SaiFightsMS

Tobias we do strikes with the ends of the nunchaku. They should be made of hard enough wood to take a strike otherwise they would be fairly useless as a weapon. We also do at least one block with both ends held in one hand striking with the wood rather than the fist. Actually I think that I am the only one in the dojo to actually ever break a pair of wooden nunchaku. And it was not a strike that broke them. During a battle with a pinched nerve I dropped them and ran over them (trying to position to pick them up) with my power chair. And it was the end the string inserts into that broke.

Good luck to you. And a word of advice. I have tested under less than optimal physical conditions. Consider seriously your options. If you feel so rough to a point you know that you are placing yourself at a physical risk to test that is higher than the benefit gained it may be better to wait until the next oppurtunity to test. I know how great the temptation is to test. I also know there is always a risk of getting hurt at test because the adreniline is flowing so high. Weigh your options carefully. If testing is going to put you at a risk of getting hurt worse back off. If you think you are going to come out allright then go for it. But just think about it first.

The difference between working with a barbell vs a set of dumb bells is more inclusion of the stabilizing muscles. Watch people who are fairly new to strenght training. They bench with the barbell then go on the dumb bell presses and the dumb bells wobble all over the place. When you work with the dumb bells you strenghten not only the primary muscle intended but the areas connected to them.

Triceps are the secondary muscle group worked in push(or press) ups. Quads are worked in leg extensions and squat type activities. Work the calves by doing calf raises - place the ball of the foot on a step or a raised platform and let the heel stretch down below the surface then raise up on your toes.

So how hard to we want to make our knuckles? Or do we want to put more emphasis on learning to use techniques like a palm heel strike to an opponents face instead of a knuckle punch.

In the Okinawan tradition the nunchaku is used as an extension of the arm as are all weapons. Take for example moves that start in a front catch (one "stick" is held parallel to the ground next to the ear - the other hangs down behind the head and is grasped by the other hand under the elbow). The 2 most basic moves that start from that are over head strikes. The bottom hand releases and the hand beside the ear swings the nunchaku over the top and down on your opponents head or shoulder. An other basic move starts with the top hand releasing. The bottom hand then swings the nunchaku upward and into your opponents chin ( or family jewels if it is a low swing). We do some moves where the nunchaku is held on end in each and stretched out with the end executing a jab like you would do with a bo or a staff. I think a lot of the difference in the amount of information available on weapons training has to do with possible misuse and violation of local laws. There is an inherant danger in all martial arts training; more so with weapons. (first time you clunk yourself in the head you will understand) Working with an instuctor also helps insure that your technique is correct.

I will never forget the first time I tested with a big group and my friend who drove asked "What's all the shouting about?" The forceful exhalation on the technique strengthens it and adds to the power. Watch people in the weight room. The more effort they are putting out the more noise is made. Even unathletic people make noises when engaged in a physical act such as lifting a heavy object. Take some time on your own and do some of your drills. Do them silently then to them with a forceful exhalation. See what the difference is.

Congratulations Jack. So what do you think about your experience now?

I saw a quote once I really liked "I can't hear you; your actions are too loud". It stuck with me. It is so true that much of the times it is the actions of others that inspire us and stick with us not just the words we hear.

Starting with the foam ones is highly recommeded. For some reason there is not a lot of free kobudo information around. You will probably have to buy a tape. The Nishiuchi tapes are really good ones.

There is a wonderful tool called a UBE. That is upper body ergometer; kind of an exercise bike for the arms. It has a nice seat and extremely adjustable hand cranks. Unfortunately the are difficult to find.

Welcome to the forum.

Actually I had a very wonderful sensei who influence me quiet a bit. He started training a bit later in life as a family event with his sons. And at one point the boys even outranked him. As I learned and stayed involved every time I wondered if I was too old to do this I didn't have far to look for an answer. For me it was a very good thing to have a fellow age grouper involved in my training.

I am seeing more and more posts on things like makiwari training and then posts on how important the hands are for our modern occupations doing things like working on keyboards. Should some of the time honored training methods be evolveing more to fit todays needs? What specifically should we be looking at? Are there reasonable substitutes for the "old ways"?

Actually I have XP and get automatic notices everytime and update or a patch comes out. I run my virus scan everyday. It is set to run on a schedule and I make sure I check the logs. It is also auto updated. It can be a bit of a pain sometimes to be in the hot part of a battle game and have the screen popon telling me that the programs is requesting access to the internet.

Sweeps are one thing that can be practiced on a tree or better yet a stump. The closer to the foot you come with a sweep the more effective.

I was using netscape 6.2 as an alternative to microsofts internet explorer and then began experiencing problems. It seems that it often becomes corrupted. Does anyone else try to work with netscpae? Any feedback on problems or solutitons?

A fairly simple way to handle someone who keeps rushing in on you is a simple front kick. They come in you push them off with your foot. It has to be a fast kick though or they will catch your foot.

Lets try this. Drill hole one straight down from the top of nunchaku. Drill hole two perpindicular to hole one through the side of the nunchaku at the end of hole one. Drill hole three further down the side from hole two. So now you have three holes in the nunchaku. Using a wood chisel connect the two holes on the side of the nunchaku in the same way you would create a notch in a door jamb for the hinge.

The ideas of economy of motion and generating power with the hips are more technical things that some do instinctively without really knowing what they are doing. Some students of the martial arts enjoy the more technical aspects of what they do and can discuss it to death. Others just do it.

Even though it has been 26 years since that bus ride (a very short one - I got off the next stop) with a bus full of people who had just had kim chee for lunch. Well, burping may be an effective self defense. ROFL

And always remember you need to spend a long time learning basics first. If the first classes seem repititive that is sort of how it goes.

There are many more marines with excellant frames of mind. The marines work a lot with the mindset of their young recruits. Values training is an important part of what they learn. There has been many different types of fighting arts taught to militairy people through history. The codification of an art designed specifally for situations that will be encountered is a real step forward.

ROFL ZR440!!!!! :spitlaugh:I thought the tacobell flatulationdo was great. Hope you don;t mind but I shared it with my cat chat friends and it got a lot of laughs. I take my humor hat off to you.

Whiskers still lives with my Mom. ( I was also living there when Whiskers first arrived.) I am currently owned by one cat. Her name is Shadow. We will have been together 6 years next month. There are a few pictures of her on the same link in another album.