Kamidake

We have class Mondays and Wednesdays, so every Wednesday I ask my teacher what I should do for "homework," and then work on those things Thurs-Sun. That way I don't forget things from Wednesday to the next Monday.

It'll be terribly confusing at first. I didn't walk out of my first class in tears, but my head sure was spinning! (Also, having been sidelined with a chronic foot problem for 3 years, my mule was a fire-breathing lizard! ) This stuff seems much harder to learn than dance. Stick with it and don't give up because you WILL begin to enjoy it, and also, of course, because the more self-defense (as opposed to sport) oriented systems have practical applications. A good teacher makes all the difference. I can't praise mine highly enough. He's patient (EXTREMELY patient, with a 43-year-old belly dancer fumbling through martial arts), he's flexible, he's encouraging, and he knows how to explain things clearly, which is very important. There are people who can do something very well but can't explain it clearly to others. As you watch prospective teachers, try to understand what they're saying. See how they respond to the beginners' questions, see if you can make any sense out of their answers. My system doesn't have beginners' classes, intermediate classes, and advanced classes, because it concentrates on constantly reviewing and building on the basics. So I'm in there with more experienced students, and they help me out too. I can't praise my fellow students highly enough either. Look for a class where the students are interested in helping each other. Good luck!

I have a traumatic arthritis in my left elbow from where it was broken in 1994, and I'm 43 so my knees are starting to make funny noises, and I am also getting over a horrible case of Achilles tendinitis that dragged on for 3 years. So what did I do? I ran out and started Jinenkan, where you grapple, you roll, you have footwork, and you throw! And I'm having surprisingly little trouble, possibly because I did some market research beforehand and explained my physical condition to every prospective teacher before I started. Everybody was very honest and very helpful; several teachers of various styles advised me against theirs. The Jinenkan teacher said the system was flexible enough that everybody could do most of it, and even the seriously impaired could do some of it. Their oldest practitioner is in his 70's. So that's one reason I ended up with them. So I would say the first thing you need is an equally flexible system. Moving around definitely helps. My knees aren't nearly as noisy as they were before I started Jinenkan 3 months ago. I have had no trouble with my elbow. So I would keep moving as much as you can. I have not found that what I eat makes any difference. Either I'm sore that day or I'm not. However, it looks like it has made a difference for several people, so I'd experiment with that too if I were you. Make sure you let your teacher know you can't do some move or other. A good teacher in a flexible system should be able to find a way to modify most things and find you something that will put the attacker, not you, out of commission. Good luck!

Don't know how long you've been doing this, but I too have to stop and think about everything (I've been doing it 3 months) and the remedy, it turns out, is the same as when you're learning to dance. Do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Do it until you can do it in your sleep. Literally. (I once got up to go to the bathroom. It was summer and the windows were open. Faintly from across the street I heard a catchy beat, and, half-asleep, I did a 3/4 shimmy! ) My teacher's favorite words are "Do it again." Make those your favorite words, and, usually after you wonder if you are ever going to get it, all of a sudden it will click. Good luck!

Tommarker, your suggestions are really good! I have a committed, good teacher and enthusiastic classmates, and I'm able to participate at the moment--thank God--but I'll sure add your suggestions to my "homework." Thanks!

You might want to read "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis. He was an atheist until he realized atheism is illogical and faith is logical.

Go get him, Cheeky Musician! Hope you feel better and you get the opportunity to make him feel worse. I got my first owie the other day (I'm starting my 3rd month). Nothing as bad as yours. Mine came from my teacher who was showing me how to pinch a nerve in your arm. Yipe! That hurts! And then he kept telling me to dig harder in HIS arm. I'm glad he didn't pinch me half as hard as he made me pinch him!

You might look into some of the ninjutsu schools, too. My teacher trained at an aikido dojo for 3 years--it was, literally, the only game in town. He said he enjoyed it but didn't think it would be much use for self-defense on the street.

