Phantasmatic

Hello everyone, i am Phantasmatic from Illinois. It looks like we all share the same love of martial arts and computers. I believe i am going to have a lot of fun talking and discussing martial arts w/ you all. I am a Purple belt in the Shuri-Ryu System of Okinawan Karate. I have been a student for about 2 years now and i love it to death!! I won the Chicago World Championships in kata and weapons. T'was fun!! Talk to y'all later!

i say get the heck outa there, the instructor sounds like he doesn't give a crap about his students

It would be a good thing to go back to white belt if you join another school or club. The reason i say this is because the instructor's way of teaching could be a whole different way than you are used to. But if it was a similar style (i.e. Shorin-ryu and Goju-ryu) i would agree with three 60 in that you should just study privately with the instructor of the school.

Applications of katas are very diverse and different in many styles of martial arts. It could be both places, they would both be vital strikes.

True kickchick, you are right that you need to be experienced. Adonnis, one quick tip to do a spinning kick, you might want to look at their eyes and see if they open a little more, that means that they are going to move forward and attack (or fake, so be careful). So right when you see their eyes open a little more than usual, then thats when you should turn and execute your kick. Don't take this as something you should do, take it as a theory from someone. Ask your instructor what would be the best way to execute a spinning kick.

I agree with Karateka and YODA, it is the martial artist and not the martial art. Thai boxing is a good style, but you cant determine wheter it is any better than any other style of martial art.

I used to put soy beans in a bucket and punch it till i bled. it really made my knuckles a lot stronger and it gave me confidence in my punches. It took so long to heal the wounds so it took me a while. I mean forever, punch the soybeans for 5 minutes and then wait a month till your knuckles healed. Other than the pain and the time, it works really good for punches... For blocks me and my friend worked a drill where you hit each others forearms for about 3 min with each others forearms and then we blocked each others punches. Yeah, that one hurt also, but it would hurt ever more if you couldnt block an assailants punch on the streets!!!

Glue!!!!! just joking, hmmm....If i were you i would get a high quality gi with a lot of starch in it and tie it tight, those things wont move for anything!! Make sure it is 100% cotton.

I must say (in my opinion) there is no best martial art. Seriously, if you think about it, it's the soul of the practitioner that makes the style great. A style is nothing without the people who adore it. Think about it...

I really think Pizzaboy knows what he's talking about!!!!!! Wow, i am very impressed!

Thanks for the welcome. I do agree with heavy gi's you do sweat like a pig!! But if you eat a whole bunch of ramen noodles before you work out then you wont sweat because of all the sodium that is in those things!!!! j/k. Another drawback to having a heavyweight gi is that it leaves those dreaded sweat marks . My sensei wore the same hw gi for a whole year and it was almost pure yellow!! Yeah, but he gets a new one every 2 to 3 months now because washing it doesnt help!!! Nasty but had to be said... so long

The weight of the Gi probably matters, but not all that much. It matters the most if you were in Judo or Jiu-jitsu or any throwing and body to body styles. The material, however, does (my opinion) because of the pops (noise) it makes. This can really attract judges in tournaments and just makes a sweet sound!!

Hey everyone, i practice Shuri-Ryu, it is very similar to Goju Ryu. I was wondering if any of you guys do the kata Sanchin? Talk to ya later!