drunkenninja

I think from what ive read I will use sand instead of water, since some have had problems with leaks. and hmm..Which weighs more? sand or water? It should be here monday.

Thanks, i went ahead and ordered it. I think id like it and with sand, it should be stable with good workout. When i get it, Ill post my reviews about here. Im sure my girlfreind will appreciate it since i wont have to ask her to hold up the targets for me anymore.

pacific shore, do you have the original, wavemaster?

Has anyone used the Wavemaster xxl bag? I am considering buying one. Im not so sure about freestanding bags though. My biggest concern would be of course, would i knock it over?

gumbi, where i train, you never know when you will be tested, just one day I go into class, and the instructor asks everyone to stand aside.And has me perform a kata, maybe some techniques, and asks me some questions. If I pass, he says take off that belt. Then he goes and get the next level belt and ties it around my waist himself and says congratulations. He never asks me to buy anything ever. Its a real dojo. I really respect him as a Sensei.

I can see why the name "backyard sparring" might raise some eyebrows. lol. But that is exactly what it is. We a have a backyard that is private and me and couple of freinds thought it was good idea. Of course, we must understand that its only for workout, and a little practice. nothing personal will be taken from it. We are mature adults. And we will NOT go full contact. That would just be stupid, we would use control, but wed have alittle more freedom to hit alittle harder, and kick legs, a little takedowns and some grappling, just basic stuff not allowed in dojo. But the main thing is to agree beforehand on the rules, especially "tap out", which would basically just be saying "enough" then it all stops.

I totally agree with itaian_guy. You and your bro absolutely can't quit now. Your much too young to give up, find another dojo, and get back into it. You want revenge? join a dojo and beat all their students in tournements! lol No really, get back into MA, even if its not TKD which im sure you've grown fond of. Have an open mind to the other MA.

poppa4pump1, Your a master of isshinryu, so I want to ask you a question regarding that site that krunchyfrogg posted. Did you check out the photo page, then goto training. then they have a pic of them doing seisan kata. In that pic, it looked to me like they were not punching center, like they were punching arms? It may have been the angle of cam, but i doubt it. What do you think about this?

Thanks for lowering your price.

LOL. Why save a dollar when I can save more than a dollar? http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm?action=showProd&subid=822

And no bdaze no betting whatsoever will take place. it just me and 2 other guys, for fun and sport only, and they understand what that means.

hmm. I am adult 28. The thing is, I am from small town, so there are no gyms within 50 miles from me that i could walk into and fight. So I came up with this crazy idea, we have a yard. its fun and good excercise so why not?

Please Do Reklats!

Yeh well the backyard is a freinds, private, can barely see it from road. Flat, perfect. Of course wed have to make rules like tap out, or say "tap out" if it is only 2 of us, and maybe even paint a ring on the ground. But it will be fun once the gear gets here, i even ordered the chest guards cause i know there would be attacks there. lol.

I just came up with this great idea, that I could get some protective gear together, and do some backyard sparring with a couple of freinds of mine. They love the idea, and I do to since we would be able to get a little rougher, and try new things that are not allowed in my dojo. Does anyone else do this? Also is something i should ask sensei about? or is it not a big deal? Thanks.

http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/ I searched alot and this is where i finally bought some stuff i needed. Not spamming just the truth, lowest price i could find.

"isshinryu" is japanese for "keeping it real" The style is basically no-nonsense stuff if you have a descent instructor. check out http://w3.trib.com/~smammon/isshin.html

In my humble opinion schools should NEVER EVER charge testing fees. period. That is the number one reason why i quit my last dojo and changed to another one. Now I realize that MA schools is a business, and it cost money in order for them to be able to stay open. They have a real overhead, rent, utilities, uniforms, equipment etc. And there is a fine line between the martial artist entrepreneur, and the martial artist sensei... Some senseis (althought good and sincere) may not have good business sense, therefore there are testing fees. But there is a psychological factor, that is the student feeling like with enough money, he can buy his way to black belt. A belt should be earned in the dojo, not in the students job. My suggestion, the owners/senseis should sit down and figure out the expense of testing, and incorporate that into the monthly fees. Just raise the monthly fees, and make your students earn thier belt, not buy it! I think that would really raise the quality and mentality and respect, of all MA schools.

As far as ring experience goes, i have none. I was just asking a general question about how people get to compete in tournaments like that. Northern Oger is probably 100% right, but are you talking about about me losing or even qualifying? And whitewarlock, is right i will definatley ask sensei. And I will respect his decision. Red J has good point i would be satisfied to compete in local events. The whole thing about me asking is, I just have alot of energy and i really think i would enjoy the sport of ring fighting. I have no family so noone would be disappointed if I got my ribs broke or lost an eye. I do enjoy martial arts. So to me it seems like a good idea. I train in Isshinryu, have did some taekwondo. But i realize that training alone wont be enough to successfully compete. Id like to try though.

I just watched the k1 think on espn2, those guys are good. id give my whole 401k funds to get in the ring with some of those guys. cung li is bad *. i know id lose but atleast id have fun. Am i normal?

thats exactly the point of my question. How do i get that experience, exactly? I am not agressive or in anyway violent, I just love the sport. I never got into the common sports, like football, basketball, hockey, etc, like normal guys. I just like MA and fighting. I dont think its a good idea to go around starting fights in the streets, that would be just stupid! How do i go about finding rings to get into? and are they hard to get into? thanks

I dont know exactly how the ufc or other mma ring fighting works as far as enrolling, But i was wondering if I had a shot at competing there? Im 6'0" about 240, some of that is gut, but im working on that. but im not fat. Going through training in isshinryu. I realize id have to get some floor training like jujitsu. Just wondering if there was any chance on me competing there, and what would i have to do to get there? Thanks

Has anyone tried the gladiator cobra gloves by proforce? I was thinking about ordering some, I like the open finger gloves cause they just feel better and i dont have to worry about keeping my fingers in the loops. And would these gloves be approved for most sparring tournement events just like the usual sparring gear? heres a link to a pic of them: http://24.0.218.27/blackbeltshop/proforce_gladiator_cobra_grappling_gloves.htm

I think this is the correct forum to ask my question. What is the best sparring gear available? And where can I get it? (website) Is all sparring gear basically the same? Id like to go ahead and fork out the dough to buy some quality gear, so it will last a while and feel better, i dont want to be worried about my gear falling off or anything while im sparring. Thanks in advance!

Is there such a thing as the "correct" way to tie a belt, or are belts tied differently in different MAs? I noticed from the last dojo i went to, TKD, that almost everyone had their belt tied differently. And when Id ask the instructor after i tied mine, if it was correct hed say yes, even though it was completely different from the way i tied it the day before! And I started an isshinryu dojo, i noticed the same thing. some were different. Is the belt tying thing just not a big deal or what? It seems like it should be important issue to me, but thats just me.