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One of my friends who used to be in the army told me to grab and pull one of the fingers. Pinky finger is best because it's the easiest finger. Once you pull the finger back, it will cause a lot of pain and they will let go. I tried it on one of my big guy friends and he let go very quickly.

Hello all, Many years ago I had to scope my right knee (arthroscopy). Since then I developed arthritis in that knee so kicking hard with my right leg like a side kick will cause soreness. I also have trouble with knee flexion. I know I need to stay away from using the right leg but I really don’t want it to cripple me. I already went to see an orthopedic doctor. He just said to stay away from using it. Just do half squats to strengthen the knees. A full squat will cause too much stress on the knee. I’ve been doing karate over 10 years. I just don’t see how half squats can strengthen my knees. I wonder if anyone can suggest other exercises and/or food to strengthen the knees. Thank you

I really need help on performing multiple kicks without dropping the leg. While sparring, I can do one kick straight to my head level with my back leg. However, when I do a fake kick to the knee, the second kick can only reach to my chest level. It is the same thing with hook kick / round kick which may only reach my chest level. I am only 5’ 0” so my chest level is usually someone’s solar plexus level (sigh). This is very frustrating in sparring because my kicks are never a threat. Wonder if anyone can me some pointers on how to keep the 2nd and/or 3rd kicks up high without dropping the leg. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your replies and great suggestions. I will keep them in mind when I have to break next time.

Hello. When I am breaking a board during a test, I always wonder which side of the board should face me. Let's assume there are no knots. I was told one side is easier to break than the other. Can anyone please tell me if it's easier to break one side than the other? If it is, then which side should face me and why? Thanks.

My instructor was the one who suggested she should drop on the floor. Obviously that did not turn out well. I wonder if she can force herself to turn completely around and face him. If she can, then it will be interesting to watch.

In one of our karate classes, we had a self defense lesson. The instructor had a big guy do a big hug from the back on one of the female students. His hug was so strong that her arms were stuck on her sides. She tried to reach back with her hands to grab something but no deal because her arms were stuck on the sides. This guy is strong. Next she tried to lift up her legs to back kick his shins but couldn't reach the legs because he knew that would happen so he did a deep solid front stance. So she tried to swing her head around to bite him or hit his head with hers. He buried his head in her neck so deep that she couldn't move her head. She even tried to lift up herself so she can fall down and hope to get out of the grip. He purposely fell on top of her so he pinned her down. We were all watching this and felt really helpless. Does anyone have any suggestions?