TheDevilAside

from what I've seen, Savate seems to pretty much be identical to kickboxing.

Oh, that schools looks very interesting! Thanks a lot for that link. I'll definitely look into that place.

I've always been interested in Shaolin Kung Fu, and I'm interested in taking it some time from now. Anyway, I'm not "getting started in the martial arts", I've been taking American Kenpo for quite some time now, and gotten a taste of a few other arts as well. But, I found a school that I would have access to in the near future, and I was wondering if some of you could check out the website and tell me if it looks like it's any good? I don't really know much about this art, so I couldn't judge. Here's the site, http://www.shao-lin.com/ I'm interested in going to a school that's located in Boulder, CO. Mostly why I'm suspicious is because Boulder is a "new-ager" city, meaning people there will buy into anything that includes the words, "peace" "love" and "enlightenment". I don't even want to think about what some of the Tai Chi schools over there advertise.

Orangutans are genetically predisposed to that kind of strength. So, you can't really expect to get as strong as one of them with simpy body-weight exercises. I would suggest do both weigh-training and bodyweight exercises, how about plyometrics with that? Personally, with weight training, I would only use dumbbells though.. just my personal preference.

Argh, I accidently hit "back" and it deleted my whole message. Alright, here are some songs that might work. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life - I can't stand this band, and I don't really like this song. But it does have a very hard, driving sound. The lyrics aren't very significant either, so it won't be distracting. Blur - Song 2 (actual title of the song)- Great song, this one will get anyone pumped. It's very fast paced and kind of wild, though, so I'm not sure if it would match up with your demo. Sum 41 - What We're All About - Might work, it's pretty catchy. And the chorus gets you going. Vanillca Ice - Ninja Rap - Lol, fits, doesn't it? Rage Against the Machine - Guerrila Radio - You can never go wrong with RATM, this song's kind of aggressive, so it might work. You could try out "Renegades of Funk" too. Linkin Park - Nobody's Listening - This song is aggressive as well, and it'll get you motivated. Try it. To be honest, though, I can't think of anything better than a Prodigy song. Maybe you could do a different song? How about Breathe? Oh! Chumbawamba - Tubthumping - This song is great! You definitely might want to consider this one.

I honestly can't remember anymore :/ Speaking of, what genre is Prodigy? I used to listen to them a lot.

It's your choice at my school.

lol, I used to love that kind of music between the ages of 8-9, but then my friend got me hooked on some old school Cypress Hill, The Beastie Boys and The Offspring. Now Techno gives me a headache :/

What exactly are you getting at? Are you afraid that taking martial arts will stunt your growth? Are you concerned that your children may be too tall to train properly...? I'm not quite clear on what you're trying to say. But it's late, I'll read this thread tomorrow and see if it makes more sense to me.

I wouldn't know, I've never really trained at any other schools to compare.

during the last ten minutes of class, we take the time to practice with escrima sticks, just to get the basics down, sometimes though we'll practice with different weapons (usually just for fun) like Nunchaku, etc. Then, the higher belts have to learn Bo katas.

I would keep Kenpo as my base, as well. BBJ....... as well. Some Modern Arnis, and a lot of go-into-a-hells-angels-bar-and-pick-fights-to-test-your-style-jitsu.

I'm not good at kicking, if I kick during a sparring match, I have just lowered my percentage of winning by 80. I'm working on it, though. But I prefer lower kicks, or sidekicks.

Wow, twenty replies.. someone's popular Welcome to the forum, again

"Alright, that's enough training for you, smelly. Time for your shower."

He was blocking with his arm.. but it felt like he was digging his elbow into it, I don't know, I really have no idea how it hurt so much, but it's better now. It just hurts when I keep it in a certain position for a while now. Lol, yeah, I realize that now. Oh well, I kept on doing the combination because I didn't want to let on that I was hurt and that I have a "weakness".... stupid, stupid, stupid.

Best: Hands down, swimming. Worst: "Hand-stand push ups" ..one of the assistant instructors, who's in his twenties, was doing these "hand stand push ups" after class was over, it's pretty self explanatory, you do a handstand, then bend at the elbows and go back up.. just like doing push ups, just you have to your feet in the air. I was stupid enough to try this at home, and I almost broke my neck, and fell sidewards against the edge of my desk. It looked a lot easier when he did it :/ Now I understand the "never try this at home" warnings.

