White Warlock

Hehe, i have no desire to obtain a belt.

Okay, i'm done responding. 47mm... you're annoying me again. If you have a thousand questions, how about putting them all in one post, rather than riddling me with one-liners?

Well, my little sister can do full push-ups. Somewhere around 40 or so in two minutes. She's not a martial artist, nor is she a weightlifter. She's an ex-dancer that for awhile wanted to be a cop, so she opted to condition herself. She looks fit and not even remotely malproportioned. Additional note: Women in the armed forces, as well as in law enforcement or similar, are required to be physically fit. The U.S. Army requires that a woman be able to complete a set amount of pushups within two minutes before passing basic training. Very few women who enter basic training, fail. All you need to do is apply yourself... and commit. Our society doesn't encourage women to exercise their upper body, so it is an uphill battle for them, but it is definitely not unachievable.

Wanted to respond to this. As Angela indicated, this is a myth. The gi was initially undergarments worn by the Japanese, so her analogy of 'soiled' underwears is actually an appropriate one. Unfortunately, many schools and instructors believe this myth and thus put 'belts' on a pedestal. A sort of symbol. But symbology is a bad thing. Your belt is there to ensure your gi doesn't flop open... that's all that it should be. Providing colors to it, to indicate to other students your ranking, can help out in ensuring elder students are respected... but it's no guarantee, nor is it truly necessary. If the colors in your belt bleeds, then it is not a well-dyed product, and will likely fall apart after a few washes. Buy a quality gi, along with a quality belt, and you'll get your money's worth. Buy crap, and you get what you pay for. But, don't refrain from washing your gi/belt, just because of some stupid myth that has been handed down from one ignorant instructor to another. The idea behind learning, is absorbing... growing. Giving credence to a misnomer, merely because you've been taught that way, is still giving credence to a misnomer... except now you do it without ignorance.

Of course. Nature is full of lessons. We often think of ourselves, meaning man, as superior... and yet, when you look at the actions of various creatures, you can't help but be amazed at how evolution has programmed an entire species to be genetically predisposed to committing 'highly intelligent' actions. Take, for example, the octopus. Now that is one incredibly diverse creature with some serious "higher reasoning" ingrained at a genetic level.

No, i mean everytime you do something... you are practicing. Even right now, while typing here in these forums, i am practicing my writing skills. Applied is practice, regardless of whether it is live... or Memorex.

first hand.

Yeah, in my day we would spar uphill, both ways, barefoot, in the snow.

Naturally? Regardless of whether it is formal, or informal, training is training. If someone can fight well, it is due to practice... not genetic predisposition.

I've never been entirely keen with this 'profit-oriented' belt testing stuff. Hell, as the instructor, you pretty well know when someone is ready for their next belt.

Ugh!

Despite his yelling, 47mm is correct. It is not enough to know your material and be able to relay this material to your students. You must also inspire passion and be able to encourage the student to 'want' to learn more. Growth is nothing if it is forced. It must come from within, but encouraged from without. A great teacher/coach/instructor will know how to tap into what's inside each and every student, and cause it to flourish. For the answers lie not within the instructor, but within oneself.

A pushup is an exercise, but not like any other. Its intent is to strengthen particular muscles, but it is better than most, in that it also encourages muscle balance. In addition to strengthening pectorals (standard pushup), it helps in strengthening the scapular and rotator-cuff muscles. A pushup also needs to be done correctly, in order to obtain maximum advantage. As Sai indicated, different pushups exist, and each one focuses on a different set of muscles (although all of them also strengthen the scapular and rotator-cuff muscles). An important thing to realize, is that if you do not perform a pushup correctly, you will not be getting much benefits, in relation to your efforts. Thus, it is important to ensure you maintain proper posture (back straight, head looking straight ahead, etc) while performing 'any' of the pushups previously indicated. Another important thing to realize, is that your goal is not about doing a standard pushup, as opposed to a knee-pushup, but to condition and strengthen your muscles. Exercising requires a helluva lot of patience. Conditioning and strengthening is not even remotely an overnight success story. It requires months, even years of consistent and gradually increasing effort. If you cannot do a 'standard' pushup yet, do not be discouraged... just stick with it and eventually you'll get there.

Let's just say that some birds really know how to exploit their ability to fly... and the use of gravity.

Hello Aaron, looks like an interesting video and thanks for the clip. If you have questions about what is acceptable on this board, here's the user guidelines - http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9512 If you have additional questions, you can query a moderator. Those that have posted in this thread thusfar, including myself, are not moderators. Just overzealous members that are probably overstepping their bounds of authority.

sounds like he's self-taught and trying to give himself some credibility. Oh, and ninjutsu doesn't do wild kicks.

