Kamidake

Do you mean "tough" as in "physically draining" or "tough" as in "difficult to catch on"? If the former, I haven't got far enough to do anything really draining (I have only been doing jujitsu for a month). If the latter, our class's particular brand of jujitsu (Jinenkan) has you stand in a half-squat with your feet wide apart and pointing sideways. Possibly because the room we train in has the floor covered with a wrestling mat, I always feel unbalanced when I stand this way. It's getting better (the first night of class I felt like I was going to topple over backwards!), but still doesn't feel natural.

Except for the ones about his appearance, I didn't have to ask those; he explained them all the first night. I got the whole history of the technique; much of that was over my head, but I guess it's good he explained it since it sounds like it's something that should be asked about. Yup, he's clean, clothes are clean, doesn't smell like booze, and appears to be in pretty good shape; when he taught me how to push him across the floor, I noticed he was VERY solid for his size. (He's short.) In fact I wouldn't have believed a little old lady could shove a muscular young man across the floor like that, especially when the young man's actively resisting, if I hadn't done it!

I'm having a TERRIBLE time with the kata I'm learning. I can do the arm part, and I can do the leg part, but with one particular section, when I try to put them together the arm part starts going backwards for some reason. I did whine to my teacher about it and he said not to worry, just keep practicing. For a while he let me hold a tanto, which helped--made it a little easier to visualize--but last class he took my tanto away (the fiend!) and then I was getting bollixed up again. So I will watch this space with interest.

I think Jack would agree with you! Well, it looks like demographics are holding true. "Samurai Jack" viewers seem to fall into two main groups: little boys...and big girls. (It's the voice, I tell you! The voice!)

I explained my physical situation (age & chronic tendinitis) and asked if we could work around that. (We could. He's very careful.) I asked what all you could expect to learn. I wasn't really interested in belts, so I didn't ask about those, and this particular group doesn't do tournaments, so that also eliminated a whole category of questions. We pay by the month so that eliminated the problem of what happens if you move to another town. I was not yet cleared by my dr. to start up when I met my teacher, and he invited me to watch as long as I needed to, gratis. And while I did that, he would keep asking if I had any questions, treating me just like a participating student, which I thought was very nice of him. He says he has everybody, injured or not, watch for a few classes to make sure it's something they would like and think they can stick with. This makes sense to me. I would ask a prospective teacher if you can watch a few times before you lay down any money.

My teacher charges $45/month for 4 hours a week of hands-on instruction. I don't know much about MA, I'm new to it, but I do know that if he were a dance teacher that would be considered very reasonable.

Mine's a very nice guy who is evidently not in it for the money ($45/month for four hours weekly of class time seems very reasonable to me). The other students say he's a very good teacher. I have no prior MA experience so I can't compare him to anybody else, but I CAN say he keeps a close eye on us and makes sure we do the move correctly no matter how long it takes, and that he explains things thoroughly; I can say that if he were a dance teacher I'd call him a very good teacher. (Dance I know. MA I don't.) And he ought to get points for being willing to appear in front of other people wearing hakama. I know there were good solid reasons for samurai to wear hakama (there were good solid reasons for almost everything samurai did, including the way they sat down), but let's face it, hakama are some of the silliest-looking garments ever known to mankind. I figure anybody who's willing to let anybody but immediate family see him in hakama deserves points for courage. By the time I got through this ramble I forgot the scale, but on your standard A-F scale I'll give my teacher an A.

Well, let's see if we can't begin to get to the bottom of this. I'll eat Oriental-style for a month, as much as possible, and see what happens. I reserve the right to pick up the occasional pizza on a particularly crazy day. Also to terminate the experiment if I notice my clothes getting tight. Will report back!

Well, I don't know about that either. I have an aunt from South Korea and an aunt from Thailand. The South Korean lives in Singapore and I haven't got to see her in many years (although I see from her pictures that she's gained little weight) but the Thai lives right here in the U.S. in Washington, D.C. She leads a typical American life but still eats a lot of the home food. Thais are very fond of noodles. Varee packs away a lot of noodles (she's got a healthy appetite for a little person!). If I understand correctly, according to Atkins noodles are even worse than rice, and Varee's not moving around any more than any other American, so if the Atkins answer is right, she should be huge. But she's not. She has gained a little weight since she retired (she was a professional hula dancer! ) but you could by no means call her fat. So there may be a little more to it than the Atkins explanation. We might be able to shed some light on the metabolic part of the question if we hear from someone who is NOT Oriental but lived in one of those countries and ate the local food. Is anybody like that reading this? Did you lose weight, gain weight, stay the same? It could also be, other than metabolism, that some other food commonly eaten in Asia but not commonly eaten here offsets the fattening effect of the carbs. One possible explanation may be that Asian cuisines are heavy on veggies. Meat is more of a condiment, so to speak, than an ingredient. You find little slivers of meat in a dish loaded with vegetables. You won't see this in a typical Chinese restaurant that caters to Americans (they'd go broke), but if you find a more down-home type of restaurant in an area with large Asian populations (like D. C.), you will get a more typical view of the cuisine.

