CloudDragon

Word of mouth is the best, but recently my school was invited to use a meeting room at a local water park for our latest tesing. We got the room for free and many students went to the park after the testing. It was win-win, we got alot of people looking at the testing and the water park got some customers and kids going home saying "wow, you wont believe what I saw at the water park today!"

I am looking for a company that can make custom weapon/gear bags for my school. The bag will have several outside compartments for weapons, and mesh material for ventilation of the main compartment. I would also need some screen printing of school logo and etc. done on the bag. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Welcome Bob, looking forward to getting some great information from you. I loved reading Mr. Tegner's books when I was a new martial artist, what was he like as a teacher?

I started when I was seven, but I recently made the aquaintance of several folks who have started in their 40's 50's and a couple who started in their 60's. All of them have said they wished they started earlier, not because physical reasons, but because of the feeling of overall wellness and increase in self esteem and self disicpline. I even heard that one guy was the stereotypical "grumpy old man" before he started training. Now he is pleasant and a great asset to his school and is loved by the kids in the children's class that he asissts the instructor with. So I agree, it's never too late to start!

I agree with luckyboxer on this one. Remember, you did a strike to a soft target, you probably have a long way to go to condition those shins. Keep up the training but don't get too high up on that horse because the fall off of it can really hurt!

Pretty much what everyone else says, but with krav maga at the top of the list. Specifially because it is proven in practial situations on a pretty large scale. Not that the others aren't proven, but I dont recall the others being taught on a large scale to the military as krav maga. Sure the others are taught, but not as a complete art.

Welcome, and good luck finding a school to accomidate your needs, I don't think it will be to hard.

Foam nunchaku are quite possibly the bane of martial arts. There I said it. They encourage students to make stops, and passes incorrectly, and to expect speeds from real ones that would never be done without much more strength than they have. It also encourages the student to concentrate on barely controlable spins and flips that would have had people who had to use them in the past for true self defense laughing like crazy. The only legitimate reason to use them that I have ever heard is that it is for safety of spectators or other classmates.

Where & when is this going on? Sounds interesting!

nitroice: the website you reference is correct in that DURING exercise the body shunts blood away from certain organs to nourish the muscles, which need the oxygen, as opposed to the stomach, kidneys, bladder, etc. This is part of the survival response that the body has to keep you going in times of stress. What happens after you are finished with the workout is that the body basically says "O.K., I'm done with the stress, now feed me!" This is why it is natural to feel hungry after a workout. If you are noticing a decreased appetite after working out it is also a good thing, because the body is becoming more "fuel efficient" and requiring less energy to work. Kudos to you for doing research and finding out just how your body works!

Shorinryu Sensei, don't take this the wrong way, but if you know someone who works at a nursing home you might want to ask if they have any extras. When residents "move on" the families usually don't want alot of the medical items that their loved ones leave behind, i.e. canes. The nursing home will usually keep them around for a while and then trash them, so it's a win-win situation. You get a good cane to use and the nursing home gets a little more storage space. Even though I am biased I think if I ever needed a cane to get around I would be happy to see a martial artist using it after I was done with it. Just my opinion, take it at that.

I tend to eat after a workout, but I have noticed that I tend to watch what I eat. Just seems like a waste to put back all the calories you just burned.

Do you do warmups before stretching? If not give it a shot, you might be surprised at the results!

Staff, its the most practical and useful at all ranges.

It's much easier to break with the blocks as you don't have the human element involved. The only drawback is that it severely limits your choice of techniques.

I just thought of something, if you could get away with it a small safety pin through the middle of the knot would keep it from coming loose. Obviously not a good idea for the jujitsu folks, but for the others out there it might work for day to day stuff.

Good point! Another thing is to be condierate of your board holders, many times if they are taller or shorter than you they may have to contort themselves to get your board set right. This can cause some fatigue that may weaken the lock in the elbows needed for a good hold, especially if they have been holding for several breaks. Just remember, set the board and break it. Looking at the board won't get the job done!

At my school uniforms are mandatory only for testing and special occasions. Most students don't wear the uniform on a regular basis. What is nice about this is that when we have one of these events all of the uniforms look sharp and make a positive gesture for our school to guests and potential students.

I agree that the $115 is pretty steep for an annual fee. Association fees are usually annual and get you a wallet card and a number for tournaments and tracking at headquarters, some associations will include discounts on merchandise or a newsletter or magazine, free workouts at affiliate schools and sometimes a small amount of insurance. The $115 sounds pretty steep even with all of the stuff listed above, I get it all for $25 US. I would talk to your instructor about what this money does for you and if you feel comfortable, go for it, but I would hope it gets you alot of stuff for that price

I was thinking the same thing DLopez. They are common at my dojang, especially for females and some of the more umm... robust, men. We were doing some groundwork last night and I was glad I had mine. I wear what is called the A style by hanes, aka tank top, or wife beater. it is light and cut so that it doesn't insulate and the material keeps the uniform from getting so wet and sitcky.

One more thing to add to the great ideas already listed. Speed, this is primarily what breaks boards. Look at Einstein's formula for power, basically it is one half of mass times velocity squared = power. So in normal people terms, speed is more important than weight, if you hit something fast enough it will break. For example; the guy who can hold a board in the air with one hand and break it with the other. That is speed, if there is not enough speed the whole board will fly across the room, if there is enough speed it will snap easily in two.

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.

it's on page 101

Thanks for the replies, BTW I found this in the book "The Ultimate Book of Martial Arts" by Fay Goodman, it is a nice resource for the beginning martial artist and gives a good overview of several popular martial arts.

Sure it's not uncommon, especially when starting out, the potassium and sodium pumps in the arms are having to work overtime to make the muscles contract and relax harder than they are used to. Just make sure you keep hydrated and eat a balanced diet to replace the minerals lost. But if this condition doesn't go away soon after your workout I would get it checked out.