Chellechan

If you can't find a place at a price you like, I can translate for you and send you an image of the kanji. Just drop me a note at chelle chan_1@ya hoo.co.jp (with no spaces)

My mom signed my little brother up for nearby TKD school and said I couldn't go because I was a girl. I begged and pointed out that there were a few other girls in class, and she finally let me. My little brother dropped out after he got his yellow belt, and I've stuck with it to this day. Martial arts ended up being "my thing", and I think I should thank my brother for helping me get started so young. Thanks li'l bro!

Nope, not kamas. It's a Chinese weapon. They have some similarities in useage, but look a bit different! Here's a page with info and some pictures: http://www.bodymindharmony.com/deerhorn.htm

My list is slowly getting longer as I've gained interest in Chinese weapons! 2 sets nunchaku 1 ultralight bo 1 graphite bo 1 rattan bo 1 oak bo 2 bokken 2 sets tonfa 2 sets escrima 1 set crescent blades 1 set hook swords 1 sun and moon, heaven and earth blade 1 wushu pudao 1 combat pudao 1 wushu broadsword 1 wushu straightsword 1 2-section staff 1 collapsible tai chi sword

If you're into the filesharing scene, there's a video of a fan form going around on Kazaa and such networks. The one I got is titled "Kung fu - TAI CHI FAN FORM.MPG" It's nearly 4 minutes long and set to music. Big file - 38.8 MB. Originally, I suspect that this was ripped from a video CD imported from China. These are available on eBay and some other sources on the net.

There's a couple jo-related vids here: http://www.pointgreyaikikai.com/gallery/gallery.html Here's some other videos: http://iwamaryujms.free.fr/Clips%20video%20O%20Sensei4.html http://www.aikidofaq.com/video/bookman_13_kata.mov Can't find a whole lot at the moment, but I have a bunch on my harddrive I can't find the sites for. If you search on Google or another search site for "jo kata" or something like that, you'll find more. There's a couple nice little books out on the jo. You can probably find them on Bay or half.com really cheap.

For more contemporary stuff try the video page as MASLinc. There's always a bo competitor or two up, and they add one new vid every day. http://maslinc.com/news_media.cfm?ID=4 For more traditional kata, here's some random stuff I found: (I would "Save As..." These are direct video links. Some need RealPlayer) http://hawaiiankajukenbo.com/Video/Bo.mpg http://www.bmikarate.com/Training/BoForm.mpg http://www.gstaekwondo.com/DEMO/10_24_01/ken_Bo_Web_L.wmv http://www.uga.edu/karatedo/video/sakugawa.no.kon.mov http://www.usashorinryu.org/Online/video/botaiso.rm (User ID = guest Password = guest) http://www.americanisshinryukarate.com/mpegs/Shimabuku_Tokomeni_No_Kon_Kata.m1v http://www.americanisshinryukarate.com/mpegs/Shimabuku_Shi_Shi_No_Kon_No_Dai_Kata.m1v http://www.americanisshinryukarate.com/mpegs/Shimabuku_Urashi_No_Kon_Kata.m1v

If you are indeed talking about the kung fu weapon, they are also called crescent moon blades/knives, hook swords, deer horn knives, or mandarin duck blades. As far as I know they are only used in the Bagua/Pakua style. I have seen a few different forms for these, I have a few on VCDs imported from China, and there are great resources available at YMAA.com This book on Emei Baguazhang is fabulous and has a chapter on the weapon. http://store.yahoo.com/ymaa/bagandap.html And there is a companion video series, volume 3 has the hook sword forms and applications. They even have a video clip you can watch. http://store.yahoo.com/ymaa/embagvol3bag.html

Had to wash it, even though all my friends have that anti-belt washing feeling. My belt was staining a black ring around all my white uniforms. The ring washes out, but it's really annoying to sit and scrub that all the time. Plus, the belt started growing this funky-smelling white crust on the inside. Just popped it in the washer, cold wash, no detergent, hang dry. It didn't shrink much and the color stayed fairly intact. However, it STILL stains a black ring around my white gi!

Since we're on the subject... I just got a black gi, I've always had white ones before, and I'm afraid I'm going to turn it grey. It's pure cotton. So far I've soaked it in vinegar as the manufacturer suggested and washed it by itself in cold water. It seems like its already getting some lighter spots! Are there any secrets to keeping a black gi black longer?

I haven't learned it myself, but I know that it means "white crane" haku=white tsuru=crane Lots of information about its lineage and such here: http://www.goju-ryu.info/kata/hakutsuru/ I have a friend from Japan who calls it 'hakkaku' (using the same kanji as hakutsuru), but this is kind of interesting because this pronunciation could also mean "eight angles" (or eight cranes for that matter). hmmmm ::shrugs:: That's Japanese for ya. I searched some Japanese sites, but couldn't find any instruction on it. Probably gotta buy this one. sorry ^_^; I see that you can get a video of it here for $25: http://www.superfoots.com/whitcranhako.html