Jussi Häkkinen

Of course he is... ...or then he's grabbing the guy's wrist and striking the face with a sharp knuckle - without any scientifically unverfiable meridian mumbo-jumbo. He might actually teach something about no-nonsense fighting there.

Do you - by any possibility - mean Taira-sensei?

Don't do "female push-ups". There's no such thing - really. 25 push-ups is generally a good warm up routine - not too hard for most, hard enough for those who lack the basic endurance (and strength). To make the muscles (chest, shoulders, extensors) stronger, I suggest going to gym and doing some bench press. Some machines are also excellent for that task. Don't keep your knees to ground. Do a proper push-up - even one, if you can't do more. At home, do as many as you can. Have a 2-3 minute break. Then, again, as many as you can. Do 4-5 of these "as many as you can" -sets and have a 2-3 minute rest in between of them. Do that daily, every morning and every evening. Eventually your performance will rise. You'll get to the amounts of 20+ in no time (i.e. in a few months).

Fukyu-series is different than Taikyoku-series. As are Gekkisai-series. They all are different and concentrate on different things. There are also several ways to translitterate their names.

Shinbone: Cracked, couple of times. Toes: Broken, several times. Fingers: See above. Ribs: Broken, several times. Nose: Been blown to a bloody mess countless of times. Cuts, bruises, scratches, black eyes: Countless of times. Muscle pulls, muscle ruptures etc.: Several times every year. Knockouts: A few. And it's not so hard core training at all. Just high intensity, but not "gung ho" or "no brains" -thing. Those things happen. They're part of the game.

Who did make this kind of right? Be it anyone, it doesn't apply where I'm teaching or training. If my partner wears makeup, I switch the partner. If someone in my class wears makeup...well, she (or he) is free to decide, whether she (or he) removes it ASAP or skips the class that evening. They have a freedom of choice. However, I make the choices. And yes, it is a common rule that people don't wear make-up, wedding rings, other jewelry etc. when training. If they have a long hair, they use simple and soft means to tie it back. If one wears glasses, that's OK, but they should think about getting contact lenses. No fragrancies (for allergics). When washing do-gi, the washing agent should be an unfragranced one (allergy thing, again). At the dojo, one should wash feet and hands before class. It also doesn't hurt to take a shower and wash your teeth before heading to dojo. Always wear a clean and tidy do-gi. Ironing does wonders here. Just basic things.

Please, remove even that light make-up before training. It is unnecessary - and doesn't "look good" in a karate dojo. At the dojo, there is a different code of "looking good" - no make-up looks best at the karate dojo. It reflects respect towards the other students and the seriousness you put in training. If you want to look good at dojo: No make-up. No jewelry (yes, remove the earrings too - including the wedding ring). No watch. No fragrances. Just you and your clean do-gi. Even the little make-up can stain the do-gi. It doesn't need to run - I've cleaned mascara from my do-gi too many times after throwing some girls (and heck, once after throwing a dude - that was a weird thing to notice...).

Go to the gym, tell the trainer your needs and use the program he gives you. It'll work.

Please, delete this - mixed up forums.

What in earth are "Hurracaine" (I think you mean "hurricane"), "mia-geri" (maegeri?) or kizame-zuki (kizami-zuki?). Well, I maybe can live with a poorly translitterated Japanese, but what is that "hurricane" you mentioned? I've always thought that hurricane is a natural disaster, not a karate technique.

Heh. Get a proper do-gi. Tournament cut - i.e. 3/4 length sleeves and pants, long jacket. Enough room. Most comfortable sports outfit ever done. Remember: You can get those sleeves and pants shortened. Or then - just buy Shureido, Tokaido or Hirota do-gi, tournament cut. You can get a good one - but you'll have to pay some good money for that one.

I think that lunch and a good book would be "the thing". Lunch is about giving your own time to him - he'll appreciate that a lot - and book is for remembering that occasion. I wouldn't give a martial arts book...I think that a good novel (not too cheesy and philosophical, just a good, classic novel) would be "the thing". Of course, signed by you for him.

I recommend Kamikaze America (best price/quality -ratio I've seen in any do-gi) Shureido do-gi. Local Shureido dealer, 150€. Train hard. Sparring will become easier. Use both hands and both feet, don't favor just one side.

