fireka

i probably learn as much here as i do in the dojo, this is my second dojo. I hope when i make ku kyu i can put up one of those ost. i understand, it gets in the way of actually talking about martiala rts and learning from others. but people are needy, lets just face it. and we dont feel like weve done anything unless a bunch of other people say that we have.

im definitly getting a punching bag, and since i kinda would like to have martial arts as a carrear theres no problem setting aside time for lots of reps. practice makes perfect right? anyways about the bag. i think im gonna have to get a free standing one. see my room is upstairs and my dads a pain about my room and hanging stuff up. i got a mirrior to practice in front of and he is giving me trouple about putting that on the wall! so about the free standers, im not going to order one from century, the shipping would be ridiculous, and i dont know weather or not dicks sells the wave master. what do you guys think about those BOB bags? they look pretty good.

hey! hobbitbob, i meant no offense you know what im sayin'? (sorry, just got through watching rocky, finding it hard to loose the accent) If it wasnt for you and SMR and Saifights, and now karate_woman, id be completely lost, ya know? I go to the dojo in like 2 hours, so im gonna strech and stuff. Hey karate_woman, that response saifights gave was really good. if i was the student thats how id want you to do it.

groovy. will i seem to be getting the hang of it. hobbitbob, thats odd, up until like, your last two post i would have figured you for 18 to 21

im 16! belt tying shouldnt be this big an issue! and let me tell you something, when your deslixic, everything takes skill suddenly opening the front door becomes a complex art form

i am a strong advocate of the sword. if i had said 'the sai can beat the sword every time no questions asked.' then id be wrong, but i cant denie what ive seen, all i am stating is that the sword is not invincible and that the sai does have the ability to defeat it. no, if i were a soilder in meadevil asia i would carry a sword, but i would carry sais as well, they have many advantages the sword does not, such as concealability.

oh thank god! that first link did it. still having a little trouble with proportions but nothing that dosent fix it self in a couple of tries. thank you.

will, first off i wouldnt go out and start training with a razor blade sharp samurai sword, i would be training with a boken. Just curious though, what sword arts are there besides akido and french fencing? I know theres a couple of celtic forms that still have schools, but im mostly intrested of course in asian styles, prefably okinawa and japan. Also, if do mean 'the way of' and karate-do is way of the empty hands, which means techniquely there are no weapons in karate itself. would you call the weapon arts things like sai-do or tonfa-do meaning 'way of the sai' ect.?

wow! i had no clue about billy blankes! im putting that article in my MA notebook. ill try the belt tying technique in the morning and practice till i get it right for tuesday. And hobbitbob; i appriciate what your saying, but you dont understand. your right, there there to help, and i know im clumsy. but karate has been therefore me even before i started studing. i am in the middle of what feels like a great earthquake in my life and training is whats keeping me stable. the least i can do for karate in return for all its given me is show it, and it sicons, the proper respect they deserve and maul-wearing the uniform is unexceptable. i must be strict with myself in every detail to become strong, or ill still be clumsy on the inside even why i start to reach san kyu!

i hate to even make this post, i just hope that you other martial artist are as respectable as your supposed to be and dont laugh to hard. First off, im very VERY deslixic, and one of the reasons im in MA is actuall to improve hand eye cordination. but i have a really embarassing problem now that im in the dojo. *sigh* i cant figure out how to tie my belt...ive had trouble with knots my whole life because of my deslixia, i didnt learn to tie my own shoes till i was 8, and now when i do tie my shoes i do it diffrently from everyone else. the ending product is the same but if someone sees me do it there like 'How in the-' and i just dont get how normal ppl manage to tie them. my sensai had to retie my belt for me last class, which was oaky right? because it was my first class. but i really dont want him to have to do that again on tuesday so could you guys please tell me some ways you tie yours so maybe somethig will click? ive tried a bunch of websites and i cant figure it out the way they explained them. i remebr what it looked like when Master Little tied mine for me, and im just trying to get to that result through foriegn methods now (kinda like i did thoughs shoes) thanks in advance for any post.

i can not speak for bo or tonfa, though ive admired the bo i never studied it, and am VERY new to the tonfa, confusing it at first sight for a mental ward ordearlys night stick! but back when i could not afford martial arts lessons i watched many tournments carefully and saw many cases in which the sai could easily out wit the sword. I am a huge advocate of both this weapons, the sword is a warriors symbol, who wouldnt like it? but there will always be a special place in my heart for the sai, im not to sure why. I look REALLY forward to studing it, though im a long ways away from that oppritunity.

