Beka

Me wearing my Anna Sui perfume is the best scent in the world. I think the smell of my ex boyfriend was probably the most comforting. I didn't feel comforted by seeing or talking to him on the phone. I needed to actually be able to smell him. One time he left a shirt at my house, and it worked fine as a substitute. I got the feeling he was actually there with me, even though he wasn't. People have distinct smells, and from what I hear, women are more sensitive to them (I'm *very* sensitive to scents), but either way, we all have long-term scent memories. My perfume is readily available, but not as popular as some of the others out there. When I am dating someone, I wear it every time I see them. That way, when we break up, and they ever smell it again, they will associate it with me and begin to hit themselves over the head for letting me get away so easily. I hope to torture some people. I'm evil. Although lately, the plan has backfired. Now every time I put on the perfume I am reminded of my ex, since that's what I smelled like every time I saw him. I am hoping to build enough new memories while wearing this perfume so that he begins to some day fade into the backround.... but I doubt it will happen. I'm far too much of a loving young woman...

I'm a super hybrid!!! I feel so left out!!!

Yeah, I would reckon so, but at the same time, can you balance well enough to kick while standing atop some stilettos? I can hardly walk straight, let alone get all karate on your booty. I think perhaps removing the shoe and then using it as a weapon may be better. I'll stab you in the eye with my heel, ha!

I would move back to Finland, but only because it is close to Sweden, and I want to move to Sweden.

Exactly! I make a point to practice at home in my normal clothes. I wear my every day jeans, my t shirt, and a normal bra and hair-do, and of course, my regular shoes. I only buy pants that I can kick in (ie. stretch jeans) for that 'just in case' kinda thing. My neighbor think I'm weird when I go up and down my driveway kicking and punching, but they can bite me I think it's a good idea for anyone to practice in their normal clothes and shoes. However, if I'm ever caught wearing high heels, I better get used to slipping them off fast and feeling some gross, dirty concrete under my feet. ick.

get yourself some Zicam and you'll never have to train sick again. It's a homeopathic remedy you can find at the drugstore. It's zinc based, and comes in an oral spray, chewable tablets, or melt-in-your-mouth kind. They all taste pretty bad, and you have to take them every 3 hours, BUT, you won't get sick, and if you do, your sick time will be drastically shortened. I swear by the stuff.

how weird! well, if you type it into the address bar, rather than clicking the link, it will work.

I have wings tattooed on my feet. It looks pretty good when doing those kicks . I have a few more, but those are the most impressive.

the Cuong Nhu website is just https://www.cuongnhu.com. I studied something when I was like 8 years old, and I got to be a white belt with 2 black stripes. woohoo! I went to a tournament and started bowing to all sorts of people. I bowed too much. But I got a gold medal anyway!

I would also like to add that attackers like to choose *victims*. None of the martial artist women I know, and we come in all shapes and statures, look like victims to me.

I have been raped, and I would do anything possible to prevent it again. If that means gettings stabbed, I would do it. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than rape. If you are murdered, at least you don't have to remember it.

OOOOHH! I think I'll write a country song about that. It will sound much like Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever" because I lack creativity.

I always do that!! I ONLY buy stretchy pants that I can kick in. At the GAP a couple of weeks ago, you could see my foot shooting out of the dressing room as I was practicing side kicks in the newest pair of pants. The girl working there looked at me funny. But I explained that if I can't do karate in them, they ain't gettin' bought.

I'm a little bit bashful about admitting this... Since starting with Cuong Nhu 4 months ago, I have gotten increasingly militant. Now, I would never bully anyone around, but I've had fighting on my mind a lot. I'm constantly thinking about fighting and moves and katas and better ways to do such and such, and if some guy came up on the street i would do X Y and Z to escape and win a fight, etc. But I guess it's good because at the same time I'm not afraid to fight or get involved in violence if it is absolutely necessary. Today I broke up a fight between two boys, granted, they were both smaller than me, but one was throwing bricks, and I felt I'd rather get hurt than let them fight. There was no way I could just stand there and let it happen. They are my neighbors and I couldn't pretend I didn't see it. I think I have a larger sense of responsibility to those around me since starting taking karate lessons, and I would rather not see others use violence to solve things (because we all know that leads nowhere). Still, my friends have started to notice a change in me, and so have I. I've got fighting on the brain, and I'm so excited by my new skills that I want to use them all the time. I know I'm not very experienced, and I know it would be best to avoid conflict, but at the same time, I want to practice them. I get my butt to the dojo every possible day I can, and I practice at home as well. I absolutely love what I do and how much self esteem I have grown since starting, but sometimes I worry that I am getting too aggressive. Maybe it's because I don't let men walk all over me anymore? I was talking with a friend at my dojo about this, and he says he went through the same thing when he first started. That made me feel better that I'm not alone in this. He says he got over it after a while. Right now I like it because it means I am progressing really quickly, but still, I worry. Hopefully I'm not a crazy nut job? Please? Is this something I talk to my Sensei about? or somewhere in there... thanks.

