daeinwolf

Despite just being burned(just this weekend actually) after 7 years in what I thought was a wonderful relationship, I still believe that true love exists. I believein it much in the same way that Lucky has stated. It is not about "knowing" at first sight. It is about knowing when all hell breaks loose and they are there with you through it all. To me, that is love. SiK--Joshua

Big bump on what Lucky said. If you wish to gain weight eat healthy and do bodyweight exercises. Pushups, pullups, chin ups, sit ups, and body weight squats. These, with a good diet, will help you out. Just stay away from supplelments and heavy weights right now. I went through the same thing you did. You will bulk up eventually. SiK---Joshua

The best case for you would be to lift heavy. Stick with the core lifts-bench, squats, deadlift, barbell curls...maybe a few others. But keep those as you core for right now. Second, start uping your calorie intake. Make certain that you keep this scale: 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat. Stay away from sugars. Your calorie intake will probably need to be around 2000-3000, depending on your age and physical actvity. If you do not start seeing results, up the calories again by about 250 until you do. Start to break down your food into six meals a day. This will ensure that your body has food in it at all times. And big up on the whey protein. But always remember to get most of your protein from whole foods such as egg white, chicken, skim milk, cheese, and fish. If you have any questions feel free to ask. SiK---Joshua PS: Actually some herbs such as tribulus and horny goat weed have been shown to up the body's testosterone production, which can aide in the development of muscle. Despite this, healthy eating and lifting are the way to go.

Never heard of the sasparilla comment. Tell me what your goals are and I can reccomend some things to you. eg: Want to gain mass Want to focus mainly on strength Want to focus more on muscular endurance Also, if you are just starting off you should not be on a whole lot of supps. At the most use a good whey protein, glucosamine, and a good multivitamin. Save the rest for later. SiK---Joshua

I am working on all of them. But if I had to say what my best natural attributes would be speed and balance. Next would be flexibility. What can I say, I was made for gymnastics. SiK---Joshua

Well, I train in it...though not exclusively. Anyhow, there are forms. They are mainly used to get your body used to the stance work and proper body mechanics. As far as sparring goes, we do this in my class. At first it is very controlled, but later on you begin to go into free-response sparring. The grappling is great in my opinion. We work from all ranges. Stand-up striking/grappling, throws and takedowns, and intense groundwork. I should note that at my dojo we focused a great deal on takedowns before we got into a whole lot of groundwork, but it is there. Over-all review: Very well-rounded martial art. While I dislike some of their methods, I would still say that it is a good MA for those who want to learn to defend themselves. SiK---Joshua

All throughout my childhood I hiked and backpacked, which gave me very strong legs and endurance. While in HS I played baseball a bit. SiK---Joshua

The only things that will make you big is eating and lifting big. I fyou do not have the fuel to build those huge muscles(ie. calorie overload) then you will not get huge. SiK--Joshua

Branding hurts for a brief moment and then goes numb. The reason for this is that the nerve endings are damaged. The pain is a little more intense than a tattoo. And yeah, taking out piercings to train sucks. SiK---Joshua

Rich_2k3: Back in the 1800's and such boxing was most definately taught as a martial art...though mainly to the gentleman class. Hell, you were not a gentleman if you did not learn the fisticuffs. So yes, there was a time that boxing was taught and used for self-defense. Please check out this page and read some of the fight manuals from the 1800's. Very good reading. https://www.ahfaa.org SiK---Joshua

I am not really going to get into it, but please go toe to toe with a good boxer. You might feel a bit differently afterwards. It might be a sport, but the technique and application is pretty much the same in a self-defense situation. SiK---Joshua

I am glad that I am not the only one to see some use for this. And like I said, only at certain times is it useful. Thanks for the response. SiK---Joshua

I would have to second the walking cane. While a knife is very effective when used correctly(or incorrectly for that matter) it can do a great deal more damage then a cane in most instances. With a cane, one can subdue or knockout the assailant without doing permanent damage. Not to mention the grappling possibilities with a short staff/cane. SiK---Joshua

I have 4 so far and plan on getting many more. I also have multiple brands along my torso and upper arms. I can still wear a long sleeve shirt and have them be unseen. Body modification rocks!!! SiK---Joshua

Just going by what I have picked up in the last year, mind you. From my understanding, you cannot gain a great deal of size and lose fat/weight at the same time. The reason being is that to make mass gains one must have more calories than you normally burn. To burn fat/weight, one must go into a calorie deficit. Speaking from persoanl experience, I gained a lot in strength and in being "toned" just by upping my protein and keeping my calorie intake normal. I deceided to do a brief bulking cycle and upped the calorie intake. The results were much more size oriented and less "toned" muscle due to the increase in body fat percentage(went from 8% to 16% ouch!). IF you have any questions on this, I would be glad to help as well. SiK---Joshua

Some friends and I were discussing some defensive techniques and the question of effectiveness came about when I mentioned the "bob & weave". One of the guys said that he found it to be useless when compared to parrying or "slap-blocking". I have found them both to be of use at certain times. I was wondering what you folks thought about the validity of the "bob & weave" and your experiences with it? SiK---Joshua

This is an article that I have found to be quite informative on the subject. I hope it helps. http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11430&highlight=muscle+fiber SiK---Joshua

I feel it leaves you with no foundation for power other than that of your own momentum. SiK---Joshua

Please check this site out. It is has a great deal of info on the Western arts. https://www.ahfaa.org SiK---Joshua

I have seen a couple of posts speaking of making your own dummies and what not. So it got me to wondering, what other home-made equipment has everyone been making? I figure that this might make a decent sticky if we can get enough posts and how-to's. SiK---Joshua

It seems that this instructor has reached a point where he can teach several different arts and be quite arrogant about all of them. Because of this and the fact that he could not answer some of my questions I left. SiK---D

Since getting into body suspension and the like I have experienced the same. When I spar I feel the impact, but there is little to know pain. SiK---Joshua

Exactly Treebranch.

Size and strength both matter. SiK---Joshua

I do not know about others, but I have been trained that my legs control my body. I still feel that lower kicks tend to be more effective. Thus far this has not gotten the crap beat out of me. For the record, I can kick well over most folks head. But as cross has pointed out, the head is a much smaller target then other body parts. Just my copper---Joshua