Rich67

That's probably all it is. Keep us posted.

There's a little piece of tissue in the knee socket called the meniscus. It's normally smooth and well-lubricated, but as you age or put more stress on your knees, it loses its lubrication and also may tear. The only way to check out how it is doing is thru ortho surgery, or an MRI. I say, as long as your knee isn't "giving out", don't worry too much. Just do more quadricep exercises. I hear that weak quads make knees more susceptible to injury. Also try taking glucosamine supplements. Mild knee pain is common as you age, but that just means it's getting weaker and can't handle the stress you are putting on it. If you're a runner, try taking some time off and see if it improves. If not, just try the quad exercises (leg extensions, lunges, squats) and build them up.

Best ANAEROBIC exercise: Squats, followed closely by deadlifts. Best AEROBIC exercise: cycling, followed closely by and sport you love doing...in my case, deck hockey... gives you 60 minutes of constant running, twisting, all-out effort. I don't include running in there only because I find it quite boring. I think the best type of aerobic exercise is one you love to do; so much so you are willing to do it 4-5 times a week, and it never becomes monotonous.

Overuse injuries aren't uncommon for us older folk ... how old r u? I have a nagging shoulder pain that gets worse the more I bench press. I end up having to do other chest exercises just to let the pain dissapate. It's caused by (from what I've been told) calcium deposits in the shoulder socket. It hurts only when I lift my arm above my head. I'm fine when I flat bench, but it bothers me when I incline it. The deposits can be removed by surgery, and I hear the pain can be alleved through cortisol shots, but I don't want either. I guess I'll just live with it and hope it doesn't get worse. After years of repetitive movement, peices of tissue and other contaminants break free from inside the shoulder joint, causing them also to rub uncomfortably in there. If you hear a "popping" sound, chances are it's the calcium. That's what I get for lifting too heavy when I was younger.

Gymnasts practice a lot on flexibility (stretching) and bending and twisting movements. I'd have to say that about 70% of their training focuses on the flexibility aspect. The remainder depends on what your forte in gymnastics is. Most of them concentrate on body weight only stuff in their routines. The most demanding would have to be the rings or the horse. Both require tremendous upper body strength. Look at their builds, though. They have low bodyfat and excellent shoulder back muscles. I guess I don't really understand the question you are posing with your original post. I think you really should look at a gymnast web site to get better points on their routines.

Branch, is it an injury you received due to training? Or is it just a nagging thing you've had for a while?

Actually, that's not really true. Creatine is very useful for "short burst and prolonged" physical exertion. A football player, for instance, can greatly benefit from it since it increases muscular endurance over a period of time. You'll look a little bigger, yes, but not so big that you will lose flexibility. A big misconception people have is that working out with weights will automatically make you inflexible. Although it's true most weightlifters have lost a lot of range of motion. But, if you stretch sufficiently before and after each lifting session, you will maintain flexibility. Look at guys like Van Damme. He's a pretty good sized guy, but he's flexible as all heck. Oh yeah, Creatine DOES increase overall strength. Trust me, it does. I improved my bench from a one rep max of 245 to 295 within 2 months while using it. And even though I stopped taking it after that, I maintained my strength and new-found size.

Oh yeah...fat burners.. I have to disagree with supplements on that subject. I've used most of the stuff on the market: Xenadrine, Ripped Fuel, Dymetradrine 25, Stackers, blah blah blah. They don't work. The best fat burner is aerobic work. 30-40 minutes, 3-5 times a week. In our day and age, people think taking a pill for everything is a cure all. Don't get lured into that mentality. I used to be 5'11" and 215 pounds. Fat. 21% bodyfat. I am now 185. 10% bodyfat. No pills, no tricks. Just hard work and aerobics. It works. Multivitamins, however, are a must.

