gheinisch

Welcome to KF.

Welcome

Welcome to KF.

Glad everything turned out OK. Your right, things like that really make you focus on the important things in life and realize all those things that are not as important as you thought. Keep us updated.

There is a chart of the number of posts you need in the FAQ section. See the link at the top of the page. Some good info in there.

Welcome to KF. Nice to have you here.

Congrats!

Welcome to KF.

41, 42 next month. Hey, the forty crowd is well represented. Bring on the young guns.

Nice work. Congrats!

Welcome to KF.

We're all creatures of habit. Sounds like you have both found a friend.

Welcome to KF.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Welcome to KF.

Welcome to KF.

Our Hanshi used to bounce, as he would say "a long time ago" and he has used this in real life. You would be surprised at how many people will stop in their tracks when you hold your hand up and yell STOP. He deescalated several confrontation this way, at the very least it disoriented his attacker long enough to give him the advantage. There where times it didn't work as well.

Well Done!

Welcome.

Welcome to KF.

Welcome to KF.

Nice article and always a subject that brings up some good discussion on the subject. I had e-mailed one of my Senei's an article that I had seen on Kata and he e-mailed me back with this response which brings up some good points. I thought I would share it with you. "Thanks for the article Greg. This is one of my favorite topics. I frequently attend an American Freestyle school on Saturdays, because they do some heavy contact sparring which I enjoy to keep me sharp. One day I got into a discussion with the instructors about stances. Their front stance is more like our jungle stance (mitsurin dachi? been awhile for me with the Japanese). The stance does propel you forward powerfully, but the balance of the Zen-kutsu I have always maintained is superior. I demonstrated a kata for them, which produced some amusement, but after they were finished laughing they told me that precision moves like that were just not practical or realistic. Here began my line of questioning to them: "Do you all agree that the movements in that kata would help me to develop and maintain balance?" They responded "Yes." I said "What about speed, power, range of movement, lung capacity, general health and vitality?" Again they responded "Yes." Here was my punch line..."What percentage of my life do you think will require me to defend myself? It is most likely that I will never have to do it. But what percentage of my life do you think I will benefit from having power, balance, range of movement, lung capacity, general health and vitality?" They knew I nailed them. Street combat is practical to prepare for street combat, but I challenged them to not be so hasty to rush to judgment and label all kata or traditional martial arts as impractical. I think we can agree that when it comes to street combat (.00001% of your life, maybe), combat training is more practical. But when it comes to everyday living, health, and well-being (about 100% of your life), traditional martial arts is the better choice."

Congrats!

Welcome to KF.

We're a little ahead of you guys here in the South. I just got through cutting my grass, again. Our trees are all done blooming and are full of leaves. The flowers are in full bloom now, my roses are looking good. Almost 80 degrees here today.