Rich67

ACL injury and the post-surgery recovery. No way I wish that pain on anyone....

Oh yeah. Like a jail outfit.

You take Martial Arts. Is the only thing you want to do is fight? And if no, why not?Let's focus on this...martial arts (depending on what style, of course) is primarily a SELF DEFENSE art. Defensive, and not offensive. This is where a lot of idealisms break down between students. Martial arts doesn't teach you to go out and fight indiscriminately.It teaches you confidence to deal with a situation if it jumps down your throat. I heard someone once say that the fight is usually determined by the attitudes of the combatants. If you show weakness or appear feeble, you're more likely to be a victim. If you exude confidence, which MA's assist you with, you are less likely to be victimized. There are some styles that teach you to be deliberately aggressive. In some situations (I have been in them) that is a necessity. But the average person won't be involved in many fights in their adult life. As kids, fights are almost a given. Teach kids MA's in schools? I don't agree with that. Not only would it be costly to start such a program (based on the school system's financial strains it wouldn't be feasible), but I don't think it has a place in normal curriculum. I can see it being an after-school activity, but I really think formal training in a dojo needs to stay in a dojo. Liability is a issue, but I don't think there's any more than wrestling or football.

"play with prey" .....I like that. I had a good one with a fella that was just bugging the tar out of me at a local club. We stepped outside and I landed a solid spinning backfist to his temple and a spinning back kick to his stomach. He stopped and told me that if I was going to do that "spinning ****" he didn't want to fight anymore. He had a nasty shiner on this eye right after that. That ended fast but was quite funny...a lot of onlookers got a kick out of it; like watching a Jackie Chan movie or something. One of the few instances the fancy spinning moves worked well for me.

Thought I'd put some eye candy on it for ya'all.....

Ummm.... ok..... listen: if you want to roll the dice with your twig and 2 berries, and sit in zanshin and use your ki, then don't cry to us when you discover Mr. Winkie won't work any more. If you received a strike hard enough to cause bruising on the * itself, then that's not a good thing. Any tissue damage to that area can cause serious problems. Frequent urination? That's another can of worms. Your sensei is probably wise, but unless he is DOCTOR sensei, I'd put his advice in the backseat and drive over to a doctor. I am not joking here. Bruising the shaft of your * or even your "boys" isn't a minor thing. http://atoz.iqhealth.com/HealthAnswers/encyclopedia/HTMLfiles/2446.html

I don't care too much for carbonated beverages all the time. Sometimes it's best to drink the Crystal Light: http://www.dietfacts.com/html/items/6500.htm This is a good product; it has lots of flavor, and it contains no sodium or other gunk. I think it has some saccharin or other sugar substitute, but it tastes good and is cheap. The carbonated bevs out there tend to make you gassy and most of them have small amounts of sodium, which, if you drink a lot, can add up.

START: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2002/hanglegraise1.jpg END: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2002/hanglegraise2.jpg THE SITE: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/simon7.htm

The best all around exercise for abs has got to be hanging leg raises. I stopped doing crunches a long time ago when I realized they do very little to improve overall ab strength. Think about it: if you only do crunches, you are simply working the upper abs and even then not very effectively. You have to do leg raises (lower abs), twisting crunches (obliques) in addition to that. Not very effective. Since I have been doing hanging raises, I have seen more development in my abs than I ever had in all my years of situps and crunches. Hanging raises have to be done properly, then they work out the lower and whole midsection very effectively. Just start off doing 3 sets of 12-15 reps, and do them like 3 times a week. You'll notice a big difference in a couple months. Make sure you lift your knees up high and try to get your feet up over your head.

That guy (Sapp) is chemically assisted. I'd say about 70% of MMA pro level competitors are currently on, or have, juiced. You cannot get that big naturally, unless you are genetically gifted. Sorry. Doesn't happen. Roids affects your flexibility, since not only are your muscles getting bigger than they are supposed to, your ligaments and tendons are not getting stronger or more flexible. Hence, steroid users are prone to many injuries and tendonitis as well as pulled ligaments, etc. Be natural, lift within your capacity, eat right, and stretch well.

