UsagiYojimbo

I know this is a girly response, but some of the songs from the "Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains" CD are awesome for working out.

It was pretty good. But I liked the video right below it (the Golden Path) better. It's not MA related, though.

Didn't fall over. However, for last night's class I didn't have time to hem it, so I just used duct tape. I learned the limitations of duct tape when faced with tons of sweat; the bond came partially undone, and the bottom of my pantsleg kept catching on my heel. Since I'm not much of a sewer (pronounced so-er), I'm just going to use hem tape on it.

Thanks.

At our dojo, you must attend classes for 4 weeks before you receive a belt and gi. Got mine at class tonight! It's too big (I need to wash it on hot and then hem it), but it was so cool to get one! I wore it anyway.

As everyone's said, it's normal. You can do some stuff to minimize it, though. Make sure you stretch out at the end of each workout when your muscles are still warm. Drinking lots of water and soaking in a hot bath also helps me. Good luck!

So, were they prosecuted for fraud because they used your name?

That's actually a variation of one of my favorite Albert Einstein quotes: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

There are some other threads dealing with pushups if you use the search function. But basically, I think the best way to get better at pushups is to do pushups. Personally, I try to do them 3x a week (some people may do them more often), and just try to do more than you did the time before. Also, it may help to do them in sets. If you do 2 sets of 10 and rest between sets, you'll probably be able to do more than if you just do 20 flat out. There's also a thread on here that has lots of different kinds of pushups; try searching for the term pushups. P.S.: I'm an orange belt poster now! Woo!

Got mine from the comic of the same name.

Well, to each their own. I like the integration of mind/ body/ spirit myself; I like that we aren't just focusing on the physical aspect. As for the kids bit; we're an adults only class, so that isn't a factor.

The sensei who gave us the assignment also teaches Tai Chi to some of the advanced students. I'm sure that has something to do with it. I'm looking forward to doing this assignment this weekend.

Our school is different than pretty much every dojo in town, in that we don't train kids. All students must be at least 14.

One of my senseis had an interesting assignment for us tonight. She told us to take a day and practice our karate out in nature. She said that practice could consist of kata (I haven't learned any yet), basics, meditation, or whatever we like. Then we have to write and submit a haiku about our experience, and how our karate practice relates to nature. Anyway, I thought it was a cool assignment. For anyone else: has your sensei ever given you a similar assignment?

What's a momaluke? Anyway, thanks for the info.

Lonekimono, the red symbol on the lower lefthand side of your page is really cool. Do you know where it comes from and what it symbolizes?

What about a park? I see people do Tai Chi at the park all the time, and nobody seems to bother them. Personally, I work out in my yard and don't care what the neighbors think. And if they don't like the fact that I work out in the nude, hey, that's their problem. Call the police on me, will they... j/k.

Yeah, I learned about this concept in my Japanese Religions class. Our professor was telling us that it is a far more common expression in Japan, mainly because the Japanese are very community- and group-based (if a nail is sticking out, it must be hammered back down). Here in the U.S., he was saying, we're far more likely to hear "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", as the U.S. is more focused on the individual. Different worldviews.

I've seen about half of it; the rest of it is still out there on TiVo for me to watch. I enjoyed it, and it is awfully pretty. Much more "art" than "martial", but I've seen wushu taught the same way, and it's considered a martial art.

Okay, that leads to another question... at what level of aggression should a student be kicked out of a dojo? If a student has been warned repeatedly not to go all out during sparring, and they intentionally continue to do so, at what point have they gone too far? Does the sensei have to wait until the student breaks a rib/arm/whatever to get rid of them? Has anyone here been in a situation where someone was removed from the dojo for being overly aggressive?

Dude, just kick the crap out of those little snot-noses! Seriously, though, isn't getting humbled when you're being cocky an important part of martial arts training?

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I was actually out of karate for years, and just started back up in the last couple of weeks. I get corrected *all* the time. While it's discouraging, I like the individual attention I get from my Sensei. Still, when I go home and practice everyday and I'm like, "Oh yeah, I've got this", then go back to the dojo and get told I'm still not doing it right... yeah, it's tough.

I'm paying $50/month. We don't pay for gradings, but once you receive a grade, you have to pay $20 annually to the head organization (haven't been graded yet). In my area, I've seen as high as $80/month, and as low as $15 for 10 weeks (class taught out of a church basement).

Wow, I can't eat more than one at a sitting.

Thanks.