You really can't make them much stronger, but you can train correctly to ensure a good bone alignment when punching etc... I don't recommend much "conditioning" (aside good, flexy makiwara and knuckle pushups) due to the possible damage to joint area (trust me, callouses aren't a good sign). Eh? Nothing. If the skin is flaking or is too dry, I'd recommend some good moisturizing lotion. You don't need any "dit da jow" or similar stuff. Just train. Just train your technique correctly, do knuckle pushups to easen finding the correct alignment (and to get used to the slight pain) and punch bag & makiwara. You don't need anything special to "rub" to your knuckles. If you have skin problems, visit your doctor.

Heh, don't worry. When you move up to the kata like Kanku/Kusanku etc., you'll have 2-4 times the stuff that Heian/Pinan kata do have. There are less repeats and variation is heavier. After those, you'll wonder how you ever thought any Heian/Pinan to be hard to remember. However, for remembering, train the kata in a way that you add one movement each time. I.e. do the kata as "one" "one, two" "one, two, three" in movement sets...add one movement. It takes time, but you'll remember it. It also adds the "journey" -feeling to kata, which I think is a good thing.

No.

Nothing much. Maybe mostly building some stamina and dropping some weight (something like 15lbs). I'm rather happy with the tech side just now.

Shuri-te and Tomari-te, mixed (Kyan Chotoku tradition). And when assuming that there's no "pure Tomari-te"...well, then one's assuming wrong. There are several pure Tomari-te kata left in many Shorin-Ryu schools. Kata is karate - so, there is pure Tomari-te left. There just isn't a school that would have been concentrated on Tomari-te only. Sadly, people don't understand this always and so Tomari-te is often used to explain the most ridiculous crapola..."Oh, it's Tomari-te"...without knowing that there actually is Tomari-te left. Yes, there is Naha-te in Shotokan. Their Seisan (Hangetsu) is a Naha version (Shotokai's Hangetsu Den is a version of Shuri-te - Matsumura no Seisan), some of the Shotokan groups do Hyakuhachiho (Suparinpei) etc...

Still, several Okinawan karate styles incorporate weapons as a part of the style. Karate is not just an empty handed martial art - although the name that Hanashiro Chomo gave it (empty hand) in his 1905 publication "Karate Shoshu Hen" does lead some people to think karate as an solely unarmed martial art. I have occasionally told that "when the hand is empty, it's also free to grab a weapon if needed". So, if you want to have some philosophical connotations (I shiver every time someone mentions philosophy with martial arts...*shivers*), you may think that karate's "open hand" is a hand that has a potential to do anything - open to do different things, constructive and destructive.

No, but I caused my eardrum some damage when yelling out kiai while having my other hand up. My sleeve deflected the sound straight to my ear. That ear was deaf for three days.

Name comes via lineage and historical connection, not via content. Kenpo is an American martial art, not karate. All karate is Okinawan-related and has lineage connections to Okinawa. Or is Krav Maga karate because it has a similar content? No, I didn't think so, either. It's Krav Maga - due to its history and lineage.

Heh, funny question. Mine is short and rather loud "AYAA!" or "TAYAA!" (with a very soft and inexistent T). Merely like a cough.

Heh, kenpo isn't karate - it's kenpo. Now, when we talk about Shigeru Nakamura's Okinawan Kempo (note: with m), we're closer to karate. However, Ed Parker's Kenpo is his own cooking... 3 styles to choose from...heh, not much to choose a best from. From those three, I have no change but select Goju-Ryu - only one that is an Okinawan.

That's great to hear. However, I believe that you're underestimating your body a bit. It can take three times a week - of course, body is sore and achy between the classes, but complete rest doesn't actually help to that very well. Go to a karate class and train - you'll be surprised when the training actually helps with soreness, too. Try it for a week! With 3 karate classes/week you'll still have a plenty of rest between them. I also recommend you to do some light physical activity - walking is great - between the classes. Remember to stretch after a class (2-3 hours after, do a light warmup and stretch) and in the next morning (again, light warmup and stretching). That should help you to avoid excessive soreness.

I'd say that 2-3 (or more) times a week is a good amount for the beginner. That way the body adapts faster to the training, skill level rises faster and you generally don't forget as much as with once a week -rate. I'd recommend 3 - that isn't too much. 2 is barely enough, but will do if there's no possibility for more. One just isn't enough.