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The_Ryno, I agree that it does not cause kidney disease and that it should be taken with a simple sugar, ( thats why most will recomend mixing it with grape juice). but the load phase is not necessary, 2 to 3 tsp per day is all that is nec. (all the load phase does is gaurantee a sale of a second bottle within a week for the manufacturer) I will also have to dis-agree with your statement that it wont cause acne. in some ppl it will cause acne, though it's not usually facial. it will most commonly appear on the backs of the upper arms. it can also cause severe diahrea if too much is taken at one time. all of these symptoms will stop once the dosages are corrected.

boxerscott is right, your abs are used in pretty much everything you do, so they're getting worked all the time, getting them to show is 90% diet. as far as tying a rope around them, I was reading an article in some magazine(cant remember which one, maybe someone else read it and can comment further) about something similar, it was testing how muscle growth is affected by lack of oxygen, preliminary results were outstanding but not enough testing has been done to know if it is safe. if this is what you are doing then it could possibly cause damage in the long run. instead of taking that chance it would be better to focus on crunches(without the rope) and diet.

in the past few years a lot of organisations have went to a system where you are required so many hours of training to be eligible for promotion, it looks good on paper but like anything else it s always just a matter of time before someone sees a way to water it down just to make more money from it.

5 hours a week in the gym and 5-8 hours in the dojo and diff. types of misc. training on the weekends.

"jutsu" and "do" are just two words used to describe a transition in a period of time, nothing more. during the fuedal years of the samurai class of japan "jutsu" was used to describe the fighting arts, when the fuedal days were over the samurai arts became mostly useless, but, so they wouldnt be lost(and because it was the way of the samurai) they were still practiced as an art. only the names were changed to reflect the new meaning.

maybe I'm wrong and if so someone please set me straight, but I always thought that ki was simply the life force that flows in and through everything. it can't be saved up, one person can't have more than another, and it can't be used up. it is an equil force that flows through all. you can maybe learn to tap into and use it more than another but you dont actually have "more". it's not something that you can save up or run out of.

I knew a guy once who went to the local army surplus store and bought a military canvas duffle bag and two sleeping pads for about 15 bucks, he rolled the sleeping pads up and placed them in the duffle bag as padding around the inside and then filled it with sand. cut the straps off so all that you have is the hook at the top, hang it up and you have a pretty good punching bag.

training at home is hard for a lot of ppl, its hard to motivate and push yourself to your max.. if thats the problem then fine, wait till you actually start m.a. training and workout mainly at the dojo with short workouts at home, just remember, whether your working out at home or at the dojo the pain is still going to be there, the crunches are still going to hurt and your body is still going to get tired, thats what it's all about, if you want to learn it you have to earn it. it's not easy, its not always fun and to get to the good stuff you have to go through a lot of stuff you may not like or find "fun". you have to learn to suck up the pain and drive on. set a goal and be determined to reach it no matter what .

most of the time children at very young ages arent being shown techniques that would fullfill blackbelt requirements, for the simple reason that pre-teen down dont know the consequences of misuseing some of these techniques. young children are usually shown exercises that will build there coordination and so forth. so no I dont think a child should be awarded a b.b. until they reach the age of about 18. and thats if they start building from the basics at around 15 or so.I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule but thats just my first opinion, but since I dont teach children I could be wrong.

is the 300 member gym part of the m.a. school or is it a separate entity altogether? if it is separate then you are basically working for two co. how do you supervise the staff? I'm not trying to sound mean, but most m.a. schools dont really have a large staff. usually an owner/instructor, a couple of asst. inst. and maybe a receptionist. which sounds like what most of your duties would fall under.(except the teaching). most schools pay there receptionist on a fair scale of what that type job pays in your area, now as far as teaching, are you the chief instructor or is the owner?. paying asst. instr. can be different from school to school. some dont pay asst. inst. at all, but there training is free. some will pay minimum wage but its usually as a part time employee. you should just sit down with your teacher/boss and come to an agreement on what you both feel is fair to you.

I agree, The bad thing about commercialization is that you never know which way it will turn. the deal coke is offering isnt only to m.a. schools, it includes any/all health clubs. and thats where the problem is. coke will categorize m.a. and any health club or diet center together. publicity such as this does nothing to stress to the public what m.a. training is about,(the same problem can be with them becoming a cheerleading/aerobics type demo comp.) the next thing you have is a large influx of ppl at once wanting to learn a m.a., now the biggest problem with this is anytime something catches on all at once it quickly becomes a "fad" and everyone jumps on the wagon to make a quick buck. next thing you have is a mcdojo on every corner. It would be great if the m.a.'s could become more popular but it seems they are always over commercialized from the start.

Withers M.A.A, true I've seen some demo teams who could really get a crowd excited, and I personally love to see demo's such as this, but I dont see it becoming a professional sporting type event with a huge following. it would probably be turned into more a cheerleading/aerobics comp. type thing. which may or maynot be a bad thing, what do you think? if it were something like this would ppl train more for just show or would self defence still be a primary reason for training.?

this has been tried before, starting in the early to mid 80's by the P.K.A., sad that it basically turned into nothing but a boxing type event. and the rules were easily worked around, contestants could even be just boxers as long as they threw at least 8 kicks per round., and we have to face the fact that point fighting, forms and weapons comps. will never be exciting enough for the general public to be made into a professional sport type event. thats why most tournament dont get a huge spectator base from the general public.

