CloudDragon

I use latex gloves to keep the oil off of my hands and trash them as soon as I am done.

I was in a school that was christian run and they had "prayer" at the end of class. It was cool though because it was about 10 sec of silence and you could pray or take time to collect your thoughts and review the class real fast.

I feel it gives students a false sense of power and is only good for impressing novice spectators at demonstrations. Save a tree, starve a logger I agree that it can be deceptive and encourage students to concentrate on speed only and not proper penetration to their techniques.

Thanks markusan, sounds like it is a great stress relief and way to focus for you.

I agree that 10th dan is just kind of thrown out there for everyone who starts their own style or is a senior rank at the time of their styles' leaders' demise. Unfortunately, it is a direct response to the "microwave society" we live in. People are more impressed by a snappy title than the true ability, and more important, the ability of a person to teach.

markusan, could you describe how it makes life easier? Does it work as a type of stress relief?

Hmm, you know that Mike "Chat" just tested into the American Taekwondo Association as a 3rd or 4th degree. I wonder if this has anything to do with it. BTW Chat was the blue ranger.

Welcome aboard!, You will never be too old to study the MA, so enjoy the journey!

Welcome aboard, don't worry about the Gi thing, most places don't carry the larger sized Gi's because of demand. Don't worry about the 7 either because if it is too big, just wash it in hot water once, but be careful as it may shrink quite a bit!

First welcome to the forums, but honestly, this sounds like a question best answered by your instructor.

Welcome aboard! Congrats on your weight loss!

welcome aboard!

Been there, I had to learn TKD in my kenpo class, the kenpo was great, but the TKD wasn't. Does it make sense? Well, if your instructor wants to add name or style recognition to his school, sure, but not in many other situations.

I'd go with swimming for many of the other reasons listed above, but also because you have to have greater control over breathing which will help with lung capacity and more efficient use of oxygen in the muscle tissue.

Your attitude should be confident, your mind and body relaxed until your attack which should be fast, accurate and powerful. When your attack is complete you should once again return to calm and wait for your opponent's response.

Everyone has something that they don't care for as much as other things in their style. What would you remove or change about your style? It could be anything you want, from a way a technique is done, to the color of the school patch, just say what it is and why. I would personally remove board breaking from my style. Two examples why it isn't difficult and doesn't really show much about the students ability. #1. At a testing I saw a woman give her boardholders a little push on the board to make sure they were set, and the board broke! Boards are inconsistent in force required to break them. #2. A few weeks ago I watched as a man in his 50's, (average height & weight and in good shape) whom had never taken any MA training in his life (Trust me, he wasn't lying) after 3 weeks in the school the instructor took 2 full size boards, walked up to him and said "break these with a front kick" the guy did a front kick from a natural stance and smashed them! So there you have it, now, what would YOU change about your style?

Great story, like I have found, the most dangerous people to spar are the white belts because as in the words of Forrest Gump "You never know what you gonna get"

One word of advice, DON'T, make some wooden ones work with them, and then you might want to buy metal ones. First, to get a good finish you will need access to quite a few power tools and skill in working with metal. Second, if you make the tiniest of flaws in your technique you risk shattering bones.

battousai, what style was the school?

I was discussing XMA with some friends tonight and we were bouncing some thoughts around. One thing we all decided was that we needed more input from personal experiences, so please list any experience you have had with XMA, whether as a viewer, participant or instructor and your thoughts.

Had problem with poll, but got it fixed

I'd like to hear from all of you about how much your current school emphasizes meditation, and/or Zen studies. What do you think of the presence or absence of these things? If you do practice these things has it helped your martial arts skill? Feel free to expand on these questions.

Yep, if you haven't washed your belt it will do that. Try to wash it on the gentle cycle with regular detergent and let it drip dry and the belt shouln't run any more. Most folks don't need to do this, but for those who perspire freely it is the way to go.

I stop about 50, but I hate doing em, I really haven't found any benefit to my punching, other than doing bag work.

welcome aboard! where you from?