Creatine is great stuff. It helps you recover faster after workouts, and helps your ability to sustain muscular workload over a given period in time. Basically, it HYDRATES the muscle by forcing water into the muscle cells. This gives them the appearance of being fuller. When you stop taking it, the muscle does lose some of it's size. But, by enhancing your workout, it can help you gain ACTUAL size. I have to agree with Wolverine on his supplement choices. Although Creatine is good, it's not the best stuff you can get. The best is a good, high quality WHEY PROTEIN. Met Rx is one of the better ones, as is Designer Whey (both available at GNC or Vitamin Barn). Protein powders are long-term muscle builders. Creatine can actually make you fatter unless you are careful using it. Why? Well, most people mix creatine powder with fruit juice to enhance it's uptake. Fruit juice is pure sugar, and when you LOAD on creatine, you're drinking at least 5 glasses of juice a day to take your "C". Thats 600-700 calories of pure sugar in addition to your regular diet. If you don't account for that, your new found "muscle" will be around your waistline! I like creatine when I am in a bulking phase, but I never use it to cut up. I always gain too much weight on it. Plus, I also have some serious gas when I get on it. It tears up my stomach. I'll use it to hit new one rep maxes in the bench, or when I want to up my weight quick in the squats. But I found that whey protein keeps me lean, keeps my muscle on, and helps me stay strong all year 'round.

Those guys do a lot of practice. Day in, day out, repetitive moves, bodyweight only for the most part. You have to put this into perspective though. If you are a martial artist, you can't train like a gymnast or a break dancer...it's pointless (from a martial art perspective) to try to assume their training program. You have to train like a fighter. Or, if you are primarily into katas, train that way. That means, a lot of heavy bag work, abdominal work, cardio, some weight training, and all-around conditioning. Boxing or kick boxing cardio plans are good. Watch Rocky. You may laugh, but a lot of the exercises portrayed there greatly assist the martial artist. If you want good functional strength, combine your dojo training with some good old fashioned weightlifting and some boxing programs. That should make you well rounded and strong, functionally. Gymnasts may be strong and nimble, but they don't have the functional strength to maybe throw a powerful punch (they don't train for that) or apply a good naked choke. They'll kick your butt on the parallel bars, but when was the last time you sparred on them??

Thanks guys, good info!

I sometimes work out when I know I shouldn't, and last week was one such event. I felt ill, but yet I still trained hard and pushed myself through a workout. The next day, I came down with a nasty sinus infection, and have been out of the loop for 4 days now. What's a rule of thumb for working out when sick? Can you work out when you have a common cold? How about a stomach virus (mild, of course)? Or if you feel a little ill, just forget it and take the day off? I hate missing workouts, but when I train when I'm a little weak, I miss a heck of a lot more when I get sicker! How do you guys deal with this?

Very true. As far as your joints are concerned, JJ poses the same threat as any form of martial art. The only thing about JJ, is make sure you have good training partners and you know when to tap. Failing to tap when you think you are in a bad position leads to a lot of joint injuries. Make sure your partners aren't so gung ho they don't pay attention to your tap or they are newbies who practice full force with no idea the damage they can cause. But a tall person (I'm 6') can still be quite effective in JJ.

Beka, I am sorry to hear about your incident. It's tough to tell a guy to put himself in a woman's shoes for a question like this. But,to put it simply, here goes my opinion: 1) If the bad guy simply wants a wallet or other wordly posession, and he is unarmed, and you are confident in your ability, then fight it out. But be the aggressor, and hurt him bad before he realizes you are going to put up a fight. 2) same scenario, but attacker is armed, give up your stuff. If he attacks you even after you give up what he wants, then you have to be prepared to kill or seriously injure him. 3) Attacker is unarmed and wants to commit rape. Fight. 4) Attacker is armed and wants to commit rape. Fight. You have to assume that a rapist also has intent on killing you after the crime. He may choke you to death, even if "unarmed". You must never submit when the possibility exists that you may possibly be killed in the comission of the crime. All situations are different. You may not see a weapon initially, but one may present itself later. Always attack violently and with conviction. A weak attack lets your opponent regroup and come back with more force. Overwhelm him and seriously injure him the first time, and don't allow him to get up and get the best of you. Women must gouge eyes, strike the groin violently, and use whatever weapon they have at their disposal... nail files, keys, etc. Some women may not have the potential to fight back effectively. Especially if they are "afraid" to seriously injure or even kill someone. You must work on your mentality to gear up for a possible attack of this nature.

