kbgirl

Well, Happy Birthday! Good luck on your grading - I'm sure you'll do great!

Yes, it's definitely sport. It has roots in TMA's but has definitely evolved. As far as self defense goes, it's very difficult to say if you'd be able to draw on much of your kickboxing skill if confronted in real life. That said, I think practicing KB has helped with other aspects of 'self-defense' such as awareness, avoidance of confrontational situations, confidence - in that I know what it feels like to almost get knocked out. Obviously, I have also learned to kick and punch, but at this stage in my training (training for my first ring fight now) I think the biggest thing I've learned so far is that you can NEVER give up or give in... that's what makes you a victim. It's okay to lose a fight (keeping in mind that in real life this can mean death), but it's not okay to stop fighting.

OMG! His first time sparring was in a tournament?!?!Good on him! It was nice of you to volunteer... those are moments we remember.

I think practicing kicks to the head is about expanding your abilities and your knowledge of what is possible. In MA we are taught to remove the pre-existing thought of the impossible and strive to make it possible. If you only aim to be able to kick to the waist/stomach, that is as high as you'll be able to go. If you remove the boundaries and say "I plan to be able to kick 10 feet in the air", with practice, you may do so one day. I'm shocked by what I'm able to do now vs. 4 years ago... I hope to continue to improve and who knows how amazed I'll be 10 more years from now.

I don't know if this question was directed to me, but I'll address it anyway. My workout program took me about 2 hours to do. TKD classes are only an hour. We only spar twice a week, so most nights it's just a light workout with learning forms, one steps, Hapkido, or other skills. I'd usually work out from 5 - 7 PM then go to TKD class or the gym at 8:00 PM for an hour. So that's a 3 hour workout. I always took one day off a week, but many times had to take two days off due to other obligations. Oh, I thought you meant you did your 2-hour workout program and THEN 3 hours per night of classes for a total of 5 hours... I did think that was a little crazy, but there are professional athletes out there who do train that much. My own routine is similar but shorter. If I were to add weight training I could easily make it 3 hours/day including class. As I said before, I think you should just listen to your body - if you're feeling good and are having fun, great. If you're not enjoying it, you may not want to keep it up. As was posted before, you won't reap huge gains from the 'working out' part of it, but definitely repetitive practice of many techniques helps to improve them.

My kickboxing school has almost all these things. I have no problem with it. I am taught by a World Champion kickboxer who is teaching me excellent skills, helping me to keep fit, and allowing me a fun and safe environment to be social. I absolutely believe that when he tells me I am ready, and I feel it within me, that I will step into the ring and defeat my opponent. We do have a coloured belt structure... we have stripes on each belt as a way of knowing what we've been tested on and what we still have to demonstrate accurately before our next belt test. Our school is full time and has a number of paid staff who run it. We have various clubs you can join (for more money) in order to learn different skills (say, weapons). We have a drink machine and sell various protein bars & whatever for those people who would simply deposit their money at the local corner store anyway, were the product not offered at the club. We have 3 training floors, one is hard wood and another is completely covered in mats, which were expensive to buy and cost a lot to keep clean. We have change rooms with showers. We have somewhere around 600 students. How many of you have ever thought to yourself "wow! I wish I could spend my entire day training and teaching MA's and get paid for it?" That is achievable - but you must charge enough to grow your business. It is a business... unless, of course your school is part time and/or run by volunteers. There's nothing wrong with making it a business and earning a very nice living from it. Are my skills any less valuable than someone who spends next to nothing to train in a small dojo with maybe 50-60 students, all training in the same class, 3 nights a week? I highly doubt it.

Yeah, I've heard the same thing about ankle weights. I have some and used to just wear them while walking to and from wherever I was going. The only time I'd start to feel any strain (and it was more like fatigue than anything else) was after about 6-8 hours. Just listen to your body's cues... if you're feeling any strain, take them off. Otherwise, you're probably fine.

So, you're saying that in total,you want to work out 5 hours a day? If that's the case, I really think you need to consider what exactly you're doing and not do the same workout each day. Not only that, but every 4-5 weeks you should have a light week... say, just your regular classes and no extra training. Overtraining produces some very clear signs & symptoms... elevated resting HR, depression, irritability, decreased performance etc. If you start to notice these things, back off and take a light week immediately. If you don't feel them, you're probably doing just fine. Enjoy your training!

I run quite a bit with my longest race being a half marathon. I haven't had any major injuries from it, but I do notice it seems to reduce my flexibility for MA if I'm not careful. I think whichever one you'll do more of is best... I couldn't see myself skipping for an hour without wanting to poke my own eye out, just for entertainment's sake. BORING!

