mazzybear

As the others have said, learning from videos online is not ideal. I use them to familiarise myself with the moves, direction etc but, there are many nuances that you may not pick up, which in turn creep their way in to your kata. I'd say, sure, use it as reference but, not a full on teaching aid, that's what your instructor is there for, take any questions or things you're unsure of to him and he'll set you on the correct path. Mo.

Welcome to the forum! Mo.

Welcome to KF! Mo.

THESE!!! Definitely these! We done them up and down the hall last week, done them for a minute at a time for around 10-15 mins. Safe to say I could absolutely "feel the burn" at the time and for several days after. Mo.

That's you guys on PSN been sent friends requests, sorry to you chiliphil1, sadly I don't have an Xbox, hopefully this thread picks up a wee bit and you get some more Xboxers. I love the COD games too, but I tend not to play online, mainly because I get killed inside of a minute But by far my favourite games are the Arkham Batman series. The last one "Arkham Origins" wasn't so good, I think because Rockstar didn't produce that one, but they're back with next months release of "Arkham Knight" which I can't wait for! Mo.

So, I don't know if this subject has been raised before but, thought I'd ask anyway. Would folk be interested in putting their PSN/Xbox ID's up for folk to add to their friends list and maybe have a wee kick about, shoot 'em up or beat 'em up among KF members? I got Mortal Kombat X last week and I'm pretty new to the whole online gaming thing, and as a noob I'm getting my backside kicked pretty regularly but having fun in the process. So it could be even more fun having my butt kicked by you guys! So who's in? I'll Kick off with my ID Playstation Network: Mazzybear79 Mo.

Electronics technician for a large American Defence company. In my 18th year with the company, started with them when I was 18, so now that's half my life with one company. It makes me feel old to think about it in those terms Mo.

Dead man's shoes, is that the one with Paddy Considine? That is a brilliant film!!!! Mo.

Tuesday night's class for us is strength and conditioning work, it's a no gi night with weights, heavy bag work and full force punces and kicks on the pads. I love these sessions, I always come out with a great sweat on. That said, I do some outside of the dojo too. I like to use the TRX style straps and also do some weights and work the free-standing bag I have in the garage and I also put in 20-30 min kata and kihon practice afterwards. Mo.

Welcome to the forum, Juan. Mo.

I'm currently learning Wanshu for a competition next month and, the debate in the club as to whether it's a punch or a block is currently a hot topic. My instructor thinks it's more likely to be a block, much like the block in Kihon 2, as also said by the OP. I've not entirely made up my mind but, I'm inclined to go with a punch, although, I would disagree with it being gyakuzuki no tsukomi. I think if it is a punch, then it's more like shta zuki (downward punch) than gyakuzuki no tsukomi (lunge reverse punch) IMO. Mo.

Might be a daft question but, are you fuelling your body properly before a training session? If I don't eat before a class, I can feel very sluggish indeed. Try eating some complex carbohydrates such as wholegrain bread or pasta, potatoes and brown rice an hour or two before class, then have a banana just before you begin. After class have a small snack high in protein to help with muscle repair and fatigue. Knowing when to fuel your body is just as important as knowing what to eat, if not more so. But as others have said, it might be better to seek a professional opinion. Mo.

Congratulations!! Thoroughly deserved. Mo.

The town where I live, Glenrothes, is one of Scotland's new towns, so it is not famous for anything more than being home to Dougray Scott (of Mission Impossible II fame) And also being one time winner of the annual "Scotland's most dismal town award" My hometown of Helensburgh, on Scotland's west coast, however, is famous for many reasons, one of which is being the home of John Logie Baird, inventor of the television. Mo.

For me you've hit the nail on the head, far too many remakes going on. The only halfway decent remake I've seen of late is Man of Steel and even then, nothing beats Christopher Reeve's Superman. Mo.

Congratulations RAM18 very well done!! Mo.

https://youtu.be/5yJKvNp-4Ck Here is the wado version of Kushanku. I think it's Toru Arakawa performing. I done it for 3rd Kyu and will be doing it again for 1st Kyu in July. I think it's one of those marmite things, you either love it or hate it. Me personally, I like it, but judging by the groans when asked to perform it, many in the club don't. I like it because it incorporates all the Pinan katas into it, so if you can do Kushanku well, it follows that you'll do the Pinans well also. It's also good for building stamina, we are sometimes asked to perform it 2 or 3 times in a row to see how we perform under stress, also being the longest Kata in the Wado syllabus it's a good Kata to perform at an all styles competition. Mo.

So I read today that one of my all time favourite films is to be remade. Am I happy about this? NO!! Not in the slightest, not when I've seen what has happened to other classics that have been remade recently, I think it's safe to say I'll be avoiding this like the plague. It is to be directed by Pablo Larrain (no, I've never heard of him either) and centres around it's mexican protagonist Tony _________ (surname tba) who moves from Mexico to LA and rises through the ranks of a drug cartel to eventually head it up. I have to say I really don't like the sound of it, who can match up to the mighty Pacino in this role? Nobody IMO. Anyone else dread the thought of this? I realise DePalma's version is also a remake, but boy what a job he done, sadly I don't see the same happening with this! Thoughts? Mo.

I got Heath Ledger's Joker and "why so serious?" put on it. Not arrived yet but I'm hoping it arrives in time for class tomorrow. Yeah I'll put up a review for it, although tbh, I can't see there being a huge difference, the process I went through was pretty much identical to yours. Mo.

It may be just because you're doing more exercise than your body has been used to doing. When I first started back at karate a few years back, my hip would click every time I kicked, sometimes it felt as if my hip was about to dislocate and the pain was rather intense. It doesn't do it anymore, even when I do high kicks. So I gather it was my body adjusting to something new. Be sure to warm up properly and do some stretching before class and also on days when you have no class. Your Sensei should be able to show you some good stretches for this area. I've recently started doing yoga stretches for the lower back and hips and have found it to be of immense benefit, so maybe it would be of use to you too. Google will bring up plenty exercises and how to do them properly. That said, if it persists, I would go see a doctor to rule out anything more serious, you don't want to push things too far and maybe rule yourself out through an injury that could have been avoided. Mo.

Happy Birthday!!! Mo.

Congratulations on the promotion!!! Mo.

Ichiban international https://www.ichibaninternational.com do nice custom made Hirota gi's, although at the best part of £200 it's a big outlay for a new student. Blitz do up to a size 8 in their silver tournament gi at £55 it's a great price for a great gi, might be more economical to buy that and have it altered. Mo.

I had been looking at a couple different sites for a custom guard for a while. I find the boil and bite ones too big and intrusive in my mouth. Opro was one I had considered but kept being drawn back to funky gums custom guards. I've done the impression and waiting on the finished guard being sent out this week, can't wait to try it out. Mo.

Interesting post! In my humble opinion, any martial artist worth his/her salt should also be moving the goalposts on their own violition. After all if you're not moving forwards then you're moving backwards. On my own very short journey so far I've been constantly moving my goalposts, for example, I couldn't do a roundkick to save my life when I started, so practiced till I got it, what then? Try kicking a little higher, OK got that, what now? Try putting some power behind it! And it goes on. To many these achievements may have seemed insignificant in comparison to acheiving 1st/5th/8th Dan, to me they were huge!! It's the little acheivements that make the big ones all the more sweeter. So while our Sempai or Sensei or indeed anyone within our federations are moving our goalposts, we should all be moving them on our own too. Mo.