MasterPain

That was a great time. Look forward to watching some of it again.

Poor Craig... "I want to feel some of this pressure point stuff."

I fully expect vehement disagreement on this, but I don't really feel that literacy should be required. I know people smarter than myself, who, while not martial artists, are knowledgeable in their own area yet read at a 5th grade level. I agree with the idea that there should be a level of thought, but there should be an alternative to a written paper.

I don't like to see them at all between two young, low rank people. Those are usually the ones you have to worry about, due to lack of experience and a desire to win. That desire to win is a real booger.

That was fun, did you have the stick, knife and gun video too?

i find them too valuable to ignore, but dangerous. I like to threaten with them, but release far before finishing them. I also will just tap instead of try to escape. I feel safe with them within our happy little family. In other schools, I stay away from leg attacks entirely.

Nope, that goes to his canine home invasion post.

For a second there I believed that a haiku I was mistaken

7 a : physical equilibrium b : the ability to retain one's balance The first definition is what I usually mean when I say balance. It's an attribute just like speed, strength, flexibility, or cardio. The second definition I usually refer to as base. Base is good posture, a stance neither too wide nor narrow, weight over the hips and sinking into the ground. Base is helped by good balance, but a good understanding and practice of base can help make up for a lack of good equilibrium.

from what you said is available, JKD or Kempo could be good, but what those style names represent can be very broad. It could be awesome, or it could be junk. Check out a class and see if they do the kind of things you're looking for. Also check out the MMA class. They consistently train in a live manner. Check out a class and see how it feels there. If there is a sense of everyone trying to help each other learn, it could be a great fit for you. They won't do one-steps per se, but it will be a progression from compliant technique to live use of technique and concepts.

At one point, Clay demonstrated where his forum name came from. Painful just to witness. For that matter, so did Alex. Tallgeese is a giant weaponized robot. In real life, he's a man-sized weaponized robot.

Our school has moved away from kata mostly for that reason. I had the opportunity to see some good bunkai of Geki-something-Ichi from our organization's more traditional teacher. It gave me a new appreciation of the kata. And kyusho Jitsu mixed with karate and FMA really hurts.

It's one of very few Japanese words that I know, and one that is very important. The kata looked walked through, balance was off at times. the "attackers" did not attack realistically. I cringe every time I see an uke stand and wait to be struck. The lack of INTENT in the strikes shows a serious disconnect from the martial part of martial arts. Also, what's up with the 6 inch wide belt?

So far a super cool machete and a Monty Python referencing t shirt.

Where's the kime?

I agree with you wholeheartedly. My students and training partners are people who I care about a lot. In the event that they must defend themselves, it is of great importance that they have trained in a manner that will give them the skills needed to survive. Training without honest feedback, which means actually hitting and being hit and tapping a lot) can develop habits that will get you killed.

Great display of toughness tonight. Anyone can keep going while being dominant. But facing high level guys in their best element is hard. I'm going to start training for your shodan test, so whenever it comes I'll have the endurance for it as well.

Uggh. Did the hour of yoga. Worked weapon deployment vs guy with a knife. Worked disarms. Few rounds MMA and some free rolling. Did some more curls. As of tomorrow, I'm swearing off soda, adult beverages and refined sugar.

Mats on the floor and one wall. Large mirror on one wall. Heavy bag in a corner. A wall with various swords, knives, sticks and guns. Front of the room would have pictures of the clan with Larry the Samurai at the shomen.

Just did some bench press, military press, curls and pull ups. Plan on an hour of yoga and whatever martial arts stuff we do later.

It's especially useful when you're the most experienced or the big guy. Then the lower ranks still get to work some offense and you still get to improve.

The role of an uke is an odd one. In order to best serve my friends and community, I need to LARP as a cop-killin machine. Trouble is, despite looking like a convict and unintentionally scaring children, I am awful at playing a bad guy in scenarios. Should I listen to NWA to get into character?

What happened? Are you well enough to train with us on the 23rd? I'll be sad if you don't feel up to rolling with a fat guy.

I'm going to get serious about conditioning so I can compete. I've started lifting and pushing the cardio harder already. I just need to work on the diet. At least a grappling tournament or two. Maybe another mma fight. We need to bring back Pride FC style entrances, because cage fights are better with cosplay.

Hello, welcome to the forums. I hope you stick around here and I hope you stay with the martial arts. Some schools don't even accept students until they are over 18. One martial artist, who I have a great respect for, started at 50. You are not too old to start. I really understand where you're coming from. Some people are natural athletes, they learn things easily, and aren't the least bit nervous around groups of people. I am not one of those people. I began martial arts at a young age. I was terribly uncoordinated, bad at sports and very quiet and shy. I was bullied by other kids because of being small, weak, withdrawn, and had a bad speech impediment. That was why I started in the first place. I wanted to be able to defend myself. People take martial arts for different reasons, I wanted to be able to choose how I would allow others to treat me. I've been training for 20 years. As an adult, I'm no longer picked on by others, nor will I allow others to be bullied in front of me. I'm still bad at sports that are not combat related, but I've become a decent martial artist. I don't have the genetics or the drive to be an Anderson Silva, but I'm okay with that. I'm still much better off training than not. If you're going to train, you should train seriously, but it is important not to take yourself too seriously. Losing is a learning experience and is not the end of the world. Neither is seeing others learn and advance faster than you. I see that all the time. It takes a lot more reps for me to learn anything than it does for most people. The best life lesson a person can learn in the martial arts is to tap out and keep their dignity. Even if you decide that martial arts is not for you, I hope you find something that can help you with the self-esteem issues. It's a terrible thing to struggle with. Try to base your self- worth on the kind of human being that you are, and not what you are good at. It's far more important to be a kind and compassionate person than it is to be a great fighter or basketball player or interior decorator. Everyone has a different potential physically and mentally. I will never be a member of mensa. I will never be an Olympic athlete. I can, however, do my best to help others when I can and teach what I know to a younger generation, many of whom will do bigger and greater things than I ever will. I like to think that makes me of some value.