SaiFightsMS

There was an older movie about "Babe" Dirickson Zaharias with Katheryn Hepburn playing the lead role that was really good.

I also read. I am currently reading a series of books by Terry Brooks set in Shannara. If you like sword and sorcery these are really great books. A new activity for me this year is resident council. I went to a meeting one day and someone wound up being nominated for recording secretary. So far this year we have almost finished a badly needed review and revision of the by laws and charter. I am also a hardcore internet junkie. A crew of four guinea pigs and a cat also take up a lot of my time.

I have kept a book since my early days. I would record my katas and combinatons I was working on. Since we ran on a quarter system something else I also did with it was to sit down at the beginning of the quarter and set goals. And then once a month evaluate how they were going. My notes helped me to remember better what I was learning. I think it also helped to be able to go back and see where I was compared with where I am now.

LOL Monkeygirl. Having a real name of Pat that happens to me a lot. One mailing list I am on one of the guys was trying to figure out if I was Patricia or Patrick. For some reason on that list I am now known as Patricka. Kung Fu Hamster meditation has many uses. Visualizaton: can be used or pain control; relaxation; metally reviewing a physical activity for a sports performance; and other such uses. Most high level athletes in all sports use some type of visualization to enhance their performance. Religious purposes: a very ancient use of medition. Count to ten before you act when you are angry - ever heard that? That too can be a form of mini meditation.

Usually when I would help one of our junior students retie a white belt that was tied in a most creative wrong manner it was because a parent helped them tie the belt. Same with helping a kid tie or retie their drawstring pants. If the pants are one backwards Mom or Dad helped them decide which was the front. Another handy hint is only wear your belt with your gi. If you have to come to class in sweats or something else don't wear the belt. A Father/Daughter training team came in one night sand gi (laundry problem). They were carrying their belts. Belts and tie dyed t-shirt are not appropriate. From my years in the dojo I can tell you that all ages have the same amount of difficulty learning to tie the belt.

Congratulatons. Although I loved my purple belt because purple is my favorite color I was really proud of my brown belt.

Welcome to the forum.

I was thinking about how we use ki in karate. And I thought first of the correct breathing technique. Proper breathing should originate with the diaphragm not in the upper chest. Think of "belly breathing". Not thinking along those lines the center point tan tien is in the area of the lower abdomen that the movement occurs in during proper breathing. The first drills we do in karate are done with the emission of a kiai - an out-breath. So when we kiai we expel air using the diaphragm. So when we breath in we use the diaphragm to pull the air into the lungs with. Think of the oxygen as an energy. We take in the energy. When we have better breathing techniques we turn more of the air - or potential energy - into the actual energy we use. Think about it. Surreptitiously watch people breath. See if you can see the upper chest area rise and fall or their stomach. Responses? That was a good question. How do we use ki in karate?

One of my close friend growing up was Okinawan.

Right, shuri ryu actually preceded shorin ryu.

http://www.cix.co.uk/~matb/pages/techniqu/Belttie/belttier.html http://www.combatteam.com/belt.html http://www.stanford.edu/group/kenpo/belt-tie.shtml These links go to sites with pictures of how to tie the belt. Everybody has to have help learning how to tie their belt in the beginning. When we have large groups testing we have upper belts move quietly to the back rows as belts are being presented to help the new underbelts tie their first colored belt. Keeping a martial arts notebook is a very good thing to do.

I think people develope preferences for the weight of the material their gi is made of based on differing factors. Some want a brand name heavy gi as sort of a "snob" or status symbol. Some want heavy gi's because of the snap they give when performing movements. Some factor in durability. Heavier material does last longer. I only got 3 months out of a light weight gi. Then their is the sweat factor. Some find they prefer a heavy gi to soak up more sweat. Some find that heavy gi's make them sweat more. This may sound silly but it is kind of like underwear. Everybody developes a preference.

Shuri ryu is a very traditional form of karate. Many of the syles have roots in it.

Congratulations.

You really can't make someone like that just "shut up". Some people just live in either a fantasy world or a world of dreams they will never make happen.

Here are a few links with very breif historical information on Okinawa and its relation to Japan. Some also contain links to other sites with more specific information. http://users.rcn.com/kirkd.interport/okinawa.html http://www.kushu.com/okinawan_history.htm http://www.okinawa.com/history.html http://gaga.essortment.com/okinawanstyle_rgsg.htm

My bo has this pattern in the grain of the wood that looks like a long eye. Like the kind of an eye a dragon my have. I call it my dragon staff.

In my shotokan dojo the philosophy was 1/3 kihon, 1/3 kata and 1/3 kumite. Meaning our in class training time should be spent 1/3 of it doing drills. The next third doing kata. And a third sparring.

The price of confidence. My bo is a rather odd one. It is octagonal hickory. It is light and flexible and when I am working with it and doing good sharp techniques it feels alive in my hands.

Ice cream is really hard on spoons isn't it? Actually it is plastic forks I am hard on. I break them trying to cut things.

THE SOLID GOLD URINAL Before the inauguration, George Bush was invited to a get-acquainted tour of the White House. After drinking several glasses of iced tea, he asked permission to use Bill Clinton's personal bathroom. Of course, Bill said "okay." Well, when George walked in, he was astonished to see that the President had a solid gold urinal. That afternoon, George told his wife, Laura, about the urinal. "Just think," he said, "when I'm President, I'll get to have my very own gold urinal!" Later, when Laura had lunch with Hillary at her tour of the White House, she told Hillary how impressed George had been with his discovery of the President's gold urinal in his private bathroom. That evening, as Bill and Hillary were getting ready for bed, she turned to Bill and said, "Well, I found out who peed in your saxophone."

I had a macho heavy weight gi that held up really well. And I payed a lot less for it than others payed for gi's that were made like it. Sensei thought it was like one he had custom made. I also keep more than one gi on had. I really find that rotating them does prolong the lifetime. Just like running shoes.

Awww, you mean you don't want us to have a laugh. How about if a move it to humor?

Here are some links to meditation posts. http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4877 http://www.wadoryu.org.uk/mokuso.html http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4459 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1362 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1326

Actually it is the basic techniques where the differences show up. Just the basic kicks and punches. How it can be so amazing how someone who has been training for years can throw a simple front kick that makes even a newer black belt wonder "whoa, where did that come from".