angelica d

2 cats here, Maggie and Bobby. They're absolutely gorgeous but both crazy. Bobby is addicted to yoghurt and can here a yoghurt pot being opened from the other side of the street! I used to have guinea pigs, too, Rachel, they're so sweet aren't they! All fat and cuddley and fluffy

Yeah, I guess you're right. In a perfect world students would want a belt for 'right' reasons, as opposed to merely wanting a higher rank. But, I can't help thinking that a lot of students would get disheartened if they didn't have small regular challenges. If there were just white and black belts, it would be very daunting to most people, am I right?

I just had a thought (ouch! ) - You know people say that 'in the beginning' students only had one belt, which went black through years and years of training etc etc. Well, wouldn't their gi go black as well? Don't know why but this was bugging me. IMHO the belt system is fine as it is. Students have short term goals to aim for, and as long as they are not being rushed through all the belts quickly, they have a chance to go into the techniques in more depth. At my dojo, the focus is not on reaching the next belt, the students are much more interested in learning and mastering techniques. If this was not the case, then maybe the system should be simplified. One problem I can think of with the present system is, sometimes there are so many belts that there isn't much difference in standard between, say, a yellow belt and an orange belt, except the length of time theyve been training. And if, as is the case with some dojos, the students all grade every three months without fail, then it does seem a bit pointless. But if students have trained hard over a reasonable length of time, have shown considerable improvement since the last grading, and demonstrate a positive and motivated attitude, then I see no problem in awarding them a belt to acknowledge that achievement.

AWESOME!

Exactly the same situation here! We're trying to start a 'Mat Fund' cos they're so expensive! At the moment we're using the floor, which is ok for people like me who don't get hurt easily, but for some of the others, falling over is really painful for them. It limits what we can do

I've just read the whole of this thread for the first time ... I'm kind of overwhelmed! Grr it really annoys me when people say that women don't suffer like men, regarding sensitive areas. Boobs hurt when hit! A lot! As does getting hit between the legs!

I agree, Rachel! I wouldn't want to change much, just have more classes a week, and maybe more sweeps!

What people have been telling you seems fair enough - there's just a few things that I want to add. Your Body Mass Index is a good way to figure out if you're at healthy weight. I know it soesn't take into account different body types/builds, but its quite vague anyway. I'm not certain how you work it out,something about squaring your weight and dividing it by height .... not quite sure but type BMI into google and it should come up - but if its between 19 and 25 you're doing well. Under 15 is dangerously underweight, and over 25 is overweight. Just something that I thought might interest you. Also, although I admire you for sticking to your new lifestyle, as an ex-anorexic I always get worried when people don't have a definite goal! Its all to easy to get carried away and become addicted to losing weight. Remember, everyone has a 'Point-bar weight' - a weight that is healthy for them. As long as you don't dramatically increase or decrease your food intake, you should stay around that certain weight. Just a few things to keep in mind when completely changing your habits!

CloudDragon, I love the 'favourite instructor' question, there's a real mix at our club(s) so I'm sure we'd get some 'interesting' feedback...

Chillis and bacon? Sounds good. Last week I decided to try chilli again for the first time since The Incident. And they were so so so so so so good, I want some more right now! I must say its comforting to realise that I'm not the only one who has done daft things with chillis!

Cheers! They're great questions - I don't kno about the head of the organisation one though, most of our kids would just write 'shihan' or 'the big guy with grey hair' !!! Would you mind if I borrowed some of your questions? I've done a karate wordsearch which I will exchange with your quiz if you like! It's really big and difficult - me and Ollie spent four days doing it - and I'd only written it the day before! Let me know what you think. Anyone else got any quiz questions?

Oh Rachel I can't believe you like that disgusting Lapsang Souchang tea - euww! I used to work in a tea/coffee shop and every time someone new started work, we tricked them into trying that drink just so we could see their expressions of absolute disgust!!!! As you can imagine, it was a boring job!

I make a fantastic Bailey's Irish Cream slush puppy kind of drink, its seriously addictive! Other than that, traditional lemonade, tia maria, or fresh orange juice.

Sushi, all the way! or exotic fruit salad, or honey on toast. I'm hungry again now..........

Don't do it! Its the worst pain in the world - worse than when I had an appendisectomy and they wouldn't give me painkillers! I can never look at a chilli in the same way again now!

Hi guys! I've been landed with the job of getting together a karate-themed Christmas puzzle booklet for our kids class. The idea is that we charge £1 for entries, and the winner gets a lightweight gi. Hopefully, we make a bit of money in the process for the club's 'mat fund'! Anyway, I've done a kata wordsearch, and a karate terminology wordsearch, and now I'm doing a quiz. The problem is thinking up questions that won't be too hard for the newbies, easy to research, but not dead easy either. So far, this is what I've come up with: 1/ Who is often known as the father of modern shotokan karate? (multiple choice answers by the way) 2/ How many shotokan katas are there? 3/ What are the characteristics of a good front/back/horseriding stance? 4/ At what kyu grade do candidates have to perform tekki shodan etc? Any other suggestions guys? I can't have a quiz with only four questions! Help!!!! Cheers, Angelica

Rocky Horror is AWESOME!

Hey guys, this will seem like a really really pointless thread, but I was just curious if anyone else out there is as accident-prone as me! On holiday, I was helping my fiance's mum prepare a stir-fry, cutting up some red chilli's. About half an hour later I was in the bathroom sood at the sink, and my face felt on fire. I was in tears, and had to keep my face in ice cold water - if I took it out it was agony. After about an hour of this, my skin gradually returned to normal, but I was pretty shaken-up. Apparently this is what happens when you touch chilli and then touch your face! No one ever told me that! I felt like such a fool! Is this common knowledge that seemed to pass me by, or do people generally have to find this out the hard way? Angelica

I started karate to be different to my sister! She's really really girly, is a ballet dancer, and the whole family thinks she's marvellous. So I started karate because at the time I couldn't think of anything more unlike ballet (although now of course I realise that there are actually some similarities), and I wanted to annoy my parents! Now I'm hooked, I get on with my sister now, but karate still annoys my parents. I think its just that everywhere my mum tries to hang up wet clothes, there is always a gi there already!

No no no no no no! You're ALL wrong! Meatloaf is THE answer to your music collection problems!

Oh no, seafood is the eighth wonder of the world! Mmmm, I could do with some right now......mmmmmmmmmmm..................prawns.........squid... *drool* Happy Birthday!

Its not stopped raining for 3 and a half days now, which is annoying because I don't have a car and have to cycle everywhere! It'll be nice when it's dry again, I'll be able to arrive at places without being soaked to the skin!

I don't know why - I must be in a silly mood today - but that 'cheese throwing star' one just cracks me up!

Make him puke! Thats brilliant!

Thanks for cheering me up on a very dull day!