tommarker

It's called picking your enemies wisely to illustrate your strong points.

I'm sorry, but that is flat-out ignorant. I don't spend the entire drill bashing my partners forearms in, and I can still swing a hard block when I need to. If you feel like you have to provide some sort of "initiation" to show all the new students how tough you are with your iron forearms, that's great for you. btw, maybe you should find a good tai chi club and tell them what a bunch of soft hitting sissies they are.

An E Dan soundly beats a green belt in sparring? In other news, fire is still hot Don't worry about it man, learn your lessons from the match, and move on.

If I'm not mistaken, TSD also has Jitte, but we call it Sip Soo (10 hands).

nothing like getting schooled in pushups by a man in his seventies

Selling gear, weapons, and extra stuff is a great way for a studio to cover other expenses. So what if the teacher gets to keep 3 or 4 bucks on an order of punching gear, if it probably goes towards: keeping the studio open. keeping the heat in the studio on. buying targets etc. I would say that if your teacher sells stuff that is the same price, or (maybe) slightly more expensive than if you were to get it somewhere else, then you should do your best to support your teacher. It's only fair. Now if he's adding a big markup (which it doesn't sound like in this case) then maybe you should move on. The cheapest price isn't always the best deal in the long run, IMHO.

diss: insult, disrespect, put-down.

Bwahahahaha! You MUST be a region 8 guy! But to answer your question, not to my knowledge. Region 5 is comparatively small, and I've only seen a couple people test for Sam Dan.

mine was tough, but nothing extraordinary. The process of getting there and getting the chance to attend the test was far more challenging.

To be fair, Chuck studied with a LOT of people. I don't think you can penalize him for being open-minded.

Chuck Norris is no longer young, but I'm pretty sure he's more than fit enough to completely defeat Bruce's corpse.

I can speak from personal experience that spray paint is a BAD idea! I spray painted a pair of white footgear in neon yellow. They looked cool, but they were very, very, VERY sticky. They looked like those "peeps" marshmallow candies you get at Easter. Eventually, I had to realize that they were completely ruined. But when my feet moved, the judges couldn't help but see the points being made

well, that is one viewpoint.

what are you going to do when people see you only as "the dumb guy who is always trying to tell the dumb kid to grow up?"

could be that they are trying to help you learn to develop your technique in a stressful situation. the day you need reverse punch, you will not have a happy person encouraging you when you do it right. i'm not saying it's appropriate all the time, but it is a good reality check once in awhile.

My guess is that in Maryland they are not only illegal, but REALLY illegal. Maryland is really restrictive on weapons. A sap/blackjack is a nasty weapon, and is extremely effective -- ask a cop from the old school and they'll tell you that a blackjack could put someone down in a hurry. Of course, their effectiveness is one of the reasons it is so restricted today. It is really easy to put the hurt on someone with it. A shot to the right part of the head could probably kill someone. More likely, you hit them so hard that they crack their head open on the pavement when they fall. http://www.donrearic.com/ has some good info on the sap and blackjack. great site.

watching someone break a self-held speed break with a diagonal kick.

Is it your first test then? Good luck man, it's a long and rewarding road ahead! Tom

what belt are you testing for?

my E dan test is a month away, and I feel like everyday until then I will find a way to injure myself in the most bizarre way possible.

Good luck with that. Get back to me after you've trained for a few years and seen your shortcomings.

i have a nice sjambok hanging from the doorknob of my bedroom door.

i think that is what HE is asking YOU!

Tell her that some guy on the internet says that is dangerous and will impede your progress So at any rate, what do you have so far? Avoid the temptation to get TOO fancy. Sticking with the basics will give you a better form than trying to throw all your tricks in one bag. Before we were taught the first bong (korean for bo staff ) hyung, our instructor wanted to see how we thought it would look. We'd spent the last three classes doing the techniques in the form, and he was curious to see how WE'D put them together. As it turns out, we made a hyung (korean for 'kata form') that looked more like the third form, but still much more complex than what was required. And it was a fun experience. And no one was hurt.

No offense, but screw that. If I am legally allowed to carry a concealed firearm, I will. I could really give less than half a * what the 'million mom march' folks think. They'll never know it's there. In most places, the laws are restrictive enough to begin worrying about what some paranoid blissninny is scared of. Yes, THEY are the paranoid one.