Wolflaker

Cool, thanks. I'll check the site out!

Great, thanks. I made another practice stand yesterday and was practicing keeping a ping pong ball in motion with nunchaku. I actually made some progress. The most progress was with my weak (left) hand. Hitting a moving ping pong ball with a pair of 'chucks is easier said than done. Then, I get inside and discover new the Nokia commercial that looks like Bruce Lee is playing ping pong with nunchaku. Snopes exposes it as a fake, but after just a couple hours of practice with my own slow self on a ping pong ball, I think Bruce could have pulled it off when he was around. Today is supposed to be rainy so I should be able to get my first batch of PVC nunchaku done and will take some pics of them. Again, thanks. Mark

Hello, I am new here so I am not sure if this is the correct thread. If not, so sorry....mods can move it. I like to make stuff to practice martial arts with. Right now I am making up a half dozen or more nunchaku out of light, durable PVC conduit. I want to give our class something to practice with. I make them in different lengths so the students can choose their favorite size, or (my preference) be able to use any size they pick up. I just finished up my latest 'invention' and left it with my daughter to practice with. Basically, its a stand that suspends a ball in the air. The ball hangs by a rope and is height adjustable. I use a tennis ball for kicking and a ping pong ball for nunchaku. I have some other ideas, as well. The stuff is home made out of cheap materials so students can work on their skills and the class doesn't have to worry about wear and tear on it's pro equipment. I would like to share my ideas and links to pics. I just don't know for sure which thread I should do it in. Thanks

Again, thanks!

Thanks, All!

I am a ninth generation 'Wolf Laker'. Wolf Lake is in Egelston Township, Muskegon County, Michigan. It's a beautiful lake. I live walking distance from two beaches and my sister owns two homes right on the lake. I live in our mother's parents (now passed) home and she lives in our father's parent's (now passed) homes. Years ago, we had a bad reputation and locally, 'Wolf Laker' was synonymous with 'thug' or 'tough hoodlum'.

After a 35 year hiatus, I am going back to class. My daughter started karate several months ago and loves it. She did it as a college class, the same way I did and at the same college, and is now going to a different school (same style) and I am going to start there in a few weeks. Our style is AKS, or American Karate System. It was founded by Ernie Lieb in 1973. Mr. Lieb was my instructor in the mid seventies. Sadly, he was killed in a maglev train crash in Germany in 2006. I have been working on getting back in shape. A friend of mine got me skipping rope. He can do 100's of cross overs without missing. He is 78. Let me tell you, skipping rope is a real quick way to get your pulse rate up!!! One cool thing about the class I am going to be attending is mostly parent / child groups. One family has three generations at that school. Last night a mother and her daughter got their 8th kyu yellow belts together. I am also an amateur radio operator. So is my daughter. By trade I am a licensed electrician. I belong to forums for both of the above interests and thought I should do the same for karate. Thank you all for your hospitality. Mark

This is my first post to this forum. Interestingly enough, this thread instantly caught my eye. After 35 years, I am going back to class. My 19 year old daughter started about 6 months ago and is very talented and loves karate. We want to start going to class together. I asked the instructors and they said I could keep my rank and just get caught up at my own pace. I don't feel comfortable with that so I have been going to class and just watching. For one thing, things have changed. What is being done now and what is expected has, as one may surmise, changed somewhat. They have a handbook now. We never did. I also have been doing some practice on my own and working out so I am as worthy of my rank as I can be. I would gladly re-start as a white belt, but in my particular case I have permission just start back up like nothing happened and catch up as I can. One thing I noticed is things are not as strict as they were in the mid-seventies. Also, more attention is given to legal aspects than before. Thirty five years ago we were NEVER taught to hold our hands open and step back from a real life attacker like we are now. The reason we are now is because most real life physical conflicts will end up in a court room. We may need to prove that our actions were in self defense. Another thing that is different......students must remove their rank (belts) before drinking or eating in the class. Eating and drinking in class????? That's a luxury certainly not afforded 35 years ago. I think it's a great thing that karate, at least our style, has evolved to reflect the way society has changed. I am anxious to get back in class. Sometime after Memorial Day I should be back into shape enough to get caught up.