a professional athlete. Anyone can become a blackbelt if they put in the time and effort-- it doesn't take a professional. I was a lifeguard in college and did competitive swimming in high school, but I took the beginner's swimming class in college (like for people who can't even float) because my friend took it and didn't want to take it alone. It wasn't that bad-- the teacher just used me as the demonstrator for everything and I just got to hang out in the pool and help the other students.

It really has been. I think if you do it when you're younger, it helps, because it's easier to build that muscle memory at that age and the muscle memory gets ingrained into your system longer. I forget some of the names of things (like a roundhouse kick vs a cresesnt kick) but so far people have been showing me something and then I'm able to do it (mostly) like I've been doing it for awhile. And I'm shocked by how many of the kata I remember and how many tiny details (like shifting weight and things) I remember of each kata. I'm though I'm trying to keep myself from getting "belt hungry", I'm really curious if I'll be ready to wear my 6th kyu belt again by the time I get my uniform in a month or so.

One of the teachers was talking about how she's like a dentist because working with some students is like pulling teeth. One 7th grade blonde girl with this blank look on her face (the stereotypical blonde) says "wait... you're a dentist?" *slap forehead*

Haha-- I just found this on my sensei's old website and I thought it was funny. He says in order to qualify as master, first you have to die and then wait 25 years. If 25 years later people still remember your name in connection with your art, you're a master. After 50 years if they still remember you, you're a grand master.

Does shoveling my driveway for two hours count? My arms do feel like jelly...

Let's see... My sensei likes to add in some non-Isshinryu kata adapted to Isshinryu while people are just starting to work on basics before starting Seisan. He also likes to modify kata for beginners and then adds to them once people reach black belt. When I was younger I learned these modified kata: White Belt-- Fukyugata Sho (Shorin ryu) Purple Belt-- Annaku (Shorin ryu) Orange Belt-- Seisan (the first Isshinryu kata) Yellow Belt-- Saifa (Goju ryu) Advanced Yellow Belt-- Seiunchin (2nd Isshinryu kata) I only remember Sho, Annaku, Seisan and the beginning of Seiunchin, though, so once I'm done refreshing my memory on all the finer points of the first three, I'm going to have to slow down and relearn the two Yellow Belt kata.

Same as always-- eat healthier, exercise more and lose weight. I've only ever suceeded with that goal one year (lost 20lbs a few years ago-- I kept it off so far, but I've still got a long way to go). We'll see this year...

To tell you the truth-- I'm not sure many people do think martial arts are just for men anymore. At least not in the self-defense arena. There are dozens of woman's self-defense classes around here (although those are less martial arts and more "how to spray mace in a guy's eyes and then kick him in the nuts"). When it comes to martial arts, I think I do feel a bit awkward as the only woman in the adult class at my school. When I was a kid about half the students were girls, so there was no problem there. I don't think the adult class has had a woman in it in a long time, though. All the black belts are completely fine with it (my guess is they were here the last time there was a woman in the program, so they're more used to it), but the only kyu-ranked guy in the class seems to be a little uncomfortable with it. It may be because they're having me work with him since we're both the beginners (me being more of a beginner than him). But while we were doing some partner work on the applications for one of the kata he expressed concern that he might "miss and hit me in the boob" and so he was uncomfortable going full force with the punch he was supposed to be aiming at my chest. So then our instructor launched into a long story about the history of women training in the martial arts, which, needless to say, was a bit uncomfortable. I'm sure the guy will get more used to the idea of training with a woman in time. Or heck-- maybe the sensei will just let me train with the black belts who are more comfortable with it and so I'll get better faster. I doubt that, though.

I learned it "calm in the eye of the storm".

It might just be your personality. I'm the same way. That "sweet little girl who always smiles and is always so interested in what I have to say". My male professors loved me for that reason, as do my male instructors in extra-curriculars, my priests back when I was Catholic, etc. It's a charm that certain young ladies have with older male teachers. Like you said-- it's not physical or sexual or anything (ewww- they're all wrinkly and old) it's just a way of interacting that some of us young ladies have naturally that tends to make them like us. You can tell you're doing it when you get that look-- the squinty eyed, small smile, half curious, half admiring "proud father" look. I've formed lots of strong, almost father-daughter bonds with my teachers over the years because of it. Just don't push it too much and you should be fine.

No, the first way he showed doesn't cross over in the back while the second way (which is easier for kids) does. Try tying your belt both ways and you'll see what I mean.