tommarker

Whether you think Ki is energy radiating from your dantien or just an outdated oriental term for what can be scientifically explained byphysics, chemistry, biology, and body mechanics... ...99% of martial artists have little to no ability to demonstrate it on a high level. Myself included. I myself think it exists, and that science offers a path towards its understanding. You can pare down the human body to strings of proteins, but you will still lack the essence of what it is to be human. Same with Ki, IMHO.

Ah, but there's a reason for everything in your training, one would argue... This is somewhat relevant, to an extent... Hagakure, Chapter One: " Every morning, the samurai of fifty or sixty years ago would bathe, shave their foreheads, put lotion in their hair, cut their fingernails and toenails rubbing them with pumice and then with wood sorrel, and without fail pay attention to their personal appearance . It goes without saying that their armor in general was kept free from rust, that it was dusted, shined, and arranged. Although it seems that taking special care of one's appearance is similar to showiness, it is nothing akin to elegance. Even if you are aware that you may be struck down today and are firmly resolved to an inevitable death, if you are slain with an unseemly appearance, you will show your lack of previous resolve, will be despised by your enemy, and will appear unclean. For this reason it is said that both old and young should take care of their appearance. Although you say that this is troublesome and time-consuming, a samurai's work is in such things. It is neither busy- work nor time-consuming. In constantly hardening one's resolution to die in battle, deliberately becoming as one already dead, and working at one's job and dealing with military affairs, there should be no shame. But when the time comes, a person will be shamed if he is not conscious of these things even in his dreams, and rather passes his days in self- interest and self-indulgence. And if he thinks that this is not shameful, and feels that nothing else matters as long as he is comfortable, then his dissipate and discourteous actions will be repeatedly regrettable."

I told ya so. j/k In all seriousness, I hold Isshin-ryu in the highest regard, and it definetely will give you a well-rounded education in the martial arts.

pilates.

why bother travelling all the way to China for what may or may not be good instruction? There are instructors in the US who are just as good, if not better, than those in China.

i'm saving my pennies for a pair of Shureido natural sai. Saving for the wedding comes first though

i'll say it as nice as i can: it's just a gup rank, and in a few months, it will be sorted out. You sound very humble about your abilities, but at your level (no offense) your instructor can give you a better sense of your ability than you can. It almost seems that worrying about not being worthy of your rank is affecting your performance. Make it work for you instead. Let that belt challenge you until you test out of it.

Oldie but a goodie: The Abdominal Training FAQ http://www.timbomb.net/ab/ab.faq.html

ooooook... let's take an inventory: 5 staffs: 2 hardwood staffs, 2 waxwood staffs, 1 rattan staff. 4 pair escrima sticks. 8 pair nunchaku: 2 aluminum, 2 foam, 2 hardwood, 1 micarta, 1 plastic (police nunchaku) I am a nunchaku fanatic. 1 san setsu kon 1 3 section staff 1 9 section chain whip 1 weighted chain a couple rope 2 pair sai 1 pair kama 1 pair tonfa 1 shinai 1 bokken 1 sword countless number of yawara sticks even more chizukenbo a shu-chu (like a kubaton and a suntetsu combined) 1 ju-jo 1 sjambok 2 comtech stingers about 20 folding knives 2 fixed blades 2 khukris i'll double check under the bed later to make sure i didn't miss any.

MORE BEATINGS!!!!!! Sometimes I just wanna whack people who don't listen with a shinai (and I'm the softie in the club)

In a similar vein to other questions... Do you have a specific way to fold your uniform after class, or do you just toss it in the bag afterwards? We have a very particular method, though not as involved as some hakama wearers I've seen. Of the 20 clubs at our university, I think we are the only ones (except the kendo/iaido folk) who take any sort of care in folding the uniform afterwards.

not to and from class. that would be an excellent way to be yelled at. i can see it being ok for studios without any sort of changing area, but we've got a more than adequate locker facility. When the dojo becomes the outdoors, as what happens often in the summer, then we do wear uniforms outside. But only for training. If I train outdoors, I only wear the pants, since they are comfy, but being the lone loony in the park in a karategi gets unneeded attention sometimes

I don't think we have any sort of policy (Tang Soo Do) I take "don't let your belt touch the floor" with a big ol' grain of salt. If the tips hit the floor in seiza, it means I've lost some weight It's going to hit during ukemi-waza anyway or most hosinsul exercises. When I take off my belt, I fold it in half, then wrap it around my neck loosely like you might with a towel. When I change, it is a personal act of respect not to throw it on the floor while I fold my uniform. I hang it up on a locker, or keep it around my neck. Being at a university, I've found my share of colored belts laying on the floor in the locker room. Belts from my studio get stolen by me, and can only be returned after singing a humiliating song in front of everyone. God help me if I ever find a black belt.

LMFAO

I was under the impression that it was very similar to Hwa Rang Do, but I could be wrong. We have a grad student in our club from S. Korea who is a Cho Dan in Teukong Moosul. I'll ask him.

sometimes I think i could break out a lounge chair and a lemonade and watch Jerry argue with people all day long.

my dojang has a weightroom!! wait, no it doesn't. but we do a lot of pushups and bag work

My belt is starting to gray a little, but when it frays, I tend to fix it. The whole white-->black-->white thing is bollocks in my opinion. Some people wear it like a badge of honor, and I guess that is fine. I'd rather my performance make statements about my training than my belt Would you let your sword dull or your bo splinter?

(in no particular order) Karate Wrestling Firearms

bagua and the i ching make my brain hurt thinking just thinking about them.

I noticed you are from Ohio. Did you happen to learn it from the late Dr. Wu?

If you like the Korean Tigers demo team, you should buy their tapes.

training doesn't have to be physical.

Boxerscott: your question is unfortunately bogus, although that doesn't mean you are for trying to answer it. you follow? A lot of us have heard this question asked in one vein or another which leads to the: Short answer: The top martial art as recognized by a police study may only be the cheapest, fastest to learn, or most litigation friendly. It may or may not be "effective" Long Answer: Any research done by police departments to find "the most effective martial art" are going to be very specific to the area of law enforcement, fits into the use of force continuum, minimizes litigation, and is quickly and easily taught. Whatever empty handed tactics are taught to law enforcement officers (leo from now on) are taught in addition to use of pepper spray, handcuffs, batons, handguns, and maybe even shotguns. Most empty handed techniques are going to be used for a certain spectrum of encounters. When it gets too thick, they have to move up the use of force continuum. This means if they can't contain a suspect with a lock, it's time for OC and backup. Pull a knife on an officer, he will not do some fancy aikido move. He'll shoot. When an officer is going empty handed (usually) it will be to contain and control. Contrast this to the military, who in most operations will start with the firearms, and (hopefully not have to) work down to empty handed combat. When someone in a wartime situation is fighting empty handed, he/she is looking to kill. Now contrast that to average Joe. Average Joe doesn't carry the full range of tools a police officer does. He's not held back by restrictions on usage of force that are handed down by department guidelines. Chances are also much more likely that he is not licensed to carry a firearm/knife/baton/whatever and will have to use his empty handed techniques to potentially face a variety of challenges from pushy panhandlers to armed agressor.

since i'm in the middle of what is turning into a 50+ page research paper on the topic, I will go with nunchaku.