Some drills in punching and kicking, and my teacher's had us doing a lot of complicated elbow-breaking techniques lately. I am now going into my 3rd month, and it's starting to make more sense. Usually I do something, then pause to wait for the teacher's correction. The other day I paused. He looked puzzled because I paused. I said, "What did I do wrong?" He said, "Nothing."

Fellow U. S. citizens, as we wind down from celebrating the birth of our nation, I offer the following article, written by Leigh Allan of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News: "I've always marveled at the incredible level of talent found among the Founding Fathers. The population of the colonies was about that of southwest Ohio today, there was little in the way of formal education...and yet, out of their 3 million people, came Washington and Franklin and Jefferson and Hamilton and the Adams boys and the rest. Out of our 3 million today comes Jerry Springer... ....these were men who not only declared themselves free from a much more powerful nation, but eschewed much of the power, position and wealth they could have grabbed when their improbable quest succeeded. Washington could have been king by merely asking for a crown. Others could have become barons and earls. But instead, they showed in the framing of the Constitution that the declaration "all men are created equal" waasn't mere campaign rhetoric. Even in death they were modest. Nearby, in Christ Church Cemertery, Ben Franklin rated a modest slab, some other declaration signers perhaps no original marker at all. It's incredible--such leadership out of so few possibilities. And it's sad to see what pathetic leadership we find now from a pool almost 100 times as large. The question of where they are now, those leaders of skill and honor, is one I've wondered often through the years, regardless of what party or political philosophy is in vogue. It's an equal opportunity fret. But certainly there has never been a better time to ask it than today. From the giants of the 18th century, we've shrunk to the midgets of the 21st. From mighty men of ideas and morals eschewing an aristocracy and pursuing a just and fair nation, we've crumbled to little people of grasping and greed, pursuing a plutocracy, grasping for power and lucre. From the writers of the Bill of Rights for all, we've fallen to would-be destroyers of rights for many; from those who bravely battled a military mammoth for Truth, we've shriveled to those who beat their chests over crushing a military ant for lies, who show no decent respect for the opinions of mankind. So I thought, until a few days later, as I herded with fellow bovines in Atlanta at the World of Coca-Cola, waiting to pay good money for the privilege of being inundated by ads for Coca-Cola. That made me worry a truth may have become self-evident--quality of leadership reflects its follower sheep." Not only does Mr. Allan sum up the problem with elegant simplicity, he puts the blame squarely where it belongs: on us. I suggest we all hang on to this article and reread it when Election Day rolls around.

I can see the occasional bruise happening, but broken bones, if it happens frequently, sounds like the teacher may not know how to mix skill levels properly. I'd steer clear of that one.

As to the question of whether I'd rather take the karateka or the judoka into a dark alley: I'd leave them both behind and take a 12-gauge with me.

Tibby said: "Yeah, some christians think all the Eastern Philosophy is Demonic or something. " Yes. Those would be the stupid ones.

My dream job was to be a housewife and mother; I thought it would give me time to write books. (Waits for laughter from housewives to die down.) I did end up being a mother, but due to a divorce I wasn't a housewife. Then I never did meet anybody else I wanted to marry. (There were a couple who wanted a mistress, but I couldn't go along with that!) I work for the gov't and actually enjoy my job, so it all worked out well except that I still don't have enough time to write. If there are any 40-ish or older unattached, non-smoking, honorable men reading this who would like a full-time wife who can cook and do other wifely things very well, let me know. Maybe we can work something out. You never know! Unless and until I do end up being able to stay home and write, I'll probably end up sticking with my gov't job, since I do like it. It sounds boring (we reconcile contracts) but the pay is decent and we keep busy, the time goes very fast.

