angelica d

I'll revive this thread as I also have good news: I quit my job! Yay, no more telecales for me! Woohoo! Awesome! As you can see I'm very very very pleased, as this job had turned me into a complete stress-head, and now I'm free again! I'm also skint again, but I'll save that for the complaining thread

18. Talking about IDs, I've been going into a certain pub in York since the age of about 15, and always told the bouncers that I was 21! I can't imagine why the believed me, especially when I got my fake date of birth muddled up on several occasions! But last January, I had my 18th birthday party in this pub, and of course there were balloons and badges with 18 today! written all over them. At the bar they were kind of confused - 'I though you were already 21!' but of course they couldn't refuse me then!

18. Talking about IDs, I've been going into a certain pub in York since the age of about 15, and always told the bouncers that I was 21! I can't imagine why the believed me, especially when I got my fake date of birth muddled up on several occasions! But last January, I had my 18th birthday party in this pub, and of course there were balloons and badges with 18 today! written all over them. At the bar they were kind of confused - 'I though you were already 21!' but of course they couldn't refuse me then!

Here in lovely East Yorkshire its raining again... the road into town is flooded. I tried to go for a run yeasterday but it was more of a 'wade' - my trainers are still recovering in the airing cupboard! Come on, Sun - where are you!!!

I'll be watching the MAs, the swimming events, the sailing (we're gonna win that at least! ) and some of the athletics as well. I've always wanted to go and see the olympics for real though - better they're having nicer weather in Athens than we are here at th mo...

Number of press ups you can do reflects little about your overall fitness - it shows that you have practised doing press ups. I can't do many press ups, but I run 4 miles every morning, and work out for at least an hour every evening. And at my sailing club when one of the yachts trailers broke, I managed to lift the boat when a strong looking man couldn't! Still, aside from press ups, I understand what you mean about many students not being very fit. Personally, I think that as you progress in karate, fitness becomes more important than when you are a beginner. However, the most important thing is technique, and I've seen loads of people who aren't in great shape, but who perform brilliant techniques.

For me, the safest way of doing that (ie, not over exerting the leg muscles) is not to rush. After every time you exercise, go down as far as you can, but don't force your legs, and just stay there for a minute or two. After a while of doing this, you'll progress to being able to do the full side splits.

Hi guys, I've been on holiday and so there's a lot to catch up wihth here! I've been reading this thread with interest, and quite a lot of good points have been made. But I'll add my own point of view: It has been assumed here makeup = attractive, or at least trying to be! I wear makeup to work, because it fits in with my image there, and I like to look neat and well-presented. But I do not feel particularly attractive. I feel at my most attractive/sexy when I've been for a five-mile run/do a 2hr intensive karate workout. Yeah, I'm red in the face, sweat dripping all over me, aching, but I feel really really good! I love that feeling, and to be honest I think the men (at least one in particular anyway)love it too! (Although I don't do it for their benefit). So, I guess my point is, I understand that you want to look groomed and attractive - that's only natural - but different situations require different looks. Although I wouldn't act any differently towards a student wearing makeup, I do think that it looks a bit odd in an exercise environment. I find that it looks better when people forget about having a perfect complexion, and focus on perfecting their karate instead.

I'm currently reading 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison (Though its based on a true story), and I've just finished reading 'Restoration' by Rose Tremain. Both books are awesome!

Yeah, thanks! It going better now, although I'm getting more teaching practice at my home dojo (the probs were mostly at the bigger 'sister' dojo, about 1hrs drive away). I'm usually teaching the total beginners, which is quite nice in a way, but quite hard to keep them interested when they can only do the bog basics. So I let them kick the kick pad for variation - they love it! Anyway, I feel bad for going off topic now! Thanks for asking aefibird

You guys who have more than three classes per week are sooooo lucky! I have four classes, but usually I teach the kids in one class. Hopefully in the future there'll be more classes for us, in the meantime I'll just have to wait...

I admit that it is better to eat larger meals earlier on in the day, because that way you'l have optimum energy at the time when you need it, rather than having loads of energy at night when you're asleep anyway. But from a weight loss point of view, hypothetically, if two people ate exactly the same foods, only at different times, it wouldn't affect their weight loss. All these stupid diets that tell you to avoid eating after a certain time in the evening because 'you won't burn it off' are rubbish. You still need energy for sleeping!

For the record, the time of day when you eat your meals makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. People have already said, its the total daily calorie intake that counts.

I'm always catching my fingers when sparring, its always my own fault though. Nothing MA-related this week though...yet. This is a bit irrelevant, but the other day my fiance's dog walked over my face when I was lying on the sofa, and I got a big scratch down my cheek like a bad guy in a Bond film!!!

Mine changes all the time, at the moment its generally EEEYAH! or a very short OO! (Like a gorilla sound! ) but sometimes its HEY! or SO!

Well, the machine that I use can measure how many metres you're rowing, so I try to do 3000 metres in under 15mins on full resistance. When I started I just tried out different things, but I find that measuring distance is quite motivating.

I agree with DLopez - if you stand in horseriding stance whilst working on your punches/strikes/blocks then you won't concentrate on the pain (as much), and gradually you will get used to it. On the other hand, you could try the really painful way of getting used to it, a way that my instructor made us all do on tuesday. We had to stand in horseriding stance whilst another person sat on our shoulders, for 30 secs at a time with ten second break in between. It carried on for what seemed like ages, but after it was over, just doing the stance on my own seemed like bliss! (OK maybe bliss is an exaggeration!)

I always use the rowing machine in the gym, and if you put some effort in it, it really improves your stamina/cardio performance more than anything alse. Although I'm sure it works the muscles in your chest and shoulders - I'm no expert, but they're the parts on me that generally hurt after a session!

There are loads of different ways to do the splitz, maybe your sensei was suggesting a way to stretch/warm up certain muscles? Anyway, its technically a gymnastic move so you're better off asking a gymnast.

Monty Python (Life of Brian / Holy Grail) - I am a huge MP fan! Shanghai Noon/Knights - Jackie Chan is brilliant Rush Hour Kill Bill Last Samurai Entrapment Austin Powers - why has no one mentionned this already?! The Thomas Crown Affair The Talented Mr Ripley - v creepy Shrek - What can I say? Truly the best film in the universe

That is so harsh on yourself! Are you really saying that you are no better at MA now than when you walked through the door into your dojo for your first ever lesson? No matter how awful you think you are, if you've been doing MA for four years you will surely have improved.

That reminds me of a quote I read somewhere - 'The more you study, the more you realise you don't know, and the more you'll be able to forget. So don't study!' I liked that a lot back in the days when it applied to schoolwork, but its different with MAs when you actually do want to learn. Its funny when I teach beginners though. Afterwards I ask them what they think, and they reply 'Its not that hard, I think I've nearly got it'. Hahahahaha if only they knew!!

Yeah, when I write it all down its funny, but believe me its no laughing matter when you've just done a grading and you're standing in their kitchen afterwards with five of the most important people in the organisation!

Technically, if 4th dan = 4, then I must be around 0.2 Yep, thats about right! I'd probably rate my kata at around 2.5, but my kicks would score in the minus numbers and drag the average down considerably.

I'm the first person in my family ever to do a MA, but my fiance's family is a different story. He's a 2nd dan, his mum's a 4th dan, his dad's a 5th dan, I think their grandfatehr did some kind of MA, and their two good friends are a 5th dan and a 7th dan (the chief instructor). So its very intimidating for me sometimes when they're all there, and I'm the only one who isn't a blackbelt. I usually excuse myself and take the dog for a walk!