The only way you will lose fat is to produce a calorie-deficit by burning off more calories than you consume each day. Aerobic work is vital. As far as meals go, you have to figure out what your BMR is (the amount of calories you need each day to maintain normal dailiy activity) then estimate how many calories you will burn on your workout program. In all honesty, you will also lose muscle mass during a fat-burning program, though the amount is small. As long as you eat a good amount of protein (1 gram for each kg of body weight) you will help this out. Eat your caliorie-laden meals in the morning, then taper off at night and consume protein-rich foods in the evening. I eat six meals a day. This is what my program looks like when I am trying to cut up: I am 5'11", 185 #s, and am athletically muscular (not a bodybuilder shape) Day 1: Aerobic work for 40 minutes Day 2: Weights, total body workout for 45 minutes Day 3: rest Day 4: Aerobic work for 45 minutes Day 5: weights, total body workout for 45 minutes Day 6: rest Day 7: rest again, if I feel wiped out. Or, heavy bag work for 30-40 minutes. My meals: Breakfast: Cereal (good stuff, not sugared) with non-fat milk and Yogurt. Mid AM snack: Protein or energy bar. Lunch: Chicken breast sandwich with whole wheat bread, no mayo, only mustard, a small salad with italian dressing (light), and a glass of milk. Mid PM snack: Usually my post-workout protein shake with a banana. Dinner: Anything, as long as it consists of a lean meat, some veggies, and milk again. I also drink about 12 glasses of water all day. On the weekends, I eat pretty much whatever I want, as long as I don't go over my caloric requirement too much. I even have 2 slices of pizza, but I'll eat less during the rest of the day. Never scrimp on the protein though. So I consume about 120 grams of protein a day. I don't need to lose weight, my program is a maintenance program.

As far as I can tell from that link, this UFT professes itself to be a true Vale Tudo tournament with no rules. Headbutting and other forms of attack seem to be allowed and encouraged. It would be interesting to view a bout. Talk about making it everything like a "real" fight. Eye gouging??? I mean, I like to fight, but I don't think I'd deliberately put myself in a position where someone would take away my eyesight. I'd need a lot more pesos than that to afford an eyeball transplant !

You have a good point, but I think that the surface area of a larger knuckle compared to a smaller knuckle is such a miniscule amount, it's immeasurable. You're comparing a elephant to a woman in stilettos. I agree with you there. But if the matter of knuckle size is only a fraction of an inch, you won't notice much of a significant difference. Either way, the real issue about punching damage relates to the execution of the punch. Boxers can cause more damage to cranial bones since they are well trained in the execution and placement of punches. Not to say martial artists aren't but some of them aren't trained in full face contact techniques. A lot of them also don't do any heavy bag work. This is evident when I train with some of them and hold the handheld bags for them. They punch like weak girls! I believe that anyone, even a guy with small knuckles and hands, can do some devastating damage to someone providing he learns proper punch execution, proper contact with the knuckles, and proper puch placement (nose, lower jaw, temple, etc). I have also seen big guys with big hands punch weakly. It works both ways. I think a guy with larger hands and a guy with smaller hands can both be equally matched as far as punch effectiveness is concerned, providing they both follow the same training regimen.

Holy schnikies!! I leave for a day and this post has EXPLODED!! Sorry guys...never meant to cause such a rift between everyone. Let's be totally honest and just summarize everything. First off, someone mentioned that BJJ doesn't address stand up grappling. That is untrue. Although it isn't stressed nearly as much as ground work, there is a considerable amount of stand up technique that is taught. Secondly, it is impossible to say for sure one style is better than the other, ad nauseum. You can be taking the deadliest form of martial art known to man, but if YOU SUCK AT IT, you'll get your butt kicked every time. I also see a lot of people knock other styles without much knowledge in that particular style. Please, if you don't know about it, don't post a sour opinion of it. I plan on well-rounding myself by taking as many styles as I can and applying the techniques I learn into things that will work for me in my life. I guess I am the consummate MMArtist. I enjoy learning new things and discovering for myself. I enjoyed TSD, and loved KF San Soo, and now I'm starting to touch on BJJ. I hope to apply all that I've learned well, and hope that I can be the best I can be.

Unless you wore it 24/7, I honestly don't think you'd stunt your growth. On a lighter note, why not just eat 3 large double cheeseburgers every 3-4 hours? the extra fat you gain would be just like wearing that vest...

