chiliphil1

I first started having this pain about 6 years ago. It's a sometimes dull sometimes stabbing pain in my chest. It's right at the joint where the ribs meet the sternum. Sometimes it feels like a pressure and other times it feels like my chest is being ripped apart! I went to the doctor when this first started and was checked for heart disease, etc. They said everything was perfect but most likely my office job sitting in front of a computer all day was causing the problem. Fast forward to now and I have been out of work for over 2 years now due to an on the job injury. I've trained off and on as I was able over this time enduring 3 surgeries now and months of therapy. My hip which was the on the job injury still gives me lots of problems but I have decided to just push it as far as I can. I've started teaching my kids here at home a couple of nights a week and tonight what one of those nights. I am now dealing with the costo again. I have a bad stabbing pressure going on in the chest and it is miserable! I had an EKG and bloodwork done a few months back when I had bronchitis and everything came back fine. I'm positive it's not a heart or lung issue. I was wondering if anyone else has this or has dealt with it in the past. If so what did you do? Were there any remedies other than eating a lot of pain pills? I'd love to find some stretch or exercise that would give me some relief. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

I may be late to the party here but I'll toss my hat in as well. For colored belts, go with the most affordable thing you can find. From my experience most if not all white belts are poorly made, very thin and flimsy. As you move up to other colors the quality is much better. I personally came up wearing century belts and never had an issue with them, they're quite cheap as well. Most of the time colored belts are worn for 6 months to a year max, so there is no need to spend a lot of money here. When the time comes and you're ready to purchase a black belt I would go with Shureido, hands down. Again, as I was coming up we had Century, nothing wrong with these and my 20 year old Century is still hanging in there BUT I splurged a little and bought myself a Shureido and let me tell you, I cannot possibly come up with enough words to describe how amazing this belt is. I've seen an Eosin panther and I will admit, it seems very close to the Shureido BUT I'd still give Shureido a slight edge for this reason, they wear in better. When you get a new Shureido it's like a board, nearly impossible to tie, comes undone easily, doesn't hang at all but over time it gets much better. The panther didn't seem to do that, I know someone with a 3 year old panther and it still doesn't tie properly. You can order a Shureido from discountmas.com with no embroidery or go to okinawadirect.com and you can get one with custom embroidery. You can also buy colored Shureido belts but again, probably not worth the money.

I think you are one HECK of a negotiator! If I had that plan available to me I would take it. In the beginning just be very cautious with your lighting, only use what you need for only as long as you need it. I would change out all bulbs to CFL or LED right off the bat. Try to use as little as possible but sometimes you have to. I would even go as far as flipping off the main breaker when not there to try to save as much as possible! I personally wouldn't be scared of the power bill. I would think you can make enough to cover that easily. I don't know what your rates will be but I would think that no more than 5-6 students should pay the light bill, once the rent kicks in you should be in a good place, just advertise! I'm actually in your same boat right now, I'm torn between opening a location and trying to go into a rec center. On the one hand I think I would have better luck with my own location but I would also have much more risk. It's important to balance that. I may have actually inadvertently gotten myself a slot in my current Shorin-ryu dojo. My instructor wants a location which offers several different things, he already has karate, BJJ, and Kali.. Hopefully I can close that agreement and teach my style there as well, that remains to be seen but it would be wonderful.

My goals are: - loose at least 40 pounds but shoot for 50 - Start my dojo and make it huge - Earn minimum 6th kyu, currently 9th

I'm very interested in this topic. I've been thinking when I get my dojo up and running that I should offer a women's class either on a separate day or independent of the normal MA classes. I agree with your points, I feel that women's SD is very different. I look at it in the light that women (on average) don't have the strength of men so they need to know more in the way of leverage and quick but debilitating attacks. Another fine point that you made is how women are attacked, generally a guy will not come up and want a fistfight with a female. My theory on women's SD would revolve around "fight enders" movements which would stop an attack quickly. I don't feel that they need to know holds, chokes, grabs, etc.. Rather they should know the places to hit that will give them a chance to escape. To my mind the main focus of women's SD is to get away, not to detain or otherwise "beat up" the attacker. Of course, mine is but one of many different ideas on the topic, but personally I plan to concentrate on pressure points, groin attacks, and throat attacks. Strategic areas and HOW to hit them.