HAHA! Yeah, one of my (male) trainers (also in his 40's) suggested that he should put on his gear and get in the ring with me. I said "only if we can still call it women's advanced heavyweight division." He said "You know I'll HAVE to win that!" It was kinda funny. Oh well... next time!

Yup - I'd kick to any part of the body if the timing was right. Generally, though, in my sparring I'll keep kicks to the stomach/ribs. Only if the opportunity is really clear will I kick to the head.

I really feel for you Mat. Wanting to lose weight and wanting it bad enough to actually change your lifestyle are two totally different things. I am female and weighed over 150lbs at 12 years old. By 15 I weighed almost 180 and I topped out about 3 years ago at almost 220lbs. I decided one day, don't really know how it happened, to learn how to eat healthier. I didn't think OMG, I need to lose weight, but I just knew that something was not right with my diet... actually, I had this thought after consuming an entire medium stuffed crust pizza and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. For dinner. I signed up at Weight Watchers. They can teach you how to 1) find healthier alternatives to what you're eating now, 2) find a balance between eating enough to sustain your metabolism but still lose weight, and 3) increase your food intake when needed to account for increased activity. At a weight of 230 lbs, here is a combination of foods you could eat, that would fit within the weight watchers guidelines and allow you to lose weight. I'll tell you this, but you cannot expect to eat the same thing every day and stick to it for any length of time. Check out the website https://www.weightwatchers.com and read through the message boards (beware of the Newbie board and the General board). Breakfast: 2 slices of high fiber toast (+3g fiber/slice) with 1 tbsp fat free cream cheese or no-sugar-added fruit jam (not both, and no margarine) on each. A banana or other piece of fruit. Mid-Morning Snack: Nutri-grain bar or fat-free fruit yogurt or fat free pudding (if you can't handle giving up all the sweets) plus some veggies - carrots or celery... I like cuccumber. Lunch: Vegetable soup or salad (good to get veggies in, be sure to use fat free dressing or just a little olive oil with balsamic vinegar) 1 cup of lasagna (made with fat free cheese & whole wheat pasta, if possible) OR, a sandwich (no mayo, no cheese) with about 3 oz fat free sandwich meat & lettuce & tomato, OR, a wrap with grilled chicken breast (about 3 oz, again) and whatever veggies you like Mid-afternoon snack: Another piece of fruit, or a couple of crackers (really, I do mean 2 maybe 3), a favourite snack of mine is Ryvita crackers with "Laughing Cow light" brand cheese (2 wedges between 2 crackers like a sandwich) Dinner: A 4oz piece of meat (lean chicken, beef, pork... whatever you like - 4oz is about the size of a deck of cards) with grilled vegetables and no more than 1/2 cup of rice or potato (that's about the size of an ice-cream scoop). Don't add margarine or butter, but you can add fat free sour cream. OR, you could have a cup of pasta with tomato sauce with veggies added in - stay away from cream sauces or cheese sauces. Evening Snack (if you must): Buy Orville Reddenbacher's Smart Pop microwave popcorn. It's low in fat, high in fiber, and I lost over 50 lbs eating almost a bag a night... it takes care of the need to much without adding a lot of calories. I would ABSOLUTELY NOT advocate eating a bag a night for a long period of time - there is a lot of salt, preservatives, additives etc. that don't do a lot of good to your body, but this particular product helped me to lose weight without having made ALL the lifestyle changes I ended up making in the end. In general, stay away from butter, mayonaise, full fat salad dressings and full-fat dairy products. Aim for 5 servings of fruit & vegetables daily. Try and get in two servings of skim milk or yogurt daily. The higher fiber something is, the better it is for you. Drink lots of water (minimum 1.5L per day). Really Mat, these are just guidelines. No one can do this for you, but if you just look at making small changes in your life... one at a time... you can do it. It is possible. I'm now very healthy with a BMI of 24, 19% body fat, 5'7" and 156 lbs. Try not to be desperate to lose weight. Make this a quest to learn what your body needs and what it doesn't need... then make small changes. Good luck.

Ugh, what a let-down. There were no other advanced female competitors. No one to play with me! So sad. Oh well... on with fight training...

My husband takes a razor blade to his head every few days... I love bald! Long hair can be nice, but it does need to be clean EVERY DAY!

Sorry, um... yes. American - as you say freestyle karate influenced. Generally international rules apply.