Safety first! My teacher is fond of saying, "The most important thing in practice is the safety of your training partner; the most important thing in a real fight is your own safety." I think that's a sensible philosophy. The teacher should be able to do everything he tells you to do; he should be able to help you modify a technique you can't do for one reason or the other; he should be open to questions and be willing to look up the answers for those he can't answer on the spot; if you're not all at the same skill level he should keep an eye on you so the more advanced students aren't bored and the less advanced aren't overwhelmed. Not sure about the "no talking in the ranks" bit because we have quite a bit of fun in our class, but then, it's a very small class. If you had 30 people you wouldn't want everybody chatting at once.

Everybody have a good one!

Health; fun; self-defense; builds character. Not a bad deal for $45/month!

I'm new to MA (2 months). Can somebody explain to me how you can have "full contact" in something like Jinenkan, where most of the things we do are designed to kill or, at the least, cause serious injury? How is that done? Thanks. (If I wait till class night, I'm sure I'll forget, and the question does interest me.) Also, suppose you are practicing with wooden bokken--how do you have full contact with those? Those things are heavy! I did have full contact with a practice weighted chain, since it's a piece of rope with surgical gauze wrapped round the ends to form the "weights." We had a lot of fun with those. I dubbed them the "samurai yoyo." I'm still learning how to judge distance, and I get really nervous that I'm going to have "full contact" unintentionally and hit someone by accident!

Could you wear tabi or wrestling shoes? I have to wear wrestling shoes to class to hold my orthotic inserts in. I think they're safe for all types of flooring. Also try spraying your feet with anti-perspirant before class. (This is an old female trick to keep your face from sweating on a really hot day; it should work equally well at the other end!) Good luck!

I guess it would be most accurate to say I'm eating Japanese (because I happen to LIKE rice, fruit, and fish, and because those things can be simply prepared--I hate to cook). Will keep you posted.

Your classmates will DEFINITELY appreciate it if you stay home till you are better! I am not too sure about martial arts, I'm new to it, but for dancers of all types the general rule is to train at half-speed, so to speak, for every day you were off; if you were in bed with the flu for a week, scale back your training for a week. Then work back up to your normal routine, using how you feel as your guide. I don't think exercise will help do anything except help the flu run longer.

Yup, once we rolled over and allowed them to outlaw our guns, there was no stopping them. You should have seen the "Violence in the Workplace" class we were herded into a while ago. We were supposed to be afraid of the following people: martial artists, gun owners, people who read "Soldier of Fortune," loud boisterous people (trying to intimidate you), quiet people (plotting to kill you), and on and on and on. I finally couldn't take any more and walked out. I got credit for finishing the class anyway. And the crowning joke: while our instructor (I use the term loosely), didn't bother to cite her source so I couldn't check her figures, she said something like 2100 people were murdered at work in 1996. I found a Department of Labor statistic that said there were approximately 120,000,000 workers in the U. S. in 1999. As near as I can figure, this means your chances of being murdered at work are somewhat less than your chances of being struck by lightning on the 4th of July while carrying an Easter bunny, although somewhat higher than your chances of being attacked by a ninja who mistakes you for Rurouni Kenshin while you are having a picnic with Samurai Jack. While this is good news for the taxi drivers and convenience-store clerks among us, it means that "Violence in the Workplace" class was a terrible waste of money as well as a time. Why have a class on something so unlikely to happen? Whoever asked about the U. S. gov't: it's pretty dysfunctional, in my opinion. Our taxes are pretty high but we get very little in return. We put up with a lack of service that would have Europeans rioting in the streets.

That's the truth! The original topic was about why you see so few fat Orientals. So I decided I'd test out home-style (as opposed to restaurant) Oriental food for a month or so. Lots of veggies, fruit, & rice.

I know we already had a topic on my test diet but I can't find it, sorry. Anyway, I've lost about 5 lb. but am not sure whether this is because of Oriental food or because my teacher's keeping me busy! He keeps us hopping! Will continue on a while and report back.

Glad to hear that because I'm in the closely related Jinenkan (if I understand correctly, Jinenkan split off from Bujinkan; something to do with office politics). We have a lot of fun too.