The K-10 is not a 16oz gi. The Japanese do not provide an "oz" designation for their material. Most believe it's about 12oz, give or take a little. What you cannot see from online pictures is the #10 duck canvas that Shureido and Tokaido use. This material is absolutely amazing! It has a good weight, so it looks and feels substantial but it breathes like a lightweight gi. I promise you, don't obsess over the weight, these do not perform the same way that other heavyweight gi's do. I have the K-10 and several Century models, as well as a Ronin brand gi and I can tell you first hand that the only thing similar about them is that they sort of look the same. I can train in class with my K-10 and almost forget that I am wearing it. On the other hand if I toss on a Century I feel suffocated and can't wait to get it off! The surface of the material is also different, where the Century feels coarse and almost rubs you raw the Shureido feels smooth, almost soft and comfortable. It is really a remarkable difference. Personally, if you can afford it I wouldn't get anything but a Shureido or Tokaido. As the poster said above it depends on how you're built as to which one would work better for you, but I wouldn't even look at other brands, they are not on the same level.

Precisely! That's why I am so thankful for MA, with true martial arts your ego goes out the door. I have nothing to prove to anyone, including myself. If not for training I would not feel that way. I know what I am capable of and loose no sleep over not proving it. I think that the weaker one is the one who cannot take words to us martial artists words mean nothing.

Thank you all for the replies. This is why I love the MA community. Where, in the world of some, their friends would cheer them on and call them names if they did not fight, here we embrace solutions which actually solve problems. To update, I have removed all of my equipment from the practice space and will not return. I won't have to bother with seeing this guy ever again.

Today I found out that someone who I was in a band with is making threats to me and my father behind my back. I knew that there was some animosity with us but I had no idea that he harbored violent intentions toward me as I have never felt that way towards him. I have read the text messages he has sent to other people and he is blatantly saying he would fight me, my dad (long story) and "drag me though the mud while others watched" his words.. I find myself feeling as I am sure most people would a bit upset, I have the urge to go and give him a lesson in respect for others but my MA training just won't let me. In fact that training has urged me to quit the band sooner. I had offered to stay on for 2 more months and play the 2 shows that are already booked, I figured that it was the right thing to do but now these comments and threats are coming from this guy, so I have decided to remove myself from the situation in order to avoid conflict. I am thankful that I have trained in the MA, not because I could destroy this guy but because I am able to walk away and not feel that I have to fight or "get even" and if worse came to worse I do not fear for my safety. I cannot replace this feeling with anything in the world and should I have chosen a different path in life the situation may have become very bad but again, thanks to my years of MA I can be at peace. Once again, glad to be part of the MA family.

My dojo has listed requirements for each rank. You use those as a guide for training, by knowing what each level adds to your training you know what to work on. As for my personal training I usually just go at random. I think my previous training makes me do that however. If I only knew the things I was learning at the new school then I would practice daily based on the requirements of my next rank but already knowing a bit I try to bring in things from the new as well as the old and have a well rounded program.

Congrats to all of the winners! I am speechless that I was even nominated, let alone picked as the winner. Thank you to everyone who voted, it truly means a lot to me that you all read my post and enjoyed it, thank you!

My new dojo put me at white belt. He knew of my previous training but it didn't make the slightest bit of difference. Everyone through those doors comes in with a white belt! There is a lady who takes class as well, she's been there longer than me so she wears an orange belt but she's a 2nd dan in TKD, she also started at white. My instructor also hosts Sauer BJJ there as well and even he, who owns the school and is a 4th dan wears a blue belt in that class. I'm actually glad that I started at white, I had this worry when starting back up that the school would want to place me into an advanced rank and I didn't want to do that. If I was going to learn something new I wanted to start back at zero and that's what I got, so it worked out well. I also have the benefit of no one having to know about my experience unless I tell them, I like that because it allows me to take my time learning the new material without high expectations being placed on me.

Thanks for all of the replies. It turns out that this gi is very good about straightening itself out.. Sounds funny, I know but the problem of wrinkling has not been anywhere near as bad since I started training in it. I go to class 2 times a week and wash the gi once a week, nice cold water cycle with about 15 minutes in the dryer and then hang. The gi looks wrinkled on the hanger but once it's on me it looks great. My sensei isn't too concerned about the appearance, as long as it is clean and white it's ok. I was more concerned about it for myself since I try to always look my best but in the end it wasn't that big of a deal. The school isn't too concerned about it and once the material of the gi worked in a little it almost unwrinkles itself.

I can definately see his points. I think he speaks the truth in most cases, he does venture out there a little but he's pretty well spot on. My current dojo is both of the things he mentions. They teach the old way, short distance power, straightest path to attack, nothing fancy. At the same time they incorporate some new age stuff as well, lots of locks, takedowns, etc that are not part of the traditional system. I feel like it's an OK thing since it does not clutter the practical use of the style.

I'm not in your area so I cannot offer any help in finding another school for you but I would say this. Take the TKD class, if you didn't like shorin-ryu then try TKD, it is very very different.. I wouldn't worry about the flexibility, they shouldn't expect you to come in the door kicking and flipping, you will work up to that over time. At least give it a shot, it could be what you're looking for..