mazzybear

Congratulations!!!! Mo.

Well done, thoroughly deserved!! Mo.

I have a few tattoos but I don't have any martial arts related tatoos as yet. I do have a japanese style Koi fish and lotus flower with the "family" Kanji down my left side, which took a total of 9 very painful hours over two sittings to complete.I also have the Chinese mahjong symbol of the red dragon on my right ribs.I do want to get the Wado symbol at some point, although I'll probably wait until I've earned my black belt for that. http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag29/Marion_Mackenzie/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps91725b3c.jpg http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag29/Marion_Mackenzie/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps7605eaf1.jpg Mo.

1. The very best of luck to you on both tests! 2. Enjoy! please enjoy! 3. 4. A point in time to aim for, good for!! Thanks Hawkmoon, all the best in achieving your goals for 2015 too! Mo.

I have to say, my goals for 2015 are pretty much the same as 2014, but I'll put them down anyway. So here goes: 1. Pass gradings for 2nd and 3rd Kyu and aim for a commended pass in at least one of them. 2. Enter more competitions and get placed in as much as possible. 3. Train hard inside and outside the Dojo. 4. Step up and work the syllabus for the November 2016 Dan grading. Tonight is the last class of 2014, so I'm ready for the break to recharge and hit my goals head on in 2015.

Merry Christmas to all and their families and I hope you all have a good Hogmany and kick off the New Year in style. Mo.

1. Hit this one, passed both with a B (3rd Kyu almost sneaked an A) 2. Hit this one, now comfortably managing mawashigeri jodan and with bite! (almost don't recognise myself from the girl who walked through the dojo doors 2 years ago) 3. Hit this one, entered three competitions and came away with 2nd place in all three. 4. Hit this one (mostly ) missed hardly any class and trained out in the garage at least twice a week, the eating slipped at times but nobody's perfect So, pretty pleased with my year overall. Next year? Well, the work for sitting my black belt in Nov 2016 will begin. Bring it on!!!! Mo.

Nice to see you back, I'd wondered where you'd got to! Sorry to hear you've not been able to train. Hopefully you get back soon, and I wouldn't worry about starting from scratch, you'll pick it back up in no time. Mo.

Well done guys, thoroughly deserved. Mo.

Illuminating! Mo.

Up unitl now it's just been Pinan katas for me. But now I've moved up to the 3rd-1st Kyu category, my repertoire will change. As I only need 3 kata for this section, I'm planning to go with the following: Chinto Jion Wanshu Although I've not fully learned Jion or Wanshu, the next Kata competition is not until March/April time, so I have time to work on them. Mo.

The more I hear of GKR, the more I dislike it! But to deny a kata exists because they do not practice it, is just ridiculous. We also do Jion in Wado, although with some very slight differences to Shotokan. I've not fully learned it through yet, as I'm currently learning Chinto, but I hope to make a proper start to it soon. It's a lovely strong Kata to watch, along with Kushanku it's one of my favourites to watch. I think I would've politely told them where to go too. I'm always respectfull of other styles/arts, butI find that really hard with GKR, your experience just gives me another reason as to why. Mo.

Those look pretty cool. What design would you pick though... I like the joker's "why so serious?" quote, I'd probably go with that. Cheesy, I know but I kinda like it! Mo.

I 100% agree with this, I'm exactlty the same. If I have to hurt someone, I can, but it doesn't make me feel good. I can see your point, but to the print in bold, yes, it's what a warrior would do, but, are these guys warriors in the true sense of the word? IMO, no, they're not. Others may disagree, but I see them simply as fighters/sportspeople. These guys are paid vast sums of money from the fight purse itself and from individual sponsorships. They are role models to millions around the world and I think they have a responsibilty to act accordingly. Again this is just my opinion and others may see it differently. Mo.

Hi, welcome to KF!!! Mo.