Listen, if you start lifting you can only improve your game. "Large bulky muscles" are what you see on bodybuilders who juice. Heck, I've seen guys with large NATURAL muscles "outflex" skinny guys on splits, arm movements, etc. In order to properly train for MA's, use lighter weight, higher reps, and stick with compound moves like bench, squat, pullups, presses, etc. Make sure you maintain flexibility by THOROUGHLY stretching before and after a workout. But unless you are genetically gifted, don't worry about getting so big you can't put your arms behind your back.

I eat a modified "Zone" diet. This is about 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fats (good fats, that is). I eat big meals in the AM and taper them off in the PM. Works good for me, but I am pretty active.

The only way to be sure what happened to the knee is to get an MRI done and have a qualified physician look at it. If there is some swelling or "water on the knee", you may have torn your your meniscus or MCL. Otherwise, it may just be a strain and you really need to stay off it and rest for a while. It's not a good idea to "play with pain".... you may cause more damage.

Every once in a while I mix up my weight training with bodyweight only exercises such as pushups, dips, pullups and chinups, and bodyweight only squats and lunges. It's a good cardio workout, but doesn't have much effect on muscle size. I have to train with weights in order to bulk up.

Holy cow, man. Lighten up! The guy asked for advice. What are you going to do, blow everyone off who has a legit question about nutrition by telling them to go see a doctor? We are all here to try to help, and I would think that most people who come to this board just want some help and support to point them in the right direction. I don't think many of us here are fully qualified to provide medical diagnosis, and I think most people who ask questions on this board are smart enough to know this. The best we can do is give them advice from our own personal knowledge base and hopefully give him the motivation and a direction to start losing weight. Yes, he should see a doctor. But not everyone goes to see a doctor when they want to embark on a moderate weight loss program. Exercise may be a medical factor, in which case that wouldn't be a bad idea. But give everyone a break. If a friend of yours walked up to you and asked about weight loss, I hope you wouldn't just tell him to go to a doctor. Please.

Black is the only one I would consider. I prefer traditional white, with the lapels trimmed in black. Mind you, this is for BLACK BELTS ONLY. Any lower belts should wear traditional white.

My opinion: Board breaking is purely a "show" and entertainment that has its place in demonstrations and ESPN fight night to showcase some fancy moves and technique. As far as using it to adjunct training, I find it weak, at best. Although I admire those that break boards and do it showfully, the old motto "Ah grasshopper....the board does not hit back" rings true. Power is not so much required to board break. Follow through and technique are. In this sense, it helps develop proper technique but not power. Punching a heavy bag, speed bag, or focus mits provides better power and technique training than a day of making kindling with pine. If you want to argue this point, I'll show you some 8 year olds, none of whom could punch their ways out of paper bags, break boards til the cows come home. Nothing to do with power. Now, if you are breaking multiple boards or bricks- different story. I chose "other" on the poll, since I feel it does serve some purpose and is entertaining. But to use it to train or to teach technique, I feel it is not as good as other methods.

Pulled muscle, more than likely, or some stretched ligaments. Worst case, a mild hernia. See a doctor and get checked out. It could even be something having to do with your bladder or other plumbing.

Ummmm..how long do you sit in the bath for? A week?? Hee hee! Really, all you need to do is put A&D ointment on it and keep it moisturized for about 4 days after you get inked. After that, regular Lubriderm lotion is good. Peeling is somewhat inevitable, but NEVER pick at the scabs or rub them off. They'll come off when you apply the lotion. I did that on both tats, and one of them is about 10 years old and still looks great. That one has a lot of color in it, too. If you can't find A&D ointment, then any diaper rash ointment for babies works fine.

Ugh. I had the ACL, meniscus and MCL tears. Not fun. The meniscus is relatively simple and you should be back in business pretty quick. Good rehab and exercise are very important.

