SaiFightsMS

Is ki/chi something that can be obtained - I don't think so. I think it is more like learning to master your own innerself, then your own all ready existing life force. It is not a topic that attracts everyone. And maybe everyone who comes in here will come in and leave with their own unique viewpoint on this topic.

What an excellant training oppurtunity you had. Wish that we could all have the same. Or would that take away from the wonder? Would the arts have the same allure and mystery to us if someone with a word processor and video cam had been following around the originators centuries ago. The search for the history is kind of fun though.

McGee it is nice to see your sense of humor. Back to the belt rack - should it have spacers in it so it will reach from ceiling to floor when hanging?

Just kidding with you Ad.

I really have to agree with the kicks to the knees and areas below the belt of this one. We start working with the knife edge kick to the side of the knee fairly early but not being legal to use in sparring I don't know anyone who has actually used it. Someone mentioned that it would be easy to see coming. hmmm. We were taught that all basic kicks start the same way with a simple raise of the knee. And not to look at the guys knee we want to break to look up more at his eyes. Another useful variant is an across the body kick to the knee. Yes it does sound awkward and is awkward to practice kicking in the air. But try it against your bag. looking more to the head or chest level raise that knee and come down across the other leg and stomp with the heel or the knife edge. Trying it on the bag sure opened my eyes. I also really like the idea of short round house kicks to the lower leg or side of the knee. Hey, I am a big fan of the roundhouse kick. Ultimately I think at different stages in our training we should have different kicks in our collection of techniques that we would rely on. Sure basic kicks will allways rule. It is the way we do them and our skill level that changes.

I read this and was just gong to let it pass but 30 belts? 30? :???: :???: So tell me who is going to market the belt rack for that school. What a racket. :evil: 30 belt levels :???: :???:I am mystified.

errryymmumm no tattoos or excessive hair here.

I notice that you differentiate between Higionna Sanchin and Miyagi sanchin. Do you by any chance know which variant of Rohai you do? I am very curious. I think I have leads as to what became of rohai ichi and ni but no idea about the third.

There are so many levels in that I must think for a long time.

Bad Chatroom Etiquette 1. Create an insanely long user name. Refuse to speak to people who try to abbreviate it. 2. TyPe LiKe ThIs. Ignore anyone who doesn't. 3. Yell. 4. Talk to yourself. 5. Log in with three or more usernames and have a conversation with yourself. 6. Type backwards. 7. Type everything twice. 7. Type everything twice. 8. Answer questions not addressed to you. 9. Send a LOT of blank messages. A LOT. 10. Speak in your own language. 11. Change the text color to yellow or something equally painful. 12. Change the background color to pink or something equally painful. 13. Change the background color to match the text color. 14. Make people repeat everything they say three times. (at least) 15. type t o p t o b o t t o m . 16. Ask stupid questions. Demand answers. 17. Tell everybody you have to leave to *do a number two*. 18. Tell people what time it is. 19. Ask people what time it is. 20. Speak in Yodanese. For example: bored I am. lick my ear you want to? 21. Type bottom to top. (I'm not even going to try) Any additions?

Hi Fergy and welcome. You like the faces too I see. Personally my bag is Shotakan, but I am all for everyone being involved in whatever art makes them happy. Best of luck to you in finding a place to train.

Cool Kickbutt. Did you like The Talisman? I should really go back and edit some of my poor spelling huh? Actually I am currently reading a book that is a collection of survivor stories. Survivors of shipwrecks, plane crashes and such. The stories (all true) are arranged in historic order from some of the oldest to some of the newest. It is pretty cool. I read a on a really wide variety of topics and until the computer read about 60-70 books a year.

No such thing as evil. Hmmmmmmm :???:I need a while to think about that.

Since we now have a nice place to discuss such things do you have a meditation technique you would be willing to share? Or do you think that being in touch with your inner self has a place in the martial arts?

Ad to some chi or ki is the channeling of the life force. It is one of those deeply profound and easy things. Darn near impossible to explain yet for those that really get it, it is a light bulb.

Again there are many forms of martail arts. As many as there are it is bound to be that they all came about from roots in different areas. This can be a hotly contested area of discussion because we are the first generation to have instantaineous communication and transmission of information. In a way I think it would be sad to totally pin down all of the history of the martial arts. I think that would take away from its mystery. And to many the mystery is part of the allure.

To be honest the basics do require some instruction. It is best to stop bad habits before they are too deeply ingrained. It may be possible to do a combination with a willing instructor. But the student should also be receptive to all input from the instructor. And both student and instructor should be aware of how things stand.

A lot of research is revealing that variants of the Rohai done by Shor-in ryu groups is probably Rohai ichii of the 3 coming from Matsumura and/or Itosu. Meikyo is looking like Rohai Ni. Any other input? Anybody else do a variant? Many traditional styles do some form or variant.

Was there a better way to honor the man who fought with the hijacker of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania (a judoka by the way) than to honor his training and back ground. Sure others helped but without his years of training would he have had the success he did? What do you think?

Q :???:Why was there a bug in the computer? A. :spitlaugh:It was looking for a byte to eat.

I did recomend this site to a Women In Shotokan club.

One of my first loves is reading. I use to set records in grade school for how much I read. I wasn on a Tom Clancy binge and was reading the Cardinal of the Kremlin on 9-11 and didn't have the heart to finish it. I love Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Ann Rice. I really enjoy books depicting the good vs evil struggle. One of the most interesting martial arts books I have read is the Mark Bishob Kobudo book. [ This Message was edited by: SaiFightsMS on 2001-12-01 23:04 ]

For anyone who does traditional forms I am looking for information of Rohai other wise known as Meikyo or Myung Kyung. I know there is a lot of diversty among these katas and Matsumura Rohai and I think the Rohai kata Itosu did with ichii, ni and san. Do you do any of these kata forms and do you know anything about their lineage or history?

We all do Ad. At my first test in a big group i was the only adult in my rank group testing for that level. Before we got up I was so petrified about - well among other things being so much older. (I was 38 and standing next to a 6 year old.) As time went on I got more used to my classmates and they got more used to them and the differences disappeared. Even the parents got used to me.

People do become passionate about defending their choice of styles or schools. This is a classic and never ending discussion. But take the time out to think "if one style or school was perfect for everyone - there would not be some many". There are thousands of styles. The world is a big one. There is room for all of us. And personally I find the discussions about the pros and cons in here interesting.