aefibird

On a side note... can someone tell me how to pronounce Pankration? I've heared it pronounced in 2 ways: "pan-kray-shun" and "pan-krat-ee-on" Thanks!

I agree. It's irresponsible to do a trick such as that with a child. If the guy wanted to show off his nunchaku tricks he should have got an adult to hold the cup, not a child.

Hi there! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hi Ashley, welcome to Karate Forums!

Hi Jedi! Welcome to karate and welcome to Karate Forums!!

Hi kc! Welcome to the forums.

Hi there Tony! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hi GoGoGo! Welcome to KF.

Hi Rhino! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hey, you just described my dojo!

Glad to hear you are enjoying it!

Are there unusual sayings or phrases local to where you live? Here's one from the Barnsley area of England: Being like "a frog in a sock". Usually used in the context of sport or physical activity, it means that you are performing substandard or not as good as you usually are. i.e. if I was playing pool and was playing like a frog in a sock I'd be playing very very badly...

Thanks in advance!

Welcome back Cheeky! Take that 'big step'... and GO BACK TO KARATE!

Ok, I'll have a cuppa tea waiting for you in 2007! S.O.T.D. is one mega funny movie. I agree with bat - GO AND SEE IT! I like Kung Pow too. Very funny send-up of martial arts,martial artists and martial arts movies. Another film in that same vein is Tongan Ninja. A must-see if anyone is into spoof movies.

Glad to hear that you're OK, Red!

TELL me about it... I'm an utter klutz and used to drop the Sai all the time when I first started with them.

Yes, Hero is certainly a great movie.

Please remember that there are good and bad TKD schools, just as there are good and bad schools/instructors in all martial arts.

This week's latest injury... A chipped ankle bone, thanks to my instructor and his deadly sweep techniques. Ouch! Because of another demonstration on "guinea-pig me", by Sensei, I've also got bruised black-and-blue legs, because of kicks to the thighs and knees. Bah, why did I choose martial arts instead of something safer, such as, oooh, lion taming for example??

I've had that happen to me a couple of times. Very very unpleasent experience!

Lots of practice!! If you stretch every day then your kicks will be able to become higher. Regular stretching and regular kicking practice are the only real ways to be able to kick high properly. Sorry, but there's no 'magic way'. (lol, I wish there was, I'm naturally VERY inflexible and have found being able to reach high enough to kick someone in the head a long hard slog).

Firstly, welcome to Karate Forums! Well, you need to decide whether you'd prefer a style that is grappling based or one that concentrates more on grappling. If you're looking for a 'spiritual' or 'internal' based martial art, then I'd suggest Aikido or Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan). Although these arts take a long time to master, they are both fulfiling and rewarding, as well as being challengingand somnething that can be trained in throughout life. However, if you choose Tai Chi Chuan, I'd suggest that you find a teacher who understands the martial applications of the movements, not a teacher who teaches Tai Chi simply for health benefits (or a teacher that attended a weekend course to 'become a Tai Chi instructor'). The best thing for you to do would probably to have a look round and see what styles of martial art are available in your area, then report back and people here can provide you with info about each style, if you need it. Trying out a few classes in each of the martial arts available to you would also be a good idea. That way you'll get a 'feel' for each art and be able to decide if it might be for you or not. Good luck in your search!

LOL, you wanna come and train in my karate club. Our Sensei looks EXACTLY like Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse. Back on topic... I have lots of favourite movies. Like others have said, it depends on my mood at the time. Here's a few of my faves: Cartoon/Kids: Shrek and Shrek 2 Drama: Richard III Romance or Romantic Comedy: Bridget Jones' Diary Action: Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2. I also love Dogma Comedy: Ali G Indahouse Some others I like are The Shawshank Redemption, Scent of a Woman, the Scream trilogy, Memento and anything with Monty Python in it.

Tyr and find a GOOD martial arts school and stick with it. Learning techniques correctly is more important than rank - it's also more important than the actual style that you are learning. There's no point in learning style "X" just because you think it is a good system if you have a bad instructor - you'd be better off switching to another style and learning from a competent instructor. Keep on practicing at home - it's good to be entheusiastic about MA, and students that train at home as well as in class tend to do better in their training than those that just attend classes. Good luck!