hum...these are very true statements. the only reason i considered the sword study at home is because while entire styles may be difficult and succesful self training is few and far between, ive actually seen people get good with a wepon at home who were studing another style ( my boss who is a tae kwon do artist learned nun-chuck) but if nothing else ill wait and reconsider weather or not i want to pursue sword in the future at san kyu, dose this sound reasonable? not that id study it at san kyu, just start thinking of weather or not i plan to.

yes please. i had no clue there was even a style called isshinryu until the day i stumbled into a dojo i had admired on my way to school every morning, just looking to see if i could come even close to afforidng it. so now im trying to immerse myself as much as possible.

i study isshinryu, as ive probably stated a million times. for those of you who arnt familiar with the style it focuses on three main weapons; the Tonfa, the bo, and (my personal favorite) the sai. If you look at the heart of it all, just from research ive done, it almost seems that isshinryu and a lot of other okinawain defense styles are based around 'Anti-sword combat' for very good reasons if you look at there history. so of course, bo sai and tonfa are considered good weapons against the sword. my only disapointment though upon entering the dojo is that i had a great intrest in learning sword (actually, more like learning Boken) i still plan on learning this somewere, if not on my own through books and videos (i know, i know, im going to martial arts hell for that) but i was wondering when i should do that? i mean no time soon, i want rank first. but is it nesasiary to wait until ive gotten pretty desent at my home-styles weapons first?

so do you guys have set amounts of time you must train before being eligiable to test for a new belt? my school dosent have any set limits, so depending on weather or not i know my stuff, i could be yellow belt in a month, or even a year.

wow! thank you! that was very helpful, espicially the first and last links. So in a way it dosent matter, i need to study all the culures of asia almost because okinawain karate sorta became the crossroads for them all didnt it? thank you!

i agree partialy with what was just said. however i alos bleive in miracles of mankind that make everyday worth getting up for. i to belive in ki, but ithink in a way, it is magic, the magic of the human heart. karate has been there for me when that test i thought i did good on and that prom date both left me, for this i am enternally indeted to karate for helping in my time of need. I belive that the inspiration for the asian nations to create the martial arts WAS divine. therefore its a miracle, and wither or not its magic, i envy you, you got to experince something special that i hope i can some day recive. hold it close, and let the mystery of it spring your immagination and your spirit to new heights. treasure that moment in your heart forever, many wish they could have been in your position.

im having trouble distinguishing some things in karate history. for one thing, how do okinawain and apanese karate end up linking to eachother, when why and how? also, i was originally only intrested in japanese culture but since i started taking isshinryu i feel i need to find an intrest in okinawa and i under if theres that big a diffrence. The way i see it okinawa and japan are almost the same except okinawa is more country while japan has become very urban. im not sure which i like more. but culture wise is there some okinawain grudge that would make my passion for japanese culture seem out of place?

thanks! i like your style! thats the kind of thing i would have expected to hear more of from karatekas.

will, i consider myself traditional and i wear a middle weight, just because its lighter and easier to move in.

than any art that isnt korean would be good for you. both kung-fu and Shorin-ryu would be excellent choices! i would research the history of both forms and see which intrest you more. at least that how i chosse, im just more intrested in japanese/okinawain culture than i am chinese

i just found a school for isshinryu and have attended once. love the school, love the teachers, everythings groovy. just wanted some tips on how i should go about practicing and training outside the dojo. both physically and also when it come to techniques so i dont develop bad habits.

kung fu and karate huh? will, as an advocate of okinawa and japnese styles, im of course going to say go with the shorin-ryu, but then again kung-fu has its advantages...i suppose...what are you looking to get out of the martial arts?

i wear a century middleweight student uniform. i wouldnt suggest a light weight unless it was for just preforming katas because id think sparring would get crucial on it. heavy weights are mostly for grappling/submission styles right?

will, im not a shorin-ryu practitioneer, but i do study isshinryu, which was created by forging the 'best' aspects of three forms: Goju-ryu, Kobayashi-ryu and SHORIN-RYU. Im VERY new to it, but i used to study shotokan and have gotten a lot of respect since i started training in isshinryu, everyone says its a pretty solid art and since shorin-ryu is a part of it, i guess its prbably pretty divo to. Why? is there a dojo your considering joining?