He may just want to meet you first. My kickboxing club trains like any martial arts dojo out there... we have a set class schedule. We can also participate in cardio classes if we want, sparring sessions are available - drop in as you like. And if you want, you can go in and open train... just use the heavy bag, go with a partner and do targets... whatever. You can't really just go in and train until they've taught you how, so my guess is he wants you to come in so he can show you the club. They may have a class going on, they may not. Our club offers two private lessons prior to anyone starting in their group classes.

Wow. I bow to you. You're my newest hero! I'm still working on doing 50 in a row, on my entire hand... palm on the floor.

As with most weight-bearing exercises, aren't you supposed to breath out on the exhertion (i.e. on the way up)?

It's Sport Kickboxing. I would give the website but as a marketing professional, I can't possibly give the link to such as site - it's really bad and outdated and I'm not proud of it. Sorry. I will say, though, that despite the fact that my training is of a very particular nature - our 'style' has only two schools started by brothers who run one each, I feel like I have enough skill to move to another hard-style karate and not be entirely green about it.

I practice kickboxing and we have a belt structure. We also practice many karate techniques & katas that we must learn at each belt level in order to progress. I think it helps people to keep focused on short term and long term goals. I consider the way I train to be very much a martial art.

You can have really well defined abs, but if they're under a layer of fat, they won't show. I've read that for women's abs to show, they need to be about 12-14% body fat or less and for men, about 6-7% or less. Your ab workouts sound good... try increasing the number of reps to where you're at about 50 before resting. When on your back, envision your navel driving downward into the floor... this will ensure you build the abs flat vs. building them outward. And I agree that you should add some exercises for your obliques.

Rather than a hot bath, try an ice bath. It will help with the swelling of overworked muscles... many runners do this. I, personally, would NEVER be able to handle the cold water, but if you can do it, I've heard it's awesome. Sit in the ice water for about 10 minutes... it's just like icing your whole body.

Hi everyone, It's very early on Sunday morning... I've been awake since 4am. Ouch. Yesterday was my last full-on sparring training before my first full-contact competition next Saturday. I've been in sparring competitions before, but only in the 'no face contact' divisions. This time, I've opted for the 'full contact' division and I can't help but be nervous. Yesterday I trained for about 3 hours. One hour+ of which was sparring. I did 10 rounds. The last 3 I did with an amazing black belt from my school - she is inspiring to me and I love to watch her. She's very precise. She agreed to do 3 rounds back-to-back with me like the tournament will be. The tournament will be 3 rounds of 1 min 30 sec with 1 minute rest in between. Well, yesterday, we did 3 rounds of 2 minutes with 30 sec rests. By the 3rd round I was wondering why she wasn't hitting me that much, and why I was landing almost every technique. I thought she was being crazy and letting me hit her and worried that she would suddenly haul off and kick the you-know-what out of me. It didn't happen... I bled a little, she bled a little... my lip is swollen and dark purple, but I'd hazzard a guess to say I might have won if we were being judged. I was shocked. I feel a little better going into this competition knowing that I've experienced what it will be like (well, as closely as I can simulate it). She's good. I'm honoured that she agreed to help me train. But I'm still extremely nervous. I'm hoping this tournament will be good practice for me... I'm training to possibly fight in the ring later this fall. My brain goes a mile a minute every day lately... I can't stop thinking about training, fighting... I picture the ref holding up my hand at the end, like if I visualise it enough it may happen. Anyway, I guess I'm just rambling... I don't feel like I can talk to anyone about this, so I've brought it here. Most people I know think I'm a little on the crazy side. Thanks for listening.

I'm 29 years old and I'm in the best shape of my life, so far. I have many friends who have cultivated BEAUTIFUL bodies into their 30's and 40's. In fact, I honestly believe that the fittest bodies are over the age of 30 - they've had time to develop them. With proper training and nutrition, you can go from being out of shape, to being in tremendous shape in about a year. I agree with RedJ... increase your cardio gradually to about 45-60 minutes per session. Use free weights (get a professional trainer to show you how) for 20-30 minutes or so. Don't worry about the past, and don't ever regret the choices you've made... they were yours to make. Just think ahead to what you want to achieve, and set in motion a plan to do so. Good luck!

I know this isn't really the right place for it, but if you need to learn or re-learn healthy eating, I am going to suggest Weight Watchers. Seriously... I lost over 50 lbs in one year following their plan and have kept it off now for a year. The program allows you to choose foods you enjoy but encourages high fiber, low fat foods and allows for increased intake based on activity level. You can even follow the program online without ever stepping foot in a meeting. If you go to https://www.weightwatchers.com you will get the US site, but there are international sites too, depending on where you are. I agree with Shorin Ryuu... it's as much (if not more) about diet than it is about exercise. Good luck!