aefibird

I tend to have the opposite problem - the floor of my dojo is very slippery. These days I use sports tape round my feet, which helps with the slipping. It stops me from sticking to the floor too. Sports tape is usually white and is often used by rugby players. I've also known it called zinc-oxide tape, but the stuff I've got seems different to the zinc-oxide tape that you buy from a chemists. Talcum powder is also a good thing to use too.

rivergirl, good luck for your tourney on Saturday! Hope your ribs heal up soon. I've trained before with injuries and it isn't really a good thing to do. Better to rest and fully recouperate (sp?) than to risk doing yourself further damage. Now, if I could only learn to follow my own advice...

lol, good one Patrick!

My karate dojo wears plain white gi. I think that plain white, black or blue gi look the best, but that's just my own personal preferance. I know of one local karate instructor who allows his students to wear whatever colour gi they want because he doesn't care. He says that if wearing a yellow gi keeps them happy then that's OK. He's more bothered about the quality of his students training than what they wear. I can see his point but I'd feel like I needed to wear shades if I trained in a dojo like that!

Does anyone have a link or some pics of how to correctly/traditionally fold a hakama? Thanks!

I'd say get a makiwara.

Some people don't ever get used to them. That's why some MAists don't wear them. Buying a flavoured mouthguard (you can get them in mint and fruit flavours now) may help you. I'd suggest that you try it out at home first, not at the dojo. practice wearing it for a short while every day until you get used to it. Personally, I hate them but I'd hate losing/ damaging my teeth even more. The way I see it is that I don't wear the mouthguard for very long periods at a time, so it's better to be uncomfortable for a short while that to be uncomfortable for a long while if I got a tooth damaged.

Yes, it does look a bit "Star Trek-y"...

Good luck with the nunchaku form! Glad you've come to a decision of what to do.

I'd really recommend going back to the guidance consellor or another school staff member and get them to listen to you about "C". Keep 'bugging' them if you have to - explain to them what she is like and tell them (repeatedly) about her suicide threats. If you tell enough staff members about her then maybe the penny will finally drop somewhere and they will be able to help her. Also, you say she is involved with church? Maybe you could contact her minister/priest/church leader and explain the situation to them. If she is genuinely suicidal then they may be able to help her too. Good luck with this difficult situation.

Oh, and I also like my birthday (which is coming up soon!). Plus, this year is the first year for aaaages when I've not had a college/university exam or test on my birthday, so that's a bonus.

Great advice Kicks! Also, have fun and enjoy yourself! You'll only be young and going to prom once so make the most of it. Relax and just enjoy it.

Congrats Cmon! Well done you!

Hi there! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hi Andrew! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hi Jordan! Welcome to Karate Forums.

I was into horseriding a lot when I was younger (I still ride). I also played grass hockey when I was at school and swam a lot too (still do swim). As well as MA I like to ride, swim, walk/hike and play squash. I sometimes play golf too, but only really thr driving range, not the actual full course.

That sounds like my Sensei. He did a lot of traditional conditioning training when he was younger (rope makiwara, sand pounding, forearm banging, kicking tree trunks and the like) but he now has arthritis in his hands and wrists. He's also starting with it in his feet.

My Sensei doesn't really mind, as long the stripes stay on and the belt stays tied during training...

On average (I know that everyone is different, but still...) how long does it take to progress between belts in BJJ? Also, is competition fighting a requirement for belt progression?

Maybe 'Rikidokan' is simply the name of the club rather than the name of the style?

Well, go for the free lesson and see what you think. They may want you to try out and see what you think of the place before they tell you prices and the like. They may think that their price structure would put off potential students unless they had a free lesson first to see the quality of the school. Anyway, you've nothing to lose by going along to the free lesson - make sure you ask plenty of questions about price and contracts and the like before you join/sign up. Good luck with it!

Taiji is great - I'm sure that with all your previous MA experience that you will take to it like a 'duck to water'! Good luck with the Taiji training and good luck for a speedy recovery too!

Congratulations!

My English name (Rachael) becomes Lakaeli.