aefibird

Thanks!

...what the difference is between Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do and Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do? I was doing an idle search on google the other day for martial arts clubs in my area (looking for something to fill in the gap now my instructor has stopped teaching Aikido!) and I came across 2 clubs in my area - one offering MDK TKD and the other offering MDK TSD. Are there major differences between the two, or is it mostly similar stuff but different name? Thanks.

Hi Jin, welcome to Karate Forums! Which martial art would you want to study, if you could?

If you're unsure why it's flared up again then getting yourself down to the GP's surgery would be the best thing.(ah, the wonders of free NHS healthcare! ) If you explain to him/her about your problem and exactly what training you're doing he or she should be able to tell you what's causing it. You may need a bout of physio to put it right. Alternatively, try easing up a bit on the training at home for a while to see if it makes it any better. Finally, make sure you're doing your exercises and weight lifts correctly. Bad technique could be putting strain on your elbow. If you're unsure of a particular technique then ask someone who knows or go to the local gym and ask an instructor or check on the web for the correct way to do the excerices you're doing. Hope it clears up soon!

Rowing can be great for cardio workout, as well as building up endurace and muscle toning. Just because you're not hurting afterwards doesn't necessarily mean that you're not working your muscles either. You don't always have to feel it for it to benefit you. It should be working your back and shoulder muscles and also have an effect on arm and stomach muscles too. Try and keep a constant pace throughout each of your sessions on it. I'd recommend about 15 mins at a time on the machine and you should have a good sweat on afterwards. A session 2 or 3 times a week shouldn't hurt you and will probably benefit your martial arts training.

Sure! You're gonna pay my air fare to Georgia, right???

lol, practically every martial artist I know has to have some material taken off either the sleeves or legs of their gi's. The manufacturers must think we're all about 8 foot tall or something... I have a Tokaido 14oz karate gi. It cost me a lot more than any other gi I've ever bought, but it is very good quality and such a thick weight that I actually use it to train in Aikido in - it stands up well to doing rolls and grabs etc etc. I've heard poor reports about Tokaido lately, but my gi is great and I'd certainly buy another if it ever wears out, although I don't think it will. It seems pretty indestructable!

Well, I hope you don't mind me probing too much about your style, but I'm always interested in learning about other clubs and styles. Anyway, is your school affiliated with any organisations? If so, is that for TKD or Kung Fu or both? Or is it part of its own org? Also, what's the percentage of TKD to KF? About 50-50, or is it leaning more towards TKD? Finally, do you incorporate weapons training into your system? Thanks.

Well, welcome to the world of Karate and welcome to Karate Forums too!

Good hand/eye coordination should help you in any martial art. I'm not by any means an expert but I would have thought that practicing throwing and catching a ball would help h/e coordination. Playing racquet sports would probably help too, such as squash or badminton. The thing that really improved my h/e coordination was learning to juggle! I'm probably a 'brown belt' in juggling - I can do 3 balls or other objects. My party trick is being able to juggle baked bean tins!! lol

Good advice from your Hanshi there, gheinisch.

Congrats to Greece for winning championships - I bet no one would EVER have forseen that!

I vote Spiderman - you gotta love him.

lol, can't imagine what you mean...

Grrr, you're not paranoid. They really are after you...

It depends on your martial arts style. There are different belt systems for different styles - there are even different belt systems within the same style. The best person to ask is your instructor or a higher grade at your club. They'll be able to give you all the info you need. In my style of Shotokan Karate we have belts in the following order: white, orange, red, yellow, green, purple, purple & 1 white stripe, brown, brown & 1 white stripe, brown & 2 white stripes and finally black. In my Aikido club we only have 2 belts - white and black, but you still earn different grades before you get to black, you just stick with the same colour belt, though.

Just out of interest, do you practice kip up in your MA school sAtelitte?

I know this is going slightly off topic, but how's your kids class going Angelica? I know you were having problems with a lad a while back - is everything sorted out now?

They're all variants of karate, although kenpo or kempo is often classed as a martial art in its own right. Karate can generally be split into Japanese & Okinawan styles. There are many different styles of karate, a lot of which have been developed from other styles. Each style has its own emphasis and differences in things like stances, inclusion of weapons, emphasis on fighting over kata etc etc. Feel free to ask if you want any more info on a particular style!

As this is a community of martial artists then it's unlikely that the majority of people would be hopeless rank amateurs and couch potatoes anyway. However... this being on the web we'll never really know.

Now that I can relate to. As I'm Assistant Instructor for my club I occasionally take the adults classes (I usually generally only teach the kids classes, as I prefer to train with all the adult classes). Some of the students are older than me - one or two significantly so. Even though nothing has been said I still sometimes get the feeling that some of the older people are patronising me and just 'letting me have a go at "playing" as an instructor. Although no one has ever complained about my teaching (I actually had one guy tell me he prefers my teaching to Sensei's because I don't make them do as many push ups, lol) I still get the feeling occasionally from the older students that I should give up my role as Assistant Instructor in favour of an older person, even though I'm Sensei's choice and it was his decision to ask me to become the Assistant Instructor.

lol, good one

I enjoy teaching children - it's hard work but very rewarding when the lighbulb comes on and they finally get what you've been blathering on about. However, I do think that starting children off at a very young age isn't apropriate for martial arts (but that's another issue entirely...) I think that a lot of people start with instructing kids is because they're thrust into it by their instructors - a lot of places require brown & black belt students to teach or assist with classes. Often it is a requirement for grading. Prospetive assistant instructors are usually started off with the children's (usually beginner) classes because they're the ones that tend to need the highest student-to-teacher ratio.

Gah, some people have no taste!!

Well, the human body needs a little of everything in order to be able to function properly. So, you do need some fats, but that should make up only the tiniest part of your diet. Eat plenty of fruit & veg along with lean meat and slowly digested carbs like pasta or bread (the carbs in sweets/chocolate/crisps etc etc give you a quick sugar 'high' but an equally quick blood sugar plunge.) However, you're more likely to stick with a healthy eating plan if you make lots of small changes over a gradual period of time, rather than cutting out the junk and switching to salad all in one week. Yes, you'd lose the 'love handles' but you'd feel so deprived you'd probably put it all back on again and more besides. Carry on with stuff that you've been doing, such as cutting out the crisps & chocolate and combine it with regular excercise, such as power walking, running or swimming, as well as your karate. Regular excercise alongside healthy eating will help you to shift those love handles.... Yes, dairy products can be good for you - like anything else if they're taken in moderation. Obviously, cheese, milk, yoghurt etc contain vital nutrients like calcium & vitamins, but they do also contain lots of fat. Switch to low-fat and no-fat versions of cheese & milk & other dairy products so that you still get the nutritional benefits but without the fat content. As an aside, if you take sugar in your tea or coffee then try and cut that out. Don't be tempted to replace the sugar with artificial sweetners, they can actually slow your metabolism down. You're better off trying to cut out the sweet drinks altogether. Also, drink as much water as you can - at least 8 glasses a day. Good luck with the healthy eating!