Just caught this. Quit with the hot baths, that's only going to exacerbate the inflammation. Paracetamol (aka: acetaminophen... or Tylenol) won't really have any impact on this, so quit taking it. An anti-inflammatory would help, but take it in moderation. My earlier advice on 'how' to apply ice still stands. ciao

The pins and needles running down your middle fingers suggests inflammation of the median nerve. Have you been regularly treating your elbow with ice packs (15 minute intervals)? If you have medical coverage, definitely go see your doctor. If not, and it's going to cost you to see a doctor, then do these simple tests: 1. Check movement and rotation of all your joints in that arm (including your fingers). Does it all move normally? In performing any of these actions, does the 'pins and needles' effect become exacerbated? Does any of it hurt to do, that would not normally hurt to do? 2. Softly squeeze your wrist. Does the pins and needles feeling become exacerbated? If so, then you may also be dealing with a bit of CTS. 3. Try to cross your fingers. Were you able to do so before? Are you able to do so now? If the pins and needles effect becomes exacerbated when hypo-extending your elbow, then it's likely all you have is an inflamed median nerve. Continued treatment with ice will alleviate the problem in time. If you feel pain at or about the elbow or forearm, then it is possible you injured your transverse ligament. This is very slow to heal... but it's not going to heal if you don't ice it regularly. Ligaments are also far more susceptible to overicing (less blood vessels), so definitely do not ice for more than 15 minutes at a time... at 30 minute intervals. The inability to cross your fingers is a slightly more serious concern. Let me know. For that matter, let your doctor know. Any additional info you can provide will help me to 'speculate.' Again, i'm not a doctor, so if you have serious concerns, and you can afford to visit a doctor, definitely do so.

Being expressionless, or smiling, is a good means to avoid showing that you may have fear. Showing determination is far more effective. Oftentimes smiling can be misconstrued by the assailant as 'mocking,' which can serve to add a few more logs to their fire (not a good thing), but can also cause them to overcommit when attacking (a good thing). On the other hand, smiling could also intimidate. All in all, it depends on the situation. But, what really matters is your conviction and conditioning.

Actually, French and American soldiers did very well in Vietnam, with a kill ratio exceeding 10:1. It was politics governing the actions of our generals that eventually caused the U.S. to exit in defeat, not the performance or training level of the soldiers.

I agree with Shorinryu. Being a writer myself, i know full well the biggest mistake is to write about something without having performed sufficient research. Fantasy writing is some of the most 'flexible' writing available, but it should also be considered the one that requires the most research, in order to present a viable picture in the mind's eye of the readers. What i'm saying is, if you don't know the systems yourself, then i suggest you stick with making up styles for your characters to be proficient with. When describing what one or another character is doing, it's also a good idea to stick to 'describing' the actions in somewhat generic fashion, rather than name-calling them and getting caught up in details. Think of the process in writing a confrontation as you would remember one. I.e., details unspecific, with only a few things that stick firmly in your mind of the conflict. Expressing it in such a way becomes much more visceral to the reader... i.e., it shouldn't be expressed in a 'cogent' manner, as much as it should be expressed in a 'gut' manner. What not to do: "Keal lunged back in to a half stance and performed a reverse-punch to the solar plexus of Mako. Reeling from the impact, Mako wheeled back and retaliated with a spinning back kick, only to have it blocked by Keal's upper block" Last comment. I only write about what i know. Fantasy writing allows you to apply what you know, and then to flower it with something 'nobody' but you knows... because you made it up.

lol... the Christian thing to do. I'm sorry, that was funny. What you should be thinking about, is what you shouldn't be doing, like letting her get under your skin. Essentially, you're letting this woman's previous actions influence you... still. Let it go. Don't give her that much power over you that she can walk away, and you're still allowing your wounds to fester. Just heal, grow, and move on. If another incident occurs, again report it to the instructor. Seeing as you are a minor (am i incorrect in this?), an adult can get in a heat of trouble for harrassing you, so don't feel like you're powerless here. Just focus on your studies and don't worry about it anymore. Like i said, if something like this happens again, take it to your instructor's attention. If you feel the problem extends beyond the classroom (you mentioned something about enjoying a spa with someone), then bring it to your parents' attention. But, again, most importantly... be a duck.

No, that was Bela Lugosi.

John, It really depends on your interests. Some translations are mediocre, some are topic oriented (Five Rings as applied to business), and others are the result of doctoral dissertations. Assuming you're looking for a nice English translation that is not loaded with tons of 'translator' insight, i recommend Victor Harris' version. I've heard praise on Hidy Ochiai's version, but have not read it myself. It contains about 80 extra pages worth of Ochiai's insight. As to the ones that are 'topic oriented,' steer clear. Most of them are merely piggybacking on the fame of Miyamoto's work, with their own substandard career counseling.