Maestro

well, what kind of exercise is it that hurts your shoulder? Is it weight lifting, punching, anything, what? It all depends on the injury. If it was a pulled muscle, then you should take it easy and ease your way back into exercise. Don't do highly dynamic exercises like punching, start off with very light, slow exercises to SLOWLY build back up the strength in the muscle. If you just jump right back into your normal routine you will likely re-injure it. Take it very light and you should find the strength coming back. Meanwhile, try to find something you can do that doesn't hurt the shoulder to stay in shape in the meantime--jogging maybe, sit-ups, crunches, leg exercises, you get the idea. A tiny bit of pain in the muscle is maybe OK, but if it is hurting enough to force you take "take it really easy," then you shouldn't have been doing that exercise to begin with.

nuthin' you can do to get back in shape except train. It'll be hard, but it won't kill you, you'll get through it and be better off for it. Nike says it best: "Just Do It!"

A basic hangul site: http://www.krysstal.com/writing_korean.html Also from this site I've learned how to write the tenets in Korean: http://www.hanstkd.com/

I've gotta agree with Omnifinite on this one

Yes, it's a shame that it takes weapons to find weapons, but I would hardly say we're using weapons of mass destruction, we're being as surgical as anybody possibly can. Becuase of that there will be even more dramatic of a public outcry if Saddam should use his. I suspect we won't find any concrete evidence that he has them until he either uses them, or the war is over and we find them in Baghdad. I think he is probably keeping them very close at hand so that he can use them when he wants and we don't find them prematurely. Don't worry G95, vindication is coming!

Yeah, the United States should mind it's own business. I mean, who are we to be interupting oppressive dictators when they are killing innocent people? C'mon, let's let the dictators do their work right? The "Mind your own business" argument is just ludicrous. That's like "well, we should alow murder and rape on the high seas, 'cause it's not our soverign territory, so let's go ask the UN if it's OK to stop it or not." The UN is a joke, all it is really good for is political legitamacy. The last really big trade agreement to go through the UN was sitting waiting to be ratified because the U.S Congress was out of session and so the U.S hadn't ratified it. So Congress was called to a special session, ratified the agreement, and then dozens of other countries ratified it within weeks. It's not the UN that leads the world, it's the U.S. Countries like France and Russia are using the UN to serve their own interests because they have resources they don't want to risk losing. In doing so, they took away the threat of force, without which Saddam will never listen. And why should he? It's not like the UN has ever followed up on any of their resolutions concerning him so far. The United States has a power to help oppressed peoples that no other nation has ever had, but people talk like we shouldn't exercise that power because the oppressed didn't ask for it or something, as if they could without getting a bullet in the forehead or sarin gas in the lungs. That's like "hey look, that deaf and mute guy is about to get flattened by a bus, but I won't help him because he hasn't called out for help yet." It's the same thing, the Iraqi people are cut off from the world media and are not allowed to speak out, they're deaf and mute, but any dumb pedestrian knows that the guy in the street needs help. You don't always have to hear something out loud or see it in a official document to know it's true.

Lol, of course not superleeds, I just meant that sometimes we seem to have more succesful idiot politicians than the rest of the world. (not directed to Bush, I think he's smarter than people give him credit for)

Even if the war is "about" oil, it doesn't matter, it is still accomplishing something that needs to be done. I don't think Bush has all these alterior motives, but even if he did, the fact is that when this is all over, Saddam will be out of power, and that's what's important. As for bombing Women and children that is a ridiculous argument. Innocent people will die in removing Saddam from power but it is nothing compared to who would die (and has died) under Saddam. Have you ever actually talked to someone from Iraq? I personally know two people who have lived under Saddam and they are more vehemenently pro-war than anyone I have ever met. Also the only thing I have heard from interviews of people in Iraq has been overwhelming support for the war. Do you think America is some imperialist nation out to steal resources from the world? Come on, look at our history. It took non-stop submarine attacks to get us into WWI, a direct attack on our land to get us into WWII. We've tried to be isolationist throughout the last century but couldn't because THE WORLD NEEDS US. South Koreans are now resentful of the American troops stationed there, without which their culture would not exist. America has gone out of it's way to help the rest of the world. Look at what Japan has become, look at south Korea, look at the Marshal plan especially. Yup, we really are just a bunch of capitalists out for our own good. Are you for real? They've been launching SCUD missles left and right that they supposedly didn't have. I guess they must have just stumbled across those in some abandoned warehouse they forgot about, right? The empty chemical warheads were no doubt just sitting around waiting for a spot to open up in the Iraqi Museum of Military History, 'cause no way could he actually have anything to put in them. C'mon, he's got 'em and everyone knows it. Maybe he's not going to use them, maybe he's not going to give them to terrorists, But you up in "unknown" Canada aren't the ones who'll need to worry about it if he does, so you just go on hoarding your tax dollars.