I've seen a lot of ppl quit after reaching blackbelt, I think that is some ppl's only goal. you're right, it seems they think that is the end of the line. I've also seen some ppl who, after reaching b.b. will only come to sparring class. no we dont require them to continue for any length after blackbelt, that would take a contract and I dont require any type of contract even short term.

I dont think that they are dieing out, maybe just in a lull right now,but they always go through a slow period until something or someone new comes around to spark ppl's interest. as far as the war and terrorism goes, well, right after 9-11 I think most schools saw an increase in new members, but to be honest, ( and I'm sure that a few ppl will probably disagree with this ) m.a. training is really not an effective defense against terrorism other than being more alert of your surroundings, which you can be without all the time spent training.

ninjanurse, true you should be told upfront what to expect in price, whether a contract is involved and so forth,and a lot of times if someone refuses to give a price over the phone its a sure sign that a contract may be involved, it is also true that it is sometimes used as a marketing strategy to get ppl in to your school, but actually if someone is really serious about the level of instruction theyre seeking then they should be checking out the school in person anyway instead of just calling on the phone and basing all on price alone.

Tombstone is right, most places wont discuss price over the phone. price will depend largely on what part of the country you live, size of your town,etc...(large cities are usually more exp.) I think its safe to say that the average dojo charges between 50 to 65 dollars a month.(sometimes up to 75. ) when you go in to talk with the instr. you will be shown around the dojo, explained how classes operate, style etc.. I usually offer a free class or two just so new ppl can see if its what they were looking for/expected. once they decide to join and pay their first months dues (55.)they get a free uniform and are fully integrated into class. this is just an ex. but are a few things you can ask the inst....good luck on your search.

I would like to say amen to the original post, and to unknown, regardless of your opinion concerning the war, the men and women who are there deserve our support and respect for volunteering to put themselves in harmes way for the protection and freedom of our country.

military workouts such as the seals are more body weight oriented, but they also include 2-5 mile runs on a daily basis, 1/2 mile swims, rope climbs, repelling,obstacle courses and so forth, not to mention what you gain during regular daily training from 5-10 mile recons while carring 120 lb rucks, or constant swimming from waterborne op's. I was in the military for 5 years with an airborne infantry, and a l.r.s ranger unit and we still hit the gym/weights on a daily basis unless we were in the field. the calisthenics are good for keeping toned and keeping up strength but for building mass, weights are the best way.

genetics does play an important role in how big you can become but anyone can have a good build, are you now or have you ever been active in any other sports? have you been working out very long? if the answer to these questions is no, then it could take a little longer for your body to adapt and notice any drastic changes. As far as lifting enough weight, how much do you lift? to start with you should try to do 3 sets of 10, and on the 8th to 10th rep you should be to failure (in other words you should have to really push to get that 8th to 10th rep out)(without going to failure muscle will not grow)also, what is your diet? you have to eat right for muscle growth,without enough protien, growth will be minimul. look at your workout plan and make sure you're hitting all the major muscle groups (the body has a way of trying to keep itself symetrical,if you hit all the major groups you'll notice faster gains than if you are only working 1 or 2 areas.) and watch your diet, make sure your getting enough of the proper foods.

no, you should never work the same muscles back to back. each muscle group worked should have a 24-48 hour recovery time, esp. if your pumping extreme weight. an example of a plan could be, chest, arms and thighs on monday, back, abs and calves on tuesday, cardio on wed. thursday repeat mon, etc...and never work chest and back together.

1.as with most things, the more proficient you become at it the easier it is to see what would/could be weaknesses,and from seeing this you know what to change/work at. but that doesnt meen it (the art as a whole) would'nt work, esp. against someone who is untrained. 2.For the most part it is'nt about the fighting, most ppl will probably never have to use it in such a way but if the need arises it is always better to be prepared. 3.True there are more spiritual arts, just as there are other things someone could choose to do with there time.whatever art someone chooses is just personal preference. just as some choose it for self defence, some to get in better shape,some for the tournaments,some for the freindships made or for the structure,the list of why do it can be answered differently by any individual.

without knowing the shape your in now, your level of activity, your health status, what your goals are (do you want to bulk up, lose weight, etc..) it would be hard to give you very much advice. but basically you need to evaluate what your diet is now, cut out as much junk food as possible,(candy, chips, fastfood,etc..) stick with around a 2000 calorie a day diet of fresh fruits, vegetables,& meats with as little as possible of it being fried. this is a very basic ex. try to learn as much as you can about nutrition, read, read, read, and learn all you can about carbs, protien, fats, supplements etc...

kennesaw, cool. I'm 20 miles or so south of atlanta.

have patience, no one gets a technique perfect the first time, as everyone has said, that comes from much practice and repetition. so just have patience, there will be time to practice in the dojo and most techniques will be brought up again and again. at first it can seem overwhelming but after a while you will see a pattern emerge,(kinda like a you learn just so much with each belt, type pattern) you will learn it, but not in one class, thats why it can take 3-5 years just to reach black belt, and then you realize theres still a lot more learning ahead of you.