I didn't actually watch the fight live, but saw highlights afterwards. I have to say it's up there in my top 5 "eeeeww" moments in UFC. Jessica Eye threw a pretty sweet punch which caused the injury, or did she? From some angles it looks like she may have caught the ear with her thumb causing it to rip, it certainly wasn't deliberate if she did, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed with her comments after the fight "When I connected and saw her ear blow up, that became my main target. "I was going to keep hitting it until they stopped the fight or it fell off" Now I get these guys keep fighting to the end but to purposely try and get somebody's ear off, to me is pretty despicable. Am I being overly sensitive? Possibly. But then again, she knows the fight was over then, why not keep going but target a different area until the fight was officially stopped? It's not like it's just a wee cut, it's a serious injury IMO, and to target it in such a way, well, it's pretty cold. What's everybody's thoughts, do you agree with how Eye targeted the ear, or do you think she should've changed tactic till the fight was stopped? Mo.

I think kids should be training kumite from an early stage, it builds confidence and i think their skills come on faster if they have a chance to use them in a competition environment. I think kids are wrapped up in cotton wool far too much these days, they're more robust than some folk give them credit for. At kumite competitions run by our associaton the kids can enter one of two ways: 1. Enter sparring for their weight/grade as normal. 2. Enter the competition in the kickmaster category. The "kickmaster" category IMO is a great idea for the kids who are a bit overwhekmed at the thought of fighting for the first time, how it works is you get the two kids, each has a century bob training dummy, 1 minute is put on the clock. When the buzzer goes the kids set about their respective dummies using any (legal) technique they like, at the end of the minute the kid with the better executed moves goes through to the next round. it gives them experience of competing, while letting them see what goes on at the real competition level with the older kids and adults. And i have to say, watching some of these kids go at the dummies is truly amazing, some of the techniques the can pull of is astounding. But yeah, I agree the earlier kids are introduced to kumite the better. Mo.

I use Opro mouthguards, but I've been eying up custom made ones from http://funkygums.com/ They will print any design you want on the guard too. I'm planning on up-ing the number of tournamets I enter next year and feel the Opro a bit chunky, so might just bite the bullet and spend the extra on a good mouthpiece. Mo.

Welcome to KF!! Mo.

My instructor has recently changed his criteria for grading, for the better IMO. It used to be a grading was held every 4 months, if you're good enough, you pass, if not, you don't. Nothing unusual there. But there would be folk who would train sporadically in between (maybe one or two classes every few weeks) if asked to demonstrate a Kihon/Ohyo, they would stand with a blank look on their face, they then attend all classes in the week before the grade. I have to say, this infuriated me, I attend all classes each week and know what Kihon/Ohyo my instructor wants demonstrated. I'm glad to say, my instrutor has now changed it, so from 9th-4th Kyu require 50% attendance of all classes from the 4 month cycle and from 3rd-1st Kyu 75% attendance. I think the final straw for him was a young guy who is 2nd Kyu and out of the last 48 classes has attended just 9, every time he turns up he asks about when the next grade is, much to my instructors annoyance. I'm delighted he's changed it, now when I'm on the floor doing a grading, I know the person next to me has put in the same work as I have. Mo.

I use ankle weights when working out in the house. I think they're 1.5kg, I always do slow motion kicks though, less risk of injury that way. If you kick full power, especially with heavier weight it's easy to pull muscles/tendons. Mo.

I don't watch the Walking Dead but I have played plenty Resident Evil/Last of Us type games and the Evil Within is next on my list, so I'd do ok in the apocalypse. Mo.

Amazing!!! The speed this guy moves doing his bunkai is astonishing. Truly inspirational. Mo.

Congratulations!! What a milestone to have achieved. Here's to many more years on your journey! Your love of the MA is obvious to anyone who reads your posts, which are quite frankly awe inspiring. If I can learn just a fraction of what you know, I'll consider myself very lucky. Oh and happy belated birthday!!! Mo.

Don't be too hard on yourself, accidents happen. Everybody and i mean EVERYBODY in the martial arts has been hit by or hit their opponent too hard at one time or another. It's part and parcel of the MA. The man you were sparring with will understand this sort of thing happens all the time. Your Sensei will have seen it a million times. It's how you learn control, through trial and error. For the other black belts to say what they did means they see potential in you, take heart from that. Just dust yourself down and keep going, don't let one little incident ruin your martial arts journey, learn from it and move on. Mo.