I have a question about the rice issue. I am not so sure that rice makes you fat. There is a great deal of rice eaten in the Far East, and when I see film footage of street scenes in China, Japan, and Thailand, I see very few, if any, fat people. Do Orientals metabolize rice differently than persons of other races? My own suspicion, although I have no empirical evidence, is it's not a matter so much of what you eat as of how much, and also it's a matter of getting off your butt. I DO have empirical evidence of that latter point. During the three years I was sidelined (I had days I could barely walk across the hall, let alone dance) I gained 50 pounds.

How do I know? I checked his driver's license, of course! Actually, in the premiere of "Samurai Jack," they made it pretty clear that "Jack" is an alias he picked on the spur of the moment. What they didn't make clear is why he felt he needed an alias. Oh well. Cartoons are like that!

I used to dance a lot, up till I developed a nasty case of Achilles tendinitis. It has taken 3 years to even begin to get rid of it. I hope to be able to dance again. We travel a lot, especially in summer. My goal for this year is to finish sewing up my fabric stash by 31 Dec. I read when I have time.

I plan to get a real sword but NOT until I know how to use it. It'll probably take that long to save up the money for it. Good weapons, of any kind, ain't cheap. So get a bokken, start training, and save your money. I was thinking a sword might make a good backup weapon if you live in an apartment, as we currently do. (I would be extremely hesitant to fire a shotgun at the bad guy when there are people on the other side of the wall.) It occurred to me that, even if you could not use the sword correctly, you could swing it like a baseball bat. If you had a katana, or other type of sword that's sharp nearly all the way up, the bad guy couldn't grab it away from you without losing fingers. So they may have some practical applications even before you learn the correct usage. (I ran this idea by a friend of mine who has some expertise in these matters, and he said "You wouldn't be able to get it out of the scabbard in time." I explained I'd take it out of the scabbard and lay it within easy reach, probably under the bed as if it were a shotgun, and he said, "In that case, it's a reasonable idea.") If anybody else has had occasion to defend the homestead with a sword, let me know how it worked out.

To all the other moms out there!

"Jack" isn't his real name. (His real name is "Samurai Ed"! )

I thought "traditional" martial arts meant it was more oriented towards practical uses (as opposed to a more sport- and tournament-oriented focus)? Is that not correct? If so, what exactly IS "traditional" martial arts?

P. S. My teacher also allowed me to watch several classes before joining, to see if it was something I thought I'd eventually be able to do. So I'd look for somebody who'll give you a preview, too.

Hi Big Orange, I hope you are still there. Due to being sidelined for 3 years because of a chronic foot problem, I gained a LOT of weight, and got stiff, AND I'm old (43). I started martial arts 2 weeks ago and have lost 4 lb already. It's at least as much exercise as fast dancing (I was a dancer before). I expressed concerns to my teacher about whether I could do the things before I started, and he said that I could go at my own pace and still learn, and we could make any necessary modifications. For example, if I don't feel I'm flexible enough to do a somersault-type roll, we can start by rolling sideways from a kneeling position, and so forth, until I'm ready to do it correctly. So I would look for somebody who takes that approach to training. This particular school is called Jinenkan, but I'm sure it's not the only one that modifies for the old, fat, and stiff. Or at least it SHOULDN'T be. Good luck and please report back.

Wow. What next, registering people who have BO or bad breath?

Because the original person was asking about a "reverse blade sword" and it turned out there's no such weapon, it was dreamed up for this "Rurouni Kenshin" anime. "Kenshin" is OK but I like "Samurai Jack" better, they have better plots. The last few times I've turned on "Kenshin" I've thought "Another ninja, yawn" and changed the channel. "Jack" has more variety. One can also distinguish Jack's sex at first glance. I like that in a man.

OK, now I know. The style is (drum roll) Jissen Kobudo. Shrug. As long as it kills when necessary, it doesn't matter to me what they call it. I have now had my 2nd lesson, and it was fun too.

Hey, this is a serious issue! "Accidentally," huh? SURE it was accidental. More likely he chopped her after he caught her flirting with Samurai Jack!

Yes, the show's kind of gone downhill. But the sexy voice remains. :pony: (That's a female grin, grinning for reasons men can't understand!)

Because she said, "You fool, you spent good money on a backwards sword?" I haven't seen that one. Why DID he kill his girlfriend? (Shame on him!) Samurai Jack wouldn't do something like that! (I get a kick out of Jack. I admit it. Though the last few I've seen haven't been too good.)

It's the art of quickdrawing a sword and sheathing it without looking at it. I think it also encompasses defending yourself if you are attacked while seated. And that's about all I know about it; I hope we hear from a practitioner who can tell us more about this interesting subject.