Ever since I started martial arts, and especially after I started reading Robert Ludlum books (most of you probably know The Bourne Identity, right?).. oh yes, and playing Splinter Cell, I've been doing things like that. It's really fun, but sometimes I think I go a little too far when I plan out a bank robbery inside my head while I'm inside of one... oh well, just fun and games, right? Oh, and I read a newspaper article, where they recapped the whole Columbine shooting incident and the new evidence they had gathered, or that the police had decided to release to the public, and ever since then I've been walking around my school, wondering what I would do if that guy over there just suddenly pulled out a Mac 11, could I turn that table over and use it as cover? Where's the nearest exit? Would I be able to disarm him? How many people are in the vicinity and how many are likely to be wounded or killed? Is there an officer nearby? Is he armed? Where's the nearest phone to call 911 from? ...it's kind of crazy, and it scares me to think how easily something like that could be pulled off at my school. And whenever I go to places that are new to me (ex: Dentists Office) I plan out little escape routes, judge everyone's physical prowess and agressiveness, and see if there's any weapons I could use if someone randomly picked a fight with me............. in a dentists office

Oh stop, you flatter me I'm glad I've stuck with American Kenpo this far (I'm an orange belt, finally). There were a bunch of times I wanted to quit.. mainly because I could barely do 10 push ups, and yes, I wasn't expecting it to be work But since then, I've started lifting weights and training intensily, now I can over 80 push ups without breaking a sweat and I'm finally considered to be "strong" for my age. Martial Arts is the motivation I needed and the "passion" I was looking for.

Alright, here as some issues I've encountered at my school that really annoy me, and I'm wondering if there isn't a better way to deal with them. Hall Rhinos - What's with people purposely slamming their shoulder into you, or just simply charging down the hall without any consideration for others, while you're walking down the halls? My highschool has about 1,800 students, and the building is relatively small, so you always have to kind of turn your shoulders to get by people without running into them. But then there's these idiot kids that just walk straight through you, and if that means running into other people, tough. Anyway, I've grown sick of these people, and I've started "bumping back". If I see a "Gangsta fo lyfe" strutting down the halls while grabbing his crotch, desperately trying to keep his pants from hitting Ground Zero, I don't bother to make way for him either if he won't make way for me. So, I haven't gotten into too much trouble from doing this, just a short, harsh exchange of threats, "Yo! I'ma get mah homiez on yo *!". But is there any better way to deal with this? I guess I should probably just ignore it, huh? Napoleon Syndrome: - Field and Court Sports (just a fancier name for PE), we've been playing floor hockey, and there are these guys that golf that puck around like Tiger Woods, and hit at the puck while it's in the air... I've already been hit in the head TWICE. So, for the safety of myself and others (oh boy, aren't I the upstanding citizen) I asked the guy who was doing it the most, to tone it down a notch, politely. And he responded with a tsunami of curse words that sounded something like, "Ayo!! *@#&@ you! **@# *&@# the I*&@# who do you $#$& think you $#*&*#$ are, #@*&*#@?! I do wuteva da *&@#*@ I want, @!*&@#$!!!!!" The funny part is that he was maybe 5'6" and at 100 lbs or so, I don't even think his voice had dropped yet. Anyway, I just kind of laughed at him, and told he was going to regret swinging like that again. Later on, my friends told the coach to keep an eye on him, but that hasn't fixed anything... the coach doesn't do ANYTHING, now, almost after every game, I get into some type of verbal fight, and it usually ends with the guy charging at me with his stupid hockey stick.. and then stopping in the middle of his tracks, ending with some smart-aleck remark, "yeah, you're lucky, I'll swing fo' realz next time, dawg". Now the situation' escalated, he actually did bring his "homies" and they confronted two of my friends and I while we were walking back to school from lunch (off-campus pass, yay!), they didn't really know who they were dealing with, the fight ended with a few violent shoves, and my friend pinning one of the guys to the wall and telling him to watch himself. So, my question is, how should I deal with this crap? The last situation in particular. What I would really like to do is teach them a lesson the hard way, but the consequences would probably be more severe than I could account for, not to mention a three day suspension, facing possible expulsion. Can anyone else here relate to any of these situations? How did you deal with them? I can't even imagine what would happen if any of them found out I praticipate in martial arts. Highschool sucks :/

It starts becoming paranoia when you start wearing kitchen accessories over you head so that the Illuminati can't read your mind.

lol, sheep fight like that.

I would say to just rest, you're not sick that often, are you? I only get sick maybe 2-4 times a year.. and that's maybe and accumalative of a month of not working out in a year? And that at most.

Some people who take a martial art, aren't necessarily interested in learning how to take a beating. Don't some dojo's have you sign a waver, stating that injuries Will happen and the school can not be held liable for such occurances? I'm not sure how the legal stuff works out, I just remember that my mom had to sign a waver stating something like that. Therefore, I don't think you can sue if someone accidently bruises you. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. Yeah, that's what I do.