I'm with you Ramymensa, I train anywhere from 14-18 hours a week, but it's not for everyone. Craknek, how long are your classes? If they are 2-3 hours, you could probably get away with just twice, or maybe even once a week, but if they're just one hour, then I think anything less than 2 times a week would be too little. Either way, you certainly don't need to be in the dochang every day, that's only for the crazies. Dedicate some nights to personal practice and I think you'll feel like you're making more progress.

Yes Kickchick, I agree with that too, but since he is going for the "ripped" appearance, might as well build muscle size while also reducing fat. 20-50 reps is good for increasing strength and endurance without putting on too much size, but once the fat is gone, if you've just got puny little muscles, he won't have the look he wants. You can lose the fat and have very good muscle definition, but you don't want to become a stick figure in the process. That's why I advocate reps around 12, so you can put on some muscle too. The "love handles" was just an example, I don't know if he actually has a problem with that or not, 12 reps was for the body in general.

Personally, I agree with you, and I don't spend time working on toning myself and certainly not shaping, I was just adressing the question. I wasn't refering to shaping at any point, sorry if I was confusing somewhere. Lemme clarify: I was saying that less bodyfat generally equals a more "toned" or ripped look, and doing sets of about 12 reps will help burn fat and generate tone--->. The other component of being "ripped" is actual muscle tone (it's a real thing), which is a constant, natural tension that develops in the muscles as you exercise them more. That's why I also suggested running, as running both develops tone and burns lot's of fat. Size and bodyfat are components to the look, but "tone" does exist. Since tone is generally developed no matter what type of exercise you do, most people do not concern themselves with it in the strict sense. Along those lines, lemme also say PhilM1 that doing more curls won't necessarily give you more tone in your biceps. The only thing you can do to a muscle directly is increase size and tone. Fat burning is not area specific--fat is not automatically used from the area that is being exercised. This is often why people have such trouble with their "love handles," They think that hitting their side and back muscles will do it, but that's not the case.

Ok sure, but this is a thread about religion, not objects and physics, so I don't see how the behaviours of concrete objects is of any import, 'cause religion isn't about that. It is all about concepts and the abstract. The very fact that we are disagreeing shows that contradictions can exist, that was my point, becuase that's what religion is--a group of people with certain views, very often disagreeing with people of other views. If someone is looking for religion, then I don't think they need to be going around analyzing everyone's views trying to determine who contradicts whom, and then who's right. It's not about who's right.

Well, I would definitly not say to jump right in. If you are just now starting in lifting, then you have the opportunity to start out right that a lot of people miss. A personal trainer probably isn't necessary--If you're going to join a gym, then you could probably find some old hats that would be willing to help you out some, if you're outgoing enough to ask them. As for 40 bucks a month, that seems a little steep. Mine is less than half that--$16 a month on a fifteen month deal.

Oh yeah, as far as being "ripped" goes. Most halfway fit people would be happy with their current physique if they simply had less bodyfat. But, sets of 12 reps is pretty good for buiding tone, as well as the higher rep stuff like burnouts. Also, hard middle-distance running and sprinting can help you get that ripped, wiry look.

Well, that all depends on how your shoulder went out. Are we talking pulled muscle, torn ligament, pinched nerve, cartilage damage? Well, as you've seen, shrugs will give you big traps, but I take it you're talking more like "wide" shoulders? For this you need to be hitting your deltiods. Military-press is real good (but be careful with your back). Do military press both with dumbells and a barbell, dumbells are the best, I think. Also upright flys--stand with dumbells at your side and lift them out. Do sets lifting out to the side, and also lifting out to the front. Don't lift the weight above shoulder level (arm parallel with ground) as it is bad for your shoulders. Probably the best after military press is upright rows. Use a curling bar and hold it at the narrow grips, with your palms facing you. You then lift the weight up to your chin. The bar should stay close to your chest and your elbows should come up as you do this, but don't bring them past parallel with the floor. Also there are deltoids that wrap around from the back, so exercises pulling up and back like rows will also help give you wider shoulders. If you can do 'em, handstand pushups are good too (lean against a wall) To hit the front of our shoulders, there is one exercise that I absolutely love. If you have a tricep bar, use that: lay on a bench, start with the weight on your stomach, keep your elbows close in to your body and push up.

