singularity6

I think that learning how to use a firearm properly is important for any Martial Artist. Learn how to draw it from where you holster it, practice malfunction drills, and practice reloading (this can all be done in one session and for fairly cheaply). And don't just shoot; work on shooting and moving. Now, using an rifle replica for a "traditional" weapons form, well, when it comes to competition, part of success is knowing what the judges like and don't like. And if the description is "traditional," then it probably wouldn't include firearms. Good points. Thank you!

Just to have or to use? If your planning on using them for Tameshigiri I would suggest spending the money and buying something that will withstand the rigors of cutting. Also read up on the Shinken and read what others have said before buying anything. You will notice than many will say for soft targets only and others will say for both soft and hard. It's depending on the steel the process of heat treating and how and what it was made for. Blade geometry comes into play along with many other factors. If you are buying it for use make sure to do the research before investing. This would not be a weapon to scrimp on. It may cost you more than you could ever save. Good luck. I appreciate the advice! My iaito is intended for practice. When it comes to a live blade, I'm probably going to just have them on display (the only person who taught iaido here is no longer teaching, from what I can tell.) I don't think I'd hesitate to use them for cutting, however. Paul Chen's business model was based on providing the population with blades suitable for all types of practice (simple drawing, light cutting, heavy cutting, etc.) Besides, I'd feel less bad about scuffing up a blade that cost me ~$300 than I would scuffing a blade that cost me ~$3000.

Just in case any current or near-future members are looking for an iaito or shinken: I have an iaito from Cheness Inc, and I think it's great. I think it cost me under $200 after shipping. Of course, it's not sharpened. It's certainly not "pretty." The blade was mostly polished, but some scuffs could be seen (the habaki was also scuffed, some.) I've taken it apart for cleaning, and it really does have a full tang. I believe it's 1060 steel, so if one really wanted to have it sharpened, you'd have a live blade on your hands. Eventually, I'd like a matching katana, wakizashi and tanto set from them. Again, while they're not pretty, they don't break the bank, and a matching set would certainly be nifty!

I've witnessed a few. Unfortunately, I live on the NW portion of Lake Michigan, and since most weather comes from the west, or north west, they're not Lake Effect. That being said, I do have about 40 seconds of footage of a storm blowing in. I was standing on my balcony, which faces west. There was an amazing shelf cloud or wall cloud (not an expert... maybe one of the folks from the Plains-States would know.) That was an AMAZING storm!

I am the Developmental Math Instructor at a small community college. My job is to try to reach those who struggled with math their whole life, and convince them that it's really not that bad. It is rewarding, and very challenging. I used to teach part time at Wayne State University in Detroit, and at Henry Ford College in Dearborn before taking this job.

This thread looked interesting, and I figured I'd chime in. My school ran a 6 week self-defense course for women last year. Several women participated, and about half of them ended up signing up for classes. We've managed to hang onto 2 or 3, I think (they're yellow belts, now.) Offering short self defense classes to the public (male, female, or both) could be a great way to recruit new students. They can get a feel for how martial arts training goes without the pressure of a possible long-term commitment, or the cost of a uniform. It also provides the community with a much-needed resource.

Sorry for the delay. For some reason, all "new posts" disappeared and I've been trying to catch up. The hip is getting better - PT has been helping. My wife did well and was promoted to 5th geup! I started about 2 weeks before she did, and now she outranks me. The concert was quit good! The band members are all still very spry and know how to deliver. They also know how to use pyrotechnics, and since it was an outdoor show, they were spectacular!

I like doing that. And stretching in the pool. I can get splits (if that's what we're calling them ) a lot deeper. Kata and the splits in a pool. Sounds like a hoot! Try doing kata or anything else MA in the ocean. Waves do funny things to your balance. Edit: I'd imagine it's not too easy to get to the ocean if you live in Michigan. Motivation for a vacation? I'm about a mile off of Lake Michigan, and 60 miles from Lake Superior. Superior gets 3-5 foot waves fairly regularly. It's probably a bit colder than you'd like, however. I didn't realize the Great Lakes had waves. I learned something new today. I've been on a cold shower after I work out kick lately. I've been to beaches in Maine and New Hampshire; the water can be freezing sometimes, even in August. Surface temps of Lake Superior can grow to the low 60's, but that's late-summer, and the thermocline might be only a foot or 2. The water under that is probably high-30's or low 40's at best. You might be familiar with Gordon Lightfoot's Edmond Fitzgerald. It's about an ore ship that went down during a nasty storm back in 1975. It happened by Whitefish Point (just west of Sault Ste Marie and the Soo Locks.) Waves out there can get BRUTAL. Here's the tune:

A belated welcome to the forum!

Just for giggles, let's use higher education as an analogy. I did my undergraduate math work at The University of Michigan - Dearborn, and my graduate work at Wayne State University in Detroit. UM-D is affiliated with UM Ann Arbor, but the standards to get in and make it out are a bit lower (but by no means low!) Both universities are solid schools, with solid programs. But, like most universities, they try to hire folks who studied at schools that were above their caliber (the idea is simple... hire better people to make your institute better.) The professors always complain about the caliber of students at the institutes they teach at. Some things we should consider are: 1) What were our motivations when we started down whichever path we started on? 2) What was our support system like? (i.e., supportive parents/family, quality of primary and secondary education, and in the case of martial arts, how was your PE program at your schools?) 3) How were you able to afford your program? Were the prices reasonable compared to income? I could probably go on, but I think everyone will see my point. Some things were easier for me because my father went to college, but since I had to work to pay my way through school, well... that complicated things a bit. I agree with Lupin1 - a black belt is supposed to signify the mastery of the basics. Some grad school professors complained that me and my classmates did not know graduate-level material coming into grad school (because they took graduate level classes as undergrads.) Thanks, Lupin1. That post was quite helpful!

i.e., moderation is key!

