aefibird

My physio has given me the following knee excerices to help strengthen the muscles supporting my knee joint. 1. Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Push your foot into the floor and try and pull it back towards you at the same time - as if you have something stuck to the bottom of your foot and it is hard to pull towards you. 2. Lie flat on your front and bring one leg up behind you. Grasp your ankle of that leg with your hand and try and pull your leg towards you. Your thigh shouldn't leave the floor. 3. Sit on the edge of a bed or couch and hold your 'bad' leg (the one you want to work) out in front of you. Bring the other leg up to your chest, knee bent. Lean back onto the bed (your back shouldn't actually touch the bed or couch, you hover above it) and hold for a count of 5. 4. Again, sitting on the edge of a bed or chair, hold your leg out in front of you. It should be straight and your heel should be slightly off the floor. Tuck your chin into your chest and with a straight back lean forwards until you feel the stretch in your leg. Your back should be straight throughout the stretch. I've got other excercises that my physio has given me, but those are the easiest to explain. PM me if you want any more info.

Milk is good - the health benefits it can give you are excellent. Drink semi-skimmed or skimmed milk if you're worried about the fat content. Some companies in the UK sell fortified milk, which has extra added vitamins and minerals. Women, especially, should make sure that they're getting enough dairy products to help stave off the risk of osteoporosis in later life (which is a horrible thing to have - my mum has it, along with osteoathritis).

There's a thread going on about peoples favourite movies; what do you think are the worst ones? I watched a contender for "worst movie in the world award" last night. It's 'starring' Jean Claude Van Damme and is called No Retreat No Surrender. So bad that its like a spoof. I also thought that Waterworld with Kevin Cost-more in it was utter utter rubbish. Actually, I think that most of KC's films are crud, including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which is only saved by the great acting of Alan Rickman. Hard Rain is also another bad movie.

That sounds interesting Erin. I'll have to look out for that book. I've just spent soooooo much money today in Waterstones (UK book shop). Got the latest by Alexander McCall Smith (his series of books about the Number One Ladies Detective Agency is awesome), as well as a few others, including one by Mick Foley of all people. He's a former WWE wrestler, for those of you who don't know of him. It's called Tietam Brown - anyone read it?

PLEASE don't mention the Ashes. Yes, we know that Australia are good at cricket (and every other sport ever invented) - you don't have to keep rubbing it in!! Let England win, just once? Please??

I've always wanted to go into space so it'd be the moon for me. I'll have the million dollars as well, though. I'd open a McDojo with the proceeds...

Nope, sorry, Vegas is a little far away from England. I'm hoping to go there for the FSKA world championships, though!

I disagree with any form of regulation or martial arts governing body, on the grounds that when politics and government are involved then it usually a bad thing and causes more harm than good. Yes, it's be nice to have a common standard of 'black belt', but a governing body wouldn't weed out McDojo blackbelts, but only create them by lowering the standards so that more people could become dodgy black belts. Plus, as CloudDragon said, regulation usually leads to litigation. I bet that there's someone somewhere who has been sued for not promoting little Johnny to blackbelt. It was probably claimed that it was 'discriminatory' against the poor little mite to fail him, too... Hmm, maybe DM's idea of 'kick dorr' would be a good thing after all?

Castle of Otranto = Great book. One of my degree course specialisms is Gothic Literature. If you're into the gothic, then I'd recommend that you try and get hold of anything by Eliza Parsons. It can be a bit tricky getting her works, but if you can then they're an excellent read.

Dunno if it's the same in the US, but over here in the UK, the Ninja Turtles and mullets are back in fashion... aaaaaagh!!! Ninja Turtles are having re-runs, so all the kiddies are clamouring for the toys again. Teenage lads (of questionable taste) are having a mini revial of the mullet. I have a friend who's younger brother has a black, purple & blond mullet. The scary thing is that he thinks he looks really cool. The even scarier thing is that all his forends at school agree with him!! The 1980's - the decade that taste forgot. Now, it's back from the dead and haunting us again. There'll be a Karate Kid revival soon, just you wait and see...

Sounds good. I bet that's interesting to do, especially to create one set for a particular situation, and then use if to work against another.

lol, there were a gang of us at school who all had a crush on D.D. I cringe to think of it now! The X- Files was a cool program, though. One of the highlights of British TV when I was a teen. That and Red Dwarf... but I never fancied anyone from Red Dwarf!

Well, to be honest, if the reaction that you're getting is from other new students then ignore it. However, if it is from higher grade students or Sempai's then that's more of a problem. If in doubt about anything then have a chat with your instructor. He/She will be the best person to advise you.

Thanks. There are different titles relating to instructors in Karate too, such as Sensei and Shihan. The different titles refer to what Dan grade the person holds.

Squawman, I know what you mean. I call it the 'Shihan Syndrome', seen as a lot of (Western) high Dan grade karate guys look like they eat nothing but burgers and fries all day long. My own Chief Instructor is a case in point - huge gut on him. However, do not underestimate the power of the fatties - my Chief Instructor has got a kick as powerful as a cart-horse and punches to match.

Rotten, could you tell me a bit about Choy-Li-Fut, please? It's an art I know very little about. Thanks!

Ah, but which came first?

Personally, I think that humans have been beating one another up since the dawn of time; it's only recently that it's all been written down. We just seem to be a species that enjoys giving one another an a$$-whuppin'. Still, the origins of martial arts gives people on forums something to talk about!

Hey, that P.O.D. CD is a good one. I went to see them in concert once, with Ill Nino supporting. Absolutely mental! A mass fight broke out during the Ill Nino set and P.O.D. were delayed getting onto stage.

Me too, although I do love film. My love of reading was one of the main reasons I chose to do an English Studies and Performing Arts degree. Battousai - I don't like Death of a Salesman either, but that's because it was drilled into us at school, when I was taking my GCSE's (the exams that 16 year olds in the UK take). I initially quite enjoyed the play when I first read it, but the teachers turned me off it, which is a pity, as English teachers should be encouraging their students to love literature. One of my English lit teachers is the main reason why I can't stand reading war poetry any more. It was done to death and I found it so boring after a while. However, I have to say that one of the worst books I've ever read is Last of the Mohicans. I had to read it for a university course and I couldn't get into it at all. In the end I took it with me on a 10 hour flight, as I knew that I'd read it 'cos I had nothing else to read. That was the worst flight of my entire life!

lol, I always think it's amusing how a person asks for recommendations of suitable styles and gets a list as long as their arm... I know that there's many different martial arts, and that people will always tend to recomend their own style (plus a few more besides!), but it always amuses me how when a person on KF asks for advice about what style to do, they always end up with a 'shopping list' of about 10-15 or even more different styles to try.

Sounds great. So... when is it your turn??

Yes, Dan = karate blackbelt level. Shodan Ho is a grading used in some styles and associations as like an intermediary grade between 1st Kyu and 1st Dan. Just as there are specific names for each dan grade level (Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yondan, Godan, Rokudan etc etc) there are also specific names for kyu grades, although these tend to be less commonly used. For example hachikyu is 8th kyu grade, which in my association is red belt. Dean, are the grade names that you mentioned specific to Kuk Sool Won, or are they common thoughout all Korean martial arts? I've heard of 1st degree Korean stylist blackbelts being referred to as Chodan - is this mainly a TKD term, or is it interchangable with Jo Kyo Nim? Thanks.

True!