fireka

okay, maybe i dont deserve to be a budo ka anymore for saying this, but... i really dont think we need to be so secretive about everything. lets face it, other people treat us martial artist like mutants. For somereason everyone wants to fight you when they find out you practice. i made the mistake of talking about martial arts with my boss at work, who is a shodan in Tae-kwon-do (can you be a 'shodan' in tae-kwon-do?) now everyone there always attempts to try my nerves. But when it comes to street fighting, weather they know your skill level or not, a street fighter can not compete against a seasoned karate-ka. But in a place like the gym? everyone there is trying to improve there bodies, minds, and spirits. they all take diffrent routes, weight lifting, swiming, arobics. some even meditate. why should karate be any diffrent. I agree, training in your backyard is relaxing, but if you want an air conditioned room that you can train in even in the rain, heck through the whole gi on and go to the gym! if they have a problem with it they can take it up with you after you finnish practicing your mawashi geri, but i really dont think people who are training anyway will care.

UFc often times seems to much of a wrestling match. I just dont get the attraction, but a good shotokan stylist should do pretty well, why are you personnaly thinking of competeing? Im not real crazy about UFC, K-1 is my sport! my goal as an artsit is to compete in k-1, if your thinking of trying to get inot UFC, go for it! What have you got to loose? except some ribs, maybe a kidney, and a quart of blood? but all that can be easily replaced through a series of surgeries!

okay, technically Bo would make more since. however, just because thats the kind of flashy hollywood style Apollo Creed fighter that i am, i would LOVE to see a nunchuku wielder deafeat someone carring a nine foot pole. that would look so cool!

karate woman, i just read your post that started this and responded so i really dont know how the subject has trailed. But ill say this, the one thing i love about martiala rts that you dont see in the millitary or anywere else (i say military, because i think this should be implimented there) is that there is one standard. its a standard not based on any persons race or sex but a standard that one most reach to be able to survive in a combat situation, in the ring, or on the mat. and no matter who you are, if you make that standard your there, it does not change. dont say 'there making it harder for me because im this color; if your in a real dojo, it dosent happen, and dont say ' they have to make it easier for me because im female' because, if its a real dojo, they wont. you have to use the same tacticts to get away as everyone else. the rapeist certainly wont go easyier on you because your a woman, so there is no reason the standard should be lowered. so if the dojo is good, all the blackbelts have earned the same rank, gender race and creed aside. Ill also say this, if i may be so bold, women have flexibility and alout of times, weather we relize it or not, pain threshold over us guys. (it takes a lot of endurance for pain to give birth! its in the blood) If im in the ring with a female oponet ive never met before i am ALWAYS three times as alert as i am with a male and i have to be. Because they make excellent martial artist. i didnt read anyone elses post, but if someone said otherwise, there are to major aspects of the world you have a very bleek and misguided understanding of, the first is the martial arts, and the second is women.

i heard about hard and soft when i was in shotokan, now that im an isshinryu student, am istuding ahard art?

i really hope my sais dont come apart, they look really cool, even though technically i havent seen them yet.... but they have that little golden spiral going down the handle, i love the look! maybe if they do fall off i can still recreat the effect, after all ive made plenty of wooden weapons i suppose leather crafting wouldnt be much more difficult a skill to learn.

ohhh! Martial girl, who, humm, that ones going to put some real strain on our relationship. how can you not like jackie chan! i mean i like jet li to, but not all jackie chans movies are comideis. i.e. Operation Condor and Crime Story. but come on! he is a real artist, he is just funny! who didnt like Rush Hour, i mean really!

i practice isshinryu, which is a combination of shorin-ryu and two other styles.

Martial Girl that was excellent and insightful. i agree completely.

yea, ive been there and done that downward spiral. its hard to get any kid of karate training these days. you have to work so long to pay for it that you dont have time to go.

lol Rich, you got told, surrender. Ninjanurse...*applause* lol well fought

to err is human, to forgive devine walk soft, and carry a big stick (in my opinion the deffinition of defensive karate) and my favorite qoute of all time "Thats it, lets go get some coffee" (said by genreal Mcauthor in the korean war right after the first battle at the 32nd paralell)

if we are talking traditional weaponary here, id say sai. light, portable, easy to conceal, easy to summon in a hurry, good for defending and plenty of good strikes often at the same time. not to mention a level of sleek sweetness that can only be defined as BO-YA!

