Hawkmoon

Gis and washing .... I have a story about a washing accident ... grrr I've been known to use 'bleach' applied directly toe h armpit area as much as the neck and cuffs to control it ... can't honestly say its a perfect answer but it does help. Most washing powders contain various concentrations of bleaching agents to help 'whiten' your socks and shorts. A Gi is cotton and so not any different ..bigger sure, but not any different at the end of the day.

hmm...many an instructor I have worked with and the ones that worked with me to get to 2nd and 1st kyu (Brown) had no illusion that to test for brown(especially 1st kyu) was be the hardest test you'd undertake! Not to say a BB grading is easy ..no no far from it. To test for 1st kyu is to take a grading exam much like the black belt, but as mentioned above you do not have the finesse, the control the mental strength and understanding to go along with 'a black belt examination'! Come black belt all 'that' stuff has become normal and second nature. It is at Brown belt you are made or broken, as mentioned above be aware and careful at this level! Many students reach this level and simply stop, some mumbo jumbo craziness black magic spell creeps into the soul and takes over then suddenly the BB grading gets put on hold just a little longer and pushed back for less and less logical reasons!!

Hehehehe ... ! Let me share (in brief) my MA career! Stared when I was 18, my weight was about 65 -70kgs! Graded to 1st kyu. Kept this grade for a few years, then I would grade to Shodan, the idea was the be the best I could be .... At about 26 I completely stopped training, still a 1st kyu..... (work family and so on.) My weight was about 70-75kgs! I returned to MA about 5 years ago, my weight 95+kgs!!! So wish this was not true ... but it was possibly higher... The jeans I used to wear were 28 -30inch waist, now I was looking to purchase jeans with a 48 inch waist! I am now a Shodan, my weight 78-83 Kgs! My waist is 34 inches! If you do anything ..GO BACK and train, be mindful of your injuries and simply rest as you need to, if you much push may I suggest you ONLY push after you have been back say 6mths, let your body get upto speed and be comfortable with what you now ask of it!

Shodan Kyokushin

I'd love to train with Sosai Oyama, already train(ed) with Hanshi Arneil, so Sosai himself would be the dream.

hmmmm ... Just to look at this section (ignoring the rest of your post, just trying to keep it/make it as simple as i can) yes I have issue with the list and why the list was created for the same reasons!! (There goes the 'ignore' comment out the window! ) 1. This is minor to some massive to others, but no matter what its simply polite and courteous, simple manners! Black mark against the persons name. 2. Same 1. Black mark against the persons name. 3. Same as 1 & 2. Black mark against the persons name. 4. Same as 1, 2 & 3. Black mark against the persons name. 5. Entering the 'area' be that for formal dojo training, competition or demonstration its that manners thing for me. Black mark against the persons name. If its you in a corner I see no reason to bow to a wall for example ... a more relaxed approach is acceptable. Yay! a different answer..kind'a! 6 . Same as 5. Black mark against the persons name. Etiquette is not a hard thing to master it is not a difficult thing to remember. You would not walk into a meeting at the office or church without seeking permission or 'knocking' announcing your wish to enter to interrupt. So why just wander around and do stuff in the dojo....etiquette is part of the whole package not an optional extra like air con in the car!

UFC trainer ..yup got that on my X box! Its good if a little slow and inaccurate sometimes. The punch training is the best example of what I mean, put simply I punch faster than it can track me so I find I slow down to do 'its' speed training routine...? go figure. Otherwise the repetition stuff is very good for your fitness levels.

Allowing 'professionals' to compete in an amateur competition is ..well ... it makes it a joke IMHO! A certain shame is felt in my blood, sorry its how it makes me feel!

Great points well made! The act of one or a few is used by so many to define all the others its something that to many 'people' do to readily!

Well done you! Osu!

A solid base is, as most if not all of us is aware, extremely important, the profound comment "From a solid base builds ...etc etc!' is never more true than when you are starting out down the fighters/fighting road! (I do Kyokushin, we fight, its what we do its what we are famous for, we fight from an early stage of our careers, if anything its a chore to get a kyokushin student to kihon or worse still ( ) kata!) Regardless of the school/ryu/teacher of the combat system; Martial Art, Karate, warrior, fighter these are words used over the years to describe a student in the 'art of war'! The traditionalist in can't get past the idea to hold a student back to such a late stage is...is counter intuitive you create a warrior with a solid base to build upon to fight, but with no experience normally assigned to someone of such rank...potential students would not consider you or your art.... ...I cannot make mind up if there is a some thought process driving this as some kind of search for a certain sort or type of student!

Very well said. Spot on, good post!

to add... I've been working with my sons Kickboxing school in an attempt to make it interesting for him .. hes been a little less than enthusiastic for a while now! Since joining in (in joggers and a tee, a prearranged agreement with school instructor) he's been more interested in his art again so its seems to be working! To explain the agreement, when I train I do not wear (and so advertise) my Gi or rank of my system! I have no conflict of bruised pride in this as I will only 'train' with them once a week, I see it of mutual benefit to us all. The differences between how they fight and how I fight is going to help them as much as it will help me. (more importantly my son!) Only a couple of the students know who I am and what I am the rest have no idea, that's how the head teacher wants so I am happy to follow his wishes. The other morning I was sparring and was asked by one of the BBs who was standing in for the head instructor to 'not kick the legs/thighs', he was unhappy about the contact and didn't want any knee injuries on his watch! (He is not aware of the who or what of me) I was not bothered by the request I just aimed at the ribs instead, but as much of my many of my setups use or even opens on a leg kicks I was for the next two or three bouts like a fish out of water, it took an age to adjust to what for me was a restriction! Like wise as they do strike to the face, in knockdown we do not punch the face I made the transition to how they fight by going into 'clicker' mode, an adjustment that takes about 2 smacks to the head to kick in as it were but a good eye opener! To me the differences between how they fight and how I fight, is quiet visual as well as physical difference, they attack middle and high I attack middle and low it makes for a good example of mixing it up with other systems I think.

Happy Birthday, Noah...and many more!! Exactly how many is it ?

Well done hammer! Fun wasn't it? Yes, Intensity ... like I said you not made of glass, so getting tagged is an eye opened for sure, but after the initial shock I guess covers that moment, things come into focus. Then its down to conditioning and intensity! The work rate of some fighters is (no surprises here) high to start with or at the end at around the 30 sec bell! The trick as it were is to gauge the other guy feel form the contact if he is weakening as time passes or not, and adjust your efforts as best you can, fight the person not the grade!