This is going on a lot more than people think. A lot of TSD studios feel that in order to be profitable, they must appease the students and parents by simply awarding belt advancements just by showing up or rudimentary skills. After all, happy students keep coming back, right? Reward 'em and they keep paying each month, and so do the parents. The sad thing is, the serious studiers of the style lose out on the discipline and real effort it takes to achieve rank. And you're right; your green belt at one studio may not be equal to a green belt at another studio. If you're unhappy, look elsewhere. It sounds almost like you're training in a "belt factory", where they simply churn out as many people each testing cycle as they can in order to "keep everyone happy". Look for a dojo that is a little less mainstream- one that doesn't do much advertising and may be in a little hole in the wall somewhere. The larger, fancier studios are usually geared toward younger clientele and they want to reach deep in the pockets of the yuppie parents driving the kids to class in the Escalade.

Is that determined on how you apply the technique? Like rotating your hips into a punch, using the body behind moves, etc.?

Everyone is right on with this one. Don't worry about looking like the FLEX guys or WWE/WWF guys... they are, for the most part, chemically assisted. The human body evolved to protect man from starvation. This is why when you deplete your caloric intake, your body will catabolize muscle tissue to feed the body before it uses stored fat reserves. Man was not meant, in the whole time of our existence, to maintain enormous muscle size. It's simply not something your body can maintain naturally. Then came steroids. Now man can keep his muscle by chemically forcing the body to use fat stores and carb intake. Look at the nutritional programs of bodybuilders. 6,000 to 7,000 calories A DAY???? Even working out 2-3 hours a day, that kind of diet will make you or I look like Rosie O' Donnell. But the bodybuilders (drug assisted ones) need that fuel to feed the muscles they have, otherwise the body will go into starvation mode. Don't fear, lifting weights and eating right will not make you a behemoth. It will, make you look lean and strong, and improve your performance in any kind of sport or MA. But stick a needle in your butt, and you'll look more like a freak show than a healthy human being.

Thuggish: there's no dispute heavy weights make you big. But you can't tell a beginning weightlifter to simply go to the gym and curl heavy weight and have him expect to get big bi's. It doesn't work like that. He has to balance the heavy bi work with heavy tri, bench, and squat movements to ultimately gain size, otherwise he's like the rest of the disillusioned people in the gym thinking they can "Spot train" body parts. His main point was the PAIN he is experiencing after lifting those heavy weights. My suggestion was to not go so heavy, since I believe the pain is a result of going too heavy too fast. After lifting for 2-3 years and conditioning all your connective tissues, it is safe to go heavy with proper form. But a beginner is asking for trouble in the injury department if he tries to slam up too much weight right off the bat.

I'm pretty new to this stuff. It seemed like a good technique. Probably since I don't have much experience, I didn't know how to properly counter the moves/ be in a good position. Honestly though, if I were to use those techniques against a non-grappler...they might work well. Experienced grapplers...forget it, I guess. Thanks for the input guys. I have a long way to go before I can recognize the opportunities during a grappling match.

The other day, I had the opportunity to attend a grappling seminar put on by the USMC (before I get bombarded, it's not available to the general public ). We did some take downs, judo like throws, and finally some grappling on the ground. I picked up alot of techniques that I was never aware of, and some I'm not even sure are taught in BJJ or Japanese JJ schools, so I thought I'd mention a couple and see if any of the practitioners of those arts recognize them: 1) From the open guard, your opponent is above you: you reach up quickly, place one hand on his chin, the other on the back of his head and twist, thereby twisting him off you (grab their head and the body will follow) and you push/pull with your hands.This move worked real well, I was impressed how effective it was. 2) From inside the guard, you can punch the opponent in the groin actually very easily. Now, I know this move is not allowed in dojos or MMA's, but I wonder if it's taught in dojos as a precursor to an actual streetfight? You do leave yourself wide open to that kind of attack if youre on the bottom. The guy your fighting with will look for stuff like that.Or, you can look for that to end the fight quick if you end up on top. I sparred with one of the DT instructors there. My knowledge of BJJ is extremely limited, but I know a few techniques. I was able to fend him off for quite a while in from the closed guard, kept him from passing the guard well, and tried to put him in a kimura. He managed to wriggle out of it, then jabbed his thumb behind my ear in a pressure point (a good move to distract BTW), and then managed to lock up my arm. He was impressed I lasted as long as I did, and I was pretty happy with myself.