Well, not to be a jerk, but I would disagree w/Jack. If you are eating and sleeping properly you should not need a week's recovery. If you are training properly, muscles should recover in a day or two, and hypertrophy (size gain, although not necessarily noticeable) should occur by the second day. After this, the results begin to level off and gains are decreased. 48-72 hours between groups produces very good results because it keeps you on that steep gain curve that takes place in roughly the first three days. Also it depends on what type of lifting you are doing. If you're doing power lifting (like 5 sets of five reps near max) then you need to be careful about how fast you're adding weight to your sets. Your muscles will get stronger much faster than your tendons, and this can lead to serious injury--like muscle ripping clean off the bone. I have seen it happen. (if this is the way you're lifting, drop me a PM, there are things you can do to make it safe without waiting forever to recover) Also #2, if you are lifting every day, then that will effect individual muscles too. I mean, if you do upper body on mon, then legs on tues, arms on weds....your arms won't recover as quick as if you hadn't done legs, so keep that in mind. BTW, how old are you? That makes a big difference too. When you're younger, like 13-18, you recover much, much faster than if you are older. I'm guessing you're in high school, so I would say one week is way longer than you need to recover and rebuild.

Like karatekid, I couldn't even touch my toes at one point either. I found that light stretching both before I went to bed and after I woke up accelerated my flexibilty improvments. Again, I must emphasize light stretching, as the muscles will not be warmed up--little to no discomfort should be felt. And of course what they said^^^ on top of that too.

I think that racism is probably the worst thing in our society today. I myself am white, but my friends are such a mix I think I might even have more non-white friends than white. Anytime I hear a racial bashing it is hard to control myself (not directed to you, Finalhope. I agree, there is a difference between true bashing and joking. My friends and I joke about race often) That said, it's easy to see where it comes from though. Most countries do not have the ethnic mixing that we have here in the states, so overseas occurences are more likely to involve people of a certain backround, hence the racial slant. Middle-eastern countries will typify the enemy as "white," because while we're all mixed up over here, they're predominantly middle-eastern there, so they choose to overlook our non-white populations and point to the whites in order to justify their own race. Omnifinite makes a valid point, but I think that that is less and less of an acceptable explanation these days, as racial lines are merging more than ever before. I think there are very few (if any) people in the States who do not know someone of a different race, so "fear of the unknown" as it is so often called, IMO, is no longer a valid argument for Americans. I think most of the people who still hold racist views are not afraid as much as they are simply indoctrinated and close-minded. I do not think, in the case of terrorism, that it is unacceptable to see our enemies as basically middle-eastern, but I do think it is unacceptable to typify middle-easterns as our enemy. There is a HUGE difference and I think people need to start realizing that.

I don't really have a problem with Bush. The President Kennedy whom everybody adores is few and far between, and everybody can't be held to that standard. We're the only nation in the world truly free to elect our own idiots, and I think there's something to be said for that. IMO, any modern President is going to be trying his best, and while we may not always agree with their policies or approaches, that is really the most I would ever ask.

From my viewpoint, religion, faith, and spirituality are fundamentally different things, but I think many people group them together, and so end up confused about what they're really looking for. To me, religion is an organization, a defined set of beliefs. Your faith is simply whatever you believe in. Spirituality is harder to explain, but it's kind of how you take your faith and integrate it into your life. I think most people who think they are looking for religion are really looking for faith, and that many people who are having trouble with faith are really having trouble with their spirituality. Along those lines, I'm an athiest, but I still consider myself a faithful and spiritual person. To many people this seems weird, but I don't think it's so strange. While I do not believe in God, I hold stronge beliefs in other things that to many people are just abstract concepts, but are much more to me--things like friendship and love and good. I spend a good deal of time reflecting on life and what it means to me, and for me that is spirituality. A more temporal spirituality, but spirituality nonetheless. A contradiction can exist, and now one does. Not everything is right and wrong. The religion for you is the one that works for you, it doesn't matter who's right or who contradicts whom.

The Army and AirForce units on my campus have been activated and I have many friends possibly going to war. Good luck to you all. "In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers."

Hey, at least you've got a chance. Good Luck!

Well, if you're looking to really develop the leg techniques, traditional TKD would be an excellent way to go, but like KSN said, other styles are not entirly without kicking, so you should definitly watch some classes and see which you think you might like. But IMO, if you're looking for kicks, TKD is pretty hard to beat, and well taught, it is not entirely kicking, so see how this instructor teaches it.

I'm college, so someone is always ordering a pizza or something equally likely to induce a heartattack. Pretty much I have given up on making an overt effort to eat healthy, but when I think of it I'll try to eat something decent. I have french toast with syrup every morning for breakfast so I get my sugar and protein fix for the day.

Hey, good thread here, thanks for bringing it back to the top KSN. My school has pretty much the same tenants and aims as others said here, but they are not as central to our training. Everyone of course knows them, but we really only recite them at belt tests. My Instructor views them as too dry, too impersonal, and that people will just memorize them instead of applying them. Instead he ends class with everyone gathering around in a circle on the floor and he will tell a story or anecdote about the proper lifestyle of a martial artist or how the tenets apply to life. I think it's a great way to do it, it leaves us with something to think about after every class.