darksoul

Alright, here you go New gi!

Very cool pictures! I would have loved to take part in that

All that matters in a dojo is the martial arts. I think that says it all.

I completely agree! I also agree with the geographical aspect. You can't learn something that's not available in your area.

A spot in a martial arts movie?

Yeah... you can still find them though, especially in Montreal at the Marché aux Puces.

Hey! Another Montrealer! Welcome! Where do you train?

At my new dojo, I have seen that every blue belt is indeed better than the purple belts. I think the skill level may depend on the instructor. Since we do not have testing fees and the dojo is not for-profit, it allows more wiggle room for keeping a purple belt purple until (s)he is ready to advance. I also understand what you mean, but I think it's digging into semantics at this point. Just because the skill is less distinct from one rank to the next doesn't mean there are too many belts. I dunno... if Shaolin Kempo scrapped the stripes, I'd be happy.

I think the best weapon for true self defense is... The empty hand. There are a few reasons for this. 1. If you defend yourself against someone and the police come, you won't get hauled in for aggravated assault/assault with a deadly weapon, ect... 2. Most times, there are no weapons around, or even something you can use as a weapon. There won't be a mop in a parking lot. There won't be sticks thick enough to use as weapons in just lying on a street corner. 3. No matter where you are, who you're with, or time of day, you always have your hands and feet. Those never leave you. You have more control over those than anyone will ever have over a weapon. They are not an extension of you, they ARE you. Anyway, that's my 2 cents

Good! No nose picking? No random flailing?

I honestly like the kempo belt system, especially as someone who has done some instructing. It helps keep track of what material a student has. At our dojo, we don't do testing fees. We even welcome students to buy their own belts. But yes, I think ranks are important for the reasons you stated - short-term goals, helping the instructor know where a student is, etc... I would be happy with 8 belts (plus the 3 brown kyu) There are only 2 belts I find pointless and those are the striped belts. We have: White Yellow Orange Purple Blue Blue-Green stripe (unnecessary I think) Green Green-Brown stripe (unnecessary I think) Brown (1,2,3) Black

All depends on the effort you're putting in it. Go at it hard and you'll burn more calories than if you're just going through the movements. So it all depends on the martial artist. You may use more or less energy, thus burning more or less calories, than another martial artist doing the exact same kata. Hope this helps

Sorry, I've never played the game. Have you checked GameFAQS.com?

This is a good point. People think that martial arts is what they see in the movies - punches and kicks and acrobatics - when in reality, it's much more brutal than that. We have techniques that will kill. Techniques that we have practiced a thousand times. Techniques that we can execute by instinct. As martial artists, we really are dangerous and can be lethal, but the ignorant the of martial arts tend to not really think further than "boxing with kicks."

My Arawaza gi has arrived! I don't know if my old gi was just small or shrunk from being washed so much, but boy, these Arawaza gi's are long. The "flap" goes down to just over my knees while my old gi went down to my mid-thigh. Washed it in hot and dried it in hot to shrink it a bit. Still bit long, but very comfortable. I could have gotten one size smaller, the sleeves would have been too short. AAAAAAAAANYWAY... I'm gonna gi up at some point this weekend, take a picture, and upload it. I might wait for my photography-pro student to come back from his vacation and have him take a picture instead.

That's fantastic! Sounds like it was an amazing time! I would love to attend one of those, even as a Kempo shodan, just to see how the other styles do it. Plus to have so many in one place like that. Very very very cool! Thank you so much for sharing

Congrats! I bet you'll have a great time! Hope you tell us how it went!

Since getting my dan, I've noticed it, but I find it completely appalling that a man would say that to a woman. It's just not right.

I've got an interview coming up with Google. Could be a big move for me... Ok Ok, I'll bite! Why? Grading?? but I'm with Qui here... why?

Welcome!

My guess is it's just a membership

Glad to hear it! We'd love for you to write up a post about it

I don't wear steel toe, but I wear some pretty thick leather boots (biker boots.) They weigh a ton and the toe area is pretty darn hard.

Bobsled + boxing.

TKD has dojangs which is the Korean equivalent to a dojo.