Evil Dave

Nice pics. Is that a wall for Kyudo practice?

I see three areas of study in MA, striking, grappling and weapons. Take a look at what is near you as any of the arts mentioned would serve you well.

Good luck on your gradings! Remember, a family that kicks together stays together!

Hi MaMom and welcome to the board. As someone who has switched schools, I may have something to say on this topic. You will know when it's time to move on! It's your training and your life, not anybody else's. The simple question is 'is it time for you to move on?' Not so simple to answer. Follow your instincts, your gut feeling. To start with try not to worry about what other people are saying, it's just talk. How do you feel about the situation, how was it handled, and how did your instructor involved and/or deal with the situation? Are you comfortable with the answers? We would need more information on the situation, which you may not want to paint in public here, to give you real good advise.

I've always liked a good double kick combo works well, and the once in a while chance a triple... Once again, I'm working with a rule set that stipulates all kicks above the belt.

Check places like Craig's list and other local used 'stuff' web sites, in my area it's usedvictoria.com. There is always someone trying to get rid of fitness stuff. Also, the commercial outlets are looking at dumping equipment quickly and cheaply. If you are handy and a diy type of person, do a quick Google search and you will come up with a few ideas. As to which one to get, your are already at over 200lbs, so a good rack is in order. Size and style are all up to you, I would just get a dumbbell rack and not worry about plate loading as well. Just get one that will handle your current weights, plus some more as you expand and get stronger.

As to replenishing macro and micro nutrients, everybody's got an opinion. The time frames for eating are mainly to maintain a steady blood sugar level. This is what's important to continue on with your daily activities and start the muscle recovery process.

One way around this and a lot of MA schools use it is that you don't grade someone until they are ready! Sounds simple, yet useful. Do you have a pregrading system, where the students are evaluated before they are allowed to grade? It does not't have to be a formal event or it can be with something like a stripe of tape on the students belt saying they are ready to grade. Also, talk with the kids parents, let them know your concerns and what you are planning to do with him. Then they will know why their kid is not grading with the group. We do have to watch out for our students self-esteem, but not overly protect it. My opinion is that gradings should be a positive event, even if it takes a little longer. I let the esteem bruising {we all need a little} happen in competition, whether it be in-class, in-house tournament or a larger venue.

FOOD Food is always the best choice over supplements, no matter what they are made from. A proper snack 30-45 minutes after a workout and a complete meal withing 2 hours is what's recommended. I know time is short sometimes, but do not let a supplement replace food. I see it all to often in gyms along with MA clubs/schools the individual slowly starts to replace real food with supplement bars, drinks, shakes, etc. Then they wonder why they are not reaching their goals. I always have a couple of bars in my bag for those times when I need it, but not for every workout. In our society we already get more protein then we need, although not always the best sources... Remember, excess protein is turned into fat stores.

So far you've gotten some good advise. I'd like to reiterate a couple of points. Watch for the over training, 3 sessions a week MA training plus 2 sessions for conditioning should be enough to start with. Bag work along with basic strength training will do nothing but good. The one thing missing so far is power training! Simply, power is the application of strength training in fighting sports. Plyometrics {burpees, squat jumps, etc.}, medicine ball training along with Olympic lifts {consult a lifting coach} should do you wonders.

Welcome to the next level of competition... Be fare and honest. One thing that makes a good judge / referee is the fact that after the competition you can tell a competitor why you gave them the mark they received. If they are asking respectfully that usually means they are looking for ways to improve upon their performance. Since you maybe seeing kata that you are not used to it can be hard to compare. I try to focus on the general flow and cleanliness of the kata plus one technical item: blocks, kick, punch, trunk/head position, etc. You can't see everything. Good luck and have fun.

A few years ago I got invited to a self-defense / protection session with blades. They used a training knife with chalk and let me tell you ~ it was an eye opener on how badly you can get cut when someones knows what they are doing. Great training.

This is a matter of experience, as a student, assistant instructor and instructor. Also, instructors need specific 'instructor' training ~ some black belts out there think because they have a black belt they are qualified to be an instructor! A few years ago I took a coaches course on Olympic Lifting and throughout the course we never lifted nothing more than a lifting bar. When we messed up, and we did regularly, it was not the person lifting that got yelled at {the instructor trainer was an old marine and high school fitness teacher...}, it was that persons training partner. He/she was supposed to be watching and correcting you. It was one of the best courses on 'watching' and being able to not only see what the person was doing, but what was going on and why! Now I can spot an issue with almost anybodies lifts from across the gym. I have been lucky in also been able to transfer this across to Karate.