Yes. I love 6'4''. My super ex (the one I was supposed to marry and have babies with) was 6'4''. The last guy I dated was also 6'4'', but he was unreliable and stupid. Anyway, 6'4'' is a good height (I'm 5'6''). Mmmm... tall men... okay, anyway, I'm beside the point here. and to kle1n: As a fellow 20 year old, I would have to say that you shouldn't let yourself be intimidated by women. Not to toot my own horn, but I have no lack of men around. However, quality is the issue. Most men seem to be intimidated by me ( "What? An opinionated, smart, dark haired, tattooed vixen who practices karate every day? I think I'll run for my life instead!"). It's a real concern. A confident (not arrogant!) man is the one we will like. If we can tell you're intimidated, it is a turn-off, and a little bit of an insult. It makes us grumpy. Be funny, be yourself. Funny and smart is the absolute BEST thing to be. You look just fine in your picture, so we know that's not something you really need to work on. Although style is something to think about. I am personally very attracted to a man who isn't afraid to express himself, and clothing is one of the ways to do that. Just go out, don't be afraid to befriend us. Most times, if we can tell we're being hit on, unless we're looking for a one-time thing, we're usually quite turned off. Talk to a woman like she's someone you already know and don't need to impress. We can smell desperation. If you don't worry about it, it will come a lot faster. Have an open attitude about women. We come in all shapes and sizes, we have different opinions, theories, hobbies, and means of communication. Stay away from the dirzy bimbos who offer nothing by way of substance. Sure, they look good now, but you'll drive yourself crazy forming a meaningful relationship with one of them (not that I'm trying to lure anyone to the oddball-girl team or anything...). But is a relationship even what you're going for? That's my bit of advice for now. Just relax, be yourself, and really, I mean it, everything will fall into place. Sometimes we don't date because we have no time for it, there are other more important things in our lives (recently I have broken up with men who didn't understand my dedication to school and karate, and that wasn't going to work). Maybe that's where you're at but you feel like you *should* be dating the laydeez. However, like with drugs, peer pressure is bad I just thought I'd ramble on a bit. If you need anything else, feel free to send me a private message or something. Take care and good luck.

I was considering some wrestling shoes, since I reckon they would hold up pretty well on mats, but how do they hold up on hardwood? I don't want to really stick to anything. Also, how much room do wrestling shoes generally have to fit a neoprene ankle brace, do you think? Thanks.

I've been thinking about it lately since I have such sensetive feet. If it is cold at all, my feet will stick and be relatively immoble. The other day I was having some weird problem with my toe that may have been avoided had I been wearing shoes. But then again, I have these totally neato tattoos of wings on my feet, and I would miss looking at them all the time.

I'll just answer in order... I do Cuong Nhu, I recently posted on it, but I'll add more info here. We break boards. For tests, one needs to break boards in a variety of directions, with a variety of techniques. kicking, punching, chopping, etc. For hand strikes we use a lot of closed fists, as well as knife hands for chops, backfists, punches, etc. We use elbow strikes as well. The kids and teenagers aren't taught the downward elbow strike, since we mainly use that on someone's back, and Sensei doesn't want the kids messing with anything that might be too dangerous. We use a lot of knees during class. I don't believe there are any headbutts. We kick anywhere from low to high, and we do so standing, jumping, and sometimes spinning, at least from what I've observed in class. I don't believe we really focus on pressure points exactly, but we use a lot of twisty moves that require very little force to get someone to let up. Usually these come up in classes as a method of getting out of grabs. We do a lot of thumb escapes, we practice them all the time, and we learn newer techniques as we progress. I can't say there's much grappling. I know one of the instructors likes to do grappling and ground fighting, but that isn't something one would work on before their black belt, I don't think. Some of the katas preserve their Japanese name, even though Cuong Nhu was created in Vietnam. Because so much of it is rooted in Shotokan Karate, it retains a few of those names. We say 'neem' and 'chow' when we do our bowing at the beginning and ending of class, but the only words we use that aren't a name of a kata or specific move are Sensei or dojo. We don't count or ask questions or say yes or no in Japanese or vietnamese or anything like that. We have Bos and Tambos, one may begin to learn the weapons at 2 green stripes, with the sensei's approval. I know others learn other weapons later on. My dojo is in Berkeley, CA, and my sensei is John Burns. If you want to find out more about Cuong Nhu or find a dojo in your area, this is the web address: https://www.cuongnhu.com

I'm talking about small 2-3 inch blades. I have one switchblade and another utility kind of blade. My dad wants to get me a 5 inch or so buck knife, but I don't know. That may be a little bit big. I'm not looking to kill, just to do enough so I can run away quick.