??????? why would i want the forearms of a fifteen year old boy? hum...i have seen the book on karate weapon of self defense before, in centuries catalog. yea, that probably would. id feel more comfroble if i knew a karate ka there who was my age.

hey, okay, please please PLEASE! Dont jump me for this, but im getting some sais for my birthday (the 18th0 because my parents know there my favorite martial arts weapon and we dont really get to study them for a while in my style so i was wondering if someone new some websites i could go to and learn okinawain sai from, just the forms and stances and stuff for fun so i can maybe paick something up! *ducks and cringes behind a desk*

lol, dont get used to it hobbitbob, i still have every intent of questioning everything you say j/k kamidake, your statment confused me, could you please adress my statment real quick so i can see were your opinion lies. it may just be that its like, midnight and im to tired to read straight, but could ya? thanks.

ewwww! i hate it when that happens, i mean what the big hurry! they just do it one match at a time. IWKA is like that at first, i wish it wasnt though, that is a good match to watch however, if you like isshinryu style.

granted, some are to pious to see obvious truths, but i asure you that the right to choose is a base christian concept.

street fighter follows a solid anime theme and has characters who, if you study the story, have abit of depth, unlike the dietyish, warriors of mortal kombat who are impossible to conect with, we can feel compassion for balanka and his quest for his past, feel the passion of Ryu as he seeks self perfection, and can understand the patriotism of Zangief and Guile, even though they are enemies, we see there connection. im looking to deep i know, but im a fiction writer! what did you excpect! so i think, game play aside, that street fighter regins supreme simply based on story line. any one agree with that concept?

no offense meant, but if theres one thing i despise its athesit trying to explain my own religion to me have you researched anything outside that verse which shows no evidence in my opinion? the right to choose heaven or hell is a very base christian belief.

ill get right on it jerry, but just a note about the kid doing a back flip to break a board. thats nothing, i went to watch the ISKA tournament and saw first hand a competetor do a back flip and break a solid block of ice!

it depends, i mostly crave the response you can get rather than actually experinced it before. but i have BEEN to many tournaments when i couldnt afford karate training. back then i saw all that i could and i went to the 1999 ISKA tournament in florida and there was definitly some crowd response. and the bigger ones? like K-1 oh yea, theres a response.

i disagree, in isshinryu we learn the concept from okinawa or 'one punch one kill' its the reason isshinryu fist are always verticle punches, but our verticle punches are never straight up and down, there tilted slightly. the reason for this is pretty cool. look at your chest and feel down along the edge, see how it forms an upside down V? punching directly there with that verticle fist tilted makes a perfect fit. now, there are two floating ribs there, if you penatrate correctly both will break off, one will puncture the lung, the other, the liver. killing the opponet.

of course theres point to point sparing! then again, i say this because i am a competetion artist (plays the rocky theme song) despite the fact that my sensai isnt crazy about competetion training. i like learning to fight for defense of myself and others of course, but i just like the ring. and my sensai is always saying stuff about how those big gold pices of plastic wont get you anywere and stuff but honestly i dont care if i win or loose, im serious! i just like the thrill. i love hanging out and sparring with other karate kas and artist, and if it comes to me wanting to win, if its a good solid tournament than i like the crowds response much more than the trophy. for people like me, i think point sparrings great. droping your guard demonstrates a lack of skill, i have the same problem in sparring and my dojo NEVER point spars. i dont think this gives evidence to weather point sparring is bad or good, it just shows were the karate ka needs to work.

my favorite has always been this creed: I come to you with only karate, empty hands. i have no weapons, but should i be forced to defend my self my principles or my honor should it be a matter of life or death right or wrong than here are my weapons my karate my empty hands