Rifle? Bayonet? If someone comes at you with a rifle and bayonet and you are empty-handed, my suggestion is to run real fast in the other direction or prepare to get hurt...bad. I know that the armed forced teach techniques for defense against various weapons, and most of the techniques are based loosely on various MA's. But I know of no specific art (Korean, that is) that deals specifically with disarming and disembowling. Normally, someone with a rifle will not shoot you point blank; you're talking at least 7-20 feet out which is more than enough time for him to pull the trigger as you approach and wax you. As for the bayonet, well.... not too many people out there are walking the mean streets of the US carrying a rifle with a bayonet. Maybe in the middle east or Somalia... but even then the soldiers have M16's...if you want to go toe to toe with a guy wielding a rifle, be my guest. What do you want on your tombstone? BTW, Kung Fu San Soo is probably one of the most "brutal" arts out there and teaches you to seriously injure your opponent by whatever means necessary. But I never heard of the rifle/bayonet technique. It sounds like this person is either in the armed forces or he is simply blowing smoke up your keester.

I have a dragon on my left arm with some Kanji. On my right arm I have "The way of the warrior" in Kanji (Bushido). Both have significance to me. I am part Japanese so the dragon and kanji below that fit right in. I recently had the writing on my other arm added to signify the warrior code that I live by both on and off the proverbial "battlefield" (this ties into what I do for a living, so it has meaning to me). Make sure you get a tattoo that is specific to you. Don't go to a studio and pick some flash off the wall and ink up your body with stuff that looks cool. Have someone design something original for you. I drew out the Kanji for both of my tats, and had the tattoo artist design the presentation and the dragon as well. The Kanji looks like brush strokes and came out real nice. Bottom line, get something that you know you'll be proud to display for the rest of your life that tells a story of your life. Make sure you check out the artist before you get it done also. That's almost as important as what you get.

I had to go through an 8 hour test also, but most of it was watching the others run through katas and sparring. The first segment was devoted to katas. We only had to run through each kata once, and usually we were in front of the other testers (15-20) and their friends/ family. We then had to conduct board breaking demos, breaking boards using kicks, bottom fists, punches, and then a freestyle break using any routine you devised. Then we had to spar (usually against 2 others) full contact. There was a final interview process which consisted of the panel asking various questions to determine our attitudes and general knowledge of particular subjects martial-arts related. This was done one-on-one as all the observers and other participants left the area. Each tester would then critique our performance. It was pretty neat, especially since Chuck Norris sat on the panel when I did my test. He provided me with the final evaluation and told me I passed (I had failed the first time I went through); I was pretty darn happy. I really thought the final Q and A session is particularly important, since a lot of times this area is overlooked. Although some people may accel at katas and sparring, their egotistical attitudes need to be taken down a notch, especially if they teach students to be humble.

Ditto what everyone else has said so far. When you advertise that you are in karate, someone always wants to test you-to see if you can really do anything with it. Additionally, Miami street thugs normally carry around more than their fists, so by getting involved in a fight with them you are not thinking too wisely. Change before you go home. Change your routes home. There's nothing wrong with mentally rehearsing what you would do if the incident happened, but better to just try an avoid any confrontation. If it comes down to blows, then you have to be aggressive. Don't wait for them to attack, go all out on one of them (preferably the biggest) and hurt him bad. If the others decide they want to stick around, then you better look out. But if they beat feet, then you better watch it every time you walk home. It's a no-win situation.

Hey, whatever works! The time you need to exercise to start burning fat depends a lot on what heart rate you are working in. I think a good indication you are doing some good, is you are sweating like a pig! You are doing "low impact" aerobics, which doesn't put a lot of strain on your heart or joints, just gives you a good sweat. Kinda like doing yard work. If you want to bump it up a little, jog on the spot and mix in some mountain climbers, jumping jacks, burpees (I think they're like 5 or 6 count pushups- stand, drop, pushup, jump up, run), and some other stuff. That'll make it a little higher impact, and will pump up the calorie burning more.