WolverineGuy

Well, if they can't catch you, they can't take you down...

Heh...I loved Kiss of the Dragon...that chopsticks thing was sweet, but the stickfighting scene at the end...hehhehehe That was just cool.

I actually had a female at our club refuse to spar because she thought that the sparring gear looked ridiculous...her words, not mine. *shaking head*

Oy, as much as I hate to say it, that technique COULD have been pulled off by anyone that watches the wwe...being caught in a headlock like that, I'd be looking to slam the guy any way I could, and just standing up and dropping the guy on his head would be my first reaction...if I didn't know better counters. Still, gotta love it. Wonder if the guy who got caught in the suplex went for a steel chair after he got right up...

If you can't run, try to get them all in front of you, and try to maneuver so you can get them in each other's way. Also, don't wait for them to attack...this is one instance that I believe in pre-emptive striking.

By competitor, do you mean tournament? Or do you just mean successful in MA, cuz I don't necessarily think that success in the RING translates into success on the STREET.

My roomate finally got involved, along with a close friend of ours...I'm one of their instructors there, but its a blast training with them because they are so geeked about everything, and we are constantly working on stuff at home...I swear my apartment is a MA research lab.

Get a Brita...those things are wonderful for getting rid of the metal taste.

Any time, my man! I enjoyed talkin to ya!

Conditioning can only help. The soreness will stop after a while, so don't sweat that, just make sure you're not pushing yourself TOO hard.

Abdominal strength is crucial for kicks. If you can get access to an eliptical machine, whoa man those things can do wonders for your endurace, and do not cause the wear and tear on the knees that jogging can. When I was training for my black belt test, I just kept sparring for as long as I could go...built up to about an hour without a break. I was in good shape then. Those were the days...

IMHO, kicking is a valuable weapon, as long as you keep realistic targets. Targeting the head is dangerous to the kicker. Punching skills are more important, simply because the kicks are really only good from mid to long range...once you're close, you'd better be good with your hands.

Well, I've been doing a little reading for you, and most of what I've found points to a guy named Bryce Dallas. Most of the things I've read about him, sadly, are not very good. While I'm not sure about how "made up" your art is, and I refuse to discredit anything I haven't seen for myself, I'm somewhat concerned about the things I HAVE read. I see that the art has been located in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Philly. If the guy is truly a con man, I'm not sure that he could expand across three states like that, but who knows (AK and TN are easy, but PA...it could be done, who knows...) At any rate, where did you see this post? I dunno, I guess I'm not the kind of person that stresses about that sort of thing, as long as the art works...although, claiming to be a 1000+ year old traditional martial art is not really all that honorable. If the guy is a con man, cut your losses. If he's legit, and you like what you are doing, stay with it. If I were you, and you really wanted to look more into it, try to find some of Dallas's old students, and see what they think or know. Hope that helped.

Your abdominals are one of the very very few muscle groups that not only heal faster, but are just plain tough enough to handle an every day workout. Push up reps might be hindered by any number of things, including muscle damage in a few different areas, or a problem in the shoelder or elbow joints.

*walking into ZR440's doctor's office* Me: I seemed to have gotten my arm ripped from the socket, I'm losing blood rapidly! Doctor: Take some motrin and ice it. That'll be 45 dollars.

Oops, thanks for the addition...heh, this is why I'm not a doctor...me all giving out drugs. "Here boy, THIS'LL make you feel better. MUAHAHAHAHAHA..." er...something like that.

Exactly...don't rush into the stretch too much. Make sure you are all warmed up, and try to ease into it as much as you can.

Hehehe...I'm reading this post and all I can think of is Elmer Fudd singing "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit..." Heheh...ok, sorry bout the rant. We've had a few dojo bunnies at our school...they lost interest very fast, fortunately.

uh...the Dragon Don Juans?

I've heard varying opinions on this...I personally think that under eighteen year olds lack the maturity to carry themselves as blackbelts...however, this is not universally true. My style has lowered the age requirement to 16...I wasn't necessarily in favor of this, but I wasn't TOTALLY opposed. Its not that I don't think that our 16 year olds can't handle it, but it sends a message to parents that if their kid isn't a black belt by the time that they are 16 (or whatever age for the particular dojo), that they should go to another school. Eh, I'm rambling...

Play with your sticks as much as you can. Practice twirling a lot so that you get comfortable with them. Above all, take it slow...there's no need to be throwing the strikes full speed yet, you need to get the mechanics down more than anything.

I'm pretty well versed in stretching and such (my ex fiance was a sports med major), not to mention the years in martial arts, and my recent involvement in weight training. One book that I've found that would probably be a valuable reference to all martial artists would be "Sport Stretch" by Micheal J Alter. There are over 300 different stretches in the book, and he has routines categorized by sport (there is a begining and advanced martial arts routine, as well). While its not the best book, I personally believe it has the most information, with the biggest variety of stretches.

There's a lot to be said for just cutting out fast food and drinking lots of water. After that, working out takes care of the rest. Its not universal, but it certainly can't hurt.

heh...stripes... When I first joined my school, I did cardio every night, then my normal class...I lost about twenty pounds...then gained the muscle back in my legs and abs.

I have tendonitis in both shoulders...every once in a while, I have to take a week or so off. That really sucks, but since tendonitis is an overuse injury, there's not a lot I can do about it. Usually it only occurs when I'm going all out in sparring, getting ready for a tournament or something like that If you felt a rip, you REALLY need to see a doctor. If its just a dull pain...you still should see a doctor, but doing the heat compress/ice pack alternation works for me, along with some ibuprofen.