After doing a board search and recieving a few questions in the introductions forum, I've realized Cuong Nhu is less well known than I thought. It's not the heavy hitter that Shotokan or Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do are. I was really shocked the other day when I ran into a friend of mine and discovered that he too used to study Cuong Nhu a few years back, because no one has really heard of it. Cuong Nhu (pronouced kung new), meaning Hard Soft, was founded by Grandmaster Ngo Dong in 1965 in Vietnam. He brought it over to the United States in 1971 at the University of Florida. It is a mixture of seven different styles. Shotokan is very present as the base, especially in the first few katas, but the style also incorporates Aikido, Judo, Wing Chun, Vovinam, Tai Chi Chuan, and Boxing. Early on we learn hard moves, hard punches, hard blocks, kicks, etc. Later on, we learn more of the soft moves (ie Aikido). There are a fair amount of throws, also. We use two weapons, the Bo and Tambos. I don't know the official take, but many of the higher ranked Dans learn other weapons as well. I saw a recently promoted black belt fiddling with some nunchuks the other day, so I know we have a variety of things to learn. My Sensei is Shichidan John Burns, and he's amazing. I thought I would mention that. I am in awe of my sensei and I have so much respect for him. The belt ranks only use 4 colors, white, green, brown, and black (with 2 stripes between each). When you have 2 green stripes you can begin with weapons. At a green belt you can begin sparring. To achieve a brown belt, you must write an essay about Cuong Nhu and its role in your life. As a brown belt you are expected to teach the lower ranks, usually in childrens classes (which are aggrivatingly huge), but today a brown belt lead the class while Sensei John was out of town. Because so many people see the black belt as the goal, Cuong Nhu tests for Shodan 6 months after the black belt is recieved, to encourage students to stick with it. Also, it is encouraged that you learn other styles so you can bring them back to Cuong Nhu to help broaden the style. For all of the mixing going on, I think it is very well integrated, and a really beautiful style. I knew nothing about it when I started, I just went in for a free lesson to see if I liked it. I was more drawn in by the attitude at my dojo than anything. I think there is a major emphasis on teaching each other, and a sense of responsiblity. Maybe it is just my dojo, but the students are all very supportive of each other, and I don't get the feeling that anyone has an attitude. And of course, knowing how to break someone's arm is a plus. I think that's all I can think of for now. I will be participating in more discussions here, so if anyone has any other questions, go ahead and ask! I'm glad I found this place! I love talking about karate, and all my friends are starting to get a little bit annoyed always having to listen to me yammer on about it. beka

The only real weapons training in my style is with the 6ft Bo and the Tambos (more like 2 feet or something, i'm terrible with measurements). After the black belt there's opportunity for other stuff, but I would like to learn to weild a knife now. My dad has a habit of buying me small knives for self defense purposes, and he always says "don't pull it out unless you're gonna use it". So, then how do I use it? If I'm going to one day need it, I would like to have some experience with it. Thanks.

I'm a white belt and I get challenged! My friends aren't stupid enough, but a lot of people who are aquiantences or hear my phone conversations at the bus stop will ask me to show them some moves or to fight them or soemthing equally stupid. They think it's going to be like the movies, but it isn't. There are some styles and clubs that are just black-belt factories. All the black belts I know are very skilled. But I do know of other clubs that just advance people because they've spent a certain amount of time or money, and it bothers me.

Gracias, White Warlock. Hablo Español tambien. Jag pratar Svenska, också!

I'm beka, I'm a 20 year old woman from Berkeley, Ca. I started training in Cuong Nhu last November, and I will be testing for my first green stripe in a couple of weeks. I'm excited and I'm totally in love with martial arts. Some might call me obsessed... who knows. Anyway, hello.

I study Cuong Nhu White belt 1 green stripe 2 green stripes Green belt 1 brown stripe 2 brown stripes Brown belt 1 black stripe 2 black stripes Black belt I'm testing for my first green stripe in a couple weeks. woo hoo!