I think you need to expand your thought pattern a little more, what sort of topics are you looking at or interested in? Not yet a thesis statement or anything that formal. For me, if I had the time... I would like to look into training and conditioning methodologies.

Remember, it's a Honorary Black Belt not a 'real' Black Belt. Universities all over the world give out Honorary PHD's. It's great PR for all involved. I sit on the wings of a university and talk with the people that decide who gets an honorary PHD. One thing I would advise any organization thinking about handing out Honorary Black Belts would be to write up a set of guide lines on who, when, why they are getting such an award. This can help quiet the voices on the outside.

Hi folks, I'm sorry if my writing style sounds a little terse, I'll blame it on the old army guy in me. I like to help people get to their fitness goals and some people do not know what questions they need to ask themselves along with asking for advise. What is the right question to ask? Here is almost always the first question I ask someone when they ask me for advise: What are your big picture goals? This is my standard response to such questions as, I want to bench/squat/dead/etc 200lbs, and how do I get there? Why do you want to get there? Your answer to this question tells me which of the many avenues to follow to get to your goals. Don't worry if you actually don't know the answer to that question, you may not know how to define what your goals are. You can start the conversation with I want to bench/squat... and we can work from there. Some other standard questions are: what are you currently doing? What is your time commitment to put into the goal and any time limits if any? What is your equipment availability? Do you have any issues that may limit or distract you from your goals? Once again, if you don't know the answers to these questions, that's all right. At points in our fitness journey we may not know the answer or even see it when it's right in front of us. So what do you ask? If your not sure then just start the conversation and hopefully you will find your answers. One of the nice things about starting a conversation is that you may discover what your goals are when somebody asks a question in 'just that way'. If you can, start by asking yourself what do I want to do? Do you want to loose weight, pump more iron, better fight performance, etc. From there it is easier to work down to the specifics of a routine for you.

By the looks of it RushFit is a lot like px90 and many programs out there. They are all MetCon programs with little or no equipment. That is not to say they are bad, it's just what they are and hurns92 is looking for a bodybuilding program. I like to recommend that bodybuilders add these programs about three months out from competitions, as it helps burn off the last of the body fat and burns a large number of calories in a short time frame. Though they still need to work the heavy weights for real muscle definition.

I used the Muscle and Strength 1 RM calculator, and your approx 1RM should be: 160lbs. Do a Google search and there are a number of 1 RM calculators out there.

My first question is why do you want to increase specifically your bench press? Personal testing, aesthetics, performance, competition, etc. This will tell you what you need to work on, whether its pure strength, power, mixed in with other work and what not.

Lets start from the bottom up. The only exercises that should be done fast are oly lifts, plyo's, and other ballistic work, everything else should be done slow and controlled. Depending on your recovery after your heavy days you maybe able to add one more workout in a week. Rep range should be for strength or endurance depending upon the workout and your cycle. You can add weighted exercises to your upper body routine, that's up to you and your goals, I would recommend it. Yes, I am a Crossfit fan.

You are looking at two very different goals, but you can do some cross over. You can start by getting rid of the small isolation exercises, a bicep curl does nothing for you really, as whenever you do any shoulder, back or chest work you are working your biceps and triceps. Concentrate on the compound movements, body weight exercises and heavy lifts. Your squat and deadlift, and all there variations, do translate directly into your leg strength and power. You just need to complement them with some Olympic lifts and plyometric exercises. Do you do any rotational exercises, most body builders seem to skip this one. Take a look at your daily, weekly and 8-12 week cycle and add in some plyo's regularly, and replace one of your workouts with a 'conditioning' circuit once a week. Also, take a look at more super-setting with different body parts not just squats then leg curl. Do squats then pushups as an example. Good luck.

Yes, but nobody is taking away your mothers chemistry degree. When I come back to practicing I know I will be at the back of the class. I will be wearing my black belt, but I do not expect to be one of the club's black belts / instructors etc. I would hope that I have the time and smarts to 'warm-up' a little before my first class, but with different styles and instructors I'm not sure how far that will get me. I also know that when ever and where ever I end up I will have something to contribute to my new club and the smarts or ability to absorb even more.

I've just started to take some time of my martial arts for personal and club politic reasons. I fully intend to always have my rank, but expect to be wearing my BB and standing at the back of the class when I do return. Although I may look into a different form or martial arts, then I'll be in the back of the class with a white belt...

A martial arts version of Dudley Moore in 'Arthur'. Thanks for the memories.

There are many variables to calculating actual calories used, remember that calories are a measurement of energy. Some of the variables are: your age, size, fitness level, metabolic rate, what you are doing, how hard you are doing it, work rest ratio, etc. etc. etc. Why are you looking into this? Curiosity, calorie counting, etc.