I shall check some out. Thanks!

I like doing that. And stretching in the pool. I can get splits (if that's what we're calling them ) a lot deeper. Kata and the splits in a pool. Sounds like a hoot! Try doing kata or anything else MA in the ocean. Waves do funny things to your balance. Edit: I'd imagine it's not too easy to get to the ocean if you live in Michigan. Motivation for a vacation? I'm about a mile off of Lake Michigan, and 60 miles from Lake Superior. Superior gets 3-5 foot waves fairly regularly. It's probably a bit colder than you'd like, however.

I like doing that. And stretching in the pool. I can get splits (if that's what we're calling them ) a lot deeper. Kata and the splits in a pool. Sounds like a hoot!

My intention was to improve upon my kicking and flexibility skills mostly.The karate school I belonged to closed down so TKD was an easy option to choose. I actually brought and introduced many of my karate friends to the TKD school. I won a gold medal in the TKD provincials at the time. The head instructor did not congratulate me he just said "I'm surprised you won" The other instructor spent more time, giving out tips on how to beat me at sparring to the other black belts, than trying to helping me improve; due to many embarrassing moments for them, during when I was a white belt in their style. The black belts there were giving me all kinds of excuses why they had poor sparring skill against me, while others tried to insulted me by say that "You watch too many martial art movies" My intent was to learn TKD and not to be embarrassing anyone or to be disrespectful. I went there to learn, others there viewed me as a competitive threat. Well, it sounds like that school is run by jerks.

I did not know that - that's good to know!

I'm not sure I've ever seen abuse of MA out on the streets or otherwise (excluding footage of a cop practicing his round kick on a restrained woman's head.) I have seen what I'd consider to be at least poor sportsmanship in tournaments. The humbleness/humility that should come with training seems to be left at home when people go to tournaments. Personally, I don't ever plan to participate in such a thing. I'm only competing with myself. No one else.

I was under-training before I started taking my TKD class 2 years ago. While I wasn't sedentary, I certainly did not get enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Once I started TKD, I found I was getting injured (shoulders pop out, strains high up in my hip and neck.) I started PT on the shoulders, but the hip and neck still bothered me quite a bit. I kept stretching, and I tried leg lifts and kicking exercises try to get my hips strengthened. Well, the kicking exercises threw my back out. What's the point of all this? Well when it came to my hips, I was probably not over-training, but I wasn't training properly. I just had this thought - The internet is a wonderful thing, but it can cause: Under-training - spending too much time on the internet over-training - spending too much time trying to look like a fitness model improper training - Hey, I should do that kicking exercise I saw that young'ish 5th dahn doing on YouTube.... Owww...

Our master instructor focuses a lot on our stances, but also focuses on our technique, in general. He says that if we ever need to use what we are learning, we won't have perfect technique, but we will be close enough to make things work.

Strangely, there's 2 kobudo classes near me. It's a small town, our county has maybe 40k people, and there's typically not a lot of culture (95% white, 80% Christian, rural, so very homogeneous.) Both classes teach Eku!

Well, it was a tournament that consisted of schools from Northern Wisconsin, Michigan (Western and Northern Lower, and all of the Upper Peninsula) and a Canadian ITF team. We had a whole mix of forms, from various schools of TKD, Karate, Tang Soo Do, etc. It was organized by someone from the UP, and I think it was her first or second tournament. So, I'm sure there were kinks, which will be worked out in the future.

Heh, I'd be surprised if he were older than 14. Good thought, though.

Most of our kids are low income and many bounce around between two houses, so making sure laundry gets done and they have all the pieces to their uniform at each class can be challenging. Most of them also come straight there after school, so they have to remember to pack up their uniform in the morning. They forget a lot. I'd love to try to enforce "you must have your entire uniform every class", but it would just be so difficult it's not really worth it. If I end up teaching a separate beginners' class or class for younger kids, I may just take their uniforms home after class every night and wash them myself. That way I can ensure they have all their uniform pieces and they're clean at every class at least until they move to the intermediate class. For the hygiene part, since most of them go straight there after school and then run around the club playing games for a few hours before karate, they tend to already be sweaty and stinky and gross by the time they come up to class. We have very similar issues up where I live (Michigan's Upper Peninsula.) One of our instructors will wash uniforms, as well. Kids are definitely different than adults. My primary beef is with adults who have all their mental faculties in check. One thing I hate most is when the stinkiest person insists on demonstrating headlocks (almost every class... )

I've made mead once. It turned out pretty well! I've become friends with the master brewer at a local brewery. He doesn't do home brewing, anymore, but he did say he'll help me out with making some absinthe! And he took me up on a request and is brewing a Belgian-style strong ale, and aging it in Chardonnay casks! I do plan to start brewing on my own once I get out of my apartment. I prefer Belgian abbey ales, so wouldn't it be appropriate to brew in a place of worship? Not being a religious person, this could pose a problem... but... what if I made a dojo/brewery once I get some property?! (Property is relatively cheap where I am. You can find 20 acres with an okay house on it for under $100k, if you know what you're doing.) I'm also helping out at a local vineyard. The owner has spent some time explaining the ins-and-outs of his craft to me. I've helped with the harvest and some grounds-keeping so far, and will probably be helping him bottle next week. He tends to do most of the big "wine-making" shortly after the harvest. Last year's harvest came late, and I was too busy with the semester when he started all the fun stuff. Hopefully this year will be different, and I'll learn how to make wine from a pro!

Does Chuck Norris still wear those? Is